NIKKI-SHELL

I finally finished my Elisalex Dress

I finally got around to finishing my Elisalex dress a few nights ago. It has been sitting in my sewing room waiting to have the lining sewn in for some time. Why did I wait for so long? Well, I kind of lost the love for this dress. So. many. alterations. Too many really and after all that it still doesn't fit right.

I went up a size in the bodice, made a bust adjustment and removed an inch from either side of the back neckline where it gaped. I added an inch to the neckline at the shoulders and shortened the skirt by another 6 inches. It feels weird under the arms and the skirt is too poofy for my liking. I could make more adjustments but I'm really over it and I don't feel comfortable in it.

I've seen numerous Elisalex dresses online that have worked out beautifully so I'll just admire those and chalk this up as being a thumbs down for me.

At least it looks nice hanging up in my sewing room!

Sewing toys from scraps

We've been sewing up more toys around here using the scraps left over from other projects. Head on over to Handmaker's Factory for more details.

Scout dress

I've been considering my wardrobe a lot over the past few months, I had a lot of handmade garments but many were made on impulse (working in a fabric shop will do that!). Some no longer fit, some I no longer like and others need something to go with them (tops etc). So a while back, inspired by Myf and her year of living with less, I went through my wardrobe. I packed away things I have made and want to keep for my girls, made a pile for the op shop, threw away the few things that were beyond repair and added some to the mending/refashioning pile. The rest were organised into seasons and some were packed away for more suitable weather.

In the bid to have a more sustainable wardrobe I have been making more conscious decisions about what I make. I wrote a list of things to make for winter which mostly consists of basics that will last the season and beyond. I've felt uninspired by the patterns that are available for some time, they all seem to be so same same. Have you noticed that too?

A few months back I made up a muslin of the Scout Tee from Grainline Studio using a fabric from the stash to test the size. I had seen a few made up by others and needing some tops to mix and match with the many skirts and pants I have I thought this may be a pattern I could make again and again. 

After measuring and cutting my size I found it was tight across the back. I figured I''d need to make some adjustments and I seem to need to include this particular alteration in any tops or dresses I make now which makes me wonder, what changed? Did my posture change? Is it from the bike riding or the body pump classes I do? Maybe the next size up would have been a looser fit but I didn't want a boxy oversized top. Instead I used this tutorial to create a full back. I lengthened the sleeves to 3/4 length and to use as much of the fabric as I could I lengthened the top into a dress. I used a remnant of wool,viscose and elastane which is a heavy weight jersey. The weight and drape of this fabric works perfectly with the pattern resulting in my current favourite dress!

Classes at Handmaker's Factory!

Handmaker's Factory are very happy to announce that we are now running classes! So if you have always wanted to learn how to sew or to knit, or just want to hang out and get some social crafting done, then our classes are just the thing you've been looking for!

Below is our class schedule for the April/May/June period:

13 April - Learn to Knit

27th April - Social Sewing

4th May - Learn to Knit

18th May - Beginner's Sewing

1st June - Social Sewing

Click on the links for each class above to be taken to our webstore. There's more information on each class, and you can purchase your class there.

Classes will be held at the following address:
Ink & Spindle Studio 
Suite 206, 10 Elizabeth St Kensington VIC

There's always plenty of tea and coffee to be had, plus usually some home baked treats made by us. Each class has a limited size, so don't delay - book one now, and let's make some fabulous things together!

Elisalex Sewalong Progress: part 2

I finished sewing my Elisalex muslin and this is how it turned out.

Yeah, not quite what I was expecting! 

After comparing my measurements against the chart on the pattern I cut out a UK size 10. If I was buying a garment in a shop I would usually be between a UK size 8 and 10 so to find the size 10 too tight in the bodice came as a surprise. I only just managed to pull the zip all the way up, my boobs are so squished in there and if I breath out I fear I may split every seam!

Here's a list of fit issues I have found and what I may do to fix them:

• The bodice is too tight at the waist and bust even though I cut the size suggested for my measurements. To fix this I will go up a size in the bodice and do a FBA (full bust adjustment).
• The princess seam sits a good inch and a half from the apex of the bust (see above photo). To fix this I will move it over when I do the FBA.
• The neckline is so wide the dress slips off my shoulders. To fix this I will add an inch to the neckline on both sides at the shoulder.
• There's some weird gaping happening at the back neckline. I will remove an inch of fabric from both sides of the back bodice pattern piece by creating darts. Doing this shoud help stop the dress slipping from my shoulders.
• The sleeves look too baggy, this may be because of the way the bodice sits but I did have trouble fitting them into the bodice, they seemed too big. I will see what needs to be done once I have perfected the bodice.
• In the photo above I have already shortened the skirt by 6 inches at the cutting out stage. Even after taking that amount off the length it still finishes mid calf. The images I have seen of finished dresses and the fashion drawing on the pattern suggests the skirt finished just below the knee. Being only 5'2" I usually need to chop off some length but I'm going to need to take off another 5 or 6 inches. That's 12 inches of extra fabric!

On the left you can see the gaping and on the right I have pinned an inch of fabric to help the bodice sit flat. Below is a closer shot of the gaping with the shoulders pinned in the correct position on the dressform.

