Papercut Pleated Pants Pattern

Let me begin by saying I love my new pants. I really do. But I do not love the process by which I arrived at them. Here is the tale of the Papercut Pleated Pants.

A few months ago the lovely Anna of Blogless Anna Fame was at my house for a sewing afternoon. We held a bit of a fabric/pattern swap (Leith and Lara were also there so there were lots of swapsies going on). Anna gifted me the Papercuts Pleated Pants pattern, which had been on my 'to-buy' list for a while. I cannot lie, I squealed with delight when she gave it to me.

I was pretty keen to sew them up straight away, but 2 year old birthdays and ponti dresses got in the way, so I have only just made them. I made them in a Bettina Liano denim from Rathdowne Remnants. Lovely denim.

See my dubious expression? There is a reason....

My hair is so gross in these photos. I got it cut today. 

I made a muslin, and thank goodness I did, because the sizing is so off on these pants it isn't funny. I cut the small, and made the following adjustments:

• I took THIRTEEN cm out of the waistband. 
• I tapered in the outer leg by 4cm on each leg.
• I tapered the inner leg by 5cm on each leg. 
• I faced the waistband with leftover Liberty Lawn.
• I did the pleats the opposite way to the pattern. 
• I used 3 hooks instead of 2. 

I also did not use the instructions for the fly front. I used Grainline Studio's tutorial - I discovered this when making my Moss Mini Skirts and it is simply the best tutorial for a fly front I have ever come across. Give it a go - I highly recommend. 

Grrr... you can see the tiniest bit of facing poking out

Do you think it is simply crazy that I had to take 13cm out of a size small waistband? I do. I am usually about a size 12 in patterns - sometimes a 10 for a knit - or a size 6 for the American independent patterns, which I think equates to a size 10-12 Australian. So I'm not a 'small', and certainly not an off-the-size-chart size. I honestly don't know what actually small women would have to do - maybe draft a whole new pattern? 

So ... a reminder to me that muslins are important! Despite the fitting nightmare of these pants I really do love them. I wore them today and they are incredibly comfortable. They are like wearing jeans but more comfortable. I have some suiting in my stash I think I'll make a pair from - what do you think? 

Dixie DIY Ballet Dress in Pelorous Ponti

Do you read Marie's blog - A Stitching Odyssey? It is one of my favourites. Marie is extremely gorgeous and makes such lovely clothes. Recently she made the Dixie DIY Ballet Dress - a very simple dress intended for knits.

I had not heard of Dixie DIY before, but I loved Marie's floral version and had been looking for a simple long-sleeved dress to make with the 2m of ponti called 'Pelorous Ponti' I bought in Sydney from Tessuti (I couldn't find it on their website).

I made the size small, and made the following adjustments:

1. Lengthened the bodice by 7cm. I muslined the bodice only and found that it ended only just below my bust - without taking out the seam allowance to join it to the skirt. I don't think it would have been a good look! 
2. Lengthened the skirt by about 3cm. 
3. Took the sleeves in by 5cm in total. They were unusually baggy, and I wanted them to be more streamlined. 
4. Added a belt. I think it needs it to break it up. 

I love this dress. At first I worried it was a bit too firm-fitting and showed every lump and bump, but I changed my bra about fifty times and finally was happy with how all the bumps were contained.

I had a bit of fun with taking photos - it is a ballet dress after all!

I'm so graceful. Especially in knee-high boots.

Little M decided to get in on the fun - she does love a good twirl and a boogie.

Check out that air!

I'm off to take the kid for a spin on her new balance bike - pretty windy in Melbourne today - definitely reminding me to get started on some winter sewing!

Lace Laurel: My Sewcie Tea Dress

Quite some time ago I bought a remnant of blue lace from Tessuti. It had been sitting in my stash, as I didn't really know what to do with it. And then Melanie announced that Sewcie Tea was taking place! A high tea event with sewers - what a perfect opportunity to wear my blue lace!

I ummed and ahhed over which pattern to use. I had visions of a fitted bodice with a circle skirt, but the reality was that I didn't have that much fabric. I was also really reluctant to have the hem of a circle skirt show through, as I knew I wouldn't be able to use the selvedge.

Then Colette Patterns released Laurel - a shift dress. It was a pattern-fabric match made in heaven. The bonus is also that I know I will get a lot of wear out of this lacy dress.

