a palate cleanser, or hey look Jen made another Olivia dress what a surprise

I said I was going to make something bright and familiar next, and look at that:

I took about a year's break from making Olivia dresses, but my goal this year is to make another two or three that live up to my first one. I was so unsure about it when I made it, but it's now two years old and I still wear it constantly. Barring, say, an exercise class or a black tie gala, there's no occasion it's not appropriate for and it's also comfy enough to just wear for a day running errands or dossing around. None of my other versions have lived up to that - my three longer ones are too formal and the more recent sweater knit one is fantastic for everyday but I wouldn't go and get a swanky haircut in it.

This one is also not as versatile as the first one (though don't get me wrong, I really like it), and yet again it's the fabric that's the issue. For my ideal Olivia, I need a light but in no way transparent cotton jersey with a decent amount of stability and zero vertical stretch. This one isn't quite light enough; it's a bit bulkier than I'd like. I had the same issue with the sweater knit and the exact opposite issue with all the viscose jersey ones. This one is also extra bouncy which made the facing a huge pain in the neck (literally, I forgot to take a pin out. Ouch) and instead of hand stitching it down like I usually do, I've had to machine stitch it on whichever parts of the fabric were dark enough to hide it.

I did my standard Olivia alterations: use five different sizes across the various pattern pieces, shorten the skirt by literally half its original length, take the sleeves from full-length to just below the elbow. I've no idea why the sleeve alteration is so necessary; this is the fourth mini version I've made and every time I think "I'll keep the sleeves full-length this time, that will be warmer and less awkward" before looking at myself in the mirror and chopping the sleeves to this exact length. The full sleeves are absolutely fine on my longer versions, so it must be a proportion thing. 

I probably won't wear this quite as often as my orange one, as the fabric is too thick to transition into summer, but I will wear it a LOT. The print and the colours are fantastic and perfect for an all-purpose dress. All-purpose dress for me, anyway. I'm not very good at jeans so I'm usually slightly overdressed, and most of my sewing plans are based around trying to hit "this is just what I look like" rather than "grossly overestimated the formality of this casual breakfast". 

I'm going to experiment with putting a short summary at the end of my posts because a) I'm trying to keep track of fabric costs and b) I keep forgetting to put in information that might actually be useful. If there's another category you'd like me to include, please say so!

Named Olivia dress

Fabric: 2.5m of unidentified jersey from Fabric Land

Cost: This was a gift, but would have cost me £12.50 if I'd paid for it

Pattern details: Wrap dress with below-knee skirt and long sleeves. High wrap at the neckline, in-seam pockets which actually don't suck unless you're using viscose jersey

Size used: Five sizes, from 42 at the neckline to 50 at the bicep

Alterations: Substantially shortened skirt and sleeves (no FBA, just used a larger size at the bust)

Will make again/would recommend: Yes/Yes

Up next: Sierra jumpsuit, round two! 

a rethink and an Olivia dress

As I predicted, just getting on with a second leather jacket in much more precious fabric hasn't been so simple. My anxiety is in a very unhelpful place right now (while I'm lucky enough to be able to get therapy on the NHS, they're very short blocks of sessions and the waiting list for escalated therapy is LOOOOONG) and I'm not doing myself any favours by insisting that my next project has to be complicated and time-consuming.

What I want to do for now is to give myself a shorter list of fun things I can use to give myself a kick-start. I still intend to make everything from my autumn list, even if I carry some of it over into December, but for right now I need some easy and/or fun things that don't have to be perfect and won't feel like the end of the world if I mess up. Here's what I'm thinking:

1. Deer and Doe Magnolia dress. I wasn't huge on D&D's last collection (I think I'm the only person in the entire sewing world who didn't like the look of the Myosotis), but I LOVE both their new patterns. I've got too many coat patterns in the queue to justify another one, but I can absolutely find room for a winter maxi evening dress. I'd make view A with the neckline from view B because lol no bra, in a navy textured silk-like viscose I got at a substantial discount from a stall in Walthamstow Market. It's nice to be a regular.

2. A simple sweater knit top. Simplicity 1613 is on my list, but I keep putting it off because while I recall exactly how frustrating it was trying to work out what to do, I do not recall what I eventually did. Yay! So I'm going to make one of my favourites - either a long-sleeved Wanted top or a cropped sweater, or possibly both -out of black and white striped sweater knit.

