Summer dress in Broderie Anglaise

Way way way before the current season of the Great British Sewing Bee had started. I had this project in mind. My daughter had seen a dress on a TV celebrity before Christmas and had said she wanted one similar to it. However, finding suitable fabric was a struggle and we kept putting it off! I had found a pattern in one of the Burdastyle magazines that I had. It’s pattern 111 from July 2015  It's very similar to the Orchidee dress, which has just been released by Deer and Doe, if you are looking for something more up to date.

Once she had seen this Broderie Anglaise fabric, she was more than happy for me to make the dress out of this. The fabric arrived just a day before the first episode of GBSB and once it had aired it seemed like the world went buffet dress and Broderie Anglaise mad.

This is NOT a buffet dress! (I’d never heard the term before GBSB and I’ve been sewing for over 10 years). This has a high neck at the back and a deep V front, which closes with buttons. The bodice is shaped with darts front and back and attached to a midriff band. The skirt is attached to the band. The original pattern called for a tiered skirt, but my daughter wanted a simple gathered skirt and ‘not too full”. The sleeves are almost raglan is style, but rather than finishing at the neckline the end just a couple of centimetres away from the neck edge.

The original pattern calls for a side zip and a self tie belt. I opted to intall the concealed zip in the back seam as I had a long enough one in my stash. I also made the button front a faux fastening. I used some small self cover buttons that I had left over from a wedding dress I made a couple of years ago.

I absolutely LOVE broderie anglaise fabric and I almost made something for me rather than my daughter - but I have lots of clothes and she doesn’t have too many of this type of dress - Plus we both wear the same size so I can pinch this if I want to!!!!.

This fabric is very very fine. The base cotton is a lawn weight and it is quite narrow. I only just squeezed this out of 3m. Due to the fine nature of the fabric I used a fine microtex needle - however I broke 2 needles going through the embroidered sections - so I’d advise you go for a slightly thicker needle. Also my overlocker hated this fabric - the varying thickness of the fabric played havoc with it and I wish I’d just used my pinking shears on the raw edges. After I’d rethreaded it several times!!!!!!!

I lined the bodice, midriff and skirt with a plain white cotton as it was quite sheer. In retrospect I should have chosen something a bit lighter - a poplin weight would work perfectly. The sleeves were left unlined. The pattern calls for a facing rather than a lining, so I had to think through the construction order quite carefully in order to achieve a neat finish on the inside. The sleeves are finished with an elastic casing which helps keep them in place and the hem is about 5cm deep.

I used the Kenneth King method for installing an invisible zipper.  It takes a little longer, but the results are great every time and it helped that the invisible zipper foot for the Pfaff machine I have is the best one I have ever used.

My daughter Loves this dress and has been swishing around in it for the last few days since I finished it. She plans to wear it with a corset style belt - Very cottagecore!!!!

 

Originally posted on Minerva

Activewear

I made activewear!!!! This has been something I have wanted to do for a while, but I’ve been reluctant to have a go as finding the right fabric worried me. So when I had the opportunity to review this fabric. I jumped at the chance. This is the fabric I used for this.
I decided to make some leggings and a crop top. 

I did a lot of research into which pattern to use for the leggings and opted for a free pattern. I looked at quite a few, but settled on the 5 out of 4 Ninja pants pattern as they came with a selection of different options.

I opted for the full length leggings with a high waist and fabric waistband. The information on Minerva told me that the fabric had 35% stretch, which was less than the requirement for the pattern. My measurements put me at the top end of a size S, so I went up a size and cut a medium, grading to a S at the waist. I should have made the small as these are a bit too big and the fabric does have better stretch than I thought. However, I was concerned that the fabric might become stretched too thin and cause embarrassment. My daughter assures me that although the pattern on the fabric became a little stretched during a really deep squat (no I’m not showing you my butt), that it was much better than the ones that she had.

For the top I decided to give the free Noelle Bralette top by Madalynne a go. I had made this before and chose a size that was too big. This time I opted for the smallest size and replaced the bottom band with wide plush elastic, which I stretched to fit. Ensuring I cut the right length. 

 

I have a 30 inch underbust and the elastic length was 231/3 inches. The top is lined with a cotton jersey offcut that I had, which had a comparable amount of stretch and I also included removable bra cups.

The straps are of a fixed length. I pinned clear elastic to the front pieces where straps would normally be joined and then used purple fold over elastic to bind the edges and the elastic. Once this was done I tried the top on and pinned the straps at the right length for me (Helped by my daughter).

In retrospect I should have used black FOE as it would fit the fabric design much better. This morning I wore my new set for a pilates session. The top was super comfy and didn’t move or ride up, which is a first! The leggings were OK, the gusset allows for a good range of movement and the waist was ok.

If I had made these in the correct size these would have also been perfect. They actually didn’t move much, just a little. You will have to excuse my sweaty appearance as these were taken post workout!