Now that I have discovered that I can follow a knitting pattern (it only took me three years to gain the confidence), I have been knitting compulsively, with a passion for both cardigans and lace. So I could only fall for Untangling Knots’ latest cardigan pattern Belladonna.

For sure there is lace absolutely everywhere in this cardigan (except for the sleeves, which as we agreed with my lovely auntie would look tacky). There are three motifs at the back, two on each side of the front and another one under each arm when you join the round while working top-down – oh God! So although the lace charts are quite straightforward, you need to stay focused all the time! But so much worth it!

This is my third Untangling Knots project (after my Chuck jumper and my Salal cardigan) and I am an absolute fan of Andi Satturlund’s knitting patterns. Initially I was attracted to their shape: always cropped and snug-fitting, they match perfectly my retro-ish dress sense.

But when I started knitting them I discovered how amazingly well explained the patterns are. They also always follow the same construction logic so once you understand how they work your life is much easier. And they are perfect – I never ever make any change because I know every single stitch is calculated to be here! Anyway, I have already knitted a fourth one and many more will follow for sure!

Back to Belladonna, you will be surprised to read that I was actually grumpy most of the time while knitting it because I made a mistake in my wool order. I wanted to order the exact same Drops Baby Merino/ Drops Kid lace as the one I use for this blue jumper.

But I made a mistake and ordered what I thought was only a different colour of wool – but ended-up being also a different quality… which I only realised when I was missing wool to finish my second sleeve, horror! So in the end here is what I used: 4 skeins of Drops kid silk light steel blue 07; and  7 skeins of Drops cotton merino ice blue 09. The cotton-merino is much thicker than the baby merino so all the way though my knitting I wondered what was happening… No comment!

In the end this cardi looks completely fine and the cotton merino makes it even fluffier than the baby merino would (the picture below gives you a good idea). But it is definitely not as soft and will be only worn in the winter with long-sleeved dresses!

Appart from the wool drama, I am very pleased with this cardi and I am so tempted to make another one in royal blue – but I need two weeks of peace and quiet for that, and with the kids’ summer holiday looming this is unlikely to happen any time soon… So maybe one for autumn, we’ll see!

Yes I know, it was only two days ago I posted about my first V9253 dress – but I warned you then that there would be many more to come! So here is my second version of V9253, in a similarly light and beautiful cotton from Selvedge and Bolts.

I made no changes to my previous version – FBA, lowered back, raised neckline, I won’t bore you with all these as they are fully explained in my previous article.

My absolute favourite part of this dress is the V back, this is a modification I made to the pattern and I adore it.

And obviously this fabric is absolutely stunning. It is very lightweight but far less see-through than my previous version – not that I mind that very much to be honest. I was so excited when I saw it on Selevedge and Bolts’ Instagram that I immediately went online to buy… well, the wrong fabric! But thankfully the lovely shop owner quickly reached out to let me know – and she even told me when the fabric got put online the day after. Long story but totally worth the effort!

Not much more to say except that I am delighted. I am now thinking about either a silk or a broderie anglaise version, and I’ve got all the fabric in stock, so you may see a third dress very soon!

I think I’ve discovered a new favourite dress pattern, which I will use again and again, winter and summer – for me the equivalent of Magnolia by Deer and Doe. Let me introduce you to my version of the the beautiful Vogue V9253.

This pattern was issued in 2018 and was definitely the dress to make then– they are so many gorgeous versions all over Instagram and on the net. Like many of my favourites, I discovered it through mom.maker.model’s Instagam account. I was hugely tempted to make it but was really put of by…guess… the potential of a difficult full bust adjustment of course! Sadly this pattern does not come with bust cup option, huge shame!!!

But after seeing Emily Hallman’s recent version and reading her “redemption” article, I knew I had to have this dress for the summer, especially after finding the perfect fabric for it. So I ordered both pattern and fabrics from the UK (which, being in France, did not make a lot of financial sense) and I finally got going.

This pattern is qualified as “very easy” and it definitely is – there is a very limited number of pattern pieces (7 if, like me, you omit the belt) and putting them together is extremely straightforward. The only technical difficulty in the invisible zip at the back but you could avoid it by using a stretchy fabric (in that case go one size below your usual though!).

My personal challenge was the full bust adjustment: I am an E cup and I knew that omitting this step would result in the front of the skirt being pulled up – neither a nice look nor comfortable to wear. I searched and searched for FBAs over the internet but couldn’t find anything for this pattern. So here are a few pictures to illustrate my FBA for V9253.

First I cut the initial front bodice pattern (in size S for my usual 10 Vogue) – you can see that the bust ease is given by the two waist pleats. And that the pattern designer was kind enough to give you the bust apex (the circled cross), thanks!!

