Asymmetrical Top with Bell Sleeve

Hello everyone,
I started a new top yesterday and glad I finished it this afternoon. I was planning to make it weeks ago but life has been busy and we got two typhoons in a week ( Hato and Pakhar), glad we are safe and I managed to finished my August Magam dress and this asymmetrical top. I decided to publish the top today and the dress later. But actually you can see the finished dress on my IG post two days ago.

I made this top especially to participate #sleevefest2017 on Instagram hosted by the two lovely ladies Helen of @valentine.and.stitch and Diane of @dream.cut.sew.

For the pattern, I used Simplicity Misses 8059 pattern view B with adjustments because I used size S instead of XXS. Also, added bell sleeve to match the challenge #sleevefest2017 and to celebrate #yearofthesleeve.
For the fabric, I decided to refashion my bathing cover that I wore during my mini holiday in Bangkok. The fabric is cotton jersey in pink colour.

I traced pattern view B size S finished with normal hem and I will cut the asymmetrical hem later directly on the top. 

As the neckline seems too deep for my liking, I raised the CF 3 cm and CB 1 cm then drew a new line of neckline for both front and back as shown in the second picture below.

After I did the half sewing process, I found out that the shoulder and both sides were too big. But the neckline was good and sit nicely 😁 I followed exactly the width and length the pattern had, but in the end I trimmed the excess fabric 0.75 mm.

I decided to pin and sew the darts at the shoulder 1.5 cm down to the waist front and back - I did for both sides.

Also, I sew the side of the top 1.25 cm from the sleeve to the bodice - I did for both sides too. 

After the two methods done, I am glad that the top fits me okay, not too big and not too tight.

For the bell sleeve, I used the same method of making the half circle skirt. I found an easy link to calculate the radius from By Hand London. 

After I got the radius and drew my own sleeve pattern, I cut the sleeve fabric 20 cm long included seam and sleeve allowances 1.25 cm.

Sew the both end right sides together. Pin the bell sleeve and the sleeve right sides together. Sew with the overlocker machine and sew the sleeve hem with sewing machine. 

Below are pictures of the process,

About the asymmetrical hemline, I decided to cut it after I almost finished the top. I measured according to the length that I think looks good on me. Then I sew the hem allowance 1.25 cm using sewing machine.

Well, after I spend the morning and afternoon working on this top, I am happy that I saved the top and will wear it in the coming autumn.

Happily showing you three more pictures of the top on me, front-back and side views. I wore it with me-made skirt based on Burdastyle 03/2013, skirt detail here.

Happy Sewing and thank you for reading!

Feel free to take a look of other sewists who participate Sleevefest2017 on Instagram with hashtag #sleevefest2017  I bet you will love it and find some inspiration for the next project 😍

Waist Tie Dress

Hello,
I managed to finish #magamsewalong June dress with theme "Seasonal Stashbuster" by the end of the month, but only today I have time to write a blog post.
I like the pattern since the day I found it about three years ago, but somehow I didn't have a chance to make it. I was lucky to found the Simplicity magazine Autumn 2014 during our visit to Portugal, the magazine is in Spanish but I can follow the pictures and tutorials easily.
I also saw other patterns such as tunic and jacket that I want to make in the future.

About the dress, fabric is printed anchors and dolphins in red colour, 2.5 yards from stash, bought in Bangkok last year.
Pattern based in Simplicity New Look Misses Dress 6224 with Sleeve Variations size 36 model C with neckbands model B. I only used the bodice and modified the dress to one piece. What I did,

• I omitted the darts.
• Reduced the shoulder width 3 cm finished with armholes with 1/2" bias tape from the same fabric.
• I lengthen the bodice at the waist down to the hem 55 cm long and added few centimeters in both sides at the hemline to created a little A-line shape. I did for both front and back.
• Added inseam pockets, pattern from my other dress.
• Added two very long waist ties, 130 cm long x 6 cm wide that is enough to tie around my waist three times before I knot it.
• 1.5 cm seam allowances in all edges and 3 cm hem allowance.

Here you can see the dress without the waist tie, a very simple and loose a-line dress that I can actually wear as it is. But I like more with the waist tie style, it adds little volume and looks nicer to me 😍

The sewing process was faster than I thought. I did in ten hours including pattern tracing and muslin. I was so surprised that the armholes fit me fine in the muslin but not really in the real fabric. It was gaping, so quick decision I added dart 1 cm wide in both back armholes. Hope you can spot in the picture below at the bottom right.
And the rest of the processes were okay, as usual I fused fusible tape in both sides of the front holes and sew as the direction.
Then hand basted and gathered both sides of the front neckline, sew both front and back bodices at the shoulders and sew the neckband.

