Crafty Bloggers Club - Vicky's Cosy Jersey Dress
This week's Crafty Bloggers Club post is from Vicky, you can find more of her makes on Instagram @sewlittlesparrow and on her blog sewlittlesparrow.com
Hello and thanks for stopping by to read about my latest Crafty Sew & So #craftybloggersclub make.
At the time of making this latest make Storm Dennis was well and truly in full swing battering the whole of the UK with howling wind and torrential rain, so perfect day for sewing!!! But thankfully Spring is just around the corner.
Now I don’t know about you but I always struggle at this time of year with what to wear, especially for work what with the hot one minute and cold the next office issue (I’m sure many of you can relate to that!). But I already had a pattern tucked away in my mind that would be perfect.
You may have seen my last make was the My Handmade Wardrobe Cosy Tunic which I made up in a super snuggly fleeced back jersey. Well after making the tunic I knew straight away that I would love the dress version and while browsing the new in fabrics on a trip in to Crafty Sew & So I found a perfect jersey for the pattern.
The jersey is navy with tiny multi-coloured flecks. It’s nice and stretchy and is perfect for the dress version (although the pattern doesn’t need a massive amount of stretch but it’s ideal to fit nicely around the hips). It’s not too drapey either so holds the shape of the dress really well.
I love it when a pattern has different variations and that’s what’s so great with the Cosy Jersey Dress pattern. The long sleeved tunic is perfect for thicker knit fabrics and is ideal for snuggling up in winter. Then there’s the short sleeved dress version (although obviously you could make it long sleeved) which I think would be great in a Ponte and is ideal for colour blocking. The third version is a dress with a tie front belt, and that’s the version I opted for. I think this version suits a slightly drapier jersey and has a smarter look, which is perfect for work.
As I had already made the Cosy Jersey Dress before, I was pretty happy with the fit although on my tunic version I had graded out to a large at the hips from a medium on top. I don’t think I really needed to, so for the dress I made a straight size medium and the fit is spot on. Although one change I made was to raise the neckline up at the 'V' by around an inch, which I think sits nicer on me as I’m pretty small busted.
The neckline is one of the features I really like, I think a v-neck is really flattering. The neck is finished with a facing which is top stitched down. With there being plenty of room to get the dress over your head without any need to stretch the fabric I just top stitched it with a standard stitch. You could use a twin needle or zig zag but I don’t think there’s too much risk of the stitching snapping. I also decided to use a contrasting colour and used a brighter blue which picked out one of the flecked colours.
My favourite feature with this dress is the tie belt which is sewn into the front panel seam. Although the pattern is shown to have the belt tied at the front, I actually like it tied at the back too, so again, great to have different options. And of course it has pockets!!!!
The pockets are designed to sit out slightly from the dress, so the pocket piece is actually wider than the width of the dress panel they fit in to. This is fine for a more stable jersey but if you use a drapier jersey I think they would be a bit too saggy. So to resolve this I just removed some of the width of the pattern piece. The are still a little baggy so I probably could have taken more off and even made them the slightly smaller than the panel the fit in to so they would have sat nice and flat but I think they’re fine. Again, I decided to top stitch the top of the pocket with a different colour thread, this time picking out the pink and green flecks. I used a twin needle this time but again you could use a zig zag stitch.
The sleeves can be finished by either turning up the edges and sewing a standard hem or you can add a turn up cuff. I opted for the turn up which I think gives another nice feature, particularly if using a plainer fabric.
Fabric wise it sewed up great. To ensure I got an accurate 5/8th seam allowance I sewed up the seams on my normal machine using a narrow zig zag stitch. I then finished of the edges on my overlocker although the fabric doesn’t fray so they would have been fine to leave as they were but I just prefer an overlocked finish. The instructions for the pattern talk through various tips on how to sew with jersey which is ideal if you’re a beginner. The Cosy Jersey is pretty quick to sew up too which is definitely a win in my eyes.
So overall really happy with this make, pattern and fabric is a perfect match and I’m really looking forward to wearing it. To begin with it’ll be with tights and a cardigan but I think it will be just a good for summer with bare legs and sandals.
And just one final note, did you spot the My Handmade Wardrobe Dressmakers Planner? I love this planner, especially colouring in the croquet to get an idea of how the make will look. It’s perfect for keeping notes of any changes made to the pattern and sizings which I’m usually rubbish at doing and then I forget what I did when I next come to make a pattern again!
Anyway, thanks for stopping by and happy sewing.
Vicky (@sewlittlesparrow) xx