New TNT - The Burda Bat Wing Top returns

In the spirit of my bright new organised sewing room I have resolved to start finishing off some of my half done projects or UFOs (Un-Finished Objects).

 These two have been languishing half finished since July! It only took about 2 hours to finish them both off!!

First on the list - something easy (we'll work up to that coat that is half done...). After such success with my first try at this Burda pattern I immediately rushed out to buy fabric to make some more! 

Fabric Close Ups - This one is a bit sheer so a neutral tank works well underneath

Texture, Texture, Texture - The red top is super warm since this texture comes from a double layer of fabric

I went back to my fave haunt - Ferriers Fashion Fabrics since I had seen these fabrics on my first visit but didn't want to spend on luxe fabrics if I wasn't sure the pattern would work. Now I know it works and looks good I am quite happy to spend a little more to get quality in my end garment. 

This is a pretty stable ethos for me - New Pattern? Start off with a 'wearable muslin' in a cheap fabric so if it is a disaster at least I haven't destroyed beautiful and expensive fabric making it! Then, when all the kinks are ironed out, move on to fabrics I love to wear. I think this is also how I discover if a design is worthy of the TNT tag - and why I made 3 versions of my wrap dress in the previous post before finally making it up in luxurious Italian Jersey (just fabric for this make was around $70!!)

But back to these girls - there isn't much to add to what I wrote last time. Construction and sizing didn't really change although I did leave the interfacing off for the purple version as you could clearly see it at the neckline through the lacey fabric.

These aren't the most exciting things to post about but they are real sewing "cake": good basics that fill a hole in my wardrobe. I am trying to be much more thoughtful and aware of what I sew for myself since my wardrobe has some gaps that need filling with more "cake" rather than just sewing pretty pieces of "frosting". 

But Summer is Coming!! And that means lots of chances to sew and wear some pretty dresses - definitely my favourite type of frosting :-D

So I promise some pretty sweet treats next time I post!

OXOX

Stace

PS - What do you think of my new photo spot in the new room? Should I mix it up with some new locations? It's soooo much easier to get better light here plus I can balance my camera on my cutting table to take pics Yay!

Diane Von Furstenburg Inspired Wrap Dress

Happy Long (sewing) Weekend!

Hope you all are enjoying this Monday off work - although the day has started off a bit grey and gloomy here, I'm hoping for a little sunshine later on!

I had a whole variety of plans for this weekend until I ended up sick from Thursday to about Saturday. Ugh, how unfair does it seem when there is a glorious weekend in front of you but you just feel rotten? Fortunately I was feeling better on Saturday and Sunday and finally back to normal today :-)

So all the usual plans went out the window this weekend. Yesterday however, I did feel the sewing bug. I wasn't looking for too much of a challenge and a quick make was definitely on the cards so I went with my TNT pattern New Look 6429 (now out of print).

This pattern was originally my cousins but we have come to a pattern borrowing/holding hostage arrangement since I have now made 4 of this dress across 2 different sizes...

1..2..3..4...Short sleeves, Long sleeves, No sleeves? Yep think this qualifies as a TNT pattern

Although not a true wrap dress, I always think this design reminds me of those classic Diane Von Furstenburg wrap dresses (especially in this print!). This style flatters pretty much every shape and, just like that other classic - the shirt dress - can be worn practically anywhere! I love that it is a faux wrap since I often have trouble staying in true wrap dresses as I'm short from shoulder to bust which in turn = accidently low cut necklines. The gathering falls right over the area most women are most self conscious about and is part of what makes this such a flattering pattern to wear. Seriously, every time I wear this design I get heaps of compliments from people about how figure flattering it is!

I decided to try something new this time around and finished the neckline with a stretched on band including clear elastic (a la Nettie Dress) instead of the pattern's facings or using non-stretch tape. I was hoping that this would fix the gaping problem that still happens after wearing the dress for a few hours. I am so thrilled to report - it has! This is definitely my favourite finish for knit garments now - I will definitely continue to add this where needed.

Woo! Look No Gaping!!!

I sewed a size 8 and the only alterations apart from the neckline was to shave 1.5cm from the neckline side of the front shoulder seam as I hoped this would help raise the neckline. It did change the fit but I'm not sure if it is almost too high for me now. This change also meant I had to cut out the armholes slightly as they were raised marginally too high after this alteration. What do you think on the neckline position? Too high? I finished the neck band, sleeves and hem with a twin needle.

