It's been a while...

Much longer than I intended but I am back trying to catch up with the huge backlog of things I have to share!

First of all I'm going to share my new season sewing plans.

We are in the process (almost there!) of turning our tiny utility room into a sewing space which is so exciting. Previously I sewed on the dining room table (our kitchen is off the dining room so there's no way to shut the door on any mess) with all my bits and pieces and fabric stuffed in a very full cupboard, so it will be great to be able to have them out. I'm sure it will double my productivity if I don't have to spend 30 minutes digging out a piece of interfacing or the right colour of zip! For this reason I haven't done much sewing for the past couple of months. All my stuff is packed away to keep the dust off it. But I have been planning!

I have had a lot of success in the past couple of years following along with the Fall Essentials Sewalong hosted by Sarah at Rhinestones and Telephones. It works well for me to plan my sewing for the season (actually why don't I do it when there's not a sewalong happening?).  So I am working along with that again.

Here's what I am planning:

Fashionable foundations for frosty weather

I wear my Maria Denmark Paula pleat skirt all the time. It's in regular rotation in my wardrobe and so I am planning another 2. I have navy baby cord and wine coloured twill washed and ready to go.

I also want to make a pair of wide legged trousers so I'll be working on the Pauline Alice Sorell trousers. I hope I can nail the fit as these are pretty much my perfect trouser pattern! I have some grey flannel type stuff in the stash for these.

Chic chemises for cool climates

I have had a breton top planned for ages and bought striped jersey in the Guthrie Ghani sale a while back. This will be massively useful in my wardrobe as my last one died last winter. I'll probably use the Renfrew pattern for this but modified to have more of a boat neck.

I am also planning another Jenna cardie  (I know I haven't shown you the previous versions yet. Stay tuned!). This will be in  teal double knit to replace a RTW one which has developed a huge mystery greasy mark on the sleeve which won't wash out.

Fabulous frocks

My cousin is getting married in October in Scotland.  I want to make a dress for it but haven't chosen a pattern yet. I have a few vintage patterns in mind. I'm looking for a red or burgundy fabric possibly polka dot, but until I find the pattern I won't be shopping for it yet.

Underneath it all

Depending on time and how many knit scraps I find when I clear out the fabric pit... er... cupboard I may make vests or knickers but I don't massively need either so they aren't a huge priority.

Tender tootsies

No socks planned. My carpal tunnel is still playing up so knitting isn't really on the cards just now.

Those cosy nights

Probably the most urgent clothing need - pyjama trousers. I have 2 pairs that are falling into holes.  Planning to use the Maria Denmark Laura lounge pants pattern again but I think I'll extend the waist up to make a drawstring closure similar to my preferred RTW ones.  I've never found ribbing of a quality that I like to make as per the pattern. I need to get fabric for these still.

Baby it's cold outside

I don't need a coat as the one i made last year is still great. But a warmish jacket would be good. I have a lust for a cape but not found fabric or pattern for it as yet.  To be honest this may not be finished by the end of the sewalong and I'm not going to stress myself out over getting it done to a deadline!

That's my plans. 8 items plus the cape, 2 sets of repeats and most from  patterns I have made before and regularly wear so not much fitting required. Other than the potential cape, all are from patterns I already own and most of the fabric is from the stash (to be honest I am getting nervous about sorting out my stash and being able to see how much I actually have - more than I think I am sure!)

Really looking forward to getting into a sewing routine again after a couple of months off. And also getting back to blogging again and showing you all what I have been making. It's good to be back!

Fall essentials sewalong recap

Well I'm feeling pretty pleased with myself! I had ambitious plans for the Fall Essentials Sewalong hosted by the lovely Sarah from Rhinestones and Telephones and I'm really happy with how much I got done. I didn't expect to get everything done as my list was my whole season sewing list, but it was a great start!

As a reminder, the sewalong was a very loose way of organising your autumn winter sewing under different headings. There was a Flickr group where we could get to know the other bloggers participating and I found some great new blogs to follow. You can see my planning post here.

Here's how I did:

 

Fashionable Foundations for Frosty Weather

I planned 3 skirts and a pair of trousers. I managed:

Teal corduroy Kelly skirt - I answered to call for pattern testers for Maria Denmark's new Paula skirt pattern and made this instead

A bonus Burgundy Kelly skirt - this was my first minerva make

Hummingbird Flounce version

Gertie pencil skirt - not yet started

Colette junipers - not started (unless you count last year's disastrous muslin which is lying in the bottom of my sewing box! )

So 3 skirts, no trousers!

