Knit Dress in Black and White Stripes

I came across this lovely black and white stripe ponti on my first and only visit to The Remnant Warehouse in Sydney, way back in March. I have purchased from their online shop many times, so it was wonderful to visit the store in person and see and touch the fabrics. The staff are very friendly and helpful too. I just wish I could have spent more time there, but I had a very bored husband with me, so my visit was limited. The fabric blend is 72% Polyester, 23% Viscose and 5% Spandex.

I have been noticing lots of striped dresses in the shops so I assume they must be popular at the moment. I used the Tilly and the Buttons Coco Dress pattern as a base for my dress. This pattern is a firm favourite of mine, if you didn't already know.

I did quite a few design alterations to achieve the look I was after. The flare of the skirt was significantly reduced at the side seams to create a straighter shape.

The scoop neckline was borrowed from Sewaholic's Renfrew top (another favourite pattern).

Originally the neckband was cut with the stripes running in the opposite direction, but it was a disaster. Because the fabric didn't have quite as much stretch in that direction, it made the neckline gather up and not lie flat. I contemplated unpicking the overlocking stitches for a moment, but I then came up with a much easier fix. I simply trimmed the whole neckband and seam allowance off and started again. The neckband was re cut along the direction of the stripes and I carefully positioned it so that the neckband would show a centred black stripe. I then reattached it using a much smaller seam allowance, so as not to increase the size of the neckline too much. 

Although it is difficult to see in the photo, I added two fisheye darts to the back to provide a little shaping. The neckband and hems were all top stitched with a twin needle.

The stripe matching during the construction of this dress was quite fiddly. It involved pinning every black stripe very carefully, then basting the seam, checking for accuracy, unpicking parts and re basting, and then finally sewing the seam. I was using a walking foot too. I am a bit over sewing with stripes and can't wait for a nice easy plain fabric to sew.

These photos were taken last week in Dad and Elizabeth's garden during our visit to Wollongong. I'm loving all the spring flowers. Just wish this last blast of winter weather would go away, so I can enjoy wearing my new spring dress.


Happy Sewing

Style Arc Adele Tunic in Stripes

Recently I had the unexpected opportunity to visit The Remnant Warehouse in Sydney. I have bought quite a bit of fabric from their online store in the past, so it was great to actually visit the real shop for the first time. It was during this visit that I picked up this lovely cotton lycra stripe in a soft grey and white. They had precut bundles of this fabric in one metre lengths for $5.00. I bought two bundles and used it to try out the Style Arc Adele Top.

Style Arc Adele Tunic

I made a size 12 and the only alteration I made was to the shape of the neckline.

I took my time to match the stripes at the side seams. I could have constructed this entirely on the overlocker but I knew my stripes would never line up if I did this. So I used a very narrow zigzag on my sewing machine and my walking foot and lots of pins. This worked really well and I am glad I took the extra time and effort.

I love the fit of this tunic. There is negative ease across the bust and shoulders, but then it falls loosely over the tummy and hips, effectively hiding any lumpy bits. I am wearing this tunic with my Style Arc Elle Pants.

Neckline borrowed from the Sewaholic Renfrew

 

You may have noticed that my neckline is quite different from the pattern illustration. I am not a fan of crew necklines on me, so I redrew the neckline using the Sewaholic Renfrew View B with the V neckline, and I followed the Sewaholic instructions for the construction of the V neckline.

There is a side split on one side which assists with the fit over the hips. I am more rectangular shaped, so I probably could get away without the side split, but this would be great for those of you who are more pear shaped.

I love the asymmetrical hemline too. I think it is very flattering and helps elongate and slim the torso. I used a twin needle to sew all the hemlines. I wanted to use some Steam a Seam Lite to stabilize the hems before stitching but my local supplier was out of stock, so I forged ahead very carefully, using my walking foot. The result wasn't too bad but there is some tunneling.

Loving my new Adele Tunic which has been worn three times already. I will be making more of these when I can find the right fabric.

