This was exactly the kind of pattern I was looking for when I was actually hunting for something else! I’d put it aside (read, under the sofa) as a not-so-taxing project for when I got a few hours down time. The back cover blurb was all-encouraging of this, too.
Like many other sewing people, I’ve been on a mission to work through my stash fabric before buying anything new, in the name of sustainability and also the hope of gaining some floor space in my bedroom!
And this dress pattern is perfect for all those 2m lengths I purchased. It requires 1.90m of 60″ fabric for all sizes 8-20 – sleeves and all – which is pretty damned economical really.
I had 2m of what I believed to be 45″ wide cotton fabric and that almost fitted the bill. I just had to shorten the skirt by 2inches to fit all the pieces on. Especially as I then found out that it was only 43″ wide. I’m guessing it shrunk in a prewash – better to have found out at this stage of the game though! But still I had to count my chickens that all the pieces fitted considering the direction of the design. Upside down shoes would have been disastrous!
All went swimmingly but I’m amazed at the lack of notches on the pattern pieces. There was one to mark the front sleeve placement and ordinarily that’s pretty crucial but in this instance the sleeve pattern folded near enough symmetrically so it wouldn’t have made a spot of difference.
But that was it on the notch front! Piecing the front and back facings together had me thinking, which is a bit lucky as it prompted me to place over the bodice neckline to check I was sewing the pieces together the right way round. It would have been so much more helpful to have a marker on each of the shoulder seams.
TIP#1
Mark notches on the facing pieces so you remember to sew them the correct way round
And if I’m being picky (moi?!), the side seams of the skirt would have benefitted from a notch or two. They are bias-cut and hence a little stretchy so a midway marker would help prevent a potential pucker! I’ve marked mine for future use.
TIP #2
Align skirt pattern pieces at side seams and create notches for more accurate alignment
Adding to the facing part of the story – it was very useful and imperative actually, to include the snip at ‘X’ –the point of the V-neck. It did press nice and flat but I included 2 additional stages here:
TIP #3
Under-stitch the seam allowance to the facing to prevent it from rolling out at the neckline.
and then:
TIP #4
Hand stitch the facing to the shoulder seams to secure it in position stop it from popping out.
I’m being picky again. I know. But from past and bad experience, I can’t stand a flappy facing!
So all went well, despite lack of notches until I got to the sleeve section. And of course I wasn’t content to sew the options illustrated on the packet or in the accompanying issue of Love Sewing magazine (issue 15). Not only because I’m contrary but the 3rd non-illustrated nor photographed option was the best IMHO. The 3rd option being a half length, cuffed variety!
But, forgive me for being old and slow (and of course picky)… but how would you interpret these instructions?
Especially when the cuff was near enough the same length as the bottom of the sleeve. And yes I did double check I’d cut the correct sizes!
Bottom of sleeve not much wider than the cuff piece.
I spent way to much time thinking about this stage and then went off piste with this tip:
TIP #5
Measure your arm circumference, comfortably, just above your elbow and add 1.5cm seam allowance to each end. Trim cuff piece to this measurement. Press in half horizontally to crease the centre/ (ultimately the bottom) of the cuff. Gather the bottom of the sleeve as stated and sew right sides of the gathered edge to the right side of one raw edge of the cuff piece.
Cuff piece pinned to sleeve along raw edge. See the crease in the middle.Cuff sewn to sleeve. Spot the deliberate mistake!
Gather the sleeve head as instructed – although, having said that, it’s not really instructed from where and to where on the pattern piece, so I just mirrored the notch to the back and gathered between the two points. Sew the underarm sleeve seam all the way down to the bottom of the cuff. Press sleeve seam open. Press under 1.5cm on the remaining raw edge of the cuff and then fold the piece to the inside of the sleeve along the pre-pressed fold. Hand-stitch to the inside seam line to form a binding and finish the cuff. Remove gathering stitches and press.
Having worn this dress and seeing how the cuffs have curled, I might also use a light fusible interfacing to stabilise the cuff next time.
I hand finished the hemline of the skirt, of course. Just because a machined one would irritate me having invested so much time to go lazy at the last hurdle!
So where do you suppose I might have worn my English tea dress as soon as I made it? No prizes for guessing of course!
