Leopard Prom Dress

Pregnant lady on a swing in a leopard print prom dress... Very dignified of course! 

So of course I changed my mind didn't I! After making the jade prom dress I decided it was too dark for a wedding and thought about going out and panic buying a new frock from the fabulous Frock. Though I know what I am like and the one dress I would have wanted was the leopard print poplin bombshell dress! So having already got 2 meters of the fabric and a pattern that still fits for now I decided I might as well just have a go at rush jobbing the thing myself last week and I successfully managed to make this dress in time for the wedding.

We had a fabulous time in Scotland seeing two of our friends getting married. What better way to spend a weekend than sharing two peoples really special day with them in the company of more really good friends! We all had a really great time (dispite my complete sober ness) and I am so thankful that we were invited along :) 

We visited Scotland twice in one day (due to our hotel actually being just the other side of the border), ate far too much food, played on the park, danced, sang and were generally very merry. All in all a great time was had by all. And despite this being the hardest occasion for not drinking I was at least glad to not have a hangover the next morning. So here's to many more weekends like this one.

On a less exciting note for now... They are ripping the kitchen out this morning... I am already fed up of. Noting gift being where it should be and tonight there will be even more chaos. I am sure it will be worth it in the end. Here is a picture of what it looked like this morning ( I hate that oven in the middle of the room!).

DIY Fabric Bow Belt Tutorial

Hello, and happy bank holiday! Its a gorgeous day so you shouldn't be reading this, you should be outside enjoying yourself, but if you are saving this until after the bank holiday then read ahead.

Last week I brought you my leather bow belt tutorial to make your very own very easy elasticated belt featuring a leather bow on the front.

This week I wanted to show you that this pattern is so very versatile and so if you don't fancy having a go with leather you can make a version from your favorite fabric, how good is that! Whats even better is that this is a great little stash-busting idea, perfect for your favorite fat quarter, or just some of your favorite leopard print fabric that you use to make everything! This little version took me less than an hour to make yesterday whilst I waited for the supermarket delivery so gogo get at it. 

For that fabric bow belt you will need:

• Enough 2inch wide elastic to fit round your waist (colour of your choice)
• Some of your favorite fabric
• Heavy Interfacing
• Polyester thread
• 4 x popper notions (I used the same as my leather belt but you can use sew on as well)
• Popper tools (if not using sew on studs)
• Bow pattern (click here to download the PDF)

N.B. this will work with most fabrics but cottons work best. thicker fabrics such as denim/twill may not require interfacing, but anything thinner will to keep the bow looking sturdy.

The pattern follows the same basic steps as the leather version however there are a few additional sewing steps.

Step 1: 
Using the outside edge of the pattern cut out the following in both your fabric and your interfacing:
2 x large bow pieces
2 x thin center pieces
4 x rectangle popper pieces (on the fold)

Step 2: 
Iron on a piece of interfacing to wrong side of each fabric piece

 Step 3:

Using a 1/2 inch seam allowance sew around the pattern pieces as shown on the pattern document, making sure to leave one end of the large bow piece open to turn

Step 4:
Turn all your pattern pieces the right way up and press

Step 5:
Finding the center of the elastic, and with the ends of the bow folded in to the center at the back, stitch the center of the bow to the center of the elastic with a straight line making sure your raw edges or tucked in.

Step 6:
Tuck in the two raw edges of the center bow strip and stitch them together. Thread them over the elastic and bow so it sits neatly in the middle covering your straight line of stitches.
(picture details on these steps can be found here)

Step 7: 
Making sure your raw edges are tucked in fold your popper piece over the end of your bow and top stitch round all edges on both ends of the belt.

Step 8: 
Attach two poppers to each end of the belt making sure the tabs overlap neatly when closed.

Step 9:
Wear your new creation with pride, and contemplate just how many of these you can fit in your wardrobe!!!

Of course it would make me very happy to see your versions of these so please feel free to leave a comment linking yours, or send me a picture.

By Georgia, She's an Animal!

Happy Friday! This weekend will mostly be spent looking at new kitchens which is both very exciting and very dull both at the same time. However it is the first time I have ever had to design my own kitchen so I must enjoy the process as much as possible Yay!

This week I am proud to present my second version of the Georgia dress in this gorgeous leopard print cotton poplin... Rawr! Topically Animal by Def Leopard is playing as I type this and because you are bound to want to know, the ears are from the fabulous Crown and Glory.

