It's Cocktail Hour!

Today I'm sharing the dress I made as part of the Vogue Patterns Cocktail Hour Sewalong.

The sewalong was launched in March by McCall's to raise money for The Eve Appeal - a charity that funds research into gynaecological cancers. 26 sewing bloggers have been taking part in the blog tour since then, sewing up their choice of 20 specially selected Vogue evening wear patterns. Money raised from the sale of each pattern will go to the Eve Appeal, so anybody who buys one will be directly supporting the charity. You can check out what everybody else has been making by using the hashtag #sipandsew on Instagram and Twitter.

When it came to choosing my pattern, I was looking for a simple design that wouldn't require much brain power to sew. Vogue 1536 seemed to fit the bill perfectly - an elegant princess-seamed cocktail dress by American designers Tom and Linda Platt.

The pattern also comes with a strange Mel and Kim-style cropped bolero jacket, which you'll be pleased to hear I disregarded. I was only ever interested in the dress.

She's spoiling for a fight...

With such a simple design I knew that fabric choice would be key and spent a looong time making my mind up. I finally decided on an Italian wool crepe from Til the Sun goes Down for the main dress and a shantung satin from ClothSpot for the lining.

The navy colourway I used is no longer in stock unfortunately, but here's the link to another blue. The lining fabric is also sold out - sorry! The crepe by itself is quite lightweight but takes on a completely different feel with the lining added. The shantung satin adds structure and weight to the dress and it feels very luxurious to wear - exactly what you want from a cocktail dress. The wool crepe is expensive (£32 a metre) but reasonably wide, and with a bit of clever pattern placement I was able to get away with using just one metre for my dress. You'll be relieved to hear that I did actually make a muslin before cutting into such posh fabric!

I'd read in a few reviews that the dress ran large, so cut a size 12 which was one size smaller than my measurements. I used the petite shortening lines at the waist only (you can also shorten for petite sizes at the hips) as the finished length is already quite short. The only other adjustment I made was a 5/8" tuck across the back piece as the V back gaped slightly on the muslin.

There wasn't anything untoward about the pattern and the construction was relatively straight forward. The only thing that leapt out at me was the lack of instruction to stay stitch the V front and back necklines. Yes, it's an obvious step, but I really think it should have been included - these areas are both cut on the bias and the last thing you want is a stretched out neckline. I also ditched the instructions when it came to adding the lining as there was far too much hand sewing for my liking. I attached the entire lining by machine, apart from the area around the back split which I hand stitched. I also hand stitched the dress hem.

For such a simple dress I did have to spend an enormous amount of time with a steam iron and a clapper pressing the curved princess seams flat. Luckily for me, the wool crepe was a dream to manipulate and I'm really happy with how well the seams pressed. I think they're worth the extra effort.

I have to say, this is a gorgeous dress: simple, classy and a great fit. It isn't super fitted, but the subtle shaping of the princess seams really shows off your curves, which I like. It's very me and I'm glad I kept it simple when it came to choosing the pattern. Cheers!

Two seconds after this photo was taken I spilt the entire cocktail down my arm...

The pattern and a fabric allowance were kindly provided by McCall's. All views my own. 

A Heather dress for winter

This is the Heather dress from Sew Over It, the first completed pattern from my #2017makenine list and my new favourite thing! It's a chic little number, with interesting curved seams (great for colour blocking) and fab oversized pockets. What's not to like?!

Size-wise I cut a size 10, grading out to a size 12 at the bust on the front side panels. The only other changes I made to the pattern were to shorten the hem by two inches and shorten the sleeves by an inch, both of which are standard adjustments for me. The fit is exactly what I was hoping for - it's a reasonably tight fit with just enough ease to make it comfortable to wear. The pockets are really cosy too.

There are no instructions to stabilise the shoulder seams, but I stabilised mine with twill tape to cope with the weight of the dress. All construction steps are illustrated with photos, making this a nice, straight forward sew. The only area where I puzzled for a minute was the pockets. Just remember that you're attaching the pocket bags to the front side seams, not the side seams as you normally would. Once I'd got my head round that, the dress came together very quickly - I think I sewed the whole thing in one afternoon.

