Make Nine 2020 – It’s Dawning on Me

I’ve gone a little bit out of order here. As of yesterday I have a shiny new second pair of Dawn Jeans so I’m sharing them whilst my edits and the experience are fresh in my mind. I said previously I wanted to make these as my old ready to wear pairs had seen better days and they never really seemed to fit me.

I made my first pair of Dawns in March in a blue (slightly) stretchy denim from Likesewamazing which I bought at the shops 1st Birthday Party! I had a voucher from my Grandparents for Christmas and I knew this would be a perfect use (my Grandparents are very supportive of my creativity). I cut the pattern as a straight size 6, regular length as my waist is 27(ish) inches and my hips are 37(ish) inches and I started sewing!

I really enjoyed making these jeans. I went high risk for my first attempt and selected golden yellow for my topstitching. Making my Dawns helped me to realise I really love topstitching. I put my initials on my back pockets because I can and I wanted something a little personal. I wouldn’t have been able to do such neat (in my opinion) topstitching without the straight stitch foot that came with the Singer 201k. It really helped me to visualise the spacing.

One error I made on the first pair is not grading my seams enough. This made it REALLY hard to do the button hole. I almost cried at sewing club when it wasn’t working because I was so frustrated. However, I eventually got the buttonhole completed, hardware on and have a pair of jeans that I love! BUT I knew I could make the fit even better….

Enter the second pair of Dawns! Having assessed the fit and sent WAY too many pictures of my (clothed) crotch and backside to @Measuretwice.katonce I had a vague idea of where I could make the fit better. I identified these using the Closet Core Patterns fit guide for the Morgans.

  1. Sway back adjustment due to the wrinkling at the top of the back
  2. A flat pubis adjustment due to the wrinkling at the front
  3. A low butt adjustment due to the wrinking at the bottom of the back

I made a toile of these edits in some non stretch stripe denim I’d had in my stash for years, maybe a decade? They were a tad tight around the thigh so adjustment number 4 was identified.

4.Full thigh adjustment

This pair were made in some non-stretch denim from Stof Stil which, was bought for me by my Gran for my Birthday. It’s taken me 3 months to work up the courage to start making these adjustments(!). For the sway back, full thigh and low butt adjustments I made edits to the back pattern piece (see below). For the flat pubis I made adjustments whilst sewing to make the front inseam slightly deeper.

I chose not to put my initials on this time and my back pockets have a starburst and compass style of designs. I put these together using Microsoft publisher on an A5 size sheet and the design is 12cmx12cm square. This was then transferred onto the pockets using wax paper and one of the tracing wheels. I didn’t get the compass one quite straight so I slightly fudged it so the topstitching didn’t overlap.

After I’d sewn together the yoke and the back legs I realised that my pockets weren’t even. Some days I would accept this but I couldn’t this time so I unpicked and re-stitched. I was a lot happier with them the second time round.

One construction tip I have is: when you have sewn your inseam DON’T TOPSTITCH YET. Baste the side seams together and check for fit. This way if you aren’t happy with it you don’t have to unpick 3 lines of stitching and potentially some overlocking you only have the side seam and the initial inseam. I didn’t have to unpick but this is part of the reason I said ‘meh’ it’ll do to the first pair on the fit.

Once I’d fitted them I ploughed ahead with the rest of the construction. I have had a minor ‘Sewing fail’ as one of my belt loops is on inside out but I’m living with that. I also had trouble with the button hole again, despite having graded my seams much better this time. However, they are together, fitted better and I’m thrilled with them. I finished with a Pink Coat Club ‘This took ages’ Label because I spent time on this project and did unpick topstitching I wasn’t happy with several times.

For my photoshoot styling I have attempted to add some entertainment by emulating some vintage jeans adverts. Photography is another of my passions and I enjoy mucking about with the camera.

Things I like

  • Incredibly thorough instructions
  • Fun options for topstitching
  • High waisted and flattering cut
  • Regular length hits me in the right place without having to chop loads off

Things I don’t like

  • I often forget to put a label in until it’s too late
  • Buttonholes on thick denim are very tricky
  • Bartacks on thick denim are tricky too

Enjoy sewing, you can have jeans that fit, topstitching is surprisingly fun!

