All that glitters is gold

I'm back and with even more sparkles for you! I am so obsessed with sewing sparkly clothes right now and this post is no exception. As a bit of a break from the rather crazy rainbow I have been showing you lately we we are well and truly back to black for this one; where I am going to share with you not one but two new skirts I have sewn up.

Velvet and stars faux wrap

The thing I really love about sewing is that you can turn your ideas into a reality, whether that be a design that pops into your head or an outfit you have seen else ware and want to recreate. Not only can you create the look you aspired to yourself, but also it is truly made to measure and to suit your own style.

Black denim mini skirt

My quest for the perfect little black mini skirt pattern continues with this lovely little number and what a good contender it is. Its got a very cute shape and fit and is very versatile. I like it! 

Crushed velvet knit sweetheart top

I've made so many fitted skirts lately I really wanted to get a bit of quick and dirty sewing out the way for a bit of instant gratification... well that didn't go to plan!

Neon Skulls Kim Dress

There seems to be a bit of a neon theme going on here at the minute but this dress is a lot less gawdy than the tutu outfit I posted last week! I totally wasn't sure about this fabric when I bought it but I actually really like it now its turned into a dress. Also, before we carry on can I just address the fact that I bloody love my shiny Dr Marten Mary Janes, they literally go with everything.

This was a mock up test version of By Hand London's Kim Dress. It's the first time I've made this dress but I was looking for something with princess seems so it fit the bill. 

A couple of things to say about this dress before I go into a bit more detail. I really like the sweetheart neckline and the full skirt, especially in this viscose, the skirt is lovely to wear but my god it's a bit boobalicious! You cant really tell from these pictures but when I am sat and look down they are all I can see! I had the same thing with my last by hand London dress so they obviously like a low neckline but I'm struggling to wear this in the daytime! I think It's going to have to be an out to the pub dress rather than a chilling at home on a summers day dress.

The fabric was some viscose which I got from ebay. There is lots of it on there so you should be able to find it, I also think its one of those lovely cheap fabrics you are likely to find on your local market stall so certainly very inexpensive. I have started to really love viscose. Its so easy to wear and really cheap to buy. The only issue is it can stretch out of shape quiet easily when sewing and also it frays A LOT. but if you can get over that you can make some lovely summer outfits out of it. The reason I used this to make a mock up is because it was so cheap. You can see in the photo below there is a bit of excess fabric in the front bodice and this is due to it changing shape and ending up bigger than the cotton fabric I used to line it but its totally fine to wear.

I re-took my measurements before I made this dress and matched them up against the pattern and I fit the size 12 exactly (35, 28, 36). I sat there and I thought how can I have the exact measurements of the pattern but know even before I begin that if I sew this straight from the pattern pieces its not going to fit me? What I realised was that my back is proportionally smaller than my front and that what I need to do is cut out the size 12 but take a % out of the front and equate that into the same in the front as a full bust adjustment. I made a 3/4 inch adjustment to both front and back but actually I think that maybe should have been a whole 1 inch but again its a better fit than it would have been.

I started off making this dress really fast and rushing through it because I have another version planned which is the one I really want to make. I have spoken before about how when you take your time over something you are much more likely to enjoy the result but I was totally ignoring my own advice here. Thankfully Karen over at Did You Make That made a very well timed post about learning sewing patience. I really needed this. I think I sometimes try and make things really quickly to have something to blog about but what she made me realise was that actually you can have some very useful things to say as a blogger without always having to blog about something you made. So I thank Karen for the great outcome of this dress for making me slow down, take my time and enjoy the process. And do you know what, it really worked. I do love this dress (I've had it on for 2 days) and I think its totally down to the fact I took some care over it.

 So that's it from me for this week, I hope you like my new dress :) I am going to have to sign off because I can hear master Fox has woken up. But as a closing thought have you ever read any non sewing posts which totally inspired you in other aspects?

Velvet Circle Skirt

Happy Friday everybody! I am pleased to say that Mr Fox has officially handed in his dissertation now! Yippee! Hopefully this means he can be more relaxed, less stressed, and we will have more time to spend together. He does still have a presentation to do but at least its not as much work. So I am dreaming of sunny beaches and cocktails in my near future.

This weekend I need to go collect a parcel, which I hope is the mats for something special I plan to work on. We will also be going for a hair cut, which I have pursuagded him should be followed by celebration pizza, and the some drinks with friends. All in all feeling very chilled now, especially with the sun shining outside.

On to the skirt. So whilst I was really busy doing all the stuff for project craft I was also secretly working on two simultaneous easy projects. the Lady Skater and this velvet circle skirt. I was trying to be clever and sew them along at the same time so doing all the overlocking on each project then moving on to the machine etc etc. This worked pretty well but all in all it was very disjointed and fragmented. So although I am happy I got them both done shortly after project craft it's definitely not my preferred method of working.

Anywho, on to the skirt. This is my velvet skater/circle skirt (black velvet is such a hard thing to take picture of, I know why goths love it so much, its black as black!). The pattern was taken from the first GBSB book though I made a couple of changes due to it being made from a stretchy velvet. I omitted the zip, and added elastic to the waistband to make it easy to wear.  I also removed a massive 8 inches from the hem. In hindsight, this was way too much, I should have gone for about 6 and hemmed it up with a 1/2 inch double folded hem. It ended up verging on the indecent and I had to sew a really narrow hem on it which hasn't resulted in the neatest finish ever. I also tested the twin needle on the Lady Skater fabric then moved straight on to the velvet. This was not a great plan, the velvet is much thicker and again hasn't made for a great hem.

The elastic waistband was made by joining both seams together to form a circle, but only sewing half way down the seam. I then folded over the waistband and pinned it evenly across the top of the skirt overlocking it in place. Then, using a safety pin, I thread the elastic through the waistband and stitched it together at the desired length to form a circle. I finally closed the hole in the waistband with some hand stitching. I could do with finding a way of securing the velvet in place as it has a tendency to creep within the waistband which is a bit annoying. Does anyone have any tips for this? Maybe I need to re-overlock it catching the elastic in the seam so its secure, though that's a very permanent solution so I need to think on that a bit.

I really need to find another pose, I always seem to have my hands on my hips! Anyone got any suggestions of how I should rock out my next garmet poses? Anywho, that's it from me. I hope you have a lovely weekend.