What do you think? Neckline too high?

How awesome is this fabric by the way??? It's Italian Jersey and is a relic of our March Melbourne Trip. I bought this at The Cloth Shop and while it wasn't cheap, it is definitely the best quality jersey I have ever worked with. And just look at that print!! I LOVE IT!

You can just spot the stretch band I added to the neckline here

The Cloth Shop is a great place to shop if you're around Melbourne, the wonderful staff there really know their stuff and are so friendly and approachable - I really enjoyed shopping there! Plus there is a delicious cafe across the road for lunches on fabric shopping days :-)

Whee!!!!

Hopefully the rest of your day feels like this!!

Happy Sewing!

Stace

OXOX

Cherry Bomb! A red hot Nettie Dress

Sewing for myself has been on the back burner for the past few weeks. With one thing and another I suddenly found myself with a pile of orders to fill for StaceyMade :-O which is no bad thing but did mean I wanted to knuckle down a bit and get stuck in.

Fortunately one of those orders was for a new pattern - a Nettie Dress from Closet Case Files. If I've never used the pattern brand or design before I like to make a trial version for me first since I know my shape better than anyone's. This way I can iron out any fit issues or strange sizing etc. before cutting into my friend's fabric. Bonus here was I have been eying the Nettie Pattern since it came out. It looked like such a good basic design and although I doubt I'll ever make the body suit up (maybe as a costume?), the dress can also be altered into a t-shirt so for only $10 or so you get a good basic dress, t-shirt and bodysuit pattern. When I had a friend after this exact design I rejoiced because now I had a reason to buy the pattern finally!

I won't lie, part of the appeal of this pattern was the very low scoop back combined with a built in bra. I adore low backs, particularly in combination with long sleeves and high necklines - I think it is the epitome of understated sexiness. Add in fire engine red fabric and I think this is one hot dress!

Ok maybe not so understated sexy from this side...

I cut a size 6 high neck, low back dress after a LOT of deliberation given the pattern is designed with negative ease and I am not a hugely confident stretch sewer. I have been dipping my toes into stretch sewing this year and I do love how quick and easy it is to sew up but I still struggle with fitting and sizing issues simply because my brain isn't wired to think in stretch fabric terms just yet. The size 6 turned out to be a perfect fit even though the body measurements given for this size were slightly smaller than mine. I think it also depends on what sort of fabric you use so each new make will have to be individually assessed.

I used some cheap and cheerful bright red cotton interlock stretch fabric I bought in Melbourne at G & J's fabrics (I think). It only just had enough stretch to make this dress but as it is a little heavier than a jersey it did help smooth out my silhouette lines in the final dress so :-).

I included a built in bra which I've never attempted before. The process was relatively easy although I wanted to insert foam bra cups to give a little more support than just the standard elastic + fabric set up. They look ok in pictures but in real life they are a little lumpy and poor fitting. I think the main problem is that between buying these cups and making the dress I've lost weight and now the cups are too big. I'm probably going to rip them out and see how it looks without them and if needed I'll buy some smaller, lighter ones to try again with. This sounds quite tricky and there was a lot of mirror scrutiny time but the actual process of inserting the cups was quite easy - I followed the Nettie sewalong on Closet Case Files site and the instructions were excellent and easy to follow for this step :-)

Overall, this is a fantastic basic pattern that is quick and easy to sew up. I finished all the seams on my overlocker and top stitched the neckline and hems using a stretch twin needle. My only DUUUUUH! Moment came when I perfectly attached the neckband using my overlocker only to discover it was attached right side to wrong side! Cue cutting off that band and starting again. As a result of this the back neckline is quite narrow on the shoulders and has a tendency to fall off a little but I don't think this will be a problem if you sewed it normally in the first place!

This was a great run through before making my final version for my friend - she was after the scoop neck and high back version of the dress and since we are the same size (yay) I could try this version on to check fit and there will definitely be a version of this in my life soon, along with a t-shirt version with the medium back using the left over scraps from this project. I'm actually planning a lot more Netties. They are quick and easy to sew up - great instant gratification sewing, they look great on and are super comfy to wear while still looking really polished :-D wins all round!

