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 

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 

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

Simplicity 1252 "Jiffy" - Red Tartan Dress

This make is so old I remember wearing it with jumpers underneath it during that really harsh winter spell we had. 

Yeah, what can I say I'm behind on my blogging!!! 

Now this isn't typically something I'd choose to make but I was demoing how to make one at abakhans so I needed to make up a sample.

As it goes I was a Muppet and didn't pattern match my side seams but hey ho we can't be perfect all the time.

The pattern is simplicity 1252.

And surprisingly for simplicity the samples aren't made up in horrible fabrics! I'd actually wear all of the versions on the pattern envelope.

Its a really simple pattern, the back is cut with the fabric doubled [like normal] but the front is cut out on the flat so its a BIG OLE pattern piece. 

Its also a great pattern for practising darts. The centre front has a long dart as well as bust darts and the back has two darts as well to give shape. 

I'm not a huge fan of the centre front dart, especially with a tartan pattern like this as it distorts it. Plus it just feels a bit weird to me having a dart right under my chin. Next time I think I'll rotate the dart out because I'm just not a huge fan of it. 

The arm and neck facing is all in one. Which is my favourite kind of facing, I mean I'd much rather line something but if I do have to do a facing I'd rather it was all in one and not flapping around. 

I took about 1 1/2 inches off the length and I probably could have taken a fraction more.  

The backs got a lapped zip which I can happily report went in first time with no issues. I did pin the absolute heck out of it though to make sure that all the tartan stripes lined up. [unlike those pesky side seams!]

All in all I'm pretty pleased with how it turned out. Its a nice blend of smart and comfy and it looks really nice with a black turtleneck or a jumper of some sort under it. 

In other news!!! 

I've done a bit of sewing recently. I've made an outfit for my friends wedding next month and I am buzzing to wear it!

I've not done any knitting but I've been tidying my knitting and sewing stuff so I'm hoping to get back into the swing of things soon. Especially seen as I have a lot of baby booties to knit! I know 3 people who are pregnant right now!!!!! Which also means I have three baby blankets to make!!! Eek!!!!!

Much Love

Frankie 

xxxx

I made JEANS!!!!!!

So I sucked at blogging again huh? What can I say? Between work and sorting lil man and seeing friends I'm left with enough time at the end of the day to shower and crawl into bed and that's about it! 

Anyway I made Jeans!!!! 

I know, I know. I swore I would never make them BUT what can I say? I had the fabric and then BOOM a pattern presented itself and before I knew it, I was saying to myself "ahh go on, give it a try. You need a challenge"

Funnily enough I made these before LIFE became challenging when I actually had time to sew! 

Right so details!!!! The pattern is a mimi g style pattern for simplicity 8516.  

It comes with three fit options, average, curvy and slim. After looking at the pattern pieces I decided to go for the slim fit because my waist is a lot smaller than my bum. 

FYI I got my hands on the pattern during the big pattern swap on Instagram! Which I loved and I'm really hoping it gets run again this year! 

I did do decorative top stitching on my bum pockets but I think I should have used a triple stitch because it hasn't really shown up. 

The fabric came from the abakhans fill a bag sale in Hanley. Which means I got enough denim for jeans in a bag with other fabrics for ten pounds which is just about the bargain of the year!!! 

Fit wise I'm actually really pleased. I was worried about making my own jeans because I find shopping for them an absolute nightmare!!! 

Its got some pretty deep pockets at the front and even one of those lil tiny pockets that's half hidden inside one of the front pockets. I am wondering what that stupidly tiny pocket is actually for because you can't really fit anything in it! 

I decided not to hem them because I knew I'd just end up turning them up anyway. I used to wear my jeans turned up all the time especially in the summer and I really liked the style.

I didn't buy any extra hardware to make the jeans. The zip is recycled from an old hoody and the button is just an old one from my stash!.

I'm really proud of the front fly zip. It wasn't the easiest zip I've ever sewn but I think it turned out really cool!

These jeans actually broke my sewing machine. In fact I still need to book it in with the sewing machine repair man! 

All in all I'm 100% proud of these jeans and I've been wearing them all the time. They came in very handy during the long winter school runs when my legs would have been frozen in skirts!

Anyway if you'd like to watch me actually sewing these I have done a little vlog on it! I warn you its long so I suggest making a brew first! But if you watch it you get to watch me fall into my mums hometown accent when I get stressed!!!!! 

Much Love 

Frankie

xxxx