Sew Over It, Molly Top

 

As soon as Sew Over It released them, I loved the patterns in the e-book My Capsule Wardrobe: City Break. Five great patterns that I can absolutely imagine myself in any of them.

Funnily enough, the Molly top / dress did not grab my imagination. I would have put it bottom of the list. I didn't like the dolman sleeve and the extra bit at the end. But I watched Lisa's You Tube videos and decided it looked much better on. I particularly liked her floral version where you can't even see the sleeve seam (about 5 minutes in).

Molly is actually a great little pattern. The negative ease at the bust and the flowy waist and hem are very flattering. It also goes together SO FAST! I sewed the whole thing together in one evening. Add another evening for cutting out and one for finishing and this was a record for me.

I used my overlocker for all the sewing so there was no going back on the fit. I made a straight size 10 and the sizing was perfect, aside from my extremely short waist. I had taken 1 inch off the waist, and done a sway back adjustment of 1/2 inch, but it is still pooling at the back. I have gone back and altered the paper pattern again, to make the short waist 2 inches. Yikes!

I didn't mark any of the notches. Nor did I follow the pattern instructions. I had just made the Coco and this is even simpler with the straight sleeve head. I would say it is a perfect pattern for an introduction to sewing with knits. Or possibly even sewing at all.

The sleeve cuffs are very close fitting. They go some way towards balancing out the silhouette, but come up a little too tight for my preference. I would add in 1/2cm to each side when cutting. The sides of the sleeves are straight, so it would be easy to cut out with a ruler.

The neckband isn't lying flat properly. I am not quite sure why this is. While I didn't cut the notches, just pinned the neckband into place, and stretched it out when sewing, it is stretched almost at its full capacity. I think it might have something to do with the nature of the fabric.

The base jersey is very soft but it has been dyed with the black over the top. It almost feels (and smells) like paint and there is a lot of black on this white. The scale of the pattern is much larger than I thought it was when I viewed it online. I wanted smallish white flowers on the white background. This is a bit too tropical looking. But it was on sale and super cheap and I couldn't be bothered sending it back. I like the fabric better when it is made up into a garment, so I am calling this a wearable toile of the Molly top.

I used my sewing machine to zig zag the hems of the top and the cuffs, but it still doesn't like to play nice with jersey. Thank goodness I have an overlocker now, it makes such a difference to my ability to sew knits. It doesn't feel as precise, but it powers through those knits with no problems!

Costs:
 Fabric: 2m (Minerva Crafts) £9.98
 Pattern: 1/3 of Sew Over It ebook (on sale) £4.67
 Notions: £0.00
Total: £14.65

Navy Sweatshirt Coco Dress

It takes me a very long time to get out of my post-Christmas sewing rut. Almost two months since my Hibiscus Dress, and I had not sewn anything. I eased myself back into sewing with Coco from Tilly and the Buttons, in a navy fleece fabric. Something that had been in my sewing queue since last winter, when I made my Coco Sweatshirt.

This is becoming the pattern that I turn to for getting my sew-jo back after the new year. Two years in a row now. It is nice and simple, and a great middle-of-winter comfort wear too. This year I was faster to get back on the horse. Last year looks like it took me until February to get sewing, and I didn't post the completed item until 1 March. I snuck the start of this into January 2017 by checking Instagram and reading the pattern instructions. I was all like, "Wow, that is so simple! I could totally do that!" Duh.

So I got on with cutting out and putting it together with my overlocker. I made a size 4, grading to 3 from the waist to the hem. All previous alterations the same, and I had already adjusted the paper pattern, which saved me loads of time. If I made this in a ponte, rather than a fleece, I think I should probably make a size 3. There is plenty of ease.

I finished the cuffs and neckline by overlocking the edges, turning under and sewing two rows of topstitching. The finished edge feels quite stable, so I didn't add stay tape to the neckline. If it pulls, I'll have to put in elastic, or add ribbing to the neckline. 

