Sort of not a Coco at all....

Hello all,

So, this is what I hoped would be my 'simple' Minerva make - you know, after the trauma of last month!

And I guess it was (simple, that is)

The plan was to make a Tilly & the Buttons Coco dress

I thought - it's simple, it's quick, and it's similar to what I wear to work on a daily basis, and aren't we all always going on about how we need to sew sensible pieces that we will use everyday?

I myself change into a uniform at my place of work, so the clothing I wear on a daily is worn to-work and from-work, and usually no longer (I love my pjs)

And as I am usually running late, and getting changed is a giant pain in the arse, it's awfully nice to wear a simple knit dress. Whip over head and step into uniform.

Bingo

But of course nothing ever goes to plan!

Before we go anywhere, let me show you the dress.

I would like to forewarn you that I look mad as hell, but I was actually channeling a moody ambiance for the photo shoot. Cheery photos didn't feel right for 'the look', lol.

Here goes

You may notice a few things about this dress, the first probably being that it is definitely not a Coco dress.

You would probably bet your bottom dollar that I had swerved and made a Nettie dress.

Wrong.

The dress did indeed begin it's life as a Coco.

But it was god awful on me.

Basically, I decided that I would make a Coco, but I didn't want it to be as short as drafted as I'm not one for the short skirts. So I added 4" in the 'shorten/lengthen' line. and then followed the line of the upper waist down to the hem, but marginally wider (about 5/8"). 

I think this was my first mistake.

My second mistake was trying to make the dress reversible.

Because, as you may not realise, this is actually the wrong side of the fabric.

I had ordered the Grey Embossed Floral Ponte Roma, but the dress in my head was nothing like the dress on me. The picture also makes the fabric look a bit shinier and more metallic.

This is a nice enough print, but I think I could only get away with having it as a pencil skirt or something.

Not as an all over print.

Anywho, as the plain grey was so nice, I had this wonderful idea of flat-felling the seams to make the dress reversible. Lets just say all that remains of that idea are some flat-felled shoulders I couldn't be bothered to unpick (again)

But it was only when I started putting the dress together did I only realise fully how awful the fabric was on me. 

So I abandoned the reversible.

Only once I had the dress finished did I realise how awful the dress was on me.

Honestly, I think the main problem was those 4 extra inches of length.

It was drafted to sit at the point it does for a reason.

Once I realised this I was about to throw in the towel, hold up my hands and say "Sorry, I messed up, but I cannot and will not put this online as something I created". Although now I am slightly regretting not taking a 'before' picture!

But something in me pulled myself together, and began to hack.

And hack I did.

Firstly, I grabbed a fitted pencil skirt from my wardrobe, plonked it down on the dress and drew around it with chalk. I sewed that and tried it on.

Then began the 6 million tryings-on and tweakings of the dress.

In total I think I changed the skirt, took in the waist an additional time, scooped the neck, took in the bust side seams through to the armpit, pegged the skirt a little more and then took little extra bits at the hips that were sticking out funny.

Bits and pieces like that.

I have also taken in the sleeves since these photos were taken, to give a more snug and fitted finish.

I didn't set out to make a Nettie-lookalike, it only struck me once I took these photos, but it looks a bit like one to me! An unconcious homage to Heather Lou

Now this dress would not be the thing I normally wear. If you know me, you know I do not do fitted very often, and I hate anything clinging to my stomach. 

(In the interest of full disclosure: I am wearing some awesome controlwear in these photos)

But (with the controlwear) I really enjoyed wearing this dress! I felt sassy and wiggly, and a bit like a secretary - but in a good way - especially with a pair of heels on!

So there we go, not my usual on here but I learned stuff, and that's always good.

Has anyone else saved a disaster recently?

Emmie x

I'm going to Darwen!

....no not Australia - Lancashire! I wanted to let you know that I'm going to the Minerva Crafts Meet-Up on the 14th of June :) Train tickets booked and everything!

We are all there to celebrate their success in the British sewing awards, and to celebrate the wonderful world of sewing! I'm sure you must have seen mention of it by now, but just to recap, there are going to be be be lots of special guests for workshops and presentations, and of course most of the Minerva Crafts bloggers are going to be present for fun and frolics in a fabric shop :)

Lets hope I don't go home with excessive amounts of fabric!

