Spring Suki in Sateen

A while back I read and reviewed Tilly and the Buttons' Make It Simple sewing book. At that point I mentioned that I was most interested in the Suki Dress from that book. Well, I was sorting through the stash and came across a cotton sateen that I bought a long time ago, and thought that this was a perfect match. 

The suggested fabric for the Suki is something with more drape or flow, but I like a structured garment, and thought that this fabric would work well. It did! The only issue I have with it is that it is a bit see-through so will be wearing a full slip with it, nothing too bad. 

I cut a size 5/6 which seemed to work well for my measurements. It's a simple dress, which you could wear loose without a belt if you were going for a cocoon look, but not with a stiffer fabric like this one - it's more like an egg. With the belt it's fabulous. I had some trouble getting the belt loops sewn on neatly, but you can't tell so all that matters is that they are secure ;) 

The belt is actually a really nice feature, transportable to a standalone pattern. It's not just a sash, it is a wide belt for 3/4 of it's length, with narrow ties sewn into the front. I really like the effect, it's easy to tie without a bulky knot at the front, and just adds a little extra detail to this fairly simple outfit. 

My changes were that I added side seam pockets, using my favourite pocket bag pattern. I just made sure to mark the waistline on the pattern so that I could place the pockets correctly. Tilly suggests trying on the dress before placing the belt loops; I found that they needed to be slightly higher than I'd first thought, so trying it on first is a great plan. (I had the shoulders sewn together but the sides only pinned, so I could sew the loops on a flat piece of fabric afterward.)

I shortened the dress before cutting it out but found that with the belt on I could have left another inch for a hem. As it was, I didn't want it much shorter than it was cut, so ended up giving it a hem facing using some premade vintage bias binding (very lightweight, unlike modern cotton-poly binding). That gave me a 1/4" hem, which was perfect, and also gave a very pretty finish. 

I'm quite pleased with this dress. The simple silhouette really highlights this bright and bold print, and the small details are nice. I might make this style of  belt for other outfits too! Another of my blue & yellow Spring projects complete :) 

Styled for this still cool Spring day

Weekend Review: Make It Simple

 

Make It Simple / Tilly Walnes
London: Quadrille, c2020
207 p.

Another pattern book this weekend, this is one I've been wanting to get a look at for a while. Tilly Walnes, of the well-known company Tilly and the Buttons, has written a few books - this is the third. I like a quick sewing project with simple construction, so was quite interested to see what this book suggested. 

There are 6 patterns included, each with a couple of variations. There are also a couple of small projects like an eye mask included. Pattern sheets are in the back of the book for tracing; I traced off the Suki dress, but it was a little tricky since by necessity a lot of the patterns overlap. Not quite as tricky as a Burda magazine, but the pattern lines could be improved by using different colours for each pattern's lines. The patterns are: 

• Safiya Trousers
• Tabitha T-shirt
• Suki Dress 
• Bertha Cardigan 
• Juno Pyjamas
• Olive Pinafore

The sizing runs from 1-10, which translates into a 30"B/33"H to a 48"B/51"H. And the models in the book are of varied sizes as well, which shows the patterns on different bodies. 

The book also includes sections on sewing basics, plus tips for "shortcuts" to speed up your sewing. The patterns are pretty straightforward and aimed at being quick makes. This does mean that they are all a bit bland, without any extra details, but you can always use a simple pattern to highlight a great fabric, or add some details on your own. 

There are sections between the project chapters that suggest quick projects you can make between bigger projects, ways to maximize your sewing time, how to recognize what makes a quick project and so on. And each project has a quick list of 'shortcut steps' to speed up construction as well.

Overall it's a solid book, but not for rank beginners -- they might do better to start out with Tilly's first book, Love At First Stitch, just because the projects are thoroughly explained step by step, assuming no knowledge at all in that one. This book is fairly simple but does assume some familiarity with sewing. 

I was personally most interested in the Suki dress and the Olive Pinafore; I traced the dress but haven't tried it quite yet. We'll see how it goes! 

A Zadie Dress from a NeedleSharp Kit

At the close of PR Weekend last month, I was given this wonderful NeedleSharp sewing box. It included the Zadie Dress pattern from Tilly & The Buttons, and also includes all the material and notions needed to make the largest size offered in the pattern. It's a great deal! And did you know, Needle-Sharp Kits were even recently featured in British Vogue? Sewing is so cool :)

At NeedleSharp there are three different levels for each round of offerings -- you can pick the pattern and fabric you'd like in your box, and receive this beautifully packaged kit with everything you need to assemble your outfit. You might even have some fabric left over to make into another little something when you're done. 

Hey look - I opened it up and the presentation is just lovely! It's carefully wrapped in tissue, and includes a thank you note, a tag to sew in to your make when you're done, the appropriate needles and in this case also the clear elastic recommended in the pattern,  plus fabric and thread. And also a nice big layout schematic!

The kit was a real treat, and the box is sturdy and very handy for keeping the leftover fabric and pattern in -- I have it all tucked away now for my next go round of this pattern! Since Tilly uses heavy paper for her patterns, I chose to trace my size, so those pattern pieces are now neatly tucked away in the box as well. It fits on a shelf in my sewing space and keeps it all tidy and together. I like!

And now on to the dress itself!

I hadn't thought of making this pattern previously - I'm not sure why, as dresses, and especially dresses with big pockets, are right in my wheelhouse!

But with this offer, and the wonderful, quality knits included, I knew I had to get to work on this dress. It was fairly simple to sew up; I put it together on a Sunday afternoon with only one break. The hardest parts were keeping the points matched up, and that blasted neckband! I never can apply a neckband properly, no matter how many times I try. It's always too long or too short and I have puckering on either the band or the dress. Well, after the third try here, I told myself the tiny gathers on the front edge and back neck were good enough and just went with it!

excuse the funny expression - the sun was so bright I was just trying to keep my eyes open!

I had a few problems -- I wasn't sure if I should use size 5 or 6 for the bodice (though clearly 6 on the waist/skirt). So I cut 6 but now have to go back and take the side seams in by 1/2" on either side -- so I guess next time I know it's more a 5 for me! At least that is an easy fix. I also found that matching the pocket points was a little fussy, and I'm not 100% happy with them. I think I'll probably go back and finesse those as well. But it is still super wearable as it is, and I wore it happily to work on Monday!

I love the way it fits - it just floats over the body and was super comfortable even at the 30+ weather yesterday. I know some people have mentioned that the pleats are not a favourite feature, especially on the back, but I think that bit of extra "float" factor in the back helps with my figure. I like them. Looking at this picture I can see that I'll have to take some width or length out of the upper back next go round as well, but again, still very wearable as is.

So my judgement is that getting this all together as a kit was a different experience - I'm not used to someone else selecting fabric for me! But I loved the process and having everything ready there for me. Everything is high quality and it is nice to start a project without worrying that you've forgot some vital notion.

This is a super comfortable dress to wear with some nice design lines, and those massive pockets are worth the whole thing :) There are lots of wonderful examples on Instagram of this dress made in many different fabric and colour choices - very inspirational - so check them out.