Alpha Patterns Kira Milkmaid dress for Matilda

 

Matilda badly wanted a Milkmaid dress. She has tried them on each shops and, quite frankly, they looked awful. Tilly is only 14 but has a very full bosom, the dresses she tried were not a good fit. After some Googling I ended up on Etsy and the Alpha Patterns Kira dress was on sale at 70% off so I thought we would give it a go.

It had many good reviews so I was quietly confident she would get the goods.

To start with, although the bra cups are self lined, the rest of the dress is not. I was not happy with that so I dropped a lining in.

I used cotton poplin for this and basted then clipped and then pressed the seam allowance. This was hand basted in place and then top stitched from the right side.

I had a terrible time fitted the gathered sleeve in to the bodice. The notches did not match and there just seemed to be too much fabric. I could not make rhyme nor reason from the instructions and if had not been such pretty fabric (French poplin) I would have thrown the whole dress in the bin.

The skirt is a full, gored skirt that has very little gathering at the waist. It was very snug on Tilly although she measured in the size I chose.

It is quite hard to see but the two cups are gathered by a drawstring and tied at the front. There is little support (in the bust area) it is very soft.

The fabric is very pretty.

I sewed one of my signature silver 'E's at the centre front.

Of course Tilly looks as cute as a button.

And I am reasonably happy with the fit.

But I won't sew it again.

In truth, I threw the pattern in the bin.

I cried sewing this thing. I was so worried that I had wasted the beautiful fabric. It took me two full days to sew. Although it does fit, she doesn't really wear it. I think she feels a bit vulnerable in it as you can't wear a bra.

I think there are better Milkmaid dress patterns out there. Vikisews makes the Nola dress which I would try, if another is required.

I really don't like being critical of an Indie pattern but I did not like this one at all. I think if you were after something 'cheap and cheerful' and not too fussed about a good finish, fine.

But it's not for me.

~Matilda's Verdict~

I don't normally wear dresses but I like this one. My Pinterest boards are full of these dresses, and  I could not find one that fitted me in stores. The fabric was a bit of a lucky find, but I managed to get my hands on it before Lidia saw it.  I like the fit of the dress around the waist, and the length of the skirt, with my wee little legs, But I do feel slightly constricted in the bodice, and arms of the dress, although that may be because I am not used to wearing dresses. Only being 14, I also feel a bit vulnerable, with the style of the bodice meaning I can't wear a wired bra.  

There you go, a pretty dress pattern but not for us.

Thank you for reading.... xx Nicole

Style Arc Lauren Boyfriend shirt and Lekala #4635 skirt for Nicole

 

I really, really, really like the Style Arc Lauren Boyfriend shirt

From the website 

DESCRIPTION

This boyfriend style shirt is a wearable example of the new trend in shirts. Sleeve interest is such an important part of the current trends and this shirt has a longer than usual cuff with the buttoning at the front. Roll the sleeves up to give an easy, casual look, great over jeans or a pair of slouchy pants. The men's style shirt tails makes this a perfect over shirt.

I have made two before, the navy/white gingham version lives at our beach cottage as part of my holiday capsule wardrobe. The blue floral lawn I gave to my sister as it was a bit big (in retrospect, I should have kept it)

We all keep a selection of clothes at the cottage so we don't need to pack. Not a lot, three outfits that layer well. Some Trixie's things were worn by Hugo!

When I cut those, I cut another from navy/white dotty linen/cotton remnant that I purchased from Spotlight. I had not needed it so didn't sew it.

Over our Summer stay I realised I needed bigger clothes there. I had gained weight. So I sewed up two new outfits, one being blogged here.

I love the deep, back double yoke with hanging loop.

And that fabulous cuff.

Which you can flip, leave down or it rolls nicely too.

As the shirt is an oversized, Boyfriend fit, I can wear it but I would definitely size up when I sew it again. Similar with the matching skirt.

.

This skirt, Lekala #4635 is such a nice skirt.

I sewed it in 2019 and wore it and wore it. When I made it I ended up taking in a quite a bit from the side seams so I was hopeful, even with a good 10kg weight gain I could still use the pattern.

The fabric is a stretchy pale pink denim that I purchased from the Lincraft sales. It is so pretty. I topstitched with heavy, copper coloured jeans thread.

Look, it fits, It is quite comfortable but much the same as the shirt, when I sew it again I will size up.

I do like it though and as my weight fluctuates, I will just leave it in the wardrobe at Bosuns.

