Graduation... ekk

So. I should explain, that I live about 3 months behind the rest of the world. I find it terribly difficult to keep up. I attribute this to my Auntie, who is exactly the same (Now it would just be weird to have my birthday present on the day - Its like having two birthdays!). Anyway, my friends and family are used to it now (everyone seems to like having Christmas on a rainy Tuesday in March!), but this is late… even for me.

My graduation dress. A wopping 10 months after the event. Its from Burda magazine issue 12/08, Dress 130 (the extra pattern one). I used no imagination whatsoever and copied the colours directly from the magazine. I made no actual changes to the design either. The only thing I did do was fiddle about with the back fastening, so that I didn’t have a patch of back on show – I lengthened the bottom of the under flap(?) and put a hook and eye on there too. I still have terrible trouble with the top flap(!?) gaping (more so than you can see in the picture), but really I don’t know what to do about that! Perhaps the button needs shifting over a few cm. Not sure.

Anyway, its very form fitting – I can’t help but wiggle when I wear it! And while tight, it’s not particularly constricting to wear. The top is white georgette (chiffon was too see through) and the skirt is sort of heavy weight almost waffle-ish material (i.e. it’s not smooth), although you could definitely make it more classy and decadent by using silk for the bodice. I lined it too, can’t remember if it told me to or not, but I did, as I do with most things. It’s a good staple dress if I have smart affairs to go to, such as graduating! And so, here’s one of me in a silly hat to prove I did it.

Working 9 till 5

I recently started a new job (after a year of student life between my last job and this) and so suddenly became in need of some super snappy office clothes. Sadly, new work doesn't pay immediately, so I needed something fast and cheap.

I trawled my BWOF (or Burdastyle as I believe it will soon be called) back copies and wrote down a list of about 2o pieces that would be suitable. I decided that my most pressing need was for skirts, and so I selected one that claimed to be only 1 and a half blobs of difficulty and was made up of only 3 pieces (speedy tracing and chopping... hurrah).

This was hastily followed by a quick hello to my local fabricland (fabric, lining and zip came to about £6 total... score!). A few muck ups (I didn't notice that the waistband measurements did not include seam allowance!) and pleats later, and tadaaah!

Burda Mag 04/09 113

It has plenty of give to allow for the copious amounts of office bending I do (OK that sounds dodgy - I mean I have to pick up lots of files from low shelves) and the ''kiss'' pleats make it a bit more interesting. I tried my hand at flat felled seams for the lining, and they worked a treat! I made no alterations to fit or style, and it was quick and easy to make.

All in all, pretty damn good!

You shall go to the ball

After several long weeks there has, all of a sudden, come a rush of activity in work, home and sewing. My poor machine has been languishing in my lengthy absence, and together we're getting all revved up about some new projects on the horizon! More to follow soon, but in the mean time, I've finally managed to get some photos together of my graduation ball dress!

After the pallava of making the damn thing fit, I realised that the only thing missing, was a wopping great big bow. So I added one, and felt much better about the whole situation.

Just to recap the changes made from the original BWOF 12/08 pattern were :
- Cutting the skirt off at the knee
- Raising the waist by about an inch
- Adding waist darts
- Adding a bust dart on the shoulder strap side
- Raising the shoulder
- Adding a big bow

If I was making it again, I think I'd just use the lining pattern for the bodice and not bother with the shoulder pleats included in the original pattern. They can't really be seen on the photos because they came out pretty badly and had to be covered by the big bow. I think if I'd done them properly they would have looked good, but it really wasn't very clear at all, and some how I managed to ruck them all up. They looked fine when they were flat, but when I put it on they looked pretty bad.

Generally this pattern was not a good fit for me, but I think after all the tweaking the dress came out looking pretty good, so I was happy in the end and had an awesome time at the ball. And both the dress and I made it into the survivors photo!

Good reads

I swung by the shops the other day and managed to pick up a bevvy of good reads! (Look how fantastic they look!!)


I only went in for a copy of Burda Mag and came out with the Chap as well (which technically was a prezzie for my dad, but I couldn't resist reading it a bit first). Then I came upon these 40s copies of Womans Weekly when looking for port glasses! One of them has an awesome pattern for some mittens (something I have been looking for for a while) and each copy has a lovely little insight into the meaning of a name!

I also picked up this dainty little dress pattern.

I loved the wopping pleats coming up from the sides (even if the 4 pattern ladies do have an air of Sex and the City about them!). However it is COMPLETELY the wrong size. Its way too big and petite!! But, I hope this will lead on to my first forray into pattern grading which is a little bit exciting!

The week that ran away

Ok a bit more than a week, but I’m sure I’ll be forgiven, as I have been moving house! Uni has finally finished and I’ve had to pack up and ship out of Guildford, back to the countryside.

Before the move, I spent a couple of days up in London for T’s birthday... which leads me nicely to my latest sewing completion! It's my first forray into menswear, and T’s birthday present. (Apologies, I forgot to get T to model it himself, so I had to take a few dashed pics after he’d toddled off to work)

I am immensely proud of it as I think it’s one of my best looking pieces yet. I used pattern 132 from BWOF 03/09, and the only change was to add a front bit where the buttons go. I topstitched all the seams, I put the little contrast stripe at the bottom of the side seams, everything!! And it took me flipping ages!!

Mostly my problems arose because of my rubbishness at sleeves. I re-sewed and topstitched them twice before I noticed they were on the wrong way around and had to take them off and swap them over. Also the fabric had a definite, but non-obvious-in-the-half-light right side, resulting in a few things being initially stitched with the wrong side out. Grr.

Anyway, he was presented with the finished project, and it fitted and looked lovely, so I’m pretty chuffed!