Margot's for Men

After making some shorts for myself using Tilly's Margot pyjama pattern, and seeing Lazy Daisy Jones's fantastic men's pyjamas I decided it was finally time to make something for someone other than myself.

I found this fabric for £5.99 p/m at Direct Fabric Warehouse in Sheffield. I was looking for something fairly neutral and this seemed to do the trick.
I made a few changes to the pattern, firstly by adding an extra few cm's onto the top so that the crotch would hang a little lower.

After the first fitting I found the legs looked really baggy, so I tacked in some new seams and gave them another try before machining them and cutting off the old ones.
I reached a bit of a problem when I came to turning over the waistband as I had tapered the extra cms I added to the top, meaning that when I turned over the fabric it was smaller than the fabric I wanted to sew it too on the outside. To rectify it, I turned the waistband over a little less... Then I found this meant that the hole I'd left for the drawstring was in the wrong place.
I'd intended on using elastic and inserting a pretend drawstring, so I still did this, but the drawstring pops out a little lower than initially planned!

I think they look pretty good! I've tried them on myself and they fit me too! I have enough fabric left over to make myself some....
Thanks to my lovely BF for modelling!
x

Currently listening to: Haydn, Clock Symphony

Malika Favre inspired Grecian Dress

After the success of my Grecian Dress I made from the DIY couture book I knew I wanted to make another in different fabric. I found this fabric in a shop in Hillsborough called Fine Fabrics and fell in love with it. It reminded me of some of the design work my favourite illustrator Malika Favre has done in the past.

Malika Favre's Hide and Seek Exhbition

Malika Favre for Carluccio's
I was a bit worried about how thin and stretchy the fabric was, but it was only £3.99 a meter so couldn't really say no! Thankfully the fabric was woven not jersey so I didn't have the same problems I'd had when I made my first grecian dress, but I did find cutting the fabric accurately was difficult with it pulling all over the place!
I tried putting in a thicker piece of elastic as a waistband but it was disastrous! Sewing it along the top was fine but keeping both the elastic and dress equally taught while sewing around the bottom was impossible! I'm sure there is a really easy trick to it, but I have no idea and didn't want to risk trying again as I was already in danger of destroying my fabric!
Luckily I'd got a little strip of thin elastic sitting in my sewing box so I took my first attempt off and put that on the same way I had on my cartoon dress. I think I put it on a bit wonky :(

After putting on my elastic and trying on I found that this fabric was a bit flappier than the jersey I made my first dress from so I needed to make the bodice a little tighter. I sewed in a new set of seams up to the elastic to make it fit better and it seemed to work. Yay!

Beyond that the hemming and neckline was pretty simple. I cut the neck a little bigger as I pulled a thread on the fabric while cutting (such delicate stuff!) and tried to cover it up! You can still see it a bit but I don't think it's blindingly obvious.

x

Currently listening to: 'If I Don't' Secret Sisters