60s style - I finally made a Coco

I've been seeing so many fabulous versions of the Coco Dress by Tilly and the Buttons recently. The pattern is a few years old and I wasn't too bothered by it when it first came out. My Mum bought the pattern last year and made herself a fabulous houndstooth print dress, which I loved. I traced off the pattern, and aside from making the top version for Mum for her birthday, forgot about it. 

Recently, everyone in the FB sewing groups I'm in seems to be making this. I was so inspired by all these fab makes, I went rooting through my stash to make a version. I had some gorgeous geometric print ponte that I bought in the sale from Girl Charlee a while ago. The pattern is very retro and I thought it would make a perfect Coco. I decided to make the dress version with rollneck, 3/4 sleeves and sleeve cuffs. I decided to leave out the pockets. I can't resist pockets usually, but I felt they would be a bit lost with this fabric choice. 

I cut the size 3, and found I used a lot less fabric than expected (more for another project yay!). This ponte is really thick and stable, absolutely brilliant to cut and sew with. I was a bit concerned that the dress would be too tight across my tummy, so took a smaller seam allowance there. In retrospect, I think I should have taken the standard seam allowance, as it is quite a loose fit. I added some hand stitches to the cuffs and collar to keep them in place and hide the topstitching, which is really visible due to being in black when against the white parts of the fabric design. This is a quick and satisfying sew, and really versatile - I can see this working well as a casual Summer dress without the rollneck. 

My only concern was that my fabric choice was so 60s, that when combined with the style of the Coco, it looked like I was going to a fancy dress party!  However, I felt less like this when actually wearing it. I can't believe I left it so long to make a Coco. 

Holiday Maxi - Butterick B6051

I have been incredibly lax at blogging recently. This has been down to starting a new job, birthdays, weekends away and a holiday. I've actually sewn tons of stuff since I last blogged, just not got round to writing about it. I will catch up soon, including the fab dressmakers ball and a number of dresses for work. In the meantime, I wanted to write a quick post about my latest make, a maxi dress for my holiday. 

I bought some fabulous hot pink and black chevron jersey from Girl Charlee when they had a flash chevron sale. I knew it would be perfect for a maxi dress, even though I didn't have a pattern at the time, so I got 3m to ensure I would have enough. I have been searching on and off for a jersey maxi dress pattern for ages as two of my favourite pre-sewing Summer dresses were knit maxis. I spotted Butterick B6051 in a pic in my Instagram feed, as part of a photo of loads of different patterns then searched for it and found I could make it with jersey so ordered the pattern. 

As with all best-laid sewing plans, I totally ran out of time to make this before my holiday and had decided to make it for when I got back instead. However, I had a last minute change of heart and decided that I NEEDED this dress to take to Tenerife and started making it the evening before I went away. As usual, if there is a way to make my life more difficult, I can be guaranteed to take it. 

This was a relatively quick and easy sew, but the sheer volume of fabric involved meant that cutting out took ages. The bodice had a turned under neck seam and I ended up stitching this with my normal machine rather than my coverstitch because I was making it in such a rush and the coverstitch machine was away in the cupboard!  I would have got a more professional finish using the other machine, but needs must. The elastic either side of the waistband ended up adding a bit of bulk with the seam allowance, something I would definitely try to remedy if I make this again. 

In retrospect, the fabric is probably a bit too fine for the pattern and it would work better in a thicker knit or even in a fine woven (although that wouldn't have the benefit of being crease-free in a suitcase). The weight of the fabric in the skirt does make it feel as though the bodice if being pulled down, although I don't think this is all that noticeable when wearing it. I'm still in love with this fabric, and pleased I saved it for a maxi. 

I didn't get too many pics, but here I am ready to go out for tapas:

 

Free patterns - toddler hoodie and harem pants

After all the clothes I've made for Thomas recently, I decided it was only fair to make something for Polly. I'm still on a self-imposed fabric and pattern buying ban, so I revisited all my patterns and found a printout of the Brindille and Twig baby and toddler raglan hoodie. I first downloaded and printed this free pattern when Thomas was little, but I didn't really have the ability to make it then. As I've now had a lot of practice with sewing knits (and also have a huge amount of them in my stash, I decided to give it a go. 

I had just about enough of the red and grey stripy sweatshirt fabric and ribbing left to make this for Polly. I dug around to find some more grey sweatshirting for the hood lining. I'm so pleased I finally gave this pattern a go. The instructions are really clear - I think I could have managed it all those years ago. The only issue I had was with the optional armhole details, as they were a bit too narrow to be seen properly. As with all kid's sewing projects, it was super quick to make due to the size, and the majority of this can be made on the overlocker which is always a bonus. I realised that this is the first time I have made anything with a hood, and I'm now planning to find a good pattern to make a hoodie for myself (once the fabric and pattern buying ban is over!).

