Elegance & Elephants Spring Showers Jacket – Pattern Review

I had the good fortune this week to be asked to test again for Elegance & Elephants.

You already know how much I love Heidi’s patterns.  You’ve seen them often enough here.

This time it was Boy’s turn to be my muse for Heidi’s latest delightful offering, the Spring Showers Jacket.

The Pattern

This is a really cute unisex jacket in sizes 2 – 12. I made the size 4/5.  The PDF comes together really quickly and easily and each size is nicely nested to enable you to cut or trace your required size without having to squint! The instructions are well written with clear photos holding your hand every step of the way. The pattern has some sweet touches like the patch pockets with flaps:

and a cute visor on the hood!

The Fabric

I chose this fabulous navy camo cotton drill  from Minerva Fabrics for the outer shell and a plain cotton, also from Minerva for the lining.  I lined the sleeves in a matching poly to make the jacket easier to slip on and off.

What do I think?

No surprises… I love this pattern.  Heidi has done it again.  This is going to be a firm favourite Chez Stitches.

I’m thrilled with this jacket.  This is the sort of garment I’d happily spend good money on, but am even happier to have made myself.

My little man is 5 but small for his age.

This means he’s got lots of room to put a sweater underneath on cooler days, and will also get lots of wear out of this.

He loves it too.

Bonus!

The pattern is available now.  If you’ve got small people I can really recommend this pattern.  I’ve got a feeling it won’t be too long before I’m making a pink or red version for a certain little lady.  She’s dropping huge hints to that effect. And who am I to argue?

Disclaimer:  I received a free copy of this pattern in return for my testing of the pattern and subsequent feedback.  All opinions are, however, entirely my own.  

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Lekela blouse – pattern review and toile

Have you heard of Lekela patterns?

I’ve been aware of them for quite some time but I’ve never taken the plunge and tried them out. Originally their website was more than a little messy and their ordering system the same, and although I liked the look of some of their patterns, I really couldn’t be bothered faffing around with it all.

However they’ve recently upped their game and the site it much cleaner, more easily navigable, and the prices are super low.

I paid $2.69 for pattern 5098, which is this blouse pattern:

I chose this pattern because it’s very similar in style to a RTW blouse I’m wearing to death, that I’d like to replicate, and that I’d like to become part of my planned suite of Wardrobe Architect inspired TNT patterns.

And, frankly, at $2.69 I can afford to take a punt on this…other than a bit of time and some muslin fabric, I’ve nothing to lose.

Buying the pattern

Obviously it’s really easy to buy a PDF pattern.  5 minutes and the thing is in your inbox and waiting to be printed.

Lekela is that simple but you also get the opportunity to choose whether you’d like your pattern with or without seam allowances, which is pretty cool.  Also you get to input your own measurements so that the pattern can be adjusted accordingly.

In theory this is just bloody marvellous.  But don’t get all excited just yet…you’ll see why in a moment.

The PDF

As I’ve mentioned before, I really don’t mind the whole process of print/stick/trace that is your lot if you order a PDF pattern.  Even adult patterns.  I pour a glass of wine, arm myself with scissors, magic tape and a bit of space at the table and crack on. It’s especially fun if I’ve got episodes of The Archers to listen too.

So that’s what I did.

And I wished I’d had more wine.

I’ve had experience of poorly tiled PDFs before but nothing on this scale. Firstly there are only guidelines at the side margins to show where you need to trim the paper to fit together….nothing at the top or bottom margins.

Secondly there are no guide marks to show where the tiled pages should connect to the one next to it.  So you’re trying to match the actual cutting/sewing lines of the pattern piece.

That wouldn’t be so bad if they actually line up…but I had to do some serious jiggery pokery to make that happen.

I know you get what you pay for but, seriously, this was ridiculous.  If you were a newbie sewer, or new to the whole PDF malarky, this could really be problematic for you.

The instructions

Think Burda.  ‘Nuff said.

The Toile

Having thrown the pattern in the corner to teach it some manners, I came back to it refreshed the next day to cut and fit the toile.

