5 years ago
My final post here on the Minerva site this year is the Cissy dress from Homer and Howells made using this adorable ditsy floral cotton poplin.
I absolutely love Rose and Hubble cotton poplins, their floral designs are always so pretty and the quality is excellent. I chose the black colour option for this project as I felt that this colour background would give me the most styling options during these dark winter months. As you can see I have chosen my tights and cardigan to reflect some of the floral colours. The close up pictures should give you a bit of an idea of how pretty the floral colours are and how they really 'pop' against the black background. I also think that a poplin is a perfect fabric for patterns with pleats.
The Cissy is an everyday dress with a boxy fit. It has a boat neckline, bracelet length sleeves, centre back zip, deep pockets and lovely pleats in the skirt front and back.
My size measurements put me as a size 10 in this pattern. Before cutting out I shortened the front and back skirt pieces by 4", as I could see that the standard length would be way too long for me. This turned out just right as the finishing hem of 1.5" gave me just the length of the dress that I wanted. (The pattern measurement charts do give you the finished centre back length). I'm 5'2" btw.
The dress was easy to make and the only adjustment that I had to make whilst sewing it was to check where the pockets were placed when I got to that stage in the sewing process. As is often the case I had to raise the height of the pockets (by 1" in this case).
The only struggle that I had was when it came to inserting the invisible zip at the centre back of the dress. This is because I have recently bought a new sewing machine and it does not come with this type of foot. As soon as I finish typing this I am off to order this foot as I keep forgetting that I don't have one until I get to the point when I need to sew one in!
The neckline is finished with a strip of bias tape. I like to use self fabric for this usually and luckily I had enough spare fabric to cut a couple of short bias strips and sew them together. I must admit I do prefer a neck facing rather than a bias strip finish, but that's just my preference.
The bracelet length sleeves came out full length on me, so instead of cutting them shorter, I decided to turn up the sleeve hem leaving a little channel to thread elastic through and turn them into elasticated cuffs. This worked out great - no draughty sleeves here and also they don't drag up your arm when you are slipping your arms into a cardigan or coat.
The end result is a cute relaxed fitting everyday dress that I can have lots of fun with in terms of coloured tights and cardigans or cropped jumpers. The ditsy floral style is right up my street, but another time I might choose a plain fabric so that you can really see and appreciate those lovely pleats in the front and back skirt which are rather hidden in this busy fabric.
Thank you to Minerva for the beautiful fabric and whether you celebrate Christmas or not, I hope you have a safe and peaceful break with your loved ones.
Take care and I'll be back soon,
Kathy x
#minervabrandambassador #minervamakes #minervamakers #cottonpoplin #floral #floralfabric #floraldress #pleateddress #fabriclover #black #dressmakingfabrics #handmadechristmas #roseandhubble #indiepatterns
I absolutely love Rose and Hubble cotton poplins, their floral designs are always so pretty and the quality is excellent. I chose the black colour option for this project as I felt that this colour background would give me the most styling options during these dark winter months. As you can see I have chosen my tights and cardigan to reflect some of the floral colours. The close up pictures should give you a bit of an idea of how pretty the floral colours are and how they really 'pop' against the black background. I also think that a poplin is a perfect fabric for patterns with pleats.
The Cissy is an everyday dress with a boxy fit. It has a boat neckline, bracelet length sleeves, centre back zip, deep pockets and lovely pleats in the skirt front and back.
My size measurements put me as a size 10 in this pattern. Before cutting out I shortened the front and back skirt pieces by 4", as I could see that the standard length would be way too long for me. This turned out just right as the finishing hem of 1.5" gave me just the length of the dress that I wanted. (The pattern measurement charts do give you the finished centre back length). I'm 5'2" btw.
The dress was easy to make and the only adjustment that I had to make whilst sewing it was to check where the pockets were placed when I got to that stage in the sewing process. As is often the case I had to raise the height of the pockets (by 1" in this case).
The only struggle that I had was when it came to inserting the invisible zip at the centre back of the dress. This is because I have recently bought a new sewing machine and it does not come with this type of foot. As soon as I finish typing this I am off to order this foot as I keep forgetting that I don't have one until I get to the point when I need to sew one in!
The neckline is finished with a strip of bias tape. I like to use self fabric for this usually and luckily I had enough spare fabric to cut a couple of short bias strips and sew them together. I must admit I do prefer a neck facing rather than a bias strip finish, but that's just my preference.
The bracelet length sleeves came out full length on me, so instead of cutting them shorter, I decided to turn up the sleeve hem leaving a little channel to thread elastic through and turn them into elasticated cuffs. This worked out great - no draughty sleeves here and also they don't drag up your arm when you are slipping your arms into a cardigan or coat.
The end result is a cute relaxed fitting everyday dress that I can have lots of fun with in terms of coloured tights and cardigans or cropped jumpers. The ditsy floral style is right up my street, but another time I might choose a plain fabric so that you can really see and appreciate those lovely pleats in the front and back skirt which are rather hidden in this busy fabric.
Thank you to Minerva for the beautiful fabric and whether you celebrate Christmas or not, I hope you have a safe and peaceful break with your loved ones.
Take care and I'll be back soon,
Kathy x
#minervabrandambassador #minervamakes #minervamakers #cottonpoplin #floral #floralfabric #floraldress #pleateddress #fabriclover #black #dressmakingfabrics #handmadechristmas #roseandhubble #indiepatterns