3. A Yoyo dress. A red denim Yoyo was on my list for summer, and I did make it, but it's not really wearable. It's tighter than my previous version (I accidentally closed up too much of the dart when doing an FBA, didn't realise, was confused when the skirt didn't match the top and put an extra pleat into the skirt. Which actually looks good, but it's not in any way a comfortable dress) and SUPER short at the zip. The instructions call for a 24" zip, I lengthened it by two and it's still kind of crotchy. I'm going to try again, using the red Mood linen I couldn't find a use for, and extending the skirt by another four inches. It's not especially seasonal, but hey, maybe I can layer it up.

Those are the three I have the ideas and all the elements for currently. It's the Knitting and Stitching show this weekend, so I may find a sparkly new project there too. Fingers crossed that this works as a sewjo-boosting method...

While we're here, a few weeks ago I made another Olivia dress!

I'd made six of these prior to this one, four of which survive (I was sadly right to be concerned about the longevity of the black fabric, and the purple one just made me cross every time I wore it because it wasn't purple enough), but the only one I was wearing with any regularity was the original orange version. I wondered about this for a while before concluding that there were two problems: all the others are longer with full-length sleeves, which makes them feel more formal and less appropriate for everyday running around; and they're made out of thinner, clingier viscose jersey which a) is more annoying and b) doesn't lend itself to being cut shorter. So the obvious conclusion was: more Olivias!

I got the idea for a sweater knit Olivia when I saw this fabric at Fabric Land in Bristol. (Every time I go and visit my parents I take less and less with me, so that it'll be easier to bring 12+ metres of fabric back with me on the train if Fabric Land is having a good day.) Fabric Land's sweater knit varies hugely in quality, but this is really nice, soft and super comfortable, with no horrible static rips when I try to take it off. I had it in my head that the print was more abstract than this and didn't realise until I was pinning the side seams that the lack of stripe matching was going to look really off. I managed to fudge it to a partial match, which I think is OK. 

I've already worn this a ton and it's going to be great for when it starts getting colder. This is exactly the right length and though I think I'd prefer the overall look with shorter sleeves, I don't want to cut them down any more for fear of messing with Future Jen's comfort and winter warmth. (I did take a few inches off, though - for anyone who hasn't read about my extensive history with this pattern, the sleeves as provided are full-length and cover the wrists.)

My plan is to get started on the D&D Magnolia today, so barring some huge disaster I should have that ready to post by next week. Wish me (and my douchey anxiety brain) luck! 

unblogged projects, part one: a bunch of Olivia dresses

Over the course of this past year I've made more things than I've blogged. A few times the item in question has been too much of a failure to photograph in any state at all (is it useful to people to have text posts about projects like that? Let me know), but most of the time it's because I have nothing left to say. I'm remaking a pattern I've made several times before, I've already got it to fit, everything is the same. My rule these days seems to be that I don't do more than two stand-alone posts on the same pattern, unless there's something substantial to talk about (still working on the fitting, trying a new technique or fabric, the garment in question is amazing and I want to take a million photos of it), but that leaves a lot of stuff unblogged. Since I like my records to be complete, I'm going to start infrequent "here's some stuff I don't have more words for" posts.

To begin, it makes sense to start with my Named Clothing Olivia dresses. When I posted the first one, I didn't think I liked it, but within a month it became my very favourite dress and I wear it far more often than I should. A couple of months later I made another two, raved about the pattern some more, and then decided I had nothing more to say. I have, however, made another three versions, and here they are:

Version 4 here is probably the one I wear the least, because I didn't shorten it at all and so it's usually too formal for my lifestyle. I don't want to alter it, though, because it looks great like this. This jersey was an impulse buy from The Textile Centre in Walthamstow, based almost entirely on how unbelievably soft it is. I really wish I'd bought twice as much and made a set of pyjamas too. 

There's no elastic in the waist of this version. I really liked how it looked and felt without it. 

Having now made a bright red, a bright orange, and a light blue version of the dress, I started thinking about having a rainbow of Olivias. Partly because I like silly gimmicky things sometimes, but mostly because I did some colour analysis on things I've made versus things I actually wear and discovered that I'm not the biggest fan of rainbow-coloured separates. I'm not sure what it is, I just don't like the way they pair with things most of the time and I'm much more comfortable with bright colours that aren't in the rainbow (fuchsia, turquoise, gold and so forth). I do, however, get a ton of wear out of my rainbow-coloured dresses, so this is basically how I'm to decide which fabric becomes which garment from now on. 

