Tamara

I made the jacket in a thick, soft knit (almost like fleece) and lined it with lightweight wool jersey. It was so comfy looking.
I also goofed and sewed the body parts into tubes and the sleeves into something else. Thick, soft knits are nightmares to unpick! Pay attention to the instructions!

@Jane I don’t know what it’s like where you live, but round here they say the average leaving home age is now 27!! :0
Makes sense to have some kind of plan to work towards improving things before then!
My daughter was a really early riser for the first two years. There was no chance of her going back to sleep, so we took turns putting her in the…[Read more]

Thank you!
Glad to know i wasn’t actually mucking it up after all. The instructions are always so perfect i could see no way of getting it wrong!

No advice. But plenty of empathy. I know we all do all kinds of things to get our kids to sleep.

Can’t help, but I’ve just come home from a party, it’s well past midnight and I saw the topic header “go to bed” and I thought, righto I will!
I may have had a few drinks….
Good luck with the kid situation. I’m told they grow up and move out eventually.

Anyone else wrapping gifts and thinking they should pull out a ruler and rotary cutter?

Anyone else wrapping gifts and thinking they should pull out a ruler and rotary cutter?

Perhaps get the dress on your daughter (inside out) before unpicking anything so you can play around by pinching dart and other areas first to see exactly where some re-construction is needed. That’s what I would do.
Then unpick the darts you mentioned if necessary, re-try on and pin to fit.

Hopefully in the meantime someone who has made this…[Read more]

I haven’t made this dress. However when I’ve made a dress that needs some fine tuning, I turn it inside out, put it on the wearer and then pin like crazy making new darts, or wider side seams or raising shoulder seams – whatever the dress needs to make it fit better by using pins.
After the pinning process, mark those areas with wash out…[Read more]

Can’t wait to see a @Sarvi take on the Fairy Tale pattern.
I wish I had time to make a pretty Christmas dress. Instead, I’m burning the midnight oil making a Thread Theory Newcastle cardigan. This one is for a friend of my parents who had modelled the one i made for my dad, and was quite a hit when he appeared on my blog! Yes, Roger will be…[Read more]

Can’t wait to see a @Sarvi take on the Fairy Tale pattern.
I wish I had time to make a pretty Christmas dress. Instead, I’m burning the midnight oil making a Thread Theory Newcastle cardigan. This one is for a friend of my parents who had modelled the one i made for my dad, and was quite a hit when he appeared on my blog! Yes, Roger will be…[Read more]

Thanks @meleliza. I think I got the pockets right. I was very impressed with how the zipper was hidden inside one of the pockets.
These culottes are finished such that I need to either shed at least five kilos or gift them on.
I have plenty of fabric to try again, but perhaps not enough time!
I’ll cut just the top five inches out of muslin and…[Read more]

That’s exactly how I did the zipper. Works great doesn’t it? And I used that fabric for a roller skate dress. And mim22, that’s how we did it. Don’t sew up the side seams until after the zipper is in. Wish I had figured that part out first. : )

Sarvi, I rushed and made a mess of it. None of the seams line up! I know better.

That’s exactly how I did the zipper. Works great doesn’t it? And I used that fabric for a roller skate dress. And mim22, that’s how we did it. Don’t sew up the side seams until after the zipper is in. Wish I had figured that part out first. : )

Sarvi, I rushed and made a mess of it. None of the seams line up! I know better.

Difficult to determine the exact type of fabric but you’ll find something that looks similar in the bridal section of a fabric store.
A quick search say’s the dress designer is Christopher Lawrence and he found a vintage cut-out fabric (the circles) that he lay over the dress top and the hem section is airbrushed in a pattern he calls hidden…[Read more]

Someone might suggest the Coco dress by Tilly and the buttons with the funnel neck option. If they do, don’t listen, I think it’s pretty poorly drafted.
There must be a vintage Vogue pattern that’s similar surely….
If you find it I’ll have a dress just like your daughter’s please. 🙂

Did you taper off the edge of the dart slowly and tie the ends of it by hand rather than backstitching? If not, that might be the problem. Maybe if you take a photo we might be able to troubleshoot.

In order of speed from fastest to slowest, I have made:

Quickest:
Music Box
Playtime
Seashore

Slightly less quick but still pretty fast:
Ice Cream
Bubble

A little fiddlier on account of the pleats and sleeves:
Family Reunion

Most time-consuming:
Jumprope
Playdate

My favorite is Playtime – I’ve sewn four of them and have another cut out, but…[Read more]

In order of speed from fastest to slowest, I have made:

Quickest:
Music Box
Playtime
Seashore

Slightly less quick but still pretty fast:
Ice Cream
Bubble

A little fiddlier on account of the pleats and sleeves:
Family Reunion

Most time-consuming:
Jumprope
Playdate

My favorite is Playtime – I’ve sewn four of them and have another cut out. I…[Read more]

In order of speed from fastest to slowest, I have made:

Quickest:
Music Box
Playtime
Seashore

Slightly less quick but still pretty fast:
Ice Cream
Bubble

A little fiddlier on account of the pleats and sleeves:
Family Reunion

Most time-consuming:
Jumprope
Playdate