a summer maxi and a new blog

Prost from Germany! I started off the summer with two weeks in Berlin, and now I'm living in the much smaller town of Heidelberg, where I'm doing a research internship over the summer. Sadly I had to leave my sewing machine in Montreal, so this blog might be a little quiet this summer! I'm still knitting, but it'll be a little while before that one is finished!

In the meantime, I've started a travel blog called learning to be lost! Ive been doing lots of weekend trips and so far I've been to Prague, Strasbourg and Colmar in France, Bern and Interlaken in Swizterland, and Munich. I'm going to Freiburg in Germany this weekend, and Paris next week! I'm also posting updates on Instagram, so follow me there if you don't already!

The weather here is beautiful and summery with the occasional thunderstorm - not too different from Montreal, actually!

I've been wearing my latest make a ton here - a summery maxi dress, the Poppy dress from By Hand London! I tested the pattern for them and I was super excited that it was a pattern for knits. I live in knits all summer!

The Fabric Store kindly sponsored the testers and provided us with gift cards for fabric. I ordered the most gorgeous emerald green merino wool to make the midi-dress version of Poppy, but sadly due to shipping to Canada and me never being at home to receive a package, I didn't actually get the fabric until a couple of days before the testing deadline. I would still love to make a Poppy dress with it, but I got way to busy with exams and then left for Germany. Maybe in the fall?

This was intended as my wearable muslin, made out of some inexpensive knit from a local fabric store.

Note to self: never buy cheap striped knit, because chances are it will be ridiculously off-grain after you wash it.

Cutting this out and matching stripes was a bit of a nightmare with off-grain fabric and the long pattern pieces. Did I mention that I've never actually matched stripes before and I was sewing on a tight deadline??

Once it was cut out, though, sewing was very straighforward (and my stripes even matched!). I won't comment on the pattern/instructions/fit much because I haven't had a chance to go over the revised pattern yet (and to be honest, it was a while ago that we tested this so I don't even really remember my comments), but it went together in a couple of hours, easily!

I chose to hem the neckline rather than adding a neckband, but this probably wasn't the best idea for the maxi. Because of the weight of the maxi, it's stretched quite a bit.

Come to that, the whole dress has stretched and is now too long for me. Eventually I will learn not to buy cheap fabric.

I've still worn this dress a ton, both in the spring in Montreal and since coming to Germany. It's such an easy style to throw on, and it can be dressed up or dressed down!

Also, it's great for traveling since it's knit (read: no ironing and comfy for long bus rides).

Look, it came with me to Prague! (Check out that travel blog I mentioned for more pictures)

I'll keep this post short and sweet because I need to catch up on said travel blog, and there isn't a whole lot to say about this dress other than how much I love it!

I'd never actually owned a maxi dress or skirt before and I was super skeptical about whether or not I could pull one off, but I love it!! It's surprisingly flattering, and actually the right length because I made it myself (I did have to take 3-4 inches off though, can't remember exactly).

That's it for now (and possibly for the summer....?)! Thanks again to the lovely ladies at BHL for asking me to test!!

Also thanks to James for taking these pictures for me! (This was before it got nice in Montreal and we took refuge in the underground city for photos...)

Bis später!

Meet Alix, the 70's Dress of my Dreams

Happy fall, everyone! There are so many things that I love about this time of year, but I've been busy busy busy so this will be the sparknotes version of a blog post so I can get back to studying/finishing sewing my Halloween costume.

Pattern: the newly released Alix Dress by By Hand London. They asked me to test and I absolutely fell in love with the design!! I made the mini version with the pleats, in a size 2/6.

Fabric: Cheapo poly satin that I bought at a local clothing store that was selling off their surplus. I normally hate poly (and still do), but I needed something on short notice and it was inexpensive. The right side is super shiny (as satin tends to be...) but I used the wrong side and I'm obsessed with the rich purple colour. (It also happens to be almost the exact same colour as one of their samples. Great minds think alike?)

Muslin: I got about halfway through a muslin then realized that I cut the wrong size for the neck yoke, but didn't have time for a new one. The only thing I changed was to raise the neckline a fair bit (I think 1 3/4"), although in retrospect I didn't need to - it was only because I cut the larger size of yoke that it was so low! Next time, I might lower it back down (or at least 1") because I think that might be a little more flattering (but still totally modest).

