festive makes and bakes

I'm squeezing in one last blog post this year - my festive makes and bakes.

Personally, it isn't Christmas without pervy gingerbread Santas and boobie angel. And dinosaurs. It has been a tradition of mine for quite a few years now and they always go down a treat. I made these for a Christmas party and they caused an absolute sensation. I have never seen so many grown adults get so excited about a tray of biscuits. It was hilarious to witness.

I acquired two new biscuit cutters this year for a bit of variety - a Santa and reindeer. The Santas in particular looked really fancy once decorated but man were they labour intensive to do. I'm glad I only had a handful of them to decorate, otherwise I'd be sitting there icing for days!

In addition to gingerbread biscuits I made an industrial supply of shortbread and tablet to give as presents to family. (I have a lot of family!) The amount of sugar and butter I went through was positively obscene.

Sadly all my baking ground to a halt after the shortbread and tablet marathon as I caught a nasty cold. I just managed to make a trifle for Christmas day but didn't manage to bake anything new which was a shame.

Now onto the makes! I knitted a couple of small, silly presents and first up is this snazzy penguin. I found him a bit fiddly to put together but the end result was worth it as he looks so cute and cosy in his big jumper.

The pattern came from a book I received last Christmas called "Mini Knitted Christmas" by Sue Stratford. It has loads of funny, little festive projects which kept my Mum and me occupied through most of December. It's hard to beat a bit of knitting whilst watching terrible Christmas films about incomplete women who need a boyfriend for Christmas or vice versa. And everybody is either called Holly, Chris or Nick. It's Christmas film law.

I also knitted a gingerbread couple from the same book. They're so hilariously odd yet adorable. I photographed them against my gingerbread man dress as I couldn't resist being a matchy dork.

My last piece of random knitting was this ginger cat. The pattern is called "Beans" and is a free Ravelry download by Linda Dawkins. It only dawned on me afterwards that the cat looks more Baked Beans coloured than ginger which made me laugh. Either way, it's a cute cat and I learned how to knit an i-cord.

And last up is a sewn present. For the first time ever I was completely stumped on what to get my Mum for Christmas, so after a bit of discussion I agreed to sew her a new apron. She picked out the fabrics (spotty and gingham heavy cottons) and told me what kind of style she liked and I drafted something suitable.

I tried my absolute best to sew and finish to the best of my capabilities and I'm really pleased with how the apron turned out. My Mum is delighted with it too which is the main thing. She loves all the handy pockets, the broad straps and that the whole thing matches her kitchen perfectly.

And that's it from me this year. I intended to do a big round up of all my makes and bakes from this year but I'm afraid I've run out of steam. I'll probably do one in the new year though as I've enjoyed doing them in previous years. In the meantime, I wish you all a happy and creative 2017! x

festive franken-dress

I had no plans to make a Christmas dress this year, however as soon as I saw this adorable gingerbread man fabric on Minerva Crafts website a couple of weeks ago I knew it had to happen. At a mere £2.99 per metre it would have been rude *not* to buy it.

The dress bodice is a surprisingly successful franken-pattern comprising of New Look 6723 (view B) and By Hand London Elisalex.  The skirt is just a basic, gathered rectangle with in seams pockets from Christine Haynes' Emery dress.

I don't know what kind of mysterious magic happened during this process, but this is the best fit I've ever achieved across my shoulders/upper back on a cotton dress with a high back. Usually the whole bodice wants to pull backwards off my shoulders, but this one is sitting pretty. It's a Christmas miracle!!

Here's the breakdown of my festive franken-dress:

• New Look 6723 view B, size 12 shoulder height

• Deepened the neckline by at least 2 inches

• Cut size 14 at the armpit and graded out to 5/8 inch wider at the top of each shoulder.

• Blended the New Look pattern into BHL Elisalex from the armpit downwards for the princess seams and bodice length (my previous alterations for size 12 Elisalex include a 1 1/2 inch (overall) full bust adjustment, deepening the armhole by 1/2 inch and lengthening the bodice by 5/8 inch.)

