Maria Denmark's Kirsten Tee, Take Three

Another simple tee to wear under jackets for my Fall wardrobe! This is a very good quality jersey that I picked up at a garage sale a few years ago, from a really nice man who had been a tailor and was moving house. I found a lot of excellent fabric there. 

I only had a small piece though, so thought about which pattern to use for a long time. I finally just went with the Kirsten, as I have made it twice before, and wear those simple tees a lot. I found while I was home a lot I was reaching for them often. 

I really like the fit of this one -- now that I've made my adjustments, that is. As drafted it is pretty straight up and down so if you have a larger lower half like me, you'll probably want to add width at the hip. The first one I made was very tight, so I added wedges of extra fabric to each side, then altered the pattern piece itself for future makes. I added 1.5" to each side seam at the hem, making a gradual slope up to meet the original seamline just under the arm. This gives me 3 extra inches on each side, which fits me smoothly, not too tight or too loose. So be aware if you don't like negative ease at your hip/belly area. 

The neckband worked out almost right this time. I miscalculated and didn't cut my strip short enough so after I'd stitched it on (even though I was planning on basting it on to test first) I realized it had a bit of floppy excess at the shoulder areas. Grr. But I didn't want to unpick it all on this fabric and redo if I didn't have to. (Pro tip: don't sew when overtired). 

Anyhow, I took a trick from the Mandy Boat Tee by Tessuti and just put a shoulder dart into the neckband at each side (only about 1/2" in total each). This allows the neckband to sit flat at the shoulder line and with the print you don't even notice it. Whew, easy fix! As it turns out I did the same at the back centre but the print disguises the dart line well. It looks better than having a bubble sagging out at the back neckline! I'm glad this worked out with all my tweaks and that I can wear this lovely fabric. I'll think of the gentleman I bought it from each time I wear it. 

MariaDenmark's Sewing Life 00: a Four Seasons Dress

I'm getting ready for summer days with this quick cocoon style dress from MariaDenmark! 

This is a free pattern that you can get when you sign up for the Sewing Life magazine newsletter, run by MariaDenmark. It's a very useful, versatile dress, with four views - one for each season.

I decided to give this one a quick trial to see if the shape worked for me. I chose the Autumn version. And I used a sheet from my stash to give it a try. It's a lightweight cotton-poly percale sheet, and has the perfect weight and body for this pattern.

I cut it with the hem on the finished edge of the sheet, but found I didn't like the length when it was done, so I folded up the sheet edge and hemmed it. The extra bulk means that it puckers a little at each of the side seams -- it was too hard to gather in the already bulky edge of the folded sheet. A proper hem would not do this.

But since this was just a wearable muslin I went with it, and tried it and loved it! In fact, I love this print so much that I will definitely wear this dress as a dress!

How did I find the pattern? Well, it was very straightforward in shape, and nothing too difficult. The full instructions for each view are only given in the Sewing Life magazine, but you can download the mini-mag with the pattern when you sign up for the newsletter, as mentioned. In any case you shouldn't really need much instruction with this one unless you are a very new sewist. It is a basic 3 seam dress with a back walking slit (I shortened mine significantly) and bias facings on neck and armhole.

One big change -- I added side seam pockets. The fabric I'm using has the body to stand up to pockets well -- if you are making the knit Winter version it might not work out. I graded out a tiny bit over the hip area to give it a little more of a cocoon shape to fit my body shape as well.

The bias facing was the only part of this project that gave me trouble. The angle of the underarm made it quite difficult to attach the bias neatly. It took some manhandling to get it on nicely. But the shape and fit of the armscye make it worthwhile. I love the fit of this dress.

The walking slit is just turned under and stitched, and a plain hem is all that's required -- mine is a little bulky because of the layers of sheet but it does give it a nice weight at the bottom!

This is very comfortable and airy to wear, and I am sure it will be perfect for those hot days, once we get some (the day before these pictures it had snowed briefly!) This pattern has a great shape, and this is only one of the four views in this pattern, which are all different enough to make a distinct dress with each. Definitely good value here, check it out.

