I'm A Princess, Of Course I Need A Tutu

I promised myself at the start of this year that I'd make more practical clothes. No more party dress or corset tops instead I decided to make good solid items that I'd get lots of wear out of. 

But whats the fun in that?

So I made a Tutu! Possibly the worlds most impractical item of clothing [unless your a full time ballerina] and to really amp up the wear ability I made it in WHITE! Because we all know whites the easiest colour in the world to wear and doesn't stain or look grubby ever! 

Okay so before I jump into construction two points about the photographs:

1- It needs trimming..... again, I swear this is going to be one of those things that needs leveling every time it comes out of the washer. 

2- Its really really hard to get pictures of a white skirt, against a white wall on a girl who is pasty as well a pasty thing.[I mean I could have fake tanned but it always turns out blotchy and orange] So these pictures are not great but hopefully they give you the general gist.

So right, the idea for a tutu came into my head as soon as my mum brought me this tulle back from my Aunty Shelias house [I think in a previous life it was long net curtains] But in the spirit of practical clothing I put it in my cupboard and tried to think of "practical" [read. Boring] ways of using it. And them one day I had an epiphany. This tulle was never going to be anything other than a tutu so rather than let it waste away in my cupboard I should just MAKE A RUDDY TUTU! 

As it turns out tutus are not exactly a walk in the walk. For example I wanted mine to be a circle skirt tutu not a gathered one. This meant I had to cut donut shapes out of layers of tulle...and you know whats shiftier than Lord Voldemort at a Harry Potter appreciation event? Tulle, It moves, it runs, it floofles! In the end I cut each circle in a single layer by laying the fabric over a template i'd already made. It took about 1 hour just to cut 6 layers of tulle. At which point I had 1. run out of fabric and 2. was painfully aware that the 6 layers of tulle I had already cut was not going to be enough to preserve my dignity [read. I had a high chance of everyone knowing exactly what kind of pants I was wearing. 

So I needed an underskirt. I opted to use the lace tablecloth my mum had given me a while ago [Actually the tablecloth was a wedding gift to my mum and dad and she'd kept it for years but it was getting a bit scraggy so she gave it to me, with permission to cut it up!]

As it goes the table cloth may have been to scraggy for a table but it works very nicely under my layers of tulle. and in some lights you can sort of see it. Its a fairly thick lace table cloth as well so it gives the skirt a nice weight compared to the very lightweight tulle I used for the top layers [P.S If your making a tulle skirt like this you want a very fine tulle, not the stiff stuff, you want to one that drapes!]

Closure wise there was not a chance in hell I was going to try and insert a zip into tulle, so instead I over lapped the waistband and It closes with a button and a press stud for security. That means there's a 10cmish split from the waistband to the back seam but you can'y see it because of the overlap.

I used the waistband pattern from the Tilly and the buttons Clemance skirt for the waistband. I know that I can typically pull this waistband a bit tighter so I knew I'd have enough for an overlap.

All in all I really love it and I'm so glad I took the time to make myself something frivolous and fun! Rikki did a full eye-roll when he saw it on the mannequin though "when exactly are you going to wear that?"

Sweetie when am I not going to wear it! And if that fails I can always use it as a petticoat under my dresses! 

 I might wear it on my birthday though, I'm thinking with a white and red striped top and some red shoes maybe it'll look a bit more casual? Maybe even casual enough for the school run? And if not it'll be my blooming birthday so.............

In other news!!! 

- Its my birthday this week! I'm kind of in two minds about it because the older you get the less fun birthdays seem to be? I dunno maybe now I'm a grownup I should be okay with that, but a big part of me still wants ice cream and cake and party hats and all the excitement!

- I started knitting a new jumper! Yet again I'm using the double trouble jumper by wool and the gang and I'm hoping to have it ready to wear this winter.

- I've made a lot of progress with my embroidered tablecloth project, I had a day this week where both the boys were out and realistically I had a day to sew but it just wasn't happening and I was feeling pretty miserable so instead I binge watched "the crown" , ate a pot noodle and did embroidery.

-Lil man settled back into school, apparently his new teacher is kind and beautiful and lovely.......I think someone has a crush!

And that's it really!

Much Love

Frankie

xxx

Delphine - Cotton and Chalk Mashup

This was finished way before Christmas, In fact its been finished since November and has been systematically leaking blue dye in the washer ever since [Thank the baby Jesus for colour catchers!] Anyway what with Christmas and New Year and what not I just didn't have time to blog like at all!

So down to details, the skirt part is the Delphine skirt from Tilly and the buttons love at first stitch and the bib part is from the cotton and chalk Sunday set.

