Floral Silk - A Rita Blouse Dress Hack

This dress was actually my first make of 2019 and guys, it's a PRINT! WHO EVEN AM I THIS YEAR??!!!

I love prints, I truely do, but when I put fabric under a needle, inevitably it is a solid colour.

In fact, last year I made 19 garments and only ONE of them sort of qualified as a print. So I'm feeling VULNERABLE right now.

The Pattern

It's the Rita Blouse by Charm Patterns hacked into a dress. I've done it before in a bright red cotton seersucker which you can see below:

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Ciao a tutti! 💃🏻💃🏻 Looking a bit #italian 🇮🇹 in my DRESS HACK of the #ritablouse by @gertie18 ✔️ traced pattern to waistline markings. ✔️converted darts to princess seams on my skirt pattern which I attached to the bodice to make a dress pattern. ✔️comfortable cotton seersucker ✔️ added flounce to hemline ✔️side zipper and different pattern pieces for cup size B-DD. . THIS dress is quick and comfortable. So expect to see this in a million different colours this summer. K thanks. . . . #thelittlereddressproject #reddress #sewing #sewersofinstagram #memade #charmpatterns #hack #offtheshoulder

A post shared by Julia Bobbin (@juliabobbin) on Dec 8, 2018 at 8:10pm PST

The Fabric

My sister recently got married and for her hen's (bachelorette) night, the theme was floral. I love a good theme and decided to make my own dress.

I had this beautiful, delicate silk chiffon in my stash that seemed perfect, but being chiffon it was super sheer and thin.

I decided to underline it with a cotton poplin to give it body and stop it from being see-through and it worked a treat! The poplin also helped the colour of the silk look even more vibrant.

The Details

This dress is underlined but not lined. It closes with an invisible zipper down the side seam and is finished with a flounce at the hem.

The bodice is gathered under the bust and centre back yoke, and shaped with ELASTIC around the neckline.

The SLEEVES can be worn on or off the shoulders depending on the look or mood.

I added a few SOFT PLEATS to the centre front of the bodice yoke to give the neckline more of a sweetheart shape.

Final Thoughts

This dress feels light and comfortable, but has that glamorous touch that gives the garment that little 'extra'.
It has already become one of my most worn me-mades and is the perfect 'day to night' transition dress.

Here's to more printed fabrics in my future!

 

Sadie Slip Dress - Tessuti Patterns

If there was a hierarchy of luxury fabrics, bias cut silk must sit somewhere at the top.

This new little dress ticks all the boxes:

• comfy
• glam
• easy to make

The Pattern

It's the Sadie Slip Dress by Tessuti Patterns.

This classic dress is cut on the bias for a form flattering, loose fitting style that can be both dressed up or down.

The Fabric

This dress is made with a stunning silk satin from The Cloth Shop, Ivanhoe

It's glossy, moves like water and is such a vibrant orange.

The Details

I enclosed the seam allowance in delicate french seams and hemmed the dress with a narrow hem.

Thin silk spaghetti straps hold the dress together at the shoulders, with a scooped neck back, and a v-neck shaped front.

I shortened this dress from it's gorgeous midi length, as I was making it as part of a 'copy-cat' celebrity look - see Rihanna challenge below.

Rihanna Challenge

The most fabulous Faith St Juliette and I were chatting about how much we love Rihanna and her ever changing, fierce style. We decided it would be fun to try and recreate one of her looks.

I made this dress as part of that challenge and wore it with my Mimi G oversized jacket, Simplicity 8749 which I blogged about here.

You can check out the instagram post below to see the inspiration pic:

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A post shared by Julia Bobbin (@juliabobbin) on Apr 26, 2019 at 3:44pm PDT

Final Thoughts

I'm so happy with how this dress turned out!

This style of dress is different to what I normally wear and throughout the making of this dress I had been full of doubts. I was convinced it wouldn't look any good on me; I pretty much never wear orange and I was worried bias cut silk might look unflattering on my curvy frame. But as it so happens with sewing, the moment the hem is done and the final stitch stitched, it all came together and I'm so pleased with the final look!