Hope to see you there!!

Emmie

Some of that Vegas Sparkle...

Hey Guys!

I am very excited to present to you the final installment of the (Minerva) Vegas line up! you all know it's not the end of the general admission Vegas line up :)

For this kit, I chose to try out another Bengaline - and I went out on a  bit of a limb for this one. It's a sort of purpley-burgundy colour with gold glitter in it! Definitely not my usual choice but I was feeling the Vegas vibe. Now that the outfit is complete I'm actually really happy with it!

I initially was intending to make a dress, but with time running out and other holiday items left to make I decided to sacrifice and make a simple swing skirt.

Having finished the skirt, I felt like it looked slightly disappointing following on from my previous few offerings, so I threw caution to the wind and pattern hacked my BHL Anna bodice. As far as I remember I added 3" to the back seam and add an inch to the bottom all around. I of course forgot to use the stretch running horizontal again - although I'm somewhat glad I didn't as you'll find out.

After putting some of the bodice together and having a momentary fitting, it seemed that the bodice was a bit snug so I let out each pleat about 2/8". I had already shortened the pleats from previous makes. It may have been ok in the end, and I have no idea why it felt any different to usual but no harm no foul.

My major issues came up when I was doing the button placket down the back. As I mentioned earlier, I didn't cut the stretch on the horizontal, which can only mean I cut it on the vertical. I turned a small lip under for the placket and the folded over 1" twice more. And of course, as I was stitching it down it all started stretching out. I even tried to use my walking foot to no avail whatsoever. Both plackets ended up warped and wobbly like a glittery purple sea.. If only I had interfaced. Hindsight's 20:20, eh? 

I tried the only thing I could think of and tried to shrink it with steam. It looked like it worked a bit, but it was still warpy when buttoned up, and the steam was starting to strip the glitter (which is one of the reasons I reneged on washing the fabric first - I think I forgot to mention that, naughty me). I wanted it as glittery as can be for Vegas - come what may with the first wash!!  

So the only thing I could so was hand tack the back opening down and ease it as I went. I did check I could get it on first, and I can with 1 button open, miraculously. It is marginally roomier I guess than a dress bodice would be! Probably due to my letting out the pleats in the first place, and a little extra ease in the extended back piece. The bottom hem was a simple turn under and stitch jobbie.

I have a bunch of the fabric left, so I'm still considering whether to recut the bodice and redo it with interfacing.

Do I have the patience?

During this make I wasn't sure it was going to make it into the Vegas rotation due to little thought and planning going into the production (I did try to plan but nothing promising came to me) and then I was trying to decide what outfit to bump. All hail last minute crazed sewing!

The buttons weren't intended when ordering the kit, and are deep stash. Different buttons unfortunately for skirt and top, but they at least both complement the fabric.

The skirt is the same as used for my leopard print dress, a simple Simplicity swing skirt, actually the first thing I ever sewed :)

I did a lapped zipper on the skirt - which is now my ABSOLUTE FAVOURITE!! Thanks to tutorials by both Nicole and Winnie on their blogs. I will literally use this anywhere and everywhere I can now.

HAND PICKED AND EVRYFINK.

And I somehow found a thread that is bloody well invisible in this fabric. Its just so easy to get a good result from this method. I super enjoy doing it, I actually find this method really relaxing, like a form of meditation. Communing with zippers.

So as we can all see, there's a little gap between the separates occasionally.  nothing indecent - and really, about as much as I would feel comfortable with. And it's not clear initially - it's a bit peek-a-boo which is cute.

I'll leave you with a photo of me wearing the dress in Vegas :)

And my favourite Outtake pic of all :)

I look like I'm doing a pin-up face, but there was probably something in my teeth.... haha

Emmie x

Vintage Midnight Swing Dress - Vintage Butterick B6158

Hey Guys,

I present to you the recent bane of my life - Vintage Butterick 6158. 

Incredible pattern, eh?? I adore that red one.

I didn't make an official vintage pledge this year, but I hope to use at least 3 - so here's the first :)

This is my newest make for the Minerva Crafts blogger network. I used a Navy Blue Bengaline stretch suiting to make this dress. I chose the fabric because when I looked at the tags of some of my vintage reproduction dresses, they all were all made of Bengaline so I said I would give it  a go!

