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.

Zinnia Inspiration

The sun has been shining and the flowers are starting to bloom, what better time to be bringing you Zinnia's!




I was hoping to be able to show off my second Georgia to you today, but alas I came across some fitting issues so that will have to wait for another day. Instead I thought I would share with you my inspiration for my next project which is: The Zinnia Skirt by Colette.

I think I am in danger of only sewing dresses if I am not careful, and so wanted to expand my sewing horizons a bit. Thankfully, just as the Georgia sew along finished, The Stitchery in Scotland decided to host a Zinnia sew a long. Now this wasn't on my list of things to make, but lets face it, they were all dresses, so I don't mind this little deviation. This however is not the only reason for my slight deviation, this sew a long comes with a fabulous competition to win a brand new sewing machine, and or some vouchers for The Stitchery, or their local fabric shop. I love my sewing machine, it has been a trooper and I am always using it so I am not in the slightest complaining here. However, the opportunity to perhaps get a machine with a one stage button hole function is just too much to pass up on, and who doesn't love new tools? Even if you don't need them!

So you will see from the above I decided to take my inspiration from actual Zinnia's, I thought this was quiet fitting. I really love the pinky peachy tones of these flowers. I knew I wanted to make version 3 of the skirt with the sheer overlay and lining, and wanted to use a lace for the overlay. I mostly picked this version because I want to challenge myself at attempting to sew with a silk and I was lucky enough to win an ebay bid for two meters of this gorgeous real silk crepe de chine in a peachy colour.

I then started looking at the lace to cover and decided that although peach is a lovely colour, if I wanted to wear this in the summer without tights it would make my legs look really pale. Instead I decided that a more coral coloured lace might be just what I wanted. I have realised that the lace is quiet see through in places and so I am not quiet sure how the contrast in colour will work in the final version but I am ready to give it a go. You can see above just how much of the peach is visible with the lace over it.

I'm really looking forward to following the rest of this sew a long and will of course let you know when I have it completed. Are you following any sew alongs right now? Where do you get your inspiration for colour schemes/fabrics from?

By Georgia! She's Got It

I am in LOVE with this dress pattern, look at it, its HOT! Truly this really is everything I look for in a dress, sleek, sexy, fitted and a little bit provocative. I am not sure when I might wear it though, its not exactly daytime attire!

Lets start with my utter amazement at the fit. I have never, NEVER been able to buy a dress from the shop that has fitted bust cups where by busts actually fit in the cups. I usually end up with an indecent cleavage, or with the bust line sitting half way up, neither of which are great. But this, look at it, they lovelies fit in them perfectly (well, i still might be a but top busty but I can cope!). This in itself has sold the pattern to me.

I am not going to lie to you though, I have had a love/hate relationship with the construction of this dress the whole way a long. Have you ever made an item of clothing and got so frustrated that even if you finish it you can't bear to look at it because of all the stress it caused? This nearly turned in to one of those, but to no fault of the pattern. I snipped a hole in the middle of the fabric trimming my seam allowance which resulted in my having to unpick, re-cut and re-sew a whole section. I also managed to melt the zip a bit when ironing it. So although I decided to put in a zip to make putting it on easier, it ended up horribly misshapen. I then had to unpick all of that, and just sew up the side seam, thank god for a stretchy fabric. It was so sad as well because my invisible zipper insertion was spot on! In addition to all of that this fabric just will not iron. But despite all of that once I got to the finishing up I am really pleased with how this turned out.

Pattern alterations: Only really the FBA, I had to take in the seams a bit at the stomach but this can be done after sewing so there is no need to re-cut the pattern pieces. Also, if I made this again I would shorten, and widen the straps a bit so I can wear it more easily with a bra underneath.

Two things really helped me out with this pattern as well. I took a handy tip from this weeks Great British Sewing Bee and under stitched the lining on the cups because of the fact the fabric wouldn't iron. It really has made the lining stay more on the inside so thank you GBSB! Also, the pattern uses the same technique adding the bodice to the body as the sweetheart neckline for Ava so I was well away there!


