Mickey Mouse Raglan Top

Its been a while again huh?

What can I say I've been a busy girl!

Anyway I made this top MONTHS ago!!!

The fabric was from the abakhans fill a bag sale that I went to with my mum, dad, sister and lil man. Its a printed jersey and whilst i it wasn't a huge piece I knew it would be coming home with m because LOL this girl loves her some Disney!!!!!! 

I used my old faithful prima pattern because I know the sizing's good and I do love a raglan. Plus its the sort of thing I can sew in my sleep.

I cut a larger size again because this jersey doesn't have a huge amount of stretch and when it is fully stretched it distorts mickeys face. 

The design wasn't printed on the edge of the fabric for about 4 inches so I used that for the cuffs and the neckband. 

Thinking about it I made this top so long ago that it was before my sewing machine went kaput and decided to stop sewing jersey! And yes I do still need to get it fixed!!!!!!

And that's it really its just a simple top but I've been enjoying wearing it with jeans especially when the weather is cold. 

Much Love Frankie 

Vintage Style Planes Shirt for Dad - McCalls M7206

Every now and again I make things for other people. 

Yes I really am that kind. You do have to meet a special criteria though. 

1. You have to provide the fabric [and I get to keep the leftovers]

2. I have to REALLY love you!

My dad wanted a vintage style shirt for the goodwod revival. He's seen someone wearing one at goodwood and looked online for something similar and found that they retail for about 50$ and would have to be shipped over from america! 

Naturally that seemed a bit excessive for a cotton shirt so he went to abakhans and picked up a sewing pattern and this cool vintage planes fabric and asked me to whip him one up.

The pattern was McCalls m7206 which is a mens bowling style shirt. 

 The front of the shirt is panelled which wasn't going to work with the fabric because you'd end up with most of the planes cut in half. So I hacked at the pattern with my scissors and taped the three panels together to make one shirt front. Luckily mens shirts don't have to have room for boobs so it went together pretty easily with minimal swearing. 

In fact the swearing only started when it came to cutting out. My Dad had been very specific that he wanted as many whole plans on the shirt as possible. Which meant I cut everything out in one layer and did a lot of moving things around trying to get as many planes as possible. There is a whole plane on each shirt sleeve, lots on the back and a few on the front. I even cut the collar in such a way that no matter if its up or down the planes are facing the right way!

 [top tip - if your going to cut things in a single layer to make sure you make the most of your print be sure to flip your pattern pieces so you don't end up with two left sleeves etc.]

I'm particularly pleased with the view from the back and the large plane that is basically central. 

Construction wise I wish I'd ditched off the instructions because they were AWFUL! Either its the pattern or its me but anyway I ended up having to do some creative thinking to keep everything neat and tidy. For example the back collar neckline is bias bound which does actually leave a nice finish. 

Also its really hard to see but I love that some of the writing is on the edge of the collar [each of the planes has its name underneath] 

Dad even chose the buttons himself and I'm pleased to report that every single buttonhole went in perfectly first time! 

So all in all I think it turned out pretty banging and my dad was dead pleased! I love his goofy grin in the last photo! And I think he may be on the hunt for more vintage inspired prints so I can make him a few more!!! 

Unluckily there wasn't enough fabric left over for me to make anything substantial for myself! [all that dammed fussy cutting!!!!]

So instead I'm going to use the scraps to make me and mum some hair accessories. 

In other news!!!! 

I've sewn up a few bits for myself and been working on baby quilts!

I've been climbing again!!! And I'm happy to report that my climbing shoes were incredibly comfortable!!! 

And my brother snapped this photo of me which I LOVE. Okay so I'm not far off the floor [this is the bouldering room so you don't go up that high] But 

1. I made my chalk bag it has penguins on it

 2. LOOK HOW STRONG I LOOK!!!! 

Anyway I absolutely loved climbing again and had big plans to go again this week but I was far too sore!!!! So hopefully I'm going to go next week! 

Much Love Frankie 

xxx

Woven Wrap Dress - Possibly the most out there thing I've ever made!!!!!!!

I often describe my fashion sense as out there , but even I did a lil twitch when  I put this dress on and said to myself "Is this a bit much??????"

I mean that is a fabric and a half. I got it from the abakhans fill a bag sale. 

I found it in the bottom of the box held it up and said to my mum "is this hideous or fabulous" and she said she had no idea so I put it in my bag and took it home. 

The background is stripes and the foreground is HUGE flowers in all different colours!!!!!