This pattern should be used as a teaching tool in every sewing class to show the reason why you make a toile.

Here’s a spectacularly hideous photo of me wearing the toile cut straight from the pattern with no alterations.  Bear in mind that I input my measurements for this:

It’s just awful.  It’s waaaaaaaaay to big,  I know I’m starting to lose weight but I’ve not lost that much overnight! (Oh, I wish!)  Also, the neckline doesn’t reflect the illustration, and overall it’s too long.

This is the second toile after some adjustments:

Toiles are so flattering…but this is so much better…and I’ve tweaked the pattern a little more after looking at this picture.

My alterations:

• Removed 2″ from the centre front and centre back.  I crossed checked this against the inspiration blouse and it was clear that all the excess fabric was in that area.
• Widened the neckline, again using my RTW blouse to check the sizes.
• Dropped the neckline by about an inch.
• Lowered the bust dart by about 1/2 inch.
• 1/2 inch forward shoulder adjustment.
• Hollow chest adjustment
• Rounded back adjustment
• 1″ removed from the hem

The forward shoulder/rounded back/hollow chest adjustments are standard fare for me, but I’ll admit to being disappointed that, having given specific measurements, the overall size of this blouse was so far off the mark.

I didn’t fit the sleeve for this muslin as there is a lot of volume to allow for mobility and I’m really pleased with the fit of the armhole.  However I will ‘walk’ the armscye and sleeve head before I cut any fabric…just to be sure one will fit the other!

So…what do I think of Lekela patterns?

I think in principle this is a great idea.  The model for this website is obviously low price/high volume.  $2.69 is a ridiculously low price to pay for a sewing pattern, but they’ve cut right back on the instructions and everything is obviously generated by the software.  Once you’ve done the basic pattern in one size, and an illustration, I’m making a fairly educated guess that everything else is automated.

However, and it’s a big however, there are still a lot of kinks to iron out.  The fit is way off and the PDF tiling is atrocious…the worst I’ve ever experienced.

I wouldn’t recommend these for novice sewists, but if you’re comfortable hacking a pattern around to get the fit, then go for it.  These patterns cost less that a small takeaway coffee so it’s a tiny investment.

I’m hoping to get a sewing day tomorrow and start actually cutting out the fashion fabric.  I’ll be using a super cheap, but really pretty poly from Abakhan for this pattern’s first proper outing.  I’ll let you know how I get on.

Wish me luck!

ps…please ignore the absolute tip that is the sewing loft at the moment.  We keep saying “let’s go and finish packing the loft up” and then settling down with a glass of wine and a movie.  It’s just such a miserable job that The Husband would rather lift tiled floors than do it, and I need him to dismantle the heavy stuff before I can do any more.  So it sits, like an albatross atop the house. And we drink wine and ignore it!

Now, here’s a little story about some pants named Jed!

This is a tale of three parts.

One good…one less so…one really fun.

Let’s start with the good.  The Jedediah toile.

I rustled that up earlier in the week from an old sheet.  Obviously not comparable in weight to the denim I was planning to make these up in, but I really just wanted to check whether the Mr could get his rugby thighs into them.  We have so much trouble with RTW it seemed prudent.

I swore black and blue that I wouldn’t put this up on the interwebs. Ooops!

As you can see apart from a little bit of saddlebagging at the hips there is plenty of room in the thighs. Which is all good.

I’d show you the front and side views but:

• I forgot to put the yoke piece on the back before trying them on so they hang all sorts of peculiar at the front and I’m sparing both our blushes.
• Mr decided to test the fit by throwing a very deep squat.  Neither the fabric nor the stitching held.  Again, blushes being spared.

But, I’m happy to go ahead with cutting these in the fashion fabric and making fitting tweaks as I go along.  I think that bubble on his tush will even out in a weightier fabric and once the side seams are fitting better.

I’m delighted with this pattern so far.  How often do you get to throw a pattern on to your fashion fabric straight out of the envelope?

So today I did just that.  The denim had already been prewashed and dried 3 times so was good to go.

I laid it out on the table.

I laid the pattern on top.

