Sabina Skirt - Free Sewing Pattern Review

Who doesn't love a freebie? Particularly if that freebie is a super detailed sewing pattern for a really pretty skirt! In case you haven't seen already, Rumana of The Little Pomegranate offers her blog subscribers the lovely Sabina skirt pattern for free - and I for one couldn't resist such a generous treat!

Sabina is a gathered skirt that sits on the waist, with an elasticated waistband and gentle shaping at the hips. It has roomy pockets and a pretty ruffle hem. 

It comes in sizes from waist 25"/hips 34.5" to waist 51.5"/hips 61".

This may be a free sewing pattern, but you wouldn't know that from the effort and attention to detail that have obviously gone into it. It's just as good as (if not better than!) many paid-for patterns. The instructions are excellent - they're really detailed, very clear and provide explanations of any sewing-specific terms along the way. 

I think it would probably be a really good pattern for beginners as long as you picked a stable fabric, as detailed in the fabric recommendations for the pattern. If you're more experienced, it's a nice simple pattern to sew and looks lovely in a drapey fabric.

The skirt is also really easy to fit. Basically, all you need to do is to make sure you cut the right length of elastic and you're pretty much sorted! On that note, I'd definitely recommend checking how much the elastic you're using stretches when you're cutting it to size - some definitely stretch more than others in my experience.

I made the size recommended for my measurements and it turned out nicely. I didn't make any alterations, so this is the length as it is in the pattern - for reference I'm about 5'9".

The fabric I used for my Sabina skirt is a pretty viscose from Like Sew Amazing - it's still in stock here, and the same print is also available in a teal colourway. It's a lovely drapey viscose, and works really well for this pattern. And happily the colours in the print go really nicely with the jumper that I'm wearing here that I knitted last year.

I'm really pleased with how my Sabina skirt turned out - it was fun to make, and it's lovely and swishy to wear. That did mean that it wasn't the easiest garment to take photos of on a breezy day, but that's not a major hardship! I can definitely see myself making more versions of Sabina in the future, and would heartily recommend giving it a try. A big thank you to Rumana for a lovely pattern!

Simplicity 9380 Dress

If anyone fancies a fun new jersey dress, the pattern that I have to share with you today could be just what you're looking for! It's Simplicity 9380 - I picked up the pattern in the Sew Direct Black Friday sale at the end of last year, and have been looking forward to making it ever since.

Simplicity 9380 is a pullover sweatshirt dress with high-low, straight and tiered skirt variations, and options for long regular or gathered elastic cuff sleeves. You can also choose between a hooded version or a regular neckband. I chose the high-low hem, regular sleeves and neckband (a mixture of views A and B).

It's available in sizes up to bust 46", waist 39", hip 48".

The instructions for this pattern are quite good. They weren't quite as in-depth as some indie patterns would be, but I felt like they were more detailed than commercial patterns often are. 

The dress is also fairly simple to sew, so as long as you're happy sewing with stretch fabrics then I wouldn't think you'd have too many problems making this pattern.

I would say that the sizing is generous. I made a medium - my bust measurement is just slightly over the top for the medium range (but below the large), and my waist and hip measurements are firmly in the large range but the medium fits me fine with room to spare. I'd definitely recommend looking at the finished garment measurements (on the pattern paper) to see what size will work best for you - particularly if your measurements fall towards the bottom of a size.

I made my usual adjustment of lengthening the pattern - I added 2 inches to the bodice and an inch to the skirt. 

If I were to make the pattern again using the regular sleeves, I'd either slim down the sleeves or shorten them a bit - I think they're meant to have a bit of a slouchy look, but my wrists are proportionately quite slim so the sleeves have a tendency to fall down over my hands. I might go back and adjust the sleeve hem - I'll see how I feel when I've worn it a bit more.

I'd possibly also make the neckband a little wider - it's quite narrow as it is. Part of me likes that, but part of me thinks a wider neckband would be a little better around the back of the neck in particular - it feels a little low there (but not low enough to put me off wearing this version!).

