Vintage Lady Skater Dress

Vintage Lady Skater Dress by Thisblogisnotforyou.comI did it again! I made another version of Kitschy Coo’s Lady Skater Dress! Of course, I couldn’t just stick with the original pattern, but had to make some alterations. I re-used my altered puff-sleeve pattern from my previous pinstripe Lady Skater and also added a Peter Pan collar as I’m not a big fan of the original t-shirt neckline.
Vintage Lady Skater Dress by Thisblogisnotforyou.comVintage Lady Skater Dress by Thisblogisnotforyou.comFor the skirt and collar I used a light grey jersey I bought on sale half a year ago. The bodice was made out of a thrifted Laury Ashley jersey skirt. Normally, I’m absolutely not into floral fabrics, but I somehow fell in love with this one:
Vintage Lady Skater Dress by Thisblogisnotforyou.com

I loved the vintage look of the skirt when I saw it and the Laura Ashley fabric seemed to be of very good quality. I wasn’t sure whether it would be enough, but with a bit of squeezing (and shortening the sleeves) I managed to cut both bodice and sleeves out of it.Vintage Lady Skater Dress by Thisblogisnotforyou.comHere you can see that I had to shorten to sleeves a bit, but I could also re-use the hem of the skirt for the sleeve hems. Pretty convenient :)Vintage Lady Skater Dress by Thisblogisnotforyou.com

Here’s how I drafted the collar:Vintage Lady Skater Dress by Thisblogisnotforyou.comI taped front and back of the bodice pattern together (folding away the seam allowance) so that they were overlapping a bit on the armhole edge (see below). This way the collar lies flatter.Vintage Lady Skater Dress by Thisblogisnotforyou.comVintage Lady Skater Dress by Thisblogisnotforyou.comDrafting the actual collar (don’t forget to add seam allowance!):Vintage Lady Skater Dress by Thisblogisnotforyou.comI handbasted most of the seams of the collar before machine sewing them. Parts of the collar are cut on the bias and might stretch and shift, so handbasting seemed like a good idea. I also basted the collar to the dress, turned the raw edges over inside and stitched the raw edges to the dress with a zig zag (which you cannot see from the outside as the seams are covered by the collar). Vintage Lady Skater Dress by Thisblogisnotforyou.comI love my second Lady Skater Dress as much as I love the first one! I wore it already (way too often) over the holidays and in my head I’m already making more!
Vintage Lady Skater Dress by Thisblogisnotforyou.com

These pics were taken on one of these days where I was just not in the mood for taking pictures. Do you know these days? Not even my new hair colour seemed to help. Taking pics feeling all of your neighbours are watching you is so awkward!Vintage Lady Skater Dress by Thisblogisnotforyou.com

Well, this is #21 of my 27 Dresses Challenge. #22 is finished, too, but still in need of a lining. #23 might never be finished, but more on that later! xx


Happy sewing!

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The Lady Skater Dress

Lady Skater dress by thisblogisnotforyou.com

Ahoy!

I never thought I would, but I feel like I’m becoming one of these jersey junkies! I made another jersey dress last week and the whole projects was so rewarding. It was super easy, quick and the fit of the dress is amazing. The fabric was just £1.50 pm. I love jersey!!

I have three belts which go perfectly with the dress:

Lady Skater dress by thisblogisnotforyou.comLady Skater dress by thisblogisnotforyou.comLady Skater dress by thisblogisnotforyou.com

I used the Lady Skater Dress pattern from Kitschy Coo but I altered the pattern quite a bit. I saw the dress on Daniela and Thea and loved the fit. However, I’m not a big fan of tshirts, tee neckbands and cuffs. I love things to be as lady like as it gets, so I swapped the tshirt dress look for a slash neck (with facing), puff sleeves and a simple hem instead of cuffs. I also cut up the bodice pattern to create the illusion of an hourglass shape (I should do this on every pattern!).

