In complete contrast with Spring 2020, where we left the UK in a rush and I was without patterns or fabrics for weeks, Spring 2021 has been both very organised and very productive sewing-wise. I managed to sew for myself 17 garments: 2 coats, 3 tops, 2 trousers, 2 skirts, 2 jumpsuits and… 6 dresses (I love dresses in case you didn’t know…). And most of them had been planned! So I now have a brand new Spring wardrobe I am really pleased with!

The joy of sewing organisation

Like many seamstresses, I have a tendency to get overly distracted: I see a pattern, or I see a fabric, or I see both, and then I want to make a garment. Then and there, right now! Social networks make things even worse, providing a constant source of inspiration – or temptation, depending on how you look at it!

I had already attempted to follow a seasonal sewing plan a while ago but I was not very good at following it. This Spring however, I set out my Spring sewing plans in this article. They looked like this:

Miraculously, I managed to (more of less) stick to them! Planning was actually a blessing as it allowed me to:

• Have a good look at my wardrobe and think about the pieces I really wanted to add. A trench coat and a pair of trousers were absolute musts.
• Use my existing fabrics and patterns as much as possible – and buy what I felt I needed. As a consequence, I have kept buying fabric and patterns but which far less guilt than usual, as I knew exactly their purpose.
• Feel I was really progressing in my sewing, project after project, instead of having this feeling of constantly chasing a never-ending to-do-list.

Outwear: a cape and a trench coat

In Spring 2020, my outwear sewing plans went out of the window. In Autumn 2020, they didn’t turn out as expected, with my fit-and-flare coat repeated disaster. So I was very keen to achieve something on this front for Spring 2021. And I did!

First, my off-white cashmere Trendy Cape. I am delighted with this make and the fabric is an absolute dream, but despite the winter-like weather this Spring I did not wear it that much. I think it actually works better with my Autumn wardrobe so I’m expecting to wear it more later this year.

Second, my burgundy Luzerne trench coat. This coat is my pride and joy and I am absolutely enamoured with it! To my surprise, I wore it a lot this season, despite its somewhat autumnal colour.

Trousers and jumpsuit experiments

I don’t wear trousers much (well, nearly not at all) so I have been curious for a while to see whether sewing them would make a difference. This season I made two pairs from the same pattern, the Ultimate trousers, pink with slim legs (planned) and white with wide legs (unplanned). The pink I have worn a bit and quite enjoyed; but the white not at all. So I think the later will probably get transformed into shorts at some stage.

The trousers experiment was not a massive success to get me away from wearing dresses every day, but it completely demystified the process of fitting trousers. In my enthusiasm, I tackled a jumpsuit pattern I had been wanting to sew for a while… and eventually made two versions of it (well, three if you count the muslin). I absolutely adore them and have worn them quite a lot, so even if they were not planned they were a very good idea!

Sewing more separates: skirts and tops

This Winter, I endeavoured to sew more skirts to match my (very wide) collection of hand-knitted cardigans. As I really enjoyed wearing them, I decided to continue and made myself two full circle skirts for Spring. They are easy to make and easy to wear, unplanned but a complete success too.

And since my wool cardigans were getting a bit too warm for the season, I saw three tops to go with my skirts (and with my trousers) – one is brand new and not photographed yet though… The tops below are reviewed here and here.

Dresses remain my favourite

I adore dresses and wear them all the time. I had planned to make 5 and ended up making 6, which is very reasonable on my standard!

For a reason which remains obscure, I got obsessed with shirt dresses this season. I had planned a denim one and a Liberty one; and added a floral one because I was so happy with my mixing-and-matching of patterns. I have worn all these dresses extensively.

I also made two floral wrap dresses, both planned. The long one is a beloved and many times used pattern. While the short one if a completely new to me pattern and a very nice discovery.

Not at all in my Spring colour palette but very much planned, my black-and-white gingham dress. I haven’t worn it a lot though, probably because of its colours, but I have good hopes for the summer.

Conclusion

This planning exercise was a very positive experience, as it allowed me to increase the pleasure from sewing by feeling I was actually progressing on a medium-term project. I am also thrilled by the number of items I managed to sew and by their quality – my sewing has really improved massively over the past two years .

I’d love to plan again for summer but I have a far less precise idea of what I want to sew, so we’ll see… So I am back at making far too many dresses again… Here is a little preview, before these officially appear on the blog!

I warned you in the past that my shirt dress addiction was going strong this season. So after my denim shirt dress and my Liberty shirt dress…

… let me introduce you to my third shirt dress of the season!

