Upton Dress

Cashmerette patterns have released a pattern for woven fabrics called the Upton dress.  As soon as I saw it on Jenny's blog I knew it would be a style that would suit my figure and that I already had the perfect cotton fabric for too.  So here it is: my Upton Volumes dress!

The pattern has three different front bodice pattern pieces to choose from, each with different types of bust darts, depending on the difference between your bust and waist measurements.  The tricky bit for me was that my measurements suited two different sizes, so I took the suggestion in the pattern and used the bodice size that was closest to my waist measurement.  I used the waistband to slope between the two differently sized parts of the dress, to bridge the gap from the size 20 bodice to the size 18 skirt.

Now that I have worn it for a day out, and that I have looked at photos of me in the dress, I can see a few changes that I will make when I make this dress again.  It looks a bit like there isn't quite enough room in the bust but too much room above the bust, so I will use a bigger front bodice piece next time.  Also, I think I might size up the waist and skirt too.  When I was sitting down, the tightness of the waist and under-bust bodice pushed my breasts up quite a bit higher than I am used too, and caused a cleavage crease, which I personally try to avoid!  So a bit more room will let everything stay where it is supposed to!

Posing with pockets!

I have had this printed cotton fabric called "Volumes" in the colourway called "Degas" by Anna Maria Horner stored away for over a year now, just waiting for the right pattern.  I really didn't want pleats or gathers to interfere with the vertical pattern of this print, and I wanted skirt panels wide enough to make the best use of this pattern.  I made the front a priority with the skirt print and would have loved the back to have the strip of colour to be in the centre but there just wasn't enough fabric in my stash.  I compromised and at least made the back symmetrical.

I didn't have an invisible zip so used a normal one and inserted it fairly badly.  Oh well.  I could do it again but I am too lazy really, and will just leave it as is.

Here is a side view to show the fit and the shape.  Sometimes with a full figure a normal dress pattern will end up having the waist band rise up slightly in the front.  But look at the excellent pattern drafting and bust accommodation here: no rising of the front waist band!  I am very pleased overall and will be making this pattern again.

Before putting in the zip I had made the waistband out of the coloured striped fabric but decided it was too busy and then opted for the grey waistband instead.  Here's the two photos that helped me be certain about my choice.

 

I already have ideas for a second Upton dress!

Highland Thistle Dress

I LOVE this fabric and have finally been brave enough to cut into it and made myself a dress for the winter here in Scotland.  The fabric is a good quality knit fabric designed by Anna Maria Horner.

I was originally going to use the Colette Moneta pattern for this fabric but decided to use Butterick 5523 instead.  I have made this dress twice before (as a sleeveless and in Autumn colours) and I love how comfortable as well as neat looking this dress can be.

As the fabric makes me feel all Scottish and Highland-ery, I thought I would drive up the road to get some photos of it.  Our village is situated right where two rivers and two Glens meet, so we have lots of hills very close to us.  These photos were taken up the Glen this morning, even though it is freezing cold, the sun was shining a wee bit!

no filter here - this is exactly how it looks today!

When making this dress I added 1" to the front bodice to help make sure that the empire line stayed under my bust.  I also added 4" to the hemline.  I used my overlocker to make this dress, which was so quick and easy, but when it came to adding the skirt to the top, I forgot that I was supposed to keep the seam allowance so that I could enclose the waist elastic within it!  I had just let the overlocker cut it all off!  Oh well, I shall see how the dress goes keeping it's shape without the added elastic for now.  I used a stretch twin needle on my normal sewing machine to sew the hem on the sleeves and the skirt hem.

(the flash went off in this photo, don't know why, but it was my last one, too cold today)

The pattern is supposed to have a small tab of fabric with two buttons on the back, but I messed mine up and couldn't be bothered making another one.  It looks quite okay without it anyway.

the back is pretty plain

Whilst I was getting these snaps a full rainbow came out, so I shall leave you with my lucky shot!

An Aussie at a Scottish Polish Wedding

We have long been planning to attend a family wedding in Poland this September, and as Scottish formal attire is traditionally the kilt with a black jacket, we were going to make a big impression over there as a large contingent of kilt-wearing Scots.  As an Australian living in Scotland, I am wearing my tartan shoes and have tartan on my clutch, but I thought I would also include some Aussie-ness too!

I used this beautifully drapey and luxurious rayon fabric designed by Anna Maria Horner that has the leaves of my favourite tree, the eucalyptus tree.

So floaty!

We had these trees with the long leaves growing in our backyard when I was a child, and they remind me of the artwork of May Gibbs too.  I have always loved the shape of these leaves and even had them used in my wedding ring design.

Eucalyptus in Lime, rayon

For this dress I used Butterick 5987, version B

Butterick 5987 version b

The pattern is EASY.  It is designed for a light weight fabric but the drapey rayon worked really well.  I lined the bodice but not the skirt.  The pattern does ask for the bodice to have underlining as well as lining just to give the main fabric some structure, but I didn't use the underlining, as it was a summer wedding I didn't want too many layers for all that dancing!

Speaking of dancing, here are some photos of me dancing at the Polish wedding!  The dress felt really comfortable to wear.

The wedding reception was held in a rustic-looking barn-like restaurant, and this was the wall decoration at the table where we sat!

The dress details

For the belt, the pattern suggests a stretchy 2" bridal trim, but I went for satin ribbon with some sequined trim which I hand stitched.  At first I stitched the whole thing onto the waist by hand, but it looked all bumpy and wavey and didn't give me a narrow waist at all.  After unstitching I decided to only attach it at the zip seam, and then I tried the dress on to decide exactly how snug I wanted the waist ribbon to be, then cut four of the circles off and stitched the end to the zip seam too.  This is the only place where the belt ribbon is attached and it works perfectly!  The second photo below shows you how the belt is very loose when not being worn.  

I left a little bit of green ribbon at the edge to flap over the zip so that there is no visible colour gap, but as you can see in this last photo, the ribbon flap just sits over the zip.

About the pattern

The bodice is cut on the bias, and so has plenty of room to account for a bust and a tummy.  I cut the size 24 and made no alterations, apart from omitting the underlining and the skirt lining, only completing the bodice lining.  The instructions in the pattern never tell you to finish any seams, so I only finished the skirt seams with pinking shears and overlocked the bodice and waistband seams.

Here's one funny thing I found with the pattern:  What on earth are these circle markings for?  This is the pattern piece for the back of the skirt.  I didn't use them at all and there was no reference made to them in the instructions.

But there was no marking for the bottom of the zip, so perhaps that is what these are meant to be, and they just lost their way a little?  (When putting in my zip, I just started from the top and kept going until I got to the bottom without using any markings.)

It was a lovely time in Poland, and I loved wearing this dress! (tartan shoes are visible in this one)