Guess what: I have just become a brand ambassador for one of my favourite online fabric shops Croft Mill! I am beyond excited!!! My plan was to use their wonderful fabrics to sew lots of summer dresses. But the English weather had other plans…

So instead let me introduce you to my lilac chambray co-ord:

A long love story with Croft Mill

I am always a bit dubious when bloggers become brand ambassadors, as you never know how objective they are in their reviews. I also had a poor experience a few years ago, when a fabric shop gifted me fabric of such poor quality I did not know what to do with it…

But with Croft Mill I had no doubts. I have been using their fabric for years (first article on the blog dates from 2018!!) and I am a huge fan. The quality is always good and the prices very reasonable. They have an extensive range and stock a lot of natural fabric (cotton and wool), which are my favourite.

Here is a sample of a few of my makes – all of these are reviewed on the blog actually (just go here to pick and choose the ones you like!).

What to sew in charming chambray?

But back to my makes! This is a culotte and top set in a gorgeous lilac chambray fabric, with enough structure to keep the defined shape of both the bottom and the top; but 100% cotton so breathable and super soft to the skin. The quality of this fabric is truly (a very objectively) amazing for such an affordable price (£7.75pm!!). Not even to mention the colour , my chambray holy grail!- you know how much I like lilac (just a couple of examples here and here…).

I have used chambray in the past and I really like it for more structured garments. It behaves a bit like lightweight denim but is way more breathable. I also like that the way it is woven gives it quite a lot of visual texture – as if it had little speckles of colours.

On the left, one of my favourite ever makes, the iconic M6696 shirt dress in blue chambray. I am actually very tempted to make this dress in purple (and with puff sleeves)… On the right, the Lune dress by French Poetry, which is so elegant in this fabric (I also saw it in cotton lawn and the outcome is completely different). Both dresses are made in a chambray of exactly similar weight and texture to the lilac one.

Patterns used: V9075 culottes, Altlas Top

V9075 pattern review

For the bottom, I used the V9075 jumpsuit pattern, from which I only kept the bottom culottes. As much as I would like to sew this jumpsuit, I still haven’t worked out how you can conveniently take it off with a zip at the back and such a high neckline… Maybe more yoga is needed to gain flexibility?

The culottes have an exquisite shape. They are very fitted at the top thanks to 12 pleats in total; and then very wide at the bottom – super flattering if like my you have a small waist and… well, “generous” hips!

They also have perfectly proportioned, with the length being just right to balance the volume (for my 1.68m anyway!).

I cut a size 10 (for my UK size 8, FR 36 and US 2) and made no fit adjustment whatsoever – incredible for me, as sewing trousers is ususally a huge headache!

My only change to the pattern was to make the culottes as separate. For this, I created front and back facings, using my half front and back pieces as guides once the pleats had been sewn. And I added an 20cm invisible zip on the side. Nothing complicated really.

Atlas Top pattern review

The top is the Atlas top by Stitch Witch patterns. I thought it would be the perfect candidate to be sewn in chambray; and a very good match with the culottes. And to be honest I am absolutely thrilled by this outfit, especially seen from the back – look at this lovely triangle!

I had already sewn with great enjoyment some Stitch Witch patterns (namely the Tudor Blouse and the Boleyn Top), but for an obscure reason never came round to showing them on the blog.

Sewing the Tudor Top was similarly enjoyable: it is a very easy make, with straightforward instructions and a lovely outcome. The crossed back is particularly stunning…

… and the central bust darts at the front create a very original look.

I chose a size 8 but had to make a Full Bust Adjustment (FBA) to fit my E cup. The FBA was absolutely necessary to be able to put the top on, as there is very little bust ease if you compare the body and finished measurements. Here is what my front piece looks like after the FBA.

Last but not least, this pattern consumes less than 1m of fabric if you line the back with a different fabric. So the best stash buster ever!!

Conclusion

It took me quite a lot of thinking to chose what to do with this fabric, as I really did not want to mess-up – the only disadvantage of being gifted fabric I guess.

So now my problem is that I have so many ideas of garments in lilac chambray that I may well need to purchase whatever is left in stock. Because of course I have used all my fabric leftovers already – here is a sneak peek…

As I discussed in my previous article, I am completely obsessed with sewing puff sleeves currently. So after my first puff sleeve dress, here is my second: the McCall’s M8197 dress.