 

 

I found a free toddler harem pants pattern on A Joyful Riot, in the hope of making a matching pair, but sadly couldn't squeeze them into the fabric. However, I loved the pattern so much that I decided to make a pair in some french terry I had left from making Hudson Pants earlier in the year. I also cut another hoodie so she could have a matching set. I made the armhole details wider this time, and was chuffed with the result - I know I'll be making this pattern again and again. The pants are a great pattern - only about 20 minutes to sew up and big enough to accommodate a cloth-bummed baby! Gareth reckons that she looks like a late 80s/ early 90s dancer in this get-up, but that's a good thing, right!?! 

 

 

The Linden Sweatshirt - super quick selfish sewing

After the complicated marathon project that was the boy's shirts, I was up for some simple sewing. I also felt like making something for no particular reason other than I wanted to. My sister lent me the Linden Sweatshirt pattern by Grainline Studios when I 'accidentally' bought 2 metres of grey and red striped sweatshirt fabric from Girl Charlee (I thought it was jersey and had planned to make a long sleeved Agnes top to wear under my new Cleo dress, not blogged yet).  I've been planning to make this for a while and had spent ages sourcing some grey sweatshirt ribbing to go with it. I eventually found some in the Ottobre etsy shop and bought it, despite it being ludicrously expensive. 

However, when it came down to starting the project a few weeks ago, I was put off by the thought of pattern matching the stripes on the raglan sleeves. Inspired by another sweatshirt I bought ages ago, I realised that the solution would be to get some plain grey fabric for the sleeves. No pattern matching required and it would stop the stripes looking too much. My Mum picked up some plain grey sweatshirting at Guthrie and Ghani last time she was there (she's lucky enough to live nearby). 

When I finally got round to starting the project, I was pleasantly surprised at quite how simple it was. It can be sewn up entirely on the overlocker and the whole thing took a couple of hours at most. Although it isn't essential to finish all the seams using a coverstitch machine (or twin needle on a regular machine), I've hardly used mine and wanted to have a play. I'm still getting used to it, but I love the professional finish it gives.  There were a couple of hiccups, like when I made the rookie mistake of forgetting to put the foot down (think I thought I was still on the overlocker).  Even spending extra time doing this, it was still a one-evening project, which is exactly what I needed. Even better, I know I will get so much wear out of it. This is a fab pattern and one I will make time and time again. 

 

Long-haul comfort - Hudson Pants

My January plans now rather unexpectedly include a trip to Manila in the Philippines for work. I'm quite excited and also a bit nervous about such a long business trip. It also presents an opportunity for sewing, of course!  The average temperature there at the moment is 30 degrees in the day, going down to 23 degrees at night, so I'll be digging out all those Summer dresses I made last year.   First though, I wanted to make something comfortable to wear on the (very) long journey there. 

I decided to hunt out a pattern for comfortable trousers/ trackies to wear on the journey. The Hudson Pant pattern from True Bias seemed to fit the bill perfectly - it is a casual, urban style trouser made from knit fabric with wide ankle cuffs. I ordered some super soft french terry from Girl Charlee in a monochrome Aztec pattern, plus some ribbed black jersey for the cuffs, waistband and pocket detail. 

As the waistband is gathered, I cut according to the rest of my measurements because I knew I could cut the elastic for the waist myself and I wanted the bottom of the legs to be tight as intended. The pattern states that is was made for someone who is 5'5", so I knew the leg length would be OK (I'm 5'3"). 

The french terry was much softer with more of a drape than other french terry I've worked with. However, it handled well without being too slippery.  I used the overlocker for most of this project so it was super quick. The only thing I missed out was the cord because I didn't have one and didn't have time to buy one. I have put in the button holes and channel for it though, so will add in. The waist is less gathered than the pattern states, but this allowed me to achieve a good fit. 

 

I'm not sure why I look so glen in the picture! I had quite a lot of the cotton jersey left, so I made a quick Shannon t-shirt to match. I've made the dress version a few times, but this was the first time I had made the t-shirt. I would add a few centimetres to the length next time. For some reason, the neckline stretched a bit when I was topstitching the seam allowance but it isn't too  obvious  being plain black. 

So now my secret pyjamas are complete, I can head off on my adventure in comfort!