Tuesday 23 September 2014

BHL Anna, trying again...

I didn't really like my first Anna dress, so much so that it never made it to the blog.  I think it was the fabric - some cheap polyester that I bought in Goldhawk Road that was a bit too clingy for me.  I tried to add arms to the pattern like the tutorial on the By Hand London blog, but I mucked up the sizing and they were way too tight, so I had to cut them off.  See, hideous!!



I wanted to give Anna a second shot and thought that a nicer fabric would be the way to go.  This is quilting weight cotton - Cuzco Plumage by Kate Spain for Moda, and I've lined the whole dress with some polyester Habotai. I cut a 12 at the bust and hips, graded to 14 at the waist, and added an inch to the bodice length.





I love this dress, I've worn it pretty much every week since it was finished!!! And because it's lined, I can pair it with cardie/tights/boots for the winter! 

Sunday 21 September 2014

Sew day!!

Or weekend really.... I knew it had been a while but I didn't realise it was nearly four months! I don't know why, guess life just caught up with me. Oh well.

This weekend I resisted the lure of the garden and decided to crack on with some planned projects.  First off is the Granny's Garden quilt! This is the first of a few Christmas projects, so I'm starting early because they all have to be complete before we go on holiday at the end of November.  I'm quite impressed that in the space of about a week and a half I've managed to cut and sew the complete quilt top....

It started with stack of 41 layer cakes (10'' squares) from Riley Blakes Calliope collection which were dissected and sewn back together with strips of white.


Then they all got sewn together....


With a border....


And ended up looking something like this! I do feel a bit of a cheat though. For most of my quilts I work out the pattern - sizes of blocks, amount of fabric and construction, but for this I used a free pattern from Lauren and Jessie Jung. The colours and fabric design aren't really my cup of tea, but I really like the way the quilt pattern has turned out and as it's not for me, it doesn't really matter!


Next project - yesterday afternoon I started looking at McCalls 6515 as I have some lovely light viscose from Croft Mill to make a pair of wide leg floaty summer trousers (for holiday!!!).  But then realised I didn't have enough paper left to trace the pattern. With a blinding flash of inspiration I decided to trace the top half and make a muslin pair of shorts to check the fit.

I have to say, these might come on holiday too!!!


The fabric was from the bins at Abakhan, can't remember what I bought it for. The fit isn't too bad - the crotch is a bit long, so I'll take 1/2'' out when I make the trousers, and they could be a bit slimmer on the hips.  I didn't have an invisible zip so I had to put a normal one in, and I actually quite like it showing.  I even nearly managed to line up the waistband....




And finally, this quilt top has been sat around nearly finished, for months (I won't admit to how many).  So it was only an hour or two's work to finish it off....