Pippa
Some more sewing for me. And boy is it worth it!
This is the Pippa Dress* by Designer Stitch And it's a bit fancy!
The pattern is a wrap around dress, with side tie. There's a bit of gathering where the bodice attaches to the skirt, and binding around the neckline which helps to keep everything in place.
My favourite thing about sewing for myself is making clothes that actually fit. For this dress, I blended from a smaller size at the bust, out to the next one up at the waist, which meant the skirt was spot on, ready to float over my hips. I am thoroughly convinced that my babies expanded my rib cage when they were tucked up in there, and it's never returned to its old size.
The material I used is a beautiful floaty chiffon (found it for a great price at the Remnant Warehouse). It was a little too see through to use on its own. So the bodice of the dress is lined with lawn.
It was a pretty simple process to line the bodice, I just sewed up two of them, and they're joined together at the armholes, neckline and sleeves. When setting in the sleeves, I basted the sleeve to the main bodice around the armscye, then added the lining to complete the "sandwich". In order to allow for the sleeves to be sandwiched between the two layers, I left the centre back seam of the lining until last, so that I could turn it through. I don't know if there's a proper way, but it worked a treat.
Working with such a light fabric, I opted for french seams. Between that and the lining, it meant sewing each seam four times, but the beautiful finish is worth it.
The pattern includes two sleeve lengths (these are the longer ones), and three skirt lengths - peplum, above the knee and tea length (the length I made). I don't have many dresses this length, but I'm glad I have this one (especially in this fabric). And I can't wait to sew up some peplum blouses. Make sure you check out all the tester photos in the pattern listing to see just a snippet of the potential this dress has.
This is the second pattern I've sewn up from Designer Stitch Patterns (check out the Kerry Capelet - hopefully with a blog post coming soon). Ann's patterns are a great mix of clear instructions with high end finishes and techniques, giving you a garment that fits beautifully, and is sewn beautifully.
This dress was perfect for a night out to dinner with my husband. The only challenge was making it from the car to the restaurant in these heels. It was worth it though, it's amazing the difference a special pair of shoes ,and perfectly matched lipstick can make.
The pattern is on special for release (grab it here), until Friday 7th October.
*This post contains affiliate links, which give me a small percentage of any pattern sales at no cost to you. My opinions and sewing (and those shoes) and all my own.
This is the Pippa Dress* by Designer Stitch And it's a bit fancy!
The pattern is a wrap around dress, with side tie. There's a bit of gathering where the bodice attaches to the skirt, and binding around the neckline which helps to keep everything in place.
My favourite thing about sewing for myself is making clothes that actually fit. For this dress, I blended from a smaller size at the bust, out to the next one up at the waist, which meant the skirt was spot on, ready to float over my hips. I am thoroughly convinced that my babies expanded my rib cage when they were tucked up in there, and it's never returned to its old size.
The material I used is a beautiful floaty chiffon (found it for a great price at the Remnant Warehouse). It was a little too see through to use on its own. So the bodice of the dress is lined with lawn.
It was a pretty simple process to line the bodice, I just sewed up two of them, and they're joined together at the armholes, neckline and sleeves. When setting in the sleeves, I basted the sleeve to the main bodice around the armscye, then added the lining to complete the "sandwich". In order to allow for the sleeves to be sandwiched between the two layers, I left the centre back seam of the lining until last, so that I could turn it through. I don't know if there's a proper way, but it worked a treat.
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| The sleeve basted inside the armscye of the bodice |
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| Beautiful French seams and darts. |
The pattern includes two sleeve lengths (these are the longer ones), and three skirt lengths - peplum, above the knee and tea length (the length I made). I don't have many dresses this length, but I'm glad I have this one (especially in this fabric). And I can't wait to sew up some peplum blouses. Make sure you check out all the tester photos in the pattern listing to see just a snippet of the potential this dress has.
This is the second pattern I've sewn up from Designer Stitch Patterns (check out the Kerry Capelet - hopefully with a blog post coming soon). Ann's patterns are a great mix of clear instructions with high end finishes and techniques, giving you a garment that fits beautifully, and is sewn beautifully.
This dress was perfect for a night out to dinner with my husband. The only challenge was making it from the car to the restaurant in these heels. It was worth it though, it's amazing the difference a special pair of shoes ,and perfectly matched lipstick can make.
The pattern is on special for release (grab it here), until Friday 7th October.
*This post contains affiliate links, which give me a small percentage of any pattern sales at no cost to you. My opinions and sewing (and those shoes) and all my own.
Pretty sleeves!
ReplyDeleteThis is so lovely! May I ask your opinion on whether you think this dress would accommodate a pregnant belly?
ReplyDelete