So far, my sewing projects have been going miles better this year compared to last year; I have already ticked off the quilted jacket from my Make Nine plans and have been pretty much wearing this non-stop during this very mild California winter, I have finished toiling the Blanca Flightsuit and have my proper fabric pre-washed and on the cutting table, I have rescued one of my total sewing fails from last year and refashioned it into a cute spring dress, and I have managed to squeeze in sewing a new jersey tee for Simon, plus one for me out of the scraps! I have also been planning projects for fabrics in my stash, making notes on notions I need to source and any style or fitting adjustments that I want to make. I have a list of completed projects that still need to be photographed, so until I eventually get around to that, here is a make from the archives!
I made this dress in March last year and it has become a real wardrobe staple. Granted, this dress had good odds to succeed as it combines one of my favourite substrates (cotton/linen canvas) with a sweet novelty print (Rifle Paper Company is my undisputed fave) and a TNT pattern (pinafore dresses are so adorable and playful)! I used the Jennifer Lauren Handmade Pippi Pinafore Dress again, using the same size as before and only increasing the width of the waistband slightly for aesthetic reasons. This pattern is a real star in terms of fit and clear instructions, I can’t recommend it highly enough.
Details! I added belt loops to this version, so I could make a matching Friday Pattern Co Bernie bag. Between that two-pocket bag and the roomy-ass pinafore pockets, I don’t need to carry a handbag when I leave the house. I lined the bodice, waistband and pockets using a Rifle Paper Company quilting cotton, in a whimsical, musical scale print. Lining this canvas in a lighter-weight cotton is pretty essential, as it really helps to reduce bulky areas. My tension here looks a little tight, but I was fighting a losing battle against my topstitching thread, so I am ignoring it as best I can.
Perhaps you are wondering if I have this same Rifle Paper Company music print in the cotton/linen canvas I adore so much already in my stash, and perhaps you are wondering whether I will also be using it to make a pinafore dress? I plead the fifth.
The one remaining quibble I have is the width of the straps. They are only 1″ wide and, turns out, finding 1″ dungaree hardware isn’t the easiest. My brocade pair have slightly too wide buckles and sliders, and it is slightly irritating. I did end up finding some 1″ buckles, but it seems that 1¼” and 1½” buckles are dime-a-dozen in comparison. I think it would be easier to just pinch the wider straps from the Tilly & the Buttons Bobbi pinafore dress and use those for any future makes.
I truly adore the book print; I have always been a big reader in my spare time, and all my academic studies have revolved around me with my nose in a book, be it English/German/Medieval Literature. One of the books on this print is the legends of King Arthur and I am delighted to be representing my boy Sir Gawain!! He is my himbo prince! Integrating my passions for reading and sewing into one garment? Priceless.
Bonus Mini Make
I had some scraps leftover from this project and they felt too precious to waste, so I made something in October for my little nephew across the pond!
This is the Mini Sonny Jacket from the Tilly & the Buttons Mini Makes book and it is a) ridiculously tiny and b) ridiculously cute. I kept holding up pattern pieces to Simon and saying “Look at this TINY RIDICULOUS POCKET”, because honestly, what is my tiny nephew going to put in those tiny chest pockets?? The answer is absolutely nothing, but I still had to pattern match those pockets, obviously. This is definitely one of the more advanced projects in the book, but it came together pretty quickly, due to the short seam lengths. I think I spent longer meticulously pattern-matching than I did actual sewing. I made the 6m-9m size, as the finished garments are pretty generous and I am crossing my fingers that it will still fit him for a little while longer. One really great thing about the Tilly & the Buttons book patterns is that you can download layered PDF versions of the patterns to print at home if you don’t feel like tracing over spaghetti lines, which I rarely do (ask me about the Burda magazine pattern I have been procrastinating tracing out for about five years now?).
As always with Tilly & the Buttons, the instructions for this pattern were so simple and easy to follow. All the notches match and the seams align, so it is beautifully drafted. I needed to sew this up pretty speedily before my flight back to England, so I opted for overlocked seams; if I had more time/better planning, I would have bias-bound the facing seam at a minimum. This was the last project that I made before my overlocker finally keeled over and I had to buy a replacement — Matilda I is dead, long live Matilda II!*
I also added a special little ‘Auntie Made It’ label, which I went out and bought specifically. Being able to wear my matching pinafore while cuddling my little nephew in his matching jacket was such a joy, I can’t wait to make him more handmade mini clothes!
*For those who also remember the 90s British tv show Robot Wars and the terror of the House Robots, from which my overlocker got her namesake.