Chic Chemises:

I planned to make 2 tops

Black cowl neck Renfrew - completed

Blue marl round neck Renfrew - completed

I also knitted a cardigan (not yet blogged). It is Andi Satterlund Hetty

Fabulous Frocks

I planned to make 4 dresses:

A winter Anna - Completed

A.teal simplicity 1882 - the bowling dress - completed

A cake patterns red velvet - I actually made 3! (one still to be properly photographed and blogged)

Colette Hawthorn in black wool - not yet done

So I made 5 (although one from the list still remains to be done)

Underneath It All

I planned and made 2 underskirts using Gerties tutorial

I didn't get started on the vests and knickers but I have fold over elastic purchased and plenty of knit scraps!

Baby It's Cold Outside

I planned to make the Cake Patterns Carmine jacket but the pattern hasn't been released yet.  I have the fabric and it's still planned!

Cosy Nights

I thought I might make pyjama trousers

I made one pair of Maria Denmark Laura lounge pants (the second are in the making)

Tender Tootsies

I didn't plan to make any socks

I think this is pretty good especially since I was away for a week in the middle! I am loving my new me made wardrobe and using a colour palette means it is really easy to find things that match!  I planned 12 items (which was never going to happen in a 2 month period!) plus some maybes of undies and PJs.  I actually made 9 and got underskirts, PJs and a knitting project finished.
 

I think the amount I got done was definitely due to the advance planning. It meant I bought all the notions - zips, thread, buttons etc in advance so I didn't get held up at the end. I got organised with pre washing the fabric and I didn't need to think about the next project - I just finished one and got on with the next. I think I'll do a bit of spontaneous sewing once I get to the end of this list though, but it is nice to do both!

Do you plan your makes or do you pick the next one on a whim? Do you sew for the season?  Did you get involved in FESA?  If you link me to your blog so I can see how you did!

The Bowling dress

After I did my Simplicity giveaway earlier in the year, they kindly let me choose a pattern to keep for myself and I went for Simplicity 1882.  I've seen some great versions, especially Karen's, but the version I loved was Virginia's from A Sewing Life.

I had an idea for a diner waitress style dress in aqua with black trim, but was thwarted by non-availability of aqua cotton sateen.  By the time I got to this one, autumn was approaching, the time for wearing aqua was running out and I spotted this teal sateen in my local Fabricland.  I paired it with a black sateen from Ebay.

This was my first Amazing Fit pattern and I really liked the system!  It comes with bodice pieces in A-D cup sizes, as well as slim, average and curvy fit skirts. So the first step is to get busy with a tape measure to take the difference between your high bust and full and waist and hips to decide on the pattern pieces to use.  Of course if your fabric has a little stretch (as mine did) it's quite forgiving!

Normally I do a 1" FBA on big 4 patterns, so I went for the C cup bodice and the average fit skirt (based on measurements as above).

Rather than doing a muslin, the pattern has large seam allowances for fitting, so it has you baste all the pieces together wrong sides together and try it on so that you can adjust the seams.  I did find the unpicking of the basting slightly annoying as the sateen showed every pull and needle hole - probably didn't help that this pattern had a separate 3 panelled front midriff and princess seamed bodice so lots of unpicking!  But still, no muslin!

I added the optional homemade piping (if you haven't made piping and like the look you really must try it - I love the effect and it is very easy to do with no special equipment needed) between the upper bodice and midriff pieces and at the waist.  It frames the nicely shaped midriff panel so well!  I also went for the contrast collar and bow (I was debating not adding the bow but if you saw the finish on the centre front V you would know why I did - not my best work!)

I had no real issues with it - these patterns would be great for fitting newbies as the instructions for fitting are very good.  Also the different sized pattern pieces make it easier to get closer to the right fit from the beginning.

I did deviate from the instructions with the invisible zip.  As I have had issues inserting these over piped seams in the past, I went for a hand picked normal zip instead.  I think I'm going to do this a lot more often in future.  As hand sewing goes, a hand picked zip goes in so quickly and easily (certainly compred to unpicking and redoing several times!), looks great and gives you so much more control of the final outcome than a slippy zipper foot that persists in sewing over the teeth and jamming the zip!


I also hand catch-stitched the hem, just because I preferred the look of it on such smooth fabric.

I wore this bowling with the Spoolettes - you'll have seen pictures on Clare, Sally, Janene, Nicole, Kathryn and Emmie's blogs to name but a few!  I did wish I had made a name badge but I totally ran out of time.

