Interview Dress: Atelier Brunette Bettine

This post is going to get a bit personal so please bear with me.

I have had this beautiful Atelier Brunette 'like a dandy' fabric for a while now. Its really lovely and light, it feels a bit like a really good shirting cotton. I had originally thought of making a 50s style dress but since decided it was too delicate for a structured bodice.

I then recently go offered a job interview, but I don't do interviews very often (I think its now 3 in 10 years!) I obviously didn't have anything to wear. I decided to team this fabric up with my recent obsession for sewing the Bettine dress. The lightness of the fabric works really well with the gathers but it's structured enough to look a bit more formal. 

I'm really pleased with how this came out especially as I made the pocket version. Those pockets! they really are a brilliant addition to this dress. Sadly now when I put the other versions on I wish they had the pockets as well! The fabric is amazing as well, I genuinely can't think of a fabric that I've enjoyed sewing with more it just behaved perfectly, I'd definitely recommend giving it a whirl, the extra little expense is totally worth it. 

So now your desperate to know and I'm sorry to say that I didn't get the job. I'm not going to lie about it, I'm thoroughly pissed about that. The job would have been a promotion in my area of work which I believe I thoroughly had worked hard towards but sadly wasn't meant to be. I'm trying to look on the bright side and move forwards but i am still a little bitter. I keep telling myself it will hopefully lead to something better but only time will tell.

(I want to add an extra line to this, I am editing this post a week after i wrote it and I am much less bitter, and feeling ok in where I am at the moment so its not all dome and gloom).

Thankfully this set back hasn't killed the dress, I have worn it twice since that dreaded day without that bitter feeling because it just makes the perfect summer work staple, it really is such an easy pattern to wear. 

So that's it for my little ramble, but before I go, I am sure you've already noticed but can we just take a moment to marvel in my pink and orange hair (excuse to angle!!). I'm torn between it being amazing and really badly executed, and sadly I had a massive allergic reaction to the orange, so its likely to not last long but we can enjoy it while it lasts xx

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?

And then there was Wren: Version 2

Following on from that hideous version of wren I blogged about a couple of weeks ago I'm very happy to show of my second version of Wren which is a much much better fit. You may not have seen the other post as I purposefully made no reference to it on social media I think it was that bad!

Anyway, I had always planned on making two versions of this dress, when I was looking for the fabric for it I spied this lovely jersey here on Croft Mills website and it was a great fit for the pattern. I wanted something with a pattern but it needed to be something without a directional print as I'm not sure how that would transfer to the neck crossover sections. This ticks all those boxes and because I knew I would want to get some wear out of this one I thought it best to make a tester first.

 

I made a number of adjustments on this version. Not just in the sizing but also a couple on the pattern itself. I did a small back adjustment, a full bust adjustment (using the Myrtle sew along, thank you to the lovely ladies at Colette for getting back to me with this suggestion) and shortened the skirt. This one fits soooo much better now I'm really pleased I did them. How frustrating is it though that I can't even get away with sewing straight from the pattern even in the stretchiest of fabrics!!

So I also made a couple of adjustments to the pattern. The first was to cut the front wrap pieces on the fold so that they are actually doubled over. This meant that rather than having to sew a hem on the front neckline you have a nice smooth line, you just have to sew the two raw edges to the bodice piece and thats it. I also decided to add cuff bands instead of sewing a hem on the cuffs. I used the 3/4 sleeve which is in the additional sleeves download, but they are just a bit short, and I like something that clings to my arm a bit better. I nicked the cuff bands from the lady skater dress pattern but it would be really easy to draft your own just by measuring the width of your arm and adding a seam allowance. I'm really pleased with these two adjustments, I hated the twin needle sewing on my last version so it was nice to get rid of as much of that as possible. I don't think the neck alteration would work on the thicker ponte roma/interlock knit version as it might be too thick but it works well if using regular jersey. The only adjustment I would consider down the line would be to make the back neck a bit higher, it feels a little drafty for me but not too much to worry about.

 

I'm really chuffed with this version. The fit is brilliant, its really flattering, the fabric works really well and is comfortable to wear, it goes with all sorts and I can dress it up or down to suit the occasion. I am still having some slight issues with flashing depending on my undergarments but it is no where near as bad as the previous version. I have discovered that I can wear a vest top underneath if I am really worried and it doesn't look awkward at all. However, if anyone has any tips on how to prevent this happening tell me, tell me now!

I hope you like it. I really recommend this pattern, its it a breeze to sew once you have your twin needle sussed.

x