Another Guest Blog

Do you remember the evening I spent with sewing with my sister (Vicky) cutting out fabric for a little dress for her daughter? Well she has finished the project and has kindly written a guest blog about it! The pattern she followed is Simplicity 1924. Over to Vicky...

 

Well the little dress is complete and I must admit I am rather pleased with it. It is absolutely not perfect, there are plenty of mistakes but even so I think the finished article looks great. I hope you agree?

 

 

In order to try to stop you making some of the same mistakes I did, I will give you a little overview:
1) The scalloped piping is a nightmare, it just doesn't flex well enough. After several attempts (I think at least 4), I ended up snipping all the seam allowances and handstitching the piping in place. This then kept it in position well enough to be able to machine stitch.


2) If you look closely you may notice the ties and shoulder straps are sewn on the wrong way round. My advice is to take care here, unfortunately for me I didn't notice this error until I had moved on too far to be able to unpick it.

3) I made an error with the lower piped bodice section in that I should have turned the raw edges inwards and made a nice seam with the raw bit hidden, instead I just folded the fabric over so it isn't as neat as it should be. Luckily it is hidden away behind the bodice section and I will have to hope it doesn't fray.

 

 

I really enjoyed making this dress and it was very quick to put together once the fabric had been cut and I had finally worked out the bodice piping. A lovely little project, I would definitely recommend having a go.

Vicky (thought Vejazzle)

Thanks for that Vicky, the finished dress is really beautiful. Love, love, love the horse riding photo! What are you making next?

I'm linking up to Crazy Mom Quilts, Finish it Up Friday. Normal quilting will resume shortly!

Dots

After abandoning Emma's dress last weekend, I was really inspired to make a little dress myself. I've chosen a fairly simple pattern, with a crossover bodice and cute ruffles on the neck and sleeves. For those interested the pattern is McCalls M6494, I'm doing dress 'A' but without the applique flowers. The pattern requires two fabrics, one for the majority of the dress and a contrasting fabric for the ruffle hem. I purchased both my fabrics from the Viking Loom in York. I'll be honest, I must have been in the shop for about an hour trying various fabrics and various combinations! I'm pleased with my final choices though - dots.

The multi-coloured polka dot is Sun-Kissed by Michelle D'Amore designs for Bernatex. I will use it for the bodice and skirt.

The contrasting fabric, for the hem ruffle, is a green and white polka dot. This one is Bold and Beautiful by Michelle D'Amore designs for Bernatex. I didn't actually realise they were by the same designer but I suppose that explains why the colour match is so good.

What do you think? Super cute, no?

Sewing with my Sister

I've been home from my wonderful Japan holiday for a week, but the post-holiday blues have meant I haven't done much crafting since my return! My lovely twin sister soon changed that this weekend when she suggested I help her make a dress for her daughter Emma (who else!). As Vicky was a bit busy on Saturday and I was already doing a spot of shopping she asked that I pick a pattern and some fabric. Oh the hardship!

I went to John Lewis in Sheffield as they have a good haberdashery section. With some excellent advice from the sales assistant (neither myself or Vicky have done any pattern reading since we did Textiles GCSE age 16), I chose a Simplicity pattern. We are doing the second dress (on the right in the picture below), it has a scalloped trim detail on the yolk and pretty ties at the back.

 

Next was the fabric. I had been looking for a floral design but I just couldn't find the perfect one. Then this print caught my eye - little birds! This lovely fabric is called Flock of Birds by David Walker for Westminster/Free Spirit. How cute?

 

 

Once home we soon got to work and two hours (and a glass of wine!) later we had cut out all the pieces. Here is Vicky hard at work, we're using Emma's play mat as the perfect workstation.

 

 

Unfortunately, we had to leave it there as I'd forgotten to buy some piping for the scalloped trim - oops. Unfortunately, that means Vicky is now going it alone as I'm back in York. Good luck Vicky, the dress is going to be wonderful.

 

 

Guest Blog

Today's blog post is brought to you courtesy of my lovely sister Vicky. She has been making some cute clothes for her daughter, I'll leave the rest to her (and yes she came up with her blogging name all be herself)!

Hello there, I have been asked by my lovely sister Sally (thought sparkle) to put together a little blog post about a recent crafty project I have completed. I was actually inspired to have a go at making something after seeing the fantastic things Sally has created. I am not as talented as Sally and it has been a long time since I touched a sewing machine so I wanted to start with something simple.
 

I decided I wanted to make my daughter Emma a pinafore dress and managed to find a fantastic free tutorial on the smashed peas and carrots blog. As soon as I saw how easy the tutorial was I thought instead of making one dress I would make two. The first dress is made from Amy Butler fabric in the Lark range, unfortunately I don't know what the second fabric is.
It was a great tutorial to follow and i managed to make the dresses in only a few hours, Emma even enjoyed watching me in her high chair while I sewed away. I'm so pleased with the way the dresses have turned out. Here is a picture of the completed dresses.

I really struggled to find the right buttons as i wanted chunky but finally found the right style and colour in Atkinsons, Sheffield. Aren't they cute?
Here is a picture of Emma in her dress. The whole outfit was a real bargain, I picked up the jeans for £4 from Primark and the vest for £3 from H&M. I think she looks smashing.

 

Bye for now!

Vicky (thought vejazzle)

 

Knitted Party Dress

I've finished knitting Emma's party dress  - a purple sparkly number for my favourite niece. I knitted the age 1 size, but it looks generous so I suspect she has got some growing to do. I'm not sure my photo really does it justice, hopefully I can get a better one when it's being worn. I'm imagining it will look cute with a long sleeve top and tights underneath.

I think my favourite bit of the pattern is the sparkly hem!

Vicky,
Prepare to receive a parcel. I'm popping this in the post tomorrow. Hope you (and Emma) like it.
Love Auntie Sally
PS - It's hand wash only - sorry!!!