Red Velvet with added collar

Here's my second finished Red Velvet dress. 

This time I used the same crepe jersey from Minerva but in the plum colourway.

All the fitting etc was exactly the same as I used the same fabric, but this time I decided to add the collar. I wasn't sure about it at all before I started and figured I would baste it on and see how it looked.  I have to say I love it! It makes the dress look totally different from the red one.

The finish is great. I found it much easier to get a clean neckline finish as I followed the instruction to have the interfaced side facing up. This seemed counterintuitive to me but it is much easier to avoid the dreaded puckers! 

I also sewed the side seams with the extra I took off the first time removed.  Which made matching up the side seams so much easier (you don't want to look too closely at the red one in that area!).

I can tell I'll wear this one loads this winter!

The meta dress - a red Red Velvet for #sewredoctober

Oops, so I'm late blogging this one (there's a surprise!) but I did actually sew it in October! 

And another surprise (not!) is that I am in love with Red Velvet, one of a raft of new patterns StephC from Cake Patterns has released. As a total Cake fan girl, I love how easy she makes it to get a great fit off the bat with no muslin, and how you can get lots of different looks from the same pattern.

As I generally need extra length, I started with a tape measure.  This pattern conveniently has the bodice length and skirt length marked.  I lengthened the bodice pieces by 2" and the midriff pieces by 4". I cut the skirt with an extra 2" length. As usual with Cake, you use your own bust and waist measurements to make your own pattern pieces and choose bodice pieces based on cup size.

This version used a lovely crepe jersey from Minerva Crafts. I spotted it when Winnie used it to make her Victoria blazer and promptly ordered it in a few colours including this lovely bright red.  It's pretty stretchy with a 4 way stretch and super comfortable to wear. I would definitely recommend nabbing some of this jersey while they still have it in stock as you can't beat it for the price!

For the first version I decided not to add the collar. I also didn't add the invisible pocket as for me, pockets are for my hands!

It was really easy to make and fit as ever. At the fit check, I took an inch off each side seam to account for the stretch in the fabric. Later I took another inch off at the waist. I also removed some of the extra midriff length I had added once the skirt was attached.  This was due to the amount of stretch and the weight of the skirt pulling it down.

On this make I realised the importance of using decent thread for topstitching! The first thread I used was part of a box that came with my machine. It's fine for seaming but the topstitching round the neckline looked terrible. I knew it would bug me so I unpicked and redid it with thicker thread. 

All the seams are sewn using a long narrow zigzag and then overlocked.  Beware of overlocking the pleated waist seam if you have a lightweight (as the repair man put it - he was too polite to say cheap!) overlocker.  They are not made to go through that many layers and I badly bent the upper looper. That's not a cheap fix, believe me! Hubby managed to get it going again but it's not quite right.  I may have knocked out the timing or something.

For the hem i used fusible stay tape and then twin needled and it looks great.

But the dress is fab and I got lots of compliments!

And of course Steph is having a sew along so I had to get all competitive and join in! Go Team Esme! This dress doesn't qualify as I made it before the sewalong started but I have more to show you over the next few days.

A definite autumn essential!

Here's another of my FESA items completed!

I had planned to make pyjama trousers later in the winter once FESA was finished but decided to get them done earlier after noticing the state of my old ones!

I used Maria Denmark's Laura lounge pants pattern after seeing Gillian's great versions. I used the medium size. I added 2" crotch length and the same to the leg length (but the extra leg length wasn't needed - these are long!)  You need to add seam allowances and as I like my pjs wider legged than the pattern pics, I added 1" to each side seam and the usual 5/8" to the crotch seam.

As usual with Maria's patterns it was easy to put together with clear photo instructions.

There is a wide waistband which you can either make from ribbing and wide elastic or stretch jersey and shirring elastic. I used ribbing and they are super comfortable! Can't work out if I could leave the elastic out of the next pair or if they would fall down!

The only change I'll make for the next pair (teal with a charcoal grey ribbed waistband) is to scoop out about 1/2" from centre front as they come up a bit higher than I'd like. But otherwise these are great! They only need just over a metre of fabric and 25 cm of ribbing so a pretty cheap make. These came together in a couple of hours including cutting.

You're only getting mirror pics this time as I'm not venturing out in the garden for pics in my pjs (and also I am in my dad's pretty house which is much tidier than my own!). What would the neighbours think? 

Bend over let me see you shake your tail feather...

I've made the Hummingbird skirt before. Twice. But not blogged either. I know, bad blogger! I'll get to it soon, I promise! 

