Bathing Bombshells Suki Robe

In that stage between getting up and getting dressed, I generally wear a big jumper over my pyjamas. But in the summer when it is so hot the last thing you want near your skin is anything that resembles a jumper! So this year I thought it was time to sew something lighter to put on over pyjamas – handy for when the postman calls.

I’ve never been a massive fan of dressing gowns though – I don’t know why but they just always feel like strange transition garments to me – you might as well just get dressed! But when I saw the Helen’s Closet Suki Robe pattern I thought it was the perfect pattern to try. And I’m really happy with how it turned out! The instructions were great and the only tricky part I found was the front band.

I’ve been hoarding this fabric for years so I’m glad to finally use and and make something special with it. It was bought on Goldhawk Road in London when I went there on a fabric pilgrimage a few years ago.

This is too nice to wear just inside though, isn’t it? So I’ll probably also be wearing it with tights and boots very soon too.

 

Everybody's on top of the pops

This summer my sewing has revolved mostly around the Teahouse dress pattern from Sew House Seven! I made my first version back in May and this summer I made three more versions of the dress which have all been in heavy rotation – and continue to be but with tights now!

Here is my ‘Top of the Pops’ Teahouse pattern hits of the summer countdown!

In at number 3 we have…the everyday version!
I made this dress to wear in lots of different situations. The fabric is not too flimsy so I’m not worried about it getting caught and ripping, and the pattern is also quite forgiving if I spill something on it or get bike chain oil on it! Fabric was bought a few years ago at Gare du Midi market. Here are some photos of it from this summer when I visited Bath.

And at number 2 it is…the dreamy version!
This one I looove – it’s a light floaty viscose from the Fabric Godmother I bought a few months ago – and I’m so happy with how it turned out!

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But at number 1 it is…the heatwave version!
I adapted the pattern to make a sleeveless version in July for the various heatwaves we had this year…and it is ticking all the summer dress boxes for me. It’s really comfy and the low back means there is lots of space for air to flow to keep you cool. Fabric is cotton saved from the the bargain bin (2 euro a metre…) at ‘Passion Tissus’ in Saint-Gilles, Bruxelles. I also wore it on my Bath trip – here I am posing in front of the Parade Gardens.

Sing the greys

When I bought my overlocker machine a few years ago (from the loveliest people that run the ‘Espace machines à coudre’ sewing machine shop at 154 Chausée d’Ixelles, Brussels) the lady there gave me one of my favourite tips ever: use grey thread! As advice goes it might not sound that life-changing, but it was a great (small) revelation for me. I wasn’t sure how much thread I’d get through on my overlocker (given the spools are bigger than on a sewing machine) so I didn’t want to buy a huge selection of colours – also, no one wants to change the thread on their overlocker machine all the time. So she recommended I go for grey thread as it goes with everything. And, wow, was she right. I pretty much stick to this ‘rule’ now and mostly use grey thread for all sewing – both on the sewing machine and overlocker. I love the way it looks against all colours of fabric, dark and light. And it seems better to have a smaller selection of colours and work with them, rather than having a huge collection of colours to perfectly match all fabric colours. Obviously there will be some instances and on some more transparent fabrics where you really need and want matching thread, but I’m talking about for general stitching when you can’t see your stitches.

And recently the grey thread advice has seeped into my fabric choices too. I’ve made two grey jumpers this year (as yet unblogged) and I made this dress at the beginning of 2019, so thought it was time to post about it. It’s the Martha dress from Tilly and the Buttons. You can’t see them so well in these pictures but the bell sleeves are a really nice shape.

If I make this pattern again I would work a bit on the fit at the back neckline but all in all I’m happy with it. I actually have no recollection of where the fabric comes from (eeek, not good – trying to be way more mindful about buying fabric these days) but it’s been in my stash for a while and is a lovely soft and drapey cotton with a bit of stretch in it. These pictures were taken by my lovely friend Grace last February (!) when we had a worrying heatwave on a lovely Saturday afternoon down by the canal when we went to the Mima museum.

The title of this post is the name of a 2006 song from Scottish band Frightened Rabbit. It’s been over a year since lead singer Scott Hutchison very sadly took his own life, on 10 May 2018.  His family have set up ‘Make Tiny Changes‘ a Scottish mental health charity set up in Scott’s memory with a focus on young people and children. And if you don’t know the music of Frightened Rabbit yet, go and listen, you are in for a treat. So whether it is in grey or in another hue, we can all make the world a more colourful place – and “make tiny changes” as Scott sung.

One (pair of) cigarette (pants) in the non-smoker's tray

Just casually hanging around, you know.

I worked on these trousers for a very very long time! I think it was in November/December last year when I started drafting my own trouser block and then doing various trial and error toiles to experiment with fit. I worked on them on and off and, voila enfin, they are done!

I used pinstripe suiting fabric that I’d used before for this dungaree dress in 2017. I had originally bought the fabric with some ‘cigarette pants‘-style trousers like these in mind so I’m glad I finally got them out of my head and through the sewing machine! The fabric is a wool/blend suiting and comes from Gold Fingers on Boulevard Anspach.

I’m not 100% happy with the fit – I think they could be a little less snug in the thighs but it’s also because I’m not used to wearing trousers – I feel so strapped in! Also, the fabric does not have that much body to it so they are a little stiff. But I’m glad I have a good fitted trouser pattern now that I can adapt to other styles.

And I’m so into the shape of the pockets!

And because the outside should be as pretty as the inside, I used a ‘Hong Kong’ finish on the side seams with some nice satin binding.

The closure is a lapped zip in the side seam with a spring snap. For the construction order, I followed this amazing lapped zipper tutorial from Closet Case Patterns – as I did for some shorts I made last year.

And talking of Closet Case Patterns, I also made another Kalle shirt – which I’ve untucked here so you can see it better. This is my third version of this pattern (hello number 1 and number 2). I adapted the neckline slightly for this one so it sits flat – it is a sort of bias binding sandwich finish! I love the pairing of the yellow buttons and the red fabric – some classic Atelier Brunette ‘Bye Bye Birdie’ fabric I bought a few years ago in Paris and which I’ve been keeping for something special ever since. Well, you can’t take fabric with you, so I decided to stop hoarding it and that this was as good a time as any to use it. I really like it and hopefully I’ll get a lot of wear out of it.

And if you are wondering what the title of this post is all about then it’s time to read some Edwin Morgan poetry!

Just like honey(comb)

I made a Honeycomb dress by Cocowawa crafts and I can report it is a very sweet pattern, just like honey. I’d seen lots of lovely versions online and I was curious about the construction. As I said in my previous post, I’m curious about patterns with ties rather than zip closures. The Honeycomb’s gathered skirt is cinched in thanks to two front ties on both sides. I definitely could have sewn my gathers better but gathering is not my strong point.

It’s such a comfy dress to wear and it feels both dressed up and dressed down at the same time.

The fabric I used was bought on a wee trip to Amsterdam with my sister in 2017 – I found about 3 metres of it at the bottom of a remnant bin and took pity on it and decided to give it a home. For a while I regretted buying it as I couldn’t think what to make with it. But it was the perfect fabric to try out a new pattern on, and see if I could get at least a wearable muslin out of it.

But luckily, I got a full on dress I love! The fabric is very light flowy corduroy/needlecord that could possibly be curtain fabric.