Project Details:

Pattern: Georgia, By Hand London 

Fabric: Leopard print poplin, bought locally from My Fabric Place

Size: 6-10-14 with a 3" FBA

Other adjustments: shortened and  widened the straps

I am very happy with this dress, it's so easy to wear, the fit around the body is lovely and the straps are much better on this version meaning I can actually wear a bra (can I just say that my bra, pants and socks are also all leopard print under this outfit! Meow!). I did have some fitting issues, I don't think it needed to be drafted out to a 14, I think a 12 would have sufficed. In addition to this, because I shortened the straps the waist sections came up a bit high so I had to do a bit of adjusting in the seams there. Nothing too complicated though. 

The only issue with this version is my chest just will not fit in there and so if really needs to be worn with a cardi, though I am carrying some extra pounds, so hopefully that won't always be an issue. I think this is again down to the straps being a little too short, I think I need some sort of happy medium between the two versions. 

The thing I like very best about this dress though is the inside, its shocking pink! I almost wish this was the outside its spectacular. I wanted to line the dress because I know that poplin has a tendency to stick to tights and so I wanted it to be a bit easier to wear. Lining the dress was very simple, essentially you just make the dress twice and joint them at the top of the bodice... simples!

This time I also needed the zip so check out my invisible zipper insertion, I am really happy with this. I realise its not perfect (its not invisible for a start) but looky it goes all the way to the top and everything. 

I am thinking about the possibility of adding a trim to the outside, just under the bust, to break up the print a bit as it is quiet overpowering. I am thinking of some kind of thick lace trimming but can't yet decide if this should be black or shocking pink to match the inside. I think I am worried that if I add the pink it might start looking like nightwear instead. Do you have any thoughts?

Finally, on a complete side note, I was outside happily snapping these pictures for the blog and little to my knowledge the cheeky Mr Fox was inside doing his very best to photobomb me! Well, he gets what he deserves and so here he is acting like a banana for all your amusement.

Victory! for AVA

I am proud to present.... my Black and White Ava Peplum:

Thankfully we had a lovely sunny January Sunday over here and while Mr Fox was slaving away at his dissertation on the laptop downstairs I thought I would use the time to finish off my black and white Ava peplum. It also meant I got to take some piccies indoors. This is my very first make of 2014 and has taken a little while due to me working a lot of overtime to try and pay for Christmas. I think this is 'officially' the start to my sewing blog, and my attempt at making myself a wardrobe and so I wanted to make sure I took the time over it. Not to mention make sure it is 'sewn for my style' as I have previously been posting about.

The main fabric is a black and white striped poplin and the top a black spotted tulle. I really like the two together, and especially like the black and white look with my in your face hair! I am however most pleased with the binding. I was dreading this, and was convinced I would end up with a wonky neck line or something but it went really well (smug face!) I was going for 'chic office attire' when I thought about making the peplum version.

About the pattern: AVA by Victory Pattern

You get a tissue pattern, and a little booklet explaining the construction of this dress. It comes in three lengths: Peplum, Knee, and Tea dress. Although I had to re-read a few of the steps over until they made sense this was a very simple pattern to follow. This might be down to my in-experience, but i see that as a positive thing as if I can get it, as a relatively new pattern follower, then anyone can.The only really tricky bit about this pattern is sewing the upper and lower bodice pieces at the sweat heart neckline. I really don't have any good tips for this other than practice, mine if far from perfect.

(sorry about the boob shot, but I wanted to show you the neckline)

Alterations: As previously mentioned I lengthened the body by about 5cm to have it sit a bit nearer my natural waist. I also extended the darts on the back bodice piece by a couple of cm as I do have quiet a small back. I also took in the side seams by about a presser foots width. I think my previous comments about learning to do an FBA might also help this pattern as it gapes a little bit under the arms, which I think would be solved by some side bust darts. But its not so bad that I can't live with it.

I am really pleased with this top over all. I am not sure if the stripes are not too busy, and I think this would be much better in something that has a better drape than a poplin. But hopefully this will make it into my summer work wardrobe.

The plan all along has been to make the knee length version of this dress and so I have purchased some black fabric which hangs a lot better. And so I will get going on this shortly whilst I await the start of the Georgia sew-along.