• added 1/2" extra waist ease in total at the side seams (to allow me to eat more pudding, hehe)

• sewed the skirt to the bodice with a 1/2 inch seam allowance as I wanted a bit more bodice length.

Initially I planned to just try out the New Look pattern, as I wanted a princess seam bodice with a high back neckline so I could use this red, lace exposed zip. Usually I am not a fan of exposed zips, but I think these lace ones are rather pretty.

However after a quick toile I could see that the fit of the princess seams were way off, sitting about an inch too wide to the side of my bust (?!?) and going down a size didn't help much. The neckline also sat stranglingly high so the whole thing would have taken a lot of altering to work for me. I didn't have the time to faff around so I blended the pattern with By Hand London's Elisalex as I've already altered the princess seams on Elisalex to fit me really well.

I still can't believe how well my combination worked out. I could probably scoop out the front armhole a tiny bit considering this is sleeveless, but other than that I love it and felt very comfortable wearing it on Christmas day. I'll have to make another version out of non festive fabric... and maybe try adding sleeves! Honestly, this is so exciting for me!

The fabric isn't the best quality - there were a couple of flaws and the grainline was very wonky in relation to the selvedge - but it's cheap and cheerful and the resulting dress makes me smile. I chose an alternate colourway for the lining and pocket bags for a bit of fun and it actually feels softer than the main fabric. I'm guessing because it contains less fabric dye?

So many happy gingerbread men!

I'm hoping to get a couple of more wears out of this dress before it gets packed away for next Christmas. The print is just too cute to only wear once this year.

Hope everybody had an enjoyable Christmas!

mini festive jumper garland

Teeny tiny knitted Christmas jumpers! These are quite possibly the cutest things I have ever knitted.

The pattern is by Sue Stratford and free on Ravelry if anyone else fancies a last minute festive knitting project. They're relatively quick to make as I averaged a jumper per evening. Each jumper is knitted flat then seamed together and the charted designs can be embroidered on or knitted. I chose to knit as I wanted more practise at stranded knitting.

 This is my "I CAN KNIT ALL THE JUMPERSSS" face.

I added snow to the snowman jumper as it thought it looked cute.

I used all 6 of the charted designs which came with the pattern then made up two other designs, the pudding and the fair isle patterns, as I fancied making more jumpers.

I ended up doing a tiny bit of embroidery for the holly berries.

I'm tempted to dig out my old Barbies as I'm pretty sure these jumpers would fit them. Cool idea or a step too far? :D

How's everyone's Christmas preparations coming along? One week to go! In the past three days I have baked a ridiculous amount of gingerbread, shortbread and tablet to give as presents and now I've come down with a horrible cold. Boooo! Next I need to finish sewing my Christmas dress. I'm really excited about it.

an Agnes trio

I've been thinking about my clothing choices a lot this year and came to the conclusion that I wear a lot of jersey so it would make sense to try my hand at sewing basic jersey tops. Enter Tilly and the Buttons' Agnes pattern!

I doubt I'll ever sew the other variation with the ruched sleeves as my "moulders" (man shoulders) do not need accentuating, but the plain neckline and sleeves are very much my style. For my first attempt I went with the long sleeves using a gold-mustard and ivory stripe jersey I purchased from Girl Charlee.

Initial pattern alterations were lengthening the body and sleeves by an inch and grading from a size 4 at the shoulders and bust down to a 3 for the waist and hips. Construction wise I mostly used my sewing machine with a ball point needle and my new walking foot (such a great investment!) and my overlocker for finishing edges.

For the hems and neckline I used a zig zag stitch thinking it would look funky with the stripes and contrasting stripe neckband. Unfortunately I'm not a fan of it. I have no real reasons why, just personal taste I guess.