As its just a bib there's no need for fangled pattern drafting or redrafting to make it fit. In fact the whole thing went together pretty seamlessly apart from having to take an inch out of the centre back seam because it was a bit too big. Which naturally meant I had to unpick THE BEST invisible zip I had ever done which is gutting! Especially when I re put in the zip and It wasn't as good. [Insert all of the sad faces here]   

I'm loving the dungarees fashions that are happening at the moment and I love that this is a slightly girlier version. In fact the only issue I have is that its a wee bit short. Or at least I feel like it is? Its the typical "oh this is too long, I'll re hem it......woops a daisy now its far too bloody short!" But maybe its okay if I wear really thick tights?

All of the topstitching was done in bright blue thread and is pretty dammed neat if I do say so mayself! and oh wait whats that.................................???????

OMG the bib comes off! SURPRISE I made it detachable! Mainly because then I get two outfits for the price of one!!!! So now I have a dungaree skirt set and a cute denim skirt! Which has been on my sewing list for a while! Two birds with one stone! God I love it when that happens! 

The bib and straps are attached to the skirt via buttonholes and buttons. The buttons are sewn to the skirt waistband lining and are not visible from the outside. 

The lining of the bib and skirt waistband is just some left over upholstery fabric. Which worked pretty well because I didn't have any interfacing! The main denim fabric is from abakhans and it like all new denims seems to loose a lot of dye. I've been putting all my denim in with some colour catchers and I've not been having any problems!

All in all I'm pretty pleased with how this project turned out I love the practicalities of having two outfit options [can we say space saver!] and the fit is pretty good. I still love this skirt pattern for its simplicity the lack of darts is really flattering and its nice to have a simple skirt pattern to hand.

In other news:

I didn't really get much sewing related stuff for xmas,  I received a book on crochet and some money from friends and family to go fabric shopping and some fat quarters but I think my favourite gift my be the record player my lovely hubby brought me! In fact I love it that much I've moved this posh cd player with sub woofing thing and 300 wires so I can have it in pride of place!  

My god daughter turned one! she was born at the very start of 2016 which just proves that 2016 wasn't a complete bust!!!!!

And as if 2016 was trying to prove to me that it wasn't a complete waste of space, my lovely new niece snuck in just at the end of December! So between my God daughter and a new Niece I think 2016 and book ended rather nicely!

And yes new baby niece has a handmade hamper all of her very own! 

And I think that's it! Mainly I'm just recovering from Christmas and new year and trying desperately to get back into the "swing" of things!!!!

Much Love

Frankie 

xxxxx 

Long Sleeve Jersey Top

Okay this is is possibly the most boring thing I've made ever, In fact I kind of want to punch myself its so boring!

Anyway here's the deal. WINTER IS COMING. In all seriousness game of thrones have cracked it winter is coming and whilst I love winter in all its candle burning hot chocolate drinking glory I hate that I have to walk lil man to school and how frigging freezing it is.

And as it turns out I have hardly any long sleeve tops so I took the opportunity to whip one up.

So I started with Threadcount 1607, and used view b which is a cardigan.

However when I cut it out I cut both the front and back on the fold and didn't cut out the button band or cuffs.

And heres what I ended up with a really boring long sleeve top that will at least keep me warm underneath my coat. FYI for those of you who are thinking "why doesn't she just wear a jumper?" the walk is such that we go down hill on the way there which is chilly and the way back is all up hill which leaves me feeling much toastier! [and means I now have thighs of steel, Lol or of another slightly more squishy metal]

But all jokes aside I kind of love it? The fit is much better than I thought it was going to be and now I can't stop looking at other cute prints online that I could make this from. The sleeve length is good and the whole thing took about an hour to run up on my overlocker.

Including the neck and sleeves and bottom which are all finished on my overlocker too. Which was partly laziness and partly because I have a RTW top that is finished like this and I think it looks super cool.  

And the neckline sits pretty flat which is pretty cool.

Now I'm just wondering if I can wear it with my unicorn scarf on the school run?

But I do know I can layer it with tshirts and vest tops which is also a winner.

Here's a close up of the neckline, I love that its got kind of a punk rock vibe because it looks a bit unfinished? Kind of makes it feel a bit less of a mumsy top?

But anyway, I'm calling this a success, Its definitely turned out better than I thought and now I think I need to make a few more versions in different prints!

In other news, 

I found a cut of shirt dress that I must have forgotten I was making [I actually think it was meant to be for the honeymoon but obvs I didn't finish it in time.

I finished a shirt refashion and it turned out hideous! So far there's no pictures but if anyone's having a super bad week let me know and I'll take some pictures so you can have a laugh at my expense.

