Embroidered Helen's Closet Orbit Bag

The project I'm sharing today has been quite a long time in the making. It started with some embroidery that I mostly finished last summer, and then I did the final touches and sewed it into its final form – a Helen's Closet Orbit bag – over the last few weeks.

The Orbit bag has always appealed to me because it's a bit different to other patterns. It's a circular quilted cross-body bag. It includes instructions for sewing a patchwork star for the front and stripes for the back, or there's an option to use solid fabric (which means you can also use pre-quilted fabric). 

The bag has a zipped closure at the top, and there are options to make either a fixed length or adjustable strap. The bag is finished on the inside with bound seams.

It occurred to me last year that the circular shape of the bag would make it the perfect way to show off an embroidery project, as they're often designed to fit circular hoops. I've long admired Bloom and Floss's beautiful embroidery patterns and at around the time I had my idea about the bag, they released a cherry pattern, which seemed perfect for the bag.

The intended size of the design seemed a little small for the bag, so I printed out the pattern at 120% (I think! I can't find where I noted down the details now) to get it closer to the size I wanted for the bag. 

My thread colours may also differ slightly from the ones called for in the pattern – I have a big box of mostly unnumbered threads that I got partly from an auntie and partly from a charity shop, so I used what looked like the best colour matches for the pattern from those.

I really enjoyed stitching the cherries. I love the different textures created by the various stitches used in the embroidery pattern, and they combine together cleverly to create a really interesting design.

Once I had my finished embroidery, it was time to turn it into a bag! That was also a mostly enjoyable process – personally, I liked sewing the Orbit bag, but my sewing machine definitely wasn't always keen on sewing some of the thicker seams!

The instructions for the Orbit bag are very thorough and are accompanied by clear diagrams. If you haven't done any quilting before, they'll tell you everything you need to know to sew the optional patchwork star front and to quilt the pieces. 

The pattern gives you options and recommendations for quilting, but you can choose what you want to do. For my front panel, I chose to quilt in circles around the cherries to highlight the embroidered design. For the back outer pocket piece, I used straight line quilting, and I used diamonds for the main back piece.

The outer fabric of my bag is a lightweight denim that I found in a charity shop. I think it looks great as the background of the embroidery and as the finished bag, but it probably didn't make my life easy. While it is fairly lightweight denim, it is definitely heavier than a quilting cotton would be so made my seams bulkier – which undoubtedly didn't help with the sewing machine issues I mentioned above! If I make another Orbit bag, I think I'd stick to lighter weight fabrics.

I decided to continue the cherry theme on the inside of my bag and used some cherry print cotton left over from the Simplicity 8384 dress that I made last year. I also used up some of the binding that I had left over from making my Wildwood jacket. I love how the inside looks – I'd happily use the bag inside out too if it weren't for the fact that it would be difficult to use the zip that way!

I'm really pleased with how my Orbit bag turned out. I think the embroidered cherries are really effective, and the bag feels nicely finished and seems surprisingly spacious. It'll be the perfect little bag to use for summer!

Just Patterns Devon Skirt

When I was switching over my winter and summer clothes in my wardrobe recently, I realised that I have lots of lovely summery tops and blouses, but not many skirts, trousers or shorts to pair them with. At around the same time, Just Patterns released the Devon skirt pattern. I loved the look of it and decided it was just what my wardrobe needed.

The Devon skirt is a relaxed midi skirt that sits at the natural waist. It has eight inverted box pleats at both the front and back, creating lovely volume, and an elasticated waist. It also has slanted pockets and a deep hem.

The pattern covers waist measurements from 23⅝ to 49⅝ inches, and hips from 33⅞ to 59⅞ inches.

The Devon skirt is a fairly simple pattern, and it has excellent instructions. I think it would be perfect for beginners. The steps are all quite straightforward, and the instructions will explain anything that might be unfamiliar. 

If you've got more sewing experience like me, it's a nice satisfying project that comes together quickly, whilst still being interesting.

I liked the fact that the instructions include directions for finishing the skirt with overlocked, bound or fully enclosed seams. I also think the deep hem is a nice touch and makes the finished skirt hang really nicely. 

I made the size recommended for my waist measurement, and it turned out nicely. It has to be said that the elasticated waist makes fitting a breeze – the main thing is to make sure you cut your elastic to the right length. 

