Using up a long cherished fabric

Pattern Review - New Look 6459 


I am back with another project. This one is pretty belated as I made this dress for a sew-a-long with my sewing group back in April. The theme was to use a fabric that had been in your stash for way too long. 


I picked this cotton that has been in my stash for around 5 years. I purchased this on holiday in France from Toto Fabrics in Poitiers at the price of 5 euros per metre and I lined this dress with lining from Simply Fabrics priced at £1 per metre. 
I decided on a simple dress - New Look 6459 (now out of print). I made this over ten years ago and knew that I would have to tweak the fit. I cut a size 14 and added 1" to the top of the bust for modesty and added 1 cm to the bottom of the bust. I have to say I don't love the fit. It is a bit snug across the bust and I still think that it could do with a tad more length. The hips are a bit tight too so I would grade out to a size 16 on the hips next time. 

This dress is being classed as a wadder as although there is not too much wrong with it, I just don't find it all that comfortable and never wear it. That said I am still pretty satisfied that I got through another fabric in my stash. This dress if off to the charity shop and I am sure that there will be someone out there that will like it more than me. 

You can see my Pattern Review here.

What do you do with your finished wadders? Do you keep them?

Happy Sewing!

Comments

  1. Gisella10 July 2016 at 01:20

    What a shame that you didn't wear it, it looks so great on you! And I love the fabric. What a shame!
    But I see what you mean about the hips, that could do with more ease. Do you think you'll make it again, perhaps in a fabric with a bit of stretch to it? This was your (not so) wearable toile, I think the next version is going to be fabulous.
    I really like this.

    PS: I throw wadders out now, thanks to your inspiration! One had gone to a charity shop, others in the clothes bin. I must admit I kept hold of them before, no idea why...

    ReplyDelete
  2. Barbarags11 July 2016 at 12:39

    I think it looks good on you and it is such a shame that you do not feel comfortable with the fit. You have been posting some great garments recently.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Tomasa12 July 2016 at 13:36

    You look great in the dress but I certainly understand the importance of feeling comfortable.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

April Garment of the Month - Dress for Easter

Image
Pattern Review: Butterick 4443 Happy Easter! After spending Saturday in sunny Brighton, today in London is a such a contrast. Grey and miserable, but the perfect excuse to curl up in bed with a coffee and catch up on sewing blogs. So here is my April garment of the month - another version of Butterick 4443 . I have made this previously here  and I really love the style of the dress. I picked up this crepe like fabric from Goldhawk Road priced at £3 per metre sometime last year. I knew instantly that it would be great for another version of the dress. It drapes perfectly. As the fabric was quite thin I underlined all of the pieces with some stretch lining picked up from Simply Fabrics in Brixton, priced at £1 per metre.  I cut a size 14 and made my usual alteration to take in the waist and under the bust. I was very proud of myself as last time I made this dress I altered the skirt to make it shorter and remove some of the fullness. For this I traced a new ski
Read more

July Garment of the Month

Image
Pattern Review: Simplicity 1872 My mum had a retirement party this weekend and of course I had to make a dress to celebrate. I had been wanting to try out the dress from Simplicity 1872 for years and finally decided to take the plunge. I have made this pattern as a peplum top  before, but it was so old that it went to the charity shop earlier this year, so it's nice to have another iteration of the pattern in my wardrobe. Ok,so let's talk fabric. I picked this up at the textile district around the Sacre Couer on my holiday to Paris with my mum last September. It cost €10 for 3 metres which is a bargain. I am pretty sure that it is some kind of polyester chiffon. I underlined the dress with stretch lining from Simply Fabrics in Brixton priced at £1 per metre.  I know that a couple of people have mentioned that there is a huge amount of ease in this pattern. It is true and I took out approximately 2" in the bodice and cut a larger armhole to compensate. Th
Read more

First Summer Dress of the Season

Image
Pattern Review: New Look 6263 I don't seem to be doing very well on the blogging front as here is a dress that I finished at the beginning of April. This is a wearable muslin for New Look 6263.   This pattern came into my life during a fabric/pattern swap with my sewing group. To be honest it isn't one that I would usually choose, but one of my good friends made it and it looked great and I also knew that it would be a nice dress to show off the drape and print of a fabric. I cut a size 14 straight out of the envelope. For some reason I found sewing the collar a bit fiddly although there is nothing in the construction details that make it challenging. This dress is very tent like in shape so I only ever wear it belted. Therefore, if I were to make this again I would almost certainly make a swayback adjustment (you can see the excess fabric in the back). As this was a wearable muslin I didn't line it, but I did french seam the insides for a neater finish.
Read more