Here are some pictures of the alterations I made:Lady Skater dress by thisblogisnotforyou.com

Raising the neckline and adding a side panel.Lady Skater dress by thisblogisnotforyou.comLady Skater dress by thisblogisnotforyou.comLady Skater dress by thisblogisnotforyou.com

Raising and spreading out the sleeve cap to a puff sleeve.Lady Skater dress by thisblogisnotforyou.com

Omitting the cuffs, lenthening the 3/4 sleeves and adding a tiny hem:Lady Skater dress by thisblogisnotforyou.com

It’s not an exaggerated puff sleeve (like the one on my plaid jacket), but it gives the sleeve a very feminine touch. ( I know, my stripe matching is a bit off!)

Lady Skater dress by thisblogisnotforyou.com

The fit of the Lady Skater is amazing. To be on the safe side I made the full bust adjustment suggested in the pattern (I never had to do this before!), but the armskye looked rather tight on some of the pictures I saw of the dress. Without the FBA the bodice might have been a tiny bit too tight.

Lady Skater dress by thisblogisnotforyou.com

I’m in love with this dress! It’s #20 of my 27 Dresses Challenge and I can see me wear it very often!! Lady Skater dress by thisblogisnotforyou.comLady Skater dress by thisblogisnotforyou.comLady Skater dress by thisblogisnotforyou.comLady Skater dress by thisblogisnotforyou.com

I’m already dreaming of making more ladylike Lady Skater dresses!


Happy sewing!

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Two-Tone Kelly Skirt

Kelly Skirt by thisblogisnotforyou.com

Last week I made a skirt. A high-waisted skirt. With pockets. And piping. Using fabric from my stash. Nothing went wrong. Hurray!

Kelly Skirt by thisblogisnotforyou.comLast summer I helped Daniela (Ela Sews And Doesn’t Sleep) pick some fabric and lining for her Kelly Skirt when we went fabric shopping to Walthamstow together. Inspired by her beautiful version I now finally made one myself. And I wore it twice already! (First time when going fabric shopping with Daniela, of course, but this time we went to Goldhawk Road!)Kelly Skirt by thisblogisnotforyou.com

I used some grey and purple denim fabric from my stash. Both were actually two of the very first fabrics I ever bought when I started sewing properly in 2011. I got them in the leftover section in Karstadt, when I lived in Germany.

I only had about 1.2m of both fabrics, but this was more than enough for the Kelly Skirt. I could even make a second one, colours inverted, with purple being the main colour. Kelly Skirt by thisblogisnotforyou.comAlthough I like challenging projects and this pattern seemed to be very very simple, I decided to make the skirt since

a) I love skirts (although don’t wear them that often. Putting on tights is such a nuisance. Am I the only one feeling that way?)

b) I love everything high-waisted!

c) the A-line shaped cut of the skirt is beautiful and I’m totally into sewing more simple basics at the moment. Very time-efficient.

The pattern was super simple, the skirt came together very quickly. Sewing with denim was such a joy. Although it’s quite stretchy, it does not stretch out of shape while sewing and is not as slippery as the fabrics I normally sew with. Less pinning, more dancing.

Kelly Skirt by thisblogisnotforyou.comI wanted to add piping, so I made some tiny piping myself from the purple denim fabric for the pockets and waistband. You can find a tutorial for doing this here.

When it came to picking some buttons, Mr Thisblogisnotforyou had the glorious idea of making fabric covered buttons from the leftover denim fabric. He was perfectly right as no other buttons seemed to match, so I had to cover 7 buttons and he refused to help. Hrmpf!Kelly Skirt by thisblogisnotforyou.comI love the result, although there are a few things that I don’t like about the pattern. First of all, the back pleats aren’t very flattering. And I’ve looked it up online, I’m obviously not the only one seeing it this way. They just make everything back there look much bigger than it is. Furthermore, the spacing of the buttons is not the best. The skirt is gaping open right under the waistband. I had to add a small snap to fix that.

Following the instructions, I machine stitched the hem and I regret doing this. The skirt would’ve looked much much nicer with a neat handfinished hem.

Kelly Skirt by thisblogisnotforyou.com

I had to make a few changes to the pattern to be able to make the button placket in a different colour.

Should I sew this skirt again, I will definitely use a smaller size. There seems to be quite a bit wearing ease in the pattern. I made the skirt in size S, but the waistband doesn’t fit as snugly as I had hoped. Room for more chocolate!!