You may have spotted my denim version on the Other Renfrew post. I wear these loads - what's not to love? A simple fitted pencil skirt with cute pockets (pocket-aholic is totally a thing, just ask Carolyn!). Much as I love the simple style of the Hummingbird Orange, I had a hankering for the fancier Pink version with tail feathers flounce.

The fabric was part of the haul that supplied my Hawthorn, from Remnant Kings in Glasgow. It was a remnant, about 1.7m and cost the princely sum of £4.00. Burn tests were inconclusive but it's a woven with a bit of stretch and there's a fair bit of poly in there. It's a lovely airforce blue with black and white flecks running through it.

I had already lengthened my previous versions to 22" which hits just above the knee. I knew I wanted mid-calf length on this so I made it 28". Clearly I messed up in the measuring as the back ended up longer than the front so I had to cut it down after sewing the side seams. I consulted Twitter, especially Katie about lengthening the flounce. Although I couldn't get my head around it, I trusted Steph's drafting and all was well.

I ended up doing quite a narrow hem as I didn't want to lose much more length.

I love the end result! I know I won't wear it as much as the plainer versions but it's like the denim one's posher cousin! It's so comfortable to wear as the flounce stops you being restricted as you walk, even while the front view is quite pegged. It's flattering even on those of us who are blessed in the bottom department.

I'm wearing it here with my Gertie Portrait blouse.  I love using a colour palette - everything matches so well!

I haven't seen too many flounce versions around the blogosphere. Have you made one? Link me up in the comments!

If I was Jo from Amazing Adventures of Taracat, you'd probably get a some pictures of me shaking my tail feather. Since I am not, you'll have to make do with Susannah Reid on Strictly Come Dancing.

 

This was the first week too - she's brilliant! This woman is a newsreader, not even a singer or actress. I have spared you the 5 year old shaking her tail feather in her pyjamas - you're welcome!

Autumn Kelly Skirt for Minerva Blogger Network

For my first Minerva Blogger Network garment I decided to work with my Autumn Winter wardrobe plans.

As part of my long term goal to build an entirely me made wardrobe, I had planned to make quite a few separates this season. I've made Megan Nielsen's Kelly skirt before (but never blogged - must get onto that!) It's a great pattern for both summer and winter as it works with so many fabrics.

When I was planning this I was looking for fabric with a bit of body as it really helps to keep the shape of the skirt and the pleats. I chose a cotton drill as it was a perfect weight and colour - it comes in loads of other colours too but I wanted to stick to my winter colour palette.  Of course by the power of Twitter I could check with Megan herself and Vicki from Minerva that it would work well.

When it arrived I was really happy with the weight and sheeny texture of the fabric - much nicer than the twill I used before.  I also got some perfect interfacing which has spoiled me for the cheap stuff I normally use! It's a woven interfacing that fuses really easily without wrinkling or stretching.  Perfect for keeping the wide waistband of this skirt in shape.

The skirt is really easy and quick to put together, especially since i had made it before. It would be a great beginner project or for someone who wants to practice buttonholes. I made a medium and lengthened by a couple of inches so that i could keep the nice deep hem.

Even the buttonholes came out well! I sewed the buttons on with my machine - if you have a button foot I highly recommend getting to grips with it as it's so easy! My el cheapo machine came with one so it's likely lots of others do too.

As I have terrible indecision when it comes to buttons, I was happy to get help from Vicki at Minerva. She helped me pick some great navy ones with a slight texture to them which look great.

If you want to stalk my Kelly skirt you can buy a kit with the burgundy twill, fab interfacing, buttons and matching thread from Minerva Crafts.

Pictures were taken on a recent trip home to Glasgow - it's such a great city for photo locations!

Winter knitting project plans

I'm not an especially speedy knitter. Some bloggers seem to knit up a jumper every few weeks alongside their sewing projects but this is definitely not my way!

 

I plan for one completed project each winter and this is the one I'm working on this year.

 

 

 

I wanted to make a cardigan and was checking out Andi Satterlund patterns on Ravelry after seeing so many cute Miette cardigans popping up across the blogiverse. Her newest pattern Hetty jumped out at me.

 

It's a gorgeous lacey pattern with a round neck. As it is knitted with aran /worsted weight wool it knits up quickly and doesn't use up vast quantities of wool.

 

I always find it hard to choose wool. I can't wear pure wool but the 100% synthetic yarns are generally not that nice. If I am going to the trouble to knit something I want it to be better quality than I could buy on my budget in a shop.

