Category Archives: Pattern Repeat

Because I have loved a pattern so much I did it again… or twice more… or three.

hack, Made By Me, Pattern Repeat, Patterns

Yet Another Kielo: Basic Black Version.

Leave a comment

Yes the title says it all, another Kielo make!  Named clothing are my go to pattern company, and my amount of Kielo’s are second to the amount of Inari’s I have (but no where near in number as I am Inari OBSESSED!)

There was a lot of inspiration on the Instagram from a few different Sewers, unfortunately the only one I can remember (and find) is Rumana’s version (aka @thelittlpomergranate) which she wore through different stages of her pregnancy.  No I am not pregnant myself (just fat) but I love the versatility of this garment.  And the fact I have not yet made a Plain black one is beyond me, since I have a black Jersey Inari that I wear to death!

So How did It sew?

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

It is always smooth sailing with a Named clothing make, especially one of the classics such as this, Its a quick make, despite the long seams.  I also used the arm hack that is free on their site to make a long sleeve version. (you can get that here if you haven’t already)

As much as I love the dress, for the full on Goth effect that I always seem to gravitate towards, I prefer wearing it open.  So I went back to the sewing table and inserted a tiny hole under each of the ties.  Now when I want to wear it loose, all i do is tuck the ties neatly inside and the can not be seen.  Since making this I have also fiddled around with tying it on the inside or using a belt through the little holes.  All giving amazing new looks to the same garment.

I am pretty sure another Kielo will appear in my wardrobe in the future.  But I now feel I will have to wait for the perfect fabric for any future makes.

Made By Me, My pattern, Pattern Repeat

Me Made: Oversized Smock Dress

Leave a comment

I always like finding out how other sewers work, how they went through the thought process that bought them to a certain garment.

Its a bit of a riddle like what came first, the chicken or the egg?  Was it the pattern or was it the fabric.  Usually with myself, it is the pattern leads to the choice of fabric (although if I was more organised and only bought what I need for patterns I would have a very small fabric stash!)  But this time round, I used a fabric which dictated a pattern to me, I have now made oversized smock dress 2.0.

Way back when I first had this idea with a beautiful grungy coloured tie dye fabric and self drafted a pattern.  I wanted it almost baby doll like and almost too exaggerated.  It worked and I still wear this to death, but it could be baggier! (check that out here)

So into my life via my cheap shop came this beautiful Mauve Fabric.  It was quite heavy, soft to the touch and had an amazing drape.  It also was the most beautiful mauve colour I had ever seen, and for someone who limits her colour palette to black/white/grey&nude, I was in strange territory…

So How Did It Sew?

 

I think I have sussed out what I want from a smock dress.  I think the key for me it the amount of length on the shoulder, from collar to sleeve.  I exaggerated this aspect and it has turned out extremely successful compared to other attempts.  Also keeping it ‘boxy’ and square really gives that oversized feel, with no shape.  I love how the waistband hangs with an arc, and the skirt follows.

The colour looks great on, despite still being quite muted, it IS indeed a colour that has snuck its way into my wardrobe, but a beautiful Autumnal colour at that.!

I can’t wait to wear this layered up over tights and boots this Autumn/winter  the heavier fabric really gives that added warmth to the piece.

I am sure this is not my last oversized smock dress, so watch this space!

 

Made By Me, Pattern Repeat, Patterns

Ready to Sew: Jamie x2

Leave a comment

Ready to Sew are one of my favourite pattern companies, including my recent purchase I have Seven of their patterns, and the Jude I have made a ridiculous amount of times.

My latest purchase was with the release of the Jack cardigan.  Oh what a perfect little cardi it is!  I was so happy with my first make that I dug deep into the stash and made a second, which I also equally love.

So How Did It Sew?

First, lets talk about the pattern.  As having a lot of experience with their patterns, this is no different.  It is a perfect pattern for all levels, and a great beginner (the Jamie itself it classed as Advanced Beginner)  The Layout and Diagrams in the Instructions are close to perfection by sewing standards.  They are so simple and easy.

What I love about Ready to Sew Items is that they are fashionable and timeless.  I make them the most because they just slot into my everyday wardrobe so easily.  And the Jamie is no exception.  It just adds something to my wardrobe, since the arms are slightly puffy at the cuff I get a more Bomber/sports jacket feel to it, other than just a cardigan.

I choose to use an old Scuba with a grey pattern, and a black and white geometric grid pattern.

The Grey Version:

This fabric was from my cheap shop and it is a Jersey scuba.  It is very thick and perfect for a more heavyweight cardigan such as this.  The pattern placement was key with this piece and I even pattern matched the pockets.

The Geometric Version:

This has a slight beige tone to the fabric, and came from an ebay haul I did way back when I didn’t know much about fabrics.  Turns out it is perfect for a Jamie, and has a nice stiffness to it that gives the cardigan some shape.

Overall I think I have finally found a go to Cardigan Pattern.  I would also like to hack it and maybe bring it down over the bum and to the thigh area, but after two in such a short time I will leave that for future me.

 

Made By Me, Pattern Repeat

The Gothic Marshmallow

2 Comments

I had this Idea for a Sheer oversized dress/tunic rolling around in my head for the longest of times before i realised I had the perfect pattern in my collection:  Cocowawa’s The Marshmallow Dress

This isn’t the first dress I have made, I made myself a Christmas dress with it one year in a beautiful blue tartan (check that out here)  When it was first released I loved seeing other peoples versions online; i swooned over the peter pan collars, bows and gorgeous fabrics they used.  Overall it helped me confirm my wanting to make this dress, but I also think sometimes it can be distracting to see a patterns full potential, especially in a sheer fabric.