( I actually wanted to start a juice cleanse this morning to get all these masses of coffee and chocolate out of my system. I went and bought all the ingredients, but stopped before I had prepared the first juice and made a salad instead. Hmmmm)

Now that we finally bought an ironing board a lot of my clothes that have been hanging in the closet will see daylight again! Yay!Kelly Skirt by thisblogisnotforyou.com

What have you been up to? Have you sewn any skirts lately?

Happy sewing!

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27 Dresses Challenge Recap – 18 down, 9 to go!

27dresses challenge recap by thisblogisnotforyou.comHello gang!

I thought today is time for a quick challenge recap. As you know I’m working hard on my 27 Dresses Challenge so I can finally go and get an overlocker. If you haven’t heard about my challenge or need a quick refresher, here’s the original blog post.

I started the challenge almost exactly a year ago and I’m still not finished. Boo! Well, but that’s mainly because I’m really strict with myself and only count garments that are made from scratch. Refashions, accessoires and toddler pinafores do not count. Neither do kitchen aprons. That would be too easy. (FYI trousers and blouses do count. If I would only count dresses it would take me decades to get that damn overlocker, dudes!!)

Seen from that perspective, I’ve come quite far. I blogged about 18 challenge garments so far (out of which 10 are dresses) and more are on their way. Inofficially, #19 and #20 are already done, #21 & #22 are WIP at the moment. I can already hear the overlocker whirring!

Here are garments #1 to #18. Have fun!

27dresses challenge recap by thisblogisnotforyou.comHow do I feel about it now? Umm. Yesss. This is more or less the second dress I’ve ever sewn using a sewing machine and the first dress made using a sewing pattern. Considering that it was my first Burdastyle pattern experience, I have to say it’s not too bad. I had no idea what I was doing, but it turned out to be a dress in the end. Pattern matching? Eh, that’s why there are no pictures of the back!

Have I worn it? Once. I made it for a special occasion (Mr Thisblogisnotforyou was awarded a prize by his uni department and I was his plus one), went there and wore it. It has been hanging in my closet ever since.

27dresses challenge recap by thisblogisnotforyou.com

How do I feel about it now? I love it! I still is one of my favourite makes. I remember it took ages to finish it, since I couldn’t wrap my head around these stupid Burda instructions.

Have I worn it? Yes! Twice, on Christmas the last two years. Everyone loved it and I got a lot of compliments for it! It’s a wool dress and only handwash it, since I forgot to prewash the fabric before I sewed the dress and I know that it will shrink quite a bit (after testing it with a bit of remnant fabric). That’s why I don’t wear it on a daily basis.

27dresses challenge recap by thisblogisnotforyou.comHow do I feel about it now? Ahh! My first pair of trousers! My first self-drafted pattern. Everything went so great while making these. The only thing that bothers me now is that I used low quality fabric. It was 20-year-old fabric I got from Mr Thisblogisnotforyou’s mum and it’s a bit itchy and seems to attract fluff.

Have I worn it? A million times! I love it! I bought linen fabric (May last year!) to make it again, just haven’t had the time yet.

27dresses challenge recap by thisblogisnotforyou.comHow do I feel about it now? I still love it, but it’s one of these dresses you can’t wear in everyday life. I love the fit and am quite proud that I managed to make such a good sew with my poor sewing skills back then.

Have I worn it? Unfortunately, no. Partly because I just finished the last bit of the hem last week (hoping that I might wear it on a date night some time soon). Also, the instructions say that all the front bodice pleats need to be basted before washing the dress so they don’t loose their shape. Not a big motivation for wearing it.

27dresses challenge recap by thisblogisnotforyou.comHow do I feel about it now? I wasn’t quite sure about the fabric after I bought it and this dress was supposed to be more like a toile. Sewing this fabric was a horror, but in the end it turned out to be one of my favourite makes!

Have I worn it? Way too often! I had to take a break from it for a little while, just so people around me didn’t start wondering whether I had nothing else to wear! It’s super comfy and fits perfectly. I’m thinking about making another one actually!

27dresses challenge recap by thisblogisnotforyou.comHow do I feel about it now? It’s nice, it’s different and it’s completely self-drafted. I just love the colour combination. I used boning for the bodice (for the first time) and am quite proud of such a good fit.

