#TheBigStitch

Have you heard about The Big Stitch Challenge by the British Foundation. Still a couple days left if you want to take part.

The Challenge is to buy an item from your local BHF shop and refashion it.

I found this XL mans shirt and the mini gingham fabric shouted retro style to me.

Cutting off the sleeves and the edge of the shoulder I then cut up side seams. Once opened up I shirred across the back at the waist line.

For the front shaping I added 3 darts at the waist and shaped/reduced the front side edge before reattaching to the back.

Folding back the collar and front facing I pressed into place and stitched on a button to hold in place.

The buttons were also an upcycled, cut off of a previous worn out item!

Now I have new shirt that goes perfectly with my new retro crop trousers, Simplicity 8342.

It’s a wrap…

I’ve seen so many beautiful wrap dresses around this year that I had to have a go myself. So with Ascot races approaching it was a perfect excuse for a new dress… or two!

With unusually warm weather forecasts I wanted something dressy but summery and cool.

I opted for McCalls 7119 due to the variety of options and this Floral Microfibre from Minerva Crafts.

It feels so soft and flowing to wear. The longer length of the skirt back and short sleeves made it feel smarter than a sundress.

As I have narrow shoulders I cut the dress size 10 at the neck, grading to a 12 at the bust & 14 at the hips. The dress then came together quickly without any fitting issues.

As you can see I’m not at the races here but I liked the dress so much that I made a second one straight away using a beautiful Peacock Blue Challis which I was sent to review for Minerva Crafts. This review will be on their blog shortly with more details of the making progress.

Both dresses travelled to Ascot with me but the the blue won on the day!