I'm fully embracing the winter spirit, I've got out my hats and scarfs and I'm burning candles and drinking hot chocolate by the gallon. We have a Tassimo machine now and it makes Oreo hot chocolate and oh my days its yummy. And Rikkis happy because it makes coffee which means he doesn't have to rely on me to make his coffee anymore [my coffee is gross, if I ever offer you coffee run.]

And that's it really , apart from lots of knitting!

Much Love

Frankie

xxx 

Off the Shoulder Top

I've had off the shoulder tops on my radar for a while now and in the spirit of trying to make as many clothes for Vegas as I can before I go I ended up cracking on out in about two hours! And that includes me having to work on my maths skills. Which suck by the way..... 

At some point I'll do a proper tutorial but for anybody who wants to bumble one out themselves I basically took my bra measurement and and cut two rectangles that were brasize x 21 inches and then four sleeves that were 9inch x 11inch.  

The fabric was from my grandmothers stash and was also used for this top here! Its actually covered in little flowers which is really cute!

So yeah I will do a proper tutorial at some point in the future but it will have to wait until after the summer holidays are over because OMG do I have no time to myself! Seriously I've gone from the quite cozy, having 4 mornings a week to myself to do as I wish and now I have NO TIME! I mean I love it because I get to spend large amounts of time with my little boy but I am missing being able to sew and blog at my own pace.

Anyway!Its quite blousy at the bottom because of the amount of the fabric. I prefer it tucked in but I can see how it might be nice to wear it untucked if you've had a bloaty beers and pizza kind of night! Oh if your some kind of pregnant! or post pregnant! Because lets face it the only people who "bounce back" are those that have personal trainers on speed dial!

Its held up with elastic, which trust me you are going to want to make sure is tight. I mean its what is holding your top up and as you might have realised this is a strapless so you are either going for a strapless bra or your gonna have to let the tatas hang free. The first time I wore this I went for the strapless bra but unluckly for me it got eaten in the washing machine so now I have no strapless bra! [that will teach me to wash my intimates on a regular cycle!!!!!!!!

The beauty of this top is that you can also wear it with the sleeves up!  

Anyway I LOVE IT! I basically feel like an extra from the godfather part two! Every time I wear this outfit I feel like I need to be stomping grapes in the Italian sun! And then drinking some pre stomped grapes in the Italian sun!!!

Much Love

Frankie

xxx

Lilou Tie Shoulder Dress Hack

I like Pina Coladas and getting drunk in the rain. Actually I hate cocktails and well I live in England so I have been drunk in the rain, In fact its probably a statistical fact that I've been drunk in the rain more times than drunk in sun.

Anyway ! This dress! I mean THIS DRESS! Sometimes you can have an awesome pattern and awesome fabric and its still a bit lacking but not this time! I love this dress, Rikki likes this dress, I think I might want to be buried on this dress [well this one or my wax cotton one]

I mean its a Hawaiian print, so lets just start with that. I don't normally do colour but as soon as I saw this on the craft cotton company website I fell in love. Suddenly I had visions of myself strutting down a sunny street with the beach boys playing in the background.

Its like someone took the whole of summer and wove it into a print! Anyway its a 100% cotton, didn't shrink in the wash, ironed beautifully and no colours ran at all! And it was a dream to sew with and cut out, it doesn't shift and yo can finger press a lot of your seams! I didn't bother pattern matching but I did cut all my pieces the same way up.

In fact my only fault with this dress is that the zip is about 0.5cm out, but I've added a big button and it doesn't really bother me to be honest! At least it doesn't bother me enough to unpick everything and start again! 

So lets get to the nitty gritty! the top is the lilou bodice from love at first stitch by tilly and the buttons. But I hacked the bodice so I could keep with the 60's beach boys theme and have tie shoulders! 

It really was a simple hack and I think it looks awesome!

First I traced a copy of my front and back Lilou bodices.

Then using my ruler I just extended the strap by about 4/5 inches and rounded it off. I also curved in the edges where the original strap ended to reduce bulk. [sorry for the rubbish pictures they were taken on my phone]

Then cut of your new pattern piece!

Construction is pretty much the same as in the book, you stay stitch the neckline, but when it asks you to join the front bodice and the back bodices at the shoulders you just skip that part! Then you attach the front bodice to the front bodice lining right sides together and stitch all the way from one armscye up the strap around the round strap end through to the neckline and up the other strap and to the armscye again!

Then you do the same with the left back bodice and the right.

Then you just turn all the pieces through [after your clipped the edges] and then you can follow the instructions again for joining them all p at the side seams and adding the skirt and zip.