Somewhat stupidly I didn't consider the stretch percentage of my jersey before cutting out my pattern so this top ended up on the snug side. I gave myself as much extra space as possible by sewing the sleeves and side seams with a 1/4 inch seam allowance. It's not unwearable by any means, but tighter than I normally prefer. It's also a little bit see through but fine for wearing underneath pinafores, dungarees or wooly jumpers.

For version two in the same fabric I cut out the shorter, elbow length sleeves and made further fitting alterations. I lowered the armhole by 1/4 inch, extended the side seam at the armhole by 1/4 inch, added 1/2 inch to each side of the sleeve at the top (to match the armhole adjustments), used 1/4 inch seam allowance again on the sleeves and side seams and redrew the side seams to be an inch wider at the waist. Although the first top hugs my shape beautifully I think I prefer a less curvy cut for my t-shirts.

I also cut a plain neck band and used my twin needle for hems. I much prefer the look, fit and finish of this top. Scooping out the armhole gives a much more comfortable fit around the armpit and upper arm. I also absolutely love the elbow length sleeves - it adds a touch of elegance to a basic t-shirt. I always feel a bit "busting out the guns" in a traditional cap sleeve so it's welcome change to feel like I have elegant arms!

Since I was on a bit of a jersey roll I decided to refashion my first jersey project from last year, my purple Coco top. It just didn't get worn as it was so baggy and plain it made me feel "bleugh". I also felt the weight of the fabric was too light for the pattern - it's interlock jersey, but quite a lightweight one in comparison to my coco dress (which I love!) The fabric also had inexplicable faded patches which is strange considering the top has barely been worn/washed. I had nothing to lose by butchering it.

By cutting all my seam allowances down to 1/4" I juuuust managed to squeeze my Agnes pattern pieces onto the dissembled Coco, although I had to sacrifice some length. My only other pattern alteration was tapering up to a 5/8 inch seam allowance around the armhole and bust. This fabric is stretchier than the Girl Charlee jersey which resulted in a lot of fabric folds under the armpit when I initially tried it on. Raising the armhole and slimming down the bust area definitely reduced a lot of the wrinkling.

Now I have a much more wearable top! It's really soft and cosy as it's a heavier weight jersey and the extra stretch content means I have a better fit across the shoulders. I think it'll get much more wear as an Agnes than a Coco.

I thought I might find sewing basic, jersey t-shirts a bit dull but I actually really enjoyed the process. There's something rather satisfying about attaching and topstitching a jersey neckband. I also absolutely LOVE how forgiving jersey is when it comes to fitting. I was all ready to progress onto a Kitschy Coo Lady Skater dress however it has been temporarily shelved in favour of something more festive. I wasn't planning on making a Christmas dress this year but a festive fabric called to me...

knitted: green cables hat

After learning stranded knitting last month I decided to undertake another new knitting challenge: cables! It looks all fancy-pants and complicated but actually is a deceptively straight forward technique.

The pattern is called "close cables hat" by Anna and Heidi Pickles and like my fingerless gloves it's a free Ravelry download (update: arrghh, the pattern has been removed, sorry! I must have got it in the nick of time.) I came across the pattern through Elise, so thanks Elise! It was a very satisfying knit as it only took a couple of evenings to make. It also gave me the opportunity to make a pom pom which I haven't done in YEARS. Man I love a big pom pom.

(After seeing this photo I'm wondering whether I should have trimmed it better, haha.)

After reading other knitters comments about the hat being too small/short I went a half size larger with my needles and added 4 extra rows of K6, P1 after row 10 in the decrease section. I'm happy with the finished size as it easily covers my ears (I hate having cold ears!) and has a little slouch. My only worry is that it's already on the large side and it will likely stretch with wear as I used an acrylic/wool mix yarn (Hayfield Chunky with Wool in Olive.) Worst comes to worst I can always thread some elastic through the ribbing.