Make Nine 2020 – Getting Wilder

Sorry about the pun. We had a big debate at sewing club about whether it was pronounced Will-der or WILDer. I’ve gone with WILDer, correct me if I’m wrong. I’d seen a lot of really lovely ones on everyone and was getting some major FOSMO (Fear of Sewing Missing Out). I mentioned in my previous post how the one from @lesbonbecsfabuleax had inspired me so I was really wanting to make it in a green chiffon (purchased from Fabric Land). No Toile here, I jumped straight in (error)!

I cut out my pattern in an XS according to my measurements and it fits really nicely. Due to the fabric choice of chiffon I also planned to make it lovely on the inside with French seams. Unfortunately due to brainfog (that I now know was Covid-19, horrible stuff, wear a mask) I managed to sew the first few seams incorrectly.

To help anyone who may make this mistake from the instructions: I had sewed the centre seam of the bodice the wrong way i.e. I had basted the part that was a seam and seamed the part that required basting. At this point after unpicking chiffon, with no holes, I decided it would be safer to not French seam.

The pattern is excellent. It is well written (despite my muppet moment) and comes together really quickly, I also like how different it looks to a lot of other patterns. I can see why everyone has gone bonkers for it. I’ve already made a shirt version in a gorgeous mango coloured fabric and I MAY make a winter dress version in a slightly heavier weight fabric. Inspired by Likesewamazing’s hack I’d add pockets.

This pattern would be great for beginners, with a more stable fabric as there are no tricky closures and it introduces some fun techniques. I would recommend getting some of the PRYM ‘turny things’ to turn the neck tie through as these decrease frustration by around a million percent.

To go underneath as I am not body confident enough or well co-ordinated with my underwear enough I ‘hacked’ an Ogden cami. This was mildly successful, I added a bust dart (originally in the wrong place) and lengthened it at the lengthen lines. I need to hack it better but at present it is a slip dress for being under things so it’s OK. Fabric for this was purchased from Minerva.com it’s a black armor washed satin style. I had enough left over to make a normal Ogden and I really like wearing that too.

Things I like

  • Absolute wafty gown of dreams
  • I got to try a pattern hack
  • Really fun and easy pattern to put together that looks totally polished
  • Lots of variations available

Things I don’t like

  • The chiffon catches on things occasionally and I have to hold my breath
  • I’ve made the bust darts on the Ogden look like I have very pointy nipples

Enjoy your sewing, wear a mask, read the instructions correctly.

Make Nine – The Shelbys

I first saw the Shelby (not the Peaky Blinders) in December. I enthusiastically let my friend Irmak know how cute it was. She then surprised me by buying it for me for Christmas(!). I really loved the shape and selected the dress over the romper (functional toilet needs).

What with it being semi fitted I decided to toile first. So I went to Asda and got some constellation dinosaur bedsheets. A wearable toile that would be admired by my nephew was on the cards. I’d also had my eye on these for AGES and picked them up when they were heading in to the sale. My nephew has since called it beautiful and I’ve made him a matching shirt!

I made the toile in a straight size 4. As I was making this at sewing club I got useful fit advice and bought the bodice in to a size 2 for the real deal. This is why we toile! I’d bought some vintage buttons for another project, they were bigger than expected so I didn’t put them on the original project. They are perfect for the toile, although on my old Toyota I didn’t have the luxury of a 4-step buttonhole so some of them are a tad large.

The photos above feature my blue lipstick, which I do not wear anywhere near as much as I want to.

I wanted to make another blue one (I’m starting to know my colour palette) and selected the French Navy Double Gauze from Fabric Godmother. I enjoy how it’s a slightly unusual colour. I graded the pattern to a 2 at the top and a 4 at the bottom. Sewing this up for a second time was great fun. The pattern is really nice to construct and the instructions make it really fun to sew up. The buttons are hand embroidered daisies which I then used the covered button service from Sarah at Likesewamazing (it’s super satisfying to watch). I also very much decided that this needed a headband as if I was a fairy princess, so I got the gluegun out and made one.

Things I like

  • Really good pattern to follow
  • Flattering cut and pattern
  • New sleeve expansion for puffy sleeves

Things I don’t like

  • Maybe a tad short for anyone taller than 5’3” (Only my opinion)

Enjoy your sewing, add the special touches to your makes and make toiles from fabulous bedsheets.