Here's me demonstrating the toe of the shoulders with the creepiest look on my face ever.

In hindsight next time I would only extend the straps by 3 inches instead of the 4/5 I used because I think mine are a touch long. But you live you learn! And it think it looks really cute and summery! Although you do have to line your bodice to have these straps so I'd recommend picking light fabrics.

The skirt is from the 2nd Great British Sewing Bee book. Its the box pleat skirt again, however I altered it to have a centre back seam and I omitted the waistband. The skirt was actually a touch too long for the bodice so I used a 2cm seam allowance on the skirt side seams instead of a 1.5cm one. Its definitely worth basting it in before you have to do lots of unpicking! or even worse MATHS! 

I think this might be my favourite Lilou dress hack so far! 

In other news! 

I've started a You tube channel!

So if you had a burning desire to see my actual face talking about sewing then all of your dreams have come true!

But in all seriousness its something I've wanted to do for a really long time and I'm glad I took the plunge! I do have to give a HUGE thank you to my lovely brother in law Keith though, because he has been patiently watching my failed video attempts and providing feedback since about March!

So yeah you pop over there and actually watch me talk about sewing! I can guarantee its far more awkward than any pictures I've ever posted on here!

And there's a cheeky video about this dress as well!

Much Love

Frankie

xxx

Big Pocket Skirt!

So this skirt was suppose to be the bottom half of my outfit along project. However I got to the sleeves part of my jumper and was like this is yuck, the jumper is gross, its like a bad jumper that you make when you first start knitting and can't help sucking a little bit. Only I can help sucking and should have known better. So I'm going to rip that back but I doubt Ill have time to craft a new jumper so I thought I might as well show you the skirt anyway.

It started out like as a Delphine skirt by tilly and the buttons , But I hacked the pattern so I could have a button front [Instead of a zip back] and so I could have these huge pockets!

The main skirt fabric is a suede that my mums friend gave me and the floral I used for the pockets belonged to my Nan, she gave it me with a couple of other pieces of cool fabric.

Its not an awful skirt, the pockets are a bit iffy but as I've never done anything with this sort of pocket let alone drafted in my own I think they could have turned out far worse!

There's actually not a huge amount of room in the pocket they are mainly for show! In fact I think I might slip stitch them closed so the skirt sits better.

The front buttons came from either my mums neighbours old stash or a big jar that my mum brought me from a charity shop. I actually kind of hated them but they work nicely for this skirt, I think they related just enough to the floral fabric but stand out in a cute way as well.

The waistband, hem and button band are all finished in a really thick bias tape, It worked quite nicely and everything sits in place.

I did a lot of top stitching on this skirt [the colour of the thread is just a shade darker than the buttons!]

So its not a grand success, I really liked that I tried to do something new and I think I gained a few new skills with regards to pattern drafting, Its just that the fits a bit off [I had to take this in 1cm on either side] and that the pockets don't quite sit properly [slip stitching them closed is definitely happening, who needs to use pockets anyway?]

But I do love the fabrics I used, especially seen as the pockets are made from the last scraps of the fabric my Nan gave me! And I really like the 70's vibe it has! Now I just need to work out what to wear it with?

Any suggestions?

Much Love

Frankie

x

Daisy Dress For Pudding

I cut out a dress recently and found myself with a small piece of fabric left. well a medium sized piece, Not quite enough to make myself something but a bit too much for it to go in the scraps box.

Luckily for me I have a lovely lil god-daughter "pudding" and it seemed a shame not to make her a lil something.

Now normally I don't do children, there's a few I like [my own included] but mostly I just think they are sticky, loud, obnoxious little beings. 

I like pudding though, luckily for me shes still small enough to think I'm humorous and doesn't require much more attention than the odd silly face!

Anyway the pattern came from the second great british sewing bee book, but I omitted the collar and added a ruffle along the bottom. For a dress the pattern seems very short?

I lined the bodice and left an opening in the back neck so it can be easily gotten on and off. I used an odd button and a loop for the closure.

I put lace trim around the join between the skirt and the bodice, mainly because I was caught up in a whirl wind of adorable baby making! Luckily I had just enough of this lace to do it!

I spent most of my time basking in how adorable it was turn out and the rest of the time trying to make sure there were no scratchy seams.

I top stitched the neckline and armholes so everything would stay in place and so It wouldn't need ironing.

I'm really pleased with this, It was actually quite nice to make something for someone else even if I don't think I'll be doing it a lot! babies grow too fast!!!

And I'm definitely glad I added the ruffle onto the bottom!

Now I just have to hope that baby likes it, mum likes it and that it fits!!!

Much Love

Frankie

xxx