 

So of course I asked Twitter and SewBusyLizzy recommended I look at Malabrigo Worsted (thanks Lizzy! ). As we know, she is SewRightLizzy so I decided to try it. After much colour deliberation (my original plan was a burgundy colour but nowhere had enough of it to complete the project) I picked Sweet Grape - a dark greyish-purple.

 

 

 

When it arrived I was in love! This wool is so beautiful! It's very smooth and soft -I'll have no problem wearing it. It has a slight sheen to it which makes the stitches look gorgeous.  And as it's 100% wool I'll be able to block it well to show off the lovely lace pattern.

 

Based on a tension square I needed to go up a needle size (to 5.5 mm rather than 5mm) to get the right gauge. I'm a tight knitter so this is normal for me.

 

I'm knitting the medium size  (Andi recommends 0-2" of negative ease for this pattern) but am lengthening the body by a couple of inches - it's a fairly short style but I don't want it to look too cropped. I consulted the helpful Ravelry peeps about other fitting changes after doing a bit of measuring. I decided not to widen the shoulders on their advice as I will be able to block it a bit larger. I needed an extra couple of inches room at the waist so I'm going to skip a couple of decrease rows in the body.

 

Can't wait to get this finished so I can wear the cardigan instead of just cuddling the wool! And there will definitely be more Malabrigo in my future!

Pattern testing - the Paula Pleat Skirt

When Maria Denmark put out a call on Twitter for people to test her new skirt pattern I jumped at the chance! I've made her Kirsten Kimono Tee on no less than 5 occasions and they are in heavy rotation in my wardrobe. I've also got my eye on some others - the Edith shirt dress, Winnie trousers, Audrey knit dress and Laura lounge pants to name a few! I like Maria's simple styles and clear instructions.

The Paula skirt is a simple pleated skirt with a yoke and invisible side zip. I used a teal corduroy that I bought with a Kelly skirt in mind, but it softened up such when I washed it that I don't think it would have held up well to button plackets . Much better for this pattern! 

Even though I was using a test version that didn't have totally finished instructions it was really easy to put together. (Well apart from sewing the pleats wrong first go, but I seem to have a mental block on pleats so sure that was just me!). The pdf was just 12 pages (none of your 77 page pdfs here - I'm looking at you, Zinnia).

It uses an invisible zip which I was worried about inserting across the seam between yoke and skirt but it went in perfectly (the instructions are for invisible but Maria notes you could use lapped or central zippers). Her use of a waistband facing gives a great clean finish to the zip with no hand sewing.

This is a fab wardrobe basic. You could totally make it in a few hours with just over a metre of fabric and a zip. I think it would be a great first project for a beginner as there's virtually no fitting. Pick the size that fits your waist and you are sorted. There's a mid construction fit check to make sure all is OK before you get onto installing the zip.

It's a great addition to my winter wardrobe and another FESA item ticked off the list! 

Uh-oh...

Photobomb!

 The pattern went on sale today if you want to make your own version and Maria is offering 50% off!

More autumn essentials

I made some undies! Ok nothing difficult like a bra (pants/ knickers/vests still on my to do list).

I was chatting on Twitter about the fact that it should be easy to make underskirts, prompted by Carolyn's blog post here. A couple of lovely ladies (no idea who - sorry!) pointed me towards Gertie and Tasia's tutorials. As I had leftover poly satin from my Anna dress lining and my Anise jacket I knew it would be a quick and cheap make and stash bust.

A quick look on Ebay revealed a seller with picot elastic and fold over elastic (for my SoZo pants and vests - I am obsessed with saving postage and often buy stuff ages in advance to avoid paying twice) and it turned out he was just a few miles away from me. I ordered at lunchtime one day and received the next morning! I ordered some pretty lace with a Minerva Fabrics order (see, postage!) and it's gorgeous! It's a lovely weight which makes these feel really luxurious. 

I think the spend on these worked out at £2 per underskirt and they are so much nicer than any bought ones I have had.

I used Gertie's tutorial and it was so fast - both of these were made in an evening.

Perfect for making cotton summer dresses wearable with tights! 

I'll spare you pics of these on me (you're welcome).

The Other Renfrew

Here's my other version of the Sewaholic Renfrew.  Actually I made this one first before Lizzy suggested the cowl version.

I also got this in Goldhawk Road and it's a more stable jersey with less slipping and sliding and curly edges, so good for a first try at a new pattern!

I went for the round neck since that is my usual t-shirt preference (although I am tempted to trace off the neckline of the Maria Denmark Kirsten Kimono tee and make a slash neck version) and long sleeves.