One version I loved above all, was The Petite Cats’s version;  a copycat of the red Valentino dress (see that here)  This was the first time from all the makes I have seen online that really put the potential of this pattern into perspective.  It lifted it from homemade crazy patterned clothing to high end functioning fashion in one pic.  Not to mention that beautiful pussy Bow.  And so (sew?) the seed of inspiration was set.

So How did it Sew:

I decided to go down the sheer basic black for my version, thus creating THE GOTHIC MARSHMALLOW (also my metal band name if I ever have one!)

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

This dress, is an easy make, not just because I had made one before, but because I picked the most streamline basic version of this pattern (no collar, no bow, just the dress)

The fabric was a pain in the Booty to cut, but strangely not an issue to sew as it sort of held to itself.  I think it helped that I avoided pinning and just rammed it through the over locker, which has become my style lately.  To be honest I COULD have done a french seam here, but it really doesn’t notice at all, even though the sheer fabric.

The only fiddly bit was the buttons, but that can be said for all buttoned patterns.  What I like about this dress is the freedom to wear it wither way/ back to front.  Depending on what look i want to go for.

I absolutely love this dress, so much so that after my mini photo shot i put it back on and wore it for the rest of the day.

I love the casual Gothic aesthetic this dress has, almost like a comfy vampire.  I love the subtle ruffle detail that gives it an amazing shape.  For someone who wears mainly oversized clothing, these little details are really important and add a lot of variety to your silhouette.

I am tempted to make, like the petite cat, a more dressed up version with a gorgeous Pussy bow.  But for now this plan is shelved and put into the ‘needs the perfect fabric’ pile.

 

hack, Pattern Repeat, Patterns

Kalle Shirt Dress – LONG SLEEVES!

Leave a comment

When the Kalle was first launched it was probably the most near perfect pattern.  I loved it.  But I longed for a sleeve hack.  The original Kalle sleeve as is, was far too short for me.  I tend to wear them layered under cardigans  I even asked my beautiful Instagram community for help for a hack in desperation – and still no luck.

Then the BEAUTIFUL people from Closet case patterns bought out the long sleeve hack.  And it was EVERYTHING…

Images from Closet Case Website

Now, before we go on, just a little negative here: I have had many patterns that introduce a hack, for example the Keilo and Inari from Named Clothing both had a sleeve and collar hack.  Both of which were completely free.  On the other hand, I was so desperate for a long sleeve hack and was happy to pay for that privileged of not figuring it out my self.  Its just something to consider if you are reading this post before purchasing the Kalle and/or just the sleeve hack.  So its more of a neutral comment that a complaint, but I always like to support independent business, so its all good.

So How did it Sew?

I will leave the details of the Kalle make itself  to my previous post where I covered that, instead I will focus on the Sleeves:

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

As you can tell I absolutely love it.  So much so (sew?) that I ended up unpicking a sleeve on a Kalle I was working on and adding the hack to it (black Version)

The fabric I chose for both Black and white shirt, I thought was the same.  It had the same texture embossed into it, but the white was much softer and had a slight stretch, as apposed to the black that was a bit shinier.  I enjoyed sewing with the white more, but both were extremely light and have great movement.

The sleeve was incredibly simple to install.  I like how they approached it with the longer cuff, and how it took up a lot of the sleeve.  It Looks chic and can be worn up or down.  What really makes this is the shape of the existing sleeve (if you have made the kalle it is before you put the cuff on) which gives the overall piece a great shape and much more than the average shirt/shirt dress.

With the sleeve, I feel I will get much more use out of this pattern.  I still need to make the short and the tunic length versions, but having sleeves, for me, opens up more possibilities.

hack, Made By Me, Pattern Repeat, Patterns

Pattern Repeat & Hack: School House Tunic, rounded sports skirt

Leave a comment

I am very good at storage:  this means that if you open my wardrobe, you will see a perfect capsule wardrobe with a few different trends… but with the hot weather, I have had to get the summer clothes out, and juggle it around.  This is where I remembered how much I love the school house Tunic pattern.  My summer one I made last year has practically been worn to death… I can definitely justify another one.

In an attempt to stash bust I found this fabric;  a grey cross/dot pattern that had a good sized repeat.  It was a narrow width, but more than enough for a schoolhouse with some to spare.

So How Did It Sew?

This is another one of those patterns I could do with my eyes closed… well not closed as that would be dangerous, but you get what I am saying.

This time I used a thick band of elastic on the sleeve, and I think it really adds to the overall effect of the sleeve, almost like a cuff.

The main objective of this to make it slightly different to the others was a tapered sport like skirt.  I rounded in the edges and gave them a small split.  I feel it adds just a slight difference to my other makes.  I really liked how it turned out.

 

Made By Me, My pattern, Pattern Repeat

My Pattern: Black Babydoll

Leave a comment

I tend to do things in quick concession, especially when I am chasing that train of thought.

My attempt at the self drafted baby doll has urged me on to make another so soon, and apply the tweeks I learnt from the first to get an almost perfect version.  This was mainly the issue with the sleeves not being as oversized as they could have been.

This time I used a black silky material.  Although its quite thin, it was not as see through as the purple first version.

So How did it Sew?

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

It would be silly to go into detail on the sew as it was basically the same as the previous.  Although I will add the material was a little fiddly a times (as is the nature of silky fabric!)

Overall I am really pleased with this version, its more wearable than the first.

The only issue is the sleeves feel a bit flat, but I liked the overall look.  In future I could easily insert a netting to give it some shape, but this is entirely dependant on the fabric I choose.