Its a bit of a go big or go home sort of print. So I opted to make a maxi dress. I was hoping for the sort of thing that I could wear swanning down a beach in the Maldives, not that I'll be swanning off to the Maldives any time soon! 

The pattern started out life as the bodice for a prima dress. I them hacked it half to death to make it into a wrap bodice and added a long skirt with a curved front hem. 

The bodice is fully lined which is good because wrap dresses can sometimes flap open around the ol boob area. 

The waist tie is from a piece of stash fabric. I decided I needed a solid colour for the tie just to make sure that you could see clearly that it was a wrap dress. Plus I think its helpful to have something break up that crazy riot of colour!!!! 

Fit wise , its okay. It did fit better but I've lost some weight recently so its not as good anymore.

Also I did gathers instead of darts because I thought it might give me the blousey look I was going for but now I'm wondering what it might look like darted instead. 

I love the length but I wish the curved front hem was a bit more obvious and it showed more leg when I'm stood still. at the minute this looks fabulous walking but you can't even see my legs if I stand still. 

I do love that I can wear it with my brown wedges though!!!!! 

To be honest whilst the idea of unpicking it all makes me want to cry, I do think its the best thing to do because there's a lot of things I'd like to tweak on it. 

I suppose that's the only downside of hacking a pattern , very often its not quite perfect and you have to keep going until you get it right!!!! 

Construction wise all of the inside seams were done on my over locker and I just used my regular sewing machine for the hems and for top stitching around the neckline.

All in all I really like the dress. Its one of those items that just makes me happy wearing it. I mean how could I not be happy when I'm wearing that many colours!!!!!! 

There's a bit more work to do to it and even if I do get it close to perfect I'm not sure I'll ever have anywhere suitable to wear it...... But HEY HO! I love it so I know I'll end up wearing it at some point. Even if its just for a trip to home and bargains in the summer! 

In other news!!!!! 

I've been busy with work and looking after lil man!

I've been out in the garden and I'm hoping to have it looking respectable soon. At least if this awful weather ever lets up. 

My sketch book arrived!! And I started doing some work in it only to find the paper is more suited to pencils rather than mixed media. Long story short I have a new one on order and yet again I can't wait to get started!!!!

I have been sewing but I seen to be slowing down a bit with my makes recently and only working on things I know I'll love and wear to death!!!

Much Love

Frankie 

Kwik Sew K3489 - Stuart Hillard Jersey

I loves a wrap dress.

I'm not sure why?

Actually I am. I like skirts and tops and dresses that wrap because you can loosen them off if they get too tight. i.e If you've eaten an entire pizza. 

In fact I went to a wedding yesterday and in a tactical move I wore a wrap circle skirt, which I loosened after the trio of desserts came out!!!! 

This pattern is Kwik Sew k3489 and I got it during the big pattern swap. At the time I thought it was a woven dress pattern but lo and behold it arrived and it was a jersey pattern!

Although I did shorten the sleeves to 3/4 quarter length because I prefer them to full length wrap sleeves on a dress. 

Luckily for me the Craft Cotton Company had sent me some samples of Stuart Hillards "kimono" jersey collection.

I love this print its my favourite in the collection and I know have three items made out of it! This wrap dress, a cardigan and a tshirt dress.

The fabric sewed up beautifully I used my over locker for most of the construction and just used my regular machine for the hems and for putting a button hole in the side to thread the ties through. 

I used white thread and I really like the way it stands out against the navy blue.

Fit wise its jersey so I didn't make any changes I just sort of winged it. I might shorten the skirt by a few inches next time I make it though. 

I ignored the facings that came with the pattern and just hemmed all the edges instead. I hate facings on jersey makes because I just find they flap around and they never sit flat which I find super irritating. 

I also just knotted the end of the ties instead of hemming them properly. T o be honest I wasn't sure I was going to even like the dress when I was halfway through sewing it. So I did sort of rush through some of the finishing. 

As it goes I LOVE the dress. Its a nice level of smart looking without being too much. The length is suitable for most situations and I just find wrap dresses really flattering. Plus as I mentioned before you can always loosen them off if they start to get uncomfortable. Ideally I'd like the make another one but I need to find another jersey that I love.

In other news!!!! 

As I said we had a wedding yesterday! I wore a me made skirt and top and lil man wore a waistcoat I made. 

The wedding was really really lovely and I had a great night dancing with my friends.

I've been making more sewing plans and I can't wait to get cracking. Its just a matter of finding the time! 

