Simplicity 8014 Pattern Review

How's January been treating you so far? It's not been too bad for me! I've made a successful start on a couple of my Make Nine projects, and today I have the first one completed and ready to show you. Here's my Simplicity 8014 shirt dress...

Simplicity 8014 is a vintage shirt dress pattern featuring a full length dress with collar and long sleeves, knee length dress with slim or flared skirt, and mini dress with collar and shirt tail hem, and a tie belt for all options. If you're a fan of shirt dresses, with all those different options to mix and match this is a pretty good value pattern (particularly if you get it on sale as I did!).

I basically made view C, but with the long sleeves and collar from view A. I also omitted the patch pockets on the chest, because this dress already has in-seam pockets and I much prefer them.

In terms of sizing, I used a size 16 at the bust, blending out to an 18 at the waist and hips. Those are the sizes recommended for my measurements, and they worked out quite nicely. There is a bit of ease built into the pattern, and this straighter version does look a little boxy on me if I don't have the belt on, but I think you need some ease in this style of dress - without it personally I'd constantly be worrying about pulling on the buttons.

The only adjustments I made were to add length to the pattern pieces - an inch above the waist and two inches at the hemline. These are fairly standard adjustments for me because I'm slightly taller (around 5' 8") than most patterns are drafted for. Because I'd lengthened the pattern, I also altered the button placement and I think I've possibly used an extra button or two compared to what's called for in the pattern.

The fabric I used is some lovely needlecord from Seasalt - sadly it's no longer available because this is one of their prints from autumn/winter 2017/8 that I was lucky enough to pick up for a bargain price in a sale last summer. (Side note: does anyone else now walk round Seasalt shops looking for clothes made in the fabrics they have for sale so you can see/feel what they're like, or is that just me?!).

The instructions were clear and easy to follow. With all the options in this pattern, for the version that I was making the instructions do frequently refer back to the instructions for other versions rather than write them all out repeatedly, but that's not too much hassle. As this is a commercial pattern, it doesn't hold your hand quite as much as some indie patterns would, but the instructions are still perfectly thorough.

I really enjoy making shirt dresses. I find that the precision needed when sewing collars and sleeve plackets makes me slow down a bit and enjoy the sewing process. And I actually like sewing buttonholes (assuming that my machine is cooperating - which luckily for me, it usually is!) and buttons.

I'm pleased with the finish that I got on this dress - it feels neat. I'm particularly happy with the collar and the sleeve plackets. The pattern uses continuous lap/bound plackets instead of traditional shirt plackets, and I like that - I've sewn a couple of both types of placket now, and I think I've got better finishes with the continuous lap.

All in all, I'm pleased with how this dress turned out. While I said in my Make Nine post that my handmade wardrobe is fairly well stocked, if there's one area that's not quite as replete as others then it's wintery dresses so this is a welcome addition to my collection. And it's great to tick a project off the Make Nine list already!

Make Nine: 2018 Review and 2019 Plans

I've enjoyed taking part in the Make Nine challenge (hosted by Rochelle New) over the last couple of years. I'm the kind of person who likes compiling lists and devising plans, and I always have a plethora of ideas for future creations swirling round in my head so it's always fun to come up with a list of projects that I want to tackle over the course of the year. Admittedly, I haven't yet succeeded in making all nine projects, but that's fine and just means I have room for improvement still. Here's how I got on with 2018's list.

1. Closet Case Carolyn Pyjamas - done! And they were one of my favourite projects of last year.

2. Finish my scrappy hexagon quilt - almost! The quilt top is done, and I've started removing the paper hexagons so hopefully it'll be a finished quilt in the not too distant future.

3. Vogue 8577 - done! Another winner - I love wearing this dress.

4. Cloth Habit Watson Bra - done! Not a roaring success, but it's always good to try something new.

5. Butterick 6446 - done! I'm pleased with how this dress turned out.

6. Knickers -  done! Like the Watson bra, these could have turned out better - I'd like to try making some more knickers in the future.

7. Lovely cardigan by Kim Hargreaves - done! This definitely wasn't a quick project, but it was worth the effort.

8. Wainthropp cardigan by Andi Satterlund - not yet! I'd still like to try this pattern at some point, but I didn't manage to fit it in this year, and other patterns that I already own have jumped ahead of it in my queue at the moment.

9. Colourwork yoke sweater from Simply Crochet magazine issue 66 - abandoned! I've decided for now that I'm going to keep my crocheting simple and probably stick to non-garment projects, mainly because my crochet is always stupidly tight and comes out smaller than it's meant to be no matter what size hook I use so I think I'd struggle to make a garment that fitted me nicely.

Now, here are my plans for 2019 ...

1. Simplicity 8014 shirt dress. This one is probably going to be one of my first projects of the year so hopefully you should be seeing it soon!

2. McCalls 7848 coat. I'm on the look-out for some nice coating fabric to use for this one (possibly pink - anyone got any tips?). I'm planning to make view D, but shortened to knee length.

3. Lace Hearts Cardi by Martin Storey. I've got some lovely yarn ready to use for this one - I'll be casting it on any day now!

4. Shawl(s) from The Shawl Society Season 1. My parents gave me this lovely book by Helen Stewart for Christmas and I'd like to knit at least one of the shawls from it this year.

5. Fold-up sewing folio. This is the project pictured on the front of Stitched Sewing Organizers by Aneela Hoey (my review of the book is here) - I know I'd find it really useful, and it would be a good way of using up a bit of fabric left over from other projects.

6. Sew Over It Ultimate Trousers. After the success of my Carrie trousers last year, I thought I'd give some more trousers a try.

7. This is the yarn left over from from my crochet blanket. I have almost as much of all the colours (apart from white) left over as I actually used to make the blanket so it deserves to come out of this basket! It may be used to make another blanket, or it may turn into something completely different - I'm still deciding at the moment. If I do make another blanket, I'm not going to put pressure on myself to finish it this year, but I would like to make good progress with whatever I decide to do!

8. Something  a bit different here - watercolour! I bought the book The Joy of Watercolor by Emma Block a couple of months ago but have yet to actually try painting anything. I don't expect to be a particularly talented watercolour artist, but I'd like to give it a try.

9. Embroidery. I have a couple of Dandelyne mini hoops (I got mine from Cloud Craft), as well as the book Mandalas to Embroider, and a Nancy Nicholson teapot embroidery kit so I'd definitely like to put them to good use and do some more embroidery this year.

This year's list is a little different from some of my previous ones. I've picked projects that I already own at least some if not all of the supplies for, and I'm going to try to buy only fabrics/yarn/patterns that I need or that I really love. Although I'm definitely not banning myself from buying things, because that would be the surest way to prompt a shopping spree! 

I'm also making a conscious effort to dedicate some more time to projects other than sewing clothes. Don't get me wrong, there will still be dressmaking happening around here - just maybe at a slightly slower pace than in previous years. Much though I could happily keep sewing all the pretty dresses (and fully support anyone else who does that!), my handmade wardrobe is already fairly well stocked and I don't want to end up drowning in clothes!

I'm excited to make a start on these plans now! How about you - have you made a Make Nine list for 2019?