Sewing: Sooo I may have delayed starting this until very very close to the deadline in favour of studying for my biochemistry midterm, and by the time I started, everywhere that I could buy thread was closed. I had purple thread, but it was very cheap and nasty thread that my machine really doesn't like, so I used black thread for almost the whole dress. The next morning, I ran out and bought some purple thread to hem the skirt and sew the elastic casings at the wrist.

I contemplated French seams, but I was short on time so I just serged everything. Once I got partway through, I realized that French seams would have been way too bulky anyways, so I guess that was for the best - it probably saved me a lot of frustration! If I make another one when I have a little more time (like, maybe when I graduate???), I might experiment with bias bound seams. Some of the seams end up enclosed in the yoke and the waist panel, but a lot of them are still exposed.

I haven't had a chance to compare the tester instructions to the revised ones yet, so I won't comment on the construction at all. It was pretty straightforward, although I definitely had to follow the instructions more closely that I usually would!

I finished it up with a blind hem with my beautiful blind hem foot - I'm so in love with this thing. As much as I love hand sewing, sometimes I just don't have the time or the patience for it, so it's great to have a machine that does nice blind hems.

Verdict: Guys, this is the dress of my dreams!! The fit maybe isn't 100% perfect (I need to tweak the area right above the bust), but I absolutely love wearing it and it's perfect for fall. For class/everyday life (so class + the library), I wear it with tights, boots and a jean jacket (plus a scarf and sweater underneath because it's already cold...), but you could definitely dress it up with heels and some nice jewelry. The sleeves are roomy, but in a lightweight fabric, they're not so bulky that you can't wear a sweater, which is nice.

I've also been obsessed with this scarf this fall - it's Liberty and belonged to my grandma. We found it in its original package in her house, so we think it was probably a gift that she never wore. It's beautiful wool and despite not owning (or liking) much pink, it seems to go with a lot of my clothes!

I also just realized that I'm wearing my great-grandmother's gloves in these last few photos where I was too cold to take off my jacket! We also found them at my grandma's house, but my mom doesn't fit them so she doesn't think my grandma would have either. I have no idea how old they are, but they were found with a few other pairs that I would say are at least from the 50's, possibly older. They're made in Italy and lined in silk knit and oh my gosh they are amazing to wear.

So, I think that's it for this dress! I'm completely in love with it and want to make many many more (if I only I had just a little more time...). Thank you to the lovely ladies at BHL for inviting me to test, and thanks to my friend James for taking these pictures for me, in spite of the fact that I always seem to choose rainy days for photoshoots!

Thanks also to this beautiful city for being my backdrop. In spite of the rain when we took these photos, Montreal is gorgeous this time of year!

And with that, I'm heading back to the library. At least I'm wearing a killer dress!

Out With the Old - a (Long-Overdue) Photo Dump!

Hello again, it's been a while! Once again, I've disappeared completely from the blogosphere for a couple months. One of these days, I will figure out how to juggle writing a blog while I have midterms and labs and assignments and applications and dance and life... maybe.

In the meantime, I keep my Instagram a little more up-to-date with a mix of sewing, knitting, food, and pictures of Montreal when it's not slushy and gross like it has been the past few weeks.

I'm currently enjoying some well-deserved time off over my reading break after a really crazy midterm schedule. I've had a chance to catch up on life a little bit, including finally setting up a dedicated sewing space in my apartment. No more sewing on the kitchen table anymore!

I hadn't checked on my blog in close to a month, so I was a little surprised when I signed on the other day to see a lot of new traffic, since I've been voted one of the best sewing blogs of 2016 on Madalynne, in the 'Up and Coming' category! Thank you SO much to everyone who voted for me - I'm really flattered!

This post has been a long time coming. After my winter break, I realized that part of what's holding me back from blogging is my "blogging queue". With lots of old projects photographed and unblogged, whenever I feel like doing a blog post, I feel like it has to be about one of those old projects. But, when I go to write about them, it just seems like I made them too long ago to even bother! I can't remember the little details specific to each project, and some of them I unfortunately don't even wear anymore.

So, before I move onto posting about some newer, more exciting things (like my brand new sewing machines, my homemade Christmas gifts, and some recent pattern testing), I'm going to sum up all those projects that I haven't blogged about yet in one big photo dump.

