I’ve made a simple little dress… Now I have to admit that such apparent simplicity is actually the anticlimactic outcome of a long, convoluted sewing-and-unpicking, journey which I’m a little embarrassed to relate. This is one of the failed projects from 2024 which I mentioned in my roundup, and just recently got around to fixing up.
I’d bought this quite nice, slightly spongy, heavily textured cotton check a long time ago now, almost certainly from a Melbourne trip. I’m pretty sure it was Tessuti and further have a feeling it was reasonably expensive thus why I really wanted to make something worthwhile from it.
Iteration Number One:
I started out making the Original Digby Cleo dress. This is a lovely and feminine design, which involved stitching a LOT of self-made, bias-cut channelling for lengths of elastic, to mimic the look of a shirred bodice. I had high hopes and the result was very pretty, but sadly in the end it was just too young-looking to suit me. Cassie modelled it for me for these pictures here, but didn’t really want it either, and I wanted to make the fabric into something I could wear. Out with the unpicker!
Taking off all those long (long) lengths of bias cut channelling took quite a long time, made even more painful with the memory of how carefully I had stitched them on in the first place to perfectly line up the channels with the lines of checks, as well as switching up threads depending on whether I was stitching on a black row or a cream row, this additionally making it more difficult to see the stitches I was unpicking. I know, I wonder about my own sanity too, sometimes…
Anyway. Iteration Number Two was essentially the same dress sans the elasticated channels. I reused the same shoulder straps to be a halter neckline and allowed the otherwise unaltered dress to hang like so. I actually quite liked it like this and wore it with a little T-shirt underneath a few times.
However, after about six months of this I finally realised what the fabric really wanted to be. I believe fabrics do tell you what they want to be, even if it takes a little time. Some are shy and take years to let you know, but you just need to trust in the fabric, let it sit there quietly, and it will eventually let you know what its final form should be. Out with the unpicker once again!
In the end, Iteration Number Three, the final iteration, was very straightforward to achieve. I settled upon a modified version of a dress from the Japanese pattern book Stylish Dress Book by Yoshiko Tsukiori, specifically dress R. My final version is more narrowed at the top end, and with the yoke also narrowed in width and the neckline substantially more “filled in”. I also left off the sleeves through having absolutely no more of the check fabric anyway, and finished the armscyes with self-made black bias binding. I removed the original inseam pockets – and a big thank you to past me for overlocking all the raw edges separately from each other! – and repositioned them appropriately for the dress’s slightly new form. The yoke is black cotton denim, cut from the leftovers from my wide-leg jeans from last year, and lined with plain black poplin. I did decorative white topstitching just for fun, and added a completely frivolous and not-useful-at-all coin pocket to the front yoke, also for fun. I also reused the “made in 2024” tag that it had from its inception.
Small anecdote; I’d ordered new “made in 2025” labels from the same place Intensely Distracted, back in December. They were taking a long time to arrive, and I was just starting to wonder what on earth had happened to them when they finally showed up 2 days ago. Attached to the envelope was a big green “Opened for inspection by ABF” sticker, also inside was a little note explaining that my goods were opened and inspected by Australian Border Force and found to contain no problematic components so were being forwarded to me in full. Amazing that this very innocuous packet of sew in labels was suspicious enough to get yoinked out for a personal inspection…
Anyway, the dress! I’m so happy with its final iteration. I feel like such a bold check is most perfectly suited to a very simplified style like this, much more age appropriate, not too fussy and a lot more me. And it feels so lovely and light to wear. I absolutely love it! I first wore it just the other day, when I took my oldest grandson Arthur shopping for his 5th birthday present. I know, 5 already! I can hardly believe it. We had such a lovely morning shopping together, just the two of us, choosing something he liked. It was so funny because he liked literally everything! and it was actually quite difficult to narrow it down to just two things. Then after we got home we spent a bit of time playing with his new toys and it was such a nice time. I love being a Granny!
please excuse the totally gratuitous Clara pic…
how beautiful is this fabric?! My daughter Cassie designed this very pretty, inviting and perfectly summery scene and of course her proud mother had to buy some. The name of the print is “public pool”, available in 
I finally decided on a little skirt and naturally chose 
I used the very last of my “made in 2024” tags in the little breast pocket. Honestly, the dress was actually cut out in and partially made in 2024. So, 2024 or 2025? It’s kind of a “saddle” project really, spreading itself from last year to this one. I think I can use the tag with a clear conscience. 🙂
I laid the dress pieces on the cross, and the front overlay on the bias, and used some of the leftover bits to cut extensions to the front overlay so the ties are a bit longer, about 10cm or so. I really like them this longer length.
