Blog feature: Tracy & Winifred

Keeping the awesomeness going today on the blog i have for you another Winifred sew-along  blog  feature. Tracy from her blog uandmii  has kindly taken the time to chat about about her  A-MAH-ZING Winifred dress that she  made for the sew-along and lots of sewing goodies. 

Enjoy!

What type of fabric did you use? What inspired your choice of fabric?

I used a really gorgeous 100% cotton which I found at the Spring Knitting and Stitching Show in London earlier this year. Rather than being a traditional fabric stand, the stall holders were selling reproduction Japanese quilts and all of their quilt fabrics were sourced from vintage Japanese textile prints which they then had reprinted. In the far corner of the stand was a small box choc full of roll ends of fabric. From the moment I set eyes on this confection of turquoise and hot pink I knew I would buy it. Although quite a thin cotton it was very crisp so I had my reservations, but it washed down beautifully to a perfect summer weight dress fabric. I only wish I had bought more of it now!

Did your Winifred dress live up to the image you had in your mind?

Actually, when I first saw the dress pattern I really wasn't sure whether it would work well on a plus size figure, or indeed if I would be able to alter it to make it fit. I knew it would look amazing in the print though and that was what kept me on track with the project .... That little picture of me walking down the street in the dress and pink shoes. When A finished I was delighted with it and it was very flattering on.

How did you decide to reflect your personal style in the pattern?

I made the neck V significantly lower than on the original pattern as with a large bust I need to avoid the human cube look at all costs! As well as choosing a large bold and bright print I decided to use contrast hot pink bands at the bottom to really make the colours pop. For comfort I also opted for the option of shirring on the back rather than the elastic casing, this was the first time I've done this and I loved it!

Tell us a bit about your making process, any tweaks you made?

This was a two toile process. I cut out the largest size and did a two inch FBA as demonstrated on your blog in the sewalong. It looked pretty good on Miss Jones (my dress form) but when I tried it on it ripped! It was back to the drawing board and after marking up the first muslin all over with permanent marker it was time to tackle muslin 2. This time I added a 5 inch FBA, widened the arm opening which made the dart placement a little tricky, so I rotated the dart down into the bodice. I also changed the angle and height of the inverted v darts to get the perfect waist fit. Whew! Sounds hard core doesn't it? I followed all the instructions on the sew -along which helped immensely.

 What thoughts do you have about the project?

I love the finished dress and it gets a lot of compliments. It feels great on and the shirring makes it really easy to wear. It has a vintage line to it so looks great with a thin belt in a contrast colour. The shaping may mean you have to fiddle with the pattern if you need an FBA, but it really is worth doing a toile and adjustments as I can see this being a summer dress star. The kimono sleeve is also really flattering. One last thing, it's incredibly quick to sew once you have the fit right!

Are you planning any future  Winifred dress ?

I do have a lovely navy cotton print from Michael Miller in my stash with pink sail boats on it. It has a matching pink print with white anchors ... I think that may well end up as a Winifred!

Check out Tracy's blog for not only sewing awesomeness but amazing photography.

Blog feature: Beth & Winifred

I love seeing all your makes pop up in the wild all over the place, and i have been meaning to catch up on featuring some spectacular makes from you peeps here on the blog but a spare moment lately had been hard to catch. Did i mention two new pattern releases are being released on Monday 26th?!!! Way excited for these two to be released. Literally about to self combust each day, ha!  But in the last day or two things have calmed down i can get back into the swing of things, especially here on the blog. So in the next couple i will be featuring the Winifred sew-along winners, picking their brains and finding out their inspiration for their Winifred's and above all looking at their pretty pics.

First up is  Beth, first place winner who has made not one, not two but three Winifred dresses! But also sewed the majority of her Winifred dresses in hotel rooms while travelling for work, amazing lady!

So without further ado, introducing Beth and her harem of Winfred dresses:

What type of fabric did you use? What inspired your choice of fabric?

I made 2 versions of the Winifred dress, for my first one I wanted a wearable toile and found a great vintage cars dressmaking cotton blend in my local fabric shop – Abakhan (www.abakhan.co.uk) at a reasonable price, so decided that this would fit in with the vintage styling of the dress. I then chose an African waxed cotton, again from Abakhan as I wanted a dress to wear to a Nigerian friend’s wedding with a colour scheme of red and gold. This was a more structured stiffer cotton, which gave the 2^nd Winifred dress skirt section a very different shape to the original version.

Did your Winifred dress live up to the image you had in your mind?

I love both versions, if the sun ever makes an appearance in the UK then they’ll make great summer dresses. They’re comfortable to wear and as I hoped both flatter my plus-sized pear shaped figure, by drawing the eye to my slimmer sections and skimming over my larger areas, just what I want in a summer dress and what I was hoping the Winifred would be like.

How did you decide to reflect your personal style in the pattern?

I’m not really one for cutesy or dainty prints, so chose bold colourful fabrics. Having a directional prints for both the retro cars version and the African waxed cotton Winifred’s I made sure that I took my time choosing the fabric layouts, after all I wouldn’t want half of the cars to be upside down! The African waxed cotton has an ombre colouring, so I chose to layout the colours differently on the front from the back, with the front focusing on the darker aspects and the back focusing on the lighter shades of the fabric, creating a bit more individuality. Also choosing the buckles to go with these dresses is an art form in itself, they’ve got to look just right! I spent hours scouring local fabric and  haberdashery shops as well as searching online incl eBay and etsy to find just the right one!

Tell us a bit about your making process, any tweaks you made?

As I’m more self-conscious about my waist and hips, I chose to add a little more width to the side seams of the dress, to enable it to skim over these areas more. Plus I have now created a third version and find that slight bell-shaped sleeves suit my ‘bingo wings’ more, so have redrafted the sleeve to show this and to finish at a flattering elbow length. I also left the belt off this final version as I cut the lace slightly longer and only included the underlining in the gathering, so a belt would have been overkill.

