Super Scalloped Lilou

DIY
My shiny new copy of Love at First Stitch and the bargain fabric I wrote about it my last post have been keeping me super busy this week!


Pins and scissors ready, I jumped straight into making the lovely Lilou dress so I could have it ready to take on my holiday. The stripe fabric I used is a lightweight cotton - pretty good for what is officially my first me-made summer dress!

I love scalloped edges. I seem to spot lovely scalloped-detailed garments in shops like Hobbs all the time, but then I always have the 'Ohhh can I justify spending this much..?' debate. So I was thrilled to see that one of Tilly's suggested variations for the Lilou dress was to make a scalloped neckline.


Tilly provides step-by-step instructions on how to add the scallops to your pattern. I knew that tin of Savers kidney beans would come in handy at some point! (Product placement at its best - other tins are available). I traced around the tin so mine would be bold and deep. The construction part is SO simple - I think my wardrobe will be full of scalloped edges and trims soon!


Love at First Stitch is great because it gives you the confidence to try out these tricks and techniques that you've long-admired, but not quite plucked up the guts to actually do. Sometimes - especially for the not so confident sewist - it's easy to get caught up in sticking to the pattern and following the 'rules'. The book encourages you the reader/maker to 'make it your own' throughout, and that's something I love - even more of that 'I did it myself!' feeling when you've done.


I cut a straight size 3, and like A Stitching Odyssey, I reduced my seam allowance to 1cm near the bust to avoid the dreaded FBA. In hindsight, I probably should have re-positioned the bust dart as everything's looking a bit pointy around there - but hey, maybe I wanted everyone to think that I'm wearing Madonna-style Gaultier underwear...

One thing I did do was take in the shoulder seams a little to stop a bit of gaping in the back. I'd probably take a centimetre off the shoulders on the pattern next time, just to get the right fit for me.



And it's done! I'm not sure I'd win any prizes if you inspected the finish up close, but that's my fault for making a few mistakes and being too lazy to fix them. The waist seam at the back doesn't quite match at either side of the zip - it's just a few millimetres out - and not all of my skirt pleats meet the darts on the bodice where they should. But I think you'd only notice these things if you were told (whoops, there I go giving away my secrets!) By placing the horizontal stripes on the bodice and vertical stripes on the skirt, I will hopefully confuse the onlooker's eyes so they don't see them anyway - definitely the intention.


The whole dress has cost me less than £5 to make, and I'd say that the quality is a fair bit better than a cheap dress from the high street. The lined bodice gives it a particularly nice, neat finish - hiding away all the raw edges and dodgy bits! I haven't lined a garment since I did my A Levels, so it was a really useful reminder/practice.


The Lilou dress might well become my new wardrobe staple. It's so simple, but at the same time, the results are really pretty - it proves that you don't need to put a bow of distraction on top of everything *cough cough*. You only need 2 metres of your main fabric for the dress itself, (0.5 of your lining fabric) so I definitely plan on having a snoop in the fabric shop and investing in something a bit fancier.
Some ideas:

  1. A chintzy floral Lilou, maybe with a longer length skirt and regular neckline
  2. A medium-weight quality black fabric LBL (Little Black Lilou)
  3. A bold, block-coloured Lilou -  I'm thinking green or red
Here is a quick view of the back of the dress too. Eagle-eyed readers may spot some slightly out stitching, but oh well!


So it looks like me and the Lilou pattern are going to become very well acquainted. I'm also keen to try out the Mimi blouse. But for now, I'm signing off and putting down the needle and thread. It's mere HOURS until I leave to go on holiday, and as I'm heading to a music festival, I just had to see if the Lilou has the moves...


...OH YES IT DOES. Adiós!

Fabric Pilgrimage

dressmaking
I went on a trip to London last weekend. I don't know if you could quite call it a fabric pilgrimage as there were alternative motives for the visit, but I did travel via Megabus, and then caught the tube to the end of the Victoria line - and it was HOT! - so it was a mission of sorts. But when my friend suggested it, I just couldn't turn down a trip to the quite unexpected fabric haven of Walthamstow. I'd heard good things, and it's also listed on Tilly and the Buttons as a London fabric hot spot. Anyway it didn't disappoint - bargainous fabric galore!


The high street is home to an unbelievable number of fabric shops and there are many more fabric/craft/haberdashery traders to be found on the stalls of the outdoor market, which runs down the same road. It's brilliantly overwhelming. 


These pictures are from just one of the many shops. I'm not entirely sure how they can even make profit on £1 and £2 a metre fabrics - but hey, I'm not complaining! For once, could it be possible that London was CHEAPER than the North?! I have to note that not all of the fabric was great quality and it does require a fair bit of rummaging. But if, like me, you're not after anything too fancy or you just want to buy a bundle of 'practice' fabric, then you can't beat it! You'll probably even spot a few familiar prints if you still frequent the bigger high street shops - there were definitely a few fabrics I recognised from a recent trip to Primark.



I went home with 4 metres of the nautical looking blue/white/yellow stripe fabric (priced at £1 per m) and a couple of metres of the lilac flowery (still only £2 per m). Me and my purse are very happy!

So now, and in other news, how am I going to put it to use?
Well I also had a very good post day. A little bit late to the party I know, but I finally caught up and bought Love at First Stitch, the first book by (as mentioned earlier) sewist, blogger, GBSB contestant and all round, super stylish Tilly Walnes.


The beautifully designed book has seven different patterns and easy to follow guides and tutorials that take you from complete novice to proud, confident sewist. The thing I really like about the patterns are Tilly's suggestions of simple changes that make different variations of the garments. Do you remember when Gok Wan was all into that capsule wardrobe of twenty pieces or something? No? Well I do... and it's like that, only so much better. There are so many options that you could probably make them all and spend a month (or a Me Made May) hardly wearing the same combo twice!


I knew which projects I wanted to make before I'd even opened the book. I'm going to use my bargain blue stripey cotton to make a nautical-chic summer Lilou dress - I'm thinking the scalloped neckline variation...


And I have just enough of the lilac flowery to make a pretty Mimi blouse, maybe with a contrast white collar. This one will be on hold for a while until I get a new sewing machine that can handle button holes - though Tasha from By Gum, By Golly has a handy tutorial on making them by hand here for anyone who is patient enough (sorry not me!)

A good week for sewing. Must get going if I want the Lilou to be finished before my holidays!

Thanks for visiting!

Thanks for visiting!