Winter White Long Sleeve T-Shirt

This little top that I have made has come out better than expected, you know sometimes you buy fabric online then it arrives and you are not that inspired? Well this was that fabric for me, I was trying to keep with my resolve of not always buying wild patterns so I chose this plain off white with a semi transparent stripe.  I have stared at it a lot and thought oh it will be just too plain, today I cut it out and made it up within an hour and I love it.

 So sometimes less fuss is better, as soon as I put it on I thought it will probably get lots of wear, the fabric is good and thick so time will tell how it holds up after a few washes.

I used a satin stretch bias binding around the neck this time and that was good to work with, just a simple hem on the sleeves and a curved hem again but a bit shorter than the last top I made.

I have cropped these photos but there is a dog trying to creep into every one and cock their leg, here one of them succeeded! 

Here is my baking paper pattern in use again that I made a while ago, I think it will see many outings in various forms.

Happy to have got that finished I then took up the sleeves on a coat for a colleague while watching a few Ted talks and powered through my ironing for the week curtesy of my new iron. My old one gave up on me last night just as I was about to go over a dress I was going out in, fortunately it only had a few wrinkles from being hung in a cramped wardrobe.  The night out was a treat to myself, I went to see the Northern Ballet perform The Little Mermaid it was wonderful, it was the original story not to be confused with the Disney version!

I don't  know what it is with us and irons as we seem to get through a lot, always just after the warranty has expired annoyingly.  There are some who tell me they never iron, how is this possible? Why are people not constantly crumpled if they never iron?  There must be some secret non ironing society that I have been left out of and doomed to buy a new iron every year or so.  If you have details of the non ironing secret please feel free to pass them on.  However being a dress maker there will always be something that needs a press to finish it off won't there.

This week I have tried out some lovely new recipes one of them being the Masala Cheela Pancake

it uses the gram flour and is the closest I have come to feeling like I ate a pancake since turning vegan.  I probably added more veggies than stated but it was lovely so have a look at the Hungry Gecko blog for more recipes just follow the  link above.

Raspberry Broderie Anglaise Dress

I have had this dress sat on the dummy this week in various states of progress.  I had intended on having long sleeves but when I added them they just looked too old fashioned with the style of fabric.  So I chopped them off and they are short now, it is not a problem as I just layer clothes in cooler weather and this dress does have an under dress too.  I used the shape of another dress for the skirt part and a little blouse that I made for the sizing of the top section, after that it was just a case of trying and pinning on the mannequin as I went along.

All these pictures are dark I'm afraid even though it was only three forty five when they were taken.

I was going to go for a full collar but I like the mandarin style as it is so I left it at this point.

Not sure about the shoes or tights with it but I just threw something on to get a few pictures, I will decide on that later.  It will really be ideal for summer but I just got this idea in my head now that I wanted to make this.

This is the dress I made to go underneath so that it can be worn across the seasons, it also gives it a bit more substance as the fabric is so open in places you are good and covered up. 

Originally I had also thought I would do buttons all the way down the front but due to the way I cut the skirt I thought it may hang off centre with the line of buttons so I stopped at the waist and added a side zip.

I am happy with the way it turned out considering it was a bit of mixture of ideas, when I decided I wanted to make a dress like this I had seen a green dress and that was the colour I wanted.  This is a really lovely colour though the dark pictures just don't do it justice.  

Finishing Odd Jobs and New Fabric

This last week I have got quite a bit of sewing done but more on the practical side of things.  I did some curtain alterations for a former colleague at the start of the week and I have been getting some repairs done which is not that exciting but needs doing.   One of those was to add a lining to a skirt I made over a year ago, I always tend to line skirts these days but as this was quite thick I didn't.   After it had been worn a few times and grabbed to my tights I decided it needed a lining.

It feels much better now and more substantial for this time of year.

 The lining is actually quite thick and very shiny which I didn't realise when I ordered it, fortunately the skirt is heavy enough to take it.  It wouldn't have worked on a lighter material.

I also had a couple of shirts with tears in them, a broken zip and I did complete a top that I love but I can't share that on here because the post is for Minerva crafts, I will share link later if it is featured.

Also today I have been having a little think about how to proceed with my next project which is a broderie anglaise dress in a deep red. Not sure if that spelling is correct, anyway I did myself a little doodle and I will be cutting out tomorrow.

Shirt dress style with a bit of a circular skirt and long sleeves, the jersey is for an under dress as the fabric is holey after all.   I saw a gorgeous green dress on pinterest but couldn't find a similar green fabric but I liked this red so I went for it.