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

Vintage Sewing Patterns

I'm feeling pretty knackered. Long gone are my lovely Saturday morning lie ins instead we need to be be up dressed and out of the house by 9am ready for Lil man's football club. Its an hour and a half if me sitting and him playing football and he really loves it. I on the other hand have to sit and make awkward conversation with the other parents. I might take some knitting next time but the amount of balls flying around means that might be a bit risky if I;m not paying attention.

 However today after football my mum and dad came to pick us up and suggested we attend a vintage fair in Nantwich. As far as vintage fairs go it was pretty naff, lots of overpriced tat and some handmade items. There was however a stall selling vintage sewing patterns for a pound each [which surprised me considering everything else they had was extortionate!] Sadly for me they only had two in my bust size. well one really the other is an inch smaller but I'm hoping it will still fit me!

One is butterick 3598 and the other is vogue 6807. I picked them out becuase they fit my bust size but it wasn't until I was sat in chatwins eating my brownie that I realised they are basically the same pattern. Luckily they do have some different features each and at £1 each its not like I've been ripped off!

Lets take a moment to appreciate how beautiful the pattern artwork is!

They are single size patterns and both are already cut so no faffing about for me!

The details are the best part though, the butterick pattern had a name and some other writing on the envelope. Its kind of weird to think that someone sewed this pattern before it came into my possession. I like the history of it and you could tell the pattern was well cared for. 

I was even more surprised when I found a piece of fabric already pinned and cut on one piece. It feels like a synthetic type fabric and I'm not really sure what to do with it? I might save it for a scrappy patchwork project? 

I also have a surprise in the vogue envelope. This pattern is slightly older and its pattern pieces have no writing on only cut out circles. But it also had a more modern simplicity collar piece in. So either someone lost the original pattern piece, or they mixed them up or they enjoyed a good pattern hack as much as I do!

In other news:

Me made May is going well, keep an eye out for my round up of the first week!

My new battery for my handheld shutter on my camera hasn't arrived yet. Apparently its a very particular size and we've had to order it online. I've actually got 4 new things sewn up I just don;t have a way of getting decent pictures. I have my fingers crossed for it arriving on Monday!

Much Love

Frankie 

xxx

 

Finally Finished V8974 - In Red Waffle

I have finally defeated the v8974 pattern by Vogue. I'm not gonna say what I nicknamed this dress but it starts with "B" and ends in "itch". I made my first toile a little while ago and that one was huge, so I sized down the pattern and well it was still too bloody big. Now it could be my fault I used the last of my red waffle from FCfabricstudios. Now its not an overly stretchy fabric but it does have a certain "bounce?" shall we say?

Anyway long story short I took a grand total of four inches out of the back and now it fits exactly like it should! #winning.

But the reason I persevered is because that bodice is the bomb diggity. I love the v neckline, the centre front seam and the those slanted darts are so beautiful. But as I said its a [Insert naughty word] to fit.

So details!

- I swapped out their Aline skirt for a circle skirt, I liked the a-line on everyone else but on me it just looked meh.

-I added a centre back seam because I hate side zips, and thank god I did because otherwise I have no idea how I would of made it fit me!

- Took loads of length off the straps. In fact the straps are meant to be inserted in between the bodice and the facing but mine are just stitched to the inside because I had to alter them so many times.

- Went down to a size 12. My first toile was in a 14 and it was too big so I sized down. I'm going to make this again in a 12 and see if I still have the same issues. If I don't I'll size down again to a 10.

Fabric wise I've already said I used this red waffle from FCfabricstudios. I love this fabric so much it just looks expensive! In fact I like it so much this dress is now the main contender for the wedding I;m going to in September.

The zip was from one of the £1 grab bags from abakhans. Its sewn in pretty well but would benefit from a good press.

I hemmed the whole thing by hand after letting it hang for a week. And then I celebrated finally finishing ti with a big ol glass of wine.  

All in all I love it. It was definitely a challenge for me. Whilst the construction wasn't too difficult the fitting was an absolute brute and made me want to sob hysterically on more than one occasion. Anyway if you want to have your own fitting nightmare and possible crying fit you can find the pattern here for £15.00.

