dress

First jersey dress

~ Rhiannon ~ 1 Comment

whoopsWhat is it?

A sleeveless jersey knit dress with narrow round collar

Is it blue?

No. Well it depends on whether you consider teal to be blue or green. I just think it’s teal

What’s the fabric?

Jersey knit. Possibly viscose?

What’s the pattern?

The Moneta dress by Colette Patterns.

Where’s the fabric from?

Guthrie & Ghani in Birmingham

What was good about making this?

I made this dress as part of a class at Guthrie & Ghani that focused on learning to use an overlocker. I decided to go on it as 1) I’d never really understood what an overlocker was useful for and 2) I’d never sewn with jersey before and figured this would give me some hints. The dress came together really quickly, the instructions were lovely and clear and the dress fits fantastically. It also helped having a wonderful tutor who’s approach was much more relaxed than I’ve been in the past and made me realise that you can bodge more  than you’d think when you’re sewing.

What was bad about making this?

It made me want to buy an overlocker!

Would you make it again?

Absolutely, although I might begrude having to do it on my sewing machine with a jersey needle rather than a whizzy overlocker (can you tell I was sold on the benefits of them?!)

Tiny flowers dress

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Tiny flowers dress

What is it?

A sleeveless dress with pleated skirt covered in teeny tiny flowers

Is it blue?

Yes

What’s the fabric?

Blue floral cotton lawn

What’s the pattern?

The Lilou dress from Tilly Walnes’ book Love at First Stitch

Where’s the fabric from?

The Fancy Silk Store in Birmingham

What was good about making this?

The dress came together surprisingly quickly, which I think was because unlike the sweetie and elephant dresses it was only lined on the bodice, not the skirt too. I also felt pretty impressed that I managed to make pleats and fit an invisible zip.

What was bad about making this?

I didn’t make a toile (again….) and found that the bodice needed quite a bit of adjustment once it was on. I promise that I’ve now learnt my lesson

Would you make it again?

I wear it all the time, so definitely yes, but I’ll make the aforementioned toile first!

Floral dress

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Floral dres

What is it?

A bateau neck sheath dress I made use a floral fabric to wear to a friend’s wedding

Is it blue?

No!

What’s the fabric?

EMMIE ROS cotton, a medium weight interior fabric

What’s the pattern?

Colette Pattern’s Peony dress

Where’s the fabric from?

IKEA! (I think the name probably gave it away)

What was good about making this?

It came together pretty quickly, I was impressed with how clear the Colette instructions were, I liked the boat neckline

What was bad about making this?

I’ve since learnt that Colette model their bodice on a c-cup. I am not a c-cup. This explains why I had the usual issue of the dress being way too big on the bust, even though I graded this pattern before starting. However, as I wore it with a belt, this hid quite a lot of sins! Also, setting sleeves was quite a big learning curve!

Would you make it again?

Yes, but I’d use a fabric with more drape and I’d also learn how to do a SBA

Elephant dress

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Elephant dress

What is it?

A dress covered in tiny elephants

Is it blue?

Yes

What’s the fabric?

Not sure. It was a gift from the boy in 2013 to get me sewing. The fact it took until 2014 to cut it and 2015 to finish it is beside the point!

What’s the pattern?

Very Easy Vogue V8723. This time I reduced the gathers in the skirt and graded at the bust.

Where’s the fabric from?

See above!

What was good about making this?

Finally getting to use the elephant fabric. It also has pockets (as does the sweetie dress) and everyone loves pockets

What was bad about making this?

Despite changing the bust size I still had to remove a LOT of fabric before putting the zip in. Also, the fact that we moved house in the middle of sewing didn’t help as it meant it sat unfinished for about six months….

Would you make it again?

Probably not. Whilst I do like the style, I’ve since found better patterns that produce a very similar dress in a much clearer, better fitting way.

Sweetie dress

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Sweetie dress

What is it?

The very first thing I made.

Is it blue?

Yes

What’s the fabric?

Incredibly cheap (c.£2.99 a metre) fabric covered in licorice allsorts

What’s the pattern?

Very Easy Vogue V8723

Where’s the fabric from?

The Fancy Silk Store in Birmingham

What was good about making this?

Actually making a dress. This was the first thing I felt brave enough to tackle and the feeling of success once I’d finally done it was amazing. The fact that on the first day I wore it out someone asked where it was from and then offered to pay me to make them one (I politely declined!) only increased the feeling and made me want to sew even more.

What was bad about making this?

I didn’t make a toile (and still haven’t despite making a second version….) so had to make quite a lot of adjustments to it once it was made up. I also found the instructions pretty confusing as a first timer

Would you make it again?

Yes and I did (see the Elephant dress)

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