Sew Over It Libby Shirt

When I first saw Sew Over It's latest PDF pattern release, the Libby shirt, it instantly appealed to me. Boxy shapes aren't traditionally my style, but I could see that the combination of the relaxed fit and a nice drapey fabric would be perfect for the warmer weather. Luckily for me, I got my version finished just in time for heat wave temperatures here in the south west of England.

The Libby Shirt features, in Sew Over It's own words, "a comfortable loose fit, button-up front, notched collar, partial collar stand, unlined yoke with gently gathered back, and short grown-on cuffed sleeves". The shirt also has a cropped hem with the option either to have a straight front hem, or a slightly curved one (which I opted for) which adds a touch more length, mirroring the shape of the back hem.

As with all Sew Over It patterns, the instructions were really thorough. I was glad of the accompanying photos to confirm what I was meant to be doing on a couple of occasions, but that's not in any way to say that the written instructions weren't clear - it's just nice to be able to double-check things sometimes!

The pattern is rated as being for intermediate sewers or advanced beginners who want a challenge, and I'd say that's fair. If you're newer to sewing, it might be worth thinking about using a light cotton lawn instead of a viscose or rayon because you might find the combination of a very drapey fabric and some of the collar construction a bit fiddly. But in terms of the pattern itself, the instructions hold your hand through the whole process, so as long as you take it a step at a time there shouldn't be too many problems.

In terms of sizing, my measurements fall right between the 12 and the 14. As this is a boxy style, there's plenty of ease so I went down to the size 12 and, with no adjustments at all, it turned out pretty nicely. The perfect amount of ease to make this nice and breezy to wear, without it just being shapeless. If I make another (definitely possible!), I'd maybe think about lengthening it slightly (fairly standard for me) but that's the only adjustment I'd make.

The fabric I used here is a pretty viscose lawn from WeaverDee. I think it's a really lovely fabric, especially for the very reasonable price. As the Libby shirt doesn't have many seamlines and has no darts, it's a great canvas for a large scale print like this, and I think they're a great pairing.

All in all, I'm pretty pleased with how my Libby shirt turned out. As it's slightly out of my usual style comfort zone, I'm going to wait to see how much wear it gets and what skirts I have to pair it with. If it turns out, as I hope it will, to be a useful addition to my wardrobe then I'd definitely think about making another. It was an enjoyable project to sew, and it's nice to try something new every now and then, isn't it?

Vogue 8577 Dress

Don't you love it when you suddenly realise that a pattern and fabric that have both been sitting waiting to be used for too long are actually perfect partners for each other? That's exactly what happened to me in this project. I wanted to sew a Vogue 8577 dress last summer but didn't get around to it, and the cotton sateen fabric had been in my stash for about another year longer than that.

The Vogue 8577 pattern is for close-fitting, lined, button-front flared dresses, with a back yoke, gathering on the front bodice at the shoulders and feature side front pockets with pocket bands. There are two skirt lengths, sleeveless or short sleeved versions and the option of a fold back collar. I chose view A - sleeveless, a knee length skirt and no collar.

In terms of sizing, my measurements put me in a 16 at the bust and waist, and 18 at the hips. Obviously there's no need to worry about hip space with a skirt as full as this, so I made a straight size 16. I made a toile which fit me fairly well out of the packet. The only adjustments I needed to make were to add 1.5 cm to the bodice length (pretty standard for me), and to take a small wedge out of the side seams starting at 1.5 cm at the underarm and tapering to nothing at the waist (also fairly common for me on commercial patterns in particular).

I also made a couple of adjustments to the sewing process. Firstly, I didn't line the skirt; while a fully-lined dress is lovely, this fabric didn't need to be lined so cutting the rather big skirt pieces out of a lining fabric as well would almost have seemed wasteful. I also cut both the back and back yoke on the fold instead of having a seam down the middle, mainly to avoid breaking up this fairly large-scale print more than was necessary.

The sewing itself was no problem at all. Vogue 8577 is rated as easy, and I think that's probably fair. The instructions are clear and there aren't any massively tricky steps, although given that I've now been sewing clothes for five years (scary!), I'm not sure how I'd feel about tackling this pattern if I were a complete beginner. It's also worth noting that while this may be easy, it's not particularly quick as there are quite a few steps involved. I did enjoy sewing it though, and that's the main thing!

One of the main selling points of this pattern, namely its glorious full skirt, is also one of its disadvantages because it means that it's a bit of a fabric hog. For view A and my size, the pattern calls for 2.8 metres of 150 cm fabric and it's not one of the occasions where the pattern is being overly generous on the required yardage. My fabric was roughly 140 cm wide rather than 150, and I ended up using slightly over 3 metres.

The main fabric I used is a sea green and daisy print cotton sateen that I bought a couple of years ago (I think it was from Remnant House, but I can't be sure). I initially bought it to make a dress for my brother's wedding, then was a bit fickle and fell in love with a different fabric, so this one got put in my stash. I originally discounted it for Vogue 8577 because I thought the waist panels would break the print up too much and make it look a bit messy, but then I suddenly realised that using a coordinating plain fabric for the waist panels would solve that problem nicely. I ordered some plain navy sateen from Oh Sew Crafty, and I'm really happy with how it turned out.

Like many sewists, I have a tendency to always feel like the latest dress that I've made is my new favourite, but this one really is one of my favourites that I've made for quite some time. Vogue 8577 is a lovely pattern - yes, it needs a fair amount of fabric, and it's not the quickest project to sew, but the end result is a really pretty dress that feels gorgeous to wear. I'd definitely be keen to make another if the right fabric comes along!