I love it dressed down with sneakers, or glammed up with heals and a coat. This dress is also super comfy and makes me feel fancy without going to too much effort; win!

FABRIC GIVE-AWAY!!!! COUTURE SEQUINNED FABRIC

Who likes sparkles?
Who likes give aways?

a) Everyone
b) All humans, or
c) All of us

Remember THIS dress I made for Melbourne Frocktails last year?

Well I've got TWO METRES left of this STUNNING stretch fabric.
I realised that as beautiful as it is, I'm not about to make another sequinned evening gown and it would be a TRAVESTY for this knockout fabric to just collect dust in my fabric collection

WANT IT?!!??

Head over to my instagram give-away post (see below) and leave a comment.

OPEN TO all my instagram followers around the WORLD.

I will be randomly selecting one person from the comments on Monday, January 21.

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❌❌ FABRIC GIVEAWAY❌❌ . I know what you’re thinking - this must be a trick. Julia Bobbin doesn’t smile in photos. . Fair. . What IS REAL however, is that I have TWO METRES leftover of this STUNNING stretch-sequin fabric, just sitting in a corner. AND NO BODY PUTS SEQUINS IN A CORNER #popculturereference . 🖤And I thought, seeing as I’ve already made my sequinned dreams come true with this #eveninggown for #Frocktails why not share the love and let someone else have the opportunity to destroy their carpet with this beautiful, beautiful sequinned fabric?!!#worthit . 🖤 This sewing community is so generous with their knowledge and support, and I love the idea that someone else can use this fabric and feel a little JOY. . 🖤 SO ALL YOU HAVE TO DO is comment on this post and one person in the comments will be randomly chosen on Monday, January 21. . 🖤 Open to all my followers ANYWHERE the mailman can go . 🖤 Can we also just take a moment to acknowledge that I managed to go this far into a giveaway post without making reference to Oprah? Thank you. #yougetacar . SHINE ON sequinned friends. . . . 📸 by @samaracliffordphoto #juliabobbin #sew #sewing #giveaway #sewinggiveaway #fabric #fabricgiveaway #sequindress #sequin #dress #couture #melbournefrocktails #sewfrosting #sewersofinstagram #eveningdress

A post shared by Julia Bobbin (@juliabobbin) on Jan 14, 2019 at 2:47am PST

You can see the fabric IN ACTION below:

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A post shared by Julia Bobbin (@juliabobbin) on Nov 10, 2018 at 11:10pm PST

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Me - “This year I’m going to sew more casual clothes” Also me:

A post shared by Julia Bobbin (@juliabobbin) on Nov 8, 2018 at 11:50pm PST

It thrills me to think that someone else can use this fabric to create something that brings them joy, just like it did me.

SHINE ON, SEQUINNED FRIENDS!

The Little Red Dress Project - Rita Blouse By Charm Patterns DRESS HACK

The festive season is upon us again and for us seamstresses that is usually a trigger for LET'S MAKE EVERYTHING IN RED!

The wonderful and talented Renata from The Twilight Stitcher hosts an annual 'Little Red Dress Project' challenge, and this year I decided to take part!
Christmas in Australia is HOT, so it looks like I now have my Christmas day outfit sorted.

Patterns

I used the Rita Blouse by Charm Patterns and redrafted it into a dress (see below for more details).
The pattern comes in different cup sizes, from B to DD and I cut the size 6 with the D cup.

Fabric

This dress is made in a bright red, cotton seersucker from Spotlight.

Changes

I traced the pattern to the waistline markings on the blouse and then cut it out.
I used my own drafted skirt block and converted the darts on the skirt to princess seams, making sure to line up the princess seams with those of the bodice.  I then taped the bodice and skirt pattern pieces  together to make a dress pattern.

I added a flounce to the hem of the skirt for a little extra fun.

To maximise the ease of getting into the dress, I made the side zipper go all the way up to underarm seam, rather than 3-4cm below. Because this dress is quite fitted in the bodice, that little extra room helps bigger boobs squeeze into the dress.
I usually avoid side zippers for this reason, but the elastic casing along the front and back neckline meant no centre back zipper.