Happy Sewing

Casual Coco for Summer

I have recently made a wonderful discovery locally...a new to me source for fabric and sewing notions..."Patchwork On The Bay". I had never paid this shop any attention as it is tucked away down a very quiet arcade. Out of sight and out of mind, and I assumed it would be all patchwork/quilting fabric and supplies. But I was wrong! They also stock some wonderful cotton shirting fabrics as well as a large selection of buttons and trims, etc. The business owner is also very helpful. (More than I can say for the other fabric/sewing shop in town). There is a bargain table out the front where I have picked up some lovely knits...mainly interlocks and that is where I found this lovely print for my Coco.

I just loved the fresh colours in this striped print and I thought it would make a lovely summer Coco dress. I made a size 5, as usual and kept the flared A-line skirt. I shortened the sleeves and added some width to make them nice and loose. After wearing my last Coco, I found the short sleeves restricted movement a little. This may have been due to the ponte which is quite different from this interlock. I may have gone overboard on the sleeve widening but they are very comfortable and cool.

I did a pretty good job on matching the stripes on the side seams. Unfortunately, I didn't have enough fabric to match the stripes on the sleeves, but I don't think they look too bad.

I don't know the composition of this fabric, except that it does not contain any spandex. It drapes well and does not crease. Got to love a dress you don't need to iron. Most of the construction was done on the overlocker.

I turned up 2cm hems on the sleeves and the skirt and sewed with a twin needle. I had white thread in one needle and navy blue in the other. This was largely due to sheer laziness as I didn't have another reel of white thread and couldn't be bothered to stop and wind a bobbin. I thought the navy thread would tie in nicely with the navy print.

I used a cotton/lycra knit binding on the neckline, turned completely to the inside and top stitched with a twin needle. This resulted in a neckline that sits flat and snug against the body, thanks to the lycra component.

A casual Coco perfect for relaxing on the weekend.


Many thanks to my darling husband for taking these photos for me, and many thanks to my Mother and her husband for the use of their pretty garden. 


Happy Sewing

Floral Denim Jean Jacket

I fell in love with this gorgeous floral stretch denim the minute I set eyes on it on the Lincraft Website. I already had the perfect pattern...Style Arc's Stacie Jean Jacket in the pattern stash.

Gorgeous Floral Stretch Denim from Lincraft.

I have already made this jacket in a plain denim blogged about here. The only changes I made to this jacket were to lengthen the sleeves.

I agonised over laying out the pattern on the fabric. I ended up tracing extra copies of all the pattern pieces so that I could cut the jacket out on a single layer and better visualise how the pattern was going to look once all the panels were joined.

Laying out the pattern on a single layer of fabric.

I think I spent more time laying out the pattern than it took to sew up the jacket.

Front open

Back open

The size 12 was a perfect fit and after lengthening the sleeves by 5cm they are the perfect length too.

Front buttoned up

Back buttoned up

I did the top stitching with a green thread that matched the greens in the floral pattern. This time I just used a single needle to top stitch (on the last jacket I used a twin needle) and slightly lengthened the stitch.

Top stitching detail on pocket flap

I was a little disappointed with how the top stitching turned out along the seams. I was using the width of my presser foot as a guide. This was just a couple of millimetres too wide and the stitches didn't always catch the seam allowance underneath. This made the top stitching look a little wonky in places. The weave of this fabric is quite loose and it made unpicking very difficult. The stitches just sank right into the fabric and I was worried that I would cut a hole in it. After unpicking two whole rows of top stitching down the centre fronts (that took forever), I thought I had better leave "well enough" alone.

Collar and front facing.

The first time I made this jacket, I had trouble with attaching the collar. It only seemed long enough to reach from the inside edge of the facing on each side. This time I staystitched the neck edge to avoid any stretching out of the fabric and I was able to attach the collar at the centre point of each front facing, which is how it should be, I think.

Button, buttonholes and front panel pattern matching (woops, see the mistake)

After all my exhaustive efforts with the cutting out of the jacket, I have made a very silly mistake. The pattern matches beautifully across the front centre panels now, but what happens when the jacket is buttoned up?   #%*$

Love the fold back cuff.

Overall, I really pleased with my new jacket. It's fairly light weight so I may have to wait for next spring to wear it.

Happy Sewing