Make With Mandi Penny Dress

The Make With Mandi Penny dress has been on my 'to sew' list for a while and I've been keeping my eye out for some interesting fabric to combine with the pattern. Finally I found the right candidate and I'm happy to share my Penny dress with you now!

The Penny is a woven dress with a loose-fitting bodice and tiered skirt with in-seam pockets. The bodice has a rounded neckline with two depths, and the sleeves can be made in long, mid or short lengths and are intended to have elasticated hems (more on that later!). The skirt has knee or midi length options.

For my version I used the short sleeves, higher neckline and midi skirt.

The finished bust measurements for the dress range from 34" to 55⅜".

I'll mention now that I was using the version of the pattern that was included with Simply Sewing magazine, so it's entirely possible that there may be some differences in the pattern directly from Make With Mandi. For example, the magazine version pattern accidentally omitted the pocket pattern pieces - if you need them, I found them available to download here.

I enjoyed sewing my Penny dress. The instructions had a good level of detail and I found them easy to follow. They're illustrated with photos which are mostly clear. One thing I thought was a bit odd was that the instructions refer to topstitching a couple of times, when what they're telling you to do would generally be called understitching. 

I found the order of the steps a bit odd - they have you start by stay stitching the neckline and sewing the bodice shoulder and side seams, then take you on to sewing the skirt, before returning to the bodice and sewing the facings and sleeves. There's nothing wrong with that, but it felt like it dotted about a bit to me so I followed the instructions, but did them in my own preferred order. 

The version of the pattern I used didn't give you any body measurements, just finished garment measurements. There's not necessarily anything wrong with that, but it would be helpful if they gave some guidance about how much ease the pattern is intended to have. I made a straight size 12, which gives me around 2" of ease at the bust, and the waist and hips are looser fitting.

I made a couple of alterations. The first was to lengthen the bodice by 1.5", which is a standard alteration for me. I also lowered the bust dart by 1", which is not something I normally have to do. I also chose to omit the elastic from the sleeve hems - when I made a toile it just didn't feel like the sleeve hems on the short sleeves were loose enough round my arms to need elastic and I like them as they are. 

The fabric that I used is a lightweight cotton that I bought from Koala Kreations. I really like the print - it's a bit different to anything else that I've seen around recently. I think it's a good weight of fabric for this pattern and should be nice and cool to wear over the summer.

All in all, I enjoyed sewing my Penny dress, it turned out really nicely, and I think it will be a welcome new addition to my wardrobe - I can see it being worn a lot!

True Bias Nova Jumpsuit

Some potential projects float around in my mind for a while as I try to find the right combination of pattern and fabric, and others suddenly present themselves as a fully formed idea that demands to be made immediately. This True Bias Nova jumpsuit definitely falls into the second category!

I was browsing the True Bias patterns when they were on sale a few weeks ago and the Nova jumpsuit suddenly caught my eye. I'd seen it many times before, but for some reason now it seemed like it would be a good addition to my wardrobe. The next day Sarah from Simple Life Fabrics posted some new fabrics on Instagram, including a jersey that seemed just right for giving the Nova a try.

The Nova is a knit jumpsuit with a fully faced neckline and armholes. The pattern gives you the option of a wide elastic wasitband, and can be made either as a short romper or with full-length legs with elastic at the ankle. 

The pattern comes in two size ranges with the 0-18 size range covering bust measurements from 32" to 44.5", and the 14-30 range going from bust measurements from 41.5" to 57.5".

Sewing the Nova was fairly straightforward and the jumpsuit came together pretty quickly. The instructions were clear and easy to follow, with a good level of detail. They're accompanied by clear diagrams that really help to explain the processes. The pattern seems well drafted to me - I appreciated the fact that the facing pieces are slightly smaller than the bodice pieces so they easily turn to the inside of the jumpsuit.

In terms of sizing, I made a 12 at the bust blending out to a 14 at the hips as recommended for my measurements. I lengthened my jumpsuit by a total of 5 inches (not surprising because True Bias patterns are drafted for 5'5", and I'm just under 5'9"), adding 2 inches each at the lengthen/shorten lines on the bodice and legs and 1 inch at the lengthen/shorten line on the crotch. 

I'm fairly happy with the fit. I initially thought it might be slightly loose around the top, but having worn it I think that I want that slight extra space to make it easy to get on and off. I'll probably mainly wear it with a t-shirt underneath as I am in these photos, so a bit of extra room is helpful for that too. 

