Ann Adams 4602 - duvet to dress

I had been looking at this pattern for a while and I love wrap-arounds, skirts, dresses, tops -  The duvet had two lovely faded shades and the blue over-lock edge suited so to include this detail in  the dress I made some with blue piping with bias from some blue scrap I had and and yarn (which I made into piping cord by zig zagging a few lengths of 4 ply together and then covering with the blue bias strip)

I wanted to see if lining and or making it reversible would work - it didn't really as it was too heavy, and the fit of the dress is not a snug as i would like.  The curved back looks attractive but it has 'nowhere to go' or be attached to, I think the straps and curve could be altered here.  I am thinking of trying something similar in time and shaping the back differently - I would also shape the front bodice a bit better as it is made for a more matronly bust, what I really liked though was the skirt as it has a kick out in the front seam and gives great flare.............   

Simplicity 1178 halters and weskits - from pillowcase to halterneck

More pillowcases to tops.  I did some rough sews of these two as I liked the look of the halter.  The cream halter has a low back and the blue halter/weskit has none!  I did make up a halter for a friend since and brought the back up more, so to allow for bra.  Cute pattern, ends at waist so it needed to be adapted for contemporary wear - I just lengthened the sides and darts.  The blue halter is similar to a temporary beach top you can fashion from scarves but has nicer shaping, again, would work very well adapting into a dress in a 1940s style.................

Butterick 2704 - pillowcase to top

Butterick 2704 -so much in one pattern.  I have made the coat, top, beach dress, and trews (so only skirt, shorts, and jacket to go). 





I saw these 2 pillowcases, and adored the vivid design, what I hadn't factored, was that the design and grain would not run true to each other, and in order to get the cut from the pillowcase I had to sew the pillowcase halves together and work with what I got, its really only near the hem the design join wavers and it is (I hope) barely visible.  In fairness, this was the only problematic bit, the rest was a breeze.  The top has no fastenings, but a wide neckline, and the hem is just below waist, and is fully lined, so no facings - very cute but needs a lower hemline (or complimentary fabric added on?) if worn with jeans as it is a bit short.

Simplicity 8203 - trousers to tennis dress

The athena poster dress was auctioned earlier this year and got 15k!  It well exceeded the guide price and the back story is a good read.  Its a home-made dress and is from a simplicity pattern (is supposed to be from Simplicity 8203).  I like square necklines,  and decided to give it a go.  The pattern allows for 3 dress lengths and also has a pattern of kick pants/tap pants/hot pants for underneath.  Its a good option obviously for wearing dress at the shortest length (unless you are having an athena moment of course),  

I was able to cut the short length from a pair of linen trousers and would have been able to get the mid length also.  I lined the dress in white cotton and used bias binding to finish the arm holes and some binding for the neckline - it may have been a nicer effect to have just bound both in white, and having a white detailed neck and arm etc instead of turning them over all the way.   Its a straight-forward pattern, and quickly made up, I intended to put trim on it (part for decoration and then it became compulsory when I did a mis-cut) , but I would have preferred if I could have found the generic daisy trim that seemed to  trim every item of clothing I had as a child but not available in local haberdashery.

I decided to not finish the trim as overall, I am still undecided on the overall finish so I have pinned it (badly)n for the photo, and will figure a better 'look' for it later.  I think it needs some detailing, but unsure yet.   I made the kick-pants, they are very much of their time as they fit right on the waist - but they could also be adapted to sit lower.   The big achievement for me, was to get a dress cut from a pair of trousers.   Cute pattern - and thinking of making some other versions...........................

Butterick 2704 - green cloak to green coat

When I saw this green cloak in the charity shop - I truly could not resist it..  It reminded me of the original Irish Air Hostess uniform.  Its a full-on kelly-green woven wool cloak with hood.  My feeling is that it was probably made for either a primary school play or float about St Patrick, and also made a long long time ago!  With a cloak there is a natural progression to a kimono sleeve (I was given a cloak some years ago and made a jacket with sleeves from it, and it was only when I finished I thought the kimono sleeve .....) 

I used this Butterick pattern and had to make it about 8 inches shorter as there was not enough fabric, but that being said, the pattern length was too long for contemporary wear.  The sewing up was relatively straight forward, and its a great summer coat pattern,  I used the lining from the cloak to line it but it was a bit light and a bit scrappy, so I happened to come across a nice check lining by chance, and it has a better weight, so I relined it using a heavier lining and also decided to include side pockets.  The patch pockets did not look well at all, and the side ones work nicely. 

(I was tempted to make one of the hats from here to match ..... but that's for another day)