Tag Archives: Sudley

pretty little maternity dress

No, I’m not pregnant, obviously, but I do currently have a pregnant daughter … She is wearing the things I’ve already made for her constantly, AND I’ve also lent to her my rusty lace Cissy dress for however long she needs it – and boy do I miss it!  Even so she is in desperate need of more options.  Well, how could I not do something to help out?

I’m modelling it here though, because she and D have moved into their new, own home and she is now a half an hour’s drive away (sob)  I still can’t get used to her being so far away!!

While I was wearing it I was reminded how much I love this cute style.  The pattern is the Megan Nielsen Sudley dress, one I’ve made for myself once previously here, and once as a dress for Cassie here.  I really like the oversized, comfy skirt and three quarter sleeves, which I have gathered up with a loop of skinny elastic inserted in the casing; and the keyhole neckline with spaghetti tie is really pretty.  Otherwise, the style is quite similar actually to the aforementioned Cissy dress in many ways, with a few key design point differences of course! but the style and feel make them very much sister designs, I think.

The fabric is this, very pretty, rayon crepe from Minerva… isn’t it lovely?  I think it’s really sweet and “granny’s wallpaper”, in a pretty old-fashioned sort of a way.

Now I have a confession, I initially cut out a different thing from this fabric, and … well it was terrible.  There’s no sugar-coating it.  I was quite depressed about it actually, had bought the pattern with great expectations and excitement, and it didn’t take long before I realised it had … issues.  I won’t name and shame it, well, not just yet! but I think I’ll give it a revisit at some point and work out a re-jig.  I already have plans.. but more on that at a future date!  I managed to cut out the Sudley pattern from the pieces, and miraculously I’m fairly confident I have enough small pieces leftover that I think I can cobble together for a thing for me too.  I just need to get around to it!!

… crazy Spiderman picture inspired by a Vogue magazine shoot…

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an exciting need for maternity gear!

so, I have some very exciting news!  I’m going to be a granny again!  Well of course I’m already a granny to darling little Arthur, but I am going to be granny to TWO.  That’s cause for celebration, I think!  Especially if by celebration, I mean celebratory sewing … which is specifically the kind of celebration this blog recognises, hehe.

Cassie is quite early on in her pregnancy but is already uncomfortable and in need of maternity clothes. Kelly passed on to her one or two of the things I made for her last year, but they are different sizes and so Cassie needed some things of her own, too.

Exhibit A!

I printed out another Closet Core patterns Ebony pattern to cut out Cassie’s size… now I know it’s not technically maternity, but in my opinion this makes a really good maternity option!  And there are so few! Honestly, you  go and check out the maternity range around at the moment and it’s quite shocking how few there are on offer.  Quite disgraceful, to be honest!  There used to be lots of options back when I was sewing for my own pregnancies, but those options seem to have sadly dwindled…  today’s pregnant ladies who sew for themselves have to be resourceful because there is practically nothing at all being designed specifically for the expectant figure.  And even less that’s very interesting.

Anyway.

The first thing I made is the above cotton jersey floral dress for Cassie… she absolutely loves it, which is great because I was initially not a fan of the fabric she chose!  However, once I’d made it and she put it on I could see she looks lovely in these fresh, bright, pretty springy colours.  She wanted something that could work for just about everything, casual and comfortable for both at home and out, she can wear it to work, and even to a formal event if she wants with the appropriate shoes.  Specifically, she has a friend’s wedding coming up, to which she is planning to wear this; and with her high heeled black booties I think it’s going to be lovely.  Plus, it’s stretchy fabric, so it’s very comfortable too, she can curl up on the couch in it just fine.  Pretty? and comfortable too?!!  win win!

I used the aforementioned Ebony pattern, of course, with the set-in sleeve.  The swing of the skirt is a little less than the pattern, because the fabric I had wasn’t as wide as needed.

Exhibits B! and C!

This top is another Ebony, naturally, in the tunic length and with the raglan sleeves.  This spotty cotton jersey is absolutely lovely! such a pretty print.  Oh, both of these fabrics, the spots, and the green, plus the previous blue/pink floral, were all from Spotlight.

please excuse the lumpy look, there’s a cushion doing baby stand-in duties in there and it’s not doing a very good job…

The skirt is Burda 7023, one I made several times previously for Kelly, so we know it’s a fantastic little pattern.  Thanks again to my lovely reader Graca, who very kindly sent this to me!  xx

I did the same thing I did before for Kelly’s skirts, with a self-drawstring in the front band coming out through little eyelets on the inside, so she can tie the front up tighter during these earlier days before she’s very big.

