SEW OVER IT: City break Ebook ERIN SKIRT review

My Capsule Wardrobe: City Break eBook. THE ERIN SKIRT

Hello I am Helena and I have this blog and a Youtbe channel whoevers reading this! Today I am going talk about the two erin skirts I made, the issues, the fit and my overall experience.

For reference if you want to compare the sizes I made to you and your measurements, as I like doing that. I am 5"7, 32 inch bust, 26 waist and 37.5 on the hips. I usually make size 8 in Sew Over It patterns and sometimes that can be too big, rarely I make a size 10.

THE FIRST SKIRT I made about a year or less ago. 

 THE FABRIC I used was from spotlight. I got what was left of clearance roll of Pinwale corduroy for $3 a metre, but this fabric is the most similar to what they sell now (Pinwale cord) . I choose this because I hadn't sewn the erin skirt before and I am scared of buttonholes (aren't we all) so I figured if I messed this up, the fabric is only $3 a metre.

THE SIZING was an issue for me. I made the size 8 around the waist and graded to a 10 at the hips. This fit rather odd, it was too loose and baggy around the upper hip/lower waist but a little tight at the waist but on the actual hip it was acceptable. 

THE SECOND SKIRT I made from a faux suede from spotlight (Suede). This skirt didn't go as planned. It was way too small and I messed the button holes up a little, they were wonky.

THE SIZING. It had been about a year since I last made this skirt. I thought because I made the size 10 last time and vaguely remembered it being too loose in some areas I just cut the pattern to the size 8 BIG MISTAKE.  I usually make a size 8 in SOI patterns, so I didn't think hard enough. Unfortually ths skirt does not fit well, while it technically goes on I feel like sausage meat being squished into the casing. I also sewed the buttons horizontal when I was meant to sew them vertical and that made the skirt pull even more in a weird way. I will insert some pictures 

PLANS TO FIX. Does anyone else get really down when they make something, and it doesn't end up fitting and you're not sure its fixable? The sewing was actually going quite well. No mistakes, perfect top stiching, a well executed garment by general standards... oh wait except for the fact it doesnt FIT! 😡 At first I tired to let out the side seams, to the point where I barely have any seam allowance left. Still too small. So I plan to cut the front folded bands off (leaving 1.5cm seam allowance) and cut separate strips of fabric from what I have left and make those bigger, I was thinking 1.5cm for each size to = 3cm bigger but I am not sure if this is enough.

I will come back here and edit this to update if it worked or went horribly wrong.

Sew Over It: Betty dress review

Sew Over It: Betty dress

Hello and welcome! My name is Helena and I'll be discussing the Sew Over It Betty dress.

I'll first start out by saying, I love Sew Over It patterns, if you haven't already guessed. I have made two at this point in time.

Style

The Betty dress is a 1950 inspired dress. With a fitted bodice and a full circle skirt. I love patterns that nip in at the waist. This pattern also has the option of the additional necklines and sleeves as additional add on pack.  I made the original neckline twice. I would love to make a V neck in the future. 

Sizing and fit

This was actually harder than I expected. I made the smallest size (8) and it was still miles too big for my bust. My bust measures 31 inches, so I am pretty small anyway. I don't usually have a problem with Sew Over It sizing. The finished garment measurements for the bust is 34 inch, so that explains why I was drowning in the bodice.

 The first dress I did not make any alterations, I found it very loose around my bust and the shoulders were too far apart, that it felt it was almost going to slip off my shoulders. The second dress I reshaped entirely. I first increased the darts by 2 cm on the from and 1 cm on the back. This still was miles too big. So I turned the darts into one long seam on the back and front. I am not sure it this just looks like a massive mistake or if it looks okay. The bodice was just so big I couldn't find a solution that wasn't unpicking the whole thing and re-cutting the bodice, which I didn't want to do. I finished all the edges with white bias binding. I also added pockets.

I think if I sew this again I will slash the bodice pattern in the middle and take from there to get closer to my size. As well as decrease the size of the back pieces, or figure out some other sort of bust adjustment.

Fabric

The first one I didn't make any alterations to pattern, and I made it from a light weight quilting cotton. The second one I made from a stretch cotton from spotlight which I can not currently find on their website.

Instructions

As always Sew Over It instructions are great. I didn't find any confusion with the Betty dress pattern. 

Photos

New YouTube Video

What I have been up to: Fabric and pattern HAUL!! Minervacrafts, spotlight, theremnantwarehouse

Here's all the details I mentioned in my fabric and pattern haul video


All opinions on fabric, patterns and any other products are solely my own. If I don't like something I will say that. Links marked with * are affiliate links.


