so much for 'resting up'....

I spent most of last week thoroughly exhausted.  My back has been playing up and when it gets like this I find it difficult to sleep...so, every day without exception, there was I was wide awake at 3.30am with back ache!!! 

I had planned to have a very quiet, go nowhere, do nothing weekend, but it seems I'm not too good at that!!!

So, to passed a few hours today I cut out view A of my Simplicity 1805 pattern that I ordered a few months ago.  

3 simple pieces, some striped jersey I had knocking about (bought months ago from good ole trusty Minerva Crafts) and at least 20,000 pins to stop the bugger slipping about!!!

I remembered to change my needle to a ball point one, I usually forget this type of thing then wonder why things go pear shaped! I also tried out some 'stretch stitches' on my ancient machine...now...I did carry on using them but I'm not sure I like how they look and as this was a 'muck about project' I also decided to have a go with my rolled hem foot...now there's a fiddly little thing!!!! but...ooooooo it does give a lovely neat hem!!! Just not too sure this was the project for it!!!  still, you live n learn and at least I've ended up with a wearable garmet.

If I make this up again I'll definitely be narrowing the neckline - this pattern is so wide its boarderline an 'off the shoulder' affair!!! And I'd make it a bit longer... but all in all, not to bad for a few hours work, trying new stitches n wotnot when I was supposed to be resting up!!!!

 lol - outrageous 'selfie' taking !!!

 amazed just how straight I managed to keep them there stripes!

 not that VERY wide neckline! the next one(s) will be much narrower

(belated and not belated) Birthday dress ...

My favourite nephew celebrated his 18th Birthday yesterday and like any self respecting 18 year old, the very LAST thing I expect he wanted to do was spend it with his family!!! However, his mother had other ideas and a week or so ago booked a table for the whole family to get together for embarrassing 'Happy Birthday' singing in public with a HUGE chocolate cake and somewhere he could legally buy us all a round of drinks!!! 

I was also amongst a gang of friends 'belated birthday bash' drinks evening the other weekend and needed something new to wear and as I'm still on a saving splurge, I didn't want to buy anything new to wear.  This meant that for over a week the New Look K6447 pattern that came free with the March 2017 issue of Sew Magazine sat on my dining room table screaming for me to pull my finger out and get started on it!! 

The weight issue I suffered from for the last 18ish months was still being an 'issue' so I measured myself (again), sighed (again), and dithered long and hard over which was going to be the best 'size' to cut - I mean its crazy, I measure up somewhere between a 12/14 at the bust, a 16 at the waist and nudging an 18 on the hip!!! - and I'm not too clever at the 'fitting' and adjusting bit of dressmaking ... still ... so having the pattern instructions thoroughly and seeing what 'ease' was given on the finished garment and knowing that I was going for the fuller skirt option, I eventually decided and overall 16 would probably be best, and this time I actually paid attention to the 'neck to waist' measurement and shortened to bodice by approximately 1 inch - doesn't sound much but I'm SOOOOOOO pleased I did - what a difference it made! That 'contrast' waistband sits right on my 'small' waist and visually takes inches off !!!!

Having made this decision and cut the pattern out, I still can't believe I didn't get started on it straight away!! meaning that I hadn't even started on it when my own 'belated birthday bash' evening arrived!!! Sewing fail of epic proportions!!! 

 I did get my act together this weekend however and started mid morning on Saturday.  Using a lovely blue floral viscose (£5.99 a metre) and some blue soft touch polyester crepe (£3.99 a metre) - both from the lovely guys at Minerva Crafts - that I'd bought back in December - I set about pinning n cutting. Now, I did vaguely attempt some pattern matching/placement and that's worked out quite well...in my opinion...but I'm not too good at it and the end result is more luck than judgement! 

I've made a fully lined and enclosed bodice before (on the dress I made the other Summer for a family wedding) but it never ceases to amaze me how fab the finished article looks when you follow the instructions to letter, even when you can't work out in your head how it works!!! 

Now, I worked on this dress on and off for the whole weekend...honestly - I was still sewing the hem and hand sewing the bodice lining down at gone 11pm on Sunday...my house is an absolute tip and there are still bits of fabric and thread all over the place ... but .... I'm SOOOOOOOOOO pleased with the final result !!! 

The viscose fabric hangs so beautifully and 'moves' so well that I love Love LOVE it! It's my new fave outfit :-)

There are a few teeny tiny errors: 

a couple of puckers in wot not...mostly due to 'cutting' issues with such a slippery fabric).

a hem line that was soooo wobbly (again a 'cutting' issue) that I ended up cutting a good 3 inches off the hem to make it straight - I would have preferred a longer length skirt as its such a slimming and flattering style.

and I just can't work out the fit issues with the back.  It's like its too wide across my back and the bit where the zip is at the top of the 'V' sticks out.  If any one can give me some hints on how I can 'fit' this better (other than standing with a stoop/hunched shoulders to fill it out a bit!!) then please please please leave a comment and let me know! 

 see how that contrast waistband fits perfectly on the 'small waist' - having shortened the bodice by about 1 inch

 get a load of that wobbly hemline (it wasn't quite as bad as it looks in the photo, but bad enough to need to shorten it by a fair few inches..which is annoying as I'd have preferred it longer as I think is more 'slimming')

now, the top of that zip sticks out more than it shows in the photo, and I just can't work out in my head how I can correct this 'fit' issue....any suggestions anyone???

I got some lovely comments from the family when I wore it on its maiden outing yesterday and I can't wait for the Spring/Summer to arrive so I can wear it more...its gorgeous!!!