Exhibit D! and sorta E? though I’ve shown this little top here before so it shouldn’t really count actually.  Cassie made the skirt herself, using the Megan Nielsen Axel skirt pattern, and a pretty embroidered and pleated organza that she bought from Megan Nielsen store too actually.  It has a stretch jersey waistband, and is lined with lightweight cotton jersey too.  The little top is one I made for Kelly, and is a streamlined Closet Core patterns Ebony, first blogged here.  I made it using the same oatmeal-coloured, lightweight cotton jersey Cassie used for the waistband and lining of her skirt…  I originally bought this gorgeous stuff at Homecraft Textiles.

 

I just wanted to add pictures here of two other me-made clothes that Cassie is finding very useful in her pregnancy, a sort of pregnancy-appropriate, pattern round-up, if you like.  Both these dresses are getting worn a LOT.

Exhibit F: this Megan Nielsen patterns Sudley dress that I made for her in 2017, in a gorgeous spotty rayon from Spotlight, originally blogged here.

and also Exhibit G: this Burda dress also from a few years ago, made using a really beautiful, Amalfi coast printed crepe from Fabulous Fabrics, and Burda 02/2015/107, and originally blogged here.  This was my Christmas present to her from 2015, so I’m thrilled she’s got so many years of great wear out of it!

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a shirt for David and a dress for Cassie

hey bro!

Woooh!  I’m so excited to finally hand this over!  My brother has had/is having a big BIG birthday… and my sister-in-law made the brilliant suggestion that he would like a shirt made by me for his birthday.  Well, oh my goodness, I don’t know why I didn’t think of it myself!!  So I dutifully and sisterly-lovingly spent LOADS of time and care into making this as perfect as I possibly could, and it pretty much is.  Ta da!

looks like a kinda cool dress when Bessie is wearing it, yes?  Gotta admit, I WAS a little tempted to steal it …

I know what you’re thinking… don’t I pour loads of love and care into making shirts for my husband and two sons too? well of course I do.  Buuuut, see…  my brother’s shirt is going to be handled, worn, laundered, ironed and generally available for up close and personal inspection by someone other than me… and I quaked with fear at the thought   * imagines to oneself, my brother and sister-in-law with a magnifying glass going over each and every stitch*   Ha!

And yeah, this really is a VIB (Very Important Birthday).  and so I just really wanted for this shirt to this to be really really lovely for my really really lovely brother.

Pattern: I used my new mens’ shirt pattern Burda 6874, graded to fit David, plus I made his extra long as per the shirt whose size I was going off.  My sister-in-law had secretly given me a well-fitting shirt of his that I could measure off to custom-fit his shirt … David is a 6’4″ champion swimmer, and built like one too… did I ever mention he has swum the Rottnest Channel swim solo?!   Yep!!  Meaning that I needed to substantially re-grade my pattern to fit his physique.  I didn’t have David himself to check the fit off of, just that one shirt; so I was pretty terrified how mine was going to go.  Luckily the fit turned out to be absolutely spot on!  *pheeeew!!!

Fabric; a really nice deep indigo cotton/linen with a permanently scrunchy texture to it, I went big guns and bought this from Calico House, because well, it IS a special birthday.  The red buttons are from Fabulous Fabrics.

But enough boring chit-chat…  how about some gratuitous detail shots  #shirtporn #oooyouknowyouwantit

buttondown collar

it took me three goes to get the second of these buttonholes looking exactly the same as the first!

sleeve placket.  contrasting red cotton for the cuff and yoke facings, topstitched in a way that a tiny sliver peeked out on the right side


fully flat-felled seams throughout

sorry for collar picture overload.. I was just so thrilled at how nice it turned out!

I was once asked what the inside of these side seam gusset/insert thingies looks like …  Folding the inner edges all around made them pretty bulky so I cut away all seam allowances of “hidden” edges ie. those of the underside of the gusset and the turned under edge of the shirt hem, tucked them inside the upper gusset edge and topstitched them all down… thus considerably reducing bulk here

As soon as he opened it, he put it on.. obviously this made me SO HAPPY to see him wearing it!

Also… recently I mentioned that I had made a dress for Cassie?  well here ’tis!

