A Kimono for Chelsey

It was our next door neighbour Chelsey's birthday last week . 

Luckily for me we wanted a kimono cardigan for her holiday and also luckily for me she didn't find one when she went shopping.

I used the simple sew kimono wrap dress pattern to make it. I've made this once before and I love my version. And I figured seen as me and Chels are about the same size then I could use the same cut pattern pieces as I normally use. (I've seen her in it and yay it fits!!!!!)

Construction wise its really really simple just the shoulder and side seams both of which I sewed on my over locker. 

Then I sewed round all the edges with my overlocker so I'd have something firm to turn over for the hems. I always tend to do this with fine fabrics because it gives a really neat finish and a really small hem.

The whole thing probably didn't take more than an hour to sew. In fact the cutting out probably took the most time because the fabric was so darn shifty. I didn't trust my dining room table not to make the fabric stretch and hang funny so I moved the coffee table and the rug and cut it out on the living room floor. 

I added one of my labels to the back because,e I thought it might be a nice touch. As it goes it actually tricked overtone into thinking it was from a real shop!!! 

Which I'm taking as a win because I guess it means my sewing looks super professional! Lol! 

Anyways it went down really well and I think she liked it! 

In other news : 

Polly is still settling in, so far she likes me and Marcus. She likes Rikki most of the time unless he makes any sudden movements or raises his arms above his head (which leads me to believe that a man used to hurt her, she also won't walk near men and cowers away from them which backs my theory up)

It's bloody hot! I've been enjoying to chance to wear my summer dresses gut the rest of the time I've just been lazing around trying not to sweat.

I went to the abakhans fill a bag sale this morning!!! It was awesome and I got lots of fabric (I'll do a separate post on those). It was a bit stressful though, Rikki was on nights so I was terrified that Polly was going to bark and wake him up!!! And I had to take Marcus with me which meant I was worried about loosing him. Luckily my mum dad and sister came with me so they did a lot of the Marcus watching whilst I did a lot of the burrowing for fabric. 

And he did some choosing of fabrics of his own!! Fabrics for me of. Purse but I let him pick s few things and he actually said he had fun so that's a win!

Much love

Frankie 

Xxxx

Latest Vlog - Simple Sew Kimono Dress Review!

Hey guys! I'm still trying to get into the swing of things! I mean where on earth did February go?

Anyway heres my latest you tube video its me doing a review of the Simple Sew Kimono Dress that I made here.

Anyways I hope you enjoy the video!

And keep your eyes peeled for Thursdays post! Its world book day and Lil man is going to look adorable! 

Much Love

Frankie

x

Simple Sew Kimono Dress #010

Okay so technically I finished this way before Christmas and I pretty much love it. In fact I wore it to my families Christmas celebrations and I felt pretty darn sassy! [Apart from my mum telling me to put my boobs away, but I'm blaming the slip I had one underneath for that and not the actual dress.....or my boobs!]

Right soooooo! The pattern is Simple Sew and I believe it came free with an issue of Love sewing magazine? I however was given it by my lovely pen friend. You can also buy it here for £10.

Right so the pattern details, its printed on pretty thick tissue paper and the instruction are pretty sparse. I'm tending to find this pretty typical of simple sew patterns to be honest. Yes the instructions are clear enough for a beginner and I love that they don't over crowd their pattern sheets with unnecessary faff but I think if you want a nicer finish then some sewing knowledge is better for their patterns.

Its three pattern pieces, the from the back and the belt. I ignored the belt piece and just cut my own from the edge because it seemed more economical. In fact when I make it again I'm not going to bother with the fabric belt. I've only used the fabric belt for this one once to take these photos most of the time I just wear it with a skinny black belt.

The sleeves are part of the front and back pieces and I think they are called grown on sleeves? I thought that might mean they'd be a bit sticky out but I think having a very drapey fabric really helped with the sleeves and with the cross over style.

The fabric itself was from abakhans and lets just say it was a Christmas present from me to me......... I had gone in with the intention of buying some African wax print cotton to make a Christmas dress but they didn't have any *sobs*.....so I had a little dig through some of the bins and this sort of fell into my shopping bag..... and then brought itself............ Anyway I think its some sort of sheer poly Georgette chiffon thing. And its got an awesome paisley/henna sort of print on it.   

I was glad I found the fabric for this because it feels like I've been looking for the right fabric for it for ages! I was worried if I picked the wrong fabric it might end p looking like one of those dinky bathrobes that desperate housewives wear [I have like 3]. Anyway I think this fabric is definitely the right fit even though its slightly sheer and by slightly I mean I do have to wear a slip underneath.

So construction! The insides are overlocked which really helped with fraying and keeping things tidy and then the sleeves and the entire outer edge has been hemmed on my regular machine. I kept these hems really dinky because of the sheerness of the fabric. I'm pleased with the finish its almost as though it came from a shop!!! 

Okay so whats the verdict. Well Ill be completely honest when I first made it I nearly binned the pattern, it just seemed loose fitting and fugly. But I have this policy were I wear everything I've made for at least one day to get a proper grasp and well at some point I fell in love. I chucked on my slip and a little belt, some nude tights [yes I know its winter but nude tights are my bestie!] and them my thigh high boot and I just felt like the absolute BOMB! I love the hippy vibe, I love that I can just wear it as a cardigan and I love how easy it is to wear! Yes I do wish the overlap at the front was a bit deeper but other than that I actually think its pretty cool! [plus I recently brought a fedora that looks awesome with this!!!!!]

So yes I am going to make another one and I think I might take a look at the simple sew patterns to see if there's anything else I like!!!

In other news I had to sit on the naughty step today because I shot Rikki in the face with a nerf gun.......and we have a family rule that your not allowed to shoot people in the face with nerf guns..... and what applies to the smallest member of the family also applies to the biggest ones too!!! [FYI it was a cracking shot right below his eye and I have no regrets!!!!!!!!!!!!] 

Much Love

Frankie

xxx