Notions Of Fabric

Yes, it's another Ruby dress! I was browsing Minerva Fabrics for other things a while back, when I spotted this wool blend fabric. And I love a wintery plaid! When Minerva then emailed me to say that it was only available in 2 separate lengths, no problem! It was easy to fit the skirt pieces on one length and the bodice on the other. I went with my usual size (M with a dropped bust dart), but used a lining. I personally really don't like a facing so I cut 2 bodices and line it, hand sewing it to the skirt to also enclose the waist seam. For this, making the entire bodice out of wool seemed, well, inadvisable, so I lined it with some of the black sandwashed silk left in my stash. It is a bit easier to sew than some of my other liing facrics and I like the feel of it. The other thing I bought to make this project was some bias binding. I decided that for the wool it needed a bit of nice bias, so I bought some black satin bias binding to go around the hem. Every time I make a Ruby...

Hiya all! Now that I have posted all my catching up makes, I am up to the most current makes! I have developed a new strategy - spend the half term (or part of the holidays) cutting out things and then I have lots of projects set up for the term time, when I can actually only get a half hour or so of sewing time in and I don't have time to cut things out! I cut out 6 things for the last half term and all but two are finished (I have one dress which isn't even started, but also a bomber which only needs a zipper which is almost finished!), so I'm currently at the point where I'm thinking about the next set of things. Add to that the fact that I finally got a hair cut (thanks to lockdown easing!), so I thought I'd snap a few pictures of my most recent batch of makes. This dress is potentially the most successful thing I've ever made - definitely the best toile! I've worn it at least once a week since I made it - sometimes 3 times in a week, when I'm at hom...

 This was my final make for myself of 2020, and it turned out so well! I haven't had much of a chance to wear it yet, but it is comfy and I can see it being very wearable for work and comfy. This is another Moneta - my fourth (including the striped one, the rainbow striped one, and also one who have yet to be blogged which will be up soon!). I made the same size as usual, M, with the now standard altered sleeve piece (I took 1" out of each underarm seam to make the sleeve less baggy and tapered it to nothing at the elbow). I used the 3/4 sleeve for the most cold weather versatility. This fabric is a beautiful grey and blue plaid knit fabric I got from Fabworks during my weekend away for the Kelly Anorak meetup at the beginning of September. It is a really lovely fabric - thick but not too heavy. I put the plaid on the bias for the skirt, which serves the dual purpose of additional visual interest and to avoid pattern matching! Every time I make a Moneta I forget how quick and ...

This skirt is something that I don't do very often - making 2 things from the same fabric! This is a Chardon skirt. Again. You will have seen it before a bunch of other times. I've made it in black (twice), in brown corduroy, in blue and red... I love it. After making the Blackwatch Plain Ruby dress, which I love, I realised that I had heaps left over. Like, a lot. So I did what any self-respecting sewist would do. I used the same fabric to make a skirt! I cut my usual size, which is a 44 and it still fits great. I used bias for the hem and it looks great, and I used a lightweight slinky poly lining from my stash for the pockets. Not much else to say other than it gets a lot of wear and it's another great cold weather option!

Another blog post, another Ruby! As soon as I saw this lovely plaid cotton, I knew it would be the perfect wintery Ruby dress. I wear it through the winter with tights, it pairs beautifully with all my boots, I can wear it with brightly coloured scarves and accessories if I want... It's the best. This Ruby is the same size as all my others. Using the length of fabric which I had, I actually wanted to get 2 garments out of the length of fabric. So, in an effort to save fabric I only put the facing inside this one, not a full lining - and I will admit, I will regret it. Every time I put it on I adjust the facing and slightly regret that I didn't fully line it, but once I have it on it's not actually a bother. The one thing that does actively annoy me about this dress is that I didn't put pockets in it. Mostly that bothers me when I wear it to work (I get given a lot of things and carry a pen at all times), but again, it's clearly not enough of an an...

Hi again guys! Hope you are all doing well - or, well enough. Another post of something from the wardrobe today. This fabric is one I picked up in a bulk order from fabric.com when I bought the twill for my Luzerne Trench - so I've had it for a while... But I have also had this top in my life for a while and wore it quite a lot last summer. It comes from right at the beginning of my Ogden cami making run, after the first one I made. But every version has turned out slight different, and this one was no exception. It is this gorgeous cotton lawn in the massive electric blue check. I have used lawn before to make several Ogden camis, but this behaved quite differently to the Liberty one which I have made. This lawn is lighter but not as drapey. It's perfect for hot sweaty summer days where you don't want to have the fabric against your skin. So it sticks up a little bit when wearing, as you can see in the photo, but I really don't mind. As with all m...