My Pineapple print Sureau review...

What came first? The chicken or the egg? Sorry, I got distracted... Was is the fabric or the pattern? In this dress's case, it's difficult to say. Since making my 1st Sureau, I knew that I liked the shape of the bodice and skirt, but needed to make some minor adjustments to the gaping neckline. I decided to make a second version in Linen, which is unblogged. It solved all the shaping issues and the dress is nice, however the fabric doesn't sell it well - too many creases! 

In comes this little find! I was browsing Etsy for Japanese fabric (I'm continuing my love of this!) and found Miss Matatabi's shop. I fell in love with this Pineapple print cotton lawn. Delivery charges are very reasonable from Japan to Hong Kong, so I leapt in! It arrived within a week and was washed straight away. However, I didn't make my Sureau for several weeks. I spent a while deciding on which pattern to make up. There were a few contenders; namely the Southport (needing a fitting overhaul), a Lilou (maybe too much of a good thing) and finally the Sureau. 

The making process was incredibly quick - the faux buttonstand and simple facing mean that the bodice is super quick. I'm an expert invisible zip sewer, so the underarm one went in 1st time. I hemmed it twice because the first time it was too long. I ended up just cutting the hem off and re-folding it. It's the perfect length now - really great for summer! 

I'm super happy with this version of the Deer and Doe Sureau. It's really cute in shape and fabric and I know it will make a great addition to my summer wardrobe. 

New versions of some old favourites - Alder and Lilou!

I've always proclaimed my love for the Grainline Studios Alder Shirt dress. It's a great pattern that needs little tweaking to achieve a nice fit and it is incredibly satisfying to make! All those different stages and lots of lovely top-stitching (Yippee!). I had always planned to make a third one to add to my collection (1 and 2 are here), but I wasn't sure on the fabric choice. I had an idea that I wanted a blue cotton chambray, but Hong Kong wouldn't oblige and I couldn't find what I wanted. 

It wasn't until I saw this broiderie anglais fabric in a shop in Jordan that I knew I'd found my third Alder. The combination of the blue chambray - ish background and the red embroidered circles really stood out in the shop, so I just had to have it. This fabric is far more expensive than most of my HK finds at $90HKD per yard! But the shop worker was in a 'good deal' kind of mood, so actually sold it to me for $70HKD per yard (bargain!). 

I decided whilst in the shop to purchase some matching lightweight cotton to act as a trim - I figured it would be difficult to buttonhole on top of the embroidery. This was an inspired decision and I used it on the inner collar stand, the under collar and the outer button stand as well as the pockets. I chose not to interface my collar or collar stand as it would show through the fabric. This was actually a great idea. On my first wearing as part of Me Made May '15 on Saturday, the collar was soooooo comfortable. The softness makes it more slouchy and adds a level of casualness to the dress.  

The second pattern that I have a well know love for is the Tilly and the Buttons Lilou. It has been through a rigorous testing and fitting process over the last 3 i've made that makes it fit like a glove.

On my recent trip to Tokyo I picked up some beautiful Japanese wave fabric (100% cotton). I wanted something traditional that would remind me of the trip. This fabric was a bargain, although I can't remember the exact price. I realised pretty soon after returning home that I didn't want to use this over a whole dress (too many waves), so I set about finding a complimentary navy cotton. I trawled the fabric shops and markets of Hong Kong with no success. It's a very specific type of blue, so I wasn't surprised. Luckily I had booked a short break to Singapore at Easter, which meant only one thing...SPOTLIGHT! I took my sample and within moments of entering the fabric section, I had found a match - perfect planning! 

I decided to use the plain navy on the top and the waves on the skirt. It does mean that I have some wave left for another make :) The make itself was very simple, however I decided to substitute the normal gathered skirt for a box pleated one - I wanted to show off the waves. Overall, it turned out pretty well, although the navy fabric does show off deodorant marks really easily, but I guess that's something I can't do anything about.  