In conclusion I LOVE the pattern, however on this occasion I think I can say I am not 100% happy with the fabric choice. I am still not sure of its occasion, and it just doesn't feel very flattering to me, showing of the lumps and bumps in the wrong places. However I already have a leopard poplin version cut (complete with lining) and I am absolutely in love with Lladybirds blue and black lace version (like so obsessed with this version I have viewed the blog post like 6 times already!) so I will be making my own quiet similar to this.

I can't wait to see everyone else s versions of this dress now. Have you made one, are you planning a version of Georgia of your own? I would love to hear about it.

The Ava Sweetheart Neckline

What could be more romantic than a sweetheart neckline review on Valentines! I had a lot of trouble understanding the instructions for joining the two neckline pieces on the Ava by Victory patterns instructions. Its not that they are badly written, just as a new sewer it completely baffled me. I also know from when I tried to search the internet for help that it had stumped a few others as well. Since I have now done this 6 times I decided it might be helpful to visually describe how I did it. Please excuse the fabric choices and bad darts, I am using one of my toiles as my example.

Firstly, the picture on the pattern shows you attaching from the right first, I couldn't comprehend sewing this way so I started on the left.

Starting in the middle, first don't forget  to snip the middle of the neck, this helps A LOT. you need to be careful not to go too far, but you can snip a little and cut a but more away later. on the top bodice piece identify the middle of the point, 5/8 in from the point (luckily for me, this is about at that dot) then pin this exact point 5/8 from the center of the lower bodice under the snip. use the pin to mark out that spot (you could make a mark using tailors chalk or similar). Pin the top and bottom bodice pieces together at the edges working from the center to the left edge.

Now, from the left edge, sew towards the center 5/8 from the edge until you get to the pin/marker in the middle of the neckline. Make sure the needle is down and lift the presser foot.

You now need to pivot the whole lot, so the bottom bodice is lined up with the 5/8 marker on your machine ready to sew. This is where the snip comes in handy. If you find this difficult to pivot then try making the snip slightly longer, but not too close to the needle. Then, you need to pivot the top bodice piece so it lines up. You will notice it gathers a lot in the middle (see above) that's fine. At this point I found it easier to pin by lining up the right hand armhole edge and working in towards the needle in the center. Make sure that there is no fabric being pinched together under the needle (just give it a quick pull/stretch with your hand) pop the foot down and sew to the other edge. 

You can see that there is a lot of the top bodice fabric gathered in the middle underneath but this doesn't matter as it will all get tidied up when you trim the seam allowance and top stitch it down later on. 

And fingers crossed you end up with a nice, smooth, unpuckered sweetheart neckline. Now give yourself a pat on the back, breathe, make a cuppa, and get on with the rest of the pattern.

Another Victory for Ava!

When I bought the pattern for Ava the plan was always to make a LBD (little black dress) out of it. So once I had got the practice peplum version out the way I got straight on to this.

The main body fabric is some polyester/lycra blend which I purchased from my local fabric shop. I really wanted something that had some stretch, but also a really good drape. I knew jersey would be a bit too flimsy though. This fits the bill pretty well as it has quiet a lot of weight too it. It was also really easy to sew with.

Moving on from my last version of Ava I did make some alterations to the pattern:

• Added a 1inch full bust adjustment. This helped so much, and I am really pleased with how it went considering it was my first attempt at one. If you compare this to the other version of Ava I made you can really see the difference it made to the armholes, much less gapey, hooray!
• Took the bodice down by 5cm so that it sits closer to my waist rather than just under my chest
• Omitted the zip (got to love stretchy fabric for this reason!)
• I changed the way I sewed the bodice to the skirt. The pattern asks you to sew the side seams of the bodice and skirt together and then join them around the waistline. This is mostly because it makes zip insertion much easier. However I knew I didn't need the zip, and guessed I might need to take it in a bit at the waist due to the stretch. So instead I attached the front bodice to the front skirt, and the back bodice to the back skirt and then joined in the side seams. This did make taking it in at the waist really easy and I ended up taking it in by about an inch on each side. 
•  I also turned the binding edges under and top stitched them down. I couldn't see the pattern tell me to do this, but have seen other people do it on their versions. I do think the edges look a lot nicer this way.

