Elisalex

Pattern: By Hand London Elisalex
Size: UK 12
Alterations: yes
Fabric: black on grey leopard print heavy knit jersey bought on sale here

What I love about this dress

Well just about everything! I love the low cut back, I love the fitted bodice I love the full skirt! It's such a fun and feminine shape and lends itself well to all sorts of variations. The pattern has been around for a while so if you google you will find tons of different versions of the Elisalex dress made up in all sorts of fabrics proving just how versatile this pattern is. There's a sew along on the By Hand London blog which is a great resource.
Most of all I love that I feel pretty wearing my Elisalex :)

What I changed:

•  I slashed a good 6" off the length of the skirt before I cut out my fabric so it would hit me just below the knee. After trying on the near finished dress I looked like I was drowning in it. What looks good on a taller woman was completely overwhelming on me (I'm 1.64m). So I chopped another 6" or so off the skirt a little too enthusiastically. I hemmed with narrow bias binding which is a really neat finish and saved me from ending up with a scandalously short skirt - result!

• I didn't line the bodice simply because I had no suitable lining at hand. Instead I finished the neckline and sleeves with the same narrow bias binding I used for the hem. 

• I added pockets, love me some pockets :)

• I cut the sleeves at 3/4 length.

• I straightened the shoulder seam. This has become a standard alteration for me to combat gaping necklines.

• I took out some excess fabric in the bodice, it's designed to be close fitting so it was important to me to get that right. I had intended to make this dress from a cotton blend that I soon found to be too lightweight to hold the shape of the skirt well. By then I'd already traced all my pattern pieces and was too lazy to do it again. I really should have gone down a size to better account for the stretch in my fabric. Instead I simply pinned away the excess fabric along the princess seams until I was happy with the fit.

• I struggled with the sleeves.  The sleeve cap sat slightly off the shoulder but  that wasn't the biggest issue the sleeves looked oddly creased and baggy on me. Almost as if I had sewn them in backwards - which I had not I checked ;) I don't feel confident at all making adjustments to sleeves and have always tried to steer clear of it. But  the alternative would have been to go sleeveless in my winter weight dress - it's still far too cold for that! So I gave it my best shot and redrafted the curve of the sleeve, flattening it out a little at the back and shaving off a fair amount at the front creating a deeper curve. I am really not sure if this is the proper way one should go about altering sleeves so if you came here because you have the same fitting issues please be aware that I was winging it! I just know from experience the type of sleeve that fits me best and tried my hardest to redraft the Elisalex sleeve accordingly. It's better now than it was before, not perfect. I still have lots to learn. 

x Leila

Wiksten Tank Dress

Hope you all had a lovely weekend. I am so happy that I finally have something finished that I can share today! Oh, and if you manage to read all the way through this post there may be something in it for you....just sayin' ;)

A little while back I was contacted by the kind folks of Kollabora and asked if I would be interested in making something from one of their sewing kits to help promote the launch of the new website. In their own words; 'Kollabora is a brand new fashion and design forward DIY community, connecting makers with inspiring projects, tutorials and the best hard-to-find supplies.'

If like me, you enjoy the occasional venture into dressmaking, knitting, embroidery and other techniques you may enjoy this website as well. What I like about the site is the community aspect, you can find tips and video tutorials on different techniques, post a question, share your own projects or just shop for patterns and pretty fabrics.

I chose to make the Wiksten tank project as I adore Jenny's patterns. They are simple and stylish with lovely details and they fit me well, what more could a girl want! I received this beautiful Vera Wang silk courtesy of Mood Fabrics to make my dress, it is lush! Honestly it was such a treat to be allowed to pick something out at Mood, they have lots of fantastic fabrics available it took me forever to narrow my choice down. 

Sewing the slippery silk was a little challenging for me having grown used to the ease of sewing with quilting cottons. I needed to take frequent short breaks from trying to control the slipping and sliding whilst cutting, pinning and sewing. It was hard on my hands and shoulders, I kept tensing them up for fear of messing up my entire project!

Hand on hip, it's my one and only pose!