This feels like some sort of confession - I'm getting all this off my chest before I can move on!

I'll start off with my favourite of the bunch - yet another Moneta dress! This is my third - I've already blogged about my first, second and fourth. I made this in the summer of 2014 (yikes!) and it's one of my favourite dresses to wear (along with all my other Monetas!).

I used an organic cotton and hemp blend jersey, and lined the bodice with cream bamboo jersey. I added the peter pan collar, which looks a little ripply in these photos because it stretched as I sewed it, but it flattened out with a couple washings. I included the pockets, and they worked really well in the more substantial jersey.

Keeping with the knit theme, I made a couple Bronte tops that summer as well.

I made the red one from some rayon jersey (you might recognize it from my Natalie dress that I made last summer!). I cut a size 6, but sized up at the waist because I don't like my T-shirts skin tight, and I found the fit to be pretty good, but the armholes were a little tight.

For the purple one, I just sized up to a size 8 everywhere, and I prefer the fit that way. I made it from a remnant of the most amazing bamboo jersey, and my favourite part is the buttons - they were from my grandma's stash and they have polka-dot bow ties on them! The buttons on the red one were also from my grandma's stash.

Next up is a skirt I made from handprinted cotton voile from Maiwa on Granville Island in Vancouver. I followed Tilly's guide to make a Picnic Blanket Skirt, which is simply a gathered button-down skirt, to which I added pockets and a lining.

It ended up looking really clean on the inside - in fact it's almost reversible and could have been with a little more planning. Too bad! I'll keep that in mind for a future project...

These buttons were also from my Grandma's stash - they were hand-carved ones she bought when travelling in Africa.

I love the print of this skirt, but it's almost a little too gathered to feel practical. I love it when I wear it, but I don't find myself reaching for it! I might shorten it and see if that helps - I've done that with a couple full skirts and I find it makes them more wearable.

This next skirt is the Chardon skirt by Deer and Doe, a pattern company that I've wanted to try for ages. My mom gave me this pattern for Christmas in 2014, and I made it when I was in Vancouver briefly before going to Canmore last summer.

I made a size 36, which was for a waist measurement a little bigger than mine, but it's snug! The pattern isn't kidding when it says it has very little ease. I put in a hand-picked lapped zipper, and I omitted the topstitching on the pleats, simply stitching in the ditch to secure them instead.

The fabric is some polyester crepe that was in my aunt's stash that she passed on to me. I normally don't like poly much, but it was the perfect weight to hold the pleats and yet still drape, but I found that I never wore the colour since it only matched with this one shirt. So, I dyed it! I haven't taken pictures since, but it's now a gorgeous purple-blue colour. Admittedly, it still doesn't match with very much, although I do like the colour a lot more now.

Since learning to sew with knits, I've also made a TON of underwear from jersey scraps. Here are my first four (experimental) pairs!

I used So, Zo's free pattern as a starting point, but modified it for a lot more coverage and more of a boy-short cut. It took quite a few tries to figure out the right length of elastic to use - you might notice the bottom left pair have waaay too much elastic. Now I can whip up a pair from leftover jersey in under an hour, and they turn out well every time!

And lastly, a knitting project!

I used a hand-dyed and hand-spun BFL yarn for this set, which is some of the softest wool I've ever worked with - it's gorgeous! The pattern for the hat was a free pattern I picked up from a local yarn store, but I think the wool wasn't quite bulky enough for it. I used the same cable pattern for the cowl, and skipped the ribbing at the bottom edge to make it roll.

I'm not really sure how I feel about these - they're nice, but neither are quite warm enough for the Montreal winter. The hat is a little small and the cowl is a little big, so they don't really keep my neck and ears that warm! It seems a shame to save these for the fall and spring, so I'm considering re-knitting them into a cozier scarf.

So, that's everything for my photo dump! I'll be back soon with my latest handknit sweater, my tester version of the brand-new Sarah Shirt from BHL, and some handknit Christmas gifts.... promise!

Now to find myself a photographer so I can actually keep that promise...