The packaging of the pattern is beautiful and very well done but I will point out a few important things that I feel are missing:

• It isn't clear if seam allowance is included or not (after searching online i discovered it is).
• A finished garment measurement chart should be included.
• A more detailed fabric requirement chart is a must. A size 6 isn't going to need anywhere near the amount of fabric a size 20 will need. I don't want to buy 3.5yds of expensive fabric to find I only needed 2.75yds. Also, being a British pattern I'd have expected metric measurements rather than imperial or both.

This is a lovely dress, I have seen many beautiful versions of it online but only a few reviews pointing out similar fit issues which were written before a pattern misprint was rectified (maybe I got an old version or maybe I'm just oddly shaped?!). But! I will persist. I'll mock up another bodice in calico and will take it from there.

Have you made this pattern? Did you have any problems?

Elisalex Sewalong Progress

I've been slowly working on my Elisalex dress this week. I'm using a remnant of wool from the stash, it's a lot softer than the suggested fabric but I quite like the drape and wanted to try the fit of the pattern in something that will (hopefully) end up being a wearable muslin. 

I struggled a little to get the sleeves to fit without any puckering but managed eventually all the while cursing under my breath. I seem to be having trouble with putting sleeves into a few things recently and I'd be grateful for any tips or tricks you may have. I tried on the bodice and after putting in the sleeves and I'm worried they're a bit tight under the arms.

I've added pockets to the side seams, I love a dress with pockets and I always seem to need somewhere to put a {insert item here}. The skirt of the dress is really really long and at 5'2" I'm no supermodel so I took a good 6 inches when cutting the fabric and it's still mid calf! I'll be taking off quite a bit more when i hem it and when I make it again I know I won't need anywhere near as much fabric.

My aim tomorrow is to sew in the lining and attach the skirt to the bodice. Hey! I may even get it finished.

Red Rubble

I started knitting this for Esme last June or July and managed to get quite a way through it before summer caught my attention and it was put aside. I picked it up again a week or so ago and quickly finished it off. Am I the only one who wonders why I put things off only to find it took me no time at all to finish? The result is that Esme has grown (a lot) since last winter and it only just fits!

I'm happy that I've managed to knock another unfinished project off the list and that Esme approves of the fit, the colour and the softness of the yarn. This kid is quite particular with how things feel on her body. I've learned to ask a lot of questions before making something for her.

Details

Pattern: Rubble by Alison Brookbanks
Size: 8
Yarn: Lana Gatto Super Soft 
Alterations: I shortened the neck at Esme's request 

Elisalex Dress

My Elisalex dress pattern by By Hand London arrived in the post today. Just in time for their sewalong!

I think i'm in love with this pattern. At first glance it is worth every cent of the $25 I paid (including postage).  A lot of time and effort has gone into creating it, it is so beautifully put together. The packaging uses FSC and PEFC certified papers, and vegetable ink and is printed locally in London. 

I'll be tracing out my pattern this weekend. I have a fabric in my stash that I would like to use but there's a possibility there may not be enough. The pattern calls for 3 metres which seems like a lot for a dress for me. So, I'll be laying the pattern pieces out to check. The fabric in the photo would be great too wouldn't it?! If only there was enough in my stash.

Batwing to T-shirt Refashion

Remember this top? It just wasn't working for me. The shape didn't work with my small frame and those bloody batwing sleeves would catch on everything!

After cleaning out my wardrobe a few weeks back I realised I'm really lacking in the t-shirt department, so I decided to refashion the batwing top into a much needed basic t-shirt.

I looked around for patterns but a t-shirt pattern is a t-shirt pattern isn't it? I have hundreds of vintage patterns and was sure I could find something amongst them and decided on this pattern from 1976, Simplicity 7391.

Instead of a regular t-shirt binding around the neckline I used a fold over binding. 

I've not needed to make any fit adjustments which makes this the perfect basic t-shirt pattern! I'll be sewing up more of these in various colours and will lengthen the sleeves on some for the coming winter months.

It's finally finished!

Last night I finished hand stitching the binding on the first quilt I ever started. I was so overcome with joy that I forced Kev to watch me make the final stitch then did a little happy dance around the room singing "It's finished, It's finished!".

I was pretty ambitious for a first quilt don't you think? It was started early 2007 so that means it has taken me 6 years to make. Leisl reminded me today that I bought the fabric for this quilt the first time we met in person, at a blog meet I had organised at Amitie Textiles with Justine! 

It's HUGE! It fits the length of my queen size bed and falls half way to the floor on either side. That's one big quilt! It measures 230cm x 230cm and has 64 black and white squares. It did have another strip of 8 but I thought that would be too much and removed them. Maybe I can use them for pillows to match? Talking of pillows, I think this quilt deserves new bed linen don't you? 

 The fabrics are mostly from Amitie Textiles, some were given to me by generous friends and the black border is a plain cotton from Tessuti. The wadding is polyester, I usually like to use cotton or wool but I wanted a slightly squishy look for this quilt.

I believe the pattern is called Jenny's Flowers and was machine quilted by C.A. Quilter in Aspendale, I dropped the quilt off to Amitie and it was ready in a few days! 

I'm very pleased to have crossed this project off my list. It has been a pleasure to make and I love it more now that I did back in 2007 when the idea for it popped into my head. And, although I broke Mrs. T's rule of 'finishing your first quilt before starting another' I'm sure she'll forgive me :) Luckily this means i'm free to start a new one! I have a Union Jack quilt to sew for Mia but before that I must sew one for my little nephew who should be making an appearance in April.