Frocktober 2014 | the curious kiwi

My second dress for The Monthly Stitch Frocktober was a Deer & Doe Reglisse.

This is my 4th Deer and Doe pattern and I feel qualified now to admit that I’m not a huge fan of their instructions, however I’m confident and experienced enough to get by. The fit on the models on the website isn’t always the best representation but if you squint past all that then the patterns themselves are cute and have interesting details.

I went a bit outside of my usual colour palette this time around. While looking at fabric on the internet I fell in love with Patty Sloniger’s Socks the Fox and after it arrived I picked up some plain grey cotton for contrast to try and tone down the cuteness. It still ended up way too cute overload for everyday wear but I do feel super girly in it and who doesn’t like to feel super girly occasionally?

The website I purchased this fabric from classed it as a quilting cotton, but it is very light weight with a soft hand. Perfect then for a floaty dress, however I struggled to get the skirt pattern pieces on the narrow width, especially after adding 5cms in length.

I had the same issue with my first La Sylphide but this time I decided to try piecing a small triangle onto each outer corner instead of altering the angle of the side seams.

It worked really well. The cotton was easy to keep still when stitching and while this photograph makes the the joins look quite prominent you can hardly see them when the dress is being worn, lost in the pattern and fullness of the skirt.

The instructions for this dress are quite good except for the collar where they suddenly become very sparse.

I knew there was a sew along on the Deer & Doe blog but I tried to get through as much as I could without it but truly I was stumped. A lot happens with very little detailed text and not enough diagrams. There is no picture of the bias being sewn onto the collar so I had no idea how much I was supposed to unfold my bias tape.

So I jumped online and found the Reglisse sew along. It’s all in French (you could translate it through Chrome) but really the photos are all you need. As soon as I saw them everything clicked into place.

It’s a bit tricky to find the posts but you can read the collar section here.

The dress is finished neatly inside, even the elasticated waistband but I am not entirely convinced on the finish at the center front, it feels a bit rough.

It would also be nice to encase the seam on the short sleeve version with bias or perhaps attach one side and then turn them over with the raw edge folded under and stitch in the ditch to sandwich them over the arm hole.

Being a pull over style dress with elastic waist, the fit is very different to what I usually sew but it makes for a comfy wear. This is the fullest skirt I have ever sewn and despite the cuteness overoad I really quite like it.

If you’d like to see more construction photos you can look at my “Sew with Us” posts on The Monthly Stitch.

THE DEETS:

Pattern – Deer & Doe Reglisse, size 42, lengthened 5cm

Fabric – Socks the Fox in Aqua from Patty Sloniger’s Les Amis range

Other notions – Elastic, me-made bias.

*Fantastic Mr Fox

In October we celebrated Frocktober over on The Monthly Stitch. I made two dresses and here is the first, a Sewaholic Lonsdale.

I was super excited about summer this year (I’m super excited for summer EVERY year) so I decided that my Lonsdale would be very summery and required birds so I pulled this gorgeous Joel Dewberry Sparrows print from my stash. I bought it a while ago with no particular pattern in mind and I could see it as the most fabulous Lonsdale…except that according to the envelope back I did not have enough.

Challenge accepted!

The cutting layout was useless to me anyway, being drawn up for fabric with no direction I put it aside and set to work. A few test layouts later (with furry help) I discovered I could fit my Lonsdale on by cutting the internal lining upside down and piecing the straps.

Another option if you want a Lonsdale from a shorter length of fabric is to cut the bodice lining from a contrast fabric. If you wanted your straps to be the same as the self fabric then just piece them on.

So, for the record, you can get a size 12 Lonsdale variation a out of 3.2 meters (3 1/2 yards) of 112cm wide fabric.

Yeah!

I’ve wanted to make the Lonsdale for a while and now I definitely need another one. It sews up really quickly and easily and I didn’t find any pattern errors or difficult to follow instructions.

It is quite long though! I’m going to mark my preferred length on the pattern for next time so I can save on fabric.

I cut about 19cms off at the front and 16 cms off at the back.

The fit is great but I was a bit worried at first about gaping on either side of the bodice front but this went away after I tied the front tie properly. It needs to be quite snug to pull it in flat.

I needed help to get dressed the first time I put this on but after the back bow is tied I can get it off and on again just by undoing the zipper. I could stitch the knot closed next time I am in a hand-sewing mood.

I do find the knot a bit uncomfortable when sitting for long periods, it digs into my spine. I have seen variations where the straps are sewn into the bodice and I think my next version will be like that.

If you are interested in sewing up a Lonsdale Tasia has a sew along on her blog and over on The Monthly Stitch I did a little “Sew with Us” series (less technical, more fun and visual) so you can take a look some more construction photos over there.

Day 1
Day 2
Day 3
Day 4
Day 5

Jenna and Kat took these photos for me on the Petone foreshore.

I envisioned a gorgeous day with sea views and Wellington but we got wind instead.

It was fun…even if I did have to delete about 20 “knicker shots” 😉

Taking photos with other sewists is the best, so I’ll leave you with a little behind the scenes action:

THE DEETS:

Pattern – Sewaholic Lonsdale, variation a, size 12

Next time I need to mark the hem length on the pattern to save fabric and I would like to try just attaching the straps to the back bodice instead of the loops and bow.

Fabric – Joel Dewberry print from the Aviary 2 collection called Sparrows