Girls fur vest and jersey dress

This amazing fur backed vinyl arrived recently and it was crying out to be made into a vest. Vests can be hard to wear for us grown up girls but for the little lady in your life, of which I have two, it's perfect. This fabric would be perfect for a coat for a grown up, and I may still attempt that. 

Being double sided there's no need to line the vest. I chose to stitch my seams down flat and open, giving a neat finish on the inside and a nice stitching detail on the outside. You could also easily make this reversible. 

I had a vest pattern to use but you don't necessarily need one, just cut the shape off a top.

After stitching the shoulders and side seams together and stitching them down I added the ribbon ties for the front, then the crochet trim round the neckline and the trim at the hem. I finished it off with the flower motifs and a bow at the hem. Too easy!

To go underneath I used a simple jersey dress pattern with a long sleeve in this gorgeous feather print viscose knit. You can buy it here

This is a really simple pattern. It's basically a long sleeve t'shirt, slimmed down a little and extended to a dress length. 

Construction:

Sew one shoulder seam together (use your overlocker if you have one or a zigzag stitch if not)

Using a stretch frill trim fold down neck edge and zigzag the neckline down with the frill trim poking out, stretching the trim slightly as you go.

Stitch up other shoulder seam.

Sew each sleeve head in.

Hem each wrist in the same fashion as the neck using your frilled elastic.

Sew sleeve and side seams in one motion.

Hem with crochet lace trim.

DONE!

These two pieces took me an hour to complete from start to finish, perfect easy project with a great end result.

I'm always happy to share my patterns. If you'd like a copy, just let me know!

Happy sewing. Julia xx

What I wore

This dress is an oldie but a goodie.

I think it's the fabric that I like the most, it's a polyester de chine. Light enough to be cool to wear but not see through so no need for lining or a slip.

For me, this dress definitely needs a belt. That said, this style could suit lots of different figure types.

There are lots of options in these project runway patterns, which I really like. It makes them very versatile, enabling you to use them over and over again without appearing to have only one pattern in your repertoire.

I also like the way the fabric meterage is broken down on the back of the pattern envelope. 

Each element, for example, flared sleeve, short sleeve, mid length sleeve, long sleeve is stated as a separate meterage, allowing you to pick and choose from all the different options to create your desired design. 

I'm getting inspired to try the other options in this pattern now.....

Until next time, Happy sewing.

Julia xx