Will I be able to make this?

[TheProvincialLady]

I made a new year resolution to make something I can wear this year and I only have 5 months to get it done. Previous sewing experience includes lots of quilting, drawstring bags and two aprons (one was a complicated double sided wrap-around with strings).

I been looking at patterns and wondered whether this skirt and top found this at John Lewis & Partners. What do you think? Here from John Lewis might be achievable, but I’m so inexperienced I have no idea.

Constraints are:

My sewing machine is Victorian, does only one straight stitch (but beautifully) and I have to turn the wheel myself. I do have a large collection of special feet etc but will admit that I don’t know how to use some of them.

I am not quite 5’2 and wear a size 6-8 normally. Bust size 30F.

I don’t have a lot of space

I don’t have a lot of time

I am not very good at making things 😀

On the plus side, I can throw money at this and I’m willing to give it a go.

Have I chosen a good pattern and what advice would you have for me? Thanks, experienced folk!

I was just about to recommend Shaukat as well, or if you’re ok with Liberty style rather than actual Liberty Fabworks have a nice range, and I’ve always been pleased by the quality and value of what I’ve bought from them.

I presume the carbon paper and wheel are to replicate the pattern? I prefer wide tracing paper to trace the pattern - then you can put your version over the original if you need to alter the pattern.

If it's just to trace the pattern then Swedish tracing paper is a game changer.

Can trace over it with a basic biro, sew the tracing paper to make a mockup, cut it up, add bits and then take it apart again to use as your pattern.

Oddly I actually learned about this from Tilly when she was on GBSB.

Thanks everyone. Yes the carbon paper is for tracing the pattern. I will buy some Swedish trading paper instead, it sounds much better.

Having read the instructions, the raw edges are all finished with a zig zag stitch or overlocker (what beginner has an over locker?!). My machine doesn’t have a zig zag stitch. Could I convert the pattern to use french seams instead? I’ve done those before quite successfully. Obviously that won’t work on the curved edges…

Thanks also for the alternative suppliers of cotton lawn and confirming that it will work. I will have a look later after work - something to look forward to!

I think you’d be best with a turn and stitch finish, or pinking if you have pinking shears. This link is a helpful guide to seam allowances. I personally wouldn’t try French seams on this, because they can be awkward on curves, but I am a low-effort (aka lazy) sewer.

Really helpful link thank you!

I do have pinking shears but I think I’d rather make something sturdy that I can feel proud of (am a perfectionist type…probably why I’ve never succeeded in getting started on making something to wear before now!). I will experiment with my old sheets version and see what works.

If you are using a Liberty fabric then pinking is a nice, unobtrusive and surprisingly sturdy finish.

You can always run a line of straight stitch inside the pinking if you are worried.

I have bought all my supplies now. I went for https://www.fabworks.co.uk/products/blue-hibiscus-lily-pima-lawn - thank you very much for the Fabworks tip @SBAM

Do you think that pinking would also work for pima lawn @AnnaMagnani? I can’t get away from the feeling that it’s not proper sewing and won’t last (much like when I made Sindy clothes using loo roll) but it’s great news if it would work.

@TheProvincialLady I had the same mental block over pinking!

Have a look at your fabric, if it is a strong cotton weave then is it really likely to fray? Is this an item that really needs to be super-hard wearing like say a set of overalls?

Pinking isn't cheating at sewing, it's choosing the right finish for the right fabric and project. We are just so used to seeing everything overlocked that it's hard to compute another way.

Before you cut your fabric , measure yourself and compare that to the sizes listed.You may need to do a full bust adjustment as the majority of patterns only allow for up to a D cup.
If you cut a bigger size it often won't work as it will be too big on the shoulders and hips

Check the measurements of the sizes too. Sewing patterns tend to be much smaller than high street shops.

Ok @AnnaMagnani I understand that philosophy and will stop trying to be a perfectionist 😀 I will tee the fabric when it arrives. I’m glad it’s not just me who has these thoughts…

@Cillmantain I have ordered some Swedish tracing paper and plan to make it up with that first, because I’m sure my ‘full’ bust will be tricky. In this pattern there are no darts though, so will I potentially be looking to put some in?

@KirstenBlest I’ve measured myself and seem to be exactly a size 3 according to the pattern I bought. So hopefully it will be a good starting point even if I do need to make adjustments.

That's good. I wasn't as sensible

@TheProvincialLady as you have wisely chosen a Tilly and the Buttons pattern, they call come with a vast amount of support on her website about how to make them up and do any adjustments

https://www.tillyandthebuttons.com/2020/07/fitting-stevie-top-dress.html

While I have absolutely no idea how to do a FBA in a dartless dress, apparently Tilly has thought of this and done a massive post about it

https://www.tillyandthebuttons.com/2020/07/fitting-stevie-top-dress.html

Ooh keen to see how this goes. I think you could definitely do French seams with Tana lawn, on the long side seams, once you are happy with the fit on the mock-up. Or pinking. It’s a beautiful fabric to sew with.