Frugal Spring Dress

Yesterday when I got in form work I set about making a basic dress, the reason for this is that I have been asked to help a friend make a dress and she has never made any clothing before.
I know how confusing patterns can be for people who have not used them before, the fact that you have to get your correct size, transfer markings and understand the terminology can put some people off before they even begin.

In light of these facts I wanted to make it easier for her to achieve something relatively quickly, not have to deal with closings, darts or confusing store bought patterns. She is maybe a size bigger than me, a bit more curvy and slightly shorter.  I decided to do a basic  shift dress with short sleeves and no darts.  I set about making the pattern as I went along to be sure every step is easy.  It is a little big on me which was my intention, and  I wore it belted last night.  I decided to line mine but it doesn't have to be.  I took it along to work today and she tried on mine, it fits my friend better than me and we found that I just need to tweak the pattern a tiny amount on the hips.

I am very pleased with it but my husband said it a bit big you usually do things more fitted. I had just explained the reasons why I had done this dress in this style!

Now that I have made the pattern and I can use this to help my friend I may add a few darts to mine and taper the sides a bit.

The fabric I used is cotton that I bought with the  voucher from John Lewis, just after Christmas so no additional expense there.  The pattern as stated I made as I went along, and hopefully my friend will be happy with what she makes so that is another person sewing.  She was also going to pay to go on a course I hope she finds that she is inspired to try more things herself before she pays out for any expensive courses. 

The price of many patterns now is about £5.99 so I do believe it is worth trying to make your own. There are books on this but they are also complicated and unless you are making patterns professionally I don't think a lot of what they contain is not required.  This is just my opinion of course but if in simplifying things it means that more people sew then that has got to be better.

February Patchwork Challenge

Well another month is nearly over and I can't believe how quickly! I browsed a number of ideas of what to try in patchwork this month and then I saw a design called windmill 2 on a pinterest pin and I thought I would have a go at that.  I am not sure if it has another name or if the pinner just called it that, it did say it was Japanese.

I opted for another cushion mainly because my puppy is still nibbling and has chewed the corner of one of my cushions so I was one down and in need of a replacement.  Here is a picture of the completed cushion.

I really like the folds because it gives it depth.

I used some of the new fabric which I bought last month, the rest was deconstructed old shirts belonging to my husband.   I didn't have any instructions I just cut up some squares of paper and marked on them where each piece should overlap to make it even.

I pinned all the folds as I didn't want them falling off while I was sewing, it also helped to lay them out on the table to see how I wanted to arrange them.

I have used the same colours in each piece but this would be a great way to use up odd bits.

This was a time consuming piece but I would use it again, it is much more interesting than the flat designs but I can see there being a problem with my dogs getting their paws stuck in the folds and potentially tearing something.  I will have to keep an eye out for that!

I am going to see if I can find more folded designs,  the only issue is what to do with the pieces when they are finished as they are not the kind of styles that you can use in clothing and I don't want to be limited to cushions and quilts.

Aside from sewing that I have read another book this week  ' A Year of Marvellous Ways' by Sarah Winman.  I really enjoyed it, it didn't take me long to get through it which is always a sign I am enjoying a book, but then a little sad it's over. Does anyone else get that? 

Before that I completed ' The Next Time You See Me' by Holly Goddadrd Jones also a good read.

T Shirt Revamp/Makeover

A while ago I saved an idea for updating a T shirt on pinterest, it's still on my board so I had another look and the picture is actually of one that you can buy not an upcycle here it is.
When I was putting stuff away earlier I noticed a T shirt that I hadn't worn for ages so I thought I would give it a go with some of the bargain fabric I bought a couple of weeks ago.

Here is what I came up with, now the fabric is a bit wild and I didn't really choose this one for clothing but broken up a bit with the purple I like it.

I shaped the bottom at the back same as the one in the photo where I got my inspiration, this is probably a good idea as all the jeans are so low slung now it's good if your tops come down a bit further!

Because I overlocked around the neck I didn't need to face it, I just turned it under a small amount and hemmed and it lays nice and flat.  I did make sure I pulled on the cotton a little as I overlocked it just to give it a little bit of give as I went around the curve. 

Now I didn't put the neckline back the same as on  a T shirt as I like the neck a little lower but you could do this if you unpick it carefully first.  The sleeves proved to be a pain as I made the mistake of cutting the hem off them to shorten, well even after overlocking the jersey had so much bounce the hem would not lay flat.  Then on unpicking one I made a little hole and had to re-cut new short sleeves from the remaining fabric I took from the middle of the shirt.  I made sure I cut at the bottom though where the original hem had been so I didn't have problems with that again.
So if you do this and want to change the sleeve length I would recommend taking out the sleeve at the shoulder and shorten from the top or use a binding at the hem.

Here is what the T shirt looked like to begin with, |I think I may repeat this process on more old stuff, and it doesn't require much fabric.