Despite  the unusual 30+ degree heat here last week I managed to get the silk prom dress sewn in plenty of time and delivered on Saturday morning to a very happy neighbour.  She popped round last night on the way to her prom to let me snap a couple of quick photos.

She looked stunning, and I received a lovely message from her this morning telling me how happy she was with the dress and that it was much admired by her friends.  Phew!

As I mentioned in my last post the pattern is BurdaStyle 12/2011 #130 and I made it in silk crepe backed satin in Royal Blue from Beckford Silk.  I sewed the dress with the matte crepe side of the silk as the right side of the fabric.  We both agreed it gave the dress a more elegant look.

As usual the instructions from the Burda pattern were ‘interesting’ and so I made some of the construction up as I went along!

As the silk is very lightweight I wanted to put as little weight as possible in the seams so I finished them with a ‘stitch and pink’ edging.  French seams would have been beautiful but ran the risk of being simply too bulky and heavy.  As this is an occasion dress that won’t get a great deal of wear, I’m not concerned about the seam finish not holding up to wear and tear.

The above photo shows the inside of the armhole which is gently held in place with herringbone stitch which catches just a couple of threads of the main fabric to hold it in place and is virtually invisible when you look at the finished dress.

The neckline facing and hem were hand-stitched in place, this time with teeny tiny slip stitches.  I wanted them to look almost invisible from the outside…I think I succeeded.

When Katie collected the dress on Saturday morning it looked less than stellar on the hanger.

But…we’d had three fittings and I was confident that all would be well once the dress had been to the dry cleaners for a professional press.

I was right!

Being ultra critical there’s still a little wrinkling on the seams, but only us in the know will notice that and, let’s be honest, all eyes were on Katie, not the seams!

And, of course, the demure front of the dress hides a daring secret at the back…

I lengthened the neck tie, which threads through a casing at the neckline of the front bodice, to nearly 3 metres long to get this dramatic effect.

If you’d asked me a week ago I’d have had choice words to say about this gown, but today, seeing the result and that beautiful, happy smile, I can safely say it was worth every single stitch.

Finally, finally, I’ve done some sewing for me.  The sewjo has been on the missing list for far too long where I’m concerned, but last week it returned with a vengeance.

I’d been toying with buying the Sutton Blouse pattern from True Bias

when I remembered I had this pattern already in my stash.

Saving pennies wasn’t the only consideration; the sizing of the Simplicity pattern meant that I could get straight to sewing with minimal fuss.  Aside from the time taken to tape the Sutton PDF together, I’d also have needed to do some grading as I fall outside their size range at the moment.

It was a complete no brainer!

I’ve made them both up using the hemline of version B and the sleeves of version A without the cuffs.

The first version is made up in a poly georgette from Abakhan that I bought ages ago from their oddments bin. I swear I didn’t pay more than £5 for this. In fact £2.50 is lurking in my head.  I really must get better at recording this stuff. It was a beast to sew with…a very slippery customer…but is lovely to wear and the perfect fabric for this top.

S1660 is a really easy sew and, for once, I did things right and checked my measurements against the finished measurements and cut my size accordingly.  The only adjustment I made to the pattern was to add 2″ to the length.  The neckline is a bit closer on me than the diagram, so I shaved 1/2″ off the neckline on the second version.  I think I need to shave at least another 1/2″ off future iterations as you’ll see.

The back has this cute overlapping v-neck and slight gathering into the yoke.   The sleeves are cut as one with the body.

This is such a quick sew.  Even with the fiddly fabric this was sewn in an afternoon.

Which was why I quickly cut out a second version from a fabric I’ve had in my stash for For. Ever! Christmas 2012 to be precise!

This is Art Gallery Voile in Praline Honey and it’s buttery soft and delightfully lightweight.

It’s a wonderful fabric to sew with, but be warned it creases almost as much as linen!

These pictures show how fabric choice influences how a pattern turns out.  The poly georgette is one of the recommended fabrics on the pattern envelope.  The voile is possibly just a wee bit structured for this blouse, but I still think it’s quite successful.

It’s not as fluid over the bust, but it’s more noticeable on the photos than in real life. I’d also remove the shirt tail hem at the back if I made this up in cotton again.

Summer tops are scarce in my wardrobe at the moment so both of these tops are in very heavy rotation until my next project is done.  I’ve got Butterick 6024 cut out and ready to sew.

But, rest assured, you’ll be seeing S1660 again in the not too distant future!

When I bought the fabric for Button’s recent blouse I was hopeful that I’d have enough for a little gift for Alice (who-isn’t-a-cat, but that seems a bit redundant these days) who was expecting a little gift of her own.

Oh, she’s so lovely.  My heart melts.  What better way to welcome her than with a teeny tiny dress?

Of course the pattern is Rae’s Little Geranium Dress which is available for free in size 0 – 3 months.  If you haven’t already fallen for this wonderful pattern (at which point I’m scratching my head and wondering if I should call a medic!) then this is a great way to test it out so you can realise the error of your ways!

This version is lined with white cotton lawn, to keep it soft against little skin.

Simple red buttons on the back.

A perfect gift for any little girl…especially one so adorable!