M8197 pattern presentation

The McCall’s M8197 dress is a babydoll dress with an adjusted bodice with stops at mid-bosom level; a low cleveage both at the front and at the back; a voluminous gathered skirt; and puff sleeves of course!

It is quite a recent pattern from McCall, part of the Spring/Summer 2021 collection I think. And to be fair I am always quite cautious with these recent patterns. I find they are sometimes not drafted as well as their predecessors – more on this later.

This dress is clearly out of my comfort zone: not my current fit-and-flare shape, with a gathered rather than circle skirt, and much shorter than I usually wear. My children, creatures of habit, were actually shocked when I initially wore it! Not very encouraging I have to admit…

M8197 pattern pros and cons

I am somewhat ambivalent about this dress. I have been wanting to sew this shape for ages and I am keen to explore shorter lengths currently, so all good on this side. On the other hand, I am not convinced about the bodice fit at all.

On the positive side:

• The shape of this dress is very pretty. I think this pattern has managed to nail-down the babydoll shape, with a perfect bodice/skirt proportion and very cute puff sleeves.

• It is an extremely easy make. There is a limited number of pattern pieces, no huge technical difficulties (invisible zipper and gathering of the sleeves and skirt being the main ones) and very clear instructions.
• The internal finish is very clean, with the bodice entirely lined. You could also easily line the skirt if you wish.

But on the negative side:

• The bodice fit is definitely not very good. I went for my usual McCall’s size 10, which usually gives me a perfect fit. But here the neckline is too large and the sleeves tend to fall off. Secondly, the sleeve band would have been too tight had I followed the pattern. Thankfully I took my arm circumference measurements first and adjusted the pattern piece, which I strongly recommend you do. And lastly there was no bust cup options on offer and I was too lazy to do an FBA – I definitely should have.

• The positioning of the zip makes it all but invisible, in the middle of all the skirt gathering at the back. Huge pity in my view and next time I will definitely position it on the side (as I usually do, not sure why I didn’t this time…).

• My fabric choice was definitely wrong. I use a silk dupion, which gives very nice structure to the skirt but is nearly impossible to iron properly with all these gathers (you can see all the fabric wrinkles in the previous close-up pictures). I think a lightweight cotton would have been better.

In conclusion

Not my favourite ever make but at least of gave me a puff sleeve pattern piece I can use ad nauseam on all my McCall’s/ Vogue/ Butterick patterns. All is not lost!

After my shirt dress obsession in Spring 2021 (here, here and here), for me Spring 2022 is all about sewing puff sleeves. So here is my first puff sleeve dress: a hack of my beloved B6446 pattern… with puff sleeves of course!

What are puff sleeves?

According to Oxford dictionary, a puff sleeve is a « type of sleeve on a piece of clothing that fits close to the body at the shoulder and the lower edge and is wider in the middle, forming a round shape ». In French we call them balloon sleeves, which I think gives a better idea of what they look like.

I think that in theory what you call puff sleeves is supposed to be gathered at the top and the bottom (figure 2 below). But for me, anything the is gathered either at the bottom, the top or both will work to fulfill my puff sleeve sewing desire!

Puff sleeve sewing inspiration

I was relieved when watching the Great Sewing Bee 2022 to find out that I am not the only one completely obsessed with puff sleeves. Beautiful Broghan seems to be sewing and wearing only these, so it is not just me!!!

If you are keen to join the puff sleeve bandwagon, there are quite a few patterns available. Here are my favourites.

First, McCall’s M8197, with I used for the sleeves of this dress… And have also sewn entirely, article to follow when pictures are taken!

Second, McCall’s M8211, also sewn and waiting for proper pictures…

Third, the Capulet dress by Switch Witch Patterns, which I am really keen to try when I find the right fabric.

And fourth, the Sinclar wrap dress by Pretty Mercerie – I just want to steal these gorgeous version from Happy as a Bee!

Sewing the B6446 pattern with puff sleeves

The B6446 pattern joined my hall of fame last year and I made a couple of versions… of course! (I actually saw a third one but never showed it as the fabric choice was a big mistake… Think « Little House in the Prairie » unintended look).

I reviewed extensively the B6446 pattern in this article, so I won’t bore you with more of the same. I absolutely adore the mock wrap bodice, which very much lends itself to adding piping at the neckline… every time I sew it!

