Frumpy Frock Finish, Fair Findings

As the title of the post suggests, I am not happy with my newest make.

This is the Grace Dress by WardrobeByMe.  I was full of hope with this dress.  Other makes I'd seen looked wonderful and the pattern comes with a number of options - different sleeve lengths, sleeveless, peplum top.  I had bought extra fabric that I used to line my coat with the vision of making a matching dress.  This was to be the matching dress.   But ---- I hate it!!  It feels 1980's and worse, it feels frumpy.  Not sure if it is the polyester fabric that gives the frumpy feel, or the pattern. I will never wear it.  I've already tossed it in the bin. 

Apart from the look of it I didn't like the construction methods.  I should have done what felt right to me, but this is the first pattern I've bought from WBM so thought I'd follow their method.

The first thing to go wrong was the bodice.  The V neck is lined with bias binding.  But the way they did it resulted in a lump at the bottom of the V.  Well I had plenty of fabric left over so I recut the bodice from extra fabric, but this time I copied the neckline from the Itch To Stitch Vienna top which gave a much better finish.

Next was the yoke instructions.  Again the Vienna has a yoke, but I followed WBM construction.  Big mistake I ended up with the wrong side of the yoke showing on the outside of the bodice.  Too much sewing to unpick, so I just unpicked the shoulders and sewed them together as normal, and overlocked the edges.  I've never had that problem when making the Vienna so assume their instructions are better.

Third problem was the construction of the waist casing.  It was super untidy.  I've made a few patterns  with waist casings and never had a problem.  I think this time the problem was that there was no separate casing pattern piece, you just sewed the bodice and skirt together with a 1" seam allowance then folded the edges together on the inside to create the casing.

Needless to say I won't be making this dress again, and very likely won't ever touch a WBM pattern again.

Anyway yesterday was a bit better.  Had  a trip out of town to a Craft Fair and went with a friend.  She bought some lovely mohair wool.  I bought a few things.

I bought 3 1 metre lengths of quilting cotton

This will be for a project bag for Healing Rose

Not sure, but I might make a pleated tote bag with this

This will be a Project Bag for my sampler,  Squirrels are a common them in samplers

The rectangles and smiling flower are wooden buttons.  I've added magnets to the back to make into needleminders.  Couldn't resist the Long Dog for holding floss.  This will be fun for using silks with Long Dog Samplers!

I bought 12 assorted charms for making into zipper pulls.

I haven't shown my zipper pulls that I've started making.  Here are a few, I've given 1 away as a gift.  These are fun to make when I just want something quick to finish.

I also bought my first Long Dog Sampler on Saturday.  I'd been thinking of doing Templars Legacy, but the one I really ,really liked with Sans Souci.  However it had been done as a SAL by a shop in the UK that has since closed, so wasn't available.  Luckily for me the owner of Long Dog made it available online on the weekend so I jumped in and bought it.


Now I just need to decide on which colour to do it in, probably blue.  I will order silks from Silks4u.  So excited to be sewing with silk.

Craft fair and first Crazy quilting project prep

Last week I went to the Hamilton Craft and Quilt fair for two days.  I went to a lot of workshops and took a couple of make and take classes.  The make and take were silk ribbon embroidery with Helen Dafter and English piecework making a Christmas bell.  The silk ribbon and piecework are shown below.  There wasn't time to finish them in the class.  I have finished them but haven't got round to taking a photo yet.

 

I also made lots of purchases.

 

Kits and patterns:  Chatelaine bag and Pyramid Chatelaine by Helen Dafter.  Bag pattern, I liked this as you can make different bag covers, penguin soft toy.  Book on making small projects from hexagons.

 

Lots of fabrics, charms and fibres.

I've made the bag up with 2 different covers.  No photos yet.

I've been admiring crazy quilting on the internet and wanting to try it.  After making the bag I had left over material and thought it would be good to make something that would go in the bag as the fabrics will be co-ordinating.  At first I thought of making a purse, but decided that may be a bit ambitious for my first project, so I'm going with a phone pouch.  I first laid my fabric out in what  thought would be the layout.

I then sewed it together.  Then I double checked it against my phone to see how it fit.  Only to find out it was way too long, seems I somehow doubled the width when I measured my phone the first time.  Anyway better too big than too small.  So I chopped off the extra length, then sewed an extra piece of calico to the chopped end so I can still put fabric in a frame and stitch to the end.  So this is what it looks like now.

Before I do any embroidery on this I need to finish some of the other projects I have on the go.  Currently working on a stumpwork nasturtium so I need to get that finished.

 

 

So lets see, what am I working on now?  Victorian five sided box.  3 sides will have threadpainted flowers, which are done, two sides and the top will have stumpwork.  Also doing the goldwork piece below, and of course 3 cross stitch pictures.  Oh, nearly forgot, I'm wanting to get into hexagon quilts, have the paper pieces and fabric that was in charm packs that I got at the fair.  Plenty to keep me busy!