I made the underlined version. I used anti-static lining from Tessuti in a antique-y silver colour. I found choosing the lining colour very difficult - thank you to Bree from Tessuti for helping.

I made a muslin and made the following alterations:

• I made a size 8 at the shoulders and in the sleeves and a size 6 every where else. Maybe a size 4 through the waist - I had to take it in quite a bit there, but I did it on the dress rather than on the pattern, so I don't have an accurate record of the sizing in each part. 
• I also had to take 6cm out of the neck at the back. I did this by taking 1cm out each side of the zip, and then folding the rest out above the back dart by creating a small dart (I don't actually have a neck dart on the dress, I just folded it out like a dart). I had to slash the back dart up a little (essentially making it a wee bit longer) to get the pattern piece to sit correctly. 

I wore it with my wedding shoes and jewellery. My shoes almost cost as much as my wedding dress (!) - they are Guiseppe Zanotti shoes and are divine. I bought them at Jean Brown in Brisbane over 5 years ago now! My jewellery was made by a local Brisbane designer, Chelsea De Luca (I believe she has a website), and are fabulous art deco pieces. I love being able to wear them again.

Sewcie Tea was fabulous. Here are a few pictures I 'borrowed' from sewbrunswick.blogspot.com and Melanie:

All 26 of us - didn't we look fine!

Lara (thornberry), Anna (blogless Anna), me, Leith (Sew Brunswick)

Our table - what a gorgeous bunch! 

Mingling - me, Kat, Lizzy, Rachel

All the details of yesterday are on Melanie's blog - thank you to Melanie for organising such a wonderful afternoon - I had a blast, and I know everyone else did too! 

Rebecca Taylor for Vogue 1344 - A Flouncy Little Frock

I decided to branch out recently and get some patterns that were slightly different to my usual style. Maybe I was feeling a little thoughtful, like the model of the pattern of my new frock - Vogue 1344, by Rebecca Taylor?

Isn't that pose just hilarious?

Anyway, you can't really see it in the above photo, but this a dress with a front flounce, elasticised waist, cross-over bodice and contrast sleeve cuffs.

I made it in a Liberty Tana Lawn, with cotton voile from Tessuti. It is lined in black silk-cotton, also from Tessuti.

It is probably a bit late in the season to be making a cotton frock, but I had intended to wear this to Little M's second birthday party on the 13th April. Michael convinced me it is probably going to be a little too cool for it, so it is getting worn now.

The pattern comes together well. I cut a straight size 12 and did nothing to it. Not even lengthen it. The only gripe I have with it is that I have to safety-pin the bodice closed - it is an absolute cleavage fest if I don't. I made the belt to go with it - used the same voile as the sleeve cuffs and simply interfaced it heavily. It closes with two hooks and eyes. I thought it looked a bit weird without the black belt to tie it all in together.

Look at that flounce flying around in the wind.

I really recommend this pattern - it is simple enough to sew, and doesn't require fitting given its elasticised nature. You definitely need to use a light fabric though - think lawn, voile or silk. There are a lot of tucks/pleats in the bodice and the flounce needs to be soft and light to drape properly.

So, there we have it. A cute little frock to end Melbourne's hot weather on. I am now working like a gun to finish my Sewcie Tea dress and a dress to wear to Little M's party. Luckily I finished Little M's dress and leggings a while back.

Tessuti Gridlock Sewing Competition Entry

Have everyone been watching the entries for the Tessuti Gridlock Sewing Competition pop up all over the place? There are some mighty fine creations out there. I have thrown my hat in the ring too - there is $1000 at stake! Think of all the fabric you could buy with $1000!

For this competition you have to use the fabric 'Gridlock' from Tessuti. It is a jacquard, and I must admit I wasn't sure what to make. In the end, I chose the Merchant and Mills Panel Dress Pattern. I thought something simple with pattern pieces that might allow me to use both sides of the fabric might do the trick. 

I hadn't used a Merchant and Mills pattern before so I muslined it. I think this was necessary as the Merchant and Mills patterns are not multi-sized. You pick your size and hold your breath and hope for the best. I chose the size 12 and it didn't require too many alterations.  

The pattern is pretty amazing. It comes printed on card with all the holes punched out already (i.e., for your darts and all the notches). It comes rolled in the cylinder and also has a hook to hang the pattern pieces from (they now live hanging on my wall in my sewing room.). Pretty cool huh? 

