Sew Over It Doris Dress

I'm a sucker for shiny new things. Be it patterns, fabric, or books, I'm probably an online marketer's dream, not least because I spend all of my working life in front of a computer and, being as I'm self-employed, there's no need to worry about my boss finding out that I've been shopping instead of working! To give me credit, I have been trying, and largely succeeding, not to get drawn in to the excitement of a new release. But sometimes there's something that's just too pretty to resist, and for me the Sew Over It Doris dress pattern was one of those things.

I remember seeing and loving the photos of the Doris dress when Sew Over It first released it as a class, and hoped that at some point she'd find her way into their pattern collection. So when my wish was granted, Doris jumped straight into my shopping cart and hopped to the top of my sewing queue.

The Doris dress has a lovely scoop neck bodice, that's shaped with bust pleats and has little grown-on sleeves. The waist is semi-fitted and can be cinched in with attached ties (the option I chose), or a back belt. The skirt is panelled, and has a really pretty flared shape, which the wind is kindly demonstrating to you in the photo below.

The skirt comes in two lengths - above and below the knee. I chose the longer length, which ends at a perfect knee length on me (I'm about 5 ft 9), which I'm pleased with as below the knee often tends towards frumpy on me.

The pattern all came together smoothly (notches and pleats matched up perfectly etc.) and the instructions were clear and easy to follow. The pattern is rated as intermediate, but I think a confident beginner would be fine sewing Doris - as long as you're happy inserting a concealed zip I don't think there's anything else too complicated here.

One point to mention is that if you have a non-directional print then you probably won't need as much fabric as stated on the fabric requirements - I used about 2.6 metres of Liberty-width fabric.

In Sew Over It's sizes, I fall right between a 12 and a 14, with my bust being closer to a 12 and my waist being closer to a 14 (and my hips probably over a 14, but to be honest I never pay much attention to my hip measurement because I always make full skirts so I know there'll be plenty of hip space). I used the size 12 from the shoulder to the underarm, and gradually blended out from the underarm to a 14 at the waist. I also added 1.5 inches to the bodice length, which is fairly standard for me.

I'm happy with the fit - in some of the pictures it looks like I have excess fabric in the upper back, but I can't see that when I'm wearing it in real life so I'm inclined to blame weird posture whilst prancing around trying to look natural for photos!

The skirt shape and grown-on sleeves of the Doris dress really need some nice lightweight material, and while a drapey viscose would have been ideal, I love an opportunity to use some Liberty lawn. And I think it has just about enough drape for Doris so it's all good!

The Liberty aficionados among you will probably recognise that the print I used is Glenjade, and I got it from Katsfabrics on ebay (which, if you don't know, sells factory seconds so you can get Liberty a bit cheaper!). The buttons were a lucky find in my local knitting shop - and you may have noticed that I didn't bother with the buttonholes. The dress has a side zip meaning there's no need to have functioning buttons, so I just sewed them on through both layers of the bodice.

I think that Doris is a really pretty dress. I tried out a little experiment, and I think the back ties also look good tied at the front as in the photo above, although I think it might make the back look a bit weird! Overall, I think it's probably better with the ties at the back as intended, but I'll remember this option if the ties ever get in the way of a cardigan or anything.

I'm pleased that I let my willpower cave and bought the Doris dress straightaway - it's a gorgeous pattern and I definitely intend to wear this dress a lot this summer. Where do you stand on new releases? Do you rush to buy them straightaway, or do you hold off until you've seen other people test them out?

Anyone for tea? New Look 6723

I warn you now, today's post may contain excessive gushing about fabric. Why? Because this dress, my second version of New Look 6723, is made of what may be some of my favourite material I've ever used.

I'm also likely to spend more time talking about the fabric because, in terms of construction, this dress is exactly the same as my first New Look 6723, so there's not a lot new to say!

As a quick recap, I made view D and used a size 14 at the shoulders and graded out to a 16 from the bust downwards. I also elminated the centre front bodice seam, added pockets (from the Emery dress) and used an invisible zip instead of the lapped zip used in the pattern.

So that fabric...it's a Liberty lawn from the Alice in Wonderland themed Spring Summer 2015 collection, and the print is called Suzy Elizabeth. Like many Liberty lawns, the small-scale print means that from a distance it looks like a bit of a random pattern, but look at it closer and its true fantasticness is revealed.

Hopefully this close-up lets you see the host of teapots, teacups and general tea party paraphernalia - it's really fun!

I loved the whimsical print as soon as I saw it online but, let's face it, Liberty don't produce the cheapest of fabrics around and my sewing budget is unfirtunately not limitless. Some things are worth paying for though, and the combination of what I know is a beautiful base fabric and a print that I adore seemed like it would be one of those things.

