simplicity 2362 Maxi dresses

Simplicity 2362 

Liberty Fabric Maxi Dresses

I am a big fan of the maxi dress, however, I am a bit of a strange shape, a bit top heavy I guess. I found that when I tried them on in stores I had to go fora much bigger size than I do for any other clothes if I wanted to stop myself pouring out the top of them. This also resulted in them not fitting well below the bust and me feeling like I was wearing a bin bag. Obviously the only way for me to get a maxi dress  I was comfortable in was to make my own.

I selected the simplicity 2362 pattern as I liked the variety of tops you can have to the dress and really liked the idea of having pockets. I'm a big fan of pockets - they provide somewhere to put your hands when awkwardly standing for a holiday snap!

I decided to go for styles C and E, only I made E the same length as C. I cut the pattern a size up from what I usually use in preparation for the awkward maxi dress and for the first time used my dress making dummy for more than just taking photographs of what I've made. I took my measurements and adjusted my dummy to fit and get started.

My Butterick B5352 silk mistake!

B5352 Butterick Dress

Why you shouldn't ignore fabric recommendations.

I had a 21st birthday and a 30th birthday party to go to, both happening on the same night and since it had been a while since I'd made something I decided I wanted to make a nice party dress for the occasions. So I did my usual, chose a pattern and then went looking for a fabric. I wanted something light and floaty, it was April, springtime, so I also wanted something bright and cheerful.

I chose the B5352 Butterick pattern because I loved the way it flowed at the base. Now my next step - chosing the fabric is where I went wrong...

I naively ignored the recommendation for a stretch knit fabric and chose my fabric purely based on the fact that I loved it. I loved the idea of silk, it was to be a party dress after all, and it was so bright and cheery I just had to have it.

Making a Corset for a Masquerade Ball

Making a Corset for a Masquerade Ball

There's a club night in Glasgow called Club Noir which is a burlesque show and everyone comes dressed according to the theme set for the night. It also happens to be the home of Chelsea Dagger from the Fratellis song. 

My friends and I were going to the Venetian Masked Ball and so I needed a corset. The last time I'd made one was for a project at school and I hadn't included boning or anything, it was very basic, but I decided to use the same pattern I had mocked up then and add boning to it.

I already had a mask and so the colours of the fabric and trim were very much chosen to compliment that. I chose a purple raw silk and a silver zig zag trim as well as some silver ribbon as a fastening at the back. I added boning to the seams, which gave it some structure and my mannequin was very useful in making sure it was made to fit me. 

Back to the start...

Vogue 1129 Jacket Pattern Project

My last post was all so I could add the images of my fabric on to my spoonflower account but I've decided I would like to use my blog for more than that. So I've decided to go back in time by a few years and show some of the things I've been making in my spare time and explain why I've made what I've made.

I began making things when I was at school, cutting up my jeans to restyle them or up cycling old clothes into hand bags and the like. I loved Art and when choosing a career, I knew I wanted to do something creative - I'm now an Architect. Whilst I do get to do a lot of design work on a daily basis, designing on paper is in no way the same as crafting and realising the design yourselves. In my professional life, I have to rely on other peoples money (clients budgets) and contractors skills to progress my designs from paper to reality, but when I'm crafting I can spend as much or as little money as I want and I am in complete control of the quality of the finished product. 

That's why a few years ago I got a sewing machine and rediscovered my love for making things. This jacket is one of the first things I made with my sewing machine. The fabric came from Mandors, Glasgow. My favourite fabric shop. I could spend forever sitting at the pattern bench in store looking through the books deciding on what I want to make next.

For my first project I chose this Vogue pattern 1129.