OOP Style 1738 Blouse made into a dress for Zara

Last September, Zara asked me to make her a dress for her birthday.
I was happy to and suggested she look through my patterns.

She didn't find a dress but she did find a blouse and asked if I could lengthen it.

What she was after was essentially a 'princess' or 'fit and flare' and I thought I could extend the bottom of the pattern pieces following the existing angle.

Zara loved view 1

The other issue was that I was working with only measurements as Zara is no longer at home.
Thus, I found myself one evening whilst Jed was at a meeting, extending the pattern (I knew those tissue scraps would come in handy one day) blending the size 10 at the bust, 8 at the waist and out to the 16 at the hips.
I used some lovely fabric I picked up in a bulk lot from a dealer in Melbourne.
He said he purchased it from a boutique in the fashion district.
It takes a very hot iron so has a high cotton content but also a beautiful, silky hand, maybe some rayon?
It is a gorgeous ivory/cream with a subtle sheen to the finish.

As I was only going to get one chance to fit the dress I constructed the back and the front separately, attaching the facings and neatening the side seams.

I then basted the side seams with a large stitch, flipping the facings down and pinning in place.

I took a leap of faith and sewed the facings and under stitched them as well.

I was hopeful that any alterations could be made at the side seams.

Zara was staying at our beach cottage with friends and we had a sofa to deliver there so I grabbed the chance at a fitting.
I couldn't believe it, it was perfect!

As usual, Zara and I squabbled over the length but she agreed to a deep hem and I put it up by hand.
The buttons are oval, MoP but they all broke so they need replacing with something sturdier.
The over-the-top shoulder ties really make it something different!

~Zara's Verdict~
The dress is absolutely divine!
I cannot believe how gorgeous it is. Somehow this dress transforms me into a Greek goddess. The cream colouring is so divine, paired with the elegant mother of pearl buttons it is truly a designer piece.
I cannot stress this enough, my mother is a miracle worker (she better not have edited this out)
I am so lucky to have a mother that sews, I would never be able to afford such a lovely and well fitting dress on my uni student budget.

~My Verdict~
I think my girls are so clever!
It never ceases to amaze me what they come up with looking at the patterns.
I know I taught them to look at line drawings but it is edifying that they do!
This was a fun sew and I would love to recommend the pattern but, unfortunately, I have not been able to find it anywhere.
Possibly is was released in Australia under 1738 and another code internationally?
I am not sure where I got it from, maybe an OpShop or it wa given to me.
(I am frequently given boxes of sewing bits and bobs from people no longer sewing)
Anyway, it was a happy find and Zara has asked for a gingham version.
I am happy to oblige.

Thank you for reading.... xx Nicole 

OOP Style 4213 Dungarees for Zara

So... you know I love sewing vintage patterns

This one, Style 4213 , was no exception.

Image from Pinterest

Zara has been asking me to sew her some 70's style dungarees with super wide legs.

Image from Pinterest.

Well, they don't come too much wider than this.

Check out those legs, nearly as twice as wide as the waist!

How fabulous does she look?
Zara has the best style.

The pattern was a straight forward enough sew but I knew fitting was going to be an issue.
I told Zara she was going to have to come home and let me fit as I sewed.

The waist was spot on but I did add some length to the waistband, just in case, and I ended up using it to make an underlap for the back button.

I also added length to the straps as they alway seem to run short and you can always cut it off if you don't need it.

I laid the pattern against Zara's 'leg and 'guesstimated' an extra inch to each thigh.
I tapered it out, above and below.

I sewed the inside leg, topstitched, and then basted and fitted the outside leg.
I nipped the waist in a bit more and tapered the front darts.

I shortened the leg, at the lengthen/shorten line, by 3cm.

To imitate a RTW look, I sewed a jeans label I unpicked off of some old work jeans.

I sewed them up in Denim Light Cotton Twill- Bleached from Spotlight $17/m (it regularly comes on sale)and apart from being a bit pong-y (you could smell the bleach) it sewed up really well.
I topstitched with heavy, jeans weight thread in white.
The buttons are white, river-stone.

~Zara's Verdict~
These overalls are absolutely gorgeous, what a vibe!
They are exactly what I was looking for and so flattering.
The wash of the denim is perfection, it is the exact blue I wanted.
Once again my mum is an absolute genius.

~My Verdict~
I had so much fun sewing these.
I think I may have to knock up a sneaky pair of trousers... you just leave the front bib off.
I think we got very lucky with the sizing.
Th only thing that confused me was the waistband is attached after sewing the zipper but there was no under/over lap for the button?
Maybe it needed a hook and eye?
A very quick, rewarding sew.

Special thanks to Ruby for the photos.

