June was been a bit quiet on the sewing front, but that's because everything else has been so busy! I've still somehow managed to stockpile fabric and patterns though. My sewing to-do list is going to be longer than the silly amounts of denim I accidentally buy! In between all the work, newborn babies, hen dos and birthdays I did manage to squeeze in a second Lilou - the Little Red Lilou!

I was pretty pleased with how the first version turned out - it's had a fair few wears already and has even survived the washing machine, hooray! - but this time I really worked on getting the fit just right. There was a fair bit of patience involved in comparison to my usual 'cut fabric, sew, hope it works' method. After doing my VERY FIRST full bust adjustment and making a muslin of the bodice, I got to make the REAL thing...

The one thing I didn't quite account for when doing the FBA was the slight increase in the waist measurement. All in all it's not too bad - everyone needs a bit of breathing/lunch room after all. Anyway, I'm getting so close to the perfect fit now, I guess I'll just have to make another - if I'm not careful it will end up becoming my uniform!

Oh and here's one more thing that should help with garment fitting/pattern adjusting...

Gone are the 'FBA hmmphh CBA' days... That's right, I've tackled the dreaded Full Bust Adjustment hooray!

It's only been just over a week since i last did any sewing, but I've been thinking about what I'll make next all along. I loved wearing my me-made Lilou dress on holiday. So much so, that I've jumped straight in with making a second. But first of all - and something I should do every time I make a bodice, considering my silly out-of-proportion bust measurement - I had to make a muslin (or toile).

I know the advice is there for a reason, but im just too impatient to make muslins for every garment. I tend not to use pricey fabrics either, so most projects feel like a practice anyway and just a happy accident when/if they work out. But if I'm really going to take dressmaking seriously, it's about time I gave the fit a bit more attention. 

I made my last Lilou in a straight size 3 but the bust darts sat a little too high and it all looked a bit ummm... strained up there. I used a fab tutorial from Megan Nielson's blog which you can find here.

All you have to work out is the difference on the pattern piece, between your bust measurement size and the size you would cut for the rest of your body. Not all that scary really. Mine was a size 3 on the body versus size 5 on the bust, so 2.5cm difference. You then use that measurement to draw your cut lines - again, 

really not so scary and definitely not as technical as it looks!

Once you've done all the cutting and wiggled it around a bit, you just tape another piece of pattern paper behind - I normally use thin greaseproof paper but accidentally bought this brown baking paper that seems closer to parcel paper, oops! It does the job I guess.

So I now have a supersized, and more accommodating bust dart hooray! I had to shuffle the other dart a little too as one of my cut lines chopped right through it - took an educated guess, but that's what a muslin's for isn't it?

I had so much of that £1 a metre striped fabric left from my trip to Walthamstow - and my last Lilou - that I thought I'd have a go using that. 

And just LOOK at that lovely full bust! (sorry sounding a bit creepy there).

Now without going as far as actually taking a picture of me and my bust wearing the muslin - I'm no prude, but hey, it's not that kind of blog, sorry - it's hard to demonstrate the new and improved proportions. I think the photograph below will have to do, though it's really not as pointy when on, promise.

Success! And a sneaky peak at my fabric haul from B&M Fabrics at Leeds Market the other day. I'm starting Lilou number 2 straight away, using one of these...