Crappity!

I thought the fabric was wider than it is.  There is no way on earth I can get both front and back legs cut out of this length for jeans for either The Husband or myself.  If I were a size 12 or 14 then this would work fine.  But I’m not. And there’s way too much cake in the world for me ever to be so again I think!

Pattern overhanging the fabric is not a good thing. At All!

At first I was more than a little frustrated.  This is a beautiful weighty denim with just a hint of stretch bought last year from The Cloth House in London. It’s the good stuff.  But there’s just not enough.  That’s what you get for buying fabric on spec.

It seems a waste to cut it up for jeans for the kids. There’s way too much of it for that. Soooooooo, I’ve got an idea about what I’m going to do. But I’m going to save that for another post.  All I’ll say now is that it ties in nicely with my Wardrobe Architect project.

The fun part is that I’ve promised to make these so make them I shall.  We shall just have to go fabric shopping.

Oh…the horror! 😉

Work in progress

The problem with making progress on projects is that there is nothing really to show for it.

Larry is becoming known as the Sweater of Doom in these parts. I am Beyond Bored with knitting this simply because I’ve already knit this yarn before. Knitting it again is Tedious (yes…with a capital T!).

The Sweater of Doom…it really just looks like a pile of knitted fabric at the moment.

Thankfully, I finished the first sleeve last night, and the second sleeve will seem less Tedious because I’ve got the row count written down, so I just need to crack on and tick off those rows as quickly as possible.  I’m waiting in today for a courier so I’m planning to make use of the time by watching Marple box sets and picking up that second sleeve.

I do have an added incentive at the moment.  Not only does The Husband sit next to me on the sofa each evening making sad eyes and muttering about wanting to wear the damned thing before the good weather finally arrives; but I also didn’t have enough yarn.

*grits teeth to refrain from uttering stream of invective and expletives*

As this yarn is now discontinued (of course) tracking it down could have been tricky, but the lovely folks at McA have some in stock and sent me 3 balls, aaaaannnnd are holding another 3 for a few weeks, just in case.  I suspect I may need one more of them for the neck.  We shall see.

We are also making progress in a project I’m calling “Shabby to Chic”.  Our house hasn’t been decorated since before the kids came home.  With 2 adults, 2 kids and a large dog, the place is starting to look more than a little bit worn around the edges.  And the middle.  And all points in-between.

The need for a complete rewire has created the impetus to do a complete top down spruce up.  The sewing loft is to be ripped out, remodelled and turned into our bedroom.  Our bedroom will become The Boy’s.  His bedroom will become my new sewing room…eventually.  Just as blasted Ikea are withdrawing their fabulous Expedit range.  What possessed them?

This is a huge project that will take a good couple of years to finish, I think, but at the end of it we will have replaced all windows and external doors, rewired the place with many more socket outlets and more usefully placed light switches, and will be using all the space in the house more efficiently.  Oh and the hideous porch at the front of the house that has plagued me for years WILL  finally be replaced.

Most importantly (far more important than the risk of the electrics frying us all in our beds) I will have a new sewing room.  With storage!  And good daylight!

Until then though I’m sewing on the kitchen table.  I do not like this at all.  I realise I’ve been completely spoiled with the Sewing Loft (however shabby and disorganised), but I’ve got my eye on the prize and a sewing project on the go (in between meals, homework and painting projects that the kids insist on).

Thread Theory Jedediah Pants

Yep…I’m making the Mr the pair of trousers I promised him a couple of years ago. Or maybe 6 years ago.

I’m not counting.

I’m sure he is.

These are the Thread Theory Jedediah Pants and so far I’m really impressed. Printing and taping the PDF was a breeze.  Great tiling.  It bodes well, I hope, for the sewing.

Johnny B Good shirt

Despite my own best efforts not to finish this shirt, I did, and in good time for Boy’s birthday party on Saturday.  Phew!

Before I get into the review of this shirt, let me just remind you that this shirt was upcycled from a shirt gifted to us by our friend, Martin.  The fabric is a thick and temperamental cotton, that acts like a very brattish polyester.

