What’s On Your Workdesk Wednesday? #255

The children have gone back to school this morning and all went remarkably smoothly for a first day of term. I’ve done the dishes, hung out the washing (now back in, rain stopped play) had a second breakfast and taken a photo of my desk, to share with Julia and her merry band of desk hoppers around the world.

A jumble of patterns, magazines and fabric scraps at the back. My SU catalogue, a marker (to highlight retiring products) trusty diary and notebook on top of that. Part of a super secret project (which I hastily covered) peeking out centre front. The remainder of my dress fabric. My hexi sewing kit, along with the latest blocks sewn.

Under that pile of patterns is this new sewing magazine (out in the shops tomorrow, I believe) and first impressions are good. It comes with a Liberty supplement, full of pretty projects and a fat quarter of Kirstie Allsopp’s new fabric. There is also a free pattern (digital download) for the dress on the front cover. A good variety of projects.

Since my update last week, I’ve attached the waistbands to both bodice and skirt, to bring the two halves of the dress together. I need to slipstitch it down on the inside, then it’s on to the zip. I haven’t yet decided whether to use the machine or hand pick it, as seen on the Great British Sewing Bee. Watch this space.

Time for a coffee and a spot of visiting. I’ll be back on Friday with the April edition of SIPIDI! You’d be very welcome to join in.

Sewing Adventures ~ The Lonsdale Dress

I teased you with a little peek at my dress, on Thursday, and a promise to come back with more about it this week. So here I am. I’ve been wanting to get back to dressmaking for a while now, but I couldn’t decide what to make as my first project.

I bought a pattern for a Washi dress last year, thinking it looked nice and simple. It has no zip, which is a big plus, but then I let myself get put off by the rows of shirring elastic in the back of the bodice. I was also worried that it might look a bit shapeless on me and I wanted to love what I made, to keep me sewing.

I’m glad I bought that pattern though, because as a result I found there was a whole world of sewing blogs out there. Many of those bloggers didn’t stick with the so called “Big Four” when it came to buying patterns. The Simplicity and Vogue that I was familiar with, but independent designers who design for different figure types.

These patterns are a bit more expensive, but they come with added benefits. Such as online Sew-A-Longs, which are extremely helpful to beginners as well as anyone, like me, returning from a fifteen year break. I’ve learnt so much over the past week, while sewing up this dress.

I had sewn French seams before, but never in a garment. It just wouldn’t have occurred to me. I used them for the side seams in the skirt, as well as the pockets.

Understitching is something new to me. It makes the bodice lining stay nice and flat and stops it being visible from the outside. It doesn’t show up very well in my photo, but you can see it clearly in Tasia’s pictures and read all about it, if you’re interested.

Here’s the centre front seam in the skirt. This type of seam finishing was familiar to me, although I didn’t know it had a name. I used to sew on my Mum’s old Singer and all it did was the standard straight stitch, no zig zagging the finished seams for me. I think this looks much nicer anyway.

As you can see, from the photos above, I’ve completed the bodice, which is self lined and the skirt, with its pockets. My next job is to attach the waistband, to bring the two halves of the dress together and then tackle the zip. Wish me luck!