Another fun upcycling project and one that is both thrifty and surprisingly successful for me as a real, wearable garment. I even used the scraps of the sheet to make a couple of matching Boomerang Bags! The Stratford Boomerang Bag group was scheduled to have our first meeting/sewing bee on the day after the shutdown began, so we haven't really got going yet. But I am still making bags and looking forward to the day when we can all meet and sew together.

The Edith by Maria Denmark

The last piece I have to share that I made prior to PatternReview Weekend is an Edith blouse, made because of the Camp Shirt contest set for PR Weekend. I needed a button up, flat collar shirt, and since I've always meant to make Maria Denmark's Edith Dress, I thought that the blouse view would work for me here!

I measured the flat pattern and adjusted it slightly -- mainly adding in a bit of width on each side seam below the bust to the hem, as usual for my pearish figure. I didn't really make any other adjustments as I was sewing quickly on deadline and thought of this as my (hopefully) wearable muslin.

As it turns out, it fits amazingly well! The darts are a bit wonky, and I will have to lower and shorten the bust darts slightly, reduce the length of the front darts by about an inch or even a bit more, and both raise and shorten the back darts. This blouse fits well but these adjustments should help another rendition sit better and fit even more comfortably.

The collar/facing step was straightforward. It went on like a dream and looks really great. I saw Riversmocker's version on PR that had a contrast collar & that is something I'd like to try on a second go round. It looked great!


I used some stash fabric from the thrift store pile in my sewing area. I pulled out this piece which was oddly shaped, having already been cut into, and wondered if the narrowish pieces of the Edith would work. They did! Another problem with the fabric was that there was a small stain and tiny fraying hole right in the middle of one side. Most fortunately, I could lay out the back piece with the centre of the wide back dart right over this spot :)

I squeezed it all on to this rescued fabric, and didn't think about pattern matching until it was all cut. Oops! Again, the sewing gods were with me. The front matches better than I could have managed if I'd tried! And I found these little silver buttons in the stash, which just worked perfectly.

I put my blouse on Dotty, my dress form, and pinned the position of the buttons very carefully, to make sure everything lined up. And then put the final stitches in... this was the most painless make ever. I couldn't believe how it all worked together so wonderfully.

I've worn this outfit a few times now - it's cool but also perfect for work or for days out. I am definitely going to try the dress view of the Edith, with those alterations I mentioned earlier, and hope it will all go as well on the second try!

Sewing Indie with Maria Denmark

As you may know, May is Sewing Indie Month. I've been looking around at all the indie pattern companies participating -- some I hadn't heard of before, some are designers I've been coveting patterns from for some time! Mari of Seamster Patterns created this massive project, and so I wanted to be sure to buy one of her designs --  I chose the Rose Hip Tights (more on those later!)

But the first Indie project I finished is a basic tshirt from Maria Denmark, the Kristen Kimono Tee, a free download from her website when you subscribe to her newsletter.

There are other Maria Denmark patterns that look very tempting...particularly the Edith Dress...but for now, I've tried out this tee.

I traced it out -- 3 pieces -- and cut it from some knit leftover from another project. It was really quick and easy, and the neckband went in beautifully. But I had made it in such a hurry that I hadn't paid attention to the fact that the tee is fairly straight from the underarm to the hem. My figure doesn't really work well with that line! So I rejigged it a bit: I unpicked the side seams up to about the underbust area, and cut a wedge of my leftover fabric to insert into each side. I added 2" to both seams at the bottom,sewing in a long triangle on each side, then hemmed it to just around my hips. It fits in a way that I am comfortable with now, and I've noted those changes on my pattern. (I could probably go up a size, if I retraced the pattern, too)

Otherwise, I love the fit of this tee -- the kimono sleeve is easy to sew, and comfortable to wear under a sweater, and I like the neckline finish. I'd like to make another one with my personal alterations added and see how it goes. This is a super-simple and quick design that could be fancied up or made very plainly, depending on your taste.

I have a few more new Indie designs to share with you this month -- do check out Indie Sewing Month and see the possibilities for yourself!