Have I worn it? Only for taking pictures for the blog to be honest. Why? The bodice is a bit too tight (never underestimate wearing ease, guys!) and there was just no appropriate occasion to wear it.

27dresses challenge recap by thisblogisnotforyou.com

How do I feel about it now? This skirt was a really quick sew. I just needed something to show off the fabulous vintage trim. The fabric was from my stash, so this was a double win!

Have I worn it? Yes. Not too often, though, since the fabric wrinkles like crazy and I’m a bit lazy when it comes to ironing. But I wear it every now and then.

27dresses challenge recap by thisblogisnotforyou.comHow do I feel about it now? I hate it, of course, and am ashamed to even have counted it in the challenge in the first place! It’s the ugliest thing ever. The only good thing about it is the fit. I consider it a toile for a dress I never made.

Have I worn it? Seriously? Noooo! But I used part of it for my Bombshell Swimsuit lining.

27dresses challenge recap by thisblogisnotforyou.com

How do I feel about it now? It’s really nice. One of the first garments that came together without any major sewing disasters.

Have I worn it? A few times. I will definitely wear it again this summer. The annoying bit: The fabric is quite itchy.

27dresses challenge recap by thisblogisnotforyou.com

How do I feel about it now? I’m still sooo in love with it. These raglan sleeves were a bit tricky, as was the chiffon fabric. All those baby seams! I have a bit of fabric left, maybe you will see these cute little pandas again some time soon.

Have I worn it? No, because I made it for my sister and sent it off to her as soon as it was done. From what she told me, she’s worn it. I’m jealous! It was really hard to give this one away!

27dresses challenge recap by thisblogisnotforyou.com

How do I feel about it now? This was such a horror to sew! First of all, I cut out the fabric with the stretch going the wrong direction. So I basically had to sew it twice. Such a nightmare. That’s all I remember.

Have I worn it? No. This, too, was for my sister.

27dresses challenge recap by thisblogisnotforyou.com

How do I feel about it now? It came together quickly, but I wasn’t concentrated enough and made quite a few mistakes. First of all, I picked the wrong fabric, it didn’t have enough stretch! This dress is way too tight, a serious wardrobe malfunction.

Have I worn it? Once. I will probably have to recycle the fabric at some point.

27dresses challenge recap by thisblogisnotforyou.com

How do I feel about it now? I really like these shorts! They could be a bit tighter around the waistband, but apart from that the fit is great.

Have I worn it? Yes! Quite a few times. I love them and I will keep wearing them!

27dresses challenge recap by thisblogisnotforyou.com

How do I feel about it now? It was a nice and quick project and it’s the only maxi dress I own so far!

Have I worn it? Only once or twice, I guess. I made it end of last summer and it was already getting too chilly to wear it. I will definitely wear it again when the sun comes out!

27dresses challenge recap by thisblogisnotforyou.comHow do I feel about it now? This was definitely one of my most challenging projects so far! It turned out pretty good and I’m really proud of it. I don’t like the sleeves as much as I did in the beginning. They look ginormous!

Have I worn it? For a little while until the weather got too chilly and I had to get out my winter coat. Same problem as I had with my maxi dress. I really have to start planning ahead when sewing seasonal clothing!

27dresses challenge recap by thisblogisnotforyou.com

How do I feel about it now? It’s great. Although really simple and quite, it’s one of my best makes, I think. It’s neat inside out and super comfy.

Have I worn it? Many many times since I made it.

27dresses challenge recap by thisblogisnotforyou.com

How do I feel about it now? I really like it. It was quite challenging to make a made-to-measure garment for someone else, but in the end the fit was great and my best friend loved it! It’s self-drafted and to an untrained eye it definitely doesn’t look homesewn! hurray!

Have I worn it? For the photoshoot only. My best friend wore it at her sister’s wedding and got quite a few compliments. Mission accomplished!

27dresses challenge recap by thisblogisnotforyou.com
How do I feel about it now? I loooove it! Althought it’s quite a bright fashion statement, I love wearing it. It’s comfy, chic and keeps me warm. Perfect combination. And, hey! It will be the first pattern published here on le blog!

