Coco Dress in Jersey Knit for March's MAGAM

Early in March, I posted my MAGAM plans on Instagram. The theme for March is MAD March, which stands for make a dress...something. I decided to make a TNT pattern for me... the Tilly and the Buttons Coco Dress with a few modifications to make it a little different.

Modifications made were: to reduce the flare of the skirt, add vertical darts to the back and to add half circle cuffs to the 3/4 length sleeves. 

The addition of vertical darts in the back give a nice fit and take away from any sack like silhouette. I always reduce the flare of the skirt because I feel it's a bit too flared. I have narrow hips and the narrower skirt looks better on my shape.

I decided to use this lovely poly/spandex jersey print that I bought online from Knitwit in their summer sale. It must have sold out, as I can't see it on their site today. This is not the stable ponte or double knit that is the suggested fabric for this pattern, however, it worked out fine.

I used the circle skirt calculator from By Hand London to draft the half circle cuffs for the sleeves. This was really easy to do and I love the effect. The half circle additions to the sleeves are only a single layer and I opted to leave them unhemmed (raw edge) after experimenting with some scraps. I was never going to be able to hem that curved edge neatly and the wrong side would be on show. I would have self faced the half circle cuffs, but unfortunately there was not enough fabric left for that option.

It has been fun to get back into some selfish sewing, after making some shirts for my son. I'm pretty happy with how this dress turned out and I am realising that I gravitate to wearing dresses much more than separates, so maybe I should concentrate on making more dresses.

Happy sewing

Jean  

A Modified Coco Dress for July's MAGAM

July's theme for MAGAM (make a garment a month) is Seasonal Stashbuster. I outlined my plans on IG earlier in the month: 

"I am planning to sew this lovely tartan double knit from my stash into a winter dress, loosely based on the Tilly and the Buttons Coco Dress. I will reduce the flare of the skirt, add vertical darts at the back, add a bias cut split lapped collar and bias cut patch pockets. Hope it turns out as good as it looks in my head." Well, here is the completed dress:

It has turned out just as I imagined, apart from the lack of plaid matching of the sleeves to the body of the dress...woops. I somehow forgot this detail at the cutting out stage. At least the sleeves match each other. I did all the cutting out in a single layer so I could line up the stripes. The tartan double knit (from Spotlight) had only been in my stash for a few weeks and I was originally planning to make a casual winter top, but after washing it I felt it was more suited to a dress, and this is the eighth time I have made up the Coco dress/top pattern so I have certainly got my money's worth.

I did match the plaid at the side seams, but failed to get a good photo showing this. The bias cut pockets are exact mirror images of each other and I was very happy with this detail.

The vertical darts created a nice fit through the back. I completely fluked the position of the plaid at the centre back of the collar, but love how it is nicely balanced. All the hems were hand stitched so they remained invisible.

Bias cut split lapped collar

I just love the bias cut split lapped collar. It gives the dress a bit of a retro vibe. I wish I had added some interfacing to the collar because it has turned out a little floppy in this double knit, so I will have to remember that for next time.

This will be a nice comfy work dress and I think it will get loads of wear.

Happy Sewing

Jean

Style Arc Barb's Stretch Pants and another Coco

The Style Arc Barb's Stretch Pants have been the most worn garment in my wardrobe over the last twelve months. I'm really not sure why I have never blogged about them until now, although they have made several sneak appearances in previous posts.

Style Arc Barb's Stretch Pants with boot cut alteration.

The size 12 fitted well straight out of the envelope, without any fit alterations. You may notice that I have added some flare, beginning around knee level and increasing down to the hemline. I prefer the boot cut style over the straight style. Here is a photo taken last year of my first pair of Barb's, made without any alterations.

Style Arc Barb's Stretch Pants without any alterations.

I didn't like the way they seemed to get caught up on my shoes and not sit properly. 

I have made two pairs with the boot cut alteration, one in black and one in navy and these have been on high rotation in my work wardrobe. The fabric is Style Arc's bengaline and has held up extremely well with all the washing and wearing they have been subject to.

The waist band sits quite high on the waist, (much higher than Style Arc's Elle Pants), and I find them very comfortable. The waist band sits very flat and is quite unobtrusive under tops. Please excuse the wrinkles in the photos as these had been worn to work all day. I'm very happy with the fit, considering these are made without any fit alterations.

The fit in the back is quite good too, without too much wrinkling going on. Sorry, this is not my best angle.

Tilly and the Buttons Coco Tunic with Sewaholic Renfrew Cowl

Now, onto the Tilly and the Buttons Coco Tunic. I think I have lost count of how many times I have used this pattern. Definitely money well spent. For this version I borrowed the cowl from the Sewaholic Renfrew. The fabric was a lovely soft drapey knit of unknown composition which worked very well for this top. The cowl is so lovely and cosy.

This combination has been a favourite lately for work. It's just so easy to wear and so comfortable.