Much Love

Frankie

xxx

Korbond Scissor Review

As you guys know I love a good pair of scissors! So when Korbond asked me if I'd like to try one of their pairs I jumped at the chance. 

Right so. They cut good.

I've tried them on thick fabrics and thin one and they slice through them every time. I've been using them solidly since February and they still seem as sharp as ever. Which I think is something to do with the serrated blades????

The blades are stainless steel so they are nice and sturdy and they don't seem to be getting loose? 

Does that make sense? You know how sometimes scissors get loose at the screw and them when you pick them up they just sort of flop open? Well it happens to me ALL THE DAMMED TIME with scissors. Probably because I over use them!!!! 

But so far these ones aren't flopping open at all.

 The other thing I really like is that the handles are lined with rubber. 

I find sometimes that if I'm doing a lot of cutting I can get a sore bit around my thumb. Like a blister, but so far these haven't given me blisters and I have been furiously cutting out pieces for baby quilts! Especially seen as pretty much everyone I know is pregnant at the minute!!!! 

Their 9inches long so their not exactly tailors shears but they are long enough for any dressmaking I do and I like that they don't feel too big and clunky in my hand.

So all in all I'd say these are a pretty banging pair of scissors and even better you can get them really easily its a simple as popping to your local Tesco [or you can find them by clicking on the link if you like a little sofa shopping]!!!! Which is very handy for when your partner/parents/child uses them for cutting paper and ruins them and you have to dash out for a new pair!!!  

Much Love

Frankie

xxx

Disclaimer - Whilst Korbond gave me these scissors to review for free all thoughts and opinions are my own.  

Jessica Dress by Mimi G

 Lets start off by saying IT HAS POCKETS FOLKS!!!! 

Big pockets. I mean BIG pockets! Big enough for your keys and your phone and all the other excess baggage we carry around day in day out!

Pockets are are big enough to smuggle kittens [no kittens were harmed in the making of this blog post!]

Next lets say this pattern was FREEEEEEE!!! Yes free as in no money left my hands in order to get this pattern.

The dress is by Mimi G style and she offered it as a free download on her website. I however missed the boat and didn't even realise she'd released it until I saw all of the beautiful versions popping up on my Instagram feed. 

Anyway I thought it would be the perfect summer dress for me [and I've worn it loads in winter too] so I sent her a message saying how gutted I was to miss the free download and she only went and emailed me a copy didn't she. Mimi G is a legend and a lovely lady!

Okay so the pattern, The bodice is princess seamed with a gathered skirt and wide straps. You can make the straps skinnier but I personally like a wide strap because its more likely to hid my bra. But the two real statements are the button front and the large pockets. 

Adjustments wise I didn't make many, just thickening the straps and taking about 6 inches off the length. 

I trusted the measurements because Mimi G is the master of ease and fit. However it does use a 3/8 seam allowance which I didn't realise until I'd sewn the bodice and the lining at the standard seam allowance so guess who had a lot of unpicking to do!!!! 

I'm pretty sure the pattern calls for a facing but I chose to line both my bodice and the pockets in a slightly paler coloured cotton.

The main body of the dress is made from linen which i got from abakhans fabric fill a bag sale. I was a bit unsure about the colour as Its what I called battle ship blue/grey. But I actually really love it on this dress. 

The buttons are from my stash. I have an inkling that I took them off an old item of clothing but I'm not sure what?

Its pretty much my ideal summer dress. And winter dress to be honest. I wore it a lot when it was cold with tshirts underneath, thick black tights and boots. So its a pretty versatile. 

I did make a version in Christmas fabric from the craft cotton company. However I didn't get chance to wear it at Christmas as I'd lost too much weight and it was hanging off me, so I've popped it in the wardrobe ready for next Christmas. 

I'm planning a few more versions of this dress. Mainly because its so easy to wear and because I do love a dress with pockets. Although I am wondering if I should make the next version a bit shorter? But I do like the length because its easy to wear without tights and there is no fear of flashing my pants.  

So all in all I LOVE this dress. 

In other news!!! 

I made a pair of pjs and a skirt in some awesome marvel fabric [the skirt is currently on my instagram]

And Lil Man has CHICKEN POX! Yeah I took him for his bath on Wednesday and well SPOTS everywhere!!!!! Luckily hes taking it really well, hes chirpy enough just a bit tired and he knows not to scratch his spots! 

And I have new tyres for my car!!! Which was a complete pain in the ass!!!! The garages facebook page took me 30 minutes away and I couldn't find it so I rang them and lo and behold the garage is about 3 minutes from my house. But anyway I managed it and I got their in the end! 

