stripey green coco dress

This might just win "comfiest dress in the world" award. It hits the perfect balance of being loose yet has enough shape to not fall into bag lady or nightie territory. It's made from gorgeously thick, soft, orangic interlock knit. It's stripey. Aaaand it has pockets. I need one in every colour, please.

However I think I can easily hand myself "idiot of the year" award for the making of this dress. I don't know why, but cutting the pieces out and getting the stripes to match was SO DAMN HARD. I even cut on the flat to ensure my stripes didn't shift, yet they still looked wonky! Figuring out whether it was possible to make the sleeves stripes match the dress stripes almost made my head implode. What should have taken no more than an hour took most of an afternoon.

 (Eventually) matching stripes, like a boss!

I think the main problem stemmed from being overly tired at the time, but I'd also like to blame the prewashing of the fabric. There were definitely areas in my fabric, the edges especially, which stretched significantly so some of the stripes were reluctant to match up. I'm starting to think that unless I block the fabric flat, like you would with a knitted garment, it's going to stretch. Grrrrr.

I was worried I might need a swayback adjustment, but I think the fit is fine. Wooh!

Idiot moment number two was staystitching the neckline incorrectly. I don't know what possessed me, but I just sewed from one shoulder to the other on both pieces(!!) before remembering that is not how you staystitch, so I unpicked it and did it correctly. Thankfully I don't think my blunder stretched the neckline out of shape.

Idiot moment number three was sewing the first pocket on sideways. A definite facepalm moment. Stupidity, like good things, must come in threes. So I unpicked that too. I highly doubt sideways pocket are an up and coming trend.

Now for the intentional adjustments. I cut a size 3 and made the following alterations:

• 1/4" round upper back adjustment
• shortened the sleeves to match those on my Emery dress
• made the pockets at least an 1" bigger (for my big man hands?)
• added 2" in length for my height (I'm almost 5ft 8")

I'm getting braver at overlocking closer to my main stitching line!

Despite my blunders I absolutely LOVE this dress and suspect it will get worn to pieces. I'm even willing to go through the trauma of cutting and matching stripes all over again to have another stripey coco in rotation!

late to the coco party

I've finally joined the sewing with knits club! And where better to start than Tilly Walnes' cute and simple Coco pattern. Although I love sewing cotton dresses and they definitely fill a gap in my wardrobe, the majority of my day to day wear consists of jersey and knit pieces so I want to be able to make some comfortable basics as well as the fun stuff.

For my first Coco top I used a plain, dusky purple interlock knit so I didn't need to worry about pattern matching. I very much approached this project as a wearable toile/muslin and thankfully it turned out wearable!

I cut a size 4 for the shoulders and bust and graded down to a 3 at the waist as my bust measurement fell into a bigger size on the chart and I'm aware have fairly substantial shoulders. As you can see the finished top is quite roomy and actually drops off my shoulders so I have retraced the pattern and cut a straight 3 for my second version (oh yes, there's another Coco already!) The slouchy fit on this however doesn't bother me. It's nice to have a relaxed top which I can layer with vests.

The only other alteration I made to this pattern was a 1/4 inch high round back adjustment and when I was finishing the top I only turned up the hems by 1/2 inch as I needed the length.

The shoulder seams still pull back slightly but I'm unsure how to correct this. If I increase the high round back adjustment any further I risk really distorting my back neckline and would need neckdarts to correct the position. I've debated making a forward shoulder adjustment as it's a common alteration made in conjunction with high round backs and I used it on my sleeved Elisalex dress, but I don't think forward shoulders are my problem. I don't have a hunched position, my shoulder blades are just massive! Perhaps that adjustment is used to correct both problems? Any insight on this matter is appreciated!

I think my favourite thing about this project was using a twin ballpoint needle, I felt like such a pro. My sewing machine doesn't have a second spool holder though so the spool ended up twirling around in a little bowl next to the machine. Look at my sleeves and main hem. Swish!

However the twin needle did not like the sticky hemming tape I used to stabilise the neckline and ended up skipping quite a few stitches, especially around the shoulders. I've chosen not to be too bothered by it though and just won't use that tape again. To be honest it made turning over the neckline a total pain.

I also got to use my overlocker on a knit fabric. Yay for fancy insides. I still did all the construction on my sewing machine as I am not confident enough to steer with my overlocker yet. It moves so fast and has a mind of its own. It's safer just to use it for finishing edges for the time being.

So all in all I'd say this was a fairly successful project. I didn't find the knit fabric too difficult to sew, probably because I've sewn with worse things already (I'm looking at you slippery lining fabric, grrrr) and I've already worn the top a few times. I like the gentle, flared shape over the hips and the side splits - nice details for an otherwise plain top.

The most interesting discovery I've made is that I actually feel a bit weird wearing a completely solid coloured top. I find myself needing to wear fun necklaces to make it feel more "me". I am a pattern person at heart (not that you can tell from my wallpaper....) however I recognise it's handy to own a couple of plain tops.

I shall return soon to reveal Coco number 2..... in dress form..... in pattern..... with POCKETS!

carrot bundt cake

Another birthday cake! There have been 4 family birthdays in the last few weeks so I have been very busy in the kitchen. This one was for brother number 2 last weekend. He loves carrot cake so his birthday cake choice was a no brainer.

It turns out that Hummingbird Bakery triple layer cake recipes, or certainly the carrot cake one, fill a 10 inch ring/bundt tin perfectly! I decided to revisit this recipe after not feeling fully satisfied with the one I made a couple of weeks ago.

I've come to the conclusion that for topping carrot cakes I like a higher quantity of cream cheese in my cream cheese icing. The Hummingbird Bakery's cream cheese icing has a bit too much icing sugar in it for my carrot cake tastes. A different cream cheese icing on top made the world of difference, to me anyway!

I've also come to the conclusion that I prefer walnuts to pecans in carrot cake (despite liking pecans as a nut more) and I like the cake served as a big slab rather than cut into multiple layers. I think it makes more of the rustic texture. I like being able to see the carrot gratings and big chunks of (wal)nuts. Does that make sense?

Who would have thought I'd become such a fussy bugger with carrot cake. What an odd discovery.

What's your favourite carrot cake recipe? Any other fussy carrot cake eaters out there?

Carrot bundt cake

Cake recipe same as here. 

Changes included using walnuts instead of pecans and a 10 inch/ 25.5cm bundt tin instead of three 8 inch/ 20cm cake tins. Grease the tin thoroughly with cake release spray and a dusting of plain flour. Tip any excess flour out into the sink. Bake at the same temperature but extend the baking time to roughly 1 hour until well risen, firm to touch and a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean. Leave to cool in the tin for 10 minutes before inverting onto a wire cooling rack.

cream cheese icing:

100g icing sugar (roughly, I ended up adding a bit more)

175g full fat cream cheese

50g softened butter

a few drops of vanilla extract

Put the icing sugar, cream cheese, butter and vanilla in a bowl and mix together until smooth. Add more icing sugar if you feel the mixture needs thickening or sweetening. Cover the whole (cooled) cake with the icing and decorate with a dusting of ground cinnamon and extra crushed walnuts.

good things come in threes

I think I've discovered the key to charity shop success... booking health related check ups. Seriously. I found my gorgeous Royal Winton yellow cake plate after a trip to the dentist and this time I found a tray, pyrex serving dish AND an awesome pair of trousers after visiting the optician.

I've been hankering after one of these oval serving dishes with a divider for ages and was absolutely delighted to find a pink pyrex version. I usually only come across white pyrex with floral patterns so it's exciting to come across solid coloured pieces. It has a couple of marks and chips but still perfectly loveable and functional. I can't wait to use it!

After picking up my pyrex dish I spotted this tray. Although I generally find I'm less attracted to big, blousey florals these days I completely fell in love with this tray. It's actually very similar to one of my Mum's old trays. Tray twins!

And my third purchase...... super duper totally awesome high waisted sailor trousers. LOOK AT THOSE BUTTONS! 

I used to have a pair of sailor trousers when I was at university but they weren't half as flattering as these and they eventually became too big for me. I rarely find trousers in my size and length in charity shops (I'm convinced only really short people put trousers to charity shops near me) so you can imagine my delight at finding these beauties.

They fit unbelieveably well, like they were made for me! I think the creasing in the photograph is just due to my hands being in my pockets, plus I had already worn the trousers for a full day. The other incredible thing about these trousers is that they look completely unworn. The denim is unblemished and the back pockets haven't been unpicked. I can't believe my luck - perfect trousers for £3. These are going to get worn to pieces.

£5 worth of shopping in total - not bad!

happy house birthday cake.... and a tractor

My eldest brother recently received planning permission to start building his new house (woohoo!) so naturally his birthday cake this year featured a house. To keep the cake nice and "manly" I used square sandwich tins. It made a fun change to my usual round sponges.

Such fine drawing skills comes from years of art school training. You can see from the level of detail on the roof and windows that I have a painting degree. Hahaha!

I originally intended to ice the sides of the cake as well but ended up having a bit of a jam explosion. That's what happens when you go, "ah there's not much left in the jar, I might as well use it all." I think it adds to the fun character of the cake though. It's a cake to make you smile.

As my brother says, it's hard to go wrong with a plain sponge cake. It just works. And the more jam, the better!!

And lastly... a tractor cake for my youngest nephew's birthday. It's non stop birthdays in my family at the moment. This probably isn't my finest work, but it does resemble a tractor so it's all good. Fondant modelling definitely requires more patience and precision than I posess!

That's meant to be my nephew in a boiler suit jumping out of a tractor. Classy work.

Happy house sponge cake

8oz caster sugar

8oz margarine/softened butter

4 large eggs

8 oz self raising flour, sifted

filling and icing:

a jar of strawberry jam 

a pack of writing icing pens

350g icing sugar 

125g softened butter

2 tbsp milk

a few drops of vanilla extract (optional)

Preheat the oven to 180C/160C Fan/Gas 4. Grease and line two 18cm/ 7 inch square cake tins. Beat together the sugar and butter/margarine for 5 minutes with your mixer until pale, soft and very fluffy. Crack the eggs into a jug and lightly whip together with a fork before gradually adding to the sugar mixture, mixing well after each addition. Add a tablespoon of the flour with the last lot of egg if the cake mixture starts to curdle/split. Add the remaining flour and mix until fully combined. 

Divide the mixture between the two tins and bake in the centre of the oven for about 25 minutes until well risen, golden and firm to touch. Leave in the tins for a few minutes before transferring to a wire rack to finish cooling.

Beat together the icing sugar, butter, milk and vanilla for about 5 minutes until light and fluffy. Use half the icing to sandwich the sponges together along with a generous spread of jam. Top the cake with the remaining icing and decorate with a writing icing or sprinkles.

banana cupcakes with malted chocolate icing

I have made so many banana bakes over the last few weeks it's getting ridiculous. Bananas appear to brown at the speed of light around here. I wasn't going to bother blogging these as I used the same recipe as this loaf cake I posted not long ago, but I felt the need to rave about the malted chocolate butter icing. It's that good!

The icing is so silky soft it's almost mousse like in texture. It just melts in your mouth, wrapping around a soft, sweet banana crumb. Banana and chocolate is an excellent combination but banana and malted chocolate is even better. I honestly cannot rave about it enough.

I came across the icing on Laura's blog, I'd Much Rather Bake Than..., last week and immediately bookmarked her post. As you can see the icing pipes beautiful soft swirls. I imagine it would be very satisfying to cover a full cake too. Next time I'll need to pair it up with chocolate cake for full on swirling and indulgence.

On a separate note, do you like my new cake plate? It's a Royal Winton Grimwades piece, my "ultimate" china brand, and I couldn't contain my excitement when I found it in a second hand shop a few weeks ago after visiting the dentist. I told the cashier I was rewarding myself for not needing any fillings.

Has anybody else had good luck in second hand shops recently? I've found some brilliant pieces in the last couple of weeks and I'm looking forward to organising a blog post about them soon.