Vegan cream tea at The Ginger Bees cafe in Kingston-upon-Thames
Mr O and I went to The Ginger Bees cafe, Kingston-upon-thames riverside, for the most delicious vegan cream tea. Well, mine was vegan – Mr O went full on full cream!
Mr O enjoying his full on full cream, cream tea!
I booked the day before on recommendation and we were not disappointed. The lovely couple who bought the café just a year ago have something very special going on here. Thank you so much Gavin and Beth for looking after us. It was such a treat and the perfect occasion to showcase my new tea dress!
Beth and Gavin, owners of The Ginger Bees Cafe in Kingston-upon-Thames
It’s been a while since I made Mr Ooobop something. Quite shameful really for all the lovely photos he takes for me. So I’m delighted to have finally finished his latest shirt. And he loves it, thankfully!
The hardest bit for me was being back behind the camera again. Well out of practice I was. But luckily Dan has more patience than me and was very obliging as I got him to mill around on Barnes common!
This is the third version I’ve made from the same pattern – Butterick 5007 – A 70s men’s western shirt. The kind of shirt you have to imagine beyond the pattern pic:
Mr O is quite good at that. Non-conformist to a T for Taurus he is, and believes very firmly that if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. So all that needed to be altered this time was the choice of fabric. The flowery fabric used in the last shirt I made him was gorgeous but faded so quickly in the wash. Such a shame. So he chose this gorgeous black linen with embroidered details.
When we came to buy the fabric. I didn’t think I would have a problem with pattern matching because the little embroidered motifs were quite sparse but that’s where I massively slipped up. Didn’t really consider placement, did I…doh!
Placement isn’t really that difficult if you take time and consider each piece and where it’s going to sit with the adjoining pieces, of course, but when you’ve purchased only just enough fabric for the job and it was end of roll, it creates a problem or ten.
You can move the pieces around to work as much as you like but sometimes that ain’t very economical and you end up short of material for all the pieces. Luckily enough I had some spare plain black linen floating around because what was left didn’t leave suitable areas for the cuffs, collar stands and one of the pockets. I also used some of the plain stuff for the underside of the pocket flaps.
It’s a close-fitting shirt, which required a bit of fitting but that was done on the first version, which incidentally has disappeared from my blog but here’s a pic of it. I just love the vintage Laura Ashley curtain fabric I rescued here. The beard, not so much!
In all cases, the pointed collar is large. He likes it that way. But I did include a stiffer facing this time so it is even more exaggerated!
The back and front yokes are cut on the bias. Fine for the back but I did some serious head-scratching on the placement decisions for the front yokes. In my head I wanted the design flipped and symmetrical. Why my brain couldn’t let it lie I have no idea!
I love how the above picture shows the texture of the linen. It is one of my favourite fabrics to work with. And I’m told it feels great and is dead comfy to wear too! Also shows up some of the painstaking topstitching. I had clearly forgotten just how long this takes. It can’t be rushed. And I couldn’t do it at night-time. Sewing black on black with stupid crap low energy ethical lightbulbs is not good for anyone’s health. So I’m glad I waited for weekend daylight hours to get a neat job.
You can’t see from these photos, and you probably wouldn’t have noticed in real-life and close up either, but I interfaced the cuffs and button band in a white fusible woven interfacing. French stuff. Great quality in fact. But when I cut the button holes it was a little irritating to see the white edges. So I got my Sharpie out and coloured them in… shhhh!
The buttons aren’t an exact match for the blue in the embroidery which bugs a bit but I’m keeping eyes peeled for a closer colour. They can always be replaced at a later date. But I so wish I’d put the buttons on the other side of the cuff. Mr O doesn’t often do his cuffs up so you don’t get to see them side on!
He also doesn’t like to tuck a shirt in much. And so it’s great that the shaped hemline gets a showcase. I used a bias tape to finish the edge because I forgot to lengthen it again I much prefer how it looks.
It was really lovely to catch an hour or so of the sunshine in Barnes, today and especially lovely to spend a little time with this fella. We’ve been like passing ships lately. And he’s off again now to do a gig in Kent! So what’s a girl to do? Crack open a bottle and crank up the sewing machine I guess! Tough life on a Sunday afternoon, hey!
