Sew along complete!

Posts in this series:

1. Sewing from Japanese Craft books - what you will need and an overview
2. Sizing and figuring out the instruction page
3. Tracing out the pattern pieces 
4.  Sewing the garment
5. Making adjustments

I've been busy sewing this week, putting together my top for the sew along. It all went as planned, as per my rough version.

As I always do with this voile now, when I first cut the pieces out, I labelled which was the right side (and whether it was the front or back as they were quite similar) as it's quite hard to tell apart especially in poor light. This time round I managed to get the sleeves on the right way round, first time. Good to see I am learning by my mistakes.

I was thinking of using bias binding in a contrast colour on the raw edge of the neck facing, but didn't in the end as it would have been a bit too bulky. I ironed on light-weight interfacing to the fabric which made the edge quite stable. I also top stitched the facing on the right side to the seam allowance to stop it from rolling out when being worn.

I am really pleased with the end result. I love the pleats around the top, although I do regret centering the pattern  as it means I get a perfect mirror effect down the centre, when something a little less structured would have been better.

The one detail that still bothered me was the sleeves. They seemed a little out of proportion with the top, I think I will at some point hem them a little shorter and maybe play with the pleats to make them lie flatter. I would like some cap sleeves like the ones on my hunting and gathering top from Les Couleurs Francaises. More my kind of sleeve.

I like the idea of making one of the dress variations of this pattern. Like the one on the cover.

So that is it - sew along over. I hope you found it useful and managed to make something or have bookmarked this for a future project. Do send me pics of anything you make as I'd love to feature them here. Happy sewing!

Handmade at home

I love getting pictures of things you have made, and today Kelly from Handmade at home sent me these pictures of a gorgeous top she made from Anna Maria Horner voile (colouring garden in sea). Read about it on her blog.

These pictures will soon be in the "M is for made' section on the website, and Kelly will receive 10% off her next order for her troubles. Take a closer look at the clothes hanger - she made that too!

Tie - top take three

To my surprise I actually did manage to finish my tie-top from 'Les Couleurs Francaises' this weekend, thanks in no small part to the rubbish bank holiday weather keeping us in the house.

You can see my 2 draft versions of this top here and here. I made it from Anna Maria Horner Little Folks voile, in anticipation of stocking this fabric at 'M is for make' imminently. I am always searching for pretty dress-making rather than quilting fabric and this voile is perfect, it's so soft, drapes well and has a lovely sheen. I can't wait to use more of it.

The finished top has turned out well, I love the details, although they are a little hidden in the print, it has gathering along the seam on the bust and a pleat where the tie joins the top at the shoulder.

It fits nicely, when I make it in a different fabric, I will make the arm-holes maybe half a centimetre bigger as they feel a little tight, even though they didn't on the draft version. Also despite adding quite a bit to the length, I would still like to add maybe an inch more. I had first intended to make the top from Nani Iro fabric, but changed my mind last minute so had the wrong colour bias-binding, but you can't see it when it's on.

I had a great moment whilst putting it on, where I found myself looking for a label so I knew which way was the front and then realising that of course, there wasn't one.

It's beginning to look a lot like a dress...

 

The end of my pattern cutting course is fast approaching and I have been making some progress on my dress. Cutting the pattern out in the fabric was quite time consuming. I loved this fabric and used it without thinking about the fact that it has a stripe in both directions which has complicated things somewhat.

Firstly, I naively assumed that the stripes would run parallel, but they didn't, So I had to sacrifice the vertical stripe in favour of having the horizontal one perfect. It took me ages to line up the stripes right for cutting, and one side of the fabric seemed less straight than the other so for that side I had to make a whole pattern piece for ease of lining up the stripes, rather than cut it on the fold. I got there in the end! I also had to try and join the pattern up on the neckline and sides, I won't bore you with the detail there.

I also had problems finding a suitable lining fabric. I wish I'd used coordinating fabric from this range, but left it too late. Proper lining fabrics in the shops felt horribly synthetic and heavier than the voile, so I ended up using some nice 100% cotton sheeting instead, not an ideal colour, but hopefully it won't show.

I have sewn up the outside of the dress now. Learning from past mistakes I have taken my time and tried to enjoy the process rather than rushing through and making mistakes, despite my looming deadline. And I have really enjoyed it, I feel more confident sewing now, also I have made this dress a few times over the last few months in draft form so have had a bit of practise.

The gathered neckline turned out well, I sewed it from the middle to the top on both sides so that I would have it all lined up perfectly in the middle when I joined it to the main dress. It is quite hard to tell the right from the wrong side on this fabric, and combined with doing a french seam, there were a number of panicky moments when I thought I had sewed it the wrong side up. But I don't think I have so far, fingers crossed.

On the advice of my tutor, I used a new smaller (size 70) needle for my sewing machine. I wanted to avoid that problem you sometimes get with lighter weight silky fabrics where you can pull a long thread when sewing. I can't remember the last time I changed the needle on my machine so it was probably quite blunt. Anyway, it worked, no snags.

Anyway, here it is so far, next I must do the same for the lining fabric, and then join them together. I am nervous as anything about trying the finished dress on!