So, I decided to be a bit of a geek and save up for it. I had a little piggy bank that I'd been given with some chocolate in it at Christmas, which I put on my mantelpiece and every time I ended up with a few pound coins in my purse, I'd put one in the piggy bank. It's amazing how quickly the fund builds up without you even noticing! Has anyone else ever done that or am I just weird?!

Luckily for me, the saving process was cut short by Liberty putting the fabric in their sale, making it cheaper than any of the other sources of Liberty online, so I snapped up enough for a dress, and then I just needed to decide what pattern would be the lucky recipient of this beauty. As it's undoubtedly my favourite pattern, the Emery dress would have seemed like the obvious candidate, but I think that it's better with a slightly larger print so I decided not to use it this time. I was really happy with my first 6723 though, so that's the option I went for - and I'm really happy with the results!

I love both of my versions of New Look 6723, but what I think I appreciate most of all is the fact that the different scales and colours of the fabrics that I used makes them look like totally different dresses. The floral fabric of my first version is definitely a medium-weight cotton too, so feels very different to wear from this floaty lawn. Isn't that one of the lovely things about sewing? There are so many variables that can create such different garments.

It might seem like a strange time of year to be making a sleeveless dress in England, but there are lots of colours hidden in the the details in this print, which to me means plenty of cardigan options for warmth. I also think the dress will work paired with tights, so I'll still be wearing it for a while more this year. And the best thing? I just made a teapot necklace so now I have the perfecct accessory for my handmade dress! What have you been making recently?

Sewaholic Oakridge Blouse

Look! I made something that's not blue! Yes, there's some blue in there, but I think we can agree that it's not the dominant colour. And all those lovely colours combine with Sewaholic's Oakridge pattern to make pretty much the perfect blouse for spring.

This is view C of the Oakridge. Views A and B have a bow neck and while in principle I'd like to try them, because generally I'm all for a good bow, for some reason bow neck blouses just never feel quite right on me. I loved the simple collarless version of the Oakridge as soon as it was released though so I knew I'd be sewing one before too long.

The pattern is really well designed and the instructions are clear and easy to follow so I enjoyed sewing my Oakridge. As with my Granville shirt, the only thing I found a little bit fiddly was the sleeve placket. Thankfully one of my lovely friends got me The Dressmaking Technique Bible for my birthday at the end of last year, and I consulted that to make sure that what I'd understood from the instructions was actually what I was meant to be doing - thankfully it was so it was all good.

I used French seams throughout so my blouse is nice and neat inside. I do like a good French seam - they do take a bit longer to do than normal seams and zigzag stitching (I don't have an overlocker so that's my usual method of seam finishing) but I think the extra effort does definitely pay off.

(I'll probably always wear the blouse tucked into skirts, but thought I'd leave it untucked here to show the full length)

My measurements all fall right in the middle of a 12 and a 14 for Sewaholic patterns. My Granville is a 14 and I like how that fits, but for my Oakridge I thought I could get away with a slightly smaller size so I made a 12. Also on the basis of my experience with the Granville, I shortened the sleeves on my Oakridge by an inch. I made a toile to check that I was right about the size and sleeve length and everything was fine so I went ahead, and I like how the finished blouse fits.

The fabric is 'Phoebe' Liberty lawn (funnily enough Lauren of GBSB and Guthrie & Ghani fame made an Oakridge in this exact same fabric!), which I got from Kat's Fabrics on ebay. I've seen quite a few bloggers recently who've bought Liberty lawn there - and with good reason! The fabric is factory seconds so is much cheaper, but just as lovely, as 'proper' Liberty. The fabric is listed as having no visible fault but unfortunately mine did have one area where the print was a bit blurry which you can see here...

Obviously this is a very small fault, it was very easy to cut round, and to be honest lots of people probably wouldn't notice it but it was one of those things where once I'd seen it, I knew it would bother me if I didn't make sure I avoided it. It definitely won't stop me from buying Liberty lawn from the same seller again, but I just thought I'd mention that it might be worth having a good look at your fabric if you buy from there to check that there are no faults before you start cutting.

The buttons I chose were some lovely bright pink ones that I found in a local wool shop. I was originally planning to find buttons to pick out the bluey-green of the flower stems in the print, but that didn't work out quite as I planned, and when I saw these buttons in the shop they just seemed to make the print sing and enhance its natural prettiness. Decision made!

So there we go, a pretty successful first version of the Oakridge blouse! It's already been worn a few times and has been perfect for the sunnier spring days we've been having recently. What are you sewing for spring?