Crafty Bloggers Club - Rudy's Leafy Yantas
This weeks Crafty Bloggers Club post is from Rudy, you can find more of her makes on Instagram @roodlesrunique
Here we have the beginings of a new love affair. For my latest blog I made Helens Closets newest pattern, the Yanta dungarees. I was going to make the Closet Case Patterns Jenny Dungarees, which I have been dreaming about making a pair for so long, the problem was when the fabric arrived it was so beautifully drapey and soft and I felt it might not be the best structure for the Jennys which need a bit more stiffness. Instead I made the Yantas for two reasons. First, because Helen has a very similar body type to me and ALL her patterns are so perfect for me. And Secondly, because I’ve been dreaming of a good pair of dungarees for ages and I was determined to make amazing leafy dungas!
I decided to make them from the Lady McElroy leafey cotton lawn that Crafty Sew and Sew had just got in. You can immediately tell the quality of this fabric as soon as you touch it. It is so soft and smooth and has ever such a slight stretch in it. Not so much of a stretch that you would notice it whilst sewing but enough to make the comfiest of clothes from a woven fabric. Also it washes really well! You know sometimes you can prewash a fabric and it changes completely? This fabric stays exactly as it was when it arrived and is still just as soft.
Cotton lawn is thinner than most cottons, but it gives it a drapier feel which is almost viscose like. This made it perfect for my dungarees to give them movement but also for throwing in my suitcase they took up hardly any room and the creases just dropped out once I was there!
The Yantas are a very easy pattern to make up and only have a few pieces. The fabric was a perfect width for the pattern even with my dodgy pattern weights (check out the photo above!) it was lovely to cut through without slipping everywhere. I intended to make mine with a knot at the end of the straps for put some eyelets in for the holes using the Prym kit. I forgot however to lengthen the straps so I have put a Prym snaps extra popper on the hold the strap in place and just poke the straps through. I think I may try and add some length onto the straps at some point but that would mean taking them off for long enough to sew them!
I omitted the zip in my version, it means I have to do a bit of a wiggle when trying to get them on but I was afraid with the lightness of the fabric putting a zip in would mean one side was heavier and might lie differently. I completely do not need the zip though and won’t be putting one in any future dungarees as they fit perfectly as they are. I compared the rise of these with the block I made recently as I have had to change the rise on my Winslows so I thought I may have to make some edits to the Yantas, but in a twist of fate they were identical to the block I have made so I left it perfectly alone! I made the full length version but I have rolled up the legs a little giving me a cropped length, I think I would lengthen the leg next time so it was a full trouser.
I top stitched these with just plain black thread as there were so many colours in the fabric it was hard to pick one. The pattern also means you can totally drop food down yourself and no-one notices because the pattern is busy enough to not notice ha ha! All in all this was the perfect pairing of drapey light fabric and pattern, perfect for my holiday to Italy and now for the summer sunshine that will be coming soon right?
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“Crafty Bloggers Club Contributors are given products and materials to test from Crafty Sew&So. We hope you enjoy their honest and impartial reviews of the products. All opinions are their own.”