In other news:

- I've got a new iron! My old one just decided not to turn on one day so I went out and brought another. I'm actually pretty pleased because I HATED that iron and it stupid non stick plate that stuck to bloody everything! So YAY!

Much Love

Frankie 

xxx

V8974 - Toile

Eurgh , just ERUGH! 

Okay so here's my issue, I love this pattern. Its a vintage vogue reproduction of a pattern from the 1949 design and I won it for free! And its beautiful!

I mean look at it! All that vintage sass, those interesting darts, a cross over back! What is not to love! But I do have a major issue with this pattern and lots more patterns in fact!

Don't ask me to measure myself and then have it NOT fit me at all!

I am getting sick and tired of measuring myself [which I do accurately! And ever few months I have my mum re measure me to check I'm being accurate] Look and see where my size corresponds, cut that size and then have it turn out HUGE! I'm having to faff around with measuring pattern pieces now and making toiles and its making a very grumpy Frankie! Anyway rant over!

Okay so down to the make, I cut a size 14 because LOL those were my actual measurements. I sewed it up and tried it on to get the perfect length on the straps and then I pinned the back and oh hello! My boobs are going to fall out! So I took in an inch either side of the centre back because, you can't take anything out of the side seams or it throws the sloped back out of proportion! [I also had to take some out of the waist as well because that was big! 

After I took some out of the back it fits better but I'm definitely cutting a size 12 next time! [FYI I just made one in a size 12 and I'm still having issues but that might be the fabric!]

But I guess this is why we toile! My fabric is from abakhans BTW its a really cheap and cheerful poly-cotton. And the instructions for the pattern are actually really clear! The only thing I did differently was to add a centre back zip instead of a side zip. I hate side zips, Side zips are evil!

Here's a nice picture of me demonstrating the boob gape! You can fit two hands down there....[Which may or may not be your thing!!!]

Okay so here's a list of alterations I made to the pattern:

 - Put in a centre back zip instead of a side one

- took a good 2 inches out of the centre back.

-took about 15 cm off the length of the skirt. [personal preference, longer skirts do not suit my stumpy legs]

things I liked about the pattern:

- Clear instructions

- each bodice size is printed separately [not nested] so it makes it really easy to toile different sizes.

-The way the bodice is constructed

Thing to change next time:

- Try a smaller size in bodice.

- Make the skirt fuller, I'm not keen on the aline style of the skirt. I think it might look fuller in the pattern illustration? 

- Omit centre front seam on skirt unless I'm using a striped fabric. [Because then you get a cool chevron effect!]

But I still love to pattern and I'm really looking forward to challenging myself with trying to get it to fit! This is the first time I;ve ever had any really major issues with trying a new pattern! I've even got plans to have my Nan [from my mums side] take a look at it when shes next down. Shes pretty good with a sewing machine so I;m hoping that if me her and my mum look we will be able to iron out any issues!

And if all else fails my Mum lives across the road from an ex seamstress so I can ask her!

In other news!

I hope you all had a wonderful mothers day and were spoiled rotten! I spent the morning at my mums. Then met Rikki's mum for lunch and we both took lil man to the park. Then I came home saw Rikki off to work put lil man to bad and got sewing!!! 

So all in all a wonderful day! 

Today however I feel a bit grotty, I'm pretty sure my lovely son has given me his cold germs.  

Much Love

and if you have made this pattern and have any tips please let me know!!!

Frankie

xxx 

Top Tips For Sewing with the Big Four Pattern Companies!

There's something about the big four pattern companies that strikes fear in the hearts of many sewers! I'm not incredibly sure why? I think maybe because so much of the old style of learning to sew has been lost now that people find the lack of instructions and sizing to be a huge problem with the patterns. The internet says that the big four are Simplicity, Vogue, Butterrick and McCalls, but I think you can also include Burda and Newlook in there!

Anyway I quite like them, Yes they put stupid amounts of ease in and the instructions are crappy to say the least but! They have pretty much every style known to man , they don't need tracing and they are pretty cheap compared to most indie patterns!

