Maternity Moneta

I've never needed to Moneta until I saw Rachel's in stripey jersey, I'm a total sucker for stripes and knew I needed to shamelessly copy hers!

I probably wouldn't have ended up making one had I had not found the softest squishiest jersey in Simply Solids. I might go buy the rest because it's the perfect stripe fabric.

Anyway all was going swimmingly sewing the Moneta, I sewed the whole thing on my overlocker, pockets and all, and twin needled all the hems. I was starting to think it was the most professional dress I'd ever made. 

Then came the skirt. Now if you've never made a Moneta before you gather the skirt using elastic by cutting the elastic to the length of the bodice and stretching it. In THEORY this is supposed to gather the skirt nice and evenly. It doesn't. There was bad swearing. There was ripping out. There were tantrums. 

I sewed the effing thing twice and I still couldn't get it to gather evenly. Eventually I gathered the bodice using the embroidery thread method and then overlocked the elastic and the bodice and skirt at the same time. My sewing machine hated sewing the elastic but my overlocker didn't even notice it was there.

There was some searching of the Internet during this skirt fiasco, and it seems most people don't sew the skirt the way that Colette suggest. Now this really pissed me off, this is supposed to be a beginner pattern. Now had I picked this up and sewed it as my first jersey dress pattern I would've possibly given sewing jersey up forever which is a shame because I looooove jersey, especially dem stripes. Anyway, I digress, the point is, there are easier ways to do what Colette suggest without having to 

lose your sanity along the way. Theres too many factors that can go wrong using the elastic to gather the skirt; the machine, the tension, type of elastic etc. I may being a little dramatic but it's put me off Colette a little. I sewed the Marianne dress which is also jersey and a beginner pattern with elastic in the shoulders with no problems!

Anyway, rant over, I love my dress. I sized up to accommodate my (newly) massive bust and expanding waistline but it still came out bigger than I was expecting, the fabric is quite heavy which pulls the bodice down. Don't worry if you think you won't fit into your usual size, there's a bit of negative ease here. I love the oversized look so this will be perfect after my pregnancy.

In order to make it maternity friendly, I shortened the bodice by 3 stripes (technical term) and lengthened the front of the skirt by about a a few stripes and graded the sides up to match the back. Unfortunately the fabric isn't on grain and therefore the stripes aren't parallel to the selvedge which means the stripe at the bodice seam is wonky. I can really notice it but it doesn't look too bad in the pictures. I can always resew the bodice slightly to match it if it really bothers me. Once my pregnancy is over I just need to shorten the front skirt as its a little too long at the moment. 

Overall I love my new dress despite the difficulty I had, it's like wearing secret pyjamas! Which is never a bad thing. I can see me living in this dress for quite some time. Oh and in case you're wondering we went to Bolton abbey in North Yorkshire for a walk and a picnic, I do love our little adventures!

Pregnancy sewing

Hello!

If you don't follow me on Instagram you won't have heard my good news; I'm pregnant! Due 2nd January. If anyone is interested in my pregnancy journey so far I've been blogging over at whatamygrew.blogspot.co.uk. 

From about week 7 my lower abdomen bloated up and I couldn't wear any of my trousers or jeans! Fairly quickly I had to think of some alternatives. I ended up buying some stretchy drawstring trousers from h&m and some maternity tops to hide my teeny tiny bump. 

We recently came back from Kos and I'd taken a few of my me-mades with me to wear, I found to my dismay that the baggy waisted dress I love so much didn't fit! I assumed, like most pregnant ladies I think, that my normal clothes would fit for a good few months. 

However I didn't factor in the boob increase! I haven't been measured but I've definitely gone up a band size and at least 2 cup sizes!! Which means none of my dresses fit anymore. I'll be honest here my expanding waistline was getting me down a little, partly because I've always been slim but mainly because of all the gorgeous clothes I want to make!

The morning we got back I was brainstorming maternity makes, I've never one to let myself brood, I'd rather try solve the problem. 

I'm off work over summer #teacherperks and have a lot of free time (and a new overlocker to play with!). I'm really grateful of my ability to sew because there isn't much choice in maternity clothes. 

My style has also completely changed, whereas before I used to favour baggy clothes I'm definitely leaning towards a more fitted silhouette. In baggy clothes I just feel swamped and much bigger than I am! Tighter tops and dresses flatter my figure more. 

Here's some of the ideas I've come up with so far:

Plantain shirt - this is a free shirt pattern from Deer and Doe which I already have printed (sewing win!) but not cut or assembled (fail). I read Sew Caroline's tips on making a shirt maternity here which got my cogs whirring. A couple of plantains should keep me going for a while. 

Hudson pants - I need comfy stretchy pants but some slim legged ones. My baggy ones make me look a lot wider especially with maternity/baggy shirts. I plan on making a black pair and a patterned pair too.

Mission Maxi dress - uh, why haven't I found this amazing pattern before!? It's perfect! I absolutely love maxi dresses, they're so feminine and easy to wear. I always find they're not long enough though so sewing my own will fix that. Sew Caroline's ruched sides tip will help this baby fit throughout my pregnancy. I'm thinking a tie dye effect and of course a striped version!

Rub off pattern - I'm currently wearing a slim fit dress bought from h&m years ago. It's exactly what I'm looking for but couldn't find a pattern to make. I'm going to try the rub off method to make my own, or possibly just adapt a mission maxi to be a bit shorter.

