My Beautiful Bettine - A review...

After 5 weeks away from home, I have finally returned to sewing. I certainly missed it a lot! During that time I have been collecting fabric, patterns and inspiration to use on my return home. 

The pattern at the top of my list of 'to make's' was the Bettine by Tilly and the Buttons. This pattern was part of a dual release back in July and was in fact part of a special deal with the Fifi boudoir set. I actually didn't take advantage of this offer because the boudoir set is not something I would wear - more of a comfy casual pyjama kinda gal! I did however decide to buy the printed version of the pattern, not my usual PDF. This was because I was in the UK and postage was reasonable. I teamed it with purchasing the Miette skirt, which is a pattern I have been considering for a while. I took the plunge as I would save on postage or printing at a later date.  

The Bettine is a zip-free, casually worn dress that is suitable to be made up in either woven or knitted fabric. It is pulled over the head and it keeps its shape with a simple piece of elastic around the waist. It is described as a great beginner sew. Because i'm not a beginner, I decided to make it as complicated as possible, by including all the details - Front pockets and tabs on the sleeves. 

I decided to make a toile of this pattern. I don't always do this, but I have found recently that my measurements have changed (they're smaller!) and when matching up with the size chart, I fell right in the middle of the size 5 and 6. I decided to draw a line in the middle of the two pattern lines to trace off. After completing the toile of the shape, there were some issues with the fit and shape of the dress. The bodice seemed much longer at the back, which made the front look two small. Because I wear an E cup, I presumed this was the issue and that there was not enough fabric to go over my curves. I had already lengthened the bodice by 2cm due to the fact that I have a long torso. I decided to add a further 2cm, which would allow the fabric to skim my body better. In addition to this, the hip area looked too severe. The natural silhouette of the skirt is that it curves out at the hips before coming back in towards the hem - a tulip skirt. I decided to smooth hip curve by 1cm and flare it out as a whole by 3cm. This allowed a wider base and more fabric to slide over my bottom. 

The fabric I chose was a cotton lawn that I bought from Guthrie and Ghani's website, also while I was in the UK. I saw a dress that Lauren had made from it and fell in love! (You can buy it here) I'm totally into nautical stuff, so this was perfect for me. It's a really lovely weight, slightly heavier than a Liberty Tana Lawn. I figured it would be perfect for this dress. 

The make itself was really straight forward. There are lots of little details to keep you stimulated, such as the pockets and the sleeve tabs. I decided to alter how I clip into seams thanks to 

Tilly's fabulous colour instructions. Removing a triangle does help with the turning of the fabric and it allows it to sit really flat. Previous to this I cut slits into the fabric only.  

I managed to make the final dress in one afternoon thanks to some super speedy sewing and I wore it today. I love the feel and the fit and it's nice and lightweight, which helps with the humidity we're experiencing at the moment! I styled it with my Tatty Devine lobster necklace and some red Saltwater sandals - Nautical-tastic! 

I love this pattern and know i'll be making another one soon. I've got a few lovely soft viscose fabrics in my stash that have got Bettine written all over them! I also recommend the printed version of Tilly's patterns, they're so nice and definitely worth the money. Now i'll move onto the next garment on the to do list; watch this space! 

My first skirt in ages and it's a Nautical chic Grainline Studios Moss!

So, this weekend I made this little number! After a week of making a complete fail garment (the less said about it the better!), I decided to go for something that has some challenges in the manufacture; namely the fly zip, but should be less challenging in the fit - it has got to be easy to fit a mini skirt! 

I read last week that Jen @ Grainline Studios had revamped her Moss Skirt pattern and released it on PDF, so it was a no-brainer to purchase and download it right away. I hadn't intended to make it this weekend, but the knot print fabric was calling out to me. Vigilant readers out there will remember this from my most recent shopping blog - it was an absolute steal from Sham Shui Po. I actually found this in a cardboard box outside one of the wholesalers on Yu Chau Street and for a princely sum of $25 HKD! Because they come bundled up, I couldn't make out how much fabric I was buying, but I loved the print, so took a risk. The fabric once unrolled was in two long strips. The strips were selvage to selvage and measured approximately 60cm each - plenty for a lovely mini skirt. The fabric itself is cotton twill with a little bit of stretch, so pretty much perfect! 

I decided to make the shorter version of the skirt, which meant less pieces to cut out, however when I was cutting I decided to add on 4cm to the length-just in case I preferred it slightly longer. The fly zip was certainly a challenge. I've not done one of these since my university days, so I certainly needed to read the instructions carefully. I didn't need to look at the photo instructions though, so I was pretty pleased with myself. I used a little metal zip that i've had floating around for a while - it worked out pretty well as you can see. 

I actually chopped off the extra hem that I added as I much preferred this as a short mini skirt. I even managed to do a 3cm hem, which added to the weight at the bottom. The skirt now hangs really well. 

Unfortunately I didn't manage to pattern match the front (not enough fabric), but the craziness of the print means that this wasn't that important. 

Overall, a really satisfying make. I really enjoyed the different processes, such as the pockets and the fly zip and it was awesome to have a garment completed in an afternoon. I think this will be getting some wear this summer and definitely in me-made-may '15!