Floral Jersey Dress

Well I was up and sewing straight away today to get my dress finished.  We have been out for lunch today, not something we would usually do on a Sunday as I always cook so a nice treat.  I wanted to get the dress finished so that I could wear it.  As a bonus when I had finished it I noticed that it goes perfectly with a belt that came with a £1 charity shop skirt from a while ago.  At the time I thought I wouldn't wear the belt but put it in the cupboard anyway, it just goes to show, minimalism has it's flaws because had I been ruthless with my decluttering the belt would have gone immediately.

You can't see in the photo but the belt has purple stones to the front of it, or aubergine?

It was another pattern free dress I just used an existing dress that I had made before, I added pleats instead of gathers and a little pleat at the shoulder also.

We did take a few shots outside but it was too bright, this was the clearest one.  I swear it is either too dark or too bright, a better camera needed perhaps? Maybe I will just push on with the one I've got, it does what it needs too really. I have a reasonably sized piece of this fabric left so I may make more of the Boudoir Shorts from the other day, now that I have tweaked the sizing a little for me. 

 The meal we went for was an Italian called Casa Mia in Sheffield and very nice too.  They do a separate vegan menu and cater for gluten free so if you are ever in Sheffield that is one to try.

The rest of the day the weather has been lovely so some reading in the garden, I have just started this...

So far so good I like the style and it is easy to read, I felt like I needed something easy going for now.  I started The Doll Funeral by Kate Hamer but I have put that down it was just off to a depressing start, I know I should tell by the title but it was an impulse grab at the library. This current book appears more light hearted.   

My ironing has been completed while watching TED talks and listening to music, this time slot and habit is one  I have stuck to  and no longer feels a chore, there may also have been a glass of wine involved.  One of the TED Talks I watched was by Shawn Achor and can be see here  it is worth a look, he talks really fast but he is funny so stick with it.

Fabric Shopping

Yesterday while I was out doing the food shopping I decided to visit a craft shop I had heard of near me.  The reason I haven't been before is that I thought it was mainly for classes as the website advertises these and only shows a few bolts of fabric.  I went in mainly to get some trim for the shorts I was making but I was pleasantly surprised at the selection of fabrics, the website doesn't do it justice.  So I was in there rather longer than I intended and I came out with two pieces of fabric, lace, elastic and some interfacing, oh and a loyalty card. The fabrics are mainly craft cottons which I don't mind as I like to make clothes with those, they had just a small selection of other dress fabrics and I spotted some lovely jersey there.

The colourful one on top is the jersey, some craft cotton under that and then when I arrived back from the shops my Minerva crafts fabric had arrived, that is the one in the bag underneath.  I will share on the Minerva fabric another time as that is going to be a post for them.  Getting back to the jersey, that is going to be a dress of course and it is cut out ready at the moment.

Nice simple shape, scoop neck, short sleeves and pleats.  There will not be time for finished photos today but I want to wear it tomorrow as we are out for lunch so I will post more on that then.

I love the colours in this fabric it is so bright, when I first started sewing I always used to go to a stall at the market to buy fabric.  Whenever they had new bright prints in and I used to choose them the lady stall holder used to say 'I knew you would buy that one'.  Maybe I haven't changed much, I am trying to add some solids to my wardrobe so I can mix and match more but these prints just jump out at me.

We were out most of the day and I also had a look in the charity shops to see if there any vintage patterns or any patterns going.  I would quite like to join in some of the vintage make groups that people start.  If anyone has any ideas where these can be obtained at a reasonable price let me know.
(I do mean actual vintage patterns not the reproduction ones that cost an arm and a leg!)

Duvet Cover to Boudoir Shorts ( free pattern link)

I am trying to get into the habit of trying new things with my sewing,  I often stick to things I know will work or do things my way.  That works for me but I thought it would be nice to try something different.  There are lots of links out there for free patterns to print off so I thought I would give some of these a try.  As they are new to me it can be a good idea to not try new things on  best fabric until the fit is sorted.  After my big sort out the other day I can quickly lay my hands on my thrifted duvet sets so I thought I would use one of those today.

This free pattern is for boudoir shorts and I saw the link on pinterest you can see it  here Boudoir shorts, other than the hat pattern I printed out the other day I have not used a print out pattern for clothing before.  It is a bit like doing a little jigsaw, I will keep this in a clear wallet now once I have amended a few pieces.

For my shorts I used the duvet cotton but backed it with white cotton so they are not see through, I like to lounge around the house in mine so that is why.  I used some mint lace as the trim,  now I have tried this I will get some nice soft jersey that I love to make more.  These are nice but jersey is softer and will hang better in this style.  Also the fact that mine are double thickness is making the waist casing a little bulky, that is ok on this pair as it was an exercise in trying them out first of all.
Here are mine...

Now I went for the small size but they came out big, I have already taken a little from the top of the shorts to shorten band here, I have also run in the seam where the front side meets the back pieces with a large seem as they were big there too.  Maybe I should have done xs or use bigger seems to start but I have read a few comments linked to this and other people think they come out big too.  Don't let that put you off though, I think it is a great free pattern and good for anyone just starting, just remember to do a mock up first so you can see how the fit is on you.

I will probably make a little top to go with these now, and I'll keep a look out for cheap and cheerful jersey to make the next pair.

I chose to print this out in black and white as my ink is running low, that is why it looks stripy.  There are images to show you how to stick the pieces together and a layout guide.  There are no pattern pieces for the casing band it just shows you on the layout guide where to cut the long rectangles.

I think these would also be good as regular holiday shorts, in a different fabric and leaving off the embellishments would probably make them look more like day wear.  Let me know if you have tried this pattern and what you thought of it.