Peppermint Bardon Dress

Hello there! Things have been quiet on my blog recently as I spent the last couple of months making Christmas presents for my family. Now that we're in the new year, I get to sew for myself again - hurrah! The first project I decided to make was the Bardon dress from Peppermint Magazine in collaboration with Elbe Textiles.

The Bardon dress has a sleeveless bodice, two-tiered skirt and pockets. It's intended to be a summer dress, but as you can see I've made it to wear as a pinafore. As far as I'm concerned, any sleeveless dress that's not too fitted is fair game for wearing layered as a pinafore!

The pattern is drafted for bust sizes from 31" to 53" and hip measurements from 34.6" to 56.3". As with all Peppermint patterns, it's a pay what you want pattern.

Sewing the Bardon dress was a nice, straightforward project. The front bodice has bust darts, the pockets are in-seam in the skirt and the skirt tiers are gathered. The bodice neckline and armholes are finished with bias binding so you get a nice clean finish on the inside. 

The instructions are clear and easy to follow. I deviated from them slightly in a few places to do things in the ways I'm more familiar with, but I didn't do anything too far from what they said.

One thing I will mention is that I cut my bias binding pieces slightly wider than the pattern suggests (the pattern calls for 1" pieces, I cut mine to 1.5"). I'd definitely do that again if I make another version of the dress - I think 1" would have just been a bit too narrow for my liking.

In terms of sizing - there is a fair amount of ease built into the pattern. I made the size recommended for my measurements and that works well for layering as a pinafore. If I had been making this as a summer dress as the pattern intends, I'd possibly have considered sizing down or maybe just using a slightly larger seam allowance at the underarms in particular. 

For this version, the only alteration I made was to lengthen the bodice by an inch. Once I'd sewn the dress, I also used a slightly larger hem on the skirt (I think I used an inch instead of half an inch). 

The fabric that I used is a royal blue needlecord from 1st for Fabrics. It's a perfect fabric for this kind of pinafore - it feels lovely, is soft enough to handle being gathered but has enough body to give a bit of warmth, plus it's a beautiful colour!

I wasn't too sure about the pinafore when I first tried it one once I'd finished sewing it - it just felt a bit too tent-like. Having worn it though, it has definitely grown on me. It's really comfortable, the needlecord gives a bit of warmth and the colour is bright and cheerful. If you're looking for a pinafore like this, I'd definite recommend making the Bardon dress!

Peppermint x Modern Sewing Co Belle Blouse

Every now and then I like to get my teeth into a slightly more involved sewing project, and shirts are often top of the list. Especially if those shirts happen to have some interesting details to make them a bit unique. The Belle shirt, which was recently released by Peppermint magazine in collaboration with Modern Sewing Co., definitely fits that description!

The Belle shirt is a relaxed fit blouse with a slightly A-line shape. It has a dropped front collar and voluminous sleeves that are gathered into the sleeve cuff. The pattern has shirt and dress options.

The pattern is drafted for a C cup and 5'8" height. The size range covers bust measurements from 29.5" to 55.5" and hip sizes from 32.7" to 58.7".

I enjoyed sewing my Belle shirt, and the instructions were generally very good. They give you a good level of detail and are accompanied by clear diagrams. I like the fact that they result in a nice neat finish on the inside. All the seams apart from the armholes are French seamed, the edge of the facing is hemmed, and the back facing is top-stitched down from the outside to keep it in place.

I will say that I noticed a few oversights/errors in the instructions, which I emailed Peppermint magazine about. I received a reply very quickly saying that they're in the process of correcting them. The issues didn't cause me any major problems (they were more obvious omissions or typos rather than anything being incorrect) and because of that and the fact they're being fixed, I won't go into too much detail. The only thing I will say (because it might be helpful for someone buying supplies for the shirt) is that the pattern actually calls for 7 buttons for the shirt and 9 for the dress - the supplies list in my version of the instructions says 5 and 7 respectively.

It seems a bit strange to me that the pattern includes a dress option, but that's not shown on any of the photos or line drawings. In case you're interested in that option, the dress is a lengthened version of the shirt (i.e. there's not a separate skirt piece), and I think it would be a fairly short dress. For my size, the dress is 22.5 cm longer than the shirt, so it would definitely be well above knee length.

My measurements put me pretty much exactly half way between a size F and G. I consulted the finished garment measurements and decided to try a straight size F. This worked well for my toile and I made my finished shirt with no fit adjustments. As the pattern is drafted for 5'8" height, I didn't even have to lengthen it - hurrah!

The only alteration I made was to change the button spacing so that I have a button positioned at my bust point to prevent gaping. To get a sensible spacing around that point, I've also used more buttons than the pattern calls for.

The fabric I used is a fruit print cotton (with added glitter!) that I bought from Simple Life Fabrics. It's in their bargain section, and at £5.60 per metre it really is a bargain! It's also great quality, was a pleasure to sew and is lovely to wear. It's a great fabric for a shirt.

All in all, I'm really happy with my Belle shirt. Yes, there were a couple of issues with the instructions, but they've been recognised and they're being fixed. I enjoyed sewing the Belle and I'm pleased with the end result. I particularly like the collar and the full sleeves. I think it'll be great to wear with dungarees this autumn!