I deliberately stayed away from ribbing because I wanted it to be dressier and less sweatshirt-y. I have to laugh at myself because I hated sweatshirts as a child! My school tracksuit was green. Urgh! What a horrible colour! This fabric is absolutely school sweatshirt fabric. They even listed it as such on eBay, where I bought it. Here I am, reliving my school years in a sweatshirt dress. But hopefully passers by are not going to be reminded of their school tracksuits, or will forgive me in my quest for warm, cosy dressing.

Anywhoo, back to the construction. I find this neckline too wide for my preference. It gives a nice balanced look to the dress and it is fine for the funnel neck, but I find it too open, and not really suitable for such a depths-of-Winter garment. If I make this version again, I would reduce the neckline opening by 1cm.

Due to the bulkiness of the fabric, I made the hem on the shorter side. I'll always be wearing tights with it. Again, I ran two rows of straight stitching for the hem. The style means I don't need a stretchy hem and I don't have much luck with twin needles. Before I hemmed, I angled the side seams in so that I didn't have to ease in the bulk.

Then it was on to the... pockets!

I really did agonise over the pockets for quite some time. They are a very bold style statement and I must confess that they are not entirely me. But they are fun and actually add a slimming element to the finished dress.

I always knew they should be mustard colour, and I would use my scraps of Interlock from a cardigan and a t-shirt. But I also knew that poor workmanship would be very obvious, and this is a tricky fabric to work with. I was so desperate to do everything I could to not pull them out of shape in the making and the attaching.

I cut really carefully, and the interlock is much more stable than a jersey, so this wasn't too much of a challenge. Then I used the small pocket pattern as a template for pressing around. The pressing wasn't doing enough of a good job on the corners, so I went for a new solution.

First, I sewed a line of stitching just outside the fold line, then I hand basted the mitres in place and pressed again. This was much better. I could get the corners properly square and not saggy. They are not perfectly square, but they are the best patch pockets I have managed to date. I attached them using my walking foot. Unusually, the pattern doesn't include markings for the pocket placement, so I just decided for myself. Which is fine too. 

The pockets probably took me as long to sew as the whole of the rest of the dress. 

Then... I took some photos and decided that the dress was all wrong.

Not just the styling, with the sheer tights - which I obviously wouldn't wear in winter, but the pockets were just too clownish.

I had a play with alternative pocket styles. Like so:

I decided that Option 3 would work best. Navy patch pockets with a mustard accent at the top. So I unpicked the pockets and cut the tops off to attach to new navy pockets. Cue the same stitching and basting the corners. The sweatshirt fabric doesn't press as closely. But this pocket style is much better for me. Breaking the visual expanse of navy skirt, but being a bit more understated in the execution. 

I also styled it better with proper winter tights, and boots. 

I am happy with this as a cosy, casual winter dress, and a great sewing re-entry. Big Sis likes it so much that she has asked me to make her one with the rest of my fleece. Square patch pockets included!

Costs:
 Fabric: 2m (eBay) £13.20 - only used about 1.25m
 Contrast Fabric: scraps, £0.00
 Pattern: Coco (Tilly and the Buttons) £0.00 - used previously
 Thread: Started 4 new spools of black overlocker thread, £15.80 - thought I had bought navy, but apparently not
              Started a new 1000m spool of navy sewing thread. £9.89 - not buying that size again
Total: £28.89

Polar Bear Cake

This came out of National Geographic Kids, and was dutifully reproduced for her birthday.

It was so easy peasy, probably the easiest birthday cake I have ever made!

Following the instructions, I took a Victoria Sponge and a lemon muffin. Cut the top off the muffin and cut the top in half. The two halves are the ears and the base is turned upside down to be the snout.

I made the cream cheese icing, beaten to soft peaks, and then smeared it on. Raided the kids Christmas chocolate stash for the eyes and nose (can you spot the €1 coin?) and done. Yum!