Much Love

Frankie 

xxxx

Basic White Shirt - Prima Pattern

I love sewing shirts!!!!!! I dunno what it is but I love it! All the top stitching , making a collar its one of my favourite things to make. Although I was struggling to find the perfect pattern until now!!! 

This pattern is from Prima Magazine of all places. I know its not a go to pattern place for most people but in my experience the patterns are always well drafted with clear instructions. Yeah you have to trace them but lets face it, you have to do some sort of tracing on most patterns now days!

The fabric is from the abakhans fill a bag sale. Its a beautiful white cotton with an embroidered pattern. I dread to think how much it would have cost off the roll or as a remnant but I got it in a bag with other fabrics for £10 so it was a bargain!

The instructions were simple to follow but I changed the sleeve plackets because I wasn't happy with how they turned out. They don't look brilliant but I mainly wear it with the sleeves rolled up so its not a huge issue. 

The buttons down the front are from my mums old white trouser suit and make me smile every time I see them. They are little hexagons with a mother of pearl type look. 

I used the button gauge my mum and dad got me for my birthday and I would highly recommend getting one if you ever do button holes. It makes getting them evenly spaced much easier.

The shirt went together really easily even the collar and collar stand. Even the buttons holes went in first time! 

The yoke is lined so you have to use the burrito method to turn it through. Which did make me scratch my head for a second but I got there in the end. 

I missed off the collar buttonhole and the top button hole because I never do them up anyway so whats the point? Plus I didn't have enough buttons....

Next time I make it I might lengthen the pattern a bit. Its not awful now I just think I'd feel better with a few more inches of length.

The only other thing I can say is I didn't have any white interfacing so I used some white cotton instead and its holding up well.

All in all I really love this shirt and I'm chuffed with how it turned out. 

In fact this shirt had its first outing a few months ago when I went bowling with my mates and the Ultra violet light made the stitching on it show up and look really cool. 

oooh I nearly forgot to say the breast pockets are actually pretty useful! The fabric is quite sheer so the breast pockets [which are lined] mean I can wear it with just a bra rather than a bra and a vest top! WINNER! 

As it goes I actually used this pattern to make another version of this shirt almost straight after and I love that one too! 

Much Love

Frankie 

xxx

Vogue 8974 in Blue Brocade

 Right let me start of by saying that the bodice on this dress doesn't look brilliant because I forgot to take a bra to my mums so had to sort of go without.......

I've also lost a bit of weight since I made it so it doesn't fit quite as nicely as when I first made it.

Here's me wearing it when I first made it but you can't see much because I have a jacket on. I did think you might appreciate my concentration face though........ It took me ages to get that plate spinning though. 

I made this ages ago for a christening. In reality I have about forty million dresses that would have done but I wanted something new and I had the time and the fabric so........

I have made this dress previously in a red waffle fabric and I love it!

The blue brocade fabric is from the abakhans fill a bag sale. I'm not 100% if its from the first one I went to or the second one?????? I could look at my youtube haul video but what can I say I'm lazy!!!!

Fit wise I had to make a few alterations! This pattern is a bit of a brute as far as fitting goes. Mainly because of the bodice darts and the cross over straps. Plus the fact that you have to be wearing the PERFECT bra to make it look nice. 

Changes wise:

 I had to shorten the straps by about 3 inches.

I swapped out the side zip for a back zip because I hate side zips! 

I cut a size 12 but had to take the side seams in by about 2cm on each side.

And I added a circle skirt because I prefer the look of a full circle skirt compared to a half circle skirt. 

I also added pockets because well POCKETS!!! Got to have somewhere to keep the essentials! 

The neckline is faced but I think next time I'd be tempted to put in a lining instead. I did encase the waist seam in bias binding just to make it tidier and give it a bit of stability. However, because I wore the dress belted I found that the area around the zip started rubbing my skin after a while.

The only issue with this dress is you can't finish it right away. I had to leave the skirt to hang for 2 days before I could hem the dammed thing and even after that hemming a circle skirt is no joke. It just goes on and on and on and on. 

But all in all I really love the dress and I can't wait until it fits properly again!

In other news!!!! 

I've been busy at work and spending time with lil man.

I sewn up a baby quilt top!

I've sewn myself a new skirt!

I've cut out another baby quilt and started knitting some booties! 

I feel like I'm really getting into the swing of things recently and I've got a lot of exciting things coming up!

Much Love 

Frankie 

xxx