Emery dress x Merchant and Mills

I've had the Emery dress pattern for a while and had planned to make a plaid version inspired by the TV show Outlander which is set in 1700s Scotland, however once I received this Merchant & Mills "Jones town" linen I knew this was the right fabric. I am completely obsessed with both the TV show and the book and I am currently making a cowl also inspired by the show.
Most of the time I buy fabric and patterns together, for what I imagine in my head, but my heart skipped a beat and I had to have this fabric! It's a gorgeous soft blue linen that holds a crease so beautifully but does not seem to crease much on it's own.

The dress jumped to the front of my sewing queue, but I just could not decide on sleeves/no-sleeves. I cut the long sleeves out and then left them to one side to debate.
Halfway through sewing the lining I realised the way I was sewing it would leave the armholes raw instead of enclosed and so I had to include the sleeves too.

I had a little trouble sewing the lining, I'm not very good at envisaging things inside out/right sides together and so was sewing blind at points, not quite realising how it was going to fit together. I had a quick google and found Christine Haynes sew-a-long which made it a lot easier to understand! I lined my Lilou dress but as that one is sleeveless the method is slightly different and instead of pulling through a shoulder you just pull through the bottom of the lining. It makes for a beautiful finish around the zip as well.

 Does anyone else find setting sleeves in a bit like doing liquid eyeliner? It either goes right first attempt or you're arsing around for ages trying to get it right. A bit like zips that way. One sleeve went in and I missed the outside of the dress so the lining and the sleeve had been sewn but not the dress itself! Then I kept catching bits of the sleeve that weren't supposed to be sewn. All in all I must've sewn it 4 times... the right sleeve went in with absolutely no bother!

I sewed a straight size 4, grading to a 6 for the skirt (I wanted a fuller skirt) and left off the waist darts as I wanted it to be a looser fit. I definitely achieved that but not as much as I would've liked. I love really exaggerated silhouettes like Cabbages and Roses do.

I tend to sew in a couple of hour chunks but I felt like I was sewing this dress for an eternity! It took me a week to finish and that was whilst being off work. By the time I was sewing the sleeves I hated this dress. Having said that, after wearing it all day I am starting to like it more.

Having said that, this is the best dress I've ever made in terms of construction, all the seams are zig-zagged (hot damn I need an overlocker) and the insides are just a beautiful on the outside. The only flaw is the fact that I lined the top of the zipper tape instead of the top of the zipper tab and therefore there's a slight gap at the top of the dress. I'm going to hand sew a hook and eye to fix it. Check out that not quite invisible zip! I first tried to sew in a zip after having a drink...that ended with a wonky zip and a broken needle. Don't drink and sew people!

I have to say this is definitely not going to be my last Emery dress!

Aaaaand one more awkward photo for good luck! Me and Gary headed out for a walk, I was bribed by having some semi decent photos taken for my blog, but I kept cracking up laughing at how ridiculous I must look. I have to say they are an improvement on the rubbish photos done in our house!

Stylish dress book dress E

I've had the stylish dress book for a while but the lack of seam allowance and the fact that there's about a thousand patterns on one side put me off for months!

I finally bit the bullet and traced the pattern (it really didn't take that long) of dress E.

I'm usually an 8 on top and 10 below and for this dress I cut a size 10, it fits well in the arms and bust but the neckline is a bit loose.

I don't tend to toile patterns because the only bit of RTW clothes that don't fit is the bum! Anything that just fits around the shoulders and bust doesn't usually need any adjusting.

Sans sleeves, I left the sleeves and the hem until the next day thinking they were going to be complex and they weren't. I really enjoy sewing sleeves in, they're tricky but not too tricky.

Love a bit of topstitching (not that you can see it!)

I found the pleats quite tricky in this dress, this was mainly due to the fabric. I was impatient and didn't wash it first, if I had I don't think it would have been so stiff it kept repelling pins. Also the gingham kept messing with my ability to judge distance, I'm usually quite good at keeping things even.

This dress is perfect when you've eaten 5 slices of pizza the night before and you don't want everyone to see your pizza belly.

One thing I would probably change is the amount of fabric in the fabric, it's quite swingy and tent like, I would just have the back going straight down without the pleats. Also I don't know why that sleeve indents in like that. Sewing sleeves is like putting eyeliner on, one eye goes perfect, the other you end up with eyeliner halfway down your face.

Aaaaanyway the fabric is from Merchant & Mills the red natural gingham, but don't do what I did and order 147 cm wide thinking it would be enough (it is but only if you want your back to be in two pieces).

I wouldn't mind making this dress in a nice grey linen but I would definitely reduce the fabric in the back and maybe size down.

My next project is Sew Over It's ultimate trousers! Wish me luck....