Summer Selfie Sewing: Take the Plunge Maxi by Patterns for Pirates and the Helene Cardigan by Jalie featuring fabric by Girl Charlee
/Today is our second post of the week long Summer Selfie feature which is sponsored by Girl Charlee fabric. Make sure to keep checking back for the rest of the week to see what these ladies are sewing for themselves!
Take the Plunge Maxi dress by Patterns for Pirates featuring Girl Charlee Sparkle Swirl Fabric sewn by Tasha:
Hi all, Tasha here from Sewn at Seams showing off my Selfie Summer Sew. I love wearing dresses, so it wasn’t really a stretch for me to want to sew up a maxi dress. The challenge came with dressing my new body. After being pregnant and/or nursing for the past 4 years, my body has certainly changed but I really wanted a dress that showed off my curves that have been enhanced by motherhood. When the Take the Plunge Swimsuit pattern was released, I fell in love with the bodice and was thrilled to see the hack posted to turn the pattern into a dress.
There was no doubt that I would do the halter version and when I saw this sparkle swirl fabric from Girl Charlee, it just screamed to be made maxi length and I was more than happy to go for it!
It did take the better part of a day to sew up this dress but most of that was constructing the bodice. The instructions were very clear and the time spent was well worth it. I did refer to the blog post hack and made the minor changes for turning it into dress instead of a swimsuit. For the skirt I used the measurements from the Boundless pattern, but cut my skirt as 1 piece instead of 2. The fabric is really soft and has amazing drape without being too slinky. I did lose the occasional sparkle dot during construction but there are plenty remaining. I love how the dots catch the light when I move, and while I do feel a little bit like a disco ball, the end result is this absolutely gorgeous dress that has my confidence at an all time high.
Helene Cardigan by Jalie featuring Girl Charlee Hacci Sweater Knit sewn by Brooke:
Hi everyone! We are celebrating summer at Pattern Revolution with a bit of self care sewing. We have been very lucky to work with Girl Charlee Fabrics on our “Summer SELFie Feature” and I hope you like what we’ve put together. I’m pretty lucky that in most of Australia our winter isn’t too extreme, and I know summer takes very different forms in the Northern hemisphere too. So a cute little cardigan like this is a staple piece wherever you are, all year round.
I had a lovely time browsing the Girl Charlee site and decided on this gorgeous Hacci Sweater Knit (which appears to be on sale right now - so quick go get it!!!) I knew it would be awesome made up as a Jalie Helene Cardigan, but it turned out even better than I pictured!
The Helene is a gorgeous pattern and was so quick to run up! I will make more of these for sure. It is just the right length and relaxed fit for throwing over any outfit. I like that even though it is a relaxed fit, it still has a slightly tapered shape to it. With a change of fabric, you could have a wardrobe full of them to suit every outfit.
I am a huge fan of pockets in my clothes, so I love when the pattern does the work for me. It is a unique design and pocket construction, yet it is one of the fastest and simplest patterns I have ever made myself.
I am one of those weird people that love stripe matching. Most people would not have chosen to make this pattern with stripes, but it was not as hard as it looks, let me give you some tips.
First stop and think it through carefully before you start. Look at the fabric design, how you want the design placed or centred, the pattern repeat and whether it is symmetrical etc. This print isn’t symmetrical but that’s ok! For the back I made the obvious wider, light grey stripes equal distance from the centre, to balance the print. I matched the top back and lower back pieces to match the notches and stripes.
For the front I wanted to have the print cut symmetrically, so I cut one front one way, then flipped it upside down and used it to match the stripes perfectly and cut the other side. This worked perfectly for matching the stripes because the print was partially visible on the back of the fabric. I did the same for the lower front pieces, first matching the seam where the upper and lower fronts would join and the pattern notches etc, to make sure the stripes would match at the seam where the pockets are inserted, then flipping the first cut piece upside down to get a symmetrical pair.
I think it turned out perfectly and I love it styled like this. For me this look works for a night out for dinner and drinks, or for an outfit for work. I know when I used to work in an office, I needed a cardigan even in the middle of summer, when we fought over the right air conditioner temperature! I slipped my heels off right after these pictures and put my black ankle boots on and headed to work (seeing as though it is actually winter and I am a total sook about the “cold”).
I hope you liked my SELFie Summer make and my tips on stripe matching!
Happy Sewing
Brooke x
Our final installment of the Summer Selfie series features patterns by Ellie and Mac, Jalie and Patterns for Pirates as well as more amazing fabric by Girl Charlee. Rebekah sews the fabulous cold shoulder tunic while Chris sewed the super fun P4P palazzo shorts and Jalie 3245.