Tag Archives: Dungaree Dress

Denim Cleo Dress

With all the denim that my friend gave me I was able to make some Roberts Dungarees, my first pair of Dawn Jeans and this Cleo Dungaree dress.

I’ve made 4 other Cleos in the past (though one of them got stained). The first two I made are here and the 3rd and 4th are here. What’s funny is that I feel like the other versions I made were a little too long so I ended up taking them all up a bit. I only realised when cutting out this version that I had always cut out the longer length. Only when I didn’t have quite enough fabric to fit all the pieces for all the patterns on the fabric that I noticed the shorter hem length line on the pattern piece!

I’m much more happy with this shorter length!

This really is a nice easy pattern to make – I’m sure there aren’t many people (who are within Tilly’s relatively small size range) who haven’t made a Cleo yet. It does sew up really quickly.

As I mentioned in the post about my first Dawn Jeans, the fabric had some marks on it – I think from being folded up for so long. I didn’t really notice until I took these photos that there is a fairly strong pale line up the middle of the dress – but there’s a seam and top-stitching there so I don’t think it’s too much of a disaster.

I used traditional jeans top-stitching colour thread to made these really jeans-like. And I bought the buckles from my local little sewing shop – it’s where I’ve bought most of my buckles!

To be honest I haven’t actually worn this (apart from to take these photos!). I felt like it was going to be a good warm-weather garment but then it went cold! I’m sure I’ll wear it with tights and a jumper underneath if I ever go back to work! I’m still furloughed and to be honest I’m starting to lose hope that I’m going back ever.

I feel like I don’t too often make things that I’m not sure I’ll wear much, but actually looking at this, I don’t know if Cleos are really my style any more. Maybe it’s because I’ve been sitting in my house for almost 7 months and dresses (in any form) feel a but dressed up to me – whereas I’m all about the comfort being at home so much! Do you make things you then think ‘why did I make that?’

I’m the last person to make a Cleo and I love it!

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Well, them.

As I mentioned in my round-up of Me Made May 2018, I made a couple of Cleo dresses and I have worn them both loads – I don’t know why I waited so long to make this pattern, which the entire sewing community already loved.

I made both Cleos in the size 3, based on my measurements and I squeezed each out of around a metre of fabric, so this is a great stash buster/ #sewingleftovers pattern.

This mustard denim was from Sew Me Sunshine and she only had 1.5m left when I placed my order. I’ve already used the rest to make my mute bags. But she has it back in stock, so we can be Cleo twins if you like! I’m actually wearing this one while I type this.

I really like the topstitching, which makes the design details stand out. And it’s good practice for when I finally get around to making jeans!

Despite the fact that I made the 2 Cleos exactly the same, the mustard one ended up a few inches too long so I cut some off the hem to make them the same length, which contrary to what they look like in the photos, is just above the knee.

The buckle things are a little wide for the straps, but they were the only size my local sewing shop stocks. And I like them anyway, and they make the dresses look pretty professional, if I say so myself!

The little dimple you can see on the pocket is from wearing my pink coat club pins – I love them so I don’t care if they’ve made a permanent mark.

And now onto the navy blue one! The corduroy was from my local sewing shop and I bought it quite a few months ago. It’s the only fabric I’ve bought from there because mainly they’ve got quilting cotton and novelty prints. They did have this corduroy last Winter, though.

I really like how they look from the back – I like the shape of the straps and the cocoon-y shape of the skirt part.

I think these will definitely be a staple of my Summer wardrobe – and will be great for layering with tights and jumpers in the Winter.

Here I am demonstrating the existence of the pocket and the fact that it is fully functional! Though if I put my phone in it, it’s a bit heavy and drags down the front of the dress.

And here’s another close-up of the straps, buckles, pocket and topstitching.

There were lots of outtakes from these photoshoots, so I thought I would share some of my favourites – enjoy!

I mean, wtf!?

This is the stoned version of my silly happy face!

So am I the last person to make a Cleo or is there anyone else who has yet to jump on the bandwagon? I thought it wasn’t really my style, but I’m so glad I made these. It’s particularly good because I don’t have to be as smart at my new job, so I can wear these to work as well as at weekends.

Review of 2017

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As this year approaches its end I (like many other sewists and bloggers) thought it would be fun to look back and see what I achieved sewing-wise.

The main part of my planning for this year had been my #2017MakeNine but I only managed to make 4 of the 9 patterns I had planned to make.

To slightly defend myself (against who?!) I did make 3 of the 4 patterns twice. (For all the makes below, click on the photo to be taken to the full blog post).

I made 2 Marianne Dresses and I love them both – both are from quite light weight jersey so they’re not the best for the cold weather we’ve been having in the UK recently.

I also make 2 Moneta dresses, though I don’t really wear the first one because I stretched out the neckline while making it.

I also make 2 Inari Tees, and I have a dress version cut out ready for next Summer – I didn’t get around to making it last Summer as it didn’t seem to last long enough!

The other make I managed from my Make Nine was my Roberts Collection dungaree dress. I did want to make the dungaree version as well but I didn’t get around to it.

I bought denim to make both pairs of jeans back in April but I didn’t quite get around to making them. I also have 2 fabrics to make the Carolyn Pyjamas from so I think I’ll bump them onto next year’s list too.

I also had joined the #SewMyStyle project and although I knew at the outset that I wasn’t going to make all 12 garments throughout the year, I only managed one – the Toaster Sweater, which I think was the pattern from January (though I’m pretty sure I made it late).

Although I didn’t make loads of the things I had planned at the beginning of the year, I did make quite a few things in the last 12 months.