Patterns mentioned:
Newlook 6493: https://goo.gl/5mdRij *
Burda 6815: https://goo.gl/rhdS2n *
Colette negroni: https://goo.gl/U8JsGh
Turia dungaree:  https://goo.gl/w9uswY 

Fabric:
Flamingo rayon: https://bit.ly/2AteDlX *
Fabric for my shirt :https://bit.ly/2hoqGNG *
Gingham jersey: https://bit.ly/2hrrLo9 *
Triple crepe:  https://bit.ly/2hr1tlR*
Polka dot stretch cotton: https://bit.ly/2hqo1mT *
Dogtooth stretch cotton: https://bit.ly/2AtrrZS *
Pleated Lamé- Rose Gold:  they didn't have this colour left
Here's another : https://goo.gl/9vWL5e



Music : Bensound.com 

Where to find me:
Blog: https://goo.gl/xhhGug
Instagram: https://goo.gl/FmC8Y5


Desk I use: https://goo.gl/k1iHxQ *
Light defuser I use: https://goo.gl/W98V55 *
Overlocker I use: https://bit.ly/2AuNW0f *
Sewing machine: https://bit.ly/2As857l *

Camera: 700D Canon, I bought mine used. https://goo.gl/9JTytd *
Editing software: Cyberlink Powerdirector

Pattern review| Sew Over It’s Penny dress!

Hi Guys! In this post I am going to discus my experience with the Penny dress pattern released this month (June 2017) by Sew Over It!  I also made a video.

First impression

Lets start with my first impression, I saw this pattern first in my email box as I am a Sew Over It PDF club member. Which if you don’t know, is where you pay I around 5 pounds once and you get one PDF pattern, you get access to purchase the new PDF patterns a week in advance plus 10% off if you do. Hence, I saw this, and I bought it straight away, it looks beautiful.  I had plans (which I was about to start) to Sew the Alex shirt dress from the City Break Ebook from Sew Over It, BUT I saw this and changed my mind.

Fabric

So lets talk fabric. I had 3 meters of a black floral rayon fabric which I bought for the Alex Shirt dress from Spotlight (Fabric), so it was plenty for this dress, but it was only 135cm wide and the pattern called for 140cm wide fabric. Somehow I managed to fit the pattern pieces on anyway. I love rayon fabric for this pattern because it has such a lovely drape. This particular rayon did not seem to crease as easily as some of the other rayons I have bought before. It still creases as you would expect from a rayon but not as dramatic as this for instance (Crane Rayon).

Instructions

The instructions were pretty great as you would expect from Sew Over It patterns. There were two steps where I got a little confused, but that probably has more to do with me than the pattern.

I got confused at step 12 (Very neatly, understitch the facing to the seam allowance, 2-3mm away from the seam. Then, to create the button placket, fold the facing to the inside of the bodice at the center front notch. Press in place). I have put the line that confused me in bold.

So I understood what was being asked, to fold the facing over to create the button placket, but I didn’t know where the ‘center front notch’ was, so I thought maybe I just didn’t mark all the notches, but I went back and looked at the pattern pieces and couldn’t see anything. So after about 15 minutes staring at the picture of this step, the photos of the dress and trying to decide how wide the button placket looked I decided it looked about 1.5cm wide and winged it (By that I mean I totally guessed.)  Lucky it all worked out and everything fit.

There was only one other part where I got a bit confused. I have never sewn a collar before so this could be why I got confused. Step 16 (Matching the notches on the collar and neckline, align the right side of the bodice with the underside of the collar. Note that the collar will not meet the front edges of the bodice. ) I just was not sure where the notches on the neckline were. So I looked at my pattern pieces and couldn’t see them. So I lined the notches on the collar up with the seams of the shoulder panels and it seemed to work. I am pretty new to sewing so this is probably more me not understanding rather than the pattern itself.

PDF

The pattern is only available in a PDF form. I love PDF patterns. I love that I can download them straight away. I read a lot of comments of people saying they loved the pattern but not PDF’s. Now I understand at first its seems daunting to have to stick 30 or 40 pages together but once you’ve done it once or twice its very easy and actual becomes quite quick. I usually stitch mine together while watching Television and sitting by the heater.

Opening yourself up to the world of PDF patterns is great, it gives you more choice and accessibility. You do not have to pay for postage and, it is usually priced lower than the printed versions (when available)

If you still just do not want to assemble the pattern Sew Over It have made their patterns available in A0 or copy shop format. I personally have not printed my PDF patterns as copy shop format because it would cost me $8-9 per A0 and I am completely okay with sticking 40 pages together.  I also prefer them, because it is printed on normal paper not tissue type paper (which many commercial patterns use)  its a lot more durable.

Do not be afraid of the 30 or so pages in a PDF its a lot quicker and easier than it seems, and it opens a whole world of patterns you could not have made otherwise.

Thanks for reading my thoughts on this beautiful pattern. Here’s some photos of my finished dress