Working with this fabric was interesting. It doesn't crease easily, which is handy, but is difficult to press seams out flat. Almost a bit spongy and boingy. My iron is not exactly up to scratch at the best of time anyway so it may work better with a bit more steam power. A new iron is on the cards soon!

I made a muslin of the bodice, which was a good fit - I only added an inch to the back seam (which I had in fact added when I measured the pattern. Unfortunately, I hadn't factored in the number of seams/darts, etc in the bodice, and the thickness of the fabric. In total there are 7 seams/darts and also the front fold over! The bulk of all those seams made the bodice way too small.

Gutting!

I had to taper out most of the seams to even squeeze in, so I am going to have to be careful not to put on weight before I need to wear it!! In fact I'm shocked that I managed to fit the bodice into the skirt in the end, as I didn't keep a close track of their respective circumferences. There was a reasonable amount of easing to be done with about 1200 pins!

I will definitely not be rushing into this dress again, as it was pretty tricky in many places, but I definitely learned some things, and you gotta challenge yourself sometimes. One of the trickiest bits was the upper bodice curves, which have mini-pockets behind the curve like the popped skirt pockets do. I'm not sure I can even explain how it goes together. The hardest part was having to clip into the point, turning it under and topstitching all around. There ends up being nothing to turn under at the tip of the clipping, so its bloody hard to get a good finish!

The other tricky bit was the side zip, never before have I attempted one. It was a bit of a haphazard attempt, but it worked out semi reasonably in the end, so all's well that ends well. It was almost the last thing I did in the dress (as per pattern instruction I may add - and then all I got in the instructions was "insert slide fastening". Thanks pattern. Thanks FOR NOTHING)

And as well as it turned out in the end ("well" used loosely here) I do still despise side zips.

My body doesn't suit them - I need to use safety pins to hold the zip close together to get it up! I have always had issues with side zips. Maybe its because I have such a steep curve from waist to hip and then back out to ribcage. It's the only thing I can think of!

The buttons were vintage buttons from my stash, and I really love them. I used the gold version on my sister's Christmas skirt. I'm sad that they are gone! I can't even remember where I picked them up, I went on a button rampage a little while back.

I had to chop about 5 inches off the bottom of the skirt, and when I hemmed it, it was tricky (again?? who'dve thunk it), as it was more curved than it looks, and not as full as the front drawing depicts. After I had stitched it, some of the hem had that warped look about it where the curve couldn't fold flat.

To deal with this I basically gave it a second row of stitching below the first row which worked out dandy - I will definitely employ this method in the future! Flattened out all the silly warping and looks like a twin needle.

I'm don't think the sleeves are supposed to be so curved out but the fabric has a lot of body - and a decent amount of stretch too I might add (although the way it all worked out, I didn't have the stretch direction around my waist - mores the pity. Will definitely take more factors into account next time I lay out my pattern pieces.

This is me trying to show the width of the skirt, haha

Oh and I used most of the 4m of fabric for this pattern - the most I've ever used! Granted I could've lost 5-6 inches off each skirt piece, but I didn't think to measure at the time.

Either way I've come full circle with this dress. I didn't feel much for it during the make but it's definitely growing on me now! Of course my kit is available for anyone who wants to give Bengaline a go!

And to reward you for your reading, I will include the photo's I found amusing when I flicked through what I took

Pop ya collar, eh?

LYLT

Emmie x

First Minerva Crafts make!

Hi guys!

I've been super excited to show you my first Minerva Crafts Network make - and here it is!

I eased myself in gently this month, with a Mae top by BlueGingerDoll. Granted when I decided to have this as my first make, I hadn't made it at all. Maybe I shouldn't have blogged the green one first... Oh well.

I couldn't help myself - I craved a creamy white one. It might be something to do with the fact that I have over 50 skirts, and only 2 tops that I like! You'll also see why I couldn't resist ordering this particular kit when I turn around.

The fabric I ordered to make the top is the Linen-Look Cotton, previously used by Kathryn and Anna. I thought it looked beautiful, and it had the shade of cream I was looking for. And I thought the texture would give interest to an otherwise simple top.

