Jasmine Blouse

I really wanted this lovely pattern to work out. I found this vintage style craft fabric at Lincraft which may be a bit busy considering the design of the top. The pattern itself came together easily. Though there are quite a few steps and I do tend to lose interest part the way through.  I was happy however to be making a top sans buttons and zip. 

Alas the sizing was way too big and the end product looks like I am wearing 1-2 sizes too big.  I took the seams in as much as I could. Though there wasn’t much I could do about the collar and sleeves. I was surprised how oversized the sleeves were to be honest. You could definitely take up the length of them by a couple of inches.   I have since washed the top a couple of times in hot water. Not sure if that made much of a difference.  I am in the process of making a black full skirt and see if the tops benefits from being tucked into something.  I’m not much of a top tucker but hopefully with a belt it might look less baggy. Such a shame because I absolutely love the fabric and the way the top looks.  It just needs a dash of the “drink me” shrinking potion from Alice in Wonderland and it would be a perfect piece.

Butterick 5316

I've had two successes with this pattern.  Firstly in a red version and then the combo black and white top with navy skirt.  This is one of those patterns I bought and then wasn't overly fussed on, so it sat in the cupboard for a time.   When I finally decided to make up a work dress in my bestest colour friend red, I was really happy with the results and this one always gets me nice comments.  It's also a change to have a plain coloured dress that can be jazzied up with accessories. They are both fully lined which is not always my favourite thing to do, but for work frocks this is probably wise. Overall this is a very good pattern for a tailored dress.

The brooch is from my handmade collection.  

I made up this contrasting version from material which I had lying around. Very happy with the result. I like to pair it with red shoes for some more contrast. 

Scalloped edge tops

I found this lovely pattern amongst my vintage patterns and it was an easy top to put together. I was slightly intimidated about the scalloping feature but it turned out to be fairly simple. I sometimes can't get my curved edges as nice and rounded as I would like but both of these tops turned our really well. The neck is little more snug than I would usually like, but I'm getting used to this feature of a lot of 60's patterns. Obviously everyone had a swan like neck back then. There is a back zip and I just used bias binding for the arms instead of facing.

I bought this lovely vintage style fabric on line after seeing it on etsy.
It's 100% cotton but has the look of a linen
I love the colour. I love the design with the elegant teacups.



Surprisingly I found the scalloped edge actually suits a full skirt.

Here's another seersucker fabric that I purchased from Spotlight.
I haven't actually worn this one yet but will no doubt be a summer staple.

Vintage shift

Another little shift dress from a bulk pattern ebay win last year.  I already had the fabrics in my collection-o-plenty of fabric.  The material was originally destined for a remake of a previous, super successful pattern which will appear in these pages sometime in the near future.  I even bought the buttons on a whim previously and voila they turned out to be perfect addition for this creation.  I've had the sleeveless version for about 18 months now.  This is also one of those designs which I find a little difficult trying to get the peak nice and sharp in the front.  As I mentioned in my here kitty kitty frock of previous post I'm a bit stumped getting a nice clean corner/peak when joining up the sections of the dress.  It is a bit wonky in the end but not really noticeable. 

Here I've taken advantage of an embroidery stitch to five the
top section an interesting finish.

My photographic assistant enjoying the garden
at my folks' house.

This sleeve version which I altered for a shorter sleeve is a work dress that I'm only reasonably happy with. I had a lot of trouble with the front peak section of this one and thought I could hide the errors with a bit of an embroidery stich. This did not come out looking too ticketyboo so now I hide it with on of the  necklace that I've made. After only a couple of wears though a couple of pulled threads appeared in the fabric.  I've used this cotton/synthetic fabric before in another dress and for some reason the slightly open weave seems prone to pulls even though I can't recall how these occurred.  So now I've got more issues to hide.  It does look awesome with black and white tights but bit disappointing about the flaws.

Another New Look 6223

Oh seersucker how much do I love thee. I could make a whole summer wardrobe with this wonderful fabric.  Perfect in the tropics of Queensland.  I concede that the pattern on this material does slightly resemble a school uniform but I really love the colours. It is also the perfect dress for holidays as the fabric doesn’t crush.  I partially lined the bodice.  Initially I tried to line the whole dress but I made the skirt section a little too tight so I had to cut it back and it was tidier to cut it back to just under the bust line.  

Vogue 8755

A pattern from Vogue’s very easy selection a few years back now.  This was a perfect pattern for a work dress.  Though it is hard to show the features of the dress in photographs given the colour.  I love having a plain coloured dress to accessories. I also have an exceptional variety of tights to choose from.  This is another super comfy dress.  Also a dress I intended to make again, still might.  The bodice is fully lined though I didn’t bother for the skirt part given the A-line shape it doesn’t warrant lining.

The buttons are actually brooches so they are removable.  I've used fabric from a skirt that I made.
This is my favourite accessory to use for this dress.