Sewist #17179887 Dress for Matilda

 Pinterest strikes again!

Tilly saw this cute little dress and loved it.

So she popped on Sewist and made herself a dress pattern

Tildy has a great eye for a line drawing and I often delegate pattern making to her. 
My favourite feature on Sewist is the custom sizing. I usually still make a muslin but it save soooo much fitting time.

The fabric is from my stash. I purchased it from a Bullrush clothing sale ten years ago. Kerry, the Bullrush founder is a lovely person and very generous with her fabric sales. It is a quality cotton with a hint of stretch. It has a slight 'ottoman' effect one side.

The pattern was a great fit. I did end up taking in the side seam, above the waist, but I didn't permanently alter the pattern. I figured that ease could be desirable in another fabric.

The fabric was lovely to sew, handled well and took a hot iron.

Being a medium to heavier weight fabric the shoulder facings were a little fiddly.

I needed to to quite a bit of trimming, pressing and hand basting before hand sewing securely but I achieved a nice finish in the end.

I went with a regular zipper rather than invisible as I find them sturdier and this fabric had some 'grunt'.

I tossed around the idea of thread chains for the ties loops but much like the zipper, I decided to go with a sturdier option and made belt loops. The tie is self fabric.

Tilly decide to take a leaf of out Liddy's book and have the short-shorts made to feel a bit more comfortable in a mini dress.

We made a basic shorts pattern on Sewist.com but it had too much ease (to be worn as undershorts) so I fitted them.

The shorts have a waist facing, which I like to leave a large seam allowance on, so I can alter the waist later, if necessary.

I added a deep hem and finished it with the blind hem stitch (as I need to practice it) and it looks nice.

To keep the waist facing in place I like the stitch-in-the-ditch from the top, at each seam.

I think she looks adorable.

A neat fit that she can adjust as the mood takes her.

Age appropriate...

But very trendy.

Very comfortable to wear.

With an extra long zip to make dressing easier.

And cute little under shorts to stop her flashing her knickers.

Which we are all very grateful for.

Thank you for reading and stay safe and well xx Nicole 

Rosys Patterns Tie Front Shirt+ Shorts for Matilda

 Another fun sew from Rosys Patterns

Tilly asked me to sew her this lovely two piece set for Summer

The Tie Front Shirt+ Shorts

Matilda purchased this pretty fine cotton with a hail spot dot, on a shopping trip with her Dad.

Very pretty but almost a little light weight for this project. I seem to be nailing the poor fabric weight choice at present. 

It does work nicely with the neck flounce. Which is a single layer of fabric finished with a narrow, tight zigzag.

And the elastic wrist casing gathers beautifully.

But the sleeves are a bit floppy. They just don't have the 'poof' of the pattern cover.

It's a bit difficult to see but the top was a bit wide across the back neck so I just did a wee tuck (which disappears in the pattern of the fabric) and that sort of 'hoked' everything up.

The back neck was very 'square' and I did end up re-shaping that pattern piece.

I think this will sit nicer next time.

The neckties are sewn in one pass, finishing the neck and making the ties in one pass. I do wonder if cutting this on the bias would give you a neater and more pulled in back neck finish.

The wee shorts are a simple pull on style with an elastic waist.

I finished both pieces with a 1 cm double hem.

I know I am biased but how gorgeous does this look on Tilly?

It is so pretty and floaty.

It suits her so well.

I think it could look equally cute worn with jeans and boots, maybe with a singlet underneath?

A fun little 'fit' for warm, Summer days.

I think we will be making a few more of these sets. I would love to try a white version, like the photo on the pattern packet.

Thank you for reading, stay safe and well... xx Nicole 

Dressed-in-a-Dress Jane tee for Lidia, Matilda and Beatrix

For the pattern click here

I am so excited to share this with. 

This lovely young designer is kindly offering this beautifully drafted tee for free!

I may have made a few for our Queensland trip

I knew this would be a lovely pattern when I saw the sleeve. A good sleeve will have a definite front and back, which this does.

A neat tee-shirt is really a wardrobe staple and this one is dress enough to make in a silk jersey for the office or wear down in a soft cotton knit with your jeans.

Kaia offer the tee-shirt in sizing blocks. I requested all the sizes as I loved it so much and I chose to 'buy her a koffee' to make me feel less greedy.

The instructions are very well written and take you through putting your pattern together,  choosing your size and finding the correct fabric.

The only thing I did differently was to bind the back neck which is purely aesthetic.

On a personal level, I have corresponded briefly with Kaia and she is a delightful person. She has also released a beautiful Sienna blouse which is very much in my sewing queue. 

If you like sewing (and wearing) tee-shirts, do try this one.

Keep well and safe... xx Nicole