So here's my top tips for having a pain free sewing experience with the BIG FOUR sewing pattern companies! 

1. Measure yourself, Be accurate, be honest! Wear the pants your planning to wear and don't breathe in!!!!

2. Find your pattern size on the chart, check whether that's a finished garment measurement or not. 

3. Now measure the pattern pieces that correspond to your size [before you've cut them out] does that correspond with other patterns you've made that fit you well? 

4. Google it. We live in an era of having information at our finger tips, and there are so many sewing bloggers out there that if you google your pattern name and number there's a huge chance that someone out there has already made it and encountered any issues the pattern might have. Seriously technology is AWESOME!!!!!  

5. Toile the pattern, Yes I know its basically a boring waste of precious sewing time but its worth it!!!!!

6. Apply your own sewing knowledge! Repeat after me "I am a strong independent sewing bad ass!!! I know what I am doing" The blunt truth is indie patterns do a lot of hand holding! But trust me you can do this! Stay stitch your necklines, apply interfacing even if the pattern doesn't ask you to, BASTE!!!! You know this stuff!!!!

7. Read the instructions, read the envelope, read the paper that the instructions come one, read the tissue pattern. You've read it? Read it again, then once more with feeling. Whilst Indie pattern companies hold your hand , the big four assume you don't have hands. The information is their but its all mashed up and all over the place!

8. Ask for help! There is a huge sewing community on Facebook, Instagram and twitter! Ask your question, hashtag to your hearts content and watch the lovely sewing folks come to your rescue!

9. Keep everything together, yes the envelope is the size of a postage stamp and the tissue pattern feels like trying to fit a double duvet into a teabag but do your best, or alternatively stick it all in a bigger envelope! Just make sure you keep the instructions!!!!

10. Finish your make bask in your own glory and get searing for your next pattern! Seriously guys, the big four have covered every single shape, style and silhouette you can imagine! If you want to make it they have a pattern for it!!!

So what are your top tips for sewing with the big for?

Frankie

xxx 

  

Its like that Dolly Parton song, only i don't work nine til five, and i do it all from the comfort of my home and i hate coffee....

I've been working really hard... (pauses for sympathy) I'd been putting it off for so long but I finally had to add some new items to me Etsy shop! (link can be found on the right hand side of the page or you can click here. So would you like to see my new items (the correct answer is yes!) Well here they are!

Westie Dog Pin Cushion

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£4.00

Bead Owl Embroidery Hoop Art

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£5.00

 

 

Small Owl Embroidery Hoop Art with Beads

-

£4.00 

 

 

Rose Embroidery Hoop Art

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£4.00

 

 

Blue Hand Knitted Owl

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£15.00

 

 

 Small Needle Books (one of each style available)

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£2.00

Large Needle Books (One of each style avalible!)

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£2.30



 

Albert Einstein Sketch

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£16.00 

Standing Nude original Sketch

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£16.00

Audrey Hepburn Sketch

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£16.00

Mark Webber sketch , In pen and watercolour

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£16.00

Hand Embroidered Owl Cushion

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£20.00

Bird on Branch Hand Embroidered Cushion

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£20.00

UP! Inspired cushion Hand Embroidered with Buttons

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£20.00



 

So that me (pretty much) up to date (she says, with a pile of scarves and aprons lurking in the corner!)

In other news! I've had to rip back my knitting once again! (I told you this pattern was my nemesis) this time I was watching magic mike and I dropped a stitch, note to self: don't knit whilst Channing Tatum's on the telly, you just cant handle it.

In other news I have two very lovely announcements to make!

1. My lovely big sister has started her own blog about renovating her and her husbands dream home, its lovely to see her in a house she really loves they both work very hard and deserve it! You can find her here :  http://ourforeverhomerenovation.blogspot.co.uk/

2. and Big Sister also finished fixing her bag strap!

I think you can see by the picture that her stitches are very neat!
and she going to be trying to accomplish the vogue 1419 pattern and I will be assisting, and maybe making a cheeky version of my own!

Now I just need to see if I can fill her home with handmade presents just like I did my Mum and Dads! Next stop WORLD DOMNATION!

Much Love

Frankie

xxx