The only change I think I'd consider if I make another version (a definite possibility!) would be to take out the inch I added at the crotch, and add an extra inch on the leg instead. I'm going to wear this version a few more times before I make any decisions on that though.

As I mentioned above, the fabric I used is a jersey from Simple Life Fabrics. The colourway I used doesn't seem to be in stock anymore, but it is available in two different colours (here and here). It's a really pretty print and I like the blue colour. It also seemed like a good option to use for my first version of the Nova because it was quite a good price (Sarah has an excellent Bargain Fabrics collection!) so I was happier to see this as a wearable toile than if I'd bought more expensive jersey. Thankfully my "toile" is definitely very wearable!

I'm glad the idea of making the Nova jumpsuit presented itself to me. It was a fun project to sew and I really like the finished jumpsuit. Unsurprisingly, it's very comfy and easy to wear - definite secret pyjamas! It's definitely a winner for me!

Itch to Stitch Islares top

I'm a fan of t-shirts with interesting details, so the sewing pattern for the Islares top instantly appealed to me when it was released by Itch to Stitch. It's taken me a little while to get round to making the pattern, but better late than never!

The Islares is a knit top with regular and full bust options. The main feature is a square front and back neckline, which I think makes it a bit more elegant than a basic t-shirt. The top also has raglan sleeves with shoulder darts that can be made in short, three-quarter or long lengths (I used the three-quarter length). The top is finished with a curved hem.

The bust sizing covers measurements from 31⅛" (regular bust) to 63" (full bust), and the hip sizes range from 33⅛" to 62".

The instructions for the Islares top are great! I thought that sewing the neckline might be a bit fiddly, but I was pleasantly surprised. Yes, it is a bit more tricky than a regular round neckband, but the instructions take you through everything very clearly with a good level of detail. Other than the neckline, the top is very straightforward to sew and I didn't have any trouble making mine. 

My top tip would be to make sure you follow the instructions about using stay tape on the neckline - I think without stay tape it would be really easy to stretch out the neckline while sewing.

I used the regular bust pattern piece and blended from a size 10 at the bust to a 12 at the hips. That's the size recommended for my measurements and I think it turned out nicely. It's not tightly fitted, but has a nice shape and definitely isn't baggy. I didn't make any adjustments to the pattern.

The fabric that I used is a fun, colourful striped cotton jersey that I bought from Lucy Locket Fabrics. It was nice and easy to sew with, and it feels lovely to wear. And I'm pretty pleased with the stripe matching that I managed down the side seams!

 All in all, I think my Islares top turned out rather nicely, and I'd happily recommend the pattern. I may well make more versions in future, but I've got Itch to Stitch's newer pattern, Venado, to try first!

Helen's Closet Wildwood Jacket

This project has been a long time coming. It's something I've fancied making for a while but always felt intimidated by, once I got up the courage to make it the project itself took some time, and then I had to wait ages to get photos of it because the weather kept being too rainy. At long last, I'm happy to share my Helen's Closet Wildwood jacket!

The Wildwood is a quilted jacket or vest/gilet that comes in high hip, low hip and mid thigh lengths. It has overlapping shoulder and side seams, and the edges are bound with bias tape. The pattern also includes patch pockets, and the jacket/vest closes with front snaps.

The pattern covers bust sizes from 31 to 60" and hip measurements from 33 to 62". 

If, like me, you find the idea of making a quilted jacket appealing but a bit daunting, I'd definitely recommend the Wildwood pattern. 

The instructions are really clear and detailed. In addition to telling you how to make the actual jacket/vest, they also guide you through making and attaching bias binding, quilting your pieces, choosing the stitching pattern for quilting and pre-shrinking your pieces. 

They answered all of the questions that I had in my mind about making the jacket and made me confident that I could tackle the project successfully.

Sewing the jacket itself is actually relatively straightforward, and the overlapped shoulder and side seams are helpful if you need to adjust your fit a bit. Binding all the outside edges and the interior seams does take a bit of time, but it's not difficult. 

I made sewing my Wildwood jacket more time consuming because I pieced the patchwork for the outside of my jacket rather than just using a fabric. I was lucky enough to win the fabric I used in a fat quarter bundle from Sew Scrumptious a year or two ago. They're Liberty quilting cottons from The Artist's Home collection. As they're such pretty prints, I took my time deciding what to use them for - they were almost turned into a bag or a quilt, but I'm glad that I went down the quilted jacket route in the end.