As per our pattern, I flat felled the side seams, which I always think looks really nice. You can see here that I used red thread to sew the dress up; this is because it was in my stash already and I didn’t want to buy new thread. I thought this would be fine, and it is really. I hand-stitched the hem.
A casual passerby would never see any of the bias binding finishes on the inside of the dress, but these give me a lot of joy too. I bias-bound the pocket edges, and the back neckline and armhole edges are bound according to the pattern. Gingham makes the prettiest bias binding! Because of this I actually cut up the entirety of the leftovers and made it into bias binding that I can use on a future project, so please look out for that!
It was hideously windy on the beach this morning which makes the above pictures a realistic portrayal of my day, however it does make everything look a little wild. Thus, a still picture where the dress is not being blasted to bits. Honestly, the things I do…
I’m extremely happy with 
Hello, Christmas makes!! To be honest though my output is quite modest this year, I haven’t gone overboard with the making of Christmas gifts unlike previous years. Just a few little things…
I’d mostly made this black felt bunny a few years ago, using the Luna Lapin pattern book. He was kinda my first test of the pattern before 
I also made Arthur’s bunny a new outfit. I didn’t have his here to model it so Gilbert’s bunny has been roped in for the job. It’s a summer outfit; comprising a Hawaiian shirt and board shorts.
I had to include this picture of the shirt-making burrito! the instructions don’t have this but I figured why not make it as neat as possible. I used sew-in press studs for the shirt in lieu of buttons; they’re just easier and you don’t have to worry about ruining your tiny little shirt with a bad buttonhole. The fabric is leftover from my first Myosotis dress. The board shorts are white linen and blue linen that I dyed myself using a natural indigo dye bath. Actually, the leftovers from my recently made Mestre shirt.
Firstly, some new trousers. I used a new pattern, the Fibremood Lux trousers. Lately I’m more interested in trousers/jeans etc with a flat front and no pleats… and so the pattern piqued my interest immediately. I also liked the sleek, menswear vibe that the top part gave, even if the patch pockets at the back and the flared legs didn’t quite fit that vibe. Easily sorted!
I cut mine with straighter legs… partly to fit the pattern better on my fabric too! and decided to put single welt pockets on the back in place of the big patch pockets. There are nice slanted front hip pockets as well, and I cut mine a good inch bigger all the way around, to better accomodate my own big flippers…
There’s not really much more to say about the pattern, it’s a kinda basic pattern really; classic and a bit plain but we all need patterns like this in our lives too, hmmm? The belt loops at the centre are stitched in an “M” arrangement, a subtle detail that is different enough to draw the eye without being too much.
The fabric is a deep chocolate; cottony-sort of stuff; I’ve had it in my stash for so long I cannot even remember how or where I got it from, let alone the content of it. It has a very crisp “snappy” hand to it and literally crackles while you walk. It does crush a little, but irons beautifully, and putting in those welt pockets was a dream! It is just slightly water resistant, and dries very quickly, so I think it might be a technical fabric of some kind. Meaning I can wear them hiking if need be … and that need will probably come up next year, at least once!
I also have my knitting project for the month to show… I made a couple more cushions. I know, sorta boring? and a bit crazy too, if that makes sense. But since I’m using otherwise discarded materials and spending nothing, making stuff like this makes me feel virtuous and thrifty and therefore very happy, so it’s all a good thing! I needed a smaller project this month after a couple of months of knitting full jumpers/cardigans. I’m hoping to go back a more substantial project for next month!
Hello! I made some new bathers recently…
This cute, random ivory polka dot on a hot orange background, swimwear-specific fabric is also still from Le Stash, surprisingly! I’ve had it a long long time, like probably six or seven years or more. I bought it from the Fabric Store during a previous trip to Melbourne.
