My first Sew Over It Betty Dress - a review...

After another blogging drought, i'm back with a little review about my Sew Over It Betty Dress. If you haven't seen or used this pattern before, i'll give you some information on it first of all. It's a lovely 50's style dress with a boat neck, a v-shaped neckline at the back and a circular skirt. It has been on sale for quite a while now and is much loved in the world of blogging. 

I have had this pattern in my stash since Christmas as I got it as a gift. Because this pattern uses lots of fabric, I have never had enough in my stash to make it. In order to try this pattern out, I decided to make it up with a gathered skirt instead of a circular one as this is the part that eats up fabric. 

I decided to toile the bodice only and had to make some adjustments to the back seam to get it to fit - it needed to be taken in a bit to get a good fit. Other than that, the rest looked pretty good, so I decided to go for it. 

The fabric I chose is a Liberty Tana Lawn that I bought whilst in London on my holidays. I thought it would be a lovely lightweight summer dress (I know we're in late October now, but I did make this back in August! - Hong Kong summer lasts until November). 

The manufacture is easy. Just like any other sleeveless dress with invisible zip. I used a facing to finish the neckline, which was the provided finishing technique. I used my overlocker throughout for finishing seams. 

Now onto my final verdict; I was feeling confident about this make, however the finished product is not quite right. I think my laziness in not doing a Full Bust Adjustment (FBA) for my E cup chest is really obvious in this dress. The visual for this means that the bust fits, but the darts do not allow the waist to be take in enough and this results in a loose waistline. I've not yet worn this dress, which is a great disappointment as the fabric is so nice! I think i need to take the bodice and skirt apart and try to take the waist in at the sides and darts in order to make it wearable. 

I have now learnt that I must do FBA's! This is the reason that dresses and blouses don't fit perfectly, so from now on I'm going to have a go at this. Hopefully no more disappointments for me!  

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?

Two Alders for the price of one...

After a few busy weeks at work, which included a 9 day school trip to Japan; I have finally found time to blog! I've managed to do some selfish sewing during this time and these are the outcomes! 

After making my husband a shirt for Christmas day, i've been looking for another opportunity to make a shirt. The process and and the amount of different steps makes them really enjoyable to make. I started to shop around for a pattern I liked way back in February. I eventually settled on the Grainline Studios Alder. This shirtdress is much blogged about, so I sought lots of advice and opinions before setting off on my Alder journey. 

whilst doing my frequent browsing on fabric websites, I stumbled upon these beauties from modes4u.com. I loved the japanese origami pattern of the fabric above and the birds below really stood out. Both are lovely and summery prints on a lightweight quilting cotton, so I just had to order them! 

Tracing the pattern off and sticking together the 51 pages of this pattern were very long processes and meant that the manufacturing of my Alder's was very drawn out and done in many different sessions. I've only ever made one Grainline Studios pattern before, which was the Linden sweatshirt, so I had to check sizes carefully. I pretty much fit into the measurements provided, so I just cut a straight '12'. 

The sewing of my first Alder (the origami one) was very satisfying and mostly done in one session. I left the buttonholes, armholes and hem for another occasion. I stuck to all the details of the pattern and was pleased with the outcome. I made some small fitting adjustments to the waist as it was quite baggy, but other than that the fit is pretty good. The loose style means that it's going to be lovely to wear in the sticky Hong Kong summer. 

No sooner had I finished my first Alder, I knew I wanted to make a second. I just love doing all the different stages and I absolutely love doing topstitching (strange maybe?!) I made some changes to the pattern, including the shape of the collar stand (more rounded to allow for larger buttons) and the collar (rounded shape instead of the original points). I took approximately 2cm off the waist seam in order to match up with the fitting that I did on the original. 

As you can see, the birds really are stunning! The exaggerated grain of the fabric is also a nice addition. 

As with the original, this Alder went together like a dream. I'm so pleased that I decided to make this pattern up, because it's awesome! The outcomes will certainly be a staple of my summer wardrobe and will probably be in my suitcase for my upcoming trip to Singapore. 

I wonder how long I need to wait before making a third one? 

My Fancy Tiger Crafts Sailor Top!

Whilst planning my Sureau (something i'm not rushing), I decided that I needed to quench my sewing thirst with a quick project. I chose to make the Fancy Tiger Crafts Sailor Top. I have seen it being made quite a lot on the blogs that I read and thought it would be nice addition to my wardrobe. Because my prize haul of fabric has been staring at me, I opted to use one of them. I decided to use the paint printed viscose I bought from The Village Haberdashery. Not only has this fabric got nice drape, it's opaque. This makes it great for a spring top (no layering required!). 

The pattern is only made up of 5 pieces as the front and back pieces are exactly the same. There is a front and back yoke as well as  the sleeve and sleeve facing. I hadn't used a sleeve facing before, but the finish looks nice and it allows the sleeve to sit really flat. There is a deep hem also, which provides weight to the whole top. My only issue with the making process was the lack of notches - this caused a problem when gathering the front, back and sleeves to attach to the yokes. I stuck with it and ended up with even gathers. 

I had one issue with my completed top, the front yoke was gaping. After fiddling with it whilst wearing it, I decided to make a small fold at the centre front. I used two buttons to secure the fold and add a little bit of a styling detail. I'm really pleased with the finished product. The buttons are really cute and totally solve the gaping. 

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!

My first Megan dress...

After my victory of yesterday (still very excited!), I have found time to day to share my first attempt at the Megan dress by Tilly and the Buttons. This dress is from her 'Love at first stitch' book and is a fairly straight forward make. I decided to use some lovely balloon fabric that I bought from modes4u.com to make it, so it has a celebration theme - Hence the photograph with the Christmas tree again! 