I got this green jersey from Sew Over It. I don't shop there as much anymore because it's a LOT of girly floral to sort through, but occasionally they get something like this that's right up my street. I made this one shorter than the blue one but not as short as the orange one, and it's probably the most versatile length. This is my second favourite next to the orange, and I wear it all the time.

(please excuse this photo, my camera lens was dying and I had to do a bunch of weird editing to make the dress look OK. Next week I will have a shiny new lens and then we can all look at some much better pictures.)

Aaaand having gone about the rainbow thing for a whole paragraph, here's a black one. I knew I was in need of another short Olivia, and the right yellow, indigo and violet fabrics still haven't come my way. I got this from Girl Charlee at the Knitting and Stitching Show, and I'm going to be keeping a close eye on it. I haven't seen many reviews of Girl Charlee that don't contain one of two phrases: "Girl Charlee is terrible" or "Girl Charlee got in touch and offered me some free fabric" (I'm not knocking that, fabric is expensive and I'd struggle to turn down a freebie too), but I want to like them. I'd love a decent-quality knit fabric specialist, and they have a whole range of printed sweater knits. And this fabric is SO soft, and the colours in the florals are SO bright. I really want it to work for me. I want to believe that they took the negative reviews to heart and started sourcing much better quality fabric. I WANT TO BELIEVE. This is a very new make so hasn't gone through the wash yet, but this is what I know so far: it took forever to dry after the pre-wash, it was a pain in the bum to sew, it feels really lovely to wear, it is a really terrible fabric for making pockets. I will update when it's been through the machine a few times. 

I made this version super-short and left out the elastic waist. This is probably slightly too short; I think it went a bit haywire during hemming. But it is super comfy and so far I really like it. 

Next week: if all goes well with my new lens, a completely unnecessary evening dress. Yay!

spring sewing: a red Named Olivia, and a bonus 70s version

So this is the only other thing from my spring plan that I actually managed to do, and it's really not very spring-like at all. It's been a difficult few months; I've been ill, I didn't cope with bereavement well and nothing's been going to plan. The fact that I managed to keep sewing and making things is quite an achievement, even if I didn't make what I thought I was going to make. Now that a bit of time has passed, I have a much better doctor and a more encouraging treatment plan, I think things are starting to move in the right direction again. Yay.

With that out of the way, here's what my red fabric became.

I completely thought I was going to make a summer dress, but instead this happened. Two main reasons: one, this fabric is actually quite snuggly, and there's a very limited temperature window to wear snuggly summer dresses; and two, I love this fabric so much and didn't want to waste it on something I wasn't sure was going to work. I decided to make another Named Olivia, because after having a minor crisis about my first one, it's now my absolute favourite dress and I wear it as often as I can get away with. So I wanted more. 

This fabric is effing BEAUTIFUL. It's so difficult to find the bright saturated colours I like, and this is not only a perfect shade of red, it's also a secret rainbow. You see red first, then purple and yellow, but if you look closely you can also see tiny amounts of bright blue and bright green. I could just stare at it forever. 

Construction was more or less the same as last time, except the front is actually the right way round because I was paying attention. I shortened it a little bit from the original length because it hits at a funny place on my leg, but not as much as last time. I really didn't want to cut any of this fabric off. 

In conclusion, I love it and this was definitely the right thing to make. It's currently too warm to wear it, but given that this is England, that's not going to last too long. A few degrees cooler and I think I'll be able to wear this pretty much anywhere. 

I was so excited about the idea of making a wrap dress when I first started dressmaking. My second ever post on this blog was about how much I wanted ALL THE WRAP DRESSES but was terrified of jersey (oh, Past Jen. You had much to learn, but not in the way you thought you did), then I learned how to sew knits and... really didn't make very many wrap dresses. I've wondered about this on and off, because both my Ultimate Wrap Dress and my Appleton are still in my wardrobe and get worn semi-regularly, and yet I've never been inspired to make more. Turns out it's because the patterns aren't quite right. Who'd have thought? For everyday wear I don't want a dress where I have to keep checking on my cleavage or wear a vest top underneath (I literally cannot wear the Sew Over It dress without a top underneath; it doesn't stop me because I still love it, but it doesn't encourage me to make another one). The Olivia feels like my dress; the wrap is high but not frumpy, the shape is right, the skirt feels secure, and it has pockets. I have found the elusive TNT.

The red dress was actually my third Olivia; to save us a whole other post saying basically the same things, here's the second one. 