SOSM Round Two: The Marianne Dress

Thanks to everyone for the wonderful comments on my Sutton Blouse for the first round of the Super Online Sewing Match! If you follow me on Instagram or if you follow Sew Mama Sew, you may have seen that I made it through the first round, and that the second challenge was the Marianne Dress by Christine Haynes.

If you've been following this blog for a while, you'll know that I love a good knit dress. I taught myself to sew with knits just over a year ago with my first Moneta dress - before that, my attempts at sewing with knits had been unsuccessful and downright frustrating, so I avoided them as much as I could. After that first Moneta, though, I really learned to love them! I made Monetas numbers two, three (unblogged), and four, as well as the Sewaholic Davie dress, the Muse Natalie dress, and countless knit tops.

So, I was really excited at first when I saw that the second challenge was a knit dress! I had also been curious about trying the shift dress silhouette for a while now, even though I usually prefer more fitted bodices and more flared skirts. The Marianne dress, though, looked like it could be a really versatile and wearable dress, so I was eager to try it.

My only worry about this challenge was that it could be too easy! I had plenty of patterned knit fabric in my stash that would be great for this dress, and I probably could have put it together in a few hours had I not modified the pattern. But, it is a sewing contest after all, and part of the reason I entered was to motivate myself to take on some more challenging projects. This project just needed something more, and it took me a little while to come up with a plan.

In the meantime, I printed the pattern (at the library again), and cut a size 0 at the bust, 2 at the waist, and 4 at the hips. I knew that the pattern had enough ease that a straight size 0 probably would have been fine, but I figured it was easier to take it in than let it out.

I made a shirt-length wearable muslin out of some patterned jersey that I had tons of. I'm really glad I did! I found it a little snug everywhere, despite cutting out the size that should have given me plenty of ease. I thought that this was a little odd, but just added on 1/2" on either side at the bust and a couple inches onto the sleeves, and moved on. I also widened the neckline significantly, which I find is more flattering on me than a crewneck.

The idea for how I could make this much more than a simple knit dress came from Laura Mae, whose fabulous vintage-inspired garments and sewing skills I've always admired. A few months ago, she posted an amazing Alabama Chanin-inspired outfit, a skirt and jacket made of two layers of cotton jersey reverse appliqued together.

After remembering this outfit, I spent some time looking through some Alabama Chanin (and Alabama Chanin-inspired) pieces online, and I decided that I really loved the idea of reverse applique around the neckline of this dress. With that in mind, I decided on a short-sleeved, collarless version, to let the applique stand out.

I had the perfect fabric for the main body of the dress, a dark purple ponte knit that I got when I volunteered at Our Social Fabric. It was great for this dress - it's so soft and doesn't feel super synthetic like some ponte knits do (although it probably does have some nylon or poly content, as ponte knits do). It was solid enough that it was a dream to sew with, but drapey enough to be flattering.

The tougher question was what to use for the contrast! I had some patterned jersey in my stash, but decided immediately that they would be too busy. I considered using some lace that I had, but it was really scratchy and I didn't think it would be comfortable around the neckline. Since shipping to Canada takes too long, online shopping wasn't really an option, and the local quilting and sewing store only had nothing, I had to work with what solid knit I had in my stash, which was a small amount of some off-white bamboo jersey.

I thought that the off-white would be too high-contrast for what I was planning, though. I was planning a leaf pattern, and I wanted something a little softer. So, I tried dyeing the fabric with tea! After making some samples with coffee and a couple different kinds of tea, I liked the colour from black tea best. I made a large pot of pretty strong tea on the stovetop, let the fabric sit in it for about 20 minutes, then rinsed it in cool water and dried it. I didn't think it was quite dark enough, though, so I tried again, making the tea a little stronger this time. Still, not dark enough... the next morning, I added another five tea bags, kept the water simmering, and let the fabric sit in it for about two hours, while I worked away on the design that I wanted. Finally, I was happy with how dark it was, and cut out the dress!

Instead of using the neck binding, I made a facing/partial lining to finish the neckline and the sleeves out of the contrasting jersey. To do this, I simply cut out the upper part of the dress, trimmed all the edges 1/8" to make it slightly smaller, and sewed it so that the seams would be concealed, but the right side of the fabric would be facing the wrong side of the ponte, so that it would show through when I did the reverse applique. I made it quite long on purpose, because I wasn't yet sure how I would finish it.

