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. 

Navy Skirt with Pleats

Yesterday I got on with finishing the skirt I started last weekend, I thought it would be a quick one to finish but I ran into a couple hiccups. The first thing that went wrong was that one of the side seams appeared to be a little off so I had to take that apart and redo it.  Then when I was cutting the button hole with my new seam ripper it resisted a bit because the fabric is thick, so did I get my sharp scissors? No I pushed a bit harder and it went straight through the top and left a nasty fraying jagged mess.  I thought maybe I could just hand stitch it but no it's having a new piece in.

Argh!!!!

Then when I tried it on and the lining was in and two rows of topstitching done, it stuck out a little bit at the front on the yoke bit at the stomach. This was a mystery as it had not stuck out on the last trying on! So now it has a pin in the front holding up the bottom section until I get my picker and undo all that topstitching and redo the front.  I am not doing it now I need to step away from it for a while to save my sanity.  The thing is if I had not put in the pocket plackets the sticking out bit could probably have just been solved by deepening the darts, but as they run through the pockets that is not and option.  

Here is the back and that is hanging ok

Here you can see I have tucked up a section at the front and put a pin in.  I will mark this on the inside then unpick the front, when I am in the mood.  Once that is done it will be great but now it is time to move on or I will end up not wearing it if it annoys me too much in the making process.

So things do not always go smoothly and even though I have made this before and it mostly came together quickly I then got bogged down in a few things that went wrong.  I know some beginners may get stressed and feel they have wasted time when this happens, the thing is most things work out really well and there are always going to be some things that get a bit sticky.  Just put it to one side for a bit and come back to it with fresh eyes another day.   I will do a shot of this skirt being worn in future.