hello! I’m pleased that I made productive use of the Christmas break and managed to make a new thing…
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 used our own Carolyn & Cassie Pattern Co. Yallingup dress pattern, which I love wearing during summer. It’s the perfect breezy casual beach dress, imho. I used a rather intense hot pink gingham-printed Japanese cotton, bought using a Fabulous Fabrics birthday voucher from my friends. Also, please excuse me while I go and correct my recent retrospective post, I forgot that this fabric was also purchased new last year, whoops! At least all my purchased fabrics got used in the year they were bought.
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…
Hello! I’ve finished making a few new things, both from deep deep stash. I can’t stress enough how happy it makes me feel to be methodically using up ye olde stash! I feel so virtuous. Particularly since such a lot of it was not even bought by me in the first place, but foisted upon me – and I must say here that I truly do appreciate everything that has been given to me, many many pieces have proved to be very lovely and beautiful quality, and very useful too when it comes to testing patterns and new designs! It is also true though that I am at a stage in my life when I want to whittle it down, for good. I have dreams of a more minimalist future, and I’m determined to see it through.
The fabric is a quite nice, soft-pumpkin silk crepe, very lightweight and floaty, almost translucent. I’m definitely going to be wearing this with a slip, I think.
Item 2! a little knitted jacket and beanie set for Cassie’s new baby… the last time I went down to stay with my parents I bought this little pattern pamphlet from a yarn and quilting shop in Bridgetown; Naturally Yarns K679. I wanted to get something for the baby, and also to support a local business, but honestly felt very conflicted about buying a finished something when I SHOULD be using up my own supplies…. anyway I did achieve kind of both.
The 
It’s funny because I personally love testing patterns and I’ve been doing it for many years for other pattern companies, happily, and with no expectation or even thought of getting paid. Nowadays a lot of sewing peeps feel like they should be paid. This is not necessarily a criticism by the way, just an observation into how attitudes are a-changing.
