Nov 2020 – My Stash Reduction Quest

With Strictly Come Dancing back on our screens, some much-needed sparkle has been brought back to 2020. Today, I’m writing about my very own warm version of a Strictly costume!

In October 2020, The Fold Line made me one of their Inspiring Makers, which I was blown away by. I was given a voucher to spend in their shop and promptly bought the Nina Lee Southbank. I had seen lots of amazing versions of the dress online and know that Nina’s patterns are well drafted and include great instructions.

I didn’t have any sweatshirting in my stash so set about finding some. After some perusing, I found this navy glittery beauty from Like Sew Amazing.

Balloon sleeve hack

I decided to add balloon sleeves to my dress and used the I Am Zebre pattern to achieve the desired effect. I laid the original (traced) Southbank sleeve onto the Zebre, then graded out to get the width that I wanted. This meant that I kept the Southbank’s original arm scythe and shoulder, which is the tricky bit. It also meant that if I changed my mind once it was sewn up, I could easily scale the sleeve back. As it happens, I love the sleeves and there won’t be any scaling back!

When sewing the cuff, I added two lines of gathering stitches and gathered equally when putting the cuff in.

Not without its problems

I foolishly/smugly/naively thought this would be a quick sew for me. It’s essentially a jumper and I’ve sewn loads of them and they largely follow the same construction method. How wrong I was!

Problem number 1: I broke two overlocker needles within 10mins. I don’t think I’ve ever broken an overlocker needle before so that’s an impressive achievement in 10mins. The collar join is sewn in line with one shoulder seam. The first time, I thought I had just been unlucky, so put a new needle in, re-threaded then picked up where I had left off. Exactly the same thing happened at the same spot so I think it was just too much bulk for my machine. I ended up finishing the rest of the seams with zig-zag stitch because I had run out of needles and was too impatient to wait for some to arrive!

Problem number 2: the pockets. I feel personally affronted that the pockets turned on me when I’ve been such an avid supporter of “the pocket”! Initially, I raised the pockets slightly as they looked to low for my short stature. When I tried the “finished” dress on, they were in such an odd place that I looked like I had hips coming out of my waist.

Then followed an hour of unpicking to lower the pockets. I placed the pockets in the originally suggested location, but they were far too low and still looked a bit lumpy (possibly because of the fabric thickness) so I ended up abandoning them all together.

I think it’s a smoother silhouette without the pockets although my husband pointed out that the label should say “It Had Pockets”. I could replace the label but there’s no way I’m going near the quick-unpick for a few weeks!

Strictly-ready

Despite the multiple unpicking sessions, I’m really pleased with the end result. It’s a reminder that even seemingly simple makes can create unexpected challenges. I love the voluminous sleeves and the sparkle of this dress, plus the fabric is so comfy and warm, but a bit smart because of the glitter. All I need now is a pro-dancer and I’m ready for the floor!

It wasn’t until I started writing this post that I remembered that gin is made from juniper berries. So here’s my “gin cardigan”!

This make started with some gorgeous teal sweatshirting from Pin and Sew’s closing down sale. I was browsing The Fold Line (2020’s answer to window shopping) for jumpers when I spotted Jennifer Lauren’s cropped version of the Juniper cardigan. I like cropped layers over dresses because of my short torso, so I was sold.

The top has saddle shoulders, which I haven’t come across before so it was fun to try a new style on a relatively simple make. Even though I used one fabric, this pattern has great colour-blocking potential.

I haven’t used Jennifer’s patterns before so didn’t know what to expect. Her instructions were great, with lots of diagrams – just what this ‘visual learner’ loves! There’s also a sewalong, which I found when researching for this blog but didn’t actually use myself.

Details

I cut a 12 on the bust and graded to a 14 on the waist and hip but only at the side seams. This meant I didn’t have to think about grading the neckband, which seemed beyond my brain power the evening I traced the pattern!

I added some topstitching on the waistband to help the seam edges stay in place…plus I love a bit of topstitching. I also didn’t use buttons, but more on that in a bit. Other that these minor points, I didn’t deviate from the pattern instructions.

Snap decision

Rather than wrestle buttonholes onto jersey, I decided to put metal snaps on my Juniper. I had some silver and black in my stash. Initially, I was leaning towards silver but I didn’t have enough, so that changed my mind! I do like the black contrast though so I’m happy (aka impatient and easily swayed). I used my Prym tool which is both a blessing and a curse. I only ruined two additional snaps whilst getting these on. It doesn’t matter how often I use snaps, I always need a few spare to sacrifice in the process.

Decisions, decisions...plus lovely topstitching — Decisions, decisions…plus lovely topstitching

Almost there — Decisions, decisions…plus lovely topstitching

Verdict

This was a satisfyingly quick make for me. I think it took longer to get the snaps on than sew the entire garment together. I think it’s a pattern that beginners can try if they want to expand their wardrobe and a more experienced sewist could rustle one up in a few hours.

Thanks for reading :o)

Month: Nov 2020

Sparkly Southbank