But…it’s wonderfully soft and cosy and Boy, who normally throws a fit of the screaming ab-dabs when you ask him to wear a shirt, couldn’t wait to get it on, and didn’t want to take it off. So it’s a win, as far as I’m concerned.

I did change the buttons.  On the original shirt they were a yellowy cream button and really looked a bit odd against the lilac/pink/blue fabric.

The new buttons are a variegated lilac that I found on our local market stall.  I like them much more.

Oops…a bit blurry, but you get the idea, no?

And, in one final change, I “drafted” a mandarin/grandad collar by simply folding the collar part of the pattern up and using just the stand to cut my fabric.  I did, of course, remember to add a seam allowance to the top of the collar!

The pattern is Shwinn Designs Johnny B Good shirt, and, I’ll admit I have mixed feelings about this pattern.

Let’s start with the good:

• The tiling on the pdf is really good and the pattern tapes together quickly and cleanly.
• The drafting of the pattern is excellent.  I found all the separate pieces stitched up perfectly.
• The sizing is good too.  Boy is a small 5 and this shirt fits him now but has room to grow into.  In my book this is perfect.  If I’m sewing something for the kids I’d like it to last more than a couple of weeks!

However, this pattern does have some challenges:

• I found the instructions to be a little less than straightforward and clear.
• I thought the sleeve placket is a little long.  It reaches right up to the elbow. This is, of course, just a matter of personal taste.
• I also thought the sleeve placket to be placed just a little too far towards the front of the sleeve.
• There are no placement marks for the buttonholes on the sleeves.  The idea is that you place them where you’d like them to go, but, personally, I would have preferred them to be added on the pattern.

I think this shows how far forwards the sleeve placket sits on the sleeve and also how high up the sleeve it goes. Please ignore the shoddy buttonholes. 

Despite the things I’m not fond of with this pattern, I will be using it again.  I think I’ll adjust the sleeve placket to move it more to the back of the arm, and shorten the placket a little bit.  

I plan to measure this shirt to get a really good idea for button placement and mark them on the pattern.

And lastly, I  think I’ll redraft the hem of this shirt to give it tails rather than a straight edge.  I think it will look really cute.

Once the pattern has been tweaked there’s one other thing I’ll change. I’ll use better thread so the topstitching isn’t quite so shocking.  I’m eternally grateful that this fabric hides a multitude of sins!

However, all my gripes are moot.  Boy loves his shirt, which is nothing short of a birthday miracle.

And yes, that is a bus cake.  As his party was held on the play bus (officially making him the coolest boy in the class…who knew?) I really had no say in the matter.

He loved it 😉

Kids Clothes Week – Day 1

Having taped the pattern together last week it dawned on me that this week is Kids Clothes Week.

I am a bear of very little brain at the moment and it had completely failed to sink in until yesterday morning.

At which point I decided that, yes, I could manage an hour a day of sewing, and yes, this would be the perfect opportunity to make a shirt for Boy in time for his birthday celebrations in a couple of weeks.

So Day 1 saw the pattern pieces being cut out and a shirt kindly gifted to us by our friend Martin for just such a purpose being hacked into small pieces.

Oh artificial light…you are so gloomy!

Note to the wise.  Cut your collar before you cut your yokes.  Yokes can be finangled.  Collars not so much.

This is a better representation of the colours.

Boy’s shirt will now have a grandad collar! 

I can live with that!

Wet work

It’s cold here.  Damp.  Grey. Windy. Gloomy.

Weather for socks and sweaters and quilts.  For hunkering down and knitting. For hot tea and soup.

The back of Larry is finished.

With the sewing loft in complete disarray as we slowly pack it up (we now have a deadline…it must be done in 4 weeks as the rewire starts then), actual sewing is the last thing on my mind.

But the dreary days lend themselves to mindless tasks such as taping together PDF patterns.

It’s a task I don’t mind and is perfect for days like this when you want to be productive, but not have to work too hard at it.

And so we have the Shwin Designs Johnny Be Good Hoodie

and Apple Loungewear patterns all taped up and ready to go.