Pattern; the Sudley by Megan Nielsen patterns,  I gathered up the sleeve hems with skinny elastic, like I had done for my own Sudley blouse, at her request.  All seams are French seams, dress is fully lined with the lining cut as an extended bodice.  The fabric is a very realistic silk-like poly from Spotlight, lining also from Spotlight.

 

 

To be honest, halfway through making it I felt pretty down about it, like this was a dress that couldn’t possibly be saved… but fortunately once it was on her it suddenly looked adorable. And she loves it!  Despite that very serious facial expression!

No no no!  I’m not about to be a granny yet… this is just a pose that made us both roar with laughter!  Demonstrating the… um, capacity of this design.

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golden brown


hello!  I’ve made this new blouse…  I was having trouble thinking of a way to describe the colour, since the only thing coming to my mind was those white puffball fungi that upon “puffing” send forth a little cloud of smelly spores that are just about exactly this colour.  Then Craig came to the rescue, suggesting “golden brown”  Oh, yes, that is SO much nicer!  Why is my brain sooo….? um, weird and mundane and lacking in poetic nuance?!

 

Fabric; a silk crepe from Tessuti fabrics in Melbourne, bought during a previous years’ trip over there with Mum and Cassie.  I’ve had it marinating in the stash all this time, awaiting the perfect blouse pattern.  I think this was happily, and accidentally, IT!

obligatory back view… 


Pattern; the Sudley by Megan Nielsen patterns. Tim and Sam gave it to me for Christmas, after I had requested the Dove blouse pattern.  Did I mention already that the Dove is perpetually sold out?? yes I believe I did.  Clearly my boys encountered the same issue that I have had …. timing, it seems, is everything!!  However, the Sudle is a nice little pattern, very simple, and I think I will use it a lot too.

This is actually the second Sudley I have made.  I also made a dress that has now been assigned to Cassie when I realised it was just going to be a little too, er, young for me.  I expect it’ll show up on ye olde blog here sometime…

 

Alterations:  The Sudley is a very young-at-heart style whereas I am more of a hoary-old-beast-at-heart; so I made a few minor design alterations to “old” it up a bit.   I opted for the plain neckline, and jazzed up the plain sleeves by running a loop of skinny elastic through the sleeve hems to gather them softly up, and made a separate bias rouleau loop “bow” which is purely decorative and just sewn on to the hem with a few firm stitches through all layers.

I also cut the lower hemline to have a curved “shirttail” line to it.  The hems and the neckline are all finished by hand, because I really wanted to have a smooth clean stitch-free expanse of fabric with absolutely no visible topstitching anywhere.  This is about as invisible as I could get.

Oh; one thing I did, which I would recommend for this type of neckline; you stay-stitch all around the neckline and the keyhole opening, obviously to stabilise it, however! to further help keep the neckline straight and true I kept a little bridge of fabric intact at the top front edges of the keyhole where the ties were to be attached, and maintained it throughout most of the blouse’s construction, and only cut through it at the very last minute, when turning and hand-stitching the bias binding down on the inside.  I think this simple precaution really helped to keep everything true.

All seams throughout are French seams, except for the armscye seams which I just ran through the overlocker to finish.  Picking my battles here!  This silk, while absolutely divine and a dream to wear, was actually not much fun to sew!  However!  The puffball spore, I mean, lovely golden-brown is a perfect colour for autumnal me, also I think this style of blouse suits me and I’m going to enjoy wearing it a lot.  It’s going to go with TONNES of my other clothes.

    

Details:

Top; MN2004 the Sudley blouse by Megan Nielsen patterns with minor modifications, silk crepe
Skirt; Vogue 1247, ivory curtaining fabric, details here and my review of this pattern here
Shoes; made by me, my own design, details here

Skirt below; Vogue 8363, canvas, details here

Location: Eagle Bay, Western Australia

Wearing it out to dinner recently, with my “bookshelf” skirt.  I think they go together quite nicely!

And my clogs have received a much-needed makeover!  The ivory pleather part of the upper has got so worn and was starting to pull badly around where it was nailed to the soles…. I’d already fixed it once but finally acknowledged that if I wanted them to last a lifetime, and I think they can! then it was time for action.  One thing I’ve learnt about making my own shoes is that if something needs a little mending or attention then it REALLY pays to get onto it very quickly.  Mum had given me an ivory leather clutch years ago “for shoes” and it was juuuuuust big enough so I could cut out new pieces.  I used my punch that I bought in Copenhagen, and upholstery thread in ivory to sew up and down all around, and hammered on the new uppers.

Now they’re as good as new!! in fact; I reckon BETTER!

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