Thinking of Spring - the Bettine dress

So yesterday was officially the first day of Spring and I finished my latest project, the definitely Spring-like Bettine dress from Tilly and the Buttons, last night.  While I saw some daffodils on a trip to the park yesterday afternoon, there is still a chill in the air that requires a winter coat in the mornings.  I wanted to make a casual dress that could be worn with my 70-denier opaques now, and (hopefully) with sandals when the weather is warmer.

I bought the Bettine pattern from Tilly at the Handmade Fair back in September, and I made a version soon after using some lovely black cotton lawn from Maud's Fabric Finds.  I wore it loads but it is now too big for me, which is a real shame as it was such a wardrobe staple.  I decided to make another version using some bargain fabric I bought in the sale from John Lewis back in January for £6 per metre.  I made the plain version last time, but decided to make the variation with pockets and sleeve cuffs this time.  I didn't buy the fabric with any project in mind and I didn't have quite enough to cut it according to the layplan.  I improvised and extended the facing pieces by 15mm then stitched together, rather than cutting on the fold.

The dress is really easy to sew up, and Tilly's instructions are super-clear as this is a beginner's pattern.  All was going well until I tried to attach the facings.  My attempt at extending and stitching together had worked brilliantly on the front facing, but I had somehow made the back facing too small.  I tried to stretch and ease it in, but still ended up with a couple of pleats.  Being keen to get the dress finished, I decided that I could get away with it because the fabric is quite drapey.  I hadn't put pockets into anything before, but I found them easy to do, and will definitely use them again as I really like the fact that the make the dress look really casual and modern.  I bought some buttons from John Lewis for the cuffs which also give the dress a different look.  Strangely, I had to make a lot of alterations to the hips last time as they stuck out, but I didn't need to alter the pattern at all in the smaller size.

The result is an every day dress that is extra comfy and I can hopefully get loads of wear out of (please excuse the slippers - as I said, it's still cold!):

On reflection, I can't get away with the back neckline facing - I'm wearing it today and I'm annoyed by it every time I catch my reflection in the mirror!  I'm going to unpick it and either make another facing or split this one and a piece to it.

I haven't got many pictures of the original Bettine I made, but I found this one (Thomas is modelling shorts that I made him here as well):

I would definitely recommend this pattern to sewers of any level - I'll be making plenty more.  I saw a pic on Instagram of a maxi dress version which I am tempted to try ready for Summer.

Back to work (almost) with the Joan Dress and Ultimate Pencil Skirt

As I had a 'Keeping in Touch' day at work last week, my thoughts turned to workwear for my latest project.  Although I'm usually in jeans at the office, I do wear smart clothes for meetings and when I'm interviewing.  My sister bought me the Joan dress pattern from Sew Over It for my birthday back in October, as I had been telling her how much I liked it.  I bought some grey and purple check suiting and lining fabric from John Lewis with a voucher my aunt bought me for my birthday with this project in mind.  I've never made a fully lined dress before, and felt nervous about getting this right, especially with the time pressure of an occasion to wear it.

The fabric was the most expensive fabric I have ever sewn with, and also has an obvious check which needed to be pattern matched, so I was absolutely terrified cutting into it:

I pinned and re-pinned the pattern to the fabric in my attempts to match the checks effectively before cutting.  I kind of got it right, although the side seams of the bodice didn't quite match (not sure how I got this wrong).

The fabric was really lovely to sew with, but I found making the lining quite a challenge because the lining fabric was so slippery (no-one has to see it though!).  The sleeves went in really well in the main fabric, but were much trickier to set in in the lining.  The fit was really good without much alteration.  I did reduce the back seam allowance to 1cm at the waist, but I think it would have still fitted well without doing this.  My one frustration is that the back waistband seam wasn't level after inserting the zip and I couldn't work out how to rectify it.  I am planning on wearing it with a belt though, so this will be hidden.

Attaching the lining started OK, but then I got into a huge muddle around the kick pleat.  After a mammoth unpicking session (and a bit of cutting), I had to ignore the instructions and attach it by hand.  The kick pleat itself was a bit uneven, but the finished dress looks pretty good, and I loved the dress being fully lined as it was really comfortable and meant I could wear tights (pretty essential in January):

I actually ended up going in to work for two days last week, and decided to make the Ultimate Pencil Skirt from Sew Over It for the other day.  This was a very last-minute make and I made it in one baby naptime plus one evening.  I bought this as a kit when they were on special offer for the bargain price of £15 before Christmas.  I went for the Royal Blue version and I absolutely love the colour and fit.  I wish that I had lined it, as it kept sticking to my tights, despite wearing with a slip.  I have now ordered some lining fabric and will make the lining as soon as it arrives.  It's far too cold in Manchester to have skirts that can only be worn with bare legs!  I will definitely be making this again - it is the perfect work skirt:

 I had a rather lovely surprise on Sunday when I sat down with a cup of tea to read the latest Love Sewing magazine and saw this: