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Amy Butler Print Long Skirt with Twisted Side Seams

Amy Butler Chinese lanterns printed cotton DKNY A-Line long skirt

Bess doing I-don’t-know-quite-what wearing her Amy Butler Chinese lantern skirt (as seen on the Great British Sewing Bee), or onion skirt as her husband calls it. The pattern is a Donna Karan for Vogue but has been (infuriatingly) discontinued. It’s great; the side seams are twisted so at the hips the back wraps around to the front and at the hem the front wraps around the back. The yoke is cut in one piece which made fitting a bit of a nightmare (no side seams to take in), but for a pattern like this you get a great effect on the back where the grain is taken off to near bias. Bess piped the side seams to make them a feature and gave the skirt an extra-deep hem so the skirt had a bit of weight to it; you should be careful what you make out of these ‘quilting cottons’ as they don’t drape terribly well, but they are an excellent choice for garments such as this.

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Trellis Print Lawn Sleeveless Shirt

printed cotton lawn sleeveless shirt

Bess wearing her much-loved cotton lawn trellis print shirt. Lawn is a brilliant weave to wear in the heat as it is so fine, yet still nice to sew with. The pattern was copied from a worn-out White Stuff shirt (now out of production), The bust darts are really tucks coming down from the shoulders. The armholes are faced with a wide tapered bias armhole binding that folds back to give the armhole some substance (anything to balance out Bess’s hips, she says, is a good thing 😉 )

Bess used no interfacing in the construction of this shirt – looking at the one she copied it didn’t seem they had used any, she worried about the buttonholes cocking up not working and the collar-band not lying properly but it was fine, if the fabric was less stable than lawn she would use light interfacing.

Fabric and Notions:
Blue trellis print cotton lawn
10mm red buttons

Pattern: drafted from manufactured shirt.

Also seen, cloud print red and white jersey skirt

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Liberty Tana Lawn Cotton Print Vintage Vogue Dress

Liberty blossom print tana lawn cotton dress in Vintage Vogue pattern

Amazing Liberty blossom printed Tana Lawn cotton dress made using the Vintage Vogue Pattern V2960 (the dress has been altered from the pattern), made by Jane for Lulu.

liberty lawn vintage Vogue dress
liberty lawn vintage Vogue dress

If you can’t face the fiddle of making the belt yourself (we couldn’t) send the fabric off to Harlequin—they will do it for you along with covering buttons and various other fiddly jobs. It’s worth it as it looks so professional.

liberty blossom print tana lawn vintage vogue dress
liberty blossom print tana lawn vintage vogue dress

The dress petticoat is made up in a plain cotton lawn which has been bound with the Liberty lawn using a 19mm Bias Maker.

liberty tana lawn hem binding
liberty tana lawn hem binding
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Stretch Cotton Jacket and Elephant Print Viscose Skirt

flippy viscose skirt and marcy tilton jacket

Rachel wearing stretch cotton jacket with embossed squares, eyelet tape and various trims, and elephant printed floppy viscose panelled skirt.

Fabrics and Notions:

Jacket:
Black embossed stretch cotton
Black hatch print Linen (border/collar)
Velvet ribbon
Suedette eyelet tape
Haematite beads
Machine embroidery

Pattern: Marcy Tilton (discontinued)

Skirt:
Elephant print viscose
Medium weight knitted iron-on interfacing
Invisible zip

flippy viscose skirt
flippy viscose skirt
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Boiled Wool Waterfall Unlined Jacket and Cotton Waffle Trousers

boiled wool waterfall jacket

Rachel (from classes) wearing her turquoise boiled wool waterfall jacket with red wool binding, and Paddy Campbell off-white cotton waffle wide leg trousers.

Fabrics and Notions:

Jacket:
Turquoise boiled wool
Red wool fold-over binding

Trousers:
Paddy Campbell off-white cotton waffle
Zip
Knitted iron-on interfacing

Patterns:
Jacket, McCall’s 5937
Trousers, Vogue 8717

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Vintage Vogue Cotton Dress and Linen Jacket

Vintage Vogue cotton dress with linen bolero jacket

Lulu wearing vintage Vogue dress made with swimmers printed cotton and pink linen bolero, all made by Jane.

Fabrics and Notions:
Dress:
Swimmers print cotton
Riviera cotton lawn lining
Cover buttons
Covered belt
Bias binding

Pattern: Vintage Vogue V2960

Bolero:
Pink Heavy Linen
Swimmers print cotton
Button
Piping

Cotton poplin Vintage Vogue dress and linen bolero
Cotton poplin Vintage Vogue dress and linen bolero
Cotton poplin Vintage Vogue dress and linen bolero
Cotton poplin Vintage Vogue dress and linen bolero
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Ditsy Floral Needlecord Cotton Baby Dress and Blue Cotton Twill Romper

cotton corduroy romper and dress and leggings

Floral printed needlecord cotton dress with pink marl jersey, and blue twill cotton romper with contrast pockets.

Fabrics and Notions:
Ditsy floral printed needlecord cotton
Polka dot lawn (lining)
Pink marl cotton elastane jersey
Blue twill cotton
Spotty cotton
Elastic
Poppers
Piping
Rickrack trim
Bias Binding

Pattern: Ottobre magazine

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Cotton Drill Twister Skirt and Wool Mesh Hoody with Ears

cotton drill zippy twister skirt and wool gauze jersey hoody with ears

Megan wears chartreuse cotton drill A-line skirt with a spiral zip inserted, worn with a grey wool mesh hoody top with ears, designed by Bess

Fabrics and Notions:
Skirt:
Charteuse cotton drill
White continuouse zipping
Viscose acetate spot print lining (Inside zip)
Black venezia lining
Invisible zip
Bias binding
Black fold-over grosgrain binding
Top:
Wool stretch mesh
Stretch semi-sheer turquoise lycra binding

Patterns: Bess’s own

Modelled below by Bronte showing what happens when you undo the zip

unzipped continuous zipping twister skirt
unzipped continuous zipping twister skirt
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Green Spotty Dress and Raincoat

spotty cotton dress and raincoat

Clair wearing Off-white raincoat with Kaffe Fassett Green spotty panelled dress.
Fabrics and Notions (raincoat):
Proofed cotton
Kaffe Fassett spotty printed cotton (lining)
Double cover buttons
Piping cord with self-made bias binding
Viscose iron-on interfacing.
Pattern: McCall’s 5525

Fabrics and Notions (dress)
Green Kaffe Fassett spotty printed cotton
Green Venezia lining
Invisible zip
Piping cord and bias binding
Knitted medium weight iron- on interfacing

Clair, being the queen of matchy-matchy fashion excelled herself here with this summer-weight all-weather ensemble. Proofed fabrics will need a sharp, fine needle, such as ‘super-stitch’ or those intended for use on microfibre

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Red Robot Print A-Line Dress

red robot print cotton dress

Cheryl stood outside our shop wearing a red robot printed cotton dress

Fabrics and Notions:
Red robot print cotton
Invisible zip
Medium weight iron-on interfacing

This style dress is easy to make and will often not even need a zip, a great choice for beginners, or those who want to knock something up quickly. For best results choose an interesting print and let the fabric do the talking, or trim a plain fabric with ribbons, bindings or braids around the hem and neckline. This style also works really well in jersey.

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Pink and Yellow Cupcake Outfit

tina givens cupcake dress in pink and yellow spotty bubble cotton

KitCat with her Tina Givens cupcake ensemble in pink and yellow bubble cotton

Fabrics and Notions:
Pink and yellow spotty bubble cotton
Lightweight knitted iron-on interfacing
Button
Elastic
Pattern: Tina Givens Cupcakes

Bubble cotton, like the rest of the seersucker cotton family, is a great choice of fabric for children as there is minimal ironing required whilst still retaining the natural fibre content.