I love the fabric; it feels lovely against my skin, has an interesting linen texture and washes and presses really well. One of the only issues I've found about this shade is that it was somewhat more sheer than I expected. I was almost finished when I decided to check how opaque it was, but I didn't feel that a lining would've suited this top as it would add too much bulk to the lines, especially at the darts. In the future I would consider underlining this fabric colour - and I can give it a go as I seem to have half of my kit left! I think I squeezed this out of little over a metre of fabric! Thats 58" wide fabric for you.

 As I was quite a ways into the make, I decided to make some slight adjustments to make it work as it was. As the intended neck and shoulder facings for this top are quite wide, they could be seen through the top. I didn't like how it looked, so I trimmed them down to about 5/8", and I slip stitched them down. To be honest, I might actually do this again in the future, as facings drive me cracked! It just ends up looking a bit like a bias bound edge. Or, you know, you could just have a bias-bound edge (But who wants to make bias-binding? I need a bias-binding fairy).

The only other issue I encountered with this make, was the method by which I transferred my pattern markings. I'm a fan of carbon tracing paper for transferring pattern markings and tailors chalk or fabric pencils for buttonholes. They weren't visible through the fabric when I transferred them, but I could see them when I got around to pressing it properly. And the chalk tinted the cream thread in the buttonholes!
I rubbed in some intense stain treating detergent and gave it a good wash and it almost all came out, thank god! But I would definitely think of going down the tailors-tack route, or you know, using yellow carbon instead of blue next time! Only I would use blue!

You can definitely see the colour of my trousers coming through the top, but I will definitely be able to get away with wearing a nude bra and a high-waisted skirt. And hello?? I'm wearing trousers?? Who can say they've seen that before?? I just really want to show you guys the full line of the top this time.

You can read about all of my other pattern adjustments in my previous blog post here. The only thing I changed this time was to take in the hips slightly - the pouffyness was hidden under the skirt in the pictures last time. I overlocked all of the insides, and finished as many edges as I could before I started putting the pieces of fabric together.

I made the decision to make this blouse when I found these buttons. Are they not the cutest thing you've ever seen?? There are a few variations, but these were my favouite... Little Art Deco ladies. Amazing.

Changes for next time? I think I will interface the back button plackets, and I think I may topstitch the placket too. Just to give it a bit more strength and stability. Plus I like how it looks!

So, I hope you like it! You can buy the kit for my make here. You get 2 metres of the cotton (enough for any mistake!), interfacing, 7 of the beautiful buttons, and matching thread. Who doesn't love not having to go and find matching thread? I don't know anyone who would turn that down!

LYLT,

Emmie xx

Surprise!!!

Hey guys!

I’ve been keeping this a secret, but it’s just gone live, so I better let you know that I’ve become a member of the Minerva Crafts blogger network!! I was so honoured to be accepted, especially as my little blog is only just approaching its first birthday (I’m also going to try and sort out a giveaway to celebrate that too!). I can’t believe it’s a year since I started sewing – and also a year since I have bought any brand new clothes (a couple of charity shop dalliances, but that’s recycling, lol).

Now the pressure begins, eh? 

I spent hours scouring the website, trying to pair fabric with patterns, so I hope you like the results!

Thankfully I have just finished my first make for the network (although I have yet to try it on since I finished – I better get on that tonight!). My first post goes live on the 7th of November. I’m scheduled for the first Thursday of every month (thought you might want to put it in your calendar :)

 Also, the network itself will be compatible with all of our RSS feeds soon, so the posts can be delivered straight to our Readers. That will make me especially happy. And because there are new faces joining, there will also be more posts to read. It's a jam packed schedule!

More posts = More inspiration!!

I don’t know about you, but having more posts to read excites me! I’m always checking to see if another post has gone up. And, as ever, the items we choose for our makes will be available for you guys to buy as a kit if you so wish :) I will of course let you know how I got on with my kit (and my make) in the post so you have a

heads up. The kits look so lovely all packaged up, with everything you will need in one pack. 

And of course Minerva offer free delivery on purchases over £20 – which is nothing in my book, sure I spent £55 on fabric on a whim last night (ahem, thanks Kathryn).

You can head to the Network to watch as more faces pop up!

Wish me luck!!

Emmie xx