Peppermint Pocket Skirt Sewing Pattern Review

I've been meaning to sew the Peppermint Pocket Skirt for a while, and the #SewFrugal challenge hosted by Sam @frugalisama and Ruan @theyorkshiresewgirl seemed like a good opportunity to give it a try.

The idea of the #SewFrugal challenge is to make a free sewing pattern using fabric from your stash. I have some sizeable pieces of fabric left over from other projects, so that gave me a second good reason to join in. The fabric I've used for my skirt is some Ankara fabric that I had left from a coordinating top and trousers set that I made last year, and it originally came from Ankara Shop.

If you're not familiar with the sewing patterns from Peppermint magazine, I'd definitely recommend checking them out - there's a whole library of them here. All of the patterns are produced in collaboration with various indie pattern designers and they're available to download for free, with the option to make a voluntary contribution if you are able to. 

The Pocket Skirt was designed by Tara Viggo of Paper Theory. It's a relaxed midi-length skirt with a gathered, elasticated waist and oversized panel pockets, and is available in waist/hip sizes from 24"/34" to 47.5"/57.5".

Sewing the skirt was no problem at all. It's a fairly simple construction, and the instructions were good.  One point I would mention is that I added a couple of extra millimetres when folding the top of the skirt over to form the waistband - if you follow the instructions exactly I think it would be a bit of a battle to feed the elastic through (they have you fold a 4cm waistband and sew it down 2-3mm from the edge, when you're meant to use 38mm elastic). It does literally only need an extra millimetre or two though. Other than that I just followed the instructions.

One point to note - this is one of those patterns where you definitely need to mark the notches. You'll need them on the upper and lower side panel pieces in particular because they're used to make the pockets.

I made a size 16 as is recommended for my measurements, and the fit is good. Having said that, the fit is mainly just based on the length of elastic that you use in the waistband so that isn't much of a surprise! In case it helps to know - my skirt is the length that the pattern intends and I'm about 5'9".

I really like how my Peppermint Pocket Skirt turned out, and I can definitely see myself making more. My only slight disappointment is that I was hoping this would be a year-round kind of skirt but the fabric clings to tights terribly (as you might be able to see in some of these photos!) so it'll have to be kept for bare-leg weather. Never mind - that's only a small hardship really isn't it?!

Peppermint Loungewear Set Sewing Pattern Review

Recently I had a big sort out of my fabric and uncovered a few gems that I'd packed away in a bag and slightly forgotten about, including this pink and white checkerboard print. I decided that I should get it sewn up and chose to try out a new-to-me pattern - the Peppermint Loungewear Set.

If you haven't come across Peppermint magazine before, it's an Australian quarterly publication that focuses on "style, sustainability and substance". Most importantly for us sewists, they also have a whole library of sewing patterns that are free to download or you have the option of making a voluntary donation.

The magazine works with different pattern-makers, and the Loungewear Set that I made was designed by Common Stitch. The set is made up of a short-sleeved drop shoulder top with a high-low hem, and a pair of relaxed-fit cropped trousers with pockets. It's available in hip sizes from 34" to 52".

The pattern is quite straightforward to sew. I'd say the instructions are clear and easy to follow, but they maybe don't hold your hand quite as much as some independent pattern companies would. That said, I didn't have any trouble sewing up the set. 

I like the fact that the pattern has a couple of details that make it a bit different from other pyjamas/loungewear. The high-low hem on the top is a nice feature and results in an interesting shape, and of course pockets in the trousers are always going to be a welcome addition! I also liked the fact that that the instructions have you top-stitch the neckline facing down - it gives a clean finish to the top.

As you'd expect with pyjamas, the sizing is generous and there's plenty of wearing ease built into the pattern. I'd say the fit on the top is particularly oversized so you might want to have a look at the finished garment measurements to decide quite how big you want it. I went down two sizes from what is recommended for my measurements on the top, and as you can probably see from these photos it's still plenty big enough. I also lengthened the top by about an inch and a half, which is very standard for me.

The sizing for the trousers is a more standard pyjama style fit - I made the size recommended for my measurements and it's comfy without being baggy.

As I mentioned at the start, I've had this fabric in my stash for quite some time. I essentially got it free - I'd ordered a different colourway of the same print in a clothing company's deadstock fabric sale years ago, but was sent this one instead. When I contacted them about the error, they sent the correct fabric and said I could keep this one. Bonus! I initially thought I'd make a dress, but could never quite decide on what pattern to use and that's how it ended up getting packed away and forgotten about. 

When I got it out again, I couldn't shake the feeling that making a dress out of it might end up looking like I was wearing a tablecloth, and not necessarily in a good way! As I had 3 metres of wide fabric, I had plenty to play with so pyjamas seemed like a sensible option - I think that was the right decision.

I'm glad I rediscovered this fabric, and that it's finally been put to good use. I enjoyed sewing the Peppermint loungewear set, and I'm really pleased with how it turned out. I might have to see if I can unearth any other large lengths of unused fabric to make some more!