In the meantime I have an exceptionally comfy hat which can easily be pulled on or off without disrupting my hair clips. This is a big positive for anybody like myself who is in that awkward phase of growing out their fringe. I'm also loving how zingy the green looks next to my orange coat.

On a side note, it's really difficult to take photoraphs of yourself in a massive hat whilst holding a camera. It's an entertaining work out to achieve the composition you're after!

knitted: cosy kites

My old shop bought fingerless gloves have definitely seen better days so I thought it was time to knit myself a new pair. I also fancied trying my hand at stranded knitting and gloves seemed like a sensible place to start.

It turns out stranded knitting isn't as scary as I thought! Saying that, I could not get the hang of holding a colour in each hand so I carried everything with my right, picking up and setting down strands when needed. This resulted in a tangled mess which needed untwisting after every round, but hey, I got there in the end.

The pattern is "Kites" by Simone Bechtold and a free Ravelry download - gotta love a free pattern! I think it's a great beginner project for stranded knitting as the triangle pattern repeat is clear to follow and the gloves themselves involve minimal shaping which makes them easy to customise. (I made a couple of modifications which can be found on my ravelry project page) I also love how simple yet effective the thumb detail looks, I haven't seen anything like that on gloves before.

My only real difficulty with this project was choosing my colours as colour possibilities are endless! Ultimately I knew I wanted my gloves to match my orange winter coat I bought last year so I went with a funky combination of orange, green and a pinky-purple. The orange and green are both J.C. Rennie Unique Shetland yarn in colourways 1016 cantaloupe and 207 stonehenge and the purple is Jamiesons of Shetland Spindrift 563 rouge.

I'm really pleased with how my gloves have turned out. At first they were a bit on the snug side (I have fairly large hands) but after a wash and a few wears they've stretched comfortably. I can see gloves these being surgically attached to my hands all winter!

mustard and funky triangles

I made a new skirt! I'm resisting the urge to shout "ta-daaah!" but that's basically what I want to say every time I finish a sewing project. I'm so slow that it always feels like a massive achievement, like I've climbed the top of a mountain.

This is a Tilly and the Buttons Arielle skirt in a fantastically funky needlecord which I purchased from Fabric Rehab earlier this year. I'm absolutely gutted to hear that they are closing down as they are one of my favourite places for finding fabric in fun prints.

There were three "firsts" with this skirt: catchstitching a hem, making covered buttons (OH MY GOD SO BEAUTIFUL, COVERED BUTTONS ON EVERYTHING) and multiple buttonholes. Learning is fun! I'm embarrassed that it has taken me almost a year to use the automatic buttonhole function on my new sewing machine (I upgraded last Christmas). I genuinely squealed with delight as I couldn't believe how easily it produced a buttonhole. It's so much better than the 4 step buttonhole function on my old Singer, which I only tried once. I definitely feel the urge to make more items with buttonholes.

I'm also feeling rather smug about the insides of this skirt, it's so pleasingly neat!

Easing the lining into the facing at the inside curve was a bit tricky, so the facing looks a bit manhandled there, but other than that I think the finish looks really professional. All the understitching and sharp, turned out corners make me very happy. I also french seamed my lining pieces and catchstitched the skirt hem for even more neat construction bonus points.

My waist and hip measurements fall into size 3 so that's what I cut out. My only alteration was adding an extra buttonhole, which gave me around 3 inches extra length, as I felt the mini version really would be too mini on me. (For reference, I'm somewhere between 5ft 7"-8".) I really like the finished length - cute but not so short that I feel self conscious.

The fit is very flattering however it is *very* fitted, not a skirt to be lunging in or climbing over fences. It's for "ladylike" days, haha. Ideally I'd prefer more room for movement but I think that's just because I'm used to wearing flared styles whereas this is straight. If I had made this skirt in a fabric with a bit of stretch then it would be perfect.