Here are the alterations I made:

• I added a back vent. 
• I lowered the neckline by 1.5cm.
• I took in the CF by 3cm in total.
• I took in the CB at the top by 2cm. 

I had a lot of fun deciding which side of the fabric to do each panel - here is what I came up with:

I decided to underline the entire dress in blue silk/cotton lining from Tessuti. I hand basted it all together (it took me FOREVER):

And here is the dress!

I'm not going to lie - I'm not sure this colour is for me. Blogless Anna was over at my house a few weekends ago for a ladies' sewing arvo and she tried it on - I think I will be gifting this dress to her. Her colouring really really suited the lovely jacaranda blue of this dress.

Colour aside, I had so much fun making this dress. It really made me pay a lot of attention to finishing the dress, and I had to really think about what to make as jacquard is not a fabric I naturally gravitate to (I'm really a cotton and linen girl).

So that is my competition entry - what do you think? Make sure you check out the Pinterest page Tessuti are putting all the entries onto (look on the Tessuti blog for the link) - there are some really amazing garments popping up!

Simplicity 2444

Two posts in one week! Today I have the day at home by myself! Amazing. This is because next week I am going to a conference on tuesday, a day I don't usually work. So I got today off in lieu of tuesday. Yay! A whole day of uninterrupted sewing and catching up on episodes of my favourite TV series. I'm also going for a long run this arvo before picking up Little M - I've got Run For The Kids on sunday and need to fit a long one in before doing the 15km circuit on sunday.

Anyway, onto to the sewing! I made Simplicity 2444 a couple of weeks ago.

It is made in a cotton sateen from Spotlight that Leith picked up for me when my local Spotlight didn't have it. Thanks Leith!

See that sneaky little baby getting in on the fun!

This dress is not a difficult make, but as per usual, I had to adjust the pattern to get it to fit. I made a size 12, but it was gaping very badly at the neckline. So I followed Leith's suggestion and slashed up the centre of all the darts (4 in the front bodice and 2 in the back bodice) and folded out the excess at the neckline. I folded out approximately 10cm in total! Weird pattern drafting I have to say. I'm pretty broad shouldered so I'm not sure who they're drafting for.

That is the only alteration I made, apart from lining the dress (the pattern doesn't call for lining - again something I find odd). I also changed to a handpicked zip at the CB instead of an invisible zip as I've had two invisible zips break on me lately. I'm just not in the mood for the trouble they cause so I used a regular zip. I think I prefer the way the invisible zips look though - what are your preferences?

This cotton sateen is very stiff, so it makes me think this dress probably needs a fabric with a fair amount of structure to make it sit nicely.

Cheeky little baby. She was dancing all over the place.

I made this as a work dress and have had so many nice compliments. A few of the women at work have bought sewing machines as they like my handmade garments! It is great when people get interested in sewing... then there are more people for me to talk endlessly to!  

Miz Mozelle...... Modified

Hi everyone, sorry for the radio silence. I've been busy sewing but have been having one of those periods where I find it impossible to get photos of the things I've made. Does that happen to you too?

One of my recent makes has been the Jamie Christina Miz Mozelle Dress. I bought this pattern after seeing Cirque Du Bebe's version. My goodness she looks so gorgeous in it.

When I got the pattern I had second thoughts. I didn't really think I could pull off the Peter Pan collar without looking too cutesy. Especially with my cropped hair cut. So I thought I would give the pattern away. But then in Sydney Leith and I were walking past a very cute shop in Surrey Hills that had an extremely similar dress in the window, just not with a Peter Pan collar or keyhole. So I did a very simple modification to the Miz Mozelle pattern:

As you can see, a very complicated alteration there. I just followed the CF line up to the neckline and cut the whole bit on the fold. This is how it turned out:

I bound the neckline as I didn't have the collar. I also didn't add the elastic. This was because I thought I was being really smart and sewed the bodice pieces to their skirt pieces BEFORE sewing the side seams. This of course mean that it wasn't possible to create a casing out of the seam allowances. Woops. Ah well - the belt brings it all in so I'm not too worried.

The fabric is either from Tessuti or the Remnant Warehouse. I bought some from each place. I made something out of the Tessuti length but then chopped it back up again as I didn't like it.

So - what do you think of the modification? I'm thinking of making another version in some Liberty jersey I have - what do you think?