 What thoughts do you have about the project?

I love how the Winifred dress can be easily adapted to suit most figures. Following the pattern as it comes makes the dress easy for beginners to dressmaking to tackle, whilst those more advanced can easily alter it and adapt it to their own needs. I also love how versatile the pattern is, all 3 of the versions I have made look very different based on the different fabric choices and alterations I made.

Are you planning any future  Winifred dress ?

I’ve already completed my third Winifred! My friend’s mum brought me the most beautiful gold lace and deep raspberry velvet from Nigeria, so I could match the outfits that were being brought over from Nigeria. I took a week off work and made another very unique Winifred, incorporating both fabrics and of course an underlining for the lace or it would be too revealing! Taking inspiration from another version I had seen I decided to split the pattern and use different fabrics for the bodice and skirt sections.

I already have a few more versions in mind with fabric from my stash, so there will definitely be more Winifred’s in my future!

Check our Beth on Instagram for sneak peeks into her many sewing projects, this gal is a machine!

Elizabeth & Billie Jean

Don't you just love this photo?! The best!

With all the Winifred pattern hype of late its been easy to miss out on all the other wonderful makes everyone else has been sewing up from all the other patterns. So today i have the awesome Elizabeth from sewnbyelizabeth sharing her Billie Jean dress, as well as some thoughts on how she came about sewing up such a gorgeous version.

What type of fabric did you use? What inspired your choice of fabric?

I had originally thought to make the pencil skirt version and bought a red and white weave tweed, but after finding a beautiful light weight vintage sheet at the opshop I was too tempted by a full spring dress. I cannot wait for next spring to get lots of wear from the dress. 

Did your Billie Jean dress  live up to the image you had in your mind?

The dress turned out even better than I had imagined! I often over-think pattern and fabric matches and talk myself out of different ideas. With this dress I jumped straight in and the final product turned out amazing. I'm so glad I went with it. 

How did you decide to reflect your personal style in the pattern? 

My style is reflected in the colours, floral pattern and length. I adore the colour palette of the fabric: cream, pink/coral, light purple and white. These are the colours I like to wear a lot of  in warm weather, paired with brown sandals and sunglasses, of course. I'm a sucker for floral fabric. Floral can be worn all year round, right? 

Tell us a bit about your making process, any tweaks you made?

The Billie Jean bodice is meant to be quite fitted. I think I must take very big breaths as I needed much more ease than expected. Because of this I used smaller seam allowances and inserted a regular invisible zipper rather than a lapped zipper. I took quite some length off the dress as the I don't find the mid calf length flattering on me. Other than this, I followed the instructions and the dress sewed up very quickly and neatly. 

What thoughts do you have about the project?

This dress was my first time sewing princess seams and it's converted me. I look forward to sewing up another Billie Jean and trying other patterns with them. They are such a flattering shape while making fitting a breeze. The big skirt and shape of the straps are wonderful. After finishing the dress I put it straight on and floated around the house swirling around in the full skirt. This dress makes me feel like a princess barbie cake. 

Are you planning any future Billie Jean dresses?

My next Billie Jean will of course be the red and white tweed pencil. A perfect dress for a Melbourne winter. 

Head on over to Elizabeth's blog for more sewing goodness sewnbyelizabeth.

                 

Claire & Mae

While i'm hard at work getting everything prepared for the upcoming Winifred

 sew-along, starting the 24th - Next Monday! Yay! I thought it would be a refreshing to have a little bit of sewing inspiration to get you/me  in the sewing mood.

Introducing Claire from her blog I want to be a turtle and her two amazing Mae blouses she has sewn up, one for work and one for play.

As usual i love finding more out about your sewing journeys with the patterns, and after seeing Claire's first Mae blouse i wanted to know more and i thought you would too! 

Take it away Claire:

What type of fabric did you use? What inspired your choice of fabric?

I used quilting cotton from my local haberdashery shop. It was an impulse buy – I was drawn to the intricate white flowers which work so well with the gorgeous blue. As I walked out of the shop I knew what it would become.

Did your Mae blouse live up to the image you had in your mind?

Yes. I was originally drawn to the elegant neckline, kimono sleeves and the buttons at the back. I really wanted the neckline to look smooth and well fitted and it does, despite what the photos show!

How did you decide to reflect your personal style in the pattern?

I made the Mae with the office in mind. I love simple but elegant styles and want to reflect this in what I wear to work. I’m also a big fan of colour, particularly blue it turns out, and needed something to liven up the dark trousers and skirts I so often wear.

Tell us a bit about your making process, any tweaks you made?

The blouse is a dream to make, the construction is simple and I knocked this up a few hours. Luckily I tested the fit by making a couple of muslins and I’m pleased I did as I had to add a lot to the back bodice and remove a little length. I finished the facings and seams with bias binding for a bit of added detail on the inside.  

What thoughts do you have about the project?

I love this pattern. This was my first time making an item with scallops and thought they would be tricky to sew. Turns out they aren’t so difficult and I loved your tutorial on getting perfect curves – it really works! I have a general dislike of facings as they tend to get caught easily or pop up above the seam line, but I love these ones. I had no problem adding them and they lie perfectly, probably because they are a little wider than I normally see.

Are you planning any future Mae blouses?

Definitely! I’m already looking for the fabric for the next one. I love that you can wear the blouse with trousers or tucked into a skirt and it looks great both ways. 

Thanks Claire! And make sure you all take the time to check out Claire's blog I want to be a turtle for more drool worthy sewing inspiration.

If you have sewn up something amazing from the patterns, then get in touch and share it or upload to the Flickr group!

Abby

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