I love inseam pockets, I sewn them few centimeters below the waistline/waist ties. I always think that any practical dress will not be perfect without inseam pockets.
And the ties were made from the same fabric, it was easy to sew with little pointy at the end. I attached right on the waistline.

And the finished dress on Ellie my dress form, front and back views.

And glad I wore the dress few days ago to test it. We visited The Venetian' Macao for a walk and lunch. I saw that I place the tie in the opposite side as in the dress form. But anyway, I liked the dress and the loose fit of it.

That's it for today post, wishing you all a happy sewing and crafting 💗 I am knitting my UFO fair isle sweater lately, a very slow process but sure I will finished before winter come 😉 And also, at the moment I am sewing self-drafted swimsuits and hope to show you when I finished.

Love,

Hana @velvetribbon_sew

Paisley Cutout Mini Dress

Hello everyone,
So happy I finished my late #magamsewalong "Sew New Season" June dress, it supposed to finish last month but I couldn't because distracted with other urgent garments, holiday and other things. Besides, this dress was little bit complicated to work with, so I prefer to finish it slowly.

This dress has a special detail at the neckline yoke, straight-line cut, front darts, raglan sleeves and inseam pockets.
I had a big crush on this pattern as soon as I saw the magazine, the neckline detail is so pretty and the rest of the dress is so simple and airy. Perfect to wear in hot summer day 😍

For the fabric, I used 2 yards of printed paisley cotton that I bought for muslin but I think it is too pretty for muslin. So, I used it and put the muslin fabric on the list to buy next time.

The pattern, I used BurdaStyle Cutout Mini Dress 04/2017 size 36 and didn't make adjustment on the fit of the pattern except shorten the length 4 cm.
Also, one thing I changed, I used bias tape from the same fabric for the loops instead of follow the original pattern instruction.

Sewing process started with usual manners and glad that this pattern came with sewing course, so I just followed the step by step instructions with pictures. But the only problem were the loops, I tried the original pattern but it doesn't work for me. So, I used 1/2" me-made bias tape from the same fabric and hand sewn both side of the bias tape.
Pictures below shows some of the processes, I don't even count how many hours I spent for this dress but in the end I am really happy with it.
A little note: the blue fabric on the neckline yoke is just a template, and I removed it as soon as I placed the loops. Then, I sew/top stitches the loops along the dress bodice.

Here are the upper dress detail, wrong side - right side - back side and finished the back with sewn two pairs of small snap fasteners.

I decided to sew inseam pockets just before I hem the dress. I used light weight white cotton for front piece and same fabric for the back, I did that to avoid bulky pocket which is not nice.

And here are the final dress on Ellie my dress form. Front, side, back and closer look of the neckline detail. I used 1.5 cm sleeve allowance and 4 cm hem allowance.

Two more pictures on me, back and front views with hands inside pockets 😁 I really love a dress with pockets, I can hide anything inside.

Thank you for reading, happy sewing to all fellow sewists! Wishing you all a lovely weekend 💗

Love,

Hana, @velvetribbon_sew

DIY Necktie

Hello!
As promised in the previous post, here is "diy necktie" that I made especially for DH. The idea came up last year when I bought the fabric, DH said could be great if I bought more fabric enough for my dress and matching tie for him. So, I bought three yards instead of two.

For the pattern, I used his old tie for a base and follow the tutorial from purl soho - thanks Molly for the clear tutorial 😊

First thing I carefully took out the stitches from the old tie, iron it and copied as the pattern. I decided to keep the front and back linings in white fabric as shown in the picture below.
I was amazed with the amount of pieces to make a tie, eight pieces in total, also needed fusible interfacing for the front, middle and back fabric.

 As always, I made a muslin from white and orange cotton gingham from stash. The muslin turned out nicely and I kept it, in case I need one day or anyone want to use it for costume 😁 because DH would never wear this colour.

The process was taking time and attention, involved a lot of ironing and hand sewing with very little machine sewing.
I did almost all the processes as Molly's said in the tutorial. I started with sew front, middle and back pieces together.
Followed with iron the seam allowances at the triangle shapes at the end of front and back tie, also iron the small triangle lining for front and back as well. Hand sewn carefully the fabric and lining together.
After that, I placed the long white lining on the tie fabric. Made sure they fit each other nicely. Folded the two sides together, pin along and insert the loop that I already sewn with sewing machine. Then I hand sewn all the way from front to the back. That's it! Easy but a lot of work and attention 😀

Hope all my explanation made sense, here are the closer look of the finished tie, inner and outer sides. Also, I shared the picture of DH wearing the tie in previous post, in case you are interested to see the tie on him.

Thank you for stopping by, wishing you all a lovely Monday 💗

Hana,
@velvetribbon_sew