It's so nice to whip up some quick sewing projects :-) I love beautiful detailed makes but sometimes you just want a finished project right now!

Special special thanks go to my awesome Dad (Happy Fathers Day!) for taking these great photos - so much better than the goober shots I usually take on timer at home ;-)

Happy Sewing!

OXOX

Stace

P.S - If you'd like to see the other version of this dress I made up, head on over to my Facebook page for StaceyMade Fashion at https://www.facebook.com/StaceyMadeFashion

Bat Outta Hell Burda Batwing Top

After my Me Made May adventures I discovered my wardrobe is lacking in comfy, warm winter gear and I've been thinking about how best to fill this gap. Leggings was the first step and now I've moved on to tops.

I've always had a liking for "dancer" style clothing (wrap cardies, circle skirts, ballerina tops and of course batwing or Flash dance style tops or t-shirts). I've always been a dancer at heart so I blame 9 years of jazz dance training for this obsession with ballerina and dancer clothing. I was convinced for years that I couldn't wear the batwing style but as I'm trying to branch out in the styles I wear I thought it was time for another try.

And the great news? I LOVE IT!!!

This is Burda 7866 which I believe is out of print now. I have had my eye on it literally for years so when I saw it marked down on a recent trip to Ferriers Fashion Fabrics along side the perfect fabric to trial the design it seemed fabric fate had brought us together! 

The fabric is a grey, self-pattern knit from Ferriers Fashion Fabrics - these guys have a seriously wonderful selection of fabrics and great service (I've already been back for more fabric to make 2 more versions of this top!). Although not always the cheapest, the quality is amazing. After making up 2 garments in fabric purchased here I can honestly say that slightly pricier fabric is worth it as everything is easier and looks 10 times better in a good fabric. Plus they did have a sale running so this knit wasn't all that expensive in the end. The pattern takes 1.6m for the size 10 I made and while you can squeeze this top out of 1.3m I think you would lose the shaping to the bottom band in the process. So for a whole 30cm of fabric and a nicer shaped top I think sticking with the 1.6m length is best.

Constructing this baby was easy - including tracing the pattern, cutting the fabric and unearthing the second overlocker needle this still only took 3 hours! I think the next one will probably be more like 2 hours (oh yes there will be more of these!!). Everything is cut on the fold where possible to save on seaming during construction. I chose to skip making the matching belt since it felt too fussy to add an unnecessary tie to a simple knit top. As you can see - after attaching the neckline bands this top only has 5 seams and 3 hems to complete. I followed the instructions for attaching interfacing and a neckband to the neckline which was similar to adding bias binding, technique-wise, and am actually really happy with the finish here. Normally I would just add viseoflix and turn the seam allowance but so many people have said how nice the neckline is finished I think I will continue using this method! I sewed all the seams on the 4 thread overlocker with wooly nylon on which definitely helped speed up the process :-)

I really like the simplicity of this top. In a lovely weight knit like this one it drapes and hangs beautifully and I like that the neckline, although high, is quite wide and flattering. I've been wanting to wear this constantly since I finished it and it's certainly going to become a TNT (Tried N True) pattern in the future! Now I just need to work on my pirouettes ;-)

Me Made May '14 - Day 2

So I can tell that MMM 14 is going to make it easy to tell which days I'm working and which days I don't leave the house if I can help it...

Here is outfit 2...

It's super sexy!

I actually have to confess that this outfit was covered up by at least another 2 daggy layers, on account of it is freezing cold right now, but if I put those on you wouldn't be able to see the only me-made part of my outfit!

Details
Leggings: Cotton On

Top: Made by Me - McCalls 6164  (listed as out-of-print online but probably still available in some stores) - View A

Ugg Boots: Kmart!

I am already learning that on days when I only dress for comfort I am going to struggle to find me-made items to wear because I tend to sew "dressier" items. Not that they aren't comfy, just that I don't usually bother sewing things that I'm only going to lounge around the house in. I would like to try making leggings since I have finally discovered how comfy and amazing they are. Maybe a future project?

I think I will try posting daily until Sunday then I might try doing a weekly post at the end of the week and see which method I prefer. 

Happy Weekend!

Stace :)