I’m saving the 40-odd page See & Sew pattern for another day.  But, could it be true? Could the sewing mojo be waking up from hibernation?  I sincerely hope so! I’m ready for it when it does.

PS:

The title of this post is just to make me smile.  I’m referring to the weather, not some new career path of knife wielding assassin.  

Honestly! 😉

The Wardrobe Architect

For more years than I care to remember I have bemoaned the lack of clothes in my wardrobe and wished I had a discernible “style”.  All of my friends have one. I can pick up a scarf/yarn/whatever and think “that’s so Alice/Lara/whoever”. Me…not so much.

Considering I can sew whatever I want (obviously within limits as my skills still need some work), this is a pitiful state of affairs.

Considering that I have lots of fabric waiting to be sewn, even more so.

(An aside to my husband at this point…stop rolling your eyes and muttering “I told you so”…it’s not helpful).

So when Colette launched their Wardrobe Architect project recently, my ears pricked up.

I mentally ticked all the items on Sarai’s list:

You acquire things you don’t use.

You feel regret over purchases, whether it’s fabric you’ll never use or a blouse bought because it was on clearance.

You tend to buy quantity over quality more than you’d like.

You buy things that are “close enough.”

You don’t have a chance to think very deeply about your purchases, like the environmental or ethical impact.

When buying fabric, you go for the bright and shiny instead of the fabrics you really like to wear.

You make clothes that don’t really fit your life well (another party dress?)

You have an overwhelmingly long list of sewing projects you want to make and no idea of how to prioritize them. This can actually be kind of stressful for me.

You feel like your wardrobe is all over the place.

You don’t know how to put outfits together from what you have, so you keep acquiring more instead.

I couldn’t have put it better myself.

So…I’m in! Sarai will be posting weekly thoughts for discussion and a downloadable worksheet that you can complete yourself to help you define your style and, hopefully, end up working towards a cohesive, stylish wardrobe that reflects both your personality and your lifestyle.

I definitely need some of that.  I’ve been completely lost since leaving corporate land (suits I can do!), and it’s time for a change.

I’ve printed off the first two worksheets and will discuss them here probably next week. But in the meantime, what do you think of this project?  Are you completing it too?

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BTW…I’ve not forgotten that I owe you pictures of Button’s birthday gift.  The weather here is so dreich* at the moment it’s impossible to get a remotely vibrant photograph.  But I will at the first opportunity.

* A word of old Scots origin describing a combination of dull, overcast, drizzly, cold, misty and miserable weather. At least 4 of the above adjectives must apply before the weather is truly dreich.  It has been truly dreich here for the last couple of weeks.

Kids Clothes Week – I’m on the fence

Sigh!

I have a serious case of missing mojo!  The only thing I’m remotely keen on doing at the moment is sewing hexies.  And a little knitting.  But I’ve not been in the sewing room since Red, except to pack up boxes.

So when I realised this week was Kids Clothes Week…I had absolutely no enthusiasm for it whatsoever.

I have to admit that I’d got my timing wrong.  I’d originally thought it coincided with half-term, but that doesn’t start until Friday, so technically I have 4 days when I could sew for the kids.

Lord knows they need some winter clothes.  And I have a crate of shirts and jeans and fabric offcuts all ready to upcycle into lovely things for them.

But I just feel so “meh!” about sewing.  I know it’s because I’m still harbouring the tail end of this wretched cough, but even I’m bored of that now.

I really wouldn’t mind making Button another couple of those lovely Heidi and Finn Cowl Neck Dresses:

It’s such a great pattern.  It’s a perfectly quick sew yet cosy and stylish, and with tights and boots would see her through the season. I have some red ponte left and some blue jersey, both of which would be cute on her.

I also have four shirts to cut up for Boy…I’m loving the Ethan shirt by SisBoom:

He’s always been resistent to shirts but I’m hoping that as 3 of the shirts are pink (which he loves) I might be able to win him over.