Also, I tend to wear trackies and tees most of the time, at the beach. The smart clothes are just if we go into Town and I change when we get back.

The second outfit, dungarees and a puff sleeve tee were a lot more successful and I hope to share those soon.

Thank you for reading... xx Nicole 

Lekala Shirt #6026 for Jed

*Please note, this Blogpost contains a moving slideshow, take care if photo sensitive*

 I have made many, many shirts for Jed.

He favours a floral lawn, preferably Liberty, but for out family photos I wanted to make something a little more low key.

So I chose a lovely pick a pick (or shot) cotton and sewed it up in Lekala #6026

This pattern is a classic, button up mens shirt, made to measure but the biggest bonus is that it is FREE!

The shirt has a good fullness (which Jed likes for his belly) and a good shoulder width without being over sized.

The collar and collar stand are a nice size, a tie sits nicely under the collar.

I stitched a double row of top stitching, copying a RTW shirt I saw on Pinterest.

The buttons are smoked Mother of Pearl.

The back has a narrow yoke (I sewed a double yoke as it is my preference)

There is also a decent back vent which gives further ease (especially for the tummy)

The shirt is an average length but I think I will add at least an inch to the next sew, to make sure it stays tucked in.

The sleeve length could be a wee bit shorter on Jed, however I noticed in a light fabric, he needs some sleeve length or he wear out the elbows. I would shorter the sleeve by a few cm if I was using a stiffer cotton.

For my second sew with this pattern I used a lovely Liberty Wiltshire from The Drapery

It made up beautifully. 

This time I added collar buttons as Jed had commented that he thought they looked smart.

I do like the cuff with the button on the placket.

And that lovely tuck for shoulder and tummy room.

I think he looks proper smart.

The Wiltshire looks great with his Lekala waistcoat

Overall, I am very pleased with this shirt pattern and I will definitely be sewing many more.

Thank you for reading.... xx Nicole 

Lekala Safari dress #4736 for Nicole

Over the Christmas holidays Liddy and I started watching a pretty lack-lustre show called Lie With Me

It was pretty bad and we soon swapped to The Head , which was awesome but, I digress...

The show was awful but the clothes were gorgeous and I really liked this green safari style dress.

Lids did some sleuthing and found it for me on Shop your TV

It is a Zimmerman dress, in a silk with heavy contrast stitching. I have some black, sand-washed silk I purchased from Designer Ends Fabric but there was no way I cutting into it without trialing a pattern first. 

After checking out a few patterns on Lekala I decided Lekala Safari #4736 was the best match. I omitted the collar, the waist casing and the patch pockets. I added a waist tie and lots and lots of top stitching.

I used some cotton/rayon from Elizas of Sunshine, that was around $3/m. It had a similar drape to the silk.

For the topstitching, I used some pre-wound bobbin thread on the top and bobbin of my machine. I picked this up in an Op-Shop quite a few years ago and it is what I use to topstitch my jeans (with regular thread in the bobbin, for jeans).

It definitely gave me the visible thread stitching detail but it was heavy going. No matter how I adjusted my thread and bobbin tension it wanted to pucker. I had to pull my fabric extremely taut while sewing which was murder on my shoulder bursitis.

I think I will try this on the top spool and regular on the bobbin on a scrap of the silk before I make my next dress.

As Lekala is a custom fit I didn't have to fuss with the fit, it was perfect. I truly thought it would be too small as Lidia popped it on first and it looked great on her. Lekala always seems to nail my narrow shoulders/ big boobs shape so well.

Looking back at the photos I wasn't keen on the clinging nature so I purchased a slip (actually two, one nude, one black) and it really improves the look of the dress and also keeps me warm.

I struggled a bit with how to tie the tie. My tummy protrudes, even in shape wear and I didn't like it tied in an Empire fashion. That said, I am sure that is one of those issues that is in my head and no one else will notice.

I think I have a leather belt packed away (Helloooo Covid lockdown, belts?) and I will try that. In the end, I tied the waist tie at the back (like a trench coat) so that the back was nipped in and let the front hang straight. I don't have a photo but I think that looked really snappy.

This dress has become my goto meeting dress and on our last trip to Town I channeled my inner Beth Dutton and paired it with my knee high western RM Williams boots that I have not worn since I was pregnant with Lidia.

In conclusion, a very happy sew which I look forward to repeating with the good stuff!

Thank you for reading .... xx Nicole