The Agnes Revisited

The Tilly and the Buttons Agnes top seemed the perfect, simple top to tackle this weekend. Last time around (see here) I totally managed to bodge up the neckline, ending up with an array of small holes where I was forced to unpick, which I then had to cover up with a lace trim. That said, I’ve still had plenty of wear out of it underneath a particular jumper that matches the colour of the spots perfectly 🙂

This time around I was determined to be more careful. This lovely, inky blue (almost purple) with tiny, dark pink dots was from Guthrie and Ghani and has an almost silky touch to it. Originally I cut a size 3, but this turned out to be a little snug, especially around the arms. I therefore added an extra cm to the width of each sleeve and also to the front and back pieces, resulting in a much more comfortable fit.

I went for the plainer view as I intended to wear this under things whilst it’s still cold. I’m looking forward to trying the ruched-sleeve version come spring though. This time around all went well and this really took no time at all to sew up on my over locker, switching to my regular machine just to hem. At the last minute I decided to add the bust detail. Although it resulted in a neat finish, I clearly didn’t quite pull it tight enough. Next time! I had a bit of a rummage through my button jars and found this blue one which matched well. Hopefully through adding it, it looks more like a planned detail? 😉

Pattern: Tilly and the Buttons Agnes

Adjustments: extra cm to width of sleeves and main body

Next time: pull the elastic detail tighter!

Soundtrack: David Bowie’s Greatest Hits

 

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A Cranberry and Ice Delphine

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Despite the irony of it being three weeks into my Dry January and subscribing to a weekly, organic fruit and vegetable box for the same amount of time, I’ve been feeling more ill than I have done for years, the last few days. 😦 We’ve all been struck down with a horrible, wheezy-chesty-flu like bug. Still, much though I’ve barely ventured from the house I have managed to slowly sew up a Tilly and the Buttons Delphine. And I’m counting it as a drinks theme over at The Monthly Stitch, hence the title.

I’ve made a fair few of these in the past, so this was a nice, easy introduction into the New Year. The fabric was interesting though. It was a bargain find from a local, charity shop, presumably the off-cut from a Winter coat. I think it’s some kind of tweedy -wool-like fabric and it cost me the princely sum of £1.50 🙂 I thought its stiff texture would make a lovely Delphine because of its exaggerated A-one shape. I used Tilly’s online tutorial for adding a lining, essential I think with this rougher type fabric. Because I wasn’t up to venturing too far this week I made do with what I had in, hence the cream zip which isn’t quite perfect, but does the job. The lining I had in for a jacket and I’m hoping I’ve still got enough of it left…

And the cranberries? Well, it looked the right colour in the teabag…

And I couldn’t resist adding the ice because of the first bit of snow on the ground from yesterday. The monkeys made the best of it as they could with their baby snowman.

Jeans next… Gulp! #jeansjanuary

Another Coco

 

Crikey, for something that I claimed wasn’t too flattering on this very here blog,  I’ve certainly had my wear out of my spotty Coco dress! So much so, that when this material arrived (Guthrie and Ghani) destined for an Agnes top, I just knew that it was going to be another Coco dress instead. What can I say, clearly comfort over style 😉 It’s a lovely, thick, closely knitted almost sweatshirt material.

My only problem was that clearly I’d ordered the wrong length (because it was originally intended for a different pattern) but I stupidly didn’t realise this until after I’d already cut out the back piece. Doh! One day I’ll stop making such daft mistakes….Anyhow I had enough fabric to cut out two separate pieces for the front, but just not on the fold. Clearly I didn’t want a join on the front though, so this is a bit of a back-to-front dress, which I think you’d only ever really spot if you were looking very closely indeed or you knew the design (which luckily none of my real life friends do). I lowered the front neckline a little to compensate and it’s actually lovely and cosy this way.

I did have a play around with inserting darts at the bust, but it seemed to ruin the stripe-alignment so I left them out. Instead (and because of the lovely, dense ‘pull-me-in’ fabric) I sewed the side seams up to be very fitting at the bodice and then slightly looser over the hips downwards. I also made sure the sleeves were comfortably loose, Tilly’s patterns have a habit of making me feel like the hulk around the arms otherwise, she must be very petite! Possibly also because of having to join two pieces at the back, this version is much more fitted and thankfully more flattering than the previous one.

The instructions were a doodle, as I’ve made this pattern many times now and my overlocker behaved perfectly. I was unsure about adding a pocket, but did in the end just as an excuse to use this lovely button, which both of my children commented on rather than the actual dress when I tried it on for them. Looking at the below photos, I’m slightly annoyed I didn’t get it more central, but it’s also reassuringly got that homemade look!

Anyone else find themselves repeating a pattern, even though they’re not entirely sure it’s that flattering on them?