I could make him some Oliver + S Field Trip Cargo Pants to go with the shirts:

And I think he’d love a Greenpoint Cardigan as a lightweight jacket alternative. I’ve enough of the blue jersey to make both a dress for Button and a cardigan for Boy:

Obviously I’m not going to get 2 dresses, 4 shirts, a pair of jeans and a cardigan cut and sewn in 4 days, but, at the very least, I’d get them all printed, taped and cut out. Which would be a start, and might just give my mojo the kick in the butt is so richly deserves.

I don’t know.

I’m almost talking myself into it.

Are you ‘doing’ KWC?

Simplicity 1886 – FO 18/2013 – review and a splendid Simplicity pattern giveaway

Ye Gods!

I’m so glad to finally be able to post this review. I’ve been exceptionally tardy with it. Although we’ve had a lovely time, the summer holidays really got in the way of my creative time. On Sunday The Husband whisked the kids away to the park  and for ice cream.  He’s my hero!

Of course, I’d have been posting this much sooner if I hadn’t had that pesky ironing escapade!

Anyway…back to the patterns.  As you know I was approached by Simplicity who very kindly offered me some free patterns in exchange for me making up and reviewing them.  I was delighted to accept, but all opinions are my own.

I chose:

and

My third pattern is the one I’ll be reviewing first, although I will get to the other two over the coming months.

As the weather is cooling down a little as we head towards autumn, I decided to shop the stash and make this up in some pretty John Kaldor print that’s been waiting far too long to make it to the sewing table.

John Kaldor floral

Yes it’s poly, but I thought it would be a great little basic to wear with my denim skirt and a little cardigan for slightly cooler days.

I chose this pattern as I’ve been looking for a replacement for Sorbetto.  I love Colette’s aesthetic but really had trouble getting the darts right because of the FBA I needed.  I’m still a bit hit and miss with FBA’s.  I’ll crack them eventually.

With that in mind, this pattern seemed a great option as it’s already drafted for different cup sizes…although I’m a DD/E dependent on who you speak to, so even with the extra cup size options, I knew I’d have some finangling of the fit to do.

So…how did I get on?

It’s a mix of The Good, The Bad and The Ugly!

The Good

Well, despite the discrepancy between my bosom and that of the pattern, it took me a surprisingly small amount of time and effort to to fit this top.

I cut the pattern in the D cup option in the size that fits my high bust measurement at the shoulders and armholes.  I cut the side seams at the next size up.

This is the muslin straight off the pattern:

I was really surprised that this worked.  Yes, I still had gapping at the armhole and front and back necks…but I always have that gapping.  It’s down to the shape I am.

You can see that I’ve already pinned out a dart on one of the armholes.  I just replicated that at the front neck and back neck, transferred those darts to the pattern and cut out the fashion fabric.

Voila!

Alterations made and transferred to the pattern within about half an hour. Which is without doubt the quickest turnaround of a muslin in my whole sewing career! It was so easy and I am a very happy camper!

The multi cup size pattern options really do work.

So I was ready to sew, which is when we came to…

The Bad

Perhaps calling them ‘Bad’ is a little harsh.  Perhaps ‘Pesky’ would be a better word.  Or just a little bit ‘Naughty’.

Semantics aside, the first hiccup came when I was making the ruffle for the front. Let’s just say the instructions for inserting the ruffles are less than clear.

The neck band was a complete and total bear.  I’ve lost count of how many times I unpicked the wretched thing.

However, I think it’s most likely that the problems I encountered were created by the fabric being very slippery and fidgety.  Because it was very slippery and fidgety indeed.  But! I suspect that it would have been easier to draft a simple stand collar than the band and facings used here.  It was all a little bit fussy to apply and turned the air in the sewing loft blue on more than one occasion.

Despite it being a slippery customer, once done, it looks really cute, and if I did it again it would be a whole lot easier.  That said, I’m grateful for the printed fabric. It hides a multiple of sins! 😉

The Ugly

This is where I’m going to take the opportunity to speak to Simplicity (and the other major pattern houses, to be fair.  They’re just as bad) about the styling of their pattern envelopes.

People…you really need to up your game on the envelope styling!