I made a few presents and non-clothes, including 2 pyjama cases (a monkey and a penguin), a sack for work, a tailor’s ham and sausage (stuffed with fabric scraps), and a moomin embroidery (which helped me realise I actually quite enjoy embroidery).

I managed to refashion 3 garments: a simple tee refashion, my Christmas Party Dress and – the one I’m probably most proud of – I refashioned one of my dad’s suits into a suit for me.

In terms of sewing from scratch, this year I made:

8 dresses
1 pair of trousers and one pair of culottes
2 skirts
8 tops
1 pair of shoes

The shoes were definitely a highlight! And after listening to Jasika’s episode of the Love to Sew Podcast, I feel inspired to make more shoes!

I am also proud of having made trousers for the first time! Shame I didn’t parley this into making more pairs of trousers as they are the thing that is really lacking in my wardrobe now.

These trousers are probably my most worn make of the year, but also getting honorable mentions are my stripey jersey dress which I’ve worn loads considering it was a late-in-the-year make.

I’ve also worn my grey-blue melilot shirt loads this year, so I definitely have more planned.

I feel like I can’t do a round up of the year without mentioning my Dressmakers’ Ball dress – ooh, I’ve just realised I made an extra pair of trousers than I listed above because my dress had trousers underneath! It was definitely one of my favourite makes from the year and it was fun to do some – very basic – drafting to alter the Emery dress to make the copy of the Emma Watson outfit I liked so much.

There were some other things that I mentioned I wanted to do in 2017, like make a quilt, re-upholster a chair and make a wall hanging. I did none of these things. I did, however, complete the Wardrobe Architect project and I do think this helped me to focus my sewing and fabric buying.

Obviously on a personal level, 2017 wasn’t the best – and 2016 sucked too – so here’s hoping 2018 isn’t quite so crap and I have no family sadnesses.

Did you meet your goals in 2017? Are you rolling some of them into 2018 if not? I will – I think some of my #2018MakeNine will be the ones I didn’t make in 2017!

June Makes and July Plans

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Well, another month has come and gone! I made a few things in June; after a quiet May, my sewjo definitely returned. I did spend a couple of weekend days cutting out lots of projects (as I like to do every couple of months) so I’ve got lots of things ready to go when I have time to sew. Yay! Future me will be happy with past me!

I mostly made 2 garments for myself in June, including my black Roberts Collection dungaree dress, which I still love.

The ‘mostly’ part of my finished garments is my greyish blueish melilot shirt. I’ve finished it apart from the buttons, because my sewing machine does not enjoy sewing button holes, meaning I don’t enjoy sewing button holes! I might get some snaps or something instead, as I’d have to buy buttons anyway. Any thoughts?

The final thing I finished this month was a penguin pyjama case for my nephew. After the success of the monkey one for my niece, I made another one!

And now onto my plans for July – these are all things I’ve already got cut out, yay!

The first is for when it gets hot again in the UK – though it’s actually been quite warm since the weekend, which is good! It’s a stripey In The Folds Collins Top. The fabric is left over from a banksia top I made years ago, and required some tetris to get all the pieces to fit. Luckily I wanted to have the stripes going in different directions, otherwise I definitely would not have had enough fabric!

I’ve cut out the lovely Robert Kaufman fabric I bought from Guthrie and Ghani in Birmingham into a Colette Aster blouse. I do have buttons for this one, so I’ll have to suck it up and sew the button holes.

My final definitely plan for this month is a Sew Over It Anderson Blouse from the amazing Coral crepe I bought, also from Guthrie and Ghani.

I actually have a week off later in July, so my main project for that week is to actually finally make a start on making Jeans. I have now pre-washed both my denims, so it should be all ready to go, though I haven’t traced the pattern yet!

Have you got lots of summery things on your to make list at the moment?

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Black Roberts Dungaree Dress

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I’ve made a thing!

And I really like it, though it may not be totally seasonally appropriate as the fabric is quite thick. It’s some mystery black textured something which I got at the fabric swap at the first Sew Brizzle meet up. It was quite thin so I underlined the back and the front skirt with some fairly cheap black polycotton and it seems to have done the trick – judging by these photos which were taken in bright sun anyway!

The pattern is the dress version of Marilla Walker’s Roberts Collection. I bought this ages ago, but only printed and assembled the PDF a few months ago. I printed the whole lot in one go, and it took AGES to put together, but I’m glad because now I’m tempted to make the dungaree version for the colder weather later in the year. I particularly like the back! I love how the straps look and the shape of the back.

This is the side view – and I’m pleased it doesn’t sit too low as I was mildly concerned even with a top underneath, it wouldn’t be decent! But there’s a little band on this side and 3 poppers to get a snugger fit and allow you to get in and out of it!

I made the straight size 2 without making any changes. But looking at it on, I think next time I could shorten the bib on the front and the back above the waist as the ‘waist’ seam sits just a bit lower than my waist, so I think it might be a little more flattering if the seam was on my actual waist.

I used poppers to attach the straps on the front – as I think the pattern says you should – but then sewed some buttons on the top as fakes! I thought about actually using buttons, but since my machine doesn’t like sewing button holes at the best of time, and because this fabric is textured and quite thick, I thought they just wouldn’t work so I went with poppers and fake buttons!

And it has pockets! Yay! I don’t think I’ll ever make anything without pockets in the future, it’s just so annoying to not have any!

I guess there isn’t too much to say about this make because the pattern came together really nicely and I think it will get quite a bit of wear in the warmish weather and with tights and a jumper underneath in the Winter. It will definitely fill in a casual gap in my wardrobe!

So I’ll leave you with an outtake to demonstrate how much I had to edit the photos because I’m too pale for the Sun! My top is cream and really isn’t the same colour as my skin, but it looks like it here! Lol!