I'm still a massive fan of both these patterns and see more on the horizon when a fabric takes my fancy. 

Which patterns are you obsessed with?

Planning my Sureau...

After reviewing my gifts, prizes and pre-Christmas purchases I have decided that one of my next projects needs to be the Deer and Doe Sureau dress. I love the casual look of it and i've not yet approached a dress with a button stand before. After my sleeve issue with my festive Mortmain, this gives me another opportunity to try a sleeved dress - a toile will be in order! 

Because the dress has a slouchy look to it, I have been thinking carefully about my fabric choices. Before Christmas I picked up some lovely samples from a shop in Sham Shui Po. I had decided to look at some viscose, polyester and rayon fabrics. The shop is Tai Wah Textile Company on Wong Chuk Street. I was drawn in by their brightly coloured prints and I wasn't surprised how easy it was to find some totally delicious fabrics. 

At the moment, my number one choice is this delightful navy duck printed fabric. It's 100% rayon and has a nice weight and drape to it - potentially perfect for the Sureau! The sample price is just $33HKD per yard, which I think is a total bargain. I know I need about 2.5 yards to make the Sureau, so buying 5 yards (minimum) shouldn't be an issue. 

                                         Other samples that I picked up at the same time are this card of fun, spotty rayons. The navy of this is also very nice and could potentially make a nice Sureau, but as I have other spotty fabrics in my stash, it might be a bit inappropriate to buy this one too. This one is only $37HKD per yard, so might be a consideration for the future.                                 

                                     

I'm going to aim to order this fabric tomorrow as I am planning a visit to Sham Shui Po this weekend (school errands!). Hopefully the delightful ducks are in stock. 

Watch this space for my Sureau progress!

Christmas sewing gifts!

So, the big day has been and gone and i've travelled more than 20,000km over the festive period. I'm back in Hong Kong reviewing my lovely Christmas gifts and finally getting the chance to blog. After putting in a few speculative hints, I am now the proud owner of both the Christine Haynes 'Emery' pattern and the Deer and Doe 'Sureau' pattern. These are two that I wanted to get in printed format and International delivery is never favourable. I'm very excited to make both of them! I certainly think a toile will be in order for both as they feature sleeves (a problem I came across in my festive Mortmain). I'm now on the search for some suitable, lovely fabric (I have a few ideas already - to follow). 

In addition to the patterns, I also received two smashing books! The Famous Frocks - Little Black Dress book and Gertie sews vintage casual. Both were on my amazon wish list (good job I helpfully emailed it to my husband!)and will be put to use as soon as possible. I love the style of Gertie's writing and it's great how she instructs you on how to adapt and create your patterns from the basics. The Famous Frocks book is just a classic to add to my library and will give me some super inspiration for when I start being more creative with my pattern cutting. Both books come with the pattern pieces inside, so my making list is growing at an exponential rate! 

More blogs to follow soon, featuring makes from my Christmas gifts and more! 

I hope you all had a fabulous, creative Christmas!

Winning with my festive Mortmain!

I woke up this morning to some super news. Last week I entered my festive Mortmain into the Gather Virtual Christmas Party competition (#gatherxmasparty). I had planned to make the dress anyway, but was alerted to the competition by the Gather team through Twitter. 

After the closing date on Friday, I had a few passing thoughts about the competition, but I never considered actually winning it. So to my surprise this morning, I received a personal message from @GatherKits saying that I've won the party dress category! I am so excited about this! There's a great page on their website (here) announcing the winner and there's a great prize haul too! Lovely vouchers, a sewing kit and some Gather patterns!  

To say that Santa has come early is an understatement!!!

My festive Mortmain!

It's finally finished! After a great battle with the sleeves, I am pleased to show you my Christmas dress. My festive Mortmain by Gather is actually a massive triumph. The fit of the bodice is better than my previous attempts at this pattern (see here and here). Also, the fabric was a delight to work with and I'm really pleased with the combination of plain black cotton and the Riley Blake Santa fabric. I can't wait to wear it on Christmas Day!

