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?

Puperita showcase: Pirate dungarees for little pugwash

How bloody cute is this kid, I could eat him! I know I'm biased, but hey he is pretty handsome you know you can't deny it.

Anyway, on with what we are here for; firstly, I know it's a bit odd that I'm coming to you on a Thursday this week but bear with me, there is good reason for it which I will explain in a minute, but in the meantime why don't you scroll through another adorable picture of Master Fox...

I was very pleased to be invited to join in on a showcase blog event to sing the praises of Annalisa Puperita who designs the most amazing children's sewing patterns which can be downloaded in PDF from her Etsy shop. If you have seen my previous baby makes you will know that I have sung her praises a couple of times before so was more than happy to take part in this event. There is a list of all the other bloggers taking part at the end of this post so make sure you go and have a look at some of the other amazing makes to get some inspiration and see some of the other patterns which are on offer. 

I chose to use the little birds dungarees pattern again as I loved his Christmas dungarees and they are really nice to sew in fashion or quilting cottons. I think of all the bloggers I might have been the only one to make something for a little boy so I'm pleased to be able to show off how nice handmade boys clothes can be too. Master Fox has been in his current size for a couple of months now so I have made them in the next size up so he gets more wear out of them. So excuse the fact they are looking a bit baggy in these pictures, they are not meant to be fitting well yet and the cuffs have been double rolled up! The other nice thing about this pattern is that it's not too difficult to get on and off for a nappy change. I definite must for little ones who wriggle enough as it is! 

I used some lovely blue Makower skull print cotton for the outer and some plain cheap black cotton on the inside. I love a pirate theme on little boys, it's so cute! The fabric was from Ebay of course but I think there are still a number of online retailers selling it. The pattern features three pockets, a lovely big roomy one on the front and two which are nicely placed on the bottom area. There are four buttons which fasten at the sides and on the shoulder straps and the thing I really like to do for this pattern is make my own fabric covered buttons to match the rest of the dungarees. I think they fit really well rather than having to match a store bought button. These dungarees are newborn -2 but she also designs patterns for older kids, and some of the patterns cover newborn - 6 years! That's a bargain of a pattern purchase right there.

One of he best things about these patterns though is the commitment to support that you get from Annalisa the designer. When you buy one of her patterns you get invited to her support Facebook group where herself and other makers have built an amazing group that not only offers help with patterns but also showcases other peoples makes which is a great source of inspiration. There are all sorts of people in this group  from seasoned sewers, private children's clothes sellers to people that have never sewn in their lives and just want to make something nice for themselves. This makes it a great little community. 

But not only this Annalisa is happy to answer questions from you either via Facebook or through Etsy messenger. She is always quick to respond and really helpful. You honestly could not ask for more from her.

So whether you are seasoned at sewing and fancy making kids clothes, or have never done it before but want to make something from scratch with confidence I seriously recommend you take a look at her patterns. The instructions are so clear with pictures and clear directions that anyone should be able to follow them. Take a look around the other bloggers posts below and you will no doubt find some serious inspiration and testemant to the fact that these patterns always have amazing results:

Emi ~ Just Add Fabric     Jaime ~ Made By Jaime     Janice ~ So-Cal Sewing Mom     

Soso ~Moineau & Petit Pois     Ula ~ Lulu & Celeste     Nuala ~ clootie dumplings

Pam ~ Threading My Way     Maria ~ Fairies, Bubbles & Co.     Shelly ~ Sew Shelly Sew

Chari ~ Take time to smell the rose     Helen ~ The DIY Fox     Karly ~ Paisley Roots

Sanae ~ Sanae Ishida     Candice ~ Candice Ayala     Melissa ~ Rebel & Malice

Janet ~ 7 Pine Design     Jenya ~ While she was sleeping

Love at first stitch Brigitte scarf

My sister very kindly bought me a copy of Tilly Walnes love at first stitch book for my birthday. I have had a look at this book before and have been following Tilly since the very first sewing bee but haven't actually gotten round to getting a copy of the book yet so this was a brilliant present (I haven't put it down in the last week and made 3 fabric orders within 2 days of getting it!). The book starts off with the basics but does contain some lovely skirt and dress patterns which I like the look of and wouldn't mind trying and I'm actually quiet keen to try a blouse pattern seeing as I've never tried sewing tops before. What I actually really like about this book is the way the projects are laid out to gradually ease a new seamstress into home sewing. So each project gives you new tips and techniques to try. A good few of these I will have done before but I really like the idea of starting at the beginning of the book and working through the projects one by one to perfect my technique and hopefully pick up a few tricks and new skills along the way. It is also my intention to either try a new fabric type or alteration (or both) with each project (collars/plackets/piping etc) so I can hopefully expand my sewing repertoire. 

The first pattern in the book is the Brigitte scarf which is a long thin head scarf tied in a knot/bow around your head. Not a complicated make in the slightest but as I said above I'm going to start at the beginning, follow the instructions from the beginning and concentrate on making it well and as instructed. I chose to use a skull print polycotton which I had in my stash for this scarf. The fabric was sadly not wide enough for the pattern piece so I cut two lengths of the fabric and sewed them together on the bias in the same way as you would if you were making bias binging and then cut to size. 

The pattern was very easy as expected but I did pick up a little trick to pull out your corners with a pin from the outside, normally I would do this by shoving a knitting needle from the inside so hey, I did learn something new :). The nice thing about this project was it was super fast so I get to move onto the next one really quickly! 

Now my chances of actually wearing this type of head scarf are slim to none, despite quiet liking the print. However the good thing about having to cut two lengths was I was left with a piece which is just long enough to fit round my tiny head so I made a wired headband following the same instructions but adding a piece of wire inside and tacking it in place. I'm not going to do a guide for this, the Internet is littered with them so if you want one just go do a quick search. I do much prefer this and might actually get a bit of wear out of this one in the summer months. 

So what's next? I am going to cheat a little and not make the other scarf pattern in the book as I won't wear that either so next it's on to a pair of pj bottoms which is something I have never done before. I plan on using a cotton lawn as I have a lot of winter pjs already. This will be interesting as the last time I used a lawn it went horribly wrong and ended up in the bin! Here's hoping I can get a few more tips and make it go right this time.

I'm still a little anxious about starting to sew for myself again as I am still a lot bigger than I would like to be at this time post pregnancy. However I start back at work in a week or so, have no clothes that fit me and am really missing doing it, so what the heck. Whats the worst that can happen?