The Wiksten tank is definitely a beginner friendly pattern but depending on sewing skills and the type of fabric can have it's little challenges. Especially the bottom hem and the neck and arm binding can be a little tricky. 

 When I made my first top I had trouble with gaping at the back of the neckline. Rae has a good solution for this here, if you have enough ease this will definitely work. But I was worried I would not have enough ease in the armscye so I simply lowered the back neckline which solved the issue nicely. First tricky part tackled, no more gaping -excellent!

On to the binding, one thing that is not mentioned in the instructions but I find quite helpful is clipping the curves before pressing the binding seams open. I also made the binding slightly wider than the pattern calls for just to make my life a little easier when tucking under those raw edges.

I could not iron my fabric too hot so the binding was not laying as flat as I would have liked but I found a solution for this. After ironing my seams open I pressed them towards the binding side and stitched a second seam very close to the first one. This line of stitching is not visible from the outside of the garment so it does not interfere with the look of the finished dress. What it does is to help set the seam so it falls neatly towards the inside and helps the binding to lay flat.

The line of stitching right at the top, that's the one I'm talking about!

For the hem I sewed a row of basting stitches just shy of 3\4" all the way along the hem this helped a little in getting a neater hem finish. I had to do the bottom hem twice and still it's not exactly perfect. There is some excess fabric in the curve that would not behave and the corners needed lots of clipping to prevent them from pulling. The bottom hem could definitely be better!

All in all I love my new dress, it's simple but the luxurious shiny silk makes it so special! I would definitely wear this on a night out or to a party.

You made it all the way down here that means it's Give Away time!!

The Kollabora kit I received came with a copy of the Wiksten tank pattern which I already own so we thought it would be nice to give it to one of you!

Comments are now closed

• If you would like a chance to win a copy of the Wiksten tank pattern, simply leave one comment on this post. 
• Anyone anywhere can enter, this is a simple give away- no hoops.  But of course the people of Kollabora would love it if you paid a visit to their website, follow them on Twitter and Facebook 
• If you are a follower of my blog, new or old, you may up your chances by entering twice. Just leave one separate comment on this post. 
• Entries will close October 19th at midnight. Mr Random Number Generator will pick a winner to be announced later that weekend. 
• Last but not least please make sure there is a way for us to contact you should you win, this means you will need to make sure your profile is set to include your email address or leave an email address in your comment. If we can't contact you you can't win.
  
  Good luck!!

x Leila

Darling Ranges Dress

I made the Darling Ranges Dress by Megan Nielsen This was by far the trickiest piece of clothing I have sewed in a long time! And I am rather proud that I managed to produce a dress that, although still flawed, I am happy to wear.

Now before you think there's something terribly difficult about this pattern let me assure you there isn't. The darling ranges pattern is really comprehensively written it includes drawings and cutting diagrams and if that wasn't enough Megan has done a sewalong on her blog that is extremely helpful with step by step instructions on any alterations you may want to make.

In retrospect I should have payed more attention to the style of the dress compared to my body shape I am not exactly curvy and rather straight and boyish. This type of dress probably works best for those that have the pretty hourglass shaped curves. I needed to make a fair few alterations in order to make the dress work for me, which is something I don't feel overly confident doing.

    ** This is a rather lengthy post as I decided to go into some detail about the alterations I made just in case you would like to have a go at this pattern yourself, it may come in handy! Feel free to skip and just look at the pictures :)**




First I checked my measurements against those on the back of the pattern, Megan has conveniently given body measurements as well as finished garment sizes so you can check to see how much ease you will end up with. Of course I fell right between size XS and S so I decided a muslin was definitely in order. I came closest to size XS as far as my measurements go but I needed the ease in the waist from size S. Seeing as this dress is fitted around the waist this was not something I could ignore!

I made up muslin's of just the top bit as that is where the dress is fitted in both sizes and both were not flattering on me. The bust darts on the Darling Ranges Dress are rather wide and short, they hit me at the wrong angle and were causing all sorts of issues in the bodice. From excess fabric above the bust to pointy bits in the wrong places, it wasn't good!
 I decided to cut another muslin of the top in a size S and do a small bust adjustment. This made the bust dart a little more narrow which was a bonus, I further lengthened the dart and raised it up by about 1\2".
I added the inch I took out of the bust back to the waist and tried it on. This was looking much better!



