Tag: Dress

Nova Pattern – Blog Tour

Sewing up little girls clothing is one of my favorite things to do.  I don’t have any girls of my own, but I love making them for my nieces and close friends. It’s such a nice change of pace from all the boy patterns I use and I do love “the twirl” when one of my recipients puts on her dress for the first time.  It just fills my heart!

When I make the plunge to purchase a girl’s garment pattern, it has to be versatile and timeless.  I don’t make them as often as other things and I need them to go with all different fabrics.  That’s exactly the style of Nova by Straightgrain Patterns.   It’s a beautiful no-fuss, clean design with lots of options.  The sizes go from 3m – 12 years too…Now that’s what I’m talking about!

The Nova pattern is available in both PDF and paper forms. I’m a paper person, myself, and love the color coded sizing. Many authors will give you color in the PDF but not the paper, so that was a nice surprise to find.  The pattern is also written in both English and Dutch (for any of my Danish friends out there!)

Nova consists of a classic A-line silhouette for woven fabrics.  You can change up the sleeves, the length, back closure, and even collar for a number of different looks. But what makes this pattern really special, are the pleating variations on the front and the back!  All the different pleats are just so amazing and I’m all about that extra texture!

When I received the pattern, I knew the double panel print from Magic! by Sarah Jane was going to be perfect. The parade of magical creatures is so whimsical and such a sweet look at childhood.  The simple solid pink background would really show off that honeycomb smocking.

Speaking of…can you believe this was my first time making the honeycombs?  I did have to read and re-read the instructions a few times to wrap my head around the concept.  But luckily, An had a number of great pictures AND a video tutorial to help this newbie.  I made sure to evenly mark my seams, sewed slowly for nice even pleats, and pressed well for a defined shape.  Gold thread really helped to highlight the technique and brings out the metallic details in the fabric.

With the honeycomb detail, I kept the sleeves simple with the cap option. It gives such a nice clean style and the dress can be put on and taken off easily too.

For the back, I opted for the ribbon closure. The fabric is just so sweet that only a bow could work IMO.  I was debating back and forth with ribbon color and settled on a shade that was darker than the body of the dress, but picked up in the print.  It gives the dress some balance and brings your eye up to that keyhole detail.

The Nova was SUCH a fun make. It helped to stretch my comfort level and I learned a new skill in the process…which wasn’t as hard as initially thought! This is another reason I enjoy making little girl dresses. It’s nice to work on my garment skills on a smaller scale…and for a less discriminating audience. Haha.

Project Details:

Make sure to also follow Straightgrain Patterns on Instagram for more inspiration and tutorials to help you along the way.  #novapattern #straightgrainpatterns

Check out the other participants in the Nova tour:

Sisko by Mieke – Bel’Etoile – Zowiewo – Petrol & Mint – sewpony – Fairies, Bubbles & Co
Elizabeth Little – Maker Mountain Fabrics – Better Dressed Child – Just Add Fabric – My Petite Sophie
Frances Suzanne – I Sew Blanche – Lily & Woody – My Minnie Mie
Love You Sew (you are here)- Thread Riding Hood – Ariane Blog

 

The Nova pattern was provided by Straightgrain Patterns as part of the blog tour.  All thoughts and opinions are honest and my very own.  

This post contains affiliate links under Project Details

Out & About Dress {Pattern Review}

OutandAboutTitle

‘Nothing like having some crazy beautiful weather to push me to finally make my Out and About Dress.  (Anyone else getting snow in April, then full sun and 70* the next day?)  I’ve had this pattern since Black Friday when Sew Caroline had a great sale, but like most selfish sewing plans, this was pushed to the side.  Once the weather warmed, I knew I needed to add some more pieces to my me-made wardrobe.

I chose Plumage Poppy knit by Art Gallery Fabrics which is just amazing.  It’s bright, springy and just feels so soft and good too.  Best part is I picked up this from my little quilt shop (LQS) Sew to Speak…on sale!  Doesn’t that always make a project feel even better? 🙂

Garment sewing can be intimidating…especially with knits, so I want to show you how I finished my dress with a bunch of close-up shots.

Cuff

I have a serger and it’s a god-send when it comes to knits.  The knife cuts a nice even edge and the overlock stitch helps tie up everything so beautifully.  There is a nice stretch which I chose to use here in the sleeves.  This pic was taken before I tacked the cuffs into place to hide the seams.

Hem

For the bottom hem, I used a ballpoint double-needle for this professional look. This allows for a decent stretch but not as much as the serging. With this being a loose dress, I am not worried about the stretch in the skirt….I’d rather it just look good! Ha.

 

Neckline1

Around the neck, I serged the neckline onto the dress for a clean look on the hanger.  But for that professional look, I added two top-stitch seams while tugging at the knit a little bit.  A coverstitch machine would probably do the same but I don’t have one (It IS on my ultimate wishlist though.)  The size of the head opening is large enough that I’m not concerned with having to really stretch it out, so the top-stitching works.  It’s always good to test your stitches on a scrap piece to see how much stretch you need.

fullprofile

This was more simple sew than anticipated…even with the pockets!  So, I know this won’t be my last Out and About Dress.  It was true to size, but since I’m 5’3″ I took about 4″ off the hem to hit just above the knee.  I may have to attempt a hack for a tank version.  Let’s see how long it will take me to make one!

Have you made anything new for yourself lately?

 

Happy Stitching,

Cristy