I did adjust the side seams a little bit afterwards, grading out 1/8 inch each side from the hip to the hem. However I then realised that unless I adjust the lining pieces as well then the first alteration doesn't make much difference. I can't be bothered unpicking french seams (uggghh) so it's staying as it is.

 Man I love those covered buttons.

That's not to say I don't love this skirt because I really do think it's beautiful, but it might not get worn as frequently as others due to practicality. However it will be handy in wild, winter weather: no fear of this skirt blowing up in the wind!

I'm on a bit of a creative roll at the moment as I've finished two knitting projects and I'm currently having sewing adventures with jersey. Blog posts coming soon!

apple, cinnamon and maple syrup cupcakes

....and fairy cakes. I couldn't decide which size to go for so I made both.

After seeing Sammie's maple syrup frosted apple cupcakes last week I immediately felt compelled to bake apple and maple syrup cupcakes, only I fancied pairing mine with cinnamon and a maple cream cheese icing. Other than that, the recipe is essentially the same, but Sammie's look way more photogenic. Haha! I intended to pipe my icing but there was a lot of air trapped in the piping bag which made the icing burst out the nozzle in a very uneven manner, so out came the palette knife to smooth everything over. I also didn't make enough icing which was a bit stupid. It's the flavour that counts, right?

It's hard to go wrong with apple, cinnamon and maple syrup; they're such classic, warm, autumnal flavours. The apples are grated into the mixture, rather than chopped, so the flavour is distributed evenly through the sponges. I don't think I need to elaborate much on the maple syrup cream cheese icing - it's very, very tasty.

Please don't be put off by my dull presentation, these are lovely, little cakes.

apple, cinnamon and maple syrup cupcakes

sponges:
6oz (175g) softened butter/margarine

6oz (175g) soft light brown sugar

3 large eggs

1 tsp maple syrup

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

7oz (200g) self raising flour

2 eating apples, grated (mine weighed about 5oz)

icing:
(this is enough to lightly cover 24 fairy cakes and a few cupcakes but I'd double, at least, if you want to pipe it on in swirls)
50g softened butter
100g cream cheese
125g icing sugar 
a few drops (or however much you fancy) of maple syrup

For cupcakes, preheat the oven to 180C/160C Fan/Gas 4. For fairy cakes preheat to 200C/180C Fan/Gas 6. Fill your cupcake/bun trays with paper cases. In a large bowl beat together the margarine and sugar for about 5 minutes until light and fluffy. Add the eggs to the mixture one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add a tablespoon of the flour with the last egg to prevent the mixture from splitting. Add the maple syrup and cinnamon followed by the flour and mix together until fully combined. Grate the apples and stir them into the mixture - you'll need to work quickly with the grater as apples brown quickly.

Spoon the mixture into the cake cases, filling them about 2/3 full. Bake in the oven for 25-30 minutes (12-15 minutes for fairy cakes as they're smaller) until well risen, golden and spring back when touched. Leave to cool in the tins for a couple of minutes before turning out onto a wire rack to finish cooling.

For the icing, beat the butter until smooth then add the icing sugar. Once combined, add the cream cheese and the maple syrup and mix until the icing is light and fluffy. Feel free to adjust amounts to personal taste or if you want a different consistency. Spread the icing on top with a palette knife or pipe it on with a piping bag and nozzle.

a slightly underbaked maple syrup and pumpkin cake

My first bake on the blog in weeks and my first foray into baking with pumpkins, but sadly it didn't quite work. The cake skewer came out clean and the cake felt firm BUT MY CAKE SKEWER LIED. It became apparent that more baking was required once I cut into the cake.

However despite the very dense texture the flavours were lovely. I have to admit I was sceptical about baking with pumpkins (no idea why, just one of those unfounded notions) so I'm happy to have been proven wrong.

It tasted similar to a well spiced carrot cake but with the bonus addition of maple syrup. I added a few drops of maple syrup to the cream cheese icing as well which made it ridiculously tasty. I'll certainly try the recipe again and give it a little longer in the oven.