The pieces I cut for my patchwork were 5.25" x 4.75" (so ended up 4.75" x 4.25" once sewn) - a slightly random size that I chose to make maximum use of the fat quarters. I had 11 fat quarters and that gave me plenty of fabric; I have small sections left of each of them. 

Once I'd pieced together my outer "fabric", I had to decide how to quilt the pieces. I debated a couple of options, and eventually decided to keep things simple and stitched horizontal lines one inch from each horizontal seam. Thankfully that seems to have worked out nicely. 

I bought my batting from 1st for Fabrics, and the lining fabric that I used is a vintage Laura Ashley cotton that I've had for so long that I can't remember where it came from!

The next decision to make was about the binding. I wanted something that would stand out whilst also complementing all the pretty prints in my quilted pieces. In the end, I plumped for a red cotton with small white spots, and made my own bias binding. I'm happy with that choice - it's just the look I was after.

I made the possibly controversial choice to omit the pockets from the jacket. I like pockets as much as the next person, but I felt like my jacket had enough going on as it was and that adding patch pockets might be taking things one step too far. I also decided to use sew on snap fasteners instead of setting in snaps - I've had some disasters with snaps before, and I'd invested so much time in the jacket by that point that I didn't want to risk that happening to this project! Sewing on snaps seemed far less risky, and they work fine.

I used the size recommended for my measurements (blending from a 14 at the bust to a 16 at the hips) and I'm happy with that. There is a bit of ease in the jacket and some people might like it slightly more fitted, but I'd prefer to have it as it is to allow for wearing layers underneath. 

I used the high hip view of the pattern, and it's the perfect length for me - long enough to cover my waist if I'm wearing separates, but short enough to look good with dresses too. 

All in all, in case it's not obvious already, I'm so proud of how my Wildwood turned out! It wasn't a quick project, but I really enjoyed working on it, and my jacked turned out just how I hoped it would. I'd heartily recommend the pattern if you're looking for a quilted jacket/vest. And I'm very tempted to make another version - that's always a good verdict on a pattern, isn't it?!

Friday Pattern Company Bernadette Skirt

I recently decided that a denim skirt would be a useful addition to my wardrobe. I looked through the skirt patterns that I already owned but nothing was quite what I wanted, so I decided to buy the Bernadette skirt from Friday Pattern Company to give that a try!

The Bernadette is a mini or midi skirt with front pleats, back darts and an invisible zip on one side. It also has a cute belt bag - the belt closes with D-rings and the bag is a zipper pouch with a front buttoned pocket. The belt bag may have been the thing that really made the pattern appeal to me! If the skirt isn't your thing but you like the look of the belt bag, it is available on its own as the Bernie belt bag.

The skirt comes in waist sizes from 24" to 53", and hip measurements from 34" to 62".

Bernadette comes together fairly quickly and is a reasonably simple project to sew. The instructions give you a good amount of detail and are easy to follow, helped by nice clear diagrams. 

The only difficulty I had was getting the waist facing and the waist of the skirt to match up - my skirt seemed to be too big, particularly at the back. I compared my pattern pieces and they matched up perfectly, so I think I must have somehow managed to stretch out the waist of my skirt when I was sewing the darts/pleats. I unpicked my back darts and resewed them to be a fraction bigger, and that sorted my problem.

You kind of think the belt bag will be quick to sew, but I think it probably actually took me just as long as the skirt itself! One thing I would say about it is that some areas of the bag end up with lots of layers of fabric and my machine did not enjoy trying to sew them. The points where the bag loops join the back of the pouch were a particular challenge and I had to hand crank my machine through those. If I make the bag again in a similar weight of fabric, I think I'd try to find a suitable thinner fabric for the bag loops and probably the flap of the front pocket too.

I deliberated about what size to make for a while. My current waist measurement is 32.5", which is just above the L range but below the XL. I looked at the finished measurements and I felt that the L would probably have technically fitted, but it would have been a bit tight to be comfortable when sitting. The XL would have been a bit too big though. In the end, I cut an XL but used a larger seam allowance (1.5 cm instead of the 1 cm called for in the pattern). I think I made the right choice - my finished skirt has just enough ease to make it comfortable to wear without feeling too big.

The fabric that I used is an 8 oz washed denim that I bought locally. It's a lovely weight for the skirt, but as I mentioned before it was a bit thick for some parts of the bag. 

I'm glad that I decided to give the Bernadette skirt a try. It was a really nice pattern to sew, and I'm very pleased with the finished results. I only finished it last week and I've already worn it twice - I think it'll be in regular wardrobe rotation from now on!