I really like it - it looks good with my denim Hummingbird skirt (oops, must blog my Hummingbirds!) and fits well with my winter palette.  I can't help but think that a broad shoulder adjustment might get rid of those slight draglines on the shoulder?  I guess as Tasia drafts for a pear shape that perhaps her shoulders are relatively narrow?  Maybe I'll try it on a future version (I'm sure there will be many!).

Total aside - do you like my new boy shoes?  You can't tell from the pic but they are glittery!  N loves them but thinks i should keep them for parties.

The Sew-Right-Lizzy Renfrew

Weird pushed back hair so you can actually see the cowl

I'm probably the last sewist in the blogiverse to have made a Renfrew, but why did I wait so long?

I bought the pattern after Me Made May and got the fabric in Goldhawk Road in July with Alison (oops, didn't realise it had been that long!).

This was actually my second Renfrew (first is yet to be photographed - stay tuned!) and after mentioning it on Twitter and hearing that I had a nice drapey viscose knit, Lizzy told me i had to make the cowl version.  I wasn't sure and didn't think i had enough fabric but I decided to give it a go (on the basis that I could always replace it with a neckband since the pattern pieces for the body are the same).  I'm so glad I did as I really like it!

I cut a size 10, and it's actually quite long so I didn't need to lengthen it, surprisingly. To fit it on the fabric I had, I took about 3/4" of the top of the cowl and sewed it together with a 1/4" seam allowance, so it's not far off the size of the pattern.  I also used the 3/4 length sleeves (which I like anyway, especially with the cuffs).

I managed to sew up 2 of these in one weekend so it's a nice quick and gratifying make - will definitely be making more!

Look up there! Honestly it's not another pic of a black t-shirt!

And I owe it all to you Lizzy - you were right! Thanks for the encouragement to make something I usually wouldn't consider!

Am doing pretty well on my FESA list (not so much on keeping up the blogging of it but i'll get there soon!).  Another Renfrew, my bowling dress and a skirt to come soon!

The Brighton Anna

This is the first completed item from my FESA list!

Prompted as ever by a sewalong (although I ended up not following it as I was too keen to get her finished) and by all the gorgeous versions I have seen popping up everywhere, in particular,  Lizzy's, Roisin's and Fiona's, I wanted to make a winter Anna.  A summer version would be gorgeous but I had pretty much missed the boat on summer makes by the time I got my act together and ordered the pattern!  I went for the midi version with a slash neck - I feel like this could be a better fitting version of the Colette Peony, which I love the shape of but have never worked out my fitting kinks!

I chose a wool blend from Minerva Crafts in french navy and found it really easy to work with - it feels similar to a couple of 1960s vintage dresses I have.  although I did have to use a pressing cloth (as the slightly shiny patch over the back bodice dart will testify). To be able to wear it with tights, I decided to line it, and used a poly satin from Fabricland (previously used this fabric to line my Anise jacket).

As a few bloggers had commented that the bodice was fairly short, I lengthened by 3" as i would usually do.  The waistband sits about 1" above my natural waist but I think this is in line with the design.  My usual small FBA was needed.  I wanted the skirt to hit on the knee rather than midi length as this is more flattering for me, so I left the length as drafted.

I could actually have got this out of 2 metres of fabric, even with my length adjustments so since I bought 3 metres (Minerva only work in whole metres as part of keeping prices down) I have enough left for a skirt hopefully.

After cutting out all the gored skirt panels from lining, I realised that I could have cut the lining as one piece and saved myself all that seaming and finishing, but never mind!  I sewed the darts and pleats down just at the waist to allow for breathing room.

As I didn't plan originally to line it, I failed in avoiding hand sewing - using the Cambie lining tutorial I could have attached the zip to the fabric and lining by machine, but I had sewn up the side seams by this point so too late!  So I slip stitched the lining to the zipper tape by hand.  On a positive note, the invisible zip went in like a dream.

I also hand catch stitched the hem of the dress as I preferred the look.  I tried to finish the lining hem using the rolled hem setting on my overlocker, but the fabric was fraying so badly that the hem was pulling away from the rest of the skirt.  Normal overlocking worked fine.

I really love this dress.  I think it needs a belt, brooch or bright tights to liven it up (went with belt and tights when I wore it the day we took pics) as it's a plain colour but I can tell I will wear it loads this winter.  Can't wait til spring when I can make a few more in summer prints and light fabrics (oh and a maxi version too)!