By Hand London Ana dress muslin

I am currently working on the By Hand London Ana dress. When I say currently, I actually mean I have been working on this dress for the last month. Yes, things are moving slowly on it. This was(is) supposed to be a muslin, but if I can get it to fit well, I might actually wear it out of the house.

The fabric is a really cheap polyester , and it frays like its life depended on it. The fit seems to be ok, but I need to chop off a couple of inches at the hem.

The back looks a bit dodgy. I think I need to use smaller seam allowances at the back, and also put in some shoulder darts because it feels big there.

So far I am loving the pattern. I really love how simple it is to sew, and how elegant it looks. I have a liberty silk fabric I bought at Classics Fabric on Goldhawk road for £6/metre, which I intend to use to make this dress. But first things first, get the fit right Dibs.

Instant gratification : Mccalls 6559

As you all know, I am currently working on a serious project, one which will only get on the machine in about a weeks time. In the meantime though, I wanted to sew a quick and fun thing, one which does not involve any major calculations. A quick fix if you will. I decided to try the Mccalls 6559 maxi dress pattern. This pattern is quite similar to one of my all time fave patterns, the Mission Maxi. They are literally the same dress, the only difference being the racer back of the mission Maxi is smaller than that of the McCalls pattern. Oh, and the McCalls pattern is easier to sew. Instead of a neck and armhole binding used in the Mission Maxi dress, this one just asks you to fold the fabric over and do a narrow hem. Easy peesy.

I had seen a couple of black and white maxi dresses on pinterest, so when I saw this fabric, I knew exactly what I was going to make with it.

I even managed to match the strips. Yay me!

I bought this fabric from Fabric House in Goldhawk road. I normally don't buy from there but I am glad I went there. I really love this jersey. It is so soft, it feels like it has some bamboo content, but I could be wrong. It is cheap as well, retailing for £3.50/metre. I got the last 1.5m on the roll so I made him give me for the price of a metre. Hagglers rule!

There is really nothing much to say about the construction of the dress. It is just a really simple dress, with only two pattern pieces cut on the fold. A really easy project for anyone looking to try their hand at sewing with knit fabric. We are still having some sunshine here in the UK, so I know I shall be rocking this dress for another month or two, before the sun decides to retire from whence it came.

Right, I better get back to my lace dress now. Expect to see one or two really quick makes over the coming weeks, as well as the multi coloured dress I am making for the Minerva Craft bloggers network. I suppose I should start thinking of autumn sewing now...eeek....I want summer to last forever.

Lace Dress Project - Pattern and Fabric

Thanks everyone for the positive feedback you all gave me in my last post concerning the inspiration for my lace dress. Majority of you were in favour of short sleeves, so, short sleeves it is.

Things are moving along swimmingly with this project. To be honest I am a bit scared of this project, but I have been having a lot of moral support from some of you, and some actual directions and advice on the construction of the dress. Claire and Melissa have given me valuable links to articles and tutorials on the form and structure of the dress, as well as how to underline. So I really do have nowhere to hide should things go pear shaped.

Now, for fabric choice. I bought 5.5 metres of John Kaldor lace. Yes, my dear old Johhny. Seriously, I should have a stake in John Kaldor fabrics. It normally retails for about £15 I think, or more ( John Lewis), but I found it on Goldhawk road for £12/metre...I'm cool right?  I bought 5.5 metres because I want to have some backup fabric should I mess up. I'm becoming such a thoughtful seamstress dontcha think?

I also bought satin, in two colours. I need you to help me decide which looks best. Blue or gold? I took pictures with both, the pictures look dodgy but hopefully, it should give you an idea of what the finished article would look like regarding the colour scheme.

For the pattern, I am using this Marfy pattern. It is what I loved best of all the patterns I saw.

For the bodice, I will use this Burdastyle pattern

I'm getting really excited about this project. I am still  gathering one or two bits which I will use for the project. Next up, is planning on how I want the form and structure to be. That will include the boning, underlining, lining, and whatever goes into a well constructed dress. I have been doing a lot of research, and it is quite fascinating the amount of time and thought that designers put into their creations.

Does anyone have any word of advice regarding the form and structure of a dress? Have you made something like this before? I would really appreciate all the advice I can get, so please, spill it.

Lace Dress Project - Inspiration

Its that time of the year again. my alumni gala is coming up, and I need to make something for the occasion. Last year I made this red dress, and though it was a success, I almost gave Mr.Dibs a heart attack because I stayed up all night sewing, and only finished it on the train, on my way to Birmingham.

This year I decided to start early. I do not know if I will actually finish it on time, or if I will be hemming this one on my way to the gala. Hopefully I finish it on time. This year, our Alumni convention is taking place in Worcester, in the West Midlands of England.

So, not knowing what I wanted, I decided to hit the shops for inspiration. I tried a couple of dresses, but none really touched me. Then  I saw this dress in Phase Eight. Isn't it just delish?

Source

I tried it on, and almost did not take it off. I certainly was not going to buy it, because at £395, I would have to sell Noah to afford it. And even if I did manage to sell Noah and buy this dress, don't think I would even get a chance to wear it because I am most positive Mr.Dibs would have my head, and I mean that seriously. So I had two options, either make a run for the door faster than what Usain Bolt has ever managed, or go home and make my own version. After much deliberation, I decided I would make mine. That was not an easy decision to make believe me.  I only decided against running because I was there with my elder sister, and I did not think she would be able to sprint as quickly as I would. I would have escaped, but then, they would have caught her. Not a good prospect. So we left Phase Eight, with me resolved to make a similar dress.

With the style decided, I needed to do some research on the colours and any other thing  I could modify, pattern search.....you know, the works.

Countless hours on pinterest and google later, I decided I wanted a blue lace dress. Something in this style

But in blue, possibly with a nude or gold underlay, like these

Source

I am actually confused between having long sleeves like the first dress, or short sleeves like this one. What do you think?

The Minerva Sewing Network

Ok, so, I'm out of the ground. Yeah I bet you all thought I was going to come back with some more baby news. nah nah. My body is still recovering post Noah, and I am still struggling to get back to pre-baby body, but the chocolates won't let me be. As much as I love Noah, i don't think my body is ready for another bout of stretching.  No, something's managed to drag me out of hibernation. Oh yes peeps, that something is the Minerva Blogger Network. I was so happy when I was asked to join the Network.  Thanks Rach and Vicki. Rachel and Vicki have been hard at work on this initiative, for months now, and I'm so glad I can finally talk about it.

The way it works, is that every month, we get an allowance, which allows us to choose stuff from the Minerva Crafts shop, make something, and share it on our blogs, and the Minerva craft Blog. In true Dibs style, I was the last to select my package, yeah I was confused. So much to choose from. Rachel had to threaten me, before I finally selected what I wanted. So, coming up, from La Casa Dibs, is a dress made from this fabric

If you have been reading my blog for a while, you will know that I LOVE bright colours. Love it much?

So, the Blogger Network is made up of 8 bloggers, whom I'm sure alot of you are familiar with.

So, from top left to bottom right,

Winnie of Scruffy Badger
Shivani of Pins and Needles
Rachel of House of Pinheiro
Anna of Paunnet
Kathryn of Yes I Like that
Yours truly
Jane of Handmade Jane
Clare of Sew Dixie Lou

So there, I suppose I have no excuse now, right? I really do have to make stuff. So stay tuned,  I'm sure I will be able to crank out a not too shabby dress.