Red Gingham Vintage Shirt Dress

 

Well, to be short: lovely fabric, shitty pattern. 

I bought this gingham in Ray Stitch, London, for a blouse, but at the last moment I decided the pattern I got in Lisa Confort's shop in London would be perfect for this fabric. With very clever maneuvers I managed to squeeze the Sew Over It's Vintage Shirt Dress out of 1.20 m of fabric. Just like a small miracle. It was a pity not to be able to make pockets or a face mask (a pandemic must), but the dress was possible, so there I went. 

What a disappointment! I do not usually buy these expensive individual patterns, but I have some of them, and the Agnes Top had proved to be awesome, so I thought it was a sure bet. Nothing further from reality! Obliterating the fact that I hate patterns with seam allowances included (which include the extra work of transferring them into paper and then taking the seam allowances off), this pattern has major major flaws: 

• The waist cut is way too high. Regretfully my seam allowances were very sparse (fabric saving!) and I could only add a couple of cm, so it is still too highly placed.
• Armholes are way too big, specially in the underarm. I could repair it, maybe, but I was in a hurry, so I left them like that. Not gracious at all. 
• Waist is way too big. I had to deepen the 4 waist darts 1 double cm each (So I subtracted a total of 8 cm and it still has a lot of ease). And I have an inverted waist, so this makes no sense at all. Deepening the waist darts resulted in too big ungracious darts. 

Well, as you can see, these are all major issues that make a pattern useless. I have quite a few of better options if I ever want another shirt dress. And now I've lost my trust in Sew Over It forever. 20 euros for a total mess. 

Although it is not a masterpiece, not by far, the dress is still wearable, comfortable and practical to work in the school. And the fabric still is awesome. 

Bikinis

 

I made my 1st bikini last summer. I had to make several trials to learn, and I accepted a final red version that I've been wearing a lot, despite it being too tight at the neck... well, the top was tight in general. Having still some fabric left, and after ruining my red one in a friend's too chlorinated pool, I decided it was the prefect excuse to make a new one and continue learning. 

This gorgeous recycled nylon is from Calico, and I bought it in Funky fabrics. 

The 1st modification was to get rid of the lining. This gorgeous fabric is not sheer, and the lining does not stretch in the same way, so it prevents the top to fit properly. 

The 2nd was to change the elastic band. Watching YouTube tutorials about making bikinis, I realized there is some elastic made for swimming wear. It's called natural rubber, and we can find it online in black or white, and several widths. 

I also decided to baste the elastic band before zigzagging it with the machine to distribute the fabric excess evenly. 

This elastic bands are 10% shorter than the length they have to cover. So, first we must make even parts with pins in both pieces, pin it  in the wrong side and baste it pulling the elastic band but not the fabric. 

Once it is basted, it is very easy to stitch it with the machine using a wide zigzag. 

Finally, we turn the elastic towards the inside of the piece and zigzag it again, pulling the elastic band as we sew, but not the fabric. 

It is important that we use polyester thread to resist chlorine and sun. (sorry, planet)

The pattern for the bottom is Megan Nielsen's Acacia underpants free pattern, which is totally awesome once you have set your correct size and the correct amount of elastic band. 

For the top, I used the rub-off method to copy a beloved old bikini of mine. 

No fails this time, the process went smoothly and I made two gorgeous bikinis. They are perfect for me when I swim, they are nice and comfortable, not pulling anywhere and keeping my boobs and rear covered while I swim. I totally love them, and I plan to make more versions in other colours.