Mixing patterns again: B6702 and M6696

You may (or may) not have recognised the exact same mix of pattern that I used for my recent Liberty shirt dress. This is the M6696 bodice combined with the B6702 skirt.

I won’t bore you with how easy it is to combine both patterns – it is all discussed here. The only difference this time is that I went for short sleeves and I omitted the piping around the button placket. So an even simpler dress to put together!

I won’t bore you either with extensive pattern review. This is my fourth time using M6696 ( (here, here, here and here) and I recently reviewed the pattern in full details (here) so not much more to add. This is an absolutely impeccable pattern, with a gorgeous shape, a beautiful finish and perfect sizing (it has bust cup options, which help massively the bust fitting). The instructions are extremely clear and will immensely help you if you’re sewing your first shirt dress.

As for B6702, I did not sew the bodice but it has custom bust cups too, a huge positive in my view. The skirt is very pretty but I wish it had a bit more volume.

Beware that when making this dress (either following one of the patterns or mixing the two), you need to be careful about your button placket. Make sure it is way longer than what you need to avoid any stress when positioning it on the dress.

How to make a waist-stay on a shirt dress?

You may have noticed on shirt dresses that even if they are well-fitted and in no way too tight at the waist, they tend to gap at the center front of the waist. This is something which particularly annoyed me with my denim dress! This prompted me to commit to waist-stays on all my future shirt dresses!

What is a waist-stay? If you look at this inside of my dress, you can see that there is Petersham ribbon at the waist, closing with a hook-and-eye. That’s basically my waist stay! When you put the dress on, you close the hook-and-eye before the buttons and it does the trick!

A waist-stay should not be attached to the outside fabric, so the way the M6696 is constructed is perfect for purpose. You just need to sew it to the lining of the belt before actually attaching it to the dress and you’re done.

I am not sure I have achieved the neatest waist-stay on this inside but it works wonders on the outside – no gaping whatsoever!

Fabric used: Pima cotton lawn again

The fabric I used for this dress is a Pima cotton lawn I bought from Croftmill. If you fancy it, there is still some stock left! I was absolutely blown out by the quality of the Pima cotton I recently bought for this dress, so very keen to reorder a similar quality. This one is not as amazing, albeit very nice: it is lightweight, has absolutely gorgeous colours but it is, sadly, slightly see-through (hence my skirt lining).

Conclusion: another favourite in my wardrobe

Just writing this article makes me feel like sewing another shirt dress – crazy, isn’t it? However I don’t think they are particularly appropriate for hot days. So Iwill probably calm down with the prospect of our French summer holiday. In the meantime, I hope to enjoy many wears of this new dress.

Do you remember my “What to Sew for Spring” article, where I discussed all my sewing project for Spring 2021? Well, that’s it, I’ve completed my Spring sewing plans! Incredible! Let me introduce you to the last of my Spring projects: the #AmeliaMcCalls dress- also named M7892.

M7892 pattern description

M7892 is a recent pattern within the McCall’s family. If memory serves me well, it was part of the Spring 2020 collection, when McCall’s decided to follow the Indie trend of giving names to patterns. It is a (real) wrap dress, with a bodice that is mildly loose at the bust and adjusted at the waist; and with a full circle wrap skirt. It closes with invisible hooks and eyes and a (optional) side sash.

I did like the skirt flounce of view C, which reminded me of my La Bohème skirt. However Mr SixMignons did not quite agree, so I went for a sleeveless version of view D – which has the notable advantage of consuming far less fabric!

What really drew me to this pattern is the bodice. It has gathers at the shoulders and at the waist, making the bust shaping quite unusual and very appropriate for larger busts – no FBA needed for my E cup and still plenty of room.

And I also really fancy wrap dresses but I find most patterns quite plain. My last wrap had to be self drafted and it took me ages!

M7982 pattern review: likes and dislikes

They are a number of things I really like about this pattern:

• As mentioned before, I really like the shaping of the bodice through gathers ; as well as the overall wrap shape.
• The sizing is spot on, as most of the time with McCall’s and Vogue patterns for me. I am a UK 8/ US 2 / FR 36, I cut my usual size 10 and made no fit adjustment whatsoever. Were you to need adjustments though, I think that would be quite easy, as adjusting the waist is a question of moving the hooks and eyes.
• There is no need for FBA, as there is plenty of bust space, hurrah! That said I think the bodice might look a bit wide on a smaller bust.
• I really like the fact that the wrap closes through hooks and eyes and that the sash is mostly for decorative purposes, as this makes the dress far less prone to tearing at the waist. For the burgundy dress I just showed you, I solely relied on the sash for closure and it is now completely torn. Lesson learned!