I bought a tonne of fabric and am going to spend a few weeks of my summer holiday happily sewing them up!

Sewing motivation

Over the last few weeks my sewing motivation has taken a complete dive bomb.

I'm currently sewing a True Bias Southport dress, I didn't have enough fabric for the skirt and so reduced the width. I'm worried that it won't look right and its stalled my sewing. 

Also I'm marking for the exam board and just do not have any spare time to be making something I don't like!

I'm hoping my sewing motivation comes back soon and this little baby should speed things along! 

My 1034D overlock made by Brother was gifted to me by my boyfriend. 

It's scary and I haven't even turned it on yet but I'm hoping it will give me a lovely professional finish on my me-makes.

I'm excited to see quite a few people have this overlocker and say it's really good especially considering I didn't choose it!

Anyone got any overlocker tips?

Me May Made

Well I started MMM15 and lasted a day.

I've had a lot going on in my personal life and the stress of only having 1/4 of my wardrobe to choose from wasn't going to make things any easier!

Having said that it made me realise two things; 1. I hate having to stick to the rules, I love wearing whatever I feel like wearing and 2. Most of my handmade clothes are not really work appropriate so in order to wear handmade everyday I need to make more basics/work appropriate clothes. Which is probably never going to happen!

Archer shirt

Seriously guys I made a freaking shirt!? How's that for awesome! For anyone wondering if they should sew the Archer shirt, DO IT, if for no reason than it makes you feel like a freaking goddess.

Grainline's Jen breaks the shirt making process into easy to manage chunks so if you want to sew the shirt over a long period of time you can. I enjoyed making this shirt so much that I sewed everything up to the collar and cuffs in one go.

The collar, cuffs and buttonholes are arguably the trickiest part of the pattern. I sewed the plackets first attempt without any problems and was really impressed with how well they came together.

Everything I've made so far has been "frosting" and no cake, this is definitely a cake pattern. It's mainly for work because I don't really wear shirts in my casual wardrobe. I don't usually make workwear but I kept seeing lovely RTW shirts but none of them were quite perfect. I wanted a shirt of nice fabric, a loose fit, longer length with no pockets. The glorious part of dressmaking/sewing is being able to make something specific to your tastes and fit. I just couldn't bring myself to buy RTW when I knew I could make something and feel so accomplished. 

My favourite part of the pattern was all the top stitching which makes you feel like a sewing God, even if you don't quite  manage 1/16". 

I was most worried about the collar and the buttonholes. I was advised to use this tutorial instead of the instructions which I did and found it really straight forward and easy to follow. The buttonholes also were really easy to do - just don't run out of bobbin thread halfway through like I did! I ended up sewing the buttons on by hand as I didn't want to snap my machine needle trying to do it automatically and found it really therapeutic. 

The fabric is Essex linen by Robert Kaufman which is a linen/cotton blend. Its quite thick which makes it ideal shirting especially for my first shirt. The buttons were from the Clothhouse. 

Unfortunately the shirt is a little small around the hips, I cut a straight size 4 but should have graded out. That along with the thicker fabric means that I've only worn this shirt twice despite spending so much time on it.

Don't you just hate it when that happens!?

Dressmaking...one year (and a bit) on

I started out sewing with this mentality of not even bothering back tacking seams or pre-washing fabric. The horrors!

GBSB basic dress in faded florals

Merchant and Mills Dress Shirt

GBSB basic dress in Cabbages and Roses

Stylish Dress Book E in Merchant and Mills gingham

Merchant and Mills Dress Shirt in Ikea linen

Tessuti Lily dress in M&M Blackwatch linen

Lilou dress in boiled wool

Cambie dress in Cerise Podge (Cabbages and Roses)

Sample Staple Dress

Marianne Dress - fabric from eBay

Marianne top with Miette skirt in M&M denim

Marianne dress - fabric from eBay

Marianne dress in Minerva Crafts ponte

Staple Dress in Art Gallery Fabric 

Emery Dress in M&M linen

As I've grown in confidence with my makes I've also grown in perfectionism. The insides now annoy me if they don't look pretty. Despite no one ever seeing them! I've even started lining my dress bodices instead of facing them despite it taken sooo much longer because facing is ugly. 

I've recently finished sewing the Miette skirt, a nice easy beginners pattern before I start my Archer shirt, and the pockets at the front are slightly misaligned. Oh yes I am going to unpick that bugger and redo it! Most unlike me a year ago. 

 So what have I learned?

• take my time, I will be happier and love the garment more if I don't rush it and sew it with care

• I love sewing sleeves (!?) 

• I love sewing with knit fabrics (after some cursing and throwing fabric around my kitchen)

• zips aren't as bad as you think

I wonder what I will have learned in another years time?

Amy

Can't knit, won't knit

I've tried a few different crafts, crochet, knitting, jewellery making, embroidery but none has captured my heart and soul as dressmaking.

For me, there's nothing so satisfying than making an outfit from your imagination (and sewing machine). With most crafts there is a limit on things you can make, with knitting it tends to be; hats, jumpers, gloves but with sewing the possibilities really are endless; dresses, jackets, jeans, underwear.

I am constantly thinking of which outfit to make next and have endless ideas.

However, there are some inspirational knitters out there that are really tempted me to get my needles cracking, if only my RSI didn't flare up after only an hour or so. When people say to me, how do you make that, it's so complicated, that's how I feel about knitting. 

One day I might be able to finish a knitting project.