The main skills that this dress teaches you is an invisible zip fastening (which I use on most of my makes, so not a learnt skill here), inserting sleeves (quite straight forward on this dress actually) and an open ended dart (a new one on me, but very easy - just don't sew into a point). The open ended dart is designed to give a softer look to the shaping than a traditional dart. Tilly gives great guidance on doing this in her instructions, so no problems there! I decided to add lining to the bodice pieces to avoid using a facing. This worked well and was joined in at the armholes when the sleeve was added.  

In regards to the finished article, it's certainly well made. I'm please with my pattern matching, zip and sleeves - three things that can be dodgy! However, i'm not convinced that this shape of dress suits me. I managed to fit the dress at the back neck as this was gaping, so the size is correct, I think it is just the silhouette that i'm unhappy with. I think my curves are just too prominent! I certainly think that i'm more of a Lilou girl (see here) and should stick with this shape as much as possible. Next task is to do a pattern hack involving the shape of the Lilou and the sleeves of the Megan; wish me luck! 

P.S. Ignore my disgruntled face, It's just an unfortunate photograph!

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 Christmas make - a sneak peak...

After a busy couple of weeks at work, I've finally found time to blog! I have been sewing during this time and have been making progress on my WIP's. I may have been slightly over ambitious with the amount of garments I want to make before Christmas, I needed to make some decisions. So, I decided to prioritise my Christmas garment. 

I bought 2 metres of the Riley Bkake fabric above from modes4u.com a couple of months back and had originally planned to make a skirt with it - probably a Picnic Blanket Skirt. However, I had a bit of a change of heart. Although I like the picnic blanket skirts I have previously made, I'm not sure how they're going to cope with my expanding belly on Christmas Day! 

I didn't want to try a new pattern at this stage, so I started to consider a Mortmain by Gather. On a recent fabric shopping trip I bought some plain black cotton, which would compliment the festive fabric perfectly! This was the starting point I needed. The next decision I made was to add the sleeves to the pattern - my previous versions of this have been sleeveless. My final decision was patterned skirt, or patterned top... This is a tough one! 

Answer to follow once I'm finished! 

A second Lilou dress...

After saying I was taking a break from Tilly and the Buttons makes, I was at a loose end, so I decided to create a second Lilou! The first one turned out ok, however I did need to take it in at the back, so I chose to make a few alterations to the pattern this time. I took 2.5cm off the centre back seam and also took 1cm off the front waist dart to improve the overall shape and fit. I also decided to move the straps over 1cm towards the centre back as it was not sitting perfectly flat. 

Once I had made the changes to the pattern, the cutting and sewing process was quite quick and I managed to finish it in about 4 hours. The fully lined bodice is a delight to do now that I have experience. I chose a white cotton lining as I figured that a self lining might show through. 

Overall, I am really pleased with the final garment. The fit is loads better than Lilou number 1 and the navy and white gingham fabric matches my capsule wardrobe colours! My only issue is that the checks don't match up precisely at the back zip. However, this is just a small detail that can be solved by wearing a cardigan. To be honest I don't think the general public would notice at all, it's just me being picky!

I have several work's in progress now, so i had better pick up the pace with my making and stop getting distracted by quick and simple projects! With Christmas garments and gifts to make, it's going to be a busy few weeks!

Mathilde - Progress...

I managed to keep to my planning and stuck together my pattern last night. It says in the instructions that this process should take 20 minutes, but I think I must be particularly slow at this because it took me more than 30! Oh well, we've all got our strengths...

I then cut it out to my size. I like that the sizes are number 1-8 and not in sizes because when is a 14 ever the same as another 14! This process was thankfully much quicker (clearly I have strengths in cutting out paper!).

Ok, so next stage is sort out the fabric. I'm going away this weekend, so no sewing for me :( I have a package of fabric from www.modes4u.com waiting at the Post Office, so hopefully i'll be able to collect it tonight and wash my fabric ready for cutting. I've chosen this particular fabric for my Mathilde... 

http://www.modes4u.com/en/kawaii/p20777_coral-red-maritime-sailing-boat-fabric-by-Michael-Miller-.html 

I just need to find the perfect buttons to accompany it. I'm anticipating that my next sewing opportunity will be on Monday at the earliest, so Mathilde will have to wait until then. 

New make - Mathilde by Tilly and the buttons...

After the enjoyable hours that I have spent making dresses over the past few days, I have decided to turn my attentions to a different garment for my next make. It was whilst reading blogs like Tilly's (www.tillyandthebuttons.com) that inspired me to get back to blogging. It has also help to fuel my reignited passion for dressmaking. I've ordered her new book; 'Love at first stitch' which includes some lovely patterns. I am awaiting its delivery from The Book Depository, but I thought I would try one of the downloadable PDF patterns in the mean time. 

The Mathilde is such a gorgeous blouse shape and the maker gallery on Tilly's website shows lots of different ways of interpreting the pattern.I can't wait to start making! 

I've got my 26 pages of pattern printed out, ready for when I get home and can crack out the scotch tape and get sticking! Working full time means that I might get the pattern stuck together and then my size traced off before my bed is calling. 

I'll keep you up to date with my progress and give you my thoughts on the pattern. 

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?

Back to blogging...

After dabbling in writing a blog a couple of years ago, i'm back! This time with a new, more personal approach. I guess i'd better introduce myself... My name is Sophie and I'm a sewing addict (sounds a bit like AA, but it's that level of obsession!) . I live in Hong Kong and I love sewing! My sewing addiction is not limited to one area, I love pattern cutting, dress making, hand embroidery, machine embroidery and I adore felt making. I guess I'm what you would call an all-rounder. I have found that i'm sewing more frequently and thinking about it constantly (not ideal when you have a job!). I thought, why not try blogging again, so here I am.

Welcome! I hope I can help, inspire and fuel other sewer's love...