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

Summer Holiday Catch Up!

I've not been getting much done because #summerholidays ! I'm loving spending time with the boys though! In fact we are *hopefully* going camping tomorrow [I've said no to camping in wet weather but Rikki still seems to think it will be "fun". I think hes forgetting who gets to dry the tent and wash all the muddy clothes afterwards.] So I thought I might do a catch up of whats been happening! 

Well first lets talk about this little fella!!!!! I was given this beauty a few days ago by a friend and I am BUZZING about fixing it up. Its very similar to my other hand crank but this one is basically in tact. So far as I can tell there's nothing missing but it does need a lot of TLC. The machine itself just has some rust but the decals seem to be fairly intact. I've been dosing it with machine oil and its easier to crank now. Next Ill work on getting rid of the rest of the rust and trying to open up the shuttle compartment.

The box was covered in paint and dust. The above picture is actually after I'd wiped all the dust off, I couldn't wait to get started! Luckily for me the paint must have been water based because I've gotten most of it off with a damp cloth. I've started removing the rust from the handle and then hopefully the box will go off to Rikki's Grandad to be glued back together.

Its going to take a long time but I'm hoping to get it working enough that its usable. And by the laws of sewing machine gifting if he ever needs curtains hemming or trousers taking up I'll do them with no grumbling.

The day after I got the sewing machine we spent a day at the Crocky Trail with Lil man and our neighbours. I've never been and I absolutely loved it!!!!!! I'd say its well worth a visit if your in the Cheshire area and even if your not I'd still make the trip.

I've sewn up a stella hoodie. I got the pattern in the #greatbigpatternswap I ended up cutting out one day and sewing it up a few days later when time allowed. Hopefully next I'll be able to find some time to take some pictures of it on!

But just because I'm taking a break from my sewing machine doesn't mean I've been sat on my backside. Well I have but you have to for hand sewing there's really no other option!

I've started another blanket. This one I'm called my crap scrap hexy quilt because its going to be made from just scraps!!! It's probably going to look like an awful mess because of all the random fabrics but its going to be the project I take camping and then hopefully it'll be the quilt I take camping. Ideally I want it to cover me but who knows how big I'll go!!!!!!

And that's it really. I had a quick visit to the fabric shop with another friend so he could pick out a background for the quilt I'm making him but we were very quick and I made sure not to look at other fabrics!!!

And here's a pupdate!

- Polly has continued to settle in nicely and definitely looks more at home
-shes currently in possession of 5 handmade blankets. Two knitted and 3 quilts.
- Shes very nearly stopped growling at Rikki
- We happily go for a mile long walk [I mean she takes a big nap afterwards but hopefully we can build on this until shes trotting around no bother]
- We've changed her food from wet and dry to just wet. It made sense because she was always leaving the wet food and scoffing down the dry.
- she's learnt to sit [For treats, no seriously if you ask her without a treat in your hand she looks at you as if you have two heads!]

Right so that's me all caught up!

I best go and finish packing for our camping trip!

Wish me good weather!!!

Much Love

Frankie

xxx

The Blitz Dress - Sew La Di Da Vintage - Review

When I was at the CHSI stitches show I was lucky enough to talk to the lovely Caroline from sew la di da vintage! Mainly we discussed sewing, dolls, vintage and her beautifully curly hair! And afterwards she was kind enough to let me take a pattern home to try! And was very patient whilst I spent a good 20 Min's deciding which one! 

In the end I went for the Blitz dress because its got the easy summer dress style I'm attracted to at the moment! There's something very timeless about a dress in this style and the pattern hacking options are pretty limitless! Its also worth pointing out that all of the sew la di da vintage patterns are drafted and printed in the UK! 

The pattern comes in a large cardboard envelope, which is very sturdy! Its slightly larger than a standard pattern packet so you can definitely fit your pattern back into it afterwards! The pattern itself is printed on paper rather than tissue paper so its nice and sturdy to use and will hold up to lots of wear and tear! The best part though is that the sizes are printed in colour! Which makes it an absolute breeze to cut out! Instead of playing guess which line is my size you just follow your colour!!!   

The pattern measurements are also based on RTW sizing so you can cut whatever size you'd buy in the shops! But seen as shops can vary quite a bit amongst themselves then it is always worth measuring yourself! [It is quite nice though to have your measurements correspond with a size that's familiar, rather than one that's 3 sizes bigger than you thought you were]

I cut out a size 10 because I was bang on for those measurements! Honestly it was almost as though it was made for me! The pattern is sized from a size 6-18 which is a pretty big spectrum.

Now there isn't any recommended fabrics on the envelope or inside the booklet that comes with it. I guess that's because you can make this dress in just about any woven fabric but I know a lot of newbie sewers do like to have a fabric guide to help with shopping. Especially if your buying the 3m of fabric this dress requires!

 FYI I went for a floaty viscose form abakhans, but I think you could make it in any type of fabric that has some drape [The skirt sits a lot nicer if there's some weight and drape to the fabric!] 

 It also doesn't mention needing a zip on the pattern envelope and there no back view to show you were a zip would go, it does however say you need a zip in the instruction booklet and on the website.

The instructions come in a little booklet which is far nicer than having sheets of instructions. Its got several cutting layouts and black and white photographs to correspond with each instruction. The photographs themselves are very clear and for once every single notch in the pattern matched up! This is something that hardly ever happens for me but the notches in this pattern were really well placed.

 One thing to mention though is that the dart for the bodice lining isn't marked like a traditional dart. Instead its marked by two notches and a dot and you have to join it up yourself [its definitely worth drawing this straight onto your pattern when you've worked out where it goes]. This got pretty confusing for me because there two other notches just by the dart notches! 

The other issue was the the collar piece with the pattern doesn't appear to be the same shape as the one in the instructions. Its not a problem as the new collar piece fits, its just worth mentioning in case anyone else has a "omg have I cut this out wrong?" moment!  

The pattern calls for an invisible zip but I decided to do a lapped zip because it seemed more true to the vintage style of the pattern. Plus I didn't have a invisible zip that long! 

The pattern has some great features like darted sleeves [although naughty Frankie just pleated hers instead of darting them so there'd be more of a poof at the top!], a collar and centre split [but if you want to wear it with the collar not done up then you need to line the bodice in the same fabric as you use for the main body of the dress, I used a different one and now a flash of pink peaks through when the collar is open]. The bodice bust has gathers instead of darts and is lined! 

All in all its a really nice pattern. I love that its vintage but not too vintage. Its a pretty easy sew but I think you would need to have a few dresses under your belt before you make it otherwise you might get flummoxed by the instructions, They are not hand holdy in the same way as other indie patterns can be [for example it doesn't tell you when to press your seams etc, much like the big four patterns] , so I'd say its more suitable for experienced beginners or beginners who have access to an experienced sewer! 

It does make a beautiful dress though and now I might have to treat myself to the other patterns in the range or maybe one of their fabulous doll kits! 

If you get this pattern let me know how you get one!!

Much Love

Frankie 

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