Butterick 6446 Dress

Butterick 6446 is a pattern that I've been wanting to make for a while. It was on my list of projects to make last summer, but fell victim to my (as usual!) overly ambitious plans and didn't make it onto my cutting table before the seasons changed. To try to ensure that didn't happen again, I included it on my Make Nine list for this year.

Admittedly I think it's fair to say that I've once again missed the best of the weather with this dress, but as I wear what a lot of people would consider to be summer dresses for most of the year (that's what cardigans and tights are for!) I don't think there's anything wrong with me making it in September.

Butterick 6446 attracted my attention because the pleated wrap bodice is slightly different to any of the dresses I've made before. In addition to the pretty bodice, the pattern features three different skirt options (a flared skirt in knee or maxi lengths, or a pleated midi length skirt), sleeveless options or a  flared sleeve, and the option of a sash. And pockets! I made view A - a sleeveless dress, with the knee length skirt.

I made the dress in a size 16 at the bust, blending out to an 18 at the waist. Usually I'd go down a size for a commercial pattern, but these are the sizes recommended for my measurements and it worked out nicely this time. There is a little bit of ease, but just enough to make the dress comfortable without it becoming sack like.

I made my usual adjustment of lengthening the bodice by an inch. At this point the pleats that form the wrap in the front bodice caused me a bit of a problem because they meant that it wasn't as easy as usual to add in a lengthen/shorten line (there isn't one marked on the pattern pieces). In the end, I drew my line perpendicular to the centre front line below the second pleat and that seems to have worked out fine.

I also lengthened the skirt by 2 inches, which has made it the perfect knee length on me (for reference, I'm somewhere around 5 ft 8").

The instructions, as usual for commercial patterns, were succinct but they were still perfectly clear and easy to follow. I did everything as I was told, other than the fact that I used an invisible zip instead of a regular one. That was partly because I prefer the look of an invisible zip, and partly because the fact that I prefer an invisible zip meant that I was on auto-pilot when buying my zip and got an invisible one instead of the regular zip called for in the pattern.

The only thing that I'm not entirely keen on is that bodice feels a bit bulky at times. Because you have the two pieces of the bodice overlapping each other at the side seams, and both bodice pieces are lined, the seams do feel noticeably chunkier than in most other dresses. This is pretty unavoidable in a lined dress of this style though, and I like the fact that the left front bodice (the lower part of the wrap) and the bodice lining pieces are shaped by a large waist dart instead of the pleats used on the right front bodice (the outer part of the wrap) - if all of them had used the pleats then the side seams would have been seriously bulky!

The fabric that I used is a sketched rose cotton print from The Textile Centre, which is a really nice quality especially considering the bargain price. Purple is a colour that's a bit under-represented in my wardrobe too, so it's nice to put that right. For my lining I used a white cotton lawn which I always have around to use for linings.

I'm happy that I finally got around to making Butterick 6446 and crossing another project off my Make Nine list. I'm pleased with how the dress turned out, and it'll definitely still be worn for a while this year (albeit with a cardigan over the top), and it'll also be great for the warmer weather next year. All in all, a successful project!

Sew Over It Carrie Trousers

I've got something a bit different to share with you today - I made trousers! Specifically, a pair of Sew Over It Carrie trousers.

Trousers aren't something I've contemplated sewing before because it's actually been getting on for 10 years since I wore trousers (other than pyjamas!). While this is largely because I love wearing dresses and skirts, it's also at least partly because I always used to hate shopping for trousers as it was so difficult to find any that fit. That doesn't necessarily need to be a problem now that I sew though, and since I moved to an often-windy coastal town last year, I've been thinking that it might be a good idea to try some trousers to help avoid 'Marilyn moments' on particularly blustery days!

The Carrie trousers are loose-fitting through the leg tapering slightly towards the ankle, with a flat-fronted elasticated-back waistband, front pleats and slanted pockets at the side seams. When Sew Over It released Carrie as a PDF pattern (it had previously been available as part of their Ultimate Guide to Sewing and Fitting Trousers online course), I thought that it would be a good place to start giving trousers a go.

The pattern is simple to sew (I'd say only slightly more complicated than an average pair of pyjama bottoms), and the elastic-back waistband made me fairly confident that even if I decided that they weren't very "me", they'd be a comfy option for lounging around the house so would still be worn somehow!

I made a size 14, which is the size recommended for my measurements, and made a toile just of the top of the trousers (essentially a pair of shorts) to check the fit. Even though the Carrie trousers are designed to be loose fitting, I wanted to make sure that there was enough space in the thighs because I have fairly "sturdy" legs. Thankfully the thighs were fine, and the fit was pretty much OK. The only slight change I made was to raise the waistband by about 2cm to make the rise more comfortable on me.

Sewing the trousers was no trouble at all, and fairly speedy - I sewed the toile and the trousers themselves over the course of a fairly leisurely day of sewing. The instructions were very detailed and easy to follow.

The only slight criticism I'd have is that some of the photos that accompany the instructions might have been a bit clearer if a less patterned fabric had been used for the sample. That's just nitpicking though, because it didn't really cause me any problems.

The only change I had to make during the sewing process was to cut the elastic 9cm shorter than recommended, but elastic length is always going to depend on how stretchy your elastic is, and my elastic is definitely stretchier than most.

The fabric I chose is some navy and white spot print viscose from Minerva Crafts. I thought it was a good fabric for me to use for this project because it will go with a lot of my tops (I'm not the only one who thinks that navy and white spots count as a neutral am I?!), whilst still being a bit more interesting (and therefore more likely to appeal to me) than a plain colour.

I'm actually turning into a bit of a Sew Over It fangirl in this outfit, because the top I'm wearing is an as-yet-unblogged Silk (or viscose in my case) Cami. I made it earlier this summer after the pattern was included with Simply Sewing magazine. It's another great pattern from Sew Over It, but this was just a wearable toile and I want to make a couple of tweaks before I make another version and I'll blog about it properly once I've done that.

So what's the verdict on the Carrie trousers? I'd say the pattern itself is a winner - the fit is good for me, and the trousers were easy to sew. As for me wearing trousers - the jury's still out! They're very comfy and it's nice not to have to worry about my dress/skirt blowing all over the place when wearing them, but I did feel slightly like I was wearing my pyjamas and I still think that dresses/skirts suit me better. I'm definitely going to keep on wearing them though, so hopefully I'll grow to love them more, and I might give some other trousers a try at some point. I'm also quite tempted by the idea of dungarees/overalls/whatever they're called in your part of the world. Have you got any good trouser/dungarees patterns to recommend that could convert a dress lover?!