Lightning McStitch

Given that you have a bodice and skirt lining, how about this…
Sew the dress as per instructions with the zipper.
Sew the bodice lining to the skirt lining only.
Leave a basted area in the lining side seam where the zipper is.
Once it’s all constructed and the closed lining dress is hanging free inside the main dress, unpick the basted lining…[Read more]

I came so close to shortening the waistband again (albeit by much less) as the pants did seem to fit. But then I tried the waistband on by itself and if I shortened it, it would have been too small.

So, I pinned the ends of the waistband to the edges of the opened left pocket, ignored all notches and pinned it to fit the pants. The pants required…[Read more]

A new year means new patterns for me.
Last year’s are all looking twee

It looks like that doesn’t it @Robin. But no, the illustration and the written instruction show the waistband finishing at the pocket edge. No overlap needed ’cause the pocket overlaps itself.
Puzzling….

Whoa, I’m still struggling on this one…

I unpicked my attached and topstitched waistband, cut a new one, unpicked the front and back box pleats and started over.

I redid the box pleats with the new correct pattern markings, and the culottes appear to fit just fine now.

As I’ve gone to attach the waistband I’ve encountered another problem with…[Read more]

Cute snowflakes! Wishing everyone happiness whatever you’re up to.

I think the challenge lies in getting the finished dart to have the same dimensions/fit as the original.
You’d need to cut and spread the pattern before cutting out the fabric in order to add the seam allowance. That way once you’ve sewn the gathered dart it hopefully ends up the original shape.
Take pictures of what you do, I’ll be curious to see it!

Bumped for @Sarvi

Bumped for @Sarvi

Bumped for @Sarvi

Bumped for @Sarvi

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!

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.

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]

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. 🙂

@Kerrilyn as an Aussie cyclist I can share some lycra laundry tips!
Wash lycra clothes (bike gear, swim suits, high lycra content knits) in wool wash not detergent.
Always dry on a clothes horse in the shade not on the line in full sun! Now that the sponsorships have ended I have to make my knicks last forever!!
Second the Roller skate as one of…[Read more]