The Lisette Passport Dress

I've been itching to make the Lisette Passport Dress ever since the finish of the Continental Sew-Along.

I just so happened to take a trip to Spotty on Friday and found the Lisette Cotton Sateen on the clearance table for $5 per metre (must have been divine intervention).

The Passport is a bit more tricky, as it has a side zipper, and front and back darts and pleats.

I decided upon the Size 16 (as that's the size I should have cut for the Continental) and cut out all of my fabric Friday night.

I've never made a dress with darts before, so I must admit that I was ever so slightly confused!

Thankfully, I remembered to try the bodice and the skirt on, separately, before I attached them together, or finished any of the side seams with the overlocker.

Turns out that the size 16 was too small...

I had to reduce the side seams to 1/4 inch, and completely remove the rear bodice darts, and the rear skirt pleats to make it fit.

But, thankfully after lots of stops and starts, I actually managed to finish it.

Here's a closer look at the finished front darts and front pleats. I'm not quite sure that I finished the darts properly as per the instructions. I'd show the back darts and pleats but there aren't any!

Oh, and of course I had to add the obligatory pocket on the opposite side to the zipper!

It's freezing today but I teamed it with my Flox tights and a cardi and wore it to work (I did actually have shoes on too).

I'll definitely make this dress again, but next time, I'll re-draft the bodice to combine the 16 (at the top) and the 18 (at the bottom), with a size 18 skirt, and reduce the size of the armholes underneath the arm as they're a bit gapey.

I think I only ended up using 1.5 metres of fabric so it's not a bad investment!

Made It (by the skin of my teeth) in May

I desperately wanted to get a second skirt finished for the Make It In May challenge, so of course, I procrastinated and left it literally 'til the last minute (I finished the bottom hem at around 7PM lastnight).

The pattern had been sitting on the kitchen bench for over two weeks just waiting to be traced and cut!

This is the Lisette Market Skirt (Simplicity 2211) in View A.

I found this black corduroy (which is really hard to photograph) in the stash. I'm pretty sure it was op shopped a while back.

There was only just enough for the skirt.

I made a couple of small changes - I omitted the tabs that sit along the waistline, and I added pockets instead. I figured that I didn't need to add both details as I wanted the skirt to be quite plain.

Those cute pleats at the front are mirrored at the back, and there's a side zip.

This skirt was really easy to make and would be cute for summer in a nice quilting weight fabric too!

This one's a keeper.


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My Creative Space

In my creative space today...

It's a last minute sewing frenzy to finish my second skirt for the Make It In May Sew Along.
I'm making the Lisette Market Skirt in View A. It's really hard to see from the photo as I'm using some random black corduroy that I found in the stash (pretty sure it was op shopped), but there are really cute pleats at the bottom.

I made it this far lastnight before I realised that I had to change the thread colour in the overlocker before going any further...  so I stopped and packed my bag for NCB instead!

Make It Work!

I'm expecting lots of last minute Make It In May Finishes today so I'll be back later with a round up!

More creative spaces

The Lisette Sew Along - Whimsical

The Lisette Dress Sew Along is still running for anyone who hasn't quite had the chance to complete their dress.

Today I'm featuring this lovely Lisette Passport dress by Lien from Whimsical - she has some great info and tips in her blog post.

Check it out!

Would you believe Lien hadn't sewed darts, binding or a zipper before?
It's such a gorgeous dress in the Lisette Sateen fabric!

This dress is most definitely on my 'to make' list.

Thankyou for joining in Lien.


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PS - for anyone who is thinking about making a skirt for winter, I'm going to have a bloggy skirt sew-along in May. In the meantime, go in search of your favourite skirt pattern, and I'll have more info very soon!

The Lisette Sew Along - Bea's Place

We've reached the end of March, and we have fifteen dresses finished so far. Amazing!

Allison from Bea's Place made the dress for her daughter.

But, what is even more delightful, is that her hubby chose the fabric at Spotty.

Have you worked out what it is yet?

Love it! Thanks so much for joining in the fun Allison!


If you've finished your dress, please add it to the Flickr Group, and if I've missed your post, please let me know!

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The Lisette Sew Along - Narioka, Spindrift, and Maika

I have a special triple treat of Sew-Alongers to show you today...

First up is this gorgeous version by Julie from Narioka. I'm loving it with a cardi and boots, especially considering the sudden cold snap!

 Thankyou Julie!

Next up is this lovely version by Sally from Spindrift.

I'm so excited that this is Sally's first dress EVER. That's what blogging and sewing challenges are all about (in my opinion anyway). Getting out there and having a try.

Trust me - it's good for the soul.

Thankyou Sally!

Then for today's finale, we have this fabulous dress by Caroline from Maika.

It's Dress A from the Japanese 'Stylish Dress Book' in the Lisette cotton lawn fabric.

I bought the same book last year, but was really worried about the sizing so I'm yet to try anything. But, now that I've seen Caroline's version, it's time to retrieve it from the bookshelf!

Oh, and looking at these photos... what a lovely garden you have - thankyou Caroline!