I always try to test the actual elastic I'm using before cutting it – I've found that some elastics are much stretchier than others, and that could affect the fit of your finished skirt.

The fabric that I used is a lovely vibrant yellow cotton twill. It was the last fabric I bought from Jenny Stitches before the shop closed recently. It is a bit heavier than the fabrics recommended for the pattern (the instructions call for lightweight wovens, and this is definitely medium weight), but having used and really liked other colours of the same fabric before, I was fairly confident it would work. I wouldn't want to use fabric any heavier than this though.

The colour of the fabric is great! It feels really summery, and will go nicely with lots of my tops (in the photos, I'm wearing it with my Sew Liberated Joanie shirt). Who knew that lemon yellow would be a good "neutral"?!

I'm really pleased with my Devon skirt – it was a joy to sew, it's lovely to wear and it's a very good start to filling that gap in my wardrobe.

Style Arc Hampton Woven Dress

Today's project mainly came about because of a sale that Style Arc had on their patterns a little while ago. Ever the bargain hunter, I was browsing their site to see if I "needed" to take advantage of the discount and was reminded that I've always liked the look of the Hampton Woven Dress, so I decided to give it a try.

The Hampton dress is a modern take on a classic shirtdress, featuring princess seams, a curved high/low waist seam and a gathered mid-calf skirt. It has a classic collar and collar stand, button plackets, in-seam pockets and a hem facing. There's a long-sleeved option in addition to the sleeveless version that I made.

The sizing covers bust measurements from 30.3" to 67.75, and hips from 32.6" to 70.1".

All the shirtdress features are lovely, but they do mean that this isn't a quick project. That's completely fine by me though – I like a slightly more involved project every now and then. I enjoyed gradually working through all of the steps and seeing my dress slowly take shape.

I'd say the instructions are on the brief side, and they're the kind that can sound confusing if you read them through before starting your project, but I found them perfectly detailed enough and easy to follow during my sewing process. I'd say the diagrams are fine as a support for the written instructions, but if you're someone who prefers to use visual instructions then they might not be the best.

The only real problem that I had when making my dress was when I was tracing my pattern pieces – I found it really difficult to distinguish between the sizes. I eventually realised that when I ordered the printing of the A0 pattern, I'd asked for colour printing but for some reason the printing company printed it in greyscale, which obviously wasn't very helpful! So make sure you have the pattern in colour to make life easier for yourself than I had it!

I made a size 12 as recommended for my bust measurement. My waist and hips would be in the size 14 according to the size chart, but I could tell from the finished garment measurements that there was no need to blend out to the larger size. I think the fit turned out nicely – it's shaped but still very comfortable.

The only fitting alteration that I made was to take a triangular wedge out of each bodice side seam going from a centimetre at the underarm and rejoining the original seam line just above the waist. I find that I often need to do this on bodices of dresses with sleeved and sleeveless options that don't provide different armscyes for the sleeved/sleeveless versions.

The fabric that I used for my Hampton dress is a pretty printed chambray that I bought from Croft Mill. I'm a big fan of printed chambray, and Croft Mill have a lovely range of them. I thought it would be a great option for the pattern, and I'm pleased to report that I think I was right. It was very easy to work with and hangs nicely as the finished dress.

I'm glad that the sale prompted me to buy the Hampton Woven Dress pattern – I enjoyed sewing it and I think I'll wear my finished dress a lot!

Little Rosy Cheeks Maize Dress

Usually when I write a blog post it's to share my first version of a pattern and some thoughts about the sewing process. While that's true again for this review of the Little Rosy Cheeks Maize dress, today I already have a second version to share too. It'll therefore be no surprise to hear that I'm a fan of the pattern!

The Maize dress is like a classic t-shirt dress, but reimagined to use a knit fabric bodice combined with a woven fabric skirt. The pattern covers bust sizes from 32 to 55¼" and hips from 33½ to 59⅜". It's drafted for a height of 5'7".

Maize has two views, with view A featuring a pleat at the bottom of the bodice and a maxi length skirt with patch pockets. View B has a simple bodice with a midi skirt and in-seam pockets. Both of my dresses are view B.