This jersey is another one that turned up in a package from The Textile Centre that I'd ordered at stupid o'clock in the morning. I didn't have any plans for it, and I only worked out what to do with it once I'd made my leopard print dress and discovered I really liked the 70s vibe (I may have just bought another four metres of that leopard fabric. I LOVE IT). 70s print wrap dress? Why not?

This is a bit muted for my normal style and I won't wear it as much as the other two, but I do think it's cute. It's definitely the best thing I could have done with this fabric. Sometimes it's nice to wear something that has a bit of a different vibe; it reminds me that I'm not locked into a look and can try out anything that takes my fancy. 

This will not be my last Olivia - I fully intend to live in them come the autumn - but I'll try not to bore you by repeating myself too much.

One day I will be able to smile naturally in a photo. One day. 

Olivia, or orange issues

So, here is one of the dresses I was freaking out about last week.

I was looking forward to making this dress. I wanted to try out Named because their reputation seems impeccable, but a lot of their stuff isn't really designed for my shape and I don't think I'm cool enough to pull off most of their patterns. I went for the Olivia because it seemed classic and wearable. The Kielo is definitely the more interesting of Named's wrap dress patterns, but I cannot find any photo examples of that dress on my body type (or on any body type that isn't tiny, really), so I wasn't prepared to risk it.

Pictured: far more orange than I'm used to. 

I bought the pattern and the fabric during a sale at The Splendid Stitch. I hadn't planned on using the two together; the fabric looked much brighter on the website and I'd intended to make it into the skirt part of a dress with a black bodice. When it turned up I decided that wasn't going to work, but it was still quite a lot of print and making it into a wrap dress seemed like the best way to break it up slightly. I got slightly more fabric than I'd ordered because I got the last of it and it had to be sent as two separate lengths. It's lucky that happened because this pattern actually did need as much fabric as it claimed to need, which basically never happens.

The pattern pieces were printed on one sheet of paper, all overlapping each other, meaning that the pattern has to be traced. I don't normally do that despite knowing all the reasons it's a very good idea, so I grumbled a bit. They also don't come with seam allowances, which was a new experience for me. Again I know the benefits of drawing stitch lines onto fabric and cutting a seam allowance on, but I tend to go on autopilot when I cut fabric so before I got started I spent literally an entire day instructing myself to remember seam allowances over and over again. I mostly managed it, though due to fabric constraints my seam allowances were pretty skimpy in places. Apart from the bit where I cut the top pieces out backwards because it was Shit January and I was doing that a lot, construction was fairly straightforward and I didn't run into any issues with either the drafting or the instructions.

When I first put the dress on, I hated it. Hated it. I hated it enough that it prompted my minor crisis.

Boyfriend: What's the matter?
Me: I don't want to make clothes. Everything looks bad on me. Skirts hang weirdly, nothing suits my shape, I have weird shoulders, I hate everything.
Boyfriend: Don't be ridiculous.
Me: [puts on dress]
Boyfriend: Well, it's... hmmm. I see what you mean.

The skirt as drafted was too long for me, which I'd known was likely going into it (I'm not short, but I'm definitely not the 5' 10" that Named drafts for either), but it was also heavy. It pulled the waist into a place that was slightly too low for me and made the whole thing look strange and disproportionate. And while one of things I'd liked about the design of this dress was that it had a full-coverage wrap and full-length sleeves, when it was on my body in a bright orange print, I was less keen. It was just too much.

The next day, I hacked about six inches off the skirt and three or four inches off each sleeve. It's still extremely orange but it's less overwhelming and much more wearable now.

It's growing on me, slowly. I hated the first set of pictures I took so much that I thought the dress would never see the light of day, but I put it aside for a week then wore it for a day, and I feel much better about it now. I'm still not completely convinced about the print, but the fit is great (I traced it in a mix of five different sizes, so the back pieces are smaller than the front, the waist and hips are a couple of sizes different, and the sleeves are bigger at the upper bicep). The actual design of the dress is fantastic - it's the most secure wrap dress I've ever tried by quite some way. There's no gaping at the neckline, it wraps over far enough that I'm not concerned about accidentally flashing people in a passing breeze, the waist is elasticated so the ties aren't doing all the shaping work, and it has pockets. I can't fault the design or drafting at all. I will probably try making another one later in the year, and in the meantime I'll let this one continue to grow on me some more.

(Also, I bought the Kielo. I'm going to try being cool.)