You don’t make it at all easy for us to choose your patterns.  I’ve lost count of the times I’ve seen a really cute dress/top/trousers/whatever on a blog only to realise that it’s a pattern that I’d previously totally discounted due to the styling on the envelope.

I can understand that back in the day, before the independent pattern companies flourished, that you could get away with it.  But now…not so much. The Cynthia Rowley envelope isn’t all bad but 1606 and 1886…I feel that they really need some work.

I recognise that the big 4 are aiming at a much wider audience than the indie companies, but I’m not sure that’s a strong enough argument.  How hard can it be to pitch at multiple markets with the same envelope? Especially as most of the design is sketched. Even Knip Mode magazine, which isn’t always the most fashion forward of the sewing mags, manages to do this on a regular basis.

Yep…same pattern…different fabric and styling!
Although the camel ones could do with a better fit…more whiskers that O’Malley the Alley Cat!

As the sewing market grows, both in the number of customers (due to the resurgence of interest in the craft), and of the range of patterns available (because of the growth of independent houses), I feel that the Big 4 are missing a real opportunity to reach out to sewists and provide them with a well drafted product in a packaging that appeals to a wide range of tastes and styles.

Conclusion

I hope you don’t think this is a negative review because, despite the niggles I had with the neckline on this top, I’m really, really pleased with the result and feel that it really fills a gap in my wardrobe. I know it’s going to get quite a bit of wear over the next few months.  It goes with my denim skirt and a pair of cropped RTW trousers.

Please ignore the creases…this was the end of a very busy day of last minute school uniform shopping!

I also think the ruffle, which I’d normally avoid, works very well and is surprisingly flattering thanks to the lovely drape of the fabric.

For me, this pattern works in a way that I couldn’t get Sorbetto to.  The darts are great and as a result it’s not too boxy.  Lord knows, I need no help in looking boxy!

Happy dart and a lovely snug armhole.
Ignore the wrinkles…they’re just there because I’m pulling my arm back to show the dart.

I can see myself playing with the neckline and hemline to make variations so that I can get some much needed quick and easy tops into my wardrobe. Although, rest assured, next time I’ll be binding the neck and armholes and not faffing with the wretched neckline and facing pieces given in the pattern.

And the scorch…

I just slapped a teeny tiny patch on it…and a matching one on the other side seam. I promise they are much less obtrusive and inelegant in real life. You can hardly see them. And they mean I can happily wear this top.  As most of the time I’ll be wearing this with a cardigan, this is a solution I can easily live with.

But most of all I am totally sold on the idea of multiple bust size options, and salute Simplicity for introducing them.  Being able to remove/reduce the FBA/SBA makes fitting so much faster and easier. I think we’ll all agree that this is a Very Good Thing.  For sure, I’ve never fitted a pattern so quickly and with such a good result.

I can only encourage more/all pattern companies to embrace this feature going forwards.  It’s a feature that will definitely influence my pattern purchasing decisions in the future.  I suspect I’m not alone in this view.

So I’m patting myself on the back for selecting this pattern, and am patting Simplicity on the back for giving me the opportunity to try it.  I’m also looking forward to making up the other two patterns and am hopeful for an equally happy outcome.

But now, if you not asleep at this point, here’s the bit of this post you’ve really been waiting for. It’s time for you to get your hands on a Simplicity pattern of your own!

Actually, it’s time for 3 (yep…three) of you to get a Simplicity pattern of your choice!

Here’s how you can win:

1. Go to www.simplicitynewlook.com and choose which pattern you’d like to add to your collection.
2. Leave a comment below telling me which pattern you’ve chosen.
3. For an extra chance to win, just follow Simplicity on Twitter – @SewSimplicity – and leave me another comment to confirm you’ve done so.
4. Get a third chance to win by posting this giveaway on your blog and pop a link to the post in your comment.

Easy, peasy, lemon squeezy!

I’ll close this giveaway on Friday 6th September at midnight GMT and choose 3 lucky winners to receive the pattern of their choice.

This giveaway is open to international readers as well as those in the UK.

Good luck!