This was my first time using a pattern from Little Rosy Cheeks, and I was definitely impressed. I ordered a paper pattern, and it comes printed on regular paper (rather than pattern tissue paper) and is presented in a sturdy plastic folder – perfect for storing the pattern without things getting ripped.

The instructions were also excellent. I found them very clear and easy to follow, and they're accompanied by helpful diagrams. I didn't have any trouble sewing either of my dresses, and they both came together pretty quickly. I found Maize an enjoyable project to sew, and I'd happily make the pattern again.

I made my dresses in a size 14, which is the size recommended for my bust and waist measurements. My hips are closer to the size 16, but there's plenty of ease in the hips so I didn't feel the need to blend between sizes in the skirt. 

I lengthened my bodice by an inch (a very standard adjustment for me – I'm about 5'9"). I also made my skirt slightly shorter than intended in the pattern – the hem is intended to be 3 cm, but I ended up cutting an inch off the bottom of the skirt and using a 2" hem to get the length that I wanted.

The pattern is intended to have a semi-relaxed fit, and I think that's a good description and it comes out true to size. My dresses fit me well on the shoulders, and then have a relaxed fit without straying into the too big/sack-like territory.

For both of my versions, I used cotton jersey for the bodices and linen viscose for the skirts. Both of the jerseys were left over from other projects. I bought the denim blue linen viscose that's paired with the pastel spotty bodice from Oh Sew Crafty, while the turquoise linen viscose that goes with the bright multicoloured bodice was from Jenny Stitches.

I wondered whether the linen viscose might be a bit heavy (at 220 gsm), but then I reasoned that my jersey was pretty much the same weight so it should be OK. I probably wouldn't go any heavier for the skirt fabric or you'd risk it dragging the bodice down. As it is, I think the linen viscose works really well and the skirts hang nicely and swish beautifully.

By now it's probably fairly clear that the Maize pattern gets a big thumbs up from me. I'm very happy with both of my dresses, and I think they'll be worn a lot because they're very comfy. My mum quite likes the look of the pattern, so I might have to make a version for her too!

Wardrobe by Me Dukke Blouse

I've wanted to make the Wardrobe by Me Dukke blouse since I first saw the pattern last year, but somehow it has taken until now for it to find its way onto my sewing table. Better late than never though!

The Dukke blouse is a relaxed-fit button-up blouse with a flat Peter Pan collar, gently curved hemline and ⅞ or ¾ sleeves (I used the ⅞ option). It's designed to be worn either as a blouse or open layered over another top as an overshirt.

The pattern covers bust measurements from 30" to 50", and hip measurements from 32" to 53.25".

I enjoyed sewing my Dukke blouse. It's a relatively straightforward pattern, and didn't contain any steps that I wasn't already familiar with. 

The instructions were fairly easy to follow, although I found it a bit irritating that they contained quite a few typos and little mistakes (I was using a printed version of the pattern). It has to be said that I spend a significant part of my working hours proofreading, so it's likely that this might be less annoying to other people!

One point that I did notice is that the line drawing for the pattern and the diagram accompanying the instructions is wrong – the instructions tell you to sew the buttonholes on the right of the blouse (as is normal for women's clothing), but the line drawing and diagrams show the buttonholes on the left and the buttons on the right. So trust the instructions and your instincts, not the diagrams!

The fabrics that I used for my Dukke blouse are yarn dyed cottons that I bought from The Fabric Boutique. Both fabrics are the same colourway, but I used the checked version for the front and back and stripes for my sleeves and collar. I love how they look together!

In terms of sizing, I sewed a 10 at the bust blending out to a 12 at the hips. Those are the sizes recommended for my current measurements, and I didn't make any fitting changes – the relaxed fit is fairly forgiving. I think that it worked out well and I'm happy with the fit.

One thing that I did slightly differently was to ignore the buttonhole placement recommended in the pattern. Placing buttons at different points within the check pattern looked a bit odd, so instead I decided to use more buttons than recommended and just place a button in the middle of each lighter square down the centre front.

I'm glad that I finally got around to making a Dukke blouse, and I'm pleased with how this version turned out. I think the pattern would be great as a summer cover-up, so I'm already keeping an eye out for some nice white fabric to make another version – that's always a good verdict on a pattern, isn't it?