Lady Skater Seagull dress

This is my second Lady Skater dress from Kitchy Coo.  Its a very straightforward pattern.  I cut a size 4 which is pretty much identical to my measurements, and this is pretty much straight out of the packet.

The fit is pretty good, although it's only when I see the photos that I think the style makes me look pretty busty!

 
I got the fabric from the Village Haberdashery, who have some funky knits (though this one is sold out now).  When I bought it I did think it was more of a duck egg colour, and it isn't a true grey.  What I don't like about it is that when stretched the white backing shows through.  You can probably see this from the neckband in the photo, where it is clearly lighter in colour.  It also isn't as stretchy as the other pontes I have used and the neckband could have done with being a little longer.

I also think I should have been a little more careful about seagull placement!!  I didn't really intend to have a flock placed just on my left-boob!

I made the short sleeve version because I wanted to wear it with a cardie in winter and I thought the short sleeves would be more comfortable, and this is indeed a comfy dress.  I would definitely recommend this as an easy to make, easy to wear pattern.

I've got lots of sewing planned; another tailored Gertie Jacket, another McCall's shirtwaister, a Camas jersey blouse, a crepe colour-blocked dress, a Deer and Doe Sureau dress, Ginger Jeans, to list a few.  I have all this fabric waiting and so I am desperately trying not to buy any more fabric or patterns until I've made at least 12 garments from my fabric/pattern stash!

What I also want to do is to try some new skills in 2015;

a lapped zip

boning

more tailoring including pad stitching and using horsehair

welt pockets

making covered buttons

flat felled seams

attaching belt loops

piping

adding horsehair braid to a hem

inserting a double ended zip

lining a skirt vent

making a waist stay

sewing a bias-cut garment

get more confident sewing with silk

Make a pair of jeans

Make a bra and pants

Make some really well-fitting trousers

I really want to improve the fit of my garments.  There are too many in my wardrobe where the fit isn't great, especially too tight in the bust.  I have got to crack the full-bust adjustment rather than just trying to put a little more fabric in the seam.

So I'm joining in The Little Tailoress' Fun with Fit series.  We are going to make a sloper using Butterick 5627, so I'm hoping I'll learn a lot!     Do you have any crafting plans?

A lady skater dress

Well the Winter Olympics is over and I particularly enjoyed the ice skating.  These .were my favourite moments.  Yulia lipnitskaya performing Schindler's list (and only 15!).

 

 

 

Elena Ilinykh and Nikita Katsalapov performing Black Swan which I thought was fabulous.

 

 

Neither performances won, but they were my favourites, both Russian and tragic!  I wish I could skate (the flat feet, gammy knees and inner ear not to mention fear mean this is unlikely).  So for the moment I will have to make do with ........ (yes a terrible link!) ......  a skater's dress! 

 There have been dozens of the  lady skater's dress on blogs, so this is nothing new but it was  my first time working with stretch material and I went for Ponte di Roma which is a thick stretch material, so I learnt how to use the stretch stitch on my machine, used a stretch needle for the first time and did a bound neckline. 

This was obviously quite a different make for me; non-vintage and a more ordinary item.  Previously I felt that it wasn't worth making clothes which you could buy in the shops for a similar price and which would probably be better made, so I'm not sure how I ended up choosing this project, although I did want to try a knit fabric.   I had to stabilise the shoulders and waist with clear elastic which was straightforward to do, but at the waist it ended up with it showing above the seam and that is a bit strange.

 

 

I also learnt how useless it is to make a muslin from different material as I made one from my usual woven fabric (yes I know, how pointless) which was far too small because it didn't stretch.  The other silly thing was that, in my typical way, I didn't read the instructions carefully enough and failed to notice that the seams should have been 3/8th"and I made mine in the usual 5/8th of an inch, this resulted in the sleeves being rather short and they are a touch uncomfortable at the elbow.  Even though I extended the length by over an inch, the dress is still rather shorter than I like to wear.  However, all in all the fit is good, rather flattering

 

All-in-all I would recommend this pattern for an easy staple.  If you are a quick sewer you could probably make it in a day (I made it over the weekend).   Generally  I managed the knit fabric, though I did find it a bit tricky.

 

 We've had some pretty windy weather recently especially on one of my favourite seaside walks.  Thought you might like to be impressed by the sit and stay, and you can see the windswept look here.

 

Finally, I had a great visit to an antique fair with a friend (hello Julia) and just in case my last post has left you convinced that knitting is always trendy this is a pattern from the 1939 Stitchcraft magazine I bought.

 

 

Bet your itching to knit one now!  Have a great week.