Release the Hounds(tooth)

A friend gave me this H&M frock late last year, because she knew I'd love the fabric.

It was too short, and a bit too boxy for me, so today I altered it.

Before:


After:

The first thing I did was shape the waist a little, but not too much because I wanted to keep the 60s shift style. I need some waist shaping to suit my short-waisted torso.

I found a similar weight black knit in the stash, and added a band to the hem to add length. I added bands around the sleeve edges too, to make the hem band look deliberate. Now it's much more wearable, yay!

Betty Jo

Long time no post, but I have been sewing, knitting, beading and travelling. Just not posting.

The Fabric Store kindly emailed $20 discount vouchers to customers (on purchases of $50 or more), so I went in and bought some large-scale houndstooth cotton/poly knit. I went through my patterns looking for something I hadn't made yet, as I recently realised I was making the same favourite patterns over and over. (I'm looking at you Stepfrock.)

I decided on McCall's 6568 here:
Here is the finished result:
and on me:
(sorry about the dark photo, it's been very gloomy in Sydney this week)
This was a very straight forward, easy pattern, especially in a stable knit fabric like this. I didn't put in a zip, as there is enough stretch in this fabric to pull it on over my head. I also changed the front skirt gathers into two darts.
I've named her Betty Jo, after the name written in pencil on the pattern. Love that!

Here is a better view of the fabric, although it is a bit darker than this in reality:
I sewed two buttons on the neckband for a bit of interest:
Here is a little frock I made recently for a friend's 3 year old daughter. It's Japanese quilting cotton. Little one loves owls!
I used my usual pinafore pattern, New Look 6578. I really need to branch out a bit.