The Sangria dress (and my first outing with scuba!)

Scuba is a fabric that's never really appealed to me before now - it always seemed too rubbery for my liking. I changed my mind about this shortly after discovering this wonderful bonded lace scuba from TMOS (The Man Outside Sainsbury's) in Walthamstow last year. I didn't even realise it was scuba until one of the other sewists I was with put me right, but by that point it was too late - I'd fallen for it! 

As I'd never worked with this fabric before I decided to start with a pattern specifically designed for scuba knits - the Sangria dress by Capital Chic. The pattern is beautifully simple - no darts or pleats, just a smooth sheath dress with short sleeves and a neckband. Hopefully easy to sew and a good blank canvas to show off the lace detailing of the fabric.

Sally kindly sent me a copy of the pattern when it was released, along with a link to this post by Thumblenina. Nina had also used bonded lace scuba to make her stunning Sangria dress and noted that it didn't have as much stretch as normal scuba. Based on the finished measurements and taking Nina's comments into consideration I cut a size 14, grading out to a size 16 at the hips to give me room to sit down in comfort! I also shortened the dress by 9cms to make it knee length on me. The fit is just right - clingy enough to show off your curves but not so restrictive that you can barely move. Don't forget that seam allowances are 1cm on Capital Chic patterns, so don't use 1.5cms by mistake or you'll get an even tighter fit!

The scuba was interesting to work with, not exactly troublesome, just a bit difficult to manoeuvre in places. The clingy nature of the material means it doesn't shift around whilst sewing, which was a good thing, and the main body of the dress came together quickly and easily on my overlocker. Hemming was a little challenging as the scuba didn't respond well to being pressed flat. It took lots of steam and a tailor's clapper to get those hems flattened into submission. But my main problem was the arm binding - it's attached with a very small seam allowance, then folded round and stitched in the ditch, so all raw edges are enclosed. This should give a lovely neat finish, but unfortunately mine didn't turn out that way. The bulkiness of the fabric and narrowness of the binding both conspired against me and it ended up looking like a tight, uncomfortable ridge around my arms. I eventually removed the binding and sewed a simple turned hem with a twin needle instead. It's not as neat looking on the inside, but infinitely better on the outside, and it doesn't stop the circulation in my arms!

The other area where I ended up deviating from the instructions was the back opening, otherwise known as the zip! Because of the previously mentioned bulk, I was hoping I could get away with a much shorter zip than the recommended 60cms, or even better, no zip at all! Sadly the scuba didn't have enough stretch for me to get it over my head without one, but I only needed to unpick a few inches at the top, which was good news. My compromise was to fashion a keyhole opening, fastening with a thread loop and button at the neck.

If you've never worked with scuba before then this pattern is a really good place to start. There's minimal fitting involved and the well written instructions make it an easy, stress-free sew - I highly recommend it. And I'm delighted with the finished dress - despite being a tight fit, it's still comfortable to wear and is a really smart looking 'going out dress' to add to my wardrobe.

The finished dress is very clingy, but the fact that it's knee length, with a relatively high neck keeps it classy in my opinion. I'll be proudly wearing it out for cocktails with friends this weekend anyway. And I'll be very smug about the fact that it only cost me £8.00! x

Sneaky peak of my new coat!

The Sangria dress pattern was given to me free of charge. All views my own.

New Look 6217 - a hidden gem

Every so often I'll come across a very ordinary looking sewing pattern that turns out to be a hidden gem. That's exactly what happened recently when I discovered New Look 6217. The pattern comprises a top, kimono jacket, skirt and trousers - all designed for easy garment sewing. The top and kimono jacket both have grown on/kimono sleeves and the top, skirt and trousers are finished with bias tape around the neckline and waistbands. No tricky techniques, just a few easy pieces to practice your skills and build your confidence.

I bought the pattern a couple of months ago when Weaver Dee was having a pattern sale*. After scrutinising the line drawings, I decided that the top had a nice shape to it - it has a curved hem and a keyhole opening at the back, so no zips or buttons to contend with.

There are only two pattern pieces, so it uses very little fabric, especially if you fold the selvedges of your fabric into the centre as I did. By doing this I was able to use up my last half metre of Prada Stretch Crepe left over from my Amazing Fit Little Black Dress. Yay, I love it when that happens!

I measured the pattern pieces against my bodice block and took note of the finished garment measurements. There are four inches of ease included, so based on this I cut a size 10, grading out to a size 12 at the bust. My measurements would normally belong in the size 14 column, so unless you want a very relaxed fit, it's probably worth going down a size. I lengthened the pattern pieces by two inches but made no other changes. To my delight, the top fitted me exactly how I wanted to straight from the envelope. It has no darts, but still looks semi-fitted and is really comfortable to wear.

I can't help but compare it to the Sophia Top, which I made before Christmas and is a similar shape. I spent forever trying to get that bloody top to fit - I had to remove wedges from the front and back necklines and add weird armhole darts to stop the gaping around the bust. So in terms of fit, there's no contest - the New Look top wins hands down! These photos show the top at its most stripped down i.e. in a solid black fabric without my usual ton of costume jewellery. And I still think it looks smart and chic - imagine what it will look like made in more interesting fabrics and with a lovely necklace?!

So the moral of the story is - don't judge a pattern by its cover envelope, look at the line drawings! If you dig deep enough, there are some real beauts to be found. Do you have any hidden gems you can recommend? Please share them in the comments section if you do! x  

*When I went to the Weaver Dee site for a link, I noticed that there's currently 50% off New Look patterns until 22nd March. So if you like the look of this pattern, you can snap it up for just £2.98. And if you use the code JANE10, you get a further 10% discount. Yippee!