"Why suddenly bake with pumpkin when you think you dislike pumpkin?" I hear you ask. Well, I carved a small pumpkin this Hallowe'en in addition to my usual neepie lanterns ("neep" is Scots for turnip) and couldn't bear to waste the innards. I still think I prefer carving neeps as I like the physical challenge the Scottish tradition, however I enjoyed the orange glow of a pumpkin.

My neepie and pumpkin are on the far right. I appear to have a thing for angry teeth - it's probably the Nicolas Cage influence.

In the spirit of thriftiness I also roasted the pumpkin seeds - one tray with olive oil and a sprinkling of salt and the other with oil and chilli powder/cayenne pepper. They were so tasty, bordering on addictive!

Maple syrup and pumpkin cake

Recipe adapted from a thanksgiving pumpkin cake in the "Clandestine Cake Club Cookbook" - I halved quantities to suit the amount of pumpkin puree I had, which resulted in a teeny weeny 6 inch cake.

for the cake:
125g plain flour

50g caster sugar

50g soft dark brown sugar

1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp mixed spice/ ground ginger

2 tbsp maple syrup
1/4 tsp salt

125g pumpkin puree
1 egg

60 ml sunflower oil

for the icing:
25g softened butter
50g cream cheese
50g icing sugar (I ended up adding a couple more spoonfuls to thicken my icing)
few drops of maple syrup

Preheat the oven to 200C/ Fan 180C/ Gas 6. Grease and line a 6 inch round cake tin. Mix together the flour, sugars, baking powder, spices, salt and maple syrup in a large bowl. Add the pumpkin puree, oil and eggs and mix together (in a stand mixer or with a handheld mixer) until everything is well combined.

Pour the cake mixture into the tin and bake in the middle of the oven for 25-30 minutes until risen, firm to touch and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Leave the cake in the tin for a few minutes before turning out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

For the icing, beat the butter until smooth then add the icing sugar. Once combined, add the cream cheese and the maple syrup and mix until the icing is light and fluffy. Feel free to add more cream cheese or icing to adjust the consistency or flavour to personal taste. Spread the icing on top of the cooled cake and finish with a dusting of icing sugar.

a birthday of pink houses, trifle, marshmallows, wool and Nic Cage

Well if that title doesn't make you want to read this blog post I don't know what will. Haha!

It was my birthday at the beginning of the month and following on from last year's Highland adventure I decided to spend this year's birthday tour in another area of Scotland I haven't explored: Dumfries and Galloway. On my actual birthday we drove to the lighthouse on the Mull of Galloway and had lunch in the cafe next door which casually sits ON THE EDGE OF THE CLIFF. Then we went to Portpatrick where I visited an old castle, lounged on a massive playpark swing and admired this pink house.

I want a pink house!

In the evening Mum rustled together a spectacular trifle. Last year's trifle was such a success that we decided to do it again. This one contained bananas and blueberries in addition to the usual strawberries and peaches which was a fun surprise.

As usual my friends and family manage to find hilarious, thoughtful and just generally very "me" birthday presents. Whilst we were on holiday we briefly stopped in Glasgow where Mum allowed me a length of fabric, wool and sewing pattern of choice so I picked a rich green needlecord for a Turia dungaree/pinafore dress, chunky turquoise wool (perhaps for a hat) and Tilly and the Button's Agnes pattern so I can have a crack at making jersey tops.

I also received a teeny tiny pink gingham sewing machine brooch (so cute!!), a french curve for pattern drafting, delicious marshmallows from Dumfries and Galloway (as you can tell I've almost finished the raspberry flavour - it is utterly delicious) and a couple of new baking books from friends.

Quite quite possibly best of all was my brother's present: a life size cardboard cut out Nicolas Cage.

Just.... WOW. He can keep Superman company.

