Sewn Square One Dress

After the sleeves had to go, my Sewn Square One Dress is now ready for it's big reveal!

Sorry but it's such a hard colour to photograph.  I made it with a fine pin-stripe cotton that I picked up for a steel at just $4m about 8 months ago.  I just had to wear the white top, because it is so damn cold not to.  FYI: I wouldn't style it like this to wear out in public!

I have to show you a close up of the pockets - they are quite possibly my favourite part of the dress.  The top of the pocket finished just at my waist and runs along the seam line of the side panel - I think they give great proportion to the dress.  The small pleats make them incredibly comfy without adding a bulge to the dress.

As you can also see from this photo I cut the side front panels on the horizontal grain to give the dress a bit of interest - given the fabric is a bit on the boring side.  I must remember to wear one of my good bra's with this dress so my boobs sit in the princess seam as they are meant to!  I'm really happy with the fitting of the dress, now that I've taken the sleeves off. 

After taking a Craftsy course with Sunni Standing on Mastering Zipper Techniques I inserted my first zip using Wash Away Wonder Tape.  It was so much easier to get exact positioning of the zip before taking it to the machine.  Yep pins work but you know, you can get some movement!

And here's the real fun part - the inside of the dress ......

Don't you just love it?  I picked this up off Trade Me (NZ's eBay equivalent) for a steel earlier in the year and was going to make some summer boxers, but couldn't resist lining this dress with it.  I've tacked the neck and arm facings to the lining with a nice little catch-stitch.

I made my usual adjustments to get my hips into the dress.  The top of the dress is a size small and the bottom a medium.  I did have to add a 1/2" to the should seams to lower the bust and arm pit, which now fit better.  As a result of that I had to true up the transition in sizes around my waist and hips - but that was pretty easy.

This is my second project as part of Indie Pattern Month.  The pattern is the Go Anywhere Dress by Sewn Square One and is available HERE.  I would definitely make this pattern again - maybe a tunic that ends at the bottom of the pockets???

As a tribute to the recent Sweet Bloggers Award, a slice of home made fudge ... mmmmmmmmm

No sleeves thank you!

This week I've been working on my second Indie Pattern, the Go Anywhere Dress by Sewn Square One.  The pattern provides for three variations: a dress, a tunic and a top.

I selected the dress to make first up, with a woven pinstripe from my stash.  All was going well and literally finished today, BUT .... they just had to go - yep the sleeves just had to come off.

It wasn't just the sleeves of the dress but also the sleeves of the lining, which I had just finished hand stitching in place!  Although my fault, I didn't place the sleeves in when I did the muslin.  I figured a 'sleeve is a sleeve' and I've never really had any problem with a sleeve before.  My usual adjustment of a dress is for the hip and when I make that adjustment the waist is slightly adjusted when I true up the curve.

I think the dress will be great with no sleeves and actually more my style.  Maybe that was the message!   The pockets are a great feature and really make the dress - here is a sneak peek.  You will see what I mean when I reveal the finished garment :-)

Sewing Indie in June

This month I am joining The Curious Kiwi and Macskakat for Indie Pattern Month.

It just so happens that my next project was going to be the Cordova Jacket by Sewaholic - good timing girls :-)

I had purchased a piece of fabric at the Fabric-a-brac which I thought would be ideal for the Cordova - more on that later.

My stash of indie patterns current contains quite a few from Sewaholic - Tasia's style just appeals to me although I am a rectangular body shape rather than a pear.  A small reduction to the hips and I'm done which is proving easier than having to adjust the waist and hips out-ward when sewing one of the big 4.

Recently I have added others to my list (more parcels in the mail - fun)
Tiramisu Dress by Cake Patterns
Rooibos by Colette Patterns
April Pant by Stylearc
Go Anywhere Dress by Sewn Square One

I also purchased Newcastle Cardigan PDF download from Thread Theory, which I thought would be fun to sew for either my husband or son.

I'm not going to get all these patterns sewn up this month but I'm looking forward to each and every one of them.

A Good Wardrobe hosts an extensive list of Indie Patternmakers which is like my own little index to sewing fabulousness!  Thanks Lizz.

For now back to my the sewing machine to progress my Cordova.  I'm posting progress on Instagram (http://instagram.com/sandra_stitch) if you want to follow along.