Fabric recommendations are for medium weight knits with a low stretch percentage and I used a navy ponte Roma, that Alice at Clothspot very kindly sent me as a gift. They have a few other ponte knits in stock, but this particular shade of navy really called out to me. The weight and drape is perfect for the pattern - it's stable enough to cope with all the curved edges, but doesn't stretch out of shape. I loved working with it, and have already made a second garment from the remnants (coming soon!)

I've sewn with quite a few knit dress patterns over the years and this is by far my favourite. It's soooo comfortable for lounging on the sofa and can easily be dressed up for a night out. I want to wear it every day! I already have plans for a striped version with short sleeves for summer, and at least one more winter version.  What's your favourite knit dress pattern? x

Shiny Simplicity Party Top

Seasons greetings! If you follow me on Instagram, you'll have already seen me crowing about the Simplicity party top I reviewed for the current issue of Sew Now magazine - oooooh! 

Today I thought I'd share a few more details on the blog as I was limited to just 300 words, and I still have lots more to say about it. Plus it will give you something to read if you're lazing around, browsing your blog feed and eating chocolates (or is that just me?!)

Simplicity 8260 is an easy-to-sew top in two lengths, with a choice of sleeve options and an unusual cross over back. 

It's an elegant, drapey style with lots of ease, so I'd suggest choosing your size based on the finished measurements rather than your actual measurements. According to the body measurement chart I was a Medium (14-16), but I went ahead and cut a size Small (10-12) with no regrets. As I was reviewing this pattern in December, I thought the long sleeved version would be the most weather appropriate (although I really like the look of the sleeveless version), and I chose the longer length (view B). The pattern requires minimal fitting and I made no changes to the pattern. The only thing I would mention is that the full length sleeves are quite fitted. I personally prefer this, but you may want to add a bit of width if you don't like such a tight fit. 

There are only three pattern pieces (two if you go for the sleeveless option) and no darts or fastenings, so construction is very simple. One thing to note is that the back pieces are cut on the bias and liable to stretch out. I'd recommend stay stitching these edges before you begin to prevent this happening. The two back pieces are crossed over each other and basted together to form one piece and the sleeves are inserted flat, so the entire top comes together very quickly. The pattern recommends using bias tape to finish the back opening edges and hems, but I didn't actually finish mine this way. I bought some lovely metallic bias tape which I didn't use in the end, as it ended up distorting the edge of my lightweight fabric. I finished my edges with narrow double turned hems instead. 

The fabric was quite sheer and any hem rippling around the neckline would have been really apparent, so I drafted a simple facing instead, using the front and back pattern pieces. This gave a much cleaner finish to the neckline. I also used French seams throughout. 

The fabric itself was rather lovely and came from Clothspot, a new-to-me online fabric shop with a carefully curated selection of gorgeous dressmaking fabrics. It's called 'Mercury Falling' and is a fluid, metallic-silvered lightweight crepe. All of the fabric descriptions on the site are very detailed (which I appreciate) and they even include a video clip of this particular fabric in motion! It's supposed to be hand washed to avoid damage to the metallic in the fabric... I simply crossed my fingers and machine washed it on the hand wash cycle. A tiny bit of metallic in one corner came away, but otherwise there were no ill effects. It does require quite careful handling - don't forget to stay stitch bias edges as pointed out above, and be vigilant when pressing hems to avoid rippling. I needed a fabric with a fair amount of glitz, that also had some drape to it and I have to say, 'Mercury Falling' delivered on both counts. 

The fit of the top is a bit of a departure for me (the shoulders are dropped and there's no shaping to the front) and I quite like the elegant effect it gives. I also like the fact that it's plain and simple to the front, but turn to the back and there's a party going on. I have to admit, I haven't worn the top out yet, so can't testify to the wearability of the crossover back. The back pieces on the pattern envelope seem to cross further down than my version, which might be down to artful photography. I may end up tacking the back pieces together if I feel like I'm wearing a hospital gown - I'll report back on that!  

If you're looking for a quick, fun dressmaking project (even quicker if you omit the bias tape as I did) then this pattern is the perfect choice. As I said in the review, just add a pair of slim trousers, heels and a big necklace and you’re party ready! And if you've already had your quota of parties for the year, you can always make one to cheer yourself up during the bleak mid UK January! Have a good day. x

The pattern and fabric were given to me free of charge by Weaver Dee and Clothspot for review. All views my own.

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