Hello there! Sorry for the long absence, life seems to have got in the way somewhat over the last couple of weeks. First hubby and I were away for a weekend for his birthday, then we were both ill with a nasty sickness bug. It's good to be back to normal and blogging again!
For my
first project for the Minerva Crafts Blogger Network I wanted to make something
that typified my style.
Anyone who has visited my blog will know I love dresses and
I love printed fabrics.
I decided to use one of my favourite patterns, New Look
6000, choosing view D without the collar.
I’ve used views D (collarless) and E at least 6 times now...
possibly more! As soon as I saw this fabric I knew it would be perfect for this pattern.
The fabric is 100% cotton lawn and it is really lovely. I must confess I rarely use 100% cotton as I
often find it too stiff, but this one definitely isn’t. It’s crisp but still soft, is gorgeous to sew
and feels very comfortable to wear.
Now, you’d think that using a pattern I was so familiar with
would mean things would go smoothly, wouldn’t you?
So did I, but sadly, I forgot that I normally fold an inch
out of the length of the bodice, in between the underarm and the bust
dart. I was merrily sewing away and got
as far as having inserted the invisible zip before I tried it on... and had a
shock when it was too tight across the hips and I couldn’t work out why. Then it dawned on me that I hadn’t folded out
my normal inch across the bodice, which obviously lifts everything an inch, and
makes the hip shaping curve out that bit higher. I therefore spent a happy evening unpicking
the zip, sleeves (yes, I’d put those in as well!) and shoulder seams so I could
recut the top of the dress taking the necessary alteration into account.
Thankfully I was then able to complete everything else without any further issue.
Although it's almost Winter here, I decided to make the dress with short sleeves. Even if it had long sleeves I probably wouldn't wear it at this time of year without a cardigan over, and I hate the dragging of cardigan sleeves against fabric underneath. I therefore went with the little pleated cap sleeves, which I think look really pretty.
The body of the dress is fully lined with black lining, which is handstitched to the zip tape and armsyce seams. I finished the hem by treating the outer fabric and lining as one, and machine stitched a double folded hem. I love to line my dresses and enclose all the raw edges. It takes a bit more time, but I'm always much happier with the finish of a lined dress. It also means I don't have to tangle with facings - which I hate! The sleeves are unlined and just finished with a double folded hem.
I
love how this dress has turned out and know I’ll get a lot of wear out of
it. If you’d like to make your own version,
you can buy the kit here. It contains 2
metres of the cotton lawn, 1.5 metres of lining fabric and a 22” invisible zip.