Oh, hello there!

It’s embarrassing how long it took me to write up a post this time! I have to blame a whole new bunch of hobbies for it. I’ve discovered wool spinning and all that comes with it and have spent the last couple months pretty much doing nothing else than handling wool in all shapes and forms. It’s really fun and distracts me from sewing at the moment. I’ve been making all sorts of little projects for the kids in my family, as well. So I’ve been very much involved with all things creative. People ask me all the time how I have the time to do so many things at once and, well, I haven’t. I really have to make time to be able to explore so many creative activities and some things have to get pushed to the bottom of the list. In the last few months it’s been mostly working out (the most likely candidate) and blogging. Preparing a blog post eats up a lot of time and, to be honest, isn’t always the most creative part of the process for me.

Just before discovering the joy of old spindles and raw fibres I finished a couple of really cute outfits which we photographed months ago. One of these was this really lovely jersey dress, which I’ve worn endlessly since then.

pattern: hacked Agnes Top (Tilly and the Buttons), size 10
fabric: 1.5m of printed jersey (gifted)
cost: next to nothing: fabric was gifted, 10cm elastic (1.99€/m),  matching thread from my stash
duration: ~2 hours

I used the Agnes Top pattern by Tilly and the Buttons and lengthened it into a dress. It’s the third time I made myself an Agnes dress, the other two dresses (here and here) are some of my favourite garments to date. It’s fairly easy to do this freehand. I usually use the Sew Over It Cowl Neck Dress as a base for the skirt part, since I really like the fit and length. As I said, you don’t necessarily need a skirt pattern for this. You could simply drop the hem down to knee-length and curve the side seams a bit following the shape of your thighs. 

An Agnes dress is super comfy, but doesn’t look too slouchy. You can easily dress it up with some heels or dress it down by wearing trainers. It’s also one of my favourite garments to take on holidays, as it’s such an allrounder and fits easily in any bag without creasing. 

I love the feminine shape of the neckline. It’s such a simple, but effective trick to use a short length of elastic to ruche the centre front and turn it from a scoop neck into a pretty v-shape. This technique is included in the pattern booklet and can also be easily applied to other garments. You could also use this trick on other tops you would like to update. Any scoop neck would be perfect for this. The elastic is stitched down with a zigzag stitch, which only takes a minute or two.

I would really love to get my sewing juices flowing again! I’ve been browsing a bit for new indie sewing patterns and bought a couple Sew Over It dress patterns recently. I would really like to explore other brands as well, since I feel I’ve been missing out on all the latest pattern crazes (Myosotis Dress anyone? I’ve been eyeballing you!).

Do you have any recommendations for patterns and indie pattern designers which I should check out? Please let me know in the comments!

xx

Charlie

Happy sewing!
♥

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HACKING AGNES INTO A DRESS

Hello again!

After reviewing the pattern and showing you my wearable muslin, it’s time to get out the actual project I was working on.

The pattern and fabric used for this project are courtesy of WeaverDee.com. They very kindly offered me to pick some fabric along with a pattern for me to try. (As usual, all opinions are my own.)

I wrote about the pattern, the Agnes Top by TILLY AND THE BUTTONS,  after I made the puff sleeve version as a muslin.

For hacking the pattern into a close-fitting dress, I picked a gorgeous navy blue John Kaldor jersey (92% cotton, 8% elastane). The fabric is very smooth with quite a cool, luxurious feel to it. It didn’t give off any fluff after washing and the colour didn’t fade. It’s quite a dark rich colour, but it was a bit hard to photograph which is why it looks a bit greyish in some pictures. WeaverDee.com also has other beautiful John Kaldor jerseys, the fuchsia and kingfisher ones look soo tempting!

The fabric sewed and pressed really well. When pressing dark jersey fabric you always have to be careful to only press from the left side of the fabric, other wise the bulk of the seam allowance might leave marks on the right side.

PATTERN ADJUSTMENTS & FIT

To make the top into a dress I used my hip measurements and lengthened the top all the way to knee-length shaping in below the hip. I’ve done this to a couple of stretch patterns, so I keep using an older hacked pattern as reference. You can merge any pattern by lining up the bodice and skirt pieces at the waistline. This is the reason why I try to copy all marks when I trace a pattern. You never know when you might need it.

I made the view with the ruched neckline detail and short sleeves. The original length of the sleeves was a bit short for my taste, so I lengthened them by about 10cm.  I love 3/4 sleeves or sleeves that at least cover the elbow. They are easier to wear in colder and warmer seasons alike and look just so much classier.The dress is super comfy and looks great with tights and is also great for layering with a cardi or jumper. That is something you might want to keep in mind if you are planning to make the puff sleeves. They do look quite bulky once you wear a cardigan on top.

The simple silhouette makes this dress a perfect basic for different outfit combinations. The ruched detail is a pretty feature and also adds a really good shape to the bust area. I really like how the neckband is pulled slightly into a v-shape. It makes it look a bit less sporty. It’s not quite the heart-shape as shown on the pattern envelope because the neckband is a bit too bulky to be pulled down that far. But I like this look better anyway.

Will I make it again? I am really happy with this make. It came together in no time (2 hours tops) and is such a great wardrobe staple. I rediscovered jersey dresses this autumn and keep wearing them all the time until they’re all in the wash. I have to say I like the dress best of the all the Agnes’ I made so far (I made four different tops), but that’s just because I am not a jeans and t-shirt kind of type. Jersey is one of the fabrics that gets damaged through use and washing quite quickly, let’s see how this one holds up.  I definitely see myself making tons more (just in case)! 

xx

Charlie

Happy sewing!
♥

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