Midsummer Night's Dream dress, Papercut Patterns

My dear sewists,

What a lovely summer heat in september! Who had thought that I could wear my lightweight Midsummer Night's Dream dress in these days!

As soon as the pattern was released, I loved it.

To say the truth, I very much love the name. Midsummer Night's Dream was the first ballet my daughters would dance with their Ballett-Ensemble, so I have got some sweet memories.

However, I realised that the pattern has got some issues, described by some of the few bloggers who had already sewn it.

 

The pattern rested in my drawer waiting for the right fabric. Eventually, at a fabric outlet,  I purchased a very lightweight cotton/silk blend, a perfect material for this pattern.

I had intended to use the border print along the neckline, but made an error aligning the waistline. I then cut the back bodice accordingly. I cut the skirt as long as my fabric allowed me to.

I used self bias binding. I sewed the skirt's back center with a french seam, the other ones I made as false flat felled seams (foot #70) to make them more stable.

This was nearly to become a bad dud! The front armhole was way too long. The straps were moved extremely to the center. So I remembered Chantal's solution to gather the front armhole. Sewing three pleats, I pinched three full inches out of each front armhole. 

This way, I've got a lovely airy summerdress. The skirt's overlap is very well designed, no gaping fear! 

Pattern: Midsummer Night's Dream Dress, Papercut Patterns

Size: XS bust, S waist and skirt

Fabric: Cotton/silk blend, paisleylike borderprint, KBC Lörrach

Alterations: 3 pleats of one inch each at front armhole, midi /maxi length.

 

Others' Midsummer Night's Dream dresses:
Chantal's two dresses
Mel's, Juliet's and Kat's
Fiona's and
Rachel's.

Let's see who else is wearing an airy summer dress at this time of the year at MeMadeMittwoch!
 

Enjoy some nice late summer days!

SaSa

Maxi linen Moana dress, Papercut Patterns

So I sewed another Moana dress.

I had discovered another floral linen print similar to that of my beloved watercolour Malvarosa dress.

Gillian of Crafting a Rainbow had dared me for her Sewing Dares to sew a mini or a maxi dress.

My floral Inari dress was supposed to be the mini dress. For this maxi dress, I shortened the long bodice by 4 cm and elongated the skirt to a maxi length.

This linen has got a bold print. The floral part was printed in the middle of the repeat, I had got two repeats at the fabric outlet, where I had bought the Como print, too.

It  not so easy to place all the pieces. First, I placed the skirt pattern pieces how I thought it would look best.

To get the bodice cut, I had to make a front center seam. The back bodice I had to cut cross grain. I even had some fabric left for the ruffles. But when sewing the side seams, I realised that I had folded the back pattern pieces wrongly, they were way too short! So I had the choice to shorten the front or to patch the back which was my choice. Sadly, there were no white pieces left. The patch matches the skirt colour.

I sewed flat felled seams.

I opted to add the ruffle. May be I shouldn't have. I am considering taking it out. What do you think?

Pattern: Moana Dress, Papercut Patterns

Size: XS

Fabric: two repeats of floral linnen print, KBC Lörrach

Alterations: shortened the bodice by 4cm, elongated the skirt to maxi length.

Have a lovely sewing time in these sunny days!

SaSa

Unlined floral Lourdes Cropped Jacket, Named Clothing

When I had cut out my Inari dress, I got some 80 cm leftover of this precious linen and decided to make another little unlined jacket.

First, I wanted to repeat the Victoria blazer. However, the birthday sale at Named Clothing incited me to try the Lourdes Cropped Jacket.

The pdf-pattern is not pleasant. The two sizes at one print are higgledy-piggledy placed so you cannot grade from one size to the other. You have to be happy that the pieces of one size are not laid one over the other so they can be cut out directly. The size is not written at the pattern pieces so you have to write it down not to forget it.

I sewed size 38. The only change I made after a rough paper muslin was shifting the bust darts inwards for 2cm and a forward shoulder adjustment of 1cm.

Because I didn't line the jacket, I omitted the interfacing at neckline, armholes and sleeve caps. I didn't finish the raw edges like indicated before sewing.

The fake pockets, I pinned in place at the outer dart wings and basted them in place. Then I sewed the darts without cutting them out because of the omitted lining.

All the seams, I finished with a false flat felled seam.

I first sewed the seam, SA being 1cm at Named Clothing, and graded the back SA to 4mm.

I then made the first seam with the flat felled foot (Bernina #70).

Now I pressed the seam and sewed the second seam.

All the seams get sturdy and firm and everything is neat at the inside.

The facing, I finished with a small hem (Bernina foot #69). I understitched all the seam allowances at the facings (not seen in the pics).

I followed the good instructions which give nice results at the hem and the inverted pleat. 

The sleeves have got some lovely rounded slits.

To prevent the facing flapping out, I sewed in the shoulder seam ditch. I folded the hem seam allowance under by 1cm and edgestitched by the wrong side.

Afterwards, I noticed, that I had crossed the fake pocket flap. So I undid the hem seam at the flaps, secured the seam in front and stitched from the back under the flaps as long as possible.

I sewed a little loop at the inverted pleat, fixing the facing there, too.

Pattern: Lourdes Cropped Jacket of the Ticket Collection, Named Clothing

Size: 38

Fabric: Italian linen, Garçonne, Freiburg

Alterations: shifted the bust darts to the center by 2cm, 

                     forward shoulder adjustment by 1cm.

Today, about a hundred of German sewists are meeting at MeMadeMittwoch. Go have a look!

SaSa

Fruit and veg stowe bags

I am frustrated by the many plastic sacs that are left when buying fruit and vegetables. Even if we have got a reuse sac for our errands, the different sorts of fruits and vegetables have to be in little sacs not to get mush when arriving at home.

I already had collected a plastic sac with the intention to open it and use it as a pattern. Eventually, I sewed the small Grainline Patterns stowe bag pattern, printed at 80 percent. 

Together with Mel, we had bought synthetic lining for this issue. It is very lightweight and slippery.

Because I didn't want to sew pockets, I started with step 5 following the well illustrated instructions. I made 1" self bias binding (out of a square of 16,5 x16,5" or 42 x 42cm). For future sacs, I will use wider binding.

Other than the instructions, I sewed the seams as french seams: right sides out 1/8" SA, then left side  turned out 1/4" SA using some wonderclips. I used my quilting (1/4") presser foot.

I also folded the bias binding in half lengthwise like binding for quilts, then sewed the long raw edges on on the left side, graded the SA, turned the binding out and sewed it on at the right side. I didn't use any pins but only a wonderclip 4cm at the beginning to guide the slippery fabrics under the presser foot.

At step 13 I was a little puzzled. You have to fold the base seam (1 3/4") and to fix this pleat.

It is a cute little sac. You can knot the handles after paying the fruits or vegetables and open the sac at home easily. It is hovever quite some work (binding!) to finish it. We will see how many sacs I will be able to sew and how practical they will be! 

Today, Mel has posted her many sacs she has already sewn. She has made me a very cute lined one for collecting the future sacs, have a look at her blog!

How would you buy your vegetables? I am curious to know!

SaSa