But my main advice is not to use the skirt from the pattern, which does not have enough volume to give the beautiful bodice credit. Instead, substitute it with a nice full circle skirt, either selft-drafted or using the pattern piece from M7081 for instance – which is ideal for this dress. Twirl, twirl, twirl!

As for the sleeves, – which I am only mentioning now while they were the all point of this article, never mind – I simply took the puff sleeves from the M8194 pattern in the exact same size as that of my dress (10) and they fitted without any adjustment whatsoever! All Butterick, Vogue and McCall’s patterns (all the same company) seem to have interchangeable pieces for their dresses, I have mixed and matched bodices, sleeves and skirts very often and never ever had any issues. How cool is that!

Conclusion

This dress combines my new love for puff sleeve and my old love for wrap dresses, so I can only adore it. This cotton satin fabric, found at Oxford Street John Lewis in London, makes it even more special with its most gorgeous blue hues.

Many more puff sleeves dresses to show you soon, stay tuned!

After fantasising about many of Daria Patternmaking’s beautiful patterns… And procrastinasing for ages about which one to make first…. I have finally taken the plunge! Let me introduce you to my Pleated Lily Dress.

Pattern description: so many pretty details!

The Pleated Lily dress is a fit-and-flare dress with a square neckline at the front and at the back; pleats over the bust; and voluminous puff sleeves.

But this summary description completely understates the gorgeous details of this dress. The front bust pleats are clearly its major highlight, they are perfectly designed to fit the bust without gap and match the front square neckline to perfection.

The flare of the skirt if created by a cleverly designed arrangement of darts, both at the front and at the back, which create a very harmonious silhouette.

And the sleeves are puffed through another set of very clever pleats; and here again perfectly sit with the square neckline.

All these details may sound like an awful amount of work… but strangely enough they are not! The instructions are available both in video and written; and they are so clear and detailed that the all process seems actually very easy… until it comes to fitting that is!

A fitting nightmare

Sadly enough, the smoothness of putting this dress together came out of the window when, well into 2/3rd of the process, I tried it on!

« You should have made a toile » I can hear some of you say… And I did! But stupidly I only toiled the front section of the pleated bust, assuming that the rest would follow. This toile allowed me to add some ease at the bust: basically 1cm extra at the bust apex of the princess seam both for the main fabric and the facing pieces (I am an E cup so fully expected to have to do an FBA for the pleats to stay flat).

However, I completely omitted to check the back… So I ended up with the most perfectly level and invisible zip I had ever sewn…

… but with 6cm of extra ease. Boohoohooooooooo….. Thank God I had not tried pattern-matching!

I could have dismantled the entire back, taken off 1cm at each dart (there are 6 darts at the back) and redone everything properly. Life if too short though! And no matter how perfectionist I am, I could not be bothered to go into so much trouble for a bit I cannot see and which is largely hidden by my hair. So I went quick and dirty and adjusted through the top 10cm of the zip. And put a hook-and-eye to compensate for the loss of zip length. Bye bye perfection and invisibility !

In any case the dress still remains slightly too large, which you can see around the waist and mostly at the back. And this despite picking size 36, completely in line with my waist and hip measurements (and actually in line with my high bust but much smaller than my full bust, as with an E cup I knew I would have to do an FBA).

I will probably take off 1cm from each side seam soon as I cannot stand a garment which is not tight fitting. This woman is mad I know… But I actually like this dress far too much to do nothing about ut!

Fabric choice

This dress is originally designed with long sleeves; and require fabric that can hold itself to keep the puff of the sleeves up. So I went for a cotton sateen, a fabric super comfortable to wear in Spring and very easy to work with. It is OK for the sleeves, but just so, so if you want to get proper puff with this type of fabric, I would follow Daria’s recommendation on how to add tulle to the sleeve head.

This fabric come from John Lewis on Oxford Street in London. I enjoy browsing there but rarely buy anything – this time I was twice lucky! Here is a little preview of the other fabric I found.

Conclusion

Despite all my fitting troubles, I love the style of this dress and I am very keen to make another sleeveless version. This may take a bit of thinking time though, as I am hesitating to go one size down… Which would mean new FBA, new adjustment at the back, new toile… Am I really ready for that?… Time will tell.