I don't think enough people understand the sheer genius and hilarity of Nic Cage. The dedication and emotion he throws at every role, regardless of how shit the film is, is astounding. I also can't believe it has taken me until now to see "Vampire's Kiss." If you haven't already seen it then I implore you to do so. Once again, just... wow. First class entertainment.

What has everyone else been up to this month? Any other Nic Cage fans out there?

dreamy pink gingham

I'm too late for Karen's Ginghamalong and too late for summer, but boy do I love my latest dress.

I've been stalking the latest Cotton and Steel Checkers range, swooning over all the colours, and pounced when it was finally in stock online at the Village Haberdashery last month. I've also been stalking the release of By Hand London's latest pdf pattern, the Charlie dress, so pounced on that too when it became available. I knew this fabric and pattern would be perfect together.

The Charlie dress has a cute bandeau style bodice with princess seams and a side zip. I think this is my favourite bodice shape I've made yet. The lack of armscye shaping and upper back coverage meant I had no fitting issues. Big thumbs up for those with big shoulders and shoulder blades! I was surprised I didn't even need to lengthen the bodice by my usual 1/2 inch. My only fitting alterations were adjusting the length of the straps and their position on the front bodice - moving them from the centre of the princess seams to the side for better braa coverage.

The straps are sandwiched between the bodice and the fold over band so any adjustments need to be done before the neckline is sewn down. I thought I had done this, but either I was wearing poor underwear the day I fitted my bodice toile or the weight of the skirt on my finished dress pulled the whole bodice too low. I couldn't face unpicking overlocking, understitching and the seam, so I folded the straps and tucked them down at the back on the inside, hiding my hand stitches underneath the band so nothing is visible from the front. I'll make sure the straps are the correct length next time. For reference I shortened the straps by 2.5 inches.

I also decided not to clip into the curves of the princess seams as I thought it would look scruffy on an unlined bodice. Instead I trimmed the seam allowance to just under 1/4inch and used an overlock function on my sewing machine to finish off the edges as I didn't trust myself to sew such a slim edge on the overlocker. Ideally I would prefer a lined bodice as it looks neater, but that might create too much bulk at the neckline with the band.

My only other changes were down to personal taste, such as swapping out the skirt on the pattern for a plain gathered one. I also added patch pockets with little folded corners and a button, inspired by Tassadit's adorable pomme dress last year. I love a good pocket and I'm a chronic button hoarder so these pockets make me very happy. They certainly add to the overall cuteness of the dress.

My only grumbles with this dress were the wrinkles, (man this cotton loves to wrinkle) inserting the invisible zip (THREE TIMES! No idea why it wasn't cooperating) and all the pattern matching. I think I did a pretty good job matching the gingham across the princess seams though, so it was worth the head scratching and cutting everything on the flat. The only dodgy line up is at the zip, I don't quite know what happened there.

Speaking of zips, what do people do with the flappy bits at the top of the zip tape - do you fold and stitch them down like me, trim them off or stitch them at the top of the seam then attach a hook and eye? They really bother me, especially on an unlined bodice when they're visible. I also found my zip wanted to flip out as there is no facing or lining fabric to hold it in place (if that makes sense?) so I discreetly hand stitched it to the bodice at the top of the zip, under the band.

I may have only managed to wear this dress once before the weather turned, but I honestly felt fantastic in it. I wore it to meet up with my best friend and her mum, who I haven't seen in a year, on a surprisingly warm September day. I delighted in matching the gingham tablecloths at the cafe we had lunch in, took photos of my skirt billowing in the wind, and later in the day a random lady came up to me to say "what a gorgeous dress." It took all my self restraint to graciously say "Awww, thank you!" and not follow it with a manic "HELL YEAH, I MADE IT MYSELF!"

"Did you make your dress?"

"DAMN RIGHT I DID."

My pretty, pink, gingham dress of summery joy will have to wait until next year to be worn again, but I might leave it on my dressform, Doris, for a few days before retiring it to the wardrobe. It's too pretty to put away just yet.