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Work in Progress......Simplicity 7558

Monday, November 7

Ok, so let it never be said I do not listen to advice!!!

During one of my pathetic moaning spells about the lack of nice maternity patterns,Debi Marie and Scruffy suggested I try out vintage patterns. Marie even did a search for me on Etsy for maternity dresses. Talk about dedication to vintage wear. I did find one pattern I liked.......Simplicity 7558



I searched the internet for any completed version to see what it would look like. I only saw one version of it, made by Julie of Julie's Blog. I fell in love COMPLETELY with her rendition of it, and would have gone for the same fabric choice as her, but I have already spent all of my meagre monthly fabric money, so that Houndstooth version will have to wait till November.


I have this thick knit fabric I am going to use. I don't know how it will come out, but the pattern did say you could also use bonded knits. I have no idea what that means, but I am going to experiment with this fabric. I got it cheap anyway, for £1/metre. I have 3 metres of it this, and if I mess up, I will go back to where I got it from. It is somewhere near Tottenham Hale tube station.Its the fabric outlet for a knit fabric manufacturer, and the most expensive fabric there is £2/metre.










This is their address.



Cannon Street Jersey Fabrics Ltd

Knitted Fabric Manufacturers, Finishers And Printers
ASHLEY WORKS, ASHLEY ROAD, TOTTENHAM HALE, LONDON N17 9LJ
TEL: 020 8885 9401   FAX: 020 8885 9410

There is A LOT to be bought there. Some of it is quite comical, but you will DEFINITELY find something you want, like good interlock knit for £1/metre. Word of warning though, they do not take cards, so go there with cash, and make sure you take a trolley with you. Trust me!!!. 

YOU WILL NEED IT!!!

Green Simplicity Dress

Sunday, May 1

Did you  see Kate's Dress? No?. Hmmphh....then you are probably the last person on earth not to have seen it. I loved the top part of her dress. You can see it here at the Royal wedding website, which also gives the low down on the construction of the dress, and pictures of the day.

I was not really excited about the royal wedding though I was more than grateful for the extra bank holiday. So I had not planned to wake up at 6am ( when the BBC started coverage) to watch the proceedings. But I had been interested in seeing her dress, and I knew I was not alone in this, as I am sure everyone and their cats grandparents was also interested in THE dress. I spent Friday night working on Butterick B5351, and went to bed at about 4am, with just the zipper left to do. When I woke up in the morning and turned on the TV, the first thing I saw was the royal wedding church service, and caught a glimpse of Kate's dress. To say my eyes turned green with envy, would be a MAJOR understatement...lol....on the one hand, I was in love with the dress, on the other hand, I kept wishing I was in possession of such an exquisite dress, or in the absence of that, an imitation. But I think I would have to rob more than a few banks to be able to afford it.

Inspired by envy, I decided to express my mood through my favourite medium. Yep!! you guessed right. Sewing. I checked through my fabric stash and pulled out a green dress.So, considering the fact that I still had to finish my butterick dress , I needed to sew something simple, which could be finished in a few hours. Cue in Simplicity 9827.


This was such an easy pattern to sew. And who ever knew envy could inspire you, up to the point where you make very few sewing mistakes? . I was even so inspired, I decided not to use the facing provided by the pattern, but used a lace trim for the neck and the sleeve bands ( If Kate can have lace, I can too). This dress does not have closures, so there was no time spent mulling over how best to insert a zipper, or which buttons to use. It was just a breeze really. Hopefully it looks nice to you guys.




oh...a stray ribbon fold there. Will adjust that.
I decided to add a bow made from the ribbon trim.

I like using trims because they give you a unique finish, and you can go crazy with the various ways you can use them.  They are also a fast way to finish your projects without the hassles of understitching facings, or folding and slip-stitching hems.  If there's one thing I think I will be investing in on my sewing projects, is trim.

This dress hopefully gives you all an idea on my state of mind on friday.  I was green with envy, and at the same time loving the lace overlay on Kate's dress.

Right, I need to get cracking on the zip of my Butterick dress. Gosh I hate zips!!!


Enjoy the lovely weather people!

xoxo

Dibs