We're running out of days in March, but we already fourteen finished dresses on the list in the sidebar. Please pop in and visit everyone and check out their blog posts, and don't forget the Flickr Group too!

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The Lisette Sew Along - Onto the second one....

When I began the sew-along, I never dreamed that there would be sooo many dresses, and that some lovely crafty peeps would make two!

This is Sarah's second version of the Continental Dress. I love this fabric, and the non-matching tie!

This is Yana's second version of the Continental Dress in the Lisette Cotton Sateen. Most Spotlight stores ran out of this fabric immediately!

Thanks so much for your fabulous sewing dedication ladies!!!

The Lisette Sew Along - Virtually Sally

Check out Sally's gorgeous Lisette Continental frock!

It also has such a sweet story to go with it...

I love that making and blogging gives us the confidence to step out from behind the camera (which is where we usually find ourselves).

Thankyou Sal - you rock that frock!

The Lisette Sew Along - Loz and Dinny

When Gemma from Loz and Dinny signed up to the Lisette Sew-Along challenge, she already had this Passport pattern in the stash, so the timing was perfect!

I'm loving the cute 50's styling....  and the polka dots and red shoes

After reading Gemma's Sew-Along blog post last week, I decided I need to make one of these too.... only it must be the only pattern I didn't buy. Back to Spotty for me...

Thanks for joining in Gemma!

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The Lisette Sew Along - Thornberry

I was very excited when Lara joined the Lisette Sew Along...

Lara is an amazing dressmaker and I really enjoy her reading her dressmaking blog posts. I often add patterns to my 'want to make' wish list after seeing them on her blog.

In her blog post, she describes the way in which she incorporated the border print into the front of her dress, and a quick and easy tip for the binding.

Thankyou Lara!

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PS - if you've blogged your dress and I haven't yet added it to the sidebar, please let me know!

The Lisette Sew Along - Lioness Lady

I have to chuckle at the title of the blog post over at Lioness Lady....

Because, of course, the challenge is all about just taking some time to have some fun and try something new.

.... and what's more fun than having giving the kiddies the iPhone for a fashion shoot?

Pop on over to visit Lioness Lady's blog post for all the details!


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The Lisette Sew Along - Dabbling All Day

I have another super-cute version of the Continental Dress to show you today by Nicole.

She worked all day on Sunday, came home and made the dress from scratch, and then wore it to a picnic on Monday. How perfect!


In other exciting news.... did you know that Spotlight have a new blog?

I didn't.... until Cindy tweeted me this....

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The Lisette Sew Along - White Mouse Creations

I have another lovely Lisette dress to show you today by Yana from White Mouse Creations.

Love that floral print!

Make sure to check out Yana's blog post for her details and tips.... thankyou Yana.


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The Lisette Sew Along - by Sarah

We have a few finished dresses in the Flickr Group now, so today I'm featuring this gorgeous version by Sarah.

The two photos are a great illustration of taking it from a summer to a winter look.

Make sure you check out Sarah's Sew Along post for her tips!   Thankyou Sarah.



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** I've added a list on the sidebar now so that as everyone finishes, the blog posts are easy to find.

The Lisette Sew Along - My Finished Continental Dress

One of the best things that has happened since I've started to make my own clothes, is that I have a much better understanding and appreciation of my body shape, and the fabric colours and styles of clothing that suit me.

Once you take your own measurements, and compare them to what is supposed to be standard in shop bought clothing, you realise why it's so hard to find something that properly fits!

At least with a simple dress like this one, you can make it to the pattern, and then slightly tweak it to suit your own needs.

With that knowledge, I sat down yesterday afternoon and finally sewed my Contintental Dress.

I probably should have ironed it....

I must say that I really love how it's turned out. I've even managed to fall in love with the so called 'test' fabric from the stash. It's so much prettier as a dress, than what it was folded up sitting in the cupboard.



For some silly reason, I didn't think to actually measure myself before I started.... I just assumed that I would need the same size as Bec and so I cut out a size 18.

When I did the first try on, I realised that it was a bit too big, so I measured myself and realised that I should have cut out a 16.

• This is the first try on stage - I've sewn the neck binding but wanted to check the arm holes before sewing the binding.

My photo is a little blurry but if you look at the left arm you can see that it's a bit gapey under the arm.

The really simple solution was just to take in both side seams from under the arms and straight down the side. I started by taking it in to a size 16 along both side seams.

Then to make the armhole smaller, I just sewed a tapered seam about half an inch inwards under the arm.

Note to self: always measure before just assuming size

Once I'd adjusted the size to fit, I added the binding to the arms and hemmed the bottom to finish it off.... nearly

Additions

As I don't have much of a waist, I find that I really need belt loops on my dresses, and then there's also my obsession with always having pockets in my garments.

My super simple non-scientific technique to work out the placement?

I just put the dress on, work out where the belt loop and pockets should sit and mark it with a safety pin.

Then I made myself a little pocket template to make two matching front pockets.

That's it... all finished!

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