I found the inspiration for this maxi with a difference in this Lululemon dress. I was however slightly bummed that someone clever and witty named it the ‘It’s A Cinch Dress’, stealing the perfect would-be blog post title. Oh well, I forgive them and give thanks for the inspiration behind my new spring / summer / autumn / winter maxi. It’s winter here, albeit mild and mostly ignorable, so I’ve been wearing it with a blazer and some boots but come summer I’ll be donning strappy sandals and hopefully longer, slightly less temperamental hair. Multi-seasonal? Very wearable? Check and check.

So maybe you recognize this pattern from here, it’s the Mission Maxi transformed with a really simple mod. After studying the Lululemon number, squinty eyed, I decided surely it couldn’t be that hard to add a cinched side? The seam allowance for the Mission Maxi is a scant 3/8″, so I kept that around the bust but then widened to 5/8 ” from the waist down to allow room for the allowances to become a casing for the drawstrings. After sewing the front and back side seams of the dress, I pressed the seam allowances open, then sewed them flat against the dress 4/8″ either side of the side seams, starting from thigh height down to the hem, to make the casing. As for sense, just holler if I’m not making any. We can try diagrams.

For the actual drawstrings I was going to use some plain navy cotton cording but it all looked a bit home-eccy. But then I had the idea to make the drawstrings out of the actual dress fabric so I used the bias pattern piece included to make the drawstrings. I knotted the ends several times and added some little brass stoppers found at my new place of work (more on this soon). It seems sometimes the smallest details can really lift a hand-made garment.

Sometimes a girl just needs a little tribal in her life. There’s no telling when and where the urge will strike. Just know it will. Since interesting knit prints are a rare breed, when I came across this beautiful cream and navy jersey here, I snapped up two yards. This pattern used about 1.5 so there’s still enough for say, some tribal leggings. I decided to use the wrong side of the fabric because the cream tones on the right side, were more yellow and looked a little sickly next to my ‘winter complexion’. In creating a very-wearable wardrobe I am always thinking about color. Some make me feel joyous and others completely flat.

Sorry to go all MIA on you like that but I’ve been struck down by some serious adult sewing inspiration. So if  no-one objects, the kid stuff can take a back seat while I indulge in a little, okay a lottle, sewing for moi. And if you’re a mum who decides to make something for yourself, I believe the term is ‘sewing’, not ‘selfish-sewing’ in case there’s any confusion. If you’d asked me a couple of years ago whether I thought it possible to sew a closet that could rival anything store bought I would have been dubious. It’s a wild challenge but since last year’s ‘New clothes free year’ wandering around shopping centers as a recreational activity has lost all appeal. Except to get inspiration for sewing. The happy side effect of this quest for hand-made fantasticness, is that one piece at a time I’m becoming quite the capable sewer. I don’t say this to put anyone off or to blow my own bugel, but in the hopes of inspiring any would-be sewers tinkering on the edge to jump right in. Sewing is just so learn-able.

I swear I’m not intending every post to begin with a sewing d & m lately but I can’t help it. I’m just so completely-utterly-can’t-sleep-inspired! So here’s what you can expect to see in this space over the next little while: a slouchy woven top, a maxi with a difference, a stretchy pencil, something with a peplum and definitely some printed leggings. Okay, enough cryptics, please refer to primitive sketches below. The dude on the left is not part of the plan. My sketchbook has become communal by the looks of things.

Well, sometime around Feb I had great plans for a winter wardrobe. Sometime around June they all went out the window as I got caught up in the northern hemisphere spring sewer buzz. Apart from the fact we hardly have winter, I wasn’t feeling it about the things I had planned to sew and if there’s one thing I’m learning is that sewing time is too precious to make anything you’re half-assed about. Instead I’ve been gathering inspiration from Pinterest and all the amazing sewing around blogland for these pieces that are hopefully multi-seasonal but some just plain fun. First up, a slouchy woven tee….

And this pattern: Simplicity 6025 + Wiksten tank. Yes, you read correctly. I’ve been pining for slouchy tees, pinning them into my sewing inspiration pinterest board and longing to re-create one. I came across this pattern with version B and knew I’d want to change the length from tunic to tee and give it a softer looking hem. I used the Wiksten tank pattern to make the new hemline and traced it straight onto the simplicity pattern. I also added an extra inch of length, since I’d actually like my Wiksten tank to sit an inch or so lower. The widths of the two tanks matched exactly which made it a real no-brainer alteration to make, if you’re interested in giving it a go.

Sizing: I cut the 8 based on a 34 bust measurement and a finished garment bust measurement of 38 (quite slouchy), so I can only assume the sizing must be quite different between simplicity and Vogue patterns, in which I make something around a 12 based on bust. Anyone else had strange sizing experiences? To accommodate long arms I cut the sleeves at the length of the size 10, and could have even gone longer.
Mods: The pattern calls for the neckline to be finished with binding made from the same fabric but because of the no-pressing issue I used bias binding instead, which worked superbly. I used the bias again to hem the shirt but finished the sleeves with a regular hem because I thought you would be able to see the bias binding the way the sleeve sits when finished. It wouldn’t press at all so I rolled it over twice, pinned then stitched. It got a little stretched along the way but because of the way the sleeve is held up it’s not noticeable.

Make again? I love this top and would be interested to see how it looks in a fabric with less body and more drape. I’d also think about cuffing the sleeves. I’ve just bunched them under the strap here rather than roll them over once like you’re supposed to, because I didn’t like the look of seeing the sleeve seams on the outside.

Forecast…sew storm!