Thank you for reading....xx N

McCall's 9293 Pants for Zara

Now for something completely different.

Animal prints never really go out of style.

Image from Pinterest.

Zara sent me the above picture from Pinterest.
Now I had picked up some drape-y rayon from this seller on eBay that I thought would work well.

Zara chose this pattern.

I have no idea where this one came from, possibly a bundle off of eBay.
It was pre-cut to a size medium but it seemed to have a lot of ease.

Image from A. Clore Interiors, article below. 

I can't decide whether it is jaguar or leopard print.
I am leaning towards jaguar.
An interesting article here explains it well.

The pants have an elastic back with ties at the front.
The ties are finished with a narrow double hem.

Zara was in town so I guess-timated the elastic length knowing I could alter it if needed.
It was spot on!
(boom-tish)

I think Zara looks fabulous in them.

Very cool.

~My Verdict~
Another surprising pattern choice by my girls.
I would have overlooked this one, too 90's for my tastes.
Zara looks great and I have a go-to pattern, I can sew up for her, even when she is not available for a fitting.
The fabric was really nice and had gorgeous drape.
The double hem was a little fiddly, the fabric didn't take a pressed hem but with the aid of clover clips, it was do-able.
I did shorten the pattern, by a few inches, at the lengthen/ shorten line.

~Zara's Verdict~
Thes pants are absolutely insane, I cannot get over how groovy they make me feel yet they are so, so comfortable.
I wore them to Uni and someone said, 'Wow, you get dressed up for Uni, I just like being comfortable', I told them how wrong they were!
Mum actually made these without me being home. How amazing is that? One waist measurement and she was ready to go!

So cute!

With the left over jaguar print, Zara has asked me to make her dress  like this.
If anyone knows of a pattern, please let me know?
Thank you for reading.... xx N

Lekala #5062 Boyfriend Blazer for Zara

Zara asked me to sew her a Boyfriend blazer.

No worries, I thought, how hard could it be?
After all I have sewed many coats before.
Famous last words.
She sent me some inspirations pictures...

Images from Pinterest

We chose a pattern...

A custom fit Lekala #5062 blazer
And then the fabric.

This Seller massdestash  has some gorgeous fabrics for sale and she is a seriously nice person too.

I used a lush, stretch, bridal satin for the lining.

Although the back is quite shaped I added a vent, for ease.

It worked!

I topstitched the lining to reinforce the seams.
To be honest, this fabric was over kill as a lining, it is blouse or dress fabric but I hope Zara will wear this for years to come so I wanted it to be truly luxurious.

One thing I didn't take into account was pattern matching.

There was an awful lot of seams to match and as Zara's waist is so small the pattern was quite an odd shape.

 I did my best but it is certainly not perfect.

The welt pockets were very, very fiddly as the fabric wanted to fray when manipulated.
This video tutorial  was a huge help.

That said, once on, you really can't see all my mistakes.

I think it looks amazing on her.

I feel like she has an X-Files Scully vibe going on.

Image from Google

I like the mannish over size look with the nipped in waist.

In lieu of traditional shoulder pads I used old false boobs from crop tops that have died.
These have a good curve and are easier to get a nice shape. Zara is like me and has one wonky shoulder, I can position these and then hand sew in place for the perfect finish. 

I made self cover buttons, two for the front and three for each sleeve.

~Zara's Verdict~
This blazer is absolutely insane.
I told Mum what I wanted and she delivered, once again.
The material is incredible, the print is amazing and don't even get me started of the lining, INSANE. So, so, so silky and pearly white.

I can't wait to style this blazer in so many different ways; perhaps a cropped T and denim shorts? 
Or as a dress with a belt and heels.

~My Verdict~
This was a big sew, a very big sew.
The pattern was perfect, I didn't adjust the fit at all
*I do wish Zara had been home when I sewed in the sleeves as I definitely could've taken some ease from the sleeves cap*

The instructions supplied were definitely scarce. I have made a few coats now so I worked it out but I had to unpick the collar once.

The under collar is sewn to the main and the upper collar to the lining and then they are sewn together.
But then, you sew the front facings and up to the bottom of the collar, each side and the sew the collar down to the facing. Then there is lots of clipping and pressing and I had a tiny wee gap to hand sew closed once I had finished and turned the garment out.
Straight forward it was not!
The lining is bagged and then the blazer is put on and the collar sort of rolled in place until it sits nicely.
I use safety pins to hold the position, steam press it, let it cool and then catch the lining and main together in several places.

Zara didn't want any topstitching so I hand-tacked a lot of the seams together. The garment is beautiful but I want it to be very sturdy and handle a lot of wear and laundering.

A very satisfying sew but I would like a wee break before I make another one.
Thank you for reading... xx N