I am really pleased with how this came out. I only finished it last weekend and have already worn it twice, and had some lovely compliments on it. I can definitely see me making this again in the future. Also, see that belt, its a bit floppy right? I got it on sale for £2, I have already hacked it and sewn it back together to make it fit.

So finally after 3 toiles, 1 peplum and this, I now think I have mastered that confusing neckline! I am planning a post just to go over this because I know a lot of other people have got confused with the instructions, and I searched like crazy trying to get tips on it. But look, the two pieces are sitting lovely and flat on this version.

I hope you like it. Any ideas for my next version?

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. 

Christmas Pudding Decoration Tutorial

Today I am going to show you how to make your own awesome Christmas Pudding tree decoration.

I came up with this design for a little stuffed pudding a couple of years ago when making stuff for my Monster Magic stalls at Christmas. Its very quick and easy to make and looks lovely when all finished up on your tree. Its a great little project to make as its quick so you could have a whole ton of these made up in time for that special day.

You will need:

Brown Fabric (anything will do, I used Fleece)
White Felt
Sewing Machine and or Sewing Needle and thread
Stuffing
Pins
Paper
Skissors
Pen/Pencil
Small piece of ribbon
Green Felt
1 Button (preferable red, pink, orange or purple)

Step 1:

Using an upside down mug or glass draw round the edge on to a piece of paper, make two circles this way. Once you have your two circles draw a wiggly line across the center of one circle, as above (this is to look like icing/cream/brandy sauce yum!). Cut out the full circle and the top half of the wiggly line semi-circle.

Step 2:

Get yourself some brown fabric (I used fleece but you can use whatever fabric you have lying around) and some white felt. You can use brown felt for the main body, but I find that it doesn't have much give in it to make a nice plump pudding. Fold both fabrics in half, pin the full circle to the brown and cut round it. Pin the half circle on to the white felt and cut out. You should end up with two brown pieces and two white pieces.

Step 3:

Pin one of the white piece on to the right side of the brown fabric (good side of the fabric facing outwards) and top stitch along the wavy line. Do the same on the other piece of fabric.

Step 4:

Fold your small piece of ribbon in half and pin it onto the front of one of your circles, try to get it as central as possible. You want to try and have the raw ends poking a bit over the edge of the circle as above to be sure that you are going to catch with with the seam. Be careful where you place the pin as you are going to be sewing around it. 

You then want to put your two circles on top of each other, with right sides facing each other. Make sure that you line up the white sections as neatly as possible. 

Step 5:

Pin all the way around the circle, but you are going to need to make sure that you leave a gap for turning the seam the right way out. I like to mark this section with two pins so I know where to start and stop. You also need to make sure that the ribbon is not going to get caught in the seam. The best way to do this is by making sure it sits inbetween these two pins. You can see mine just poking out above.

Step 6:

Machine stitch (you can hand sew it) around the edge of the circle. It is a good idea to do some back stitching over the ribbon to make sure it is secure. Once you have done trim and snip along the seam so you get a nice circle.

Step 7:

Turn your pudding the right way out and stuff with soft toy stuffing. If you don't have any stuffing you can just use some old fabric scraps. 

Step 8:

Hand sew the opening closed using ladder stitch (here is a YouTube video) You should use matching thread but I was fighting sunset so I am using the wrong thread for speed!

Step 9:

Finally, cut two tiny holly shapes out of green felt and hand stitch these on to the top of your pudding along with a shiny red button. 

Voila! you have yourself an awesome looking Christmas pudding to hang on your tree. You could make these for your tree or as last minute stocking fillers for your friends. Its a great little project which is really quick, and you could have a go with your kids, either learning to use a sewing machine, or if they are a bit younger helping to pick out the buttons.

If you make one of these up I would love to see it.

Its my birthday tomorrow so I am not going to be wishing you Merry Christmas just yet. I have been baking my little socks off since finishing work for Christmas on Friday in preparation for some family and friends coming over. I made my first ever Christmas cake, many batches of mince pies (using my Aunties home made mincemeat! Yum!), and I have some dough rising for pitta's and bread sticks. I hope tomorrow brings me lots of lovely crafty things to share with you all.