Have I worn it? Oh, yes! At first, I only wore it at home. Now I wear it to work as well and can’t stop showing it off!


Enough bragging! Let’s get cracking and bring this challenge to an end!

Btw, do you have any recommendations for great overlockers/sergers? What brands do you use?

Happy sewing!

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Once upon a time…I made a red hooded cape.

little red riding hood cape by thisblogisnotforyou.com

Ooops. How did that happen? Does she know this looks a bit…a lot...like a fairytale costume?

Yes, she does!

Sewing a hooded cape using a bright red knit fabric, I was aware of that. And I love it. Not only do I love fairytales, I also think that the cape looks chic enough to be actually worn, not only on costume parties. (I hate these by the way. Except for when they’re Star Wars or Burlesque themed.)

How did it happen?

Well, I’ve been wanting to sew a cape for ages (A proper cape, though. One you wear instead of a coat). But I knew I wouldn’t be able to finish it this season. And I’m Stash Dieting, as you know.

I bought this red knit fabric about a year ago (Yes, I’m a hoarder). I wanted to make a cardigan originally, but when draping the fabric over my dressform the other day, the drape looked like a hood and I immediately wanted to make a hooded cape. I started looking for inspiration and then made these sketches:

little red riding hood cape by thisblogisnotforyou.comlittle red riding hood cape by thisblogisnotforyou.com
little red riding hood cape by thisblogisnotforyou.comlittle red riding hood cape by thisblogisnotforyou.com

Pretty close, eh?

No, no magic happened between making these sketches and the finished garment.
What actually happend was hours of research and drafting.
If there was some magic involved, then it came from this book, which is awesome btw.

Patternmaking for Fashion Design – Helen Josph Armstrong

Following the step-by-step instructions, I drafted a cape pattern and a pattern for a loose hood. (This book is wonderful, but veery expensive. It’s worth it though. It also helped me immensely when drafting the bridesmaid dress.)

little red riding hood cape by thisblogisnotforyou.com

Drafting the cape, based on a standard Burda bodice pattern.

little red riding hood cape by thisblogisnotforyou.com

Drafted hood pattern – really no magic involved. Just a lot of measuring, drawing and patience.

little red riding hood cape by thisblogisnotforyou.com

I was afraid that my 2m of knit fabric wouldn’t be enough, but in the end I even had some left. Whoop, whoop!

After cutting out, I sewed all the darts. Then sewed the hood and cape together. Then I cut out a 13cm wide rectangle of the leftover fabric and sewed it on the right center front (right sides together) like so:

little red riding hood cape by thisblogisnotforyou.com

Patience, young padawan. It will (hopefully) make sense in a minute.

Folding this strip over, I sewed it onto the left center front of the cape (left sides together!!) like so:

little red riding hood cape by thisblogisnotforyou.com

I ended up having this: little red riding hood cape by thisblogisnotforyou.com

I folded it over, so both center front parts overlap and the corners of the hood meet at the center.little red riding hood cape by thisblogisnotforyou.com

I decided to skip making real buttonholes (after making sure I could fit the cape over my head) and sewed on 10 buttons which also secure the flap and help it stay in place.

I spent most of my sewing-time hemming the cape and hood by hand. Yes, it’s masochistic, but it looks so much better!

little red riding hood cape by thisblogisnotforyou.comAnd garment #18 of my challenge was done! (Less than 10 left – happy dance!)
little red riding hood cape by thisblogisnotforyou.com

little red riding hood cape by thisblogisnotforyou.comlittle red riding hood cape by thisblogisnotforyou.comlittle red riding hood cape by thisblogisnotforyou.com

As I said, there was no magic involved but there was a unicorn. A grumpy unicorn:little red riding hood cape by thisblogisnotforyou.com

I’m really happy with this make, especially since I’m quite proud that the final result looks so much like what I had in mind.

Although the drafting process was quite tricky and took most of the time, the sewing was super quick. A handful of straight seams and a few darts. Super easy! Should I ever be bored and have loads of time left (haha!), I might even manage to upload the pattern for you guys. Let me know what you think!

In the meantime, may the unicorn be with you! Peace out.

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