The only thing I dislike in this pattern are the rather simplistic and not so neat finish instructions. In particular, the sash is added as a bit as an afterthought, while it should really by sandwiched in the seams (which is the way I did it).

Changes I made to the pattern

It was my first time sewing this pattern and I did not make a muslin so I did not go crazy as I ususally would on pattern modifications! My changes are mostly internal:

• As I just said, I sandwiched the sash within the seams rather than leaving the ends exposed.
• I fully lined the bodice instead of finishing the neckline with a facing.
• While I was at it, I also fully lined the skirt.

So the inside looks like this.

I wish I had discovered the burrito method then for finishing my sleeve openings rather than using bias tape – I am working on a quick tutorial to tell you all about it!

Fabric choice: the most amazing cotton lawn

For this dress, I used the most gorgeous Pima cotton lawn I have ever got my hands on.

It is very much a Liberty lawn weight (unlike some other so-called cotton lawns), very light for summer but not transparent, with an amazingly soft hand. And the most surprising thing: it does not crease at all! All the pictures I’m showing you were taken after a very hot day of wear – as you can see not a crease in sight!

The fabric combines colours I really like: blue and purple with some light yellow touches. I bought it from Croftmill, which now only stock this remaining colour way. But I also found some more at John Lewis Oxford Street (for those of you living in London) – a godsend after I cut my fabric wrong and was missing one front skirt panel! Nothing better than a bit of fabric drama to make you love your finished dress, right?

Conclusion

After sitting on this pattern for ages, I am so pleased I used it! It is a nice change from my all-time favourites and I am so much in love with it! Expect to see at least one Autumn version of this one in the future…

Black and white gingham seems to be everywhere this Spring. Having no shame to follow the crowd, let me introduce you to my latest Spring make, a very simple knee-length, fit-and-flare, black-and-white gingham dress:

Gingham dresses inspiration

I had been wanting to sew a little gingham dress for ages and this Spring the stars finally aligned: I managed to find not only the inspiration but also the right pattern and the right fabric, all at the same time. Hurrah!

As discussed in my “What to sew for Spring” article, the main inspiration for this dress came from Bittersweet Colour. I wanted to reproduce this beautiful dress, with a bias-cut perfectly fitted bodice and a midi circle dress. 

Funnily enough, I also stumbled across a number of black and white gingham dresses on Instagram – here are a few (moodboards from The Sweet Mercerie, middle dress from Cha’s Hands):

I also found the perfect black-and-white gingham fabric from Fabrics Galore: 100% cotton (I really don’t recommend a poly mix for the summer); with just the right size of gingham – 1cm (1/3in); and very affordable (about £8/m). The black-and-white in not available anymore at Fabrics Galore but they have other colours of similar quality here; and Sew Me Sunshine has a good selection too here.

Pattern selection and review

As for pattern choice, I wish I had been brave enough the tackle a shirt bodice similar to my inspiration dress. However I worried (a lot) about pattern matching on the bias so I just went for the most straightforward and best fitting bodice I could think of: that of V8630.

I have been singing the praises of this pattern before (here and here). I have also reused the bodice with other skirts numerous times (here, here among many others) because it just fits so well. It has bust-cup options and both bust and waist darts, which with my E-cup and my small waist is the best recipe for a good fit. To make the bodice work without the collar, I had to raise the neckline using another pattern as a guide – nothing very complicated. And here I cut my fabric in the bias for purely aesthetic reasons, I just think it works much better this way with a circle skirt.

As for the skirt, I used my tried and tested M7081 circle skirt pattern piece (like I recently did for this skirt). It is the perfect length for summer (just on the knee) and it fits exactly in a 150cm wide fabric. Not the case of this specific fabric but cutting it non grain wise wasn’t an issue, especially as my bodice was on the bias.

I had initially omitted a sash but did not like the way the bodice connected to the dress. So I used the sash of V9253, another of my beloved pattern. Problem sorted, hurrah!

Conclusion

This is a very easy dress to make, with only four pattern pieces: circle skirt, front bodice, back bodice and sleeves. I finished the neckline with piping (not sure it was hugely necessary) and for once I did not line anything, as this one is solely aimed at warm days.

Despite this simplicity, the shape is perfectly to my taste: a nicely fitted top with a spinning skirt, everything I like! I am very tempted to make a sleeveless version now.