Happy Sewing

Style Arc Elle Pants and a Couple of Coco Tunics

Way back in May I made another pair of Style Arc Elle Pants. I have been working on the fit, and in addition to raising the waistline and a large calf adjustment tried previously here, I have added a Flat Seat Adjustment. I was trying to reduce the amount of wrinkles at the back, upper thigh area. Here is the photo I posted during Me Made May 15.

I am wearing them here with another Tilly and the Buttons Coco Tunic. This one is without pockets and has the retro funnel neck collar. I love this tunic but I do find it difficult to style. The collar gets in the way of a scarf and necklaces just don't sit right at all.

The fabric is chocolate brown stretch bengaline purchased online from Style Arc, and is good quality. These pants have been worn all day at work and are now quite wrinkled unfortunately for the photos. The fit at the front is quite good. 

I think the flat seat adjustment did improve the fit at the back, compared to my previous Elle's, but there is still room for improvement. I suppose some wrinkles are necessary or you wouldn't be able to sit down.

I had some more of the cream ponte in the stash so I made another Coco Tunic, this time with the scoop neckline borrowed from the Sewaholic Renfrew.

This one has been much easier to style with scarves and necklaces. My daughter gave me this necklace and I love how it ties in with the colours of the outfit. I don't usually wear autumn tones, but I don't mind this outfit on me. Maybe my colours are changing as I am getting older.

I have a fairly rectangular figure with little waist definition, but I love how this tunic gives the illusion of a waist and hips. 

Does anyone else wish they had a stylist when taking blog photos? I find is so hard to get good photos with the garment sitting just right, when I am using the tripod and remote on my own. So often, it's not until I'm editing the photos that I notice all the faults. I guess most of us have this problem.


Happy Sewing

Pink Fleece Tops

Mum gave me a large piece of pink fleece from her fabric stash last year. It took me a while to get to it but I have now used it to make two different tops, based on the same pattern. I know you are probably sick of hearing me rave about the Tilly and the Buttons Coco, but I find this pattern is a great base to work from.

The first top I made way back during Me Made May 15, and those who follow my blog got a sneak peak back then.

This was a straight size 5 with the boat neck and two front pockets. I have worn this a lot over winter as it's lovely and cosy in the fleece. The only draw back is that it seems to keep shrinking with every wash, despite pre-washing the fabric. The sleeves are now quite a bit too short.

The second top was based on the same pattern with quite a few changes. I straightened the side seams from the underarm down to the hem, removing all shaping to create a boxy effect. I borrowed the scoop neckline from the Sewaholic Renfrew as I have done before, and I cut a high - low hemline.

This top was really just a bit of an experiment and has resulted in a wearable muslin. I have learnt a bit during the process and there are things I will change for the next one.

A close up of the side slits and the overly exaggerated high - low hem. I will lengthen the front next time so the difference is less exaggerated.

I had intended to use a knit ribbing band to finish off the neckline, but when I pulled out the ribbing, the colour was not a good match. So I stabilised the edge with clear elastic, turned and top stitched with a twin needle. This worked out quite well. I am wearing it with my Grainline Archer blogged here. 

(These photos were taken during our overnight stay on a yacht in Pittwater, just north of Sydney, for our first wedding anniversary.)

Happy Sewing

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

A Stripey Coco Top

My blogging mojo has been non existent over the winter. I find it hard to get good photos when the days are shorter and I seem to have gotten out of the habit of even trying. That doesn't mean that I haven't been sewing. I have lots of sewing to share with you and now that Spring has arrived, I can feel my blogging mojo returning.

Tilly and the Buttons Coco with contrast yoke.

To kick things off, I have made another Coco. It is no secret that I love this pattern, I have made several versions of this pattern already. This time I was using up some ponte left over from previous projects so I thought I would try a Coco with a contrast yoke and pocket. Tilly has a tutorial on how to do this here.

It really pays to take your time and plan your garment carefully when working with a striped fabric. Stripes that don't match at seam lines can look very amateurish and I am constantly amazed to see this in RTW clothing quite often.

I am glad that I spent the extra time matching my stripes at the side seams and on the sleeve seams. I also chose to join the contrasting yoke on the striped fabric so that the white stripe was a constant width.

The contrast yoke is also on the back. I made a straight size 5 as usual, with no changes to the pattern. The seam allowance between the yokes and front/back pieces were top stitched to keep them lying flat.

To avoid stretching out the neckline I sewed a line of stay stitching just inside the fold line. I then applied Vliesofix Bondaweb Tape, purchased from Knitwit, to the edge before folding over and stitching with a twin needle. This is the first time I have used this product and I couldn't be happier with the result.

The hems were secured with a twin needle too, which I continued up and around the side slits. You can still see the pink marking pencil dots I placed to indicate where to turn. It is a little tricky getting neat turns with a twin needle. I raise the needle, carefully turn the garment and then lower the needle so that it matches up with the previous stitching as close as possible. 

The pocket was a bit of an afterthought. I felt that the red needed to be repeated on the shirt to tie the yoke in and create a balanced garment. 

Love my new Coco top and it has been a very useful addition to my casual weekend wardrobe.


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