The fabric that I used is a brushed French terry from Jelly Fabrics (no longer in stock). It's a lovely print, was great to work with and it's so cosy to wear. I think it was a really good choice for this pattern.

All in all, I'm a big fan of my Simplicity 9380. It's definite secret pyjama territory - it's so comfy and cosy to wear. It was also a nice simple pattern to sew, and I can easily see myself making it again. I'll have to keep my eye out for some more lovely fabric!

Tilly & The Buttons Nora Top

Hello there! It's been a little while since my last post, hasn't it? Things tend to get a bit quiet on my blog towards the end of a year because I'm busy making Christmas presents that need to be kept secret. But now the gifts have all been given, we're into a new year and I have a project to share with you - the Tilly & The Buttons Nora top.

Nora is a modern, boxy t-shirt or sweater with drop shoulders and wide sleeves. It has options for a high neck or regular neckband, and you can also choose between short, elbow-length or extra-long sleeves as well as a long hemline or a cropped and stepped deep hem with side splits. Plenty of variations to play with! 

I opted for the high neck, extra-long sleeves (more on that later...) and cropped and stepped hem.

The pattern is fairly simple to sew and has excellent instructions. I didn't have any trouble when I was making my Nora, and it was finished within a couple of hours. The boxy shape also means that you probably won't need to worry as much about fitting as you might with more figure-hugging silhouettes as this is a fairly forgiving style.

The pattern is available in UK sizes 6-20 (bust sizes 30" to 44"), however there is quite a lot of ease in the pattern so it might work for slightly larger bust sizes too. I went a size down (my measurements put me in Tilly's size 5, but I made a 4) and there's still plenty of room for me.

In addition to sizing down, I also lengthened the pattern. This is a common adjustment for me because I'm 5'9". I added my standard 1" to the length, but probably should have added a bit more - if I'd followed the instructions it would have ended up just a bit too cropped for my liking (you don't want to have a sweater that's supposed to keep you warm but actually exposes your middle!). As the pattern instructions mention, the hem for Nora is quite deep (7 cm), so I just made mine a bit shallower (4.5 cm) to give myself some extra length. So in total my Nora is about 7cm/almost 3" longer than the length out of the packet.

Along with lengthening the bodice section of the top, I should have lengthened the sleeves too. I like the look of the extra-long, wide sleeves, but even if I'd have used a smaller sleeve hem than the pattern intended, the sleeves would have ended up a length that just didn't look quite right on me when combined with the wide shape. I decided to solve the problem by cutting a couple of centimetres off the end of the sleeve, then using a 3cm hem and inserting 2cm-wide elastic (just a touch longer than my wrist measurement) to cinch the ends of the sleeves in a bit. I really like the effect, and I think it'll make the sleeves much more practical for me.

I'd also recommend you consider the length of the high neck piece. I have a large head, and my fabric wasn't super stretchy so I added a couple of centimetres to the neck piece - I'm glad I did because I can just get it over my head now. The neck is quite high, but that makes it nice and cosy. It also looks good folded down in half as I've done in some of these photos.

The fabric I used for my Nora is a sweatshirt fleece from Fabric Godmother - although it's currently out of stock. The colours are lovely and bright and the fabric itself is nice and warm so it's the perfect choice for keeping me cheerful and cosy during a chilly January!

All in all, I'm really pleased with how my Nora top turned out. It's nice to start the year with a successful project, and I'll have to explore some of the other options in the pattern at some point - a t-shirt version would definitely be fun for the summer!

Me Made on Holiday

Last week I was lucky enough to escape on holiday to the north of England. I took the advantage of having a willing photographer on hand to take some photos of my me-made outfits - I don't know about you, but I always like to see handmade garments being worn as well as being shown off when they're new!

The first is a staple combination for me at this time of year and features two Jennifer Lauren patterns - the Pippi pinafore and Gable top (click here to see my original post about my Pippi pinafore or here for my Gable top review). These two patterns work really well together to make a comfortable outfit - perfect for a walk on the beach.