Loves

I love the shoulder/sleaves style of this pattern, which can be worn up on the shoulders, or off the shoulders.

I have been looking for an off-the-shoulder dress pattern for a while, but most of them are free-flowing and loose under the bust and I wanted a more fitted look. I'm bigger on the hips and bust and when the curve of my waist is hidden in loose clothing it can make me look a little frumpy.

I love that this pattern comes with different cup sizes from B - DD. I have made this in both the C and the D cup size. To be honest, the DD would also be a good fit, but I liked how the D cup made the neckline a little lower.

Conclusion

I love how fun this blouse is as a dress! The cotton is cool and comfortable and perfect for summer, so I predict a few more versions of this dress in other colours for this warmer season.

I fell in love with this blouse pattern recently when I made it in THREE different colours! I knew it would make a lovely, fun dress with a little bit of tweaking and I'm happy with how it turned out!

Thank you Renata for hosting another wonderful challenge; I'm looking forward to seeing what everyone else has made!

Check out my instagram below to see this as a BLOUSE and with movement! Blog post coming soon.

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Feeling a little bit ‘Anita’ from West Side Story for #sewphotohop Day 30 - WHAT’S NEXT ON MY LIST The #ritablouse by @gertie18 ❤️❤️ I finished this red top a few days ago in a cotton seersucker and I plan to immediately back it up with one in white and one in blue. Swipe to see the blouse untucked. Wearing it here with my me-made linen skirt (which I didn’t realise wasn’t zipped all the way up 😩😬) A great vintage-style pattern with: ❌ sleeves that can be worn on or off the shoulders ❌ side invisible zipper ❌ different pattern pieces for bust cups B-DD! (Yass!) - - - #sew #sewing #vintage

A post shared by Julia Bobbin (@juliabobbin) on Oct 2, 2018 at 1:04am PDT

Old is New - Butterick 5710

For those of you who have been following my blog for a while (hi mum!) you may be feeling a case of dejavu!

That's right, this little number was made by me just a short five years ago!

2012 saw William and Kate get married and we were treated to some fashion inspiration. At the time I was pregnant with my first born and so I made this dress and got my sister Angeline to model it for me.

Flash to five years later, and I decided to try it on; it fits!

In honour of Pippa Middleton's recent wedding I thought I would share the NEW pics with ME wearing the dress and give a quick recap for those who are interested. You can find the original review here.

DETAILS

The Pattern

A Butterick Pattern #5710 that comes with two skirt variations; full length and knee length.

I cut this dress in a straight size 8 and it is form fitting but not tight.

Fabric

3 metres of the most stunning ivory wool crepe; seriously this fabric is just heaven!

The dress is fully lined and has hand-dyed lace trim along the neck and sleeve hems.

Features

This dress is free of darts and is cut on the bias for a close fitting, flattering silhouette. Wool crepe has just such a lovely weight and when cut on the bias it drapes so beautifully.

The dress is shaped at the waist and has a self-faced cowl for an elegant, romantic neckline.

The subtle train on the full length skirt adds to the dreamy, sophistication of the garment. I styled the dress with a gold leaf crown, which gives off more of a grecian vibe than perhaps an English sophisticate but I think it works either way!

Changes

Instead of closing the dress with an invisible zipper, I used elastic looping trim and 36 wool crepe covered buttons to close. This. Took. Forever. 

I'm glad I took the time to add the buttons as it is such a nice touch and is so visually pleasing.

yes I know, the lining begs to be pulled down on the right #annoying

I also added the lace trim to the edging before attaching the lining, exactly as you would with piping. The pattern has you add it after the lining is attached, which would mean a line of top stitching along the edge. I think it looks a lot cleaner without.

Conclusion

The drafting of this dress is really fantastic and when paired with luscious fabric such as wool crepe, the effect is one of subtle elegance and luxury.

The dress took around 14 hours and a lot of love to make and not once had an outing. Off to my lil' etsy store it goes in the hopes that someone else might be able to get as much joy wearing it as I had making it.

Also a big congratulations to Pippa Middleton on her recent nuptials; she looked the perfect bride :)