What can I say about the sleeves... They were actually fine to put in, but seemingly I have abnormally large upper arms, which meant that they were far too tight! I had to remove them and decreased the seam allowance on the sleeve, before inserting it again. They're still a little tight, but it should be fine for the occasion. Thankfully I don't do much dancing on Christmas Day!

I'd love to see your festive outfits! 

My first picnic blanket skirt!

So, I have had a bit of a Tilly-fest recently. One of these Tilly makes is a pale, spotty denim picnic blanket skirt. The instructions for making this skirt are on the Tilly and the Buttons website and handily, you don't need a pattern. All you need is a notebook, a tape measure and your brain. With just my waist measurement and a skirt length required, it ended up being a fairly straightforward process. I marked out the rectangles for the front and back skirt pieces and waistband using a fabric pencil. Other than that, I just needed 3 pieces of interfacing - for the waistband and buttonstands. 

I am extremely pleased with the finished article, I have found that I very much enjoy doing manual buttonholes, so this skirt was a really enjoyable garment to make. I found the cute, pale wooden buttons in a shop in Sham Shui Po and the fabric was part of my haul from Shenzhen. 

I would recommend this make if you are comfortable working with numbers. I plan to make a second version of this skirt because I love it so much, but this time in Christmas fabric! Watch this space nearer to December...

My Fifties Mortmain by Gather...

After two lovely public holidays here in Hong Kong, it isn't surprising that I've done a little bit of sewing! I've had the Michael Miller - Jug or not? fabric sitting their looking at me, so I decided to make my third Mortmain by Gather. The previous ones turned out pretty well, however I decided to make some small adjustments to the pattern. 

The bust darts on the front were about 2cm too high in the spot and stripe version of this dress. I decided to split the pattern and lengthen it above the dart (I remembered to do the front and back!). I hoped that this would improve the overall fit because I do have a long body. I also decided to alter the skirt from the box pleats of the original to a gather. Because the fabric is so bold, I was worried about lining up the pleats correctly. I think that the finished garment proves that I made some good decisions. The silhouette with the gathered skirt is really flattering for my figure and I am now very happy with the dart position. 

I really love making this pattern up and would certainly recommend it to anyone who is confident at lining up seams. This is very important with this dress in particular due to the waist panel.

This dress is going to be a great addition to both my summer and winter wardrobe. With Hong Kong winters not being the coldest i've experienced, it will certainly be warm enough and could be teamed with tights and boots if I get chilly! 

   

The Mortmain by Gather - The finished article!

After about 4 hours work, i've completed my stripes and spots combo dress! I really love the combination of fabrics and the waistband in the same fabric as the skirt looks great! This dress is customisable because I chose to do my box pleats this way, although the pattern suggests the opposite way. 

This pattern is so simple to make and is suitable to use with so many fabrics. I bought it from www.fabricrehab.co.uk, which is a great website if you're happy to pay international shipping. I found the price ok and it arrived quite quickly after it had been dispatched. 

I'm looking forward to showing this outfit off in Shenzhen this weekend - Bring on the karaoke!

I've styled my outfit with the Tatty Devine lollypop necklace - the perfect accompaniment! 

The Mortmain by Gather - A Review...

After spending a long time browsing the internet for a suitable dress making pattern, i happened upon this lovely specimen. On first viewing, this Gather pattern is beautifully presented. It comes with a stitch bound instruction book, that has an easy to follow step-by-step for how to make two variations of The Mortmain dress.

I've already made this pattern up in a fine checked wool fabric that will be great for work. I'm now in the process of combining red spotted cotton and blue and white striped cotton to make a new summer dress. 

Updates to follow...

New project...

This is my new project. I bought the spotty fabric for a cool 25HKD in Sham Shui Po on Saturday. I already owned the nautical-tastic stripes. I think that this combination is crying out to be a new summer dress - What do you think?