Secondly you might recognise my recently made Tilly & the Buttons Indigo dress (my blog post is here). I've already worn this dress quite a few times since I finished it. It's so comfortable and as you can see it works really well paired with a cardigan and tights.

I quite often wear tights with culottes during the autumn/winter, so I decided to give tights and shorts a try. I think I like it! These are a denim pair of Seamwork Dorian shorts that I made earlier this year (my original Dorian review is here), with my embroidered Hey June Sheridan sweater.

My fourth outfit features another of this summer's creations, namely my Helen's Closet Reynolds dress. This dress is super comfy and I suspected when I first made it that it would work well as a pinafore - I was right! Here I've combined it with a staple white top (a mash-up of the Tilly & the Buttons Agnes and the Sew Over It Molly top) and a shawl that I recently finished knitting.

The final outfit I have to share with you is another summer-to-autumn crossover - the McCall's 7948 dress that I made in September. I really like this dress layered with the t-shirt (it's the same one as in the previous photo) underneath, so much so that I'm wondering whether I might keep an eye out for some nice needlecord to make a version of the dress specifically to wear as a pinafore. Watch this space!

So that's my me-made holiday wardrobe - I hope you enjoyed seeing how I wear my creations in real life!

Jennifer Lauren Esme Top

As I mentioned in my post about my Itch to Stich Glenelly top, I always like t-shirt patterns with a bit of a twist. It was therefore no surprise that I treated myself to the Jennifer Lauren Esme top pattern as soon as it was released!

The Esme top has gentle batwing sleeves with cuffed long or short sleeve options, and either a shawl collar or V-neckline. It also has regular and long-line bodice options. The pattern has multiple cup sizes (A to D in the original pattern, and C to F in the curve version), and the two size ranges cover hip measurements from 35.25" to 62.75".

I really like the shawl collar option and think that will be really nice for a long-sleeved top for winter, but I decided to try the V-neckline first.

The top above is the first version of the Esme that I made. It was actually intended to be for me, but when I tried it on it just didn't feel quite right. It was a little clingy around the waist, and although I really like the fabric itself, the colours didn't completely suit me when I was wearing it for some reason. I think if I'd only had one of those two issues, I'd probably have got over it fairly quickly and worn the top, but with the combination of the two I just wasn't feeling it.

Thankfully all was not lost and my sister happily agreed to adopt the top instead. She's slimmer than me so it's a little bigger on her than the pattern intends, but I think we can all agree that it's perfectly wearable and it's better for her to have it and enjoy it rather than it sitting in my drawer while I convince myself to like it!

Although my first version of the Esme didn't quite work out, I liked the overall shape so I decided to make another version of my own. For this one I blended out from a 14 at the shoulders/bust to a 16 at the hips. In contrast, my first version was a straight size 14. That's pretty much what's recommended for my measurements (my waist measurement is just fractionally above the 14, but is much closer to the 14 than the 16) and it did fit me, but it was just slightly clingy for my liking. Blending out to a 16 gives me that little bit of extra room to make me more comfortable.

Given that I've made two versions of the Esme now, I'm happy to report that it's a really nice pattern to sew! The instructions are very thorough. I'd say the only slightly tricky bit of the pattern is making sure that you get a nice neat finish on the V-neckline, but the steps are set out very clearly and I found that they made it a lot easier than I was expecting it to be. 

The fabric that I used for my top is a lovely cotton jersey from Like Sew Amazing - I really like the colours and the combination of stripes and florals!

The fabric for what is now my sister's top was from the Sew Hayley Jane outlet shop last year. It's a viscose jersey and so is a bit lighter weight - I think it still works OK for this pattern, but on balance the cotton jersey was better when sewing the V-neckline in particular.

I really like the Esme pattern, and I'm glad that I persevered and got the second version that works for me. In a funny way I'm also glad that the first one didn't work out quite right for me because I think it looks really nice on my sister. I'd happily recommend the pattern if you're in the market for an interesting jersey top, and I'll definitely be making a shawl collar version at some point soon!