So off I went sewing. I used a lightweight linen or linen blend I am not sure, I bought at our local fabric market.  First off the front bodice and back bodice don't quite match up, I have read this is a problem only in the smaller sizes. Not a big one for me as I am not that tall I just took about 3\8" off the back to make them even.

I didn't run into any real trouble until I hit the sleeves, instead of gathering them slightly and gently ease the sleeves in, for me there was no ease at all!
In all honesty I was beginning to get rather fed up with the dress at this point. But I am stubborn and determined to get better at dressmaking so I tried the dress on again to see what could be done. I had a fair bit of ease in the side seam under the arm and I could raise the shoulder seam slightly.

 Much pinning and fretting later I raised the shoulder seam by 1\2" total and the side seam under the arm by 1" total. This gave me just enough wriggle room to sew the sleeves in with some ease. I can sort of raise my arms but it's far from ideal I must say.
I lengthened the sleeves by a few inches and finished them with a cuff rather than the elastic the pattern calls for.



The rest of the dress came together easily without any problems. After my final fitting I decided to add some elastic to the back of the dress and omit the ties. This way I can wear my dress with or without a belt, the elastic provides me with a fitted waist and plenty of room for big meals ;)

Soooo, that was a long post congrats if you made it till here!
Now that it's finished I am pleased with my new dress, I really like the style of it and it has pockets -oh how I love a dress with pockets! With all the work I put into adjusting the pattern I am surely going to try the darling ranges again but not any time soon ;) I learned so much in the process I now feel a lot more confident in my dressmaking skills!

x Leila

Enamel Coffee Pot

When I first heard that Penny and Kerry had teamed up and formed Sew-Ichigo I got very excited. I just knew great things would come from them!
I had the pleasure of testing the Enamel Coffee Pot pattern from their first set of kitchen related paper piecing patterns.

The pattern instructions are very clear and helpful, and I just love this delightful vintage looking coffee pot!  I know many of you are scared by paper piecing, I was too at first, but really with Penny and Kerry's tips and advice you could not be in better hands. So if you are on the fence just go for it, I promise it is fiddly at times but not as difficult as it may seem.

As the block finishes 6" square it will be a lovely addition to my sampler quilt but you could also use the blocks in one of the tutorials on the Sew-Ichigo blog for a tote or a kitchen aid cover. 
You can buy the patterns here

x Leila

Go Anywhere Bag

I was so excited when Anna asked me to test her new bag pattern a few weeks back!
She is such a talented pattern maker, I absolutely love the 241 tote so I had great expectations of her new pattern.

I was not disappointed!

The pattern is very clearly written and has photo's for each step along the way. I personally love a pattern with lots of pictures as I tend to not be the best pattern follower, and the pictures really help me stay on track.

The Go Anywhere Bag lives up to it's name as it holds so much you could go anywhere with this bag!
There are two large exterior pockets. The pleated front pocket is divided up in three pockets, a perfect place to put everything you need close at hand like your children's toys or baby bottles, shopping lists, sun glasses, camera or this time of year I like to carry a small umbrella.

The back pocket closes with a magnetic snap. It would be the perfect spot for a book, some magazines, a change of children's clothes, nappies or an extra sweater.
The Go Anywhere bag also has a slip pocket inside for your wallet, keys, phone and it even has a space to keep your pen.

There's a space and a pocket for pretty much anything you might need or want to carry with you. Which makes this bag super practical, despite it's size you can arrange it so that you always know where everything is!

I was a bit late posting pictures of my finished bag - sorry Anna!- I was waiting for my fabric to arrive. As soon as I spotted Hometown canvas I just knew this was the perfect fabric for this bag. What better than all these city names as a reminder that indeed you could Go Anywhere?!

The pattern is available on Anna's blog here.

x Leila