With an E cup, I usually need around 2cm extra bust ease. So here are the steps of my FBA:

• I drew a (very approximate) armhole.
• Then I joined it with a first line to the bust apex, and from the bust apex I drew a second (vertical line) to the waist.
• I also drew a third line – horizontal and called “length adjustment” (it is indicated already on the pattern).
• I cut through all these lines (as well as the bottom of my armhole) and gently pulled to get to a 2cm horizontal gap – this also means you need to create a vertical adjustment anf that the armhole moves slightly up.
• I glued/ taped everything back together on a piece of white paper.
• I obviously made a muslin to check all was good – and all was good indeed, thank God!!!

My other major adjustment to the pattern was to make it opened at the back. I initially wanted to replicate the full open-back of opandsquash – but she kindly warned me of the potential “unexpected boob on display” effect. So I went for an gentler V back, replicating the front. It does stay put… if you don’t move your arms too much though! I do love it, I think it goes much better with the very low front than a fully closed back. Word of warning though: you cannot wear a bra once you’ve lowered the back like that, whatever you choose to do with the front. The following picture, with my beautiful bra mark, is a perfect illustration of where the opening sits.

The third (tiny) change I made to the pattern was to close the very very low neckline at the front by about 7cm with invisible stitches. I think I may close it even further with my next (already cut and overlocked) version as I don’t find this deep V very flattering.

With these tweaks, I’ve definitely created a dress I absolutely adore. I made no changes whatsoever to the skirt, it is perfectly fitted thanks to pleats at the front and a the curved darts at the back, I will use it again with other bodices (actually, I already have, naughty meu).

The fabric is a gorgeous very lightweight cotton from Selvedge and Bolts – I fell in love with the impressionist print and the beautiful colours, it is slightly see-through but this is OK as this dress will stay be the sea-side for exclusive hot-days use! This fabric is out of stock but there is so much more to choose from – I recently ordered this beauty for another V9253.

I have been sewing more skirts recently, which will surprise many who know my passion for dresses! However since lock-down, we’ve been staying in France with far less sewing space than in London, so I thought skirts would just be easier to make than dresses. Here is the first of my skirt makes, the Jupe Midi by Vanessa Pouzet, in a beautiful seersucker cotton from SewMeSunshine.

The pattern for this skirt is extremely simple, with no physical paper pattern but just measurements – 5 rectangles in total, which you cut directly on the fabric. So it definitely fitted the “I have no space to sew in” bill! I also really liked the possible contrasting of belt, skirt and bottom band, perfect for my current stripe frenzy!

The skirt closes on the side with an invisible zip at the skirt and buttons at the belt. Instead of making button holes with my rather unreliable sewing machine, I experimented with (my daughter’s hair) elastics: I folded them in two to create a button hole, then sewn them into the margin allowance on the side of the skirt. The hardest part was to align the buttons and get a good fit at the waist – but this is due to the very large belt, despite the pretty look I would have made it narrower had I known…

It was all good to have a skirt and I tried to wear all kinds of top to go with it – I even made a cardigan just for this skirt!

But this is a summer skirt, it definitely called for a summer top and I am a matchy-matchy girl. So I searched and searched top patterns (which I am obviously not familiar with at all) and found McCall’s M7958, which suited me for several reasons: it looked easy to make, was (decently) cropped, and it came with several bust cup options, yessssss!!!! McCall’s and Vogue pattern always fit me like a glove and I am a huge fan but the bust options are always the cherry on the cake, as I am not the one making the FBA!

I was too impatient to wait for the post and the pattern was luckily available online (which is a very recent option for McCall’s pattern, not available for all their patterns) so I went the PDF way. Clearly McCall’s PDFs are not fully up to speed, compared to many independent pattern companies: they take a while to be available on their website once you’ve ordered them; the files are not super easy to naviguate (the instructions in particular look a bit grim); and there was a mistake in one of the pattern pieces, which was missing 1cm in width – lucky I made a muslin and corrected this before cutting into my fabric! Emily Hallmann had also mentioned a mistake in a PDF she recently used too so just be very careful!

That put aside, the pattern was perfect as ever. I picked view C and cut a size 10 with D bust cup (as I always do) and the fit was spot-on, without adjustment needed except slightly narrowing the top of the back. It is all lined so the inside finish is exactly as I like. I had difficulty fitting the shoulder straps but I widened them, to make them bra-friendly, so I think that’s what caused the problem. I also used elastic and buttons for the back, as I did for my skirt, instead of the recommended zip.

And here is the set – a perfect match! I obviously very rarely wear them as separates!