Stitch and bitch thread #3 Sewing is harder than it seams

[NutellaEllaElla]

And i'm very glad to have you clever sewists to selvedge what's left of my dignity .

I finally found this new look pattern in stock so it’s on the way to me now. I really need to reduce the amount of ditsy floral viscose in my stash and I liked the simplicity of this pattern

@Biking0077i would find your mum's stash of patterns to be irresistible!

I want to turn more towards making tops, given his much more frequently I'd wear them compared to dresses. If anyone has any pattern recommendations. I don't really know what I'm looking for though.

My No1 favourite top pattern is rhapsody by love notions closely followed by their cadence pattern.

Are you wanting casual or dressy, woven or knit?

I'm thinking smart casual. Don't mind woven of knit. I was interested in shirring after seeing your dress but the tops i've found with shirring are too peasant style for me.

I think the Rhapsody blouse might be good. Especially after i've found a good facebook group where a lady takes pre orders of fabrics from India for £5 a metre and they have some really nice designs.

The rhapsody has so many sleeve options that you could make different versions and nobody would know it was the same pattern. Love notions does the ballad blouse with shirring panels but they aren’t a big feature. I’m sure I’ve seen another shirred top recently - I’ll have a look through my history

@NutellaEllaElla can definitely recommend the Sagebrush top, poss a bit too peasant? Although you could leave off the ruffle.

I’ve also made a couple of Essential Tees (from Topstitch) which are very versatile

I’ve just bought this month’s prima pattern for £1. I’ve taken out a trial subscription but this dress looked like something I’d wear

Oh bargain! Love the dress too.

yeah sagebrush might be too peasant for me. Thanks anyway.

I've just realised that I have bought a top from a certain shop in every colour that they've done, and it's very similar to Rhapsody so it'll be nice to be able to find lovely fabrics to make my own.

The rhapsody is a really satisfying make. French seams and burrito yoke make it tidy inside. The bias binding neckline isn’t too bad either although the notched v has let me down a couple of times. I’ve made 3 sleeveless and one with flutter sleeves so far and I’ll be making more. I’m thinking about making the dress version in a heavier weight fabric for autumn too.

There's not enough time in the day!

There isn’t! I’m away for a week or so next Wednesday and there’s a list of things I wanted to make but I’m out of time. I really need another black sleeveless tank though so I’ll have to push on with that. I’ve just bought this pattern from winter wear designs as it’s only $3 today so I’ll try that

www.winterweardesigns.com/products/double-take-tank-for-women

Oh you're all over those bargain patterns! I'm loosely watching the rhapsody pattern for a sale.

Hello everyone. I'm back from my holidays and wore a few of my homemade garments which was really nice. However, I did realise that I really could have done with a pair of tailored shorts so have ordered some Merchant and Mills tencel/linen blend and I'm going to use the Megan Nielsen Flint pattern. I made culottes earlier and was really impressed by the instructions and the design and hoping they work well with the fabric.

I did get my second Orchid dress finished before I went and it's turned out nicely, though I could have done with the sleeves and skirt a bit longer. I think I might have shrunk it slightly as I had to wash and tumble dry it once I got there as it still had all the markings on it for buttonholes and things. It probably needs a good steamy iron to loosen the viscose fibres up a bit. I'm tempted to add a gathered tier to it to make it longer if that doesn't work though.

Did you ever get yours done @Jins? I really loved your shirred dress. Very on trend with that detail! I have also bought more ditsy viscose print. It's black and green so more of an autumnal colouring for me.

I do buy at full price but I do love a bargain pattern. You know what you’ll get with a big four pattern but not so much with the independents so I like to try a bargain one first. It’s paid off for me

It’s still on the project list @Ulysses although I have worked out what I need to do to get it to fit. I need to go down a size at the shoulders then immediately grade to my size at high bust. I also need to add 5 cm to the bodice length which is my sticking point as there’s no lengthen/shorten line and the waist darts are very long.

So it’s going to be a series of bodice toiles until I get it right but it’s a useful exercise to do for fitting for the future.

Yours looks lovely. I’ve shrunk viscose in the tumble drier but line drying after the next wash sorted it out again. A gathered tier would look lovely though

I lengthened the bodice too - by a couple of cms - and went through the darts and drew them back in. I really have no idea where they are supposed to go though! I remember the pattern saying that there should be a certain distance between the bust apex and the waist darts though so stuck to that.

It sounds as if you have a clear idea of the steps that need to be done.

Hello all
Long time lurker here, I've enjoyed looking at your makes and thought it was time I joined you all.
I started sewing again in the first lockdown and have managed a few simple projects but lost my sew-jo thanks to fitting conundrums and a bit of overwhelm from too many patterns and fabrics which don't seem to be really what I want.

However I'm feeling tempted to make a Peppermint ruffle top to get my hand back in and am inspired by the positive mentions of the Poppy pants. I struggle with buying trousers and the height options on these could make them a good choice for me. I've not done trousers before but have some black ponte sitting in the cupboard that might do for these.

And the rotten weather today makes it a good day for sewing too!

Ah, glad to have found you all, I’d lost this thread as I haven’t done much sewing recently. I did get some patterns printed at A0 from CLC Essex which are only £1.50 per page so saved me lots of time and effort sticking together (& cheaper than a new cartridge for my printer!) so I’ll have some projects to get on with.
My little girl asked for a princess dress so that’s what I’ve been up to this week using a tutorial from made for mermaids and some pink satin bought years ago when I was too easily swayed by price and not by colour and fabric type

Welcome both!

The poppy pants are for woven fabrics @toomuchlikemyusername so if your ponte is quite stretchy you may need to size down. I made mine in linen blend and they were fab.

Fantastic princess dress there @SBAM. Someone is going to be thrilled

Love the princess dress @SBAM looks like a v good use for pink satin!

I’ve had a day to myself today, was going to make a start on the Helena wrap dress but got totally sidetracked working my way though instructions for creating my own bodice block. My head is spinning with graph paper and measurements but pretty pleased with the result

Welcome newcomers.

I've finally cut out the fabric for two shirt dresses i'm making, one for me and one for my mum. I'm thinking of doing them concurrently, what do you think? I'm also planning on overlocking all the raw edges before I sew the pieces together. Does anyone else do this? How do you still see notches that you've snipped?

Different fabric for each dress btw.

Hi Nutella. No advice other than I’m intrigued when people do overlock before sewing as I can’t figure out how they manage the seam allowances. I use the over locker to trim as well so struggle with this.

Sometimes a pattern will say to finish your seam allowance before constructing so I normally use a marker to extend where they are if they are going to be cut out beyond them. But that’s on really for specific pieces rather than all of them .

*only really