I made this on a regular machine, since I'm not living at home anymore, so I can't use my mom's serger. This is the second knit dress that I've made on a regular machine, and I'm getting the hang of sewing knits without a serger! It's a little more work, but it's surprisingly neat, and gives a little more control. I didn't finish the edges of the ponte because it didn't roll, but I did finish the jersey edges with a medium zigzag.

I started by sewing the shoulder seams, adding clear elastic, pressing them open to reduce bulk, and then basting the side seams to check the fit. Well, I had a bit of a problem! By extending the sleeves, I had made the armholes so small that I couldn't get my arms through them! I ended up taking off everything that I had added on under the arm, and leaving the sleeves an inch longer than they originally were, rather than the couple of inches that I had added. I also noticed that the dress was considerably shorter than what the finished measurements said it would be... strange!

It wasn't until I cleaned up the scraps of paper I cut away from the pattern that I realized why. I saw the 4" square and measured it, finding it to be only 3 7/8"! I've never had a problem with my printer scaling patterns before, but I suppose the library printer must have scaled it. I didn't have a ruler with me, so I never even bothered to check! It's amazing how much of a difference that 1/8" can make. Ah, I felt so stupid!

By the time I realized this, there wasn't time to start over, so I just had to work with what I had. After removing some of the extra I added onto the sleeves, the armhole fit comfortably, and I'd already added onto the side seams, so it wasn't too much of a problem. Lesson learned, though! (And, my printer ink just arrived in the mail, so I shouldn't have this problem again!)

I unpicked the side seams, sewed the facing and the dress together at the neckline, and stabilized it with some clear elastic (without it, I find that wider knit necklines stretch out over time). I understitched for a nice edge, then sewed the side seams. I used this method from the Moneta dress, to give a nice, clean finish when sewing the dress and the facing together at the armholes.

Next up was the most time-consuming part, the applique. I had worked out the designs and made a stencil from some cardboard while my fabric was dyeing, so I started by tracing the design onto the fabric with chalk. I then ran a line of long, running stitches around every leaf and stem, through both layers of fabric, about 3/16" from the chalk lines. Using embroidery scissors, because I was scared that I would cut too much using fabric scissors, I trimmed out the leaves and stems.

The whole process of hand sewing the applique around the neckline took me about 8 hours (the most hand sewing I've ever done in one sitting!), but I found it so satisfying. I loved the effect that it created, and with a good audiobook, the time went by quickly.

To finish the facing, I originally thought that I would just trim it around the stitching, but I was a little worried that doing so would make a ridge visible from the outside. Instead, I just trimmed a little off the bottom, zigzagged to stop it rolling, and tacked the seam allowances of the dress and the facing/lining together by hand. It ends just under the bust, where the dress is loose enough that it doesn't show.

In these inside-out photos, it was difficult to get it to lay flat, since the facing/lining is a little smaller than the dress, but it lies really nicely when worn, without any bunching up like there would be if the facing were the same size.

I was considering leaving the hem raw, since it was already on the short side, and I thought it would match nicely the raw edges of the applique. But, that just felt so anticlimactic! I actually love hemming as the final step in making anything, especially when I do it by hand. So, I pressed up 1/2" and catchstitched it by hand. This was my first time hemming a knit by hand, and I was a little worried that it wouldn't have enough stretch, but I was pleasantly surprised!

The most stressful part of this challenge was taking the photos! Unfortunately, the family friend that took the beautiful photos of my Sutton blouse couldn't make it at the last minute, and it was too late to find anyone else to take some photos for me. It took me a few tries to get a decent set of self-timed photos, but I think they're passable. For me next project, though, I'll definitely find someone to take some photos for me - they turn out nicely when I don't have to duct tape a camera to a tree someone else takes them!

Overall, I'm so, so happy with how this dress turned out! It's so comfortable and easy to wear, and the shape surprisingly flattering. Despite being a little surprised at how short it ended up, I think I like the shorter length - it balances out the looser silhouette! I'm so proud of the reverse applique, and I think it was completely worth the time.

To see the other contestants' finished Marianne dresses, and to follow the rest of the contest, head on over to Sew Mama Sew! I've already seen a few Mariannes up on the others' blogs, and it looks like it's going to be a tough competition - they're all so gorgeous!