I am certainly having a good time writing this post on a train to Leeds, on my way to a fantastic sewing for charity event that’s happening tomorrow and Tuesday. Read more on Making for Charity’s Facebook page if you’re curious and if you’re local, come and say hello!!
In the meantime, please allow me to entertain you with a new completed sewing project, and ooh boy, there haven’t been that many of those lately… I did get to do a bit more sewing in April, so a few new things for me to wear for Me Made May, which I will photograph and blog about shortly (here’s hoping!).
Sooo, here’s my first Inari T-shirt dress by Named Clothing, a Finish pattern company I’m sure you’re quite well acquainted by now. I’ve been ummming and eerrring for ages on whether to actually spend money on such a simple pattern, but I must confess I became slightly obsessed with it, especially since I kept seeing so many super cool variations out there. It’s really versatile in terms of fabric choices so in the end I just had to press the ‘Buy’ button.
What also convinced me was this cotton sateen fabric I impulse bought and with which I had no idea what to do. It was a remnant that I got a good deal for, but it was only about 1.3m long, plus really vibrant, so I couldn’t think what to actually make into until it occurred to me it would work great with Inari.
I blame Simona of Sewing Adventures in the Attic, because when we had a Romanian meet-up around Christmas with her and Geo from Made in my living-room, she snapped up this beautiful remnant that I really really wanted too. Anyway, I was mooching about Goldhawk Road one day and I thought to go check if they maybe had another remnant of the same fabric and I got talked into buying this one, a similar fabric but different print.
So here’s the deets, folks…
Pattern: Name Clothing, Inari T-shirt Dress, size 38, no alterations
Trims: a tiny bit of interfacing for the facings
Fabric: Cotton sateen from one of the Goldhawk Road shops, can’t remember the actual name, it’s the second one down from Costa. It washed really nicely, but it creases like the dickens, and I’m worried about how it will go through a day of wearing it at work, sitting on a chair close to 6 hours a day…
Alterations: none, it really fit me right out of the envelope, so I didn’t have to change a thing.
Construction: It’s classified as easy, and it really really was. I made no efforts to pattern match, as I felt the stripes were random enough, and also, I didn’t have a lot of fabric to play around with. Looking at the pictures of the side seams, it could have been done probably, but I wanted a quick and easy project to was away the bad taste of an UFO, and I just went for it.
I had a bit of trouble with the sleeves, but I think I was just careless the first time around, so had to unpick and set the sleeve in more carefully.
In terms of finishings, I overlocked all the side and shoulder seams, as well as the hem and edges of the facings, then turned up the hem as per the pattern recommendations. Easy peasy!
Conclusion: I definitely love this pattern (and the resulting dress) as much as I expected. It’s comfortable, instructions are clear and easy and I loved how quickly it came together.I can see a lot of Inaris in my future, and have already finished a crop top, which you can have a preview on my Instagram feed. I haven’t worn the dress yet as it feels a bit light for the season, plus I wanted to keep it wrinkle-free for the photoshoot. I does crease easily, well, that’s cotton for you. Also, when I wore it with tights for the shoot, it clearly did not like it. The wrong side of the fabric is not as smooth as the right and tends to cling to the tights. So I will either have to wear a slip or wait until it gets warmer and go bare legged. But I do love it, it’s really vibrant and fun, so a great addition to my spring/summer wardrobe!
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Loving the frock Alex, especially with those funky tights! Safe journey up north, looking forward to catching up on Tuesday and having a fun and productive time! 🙂
Author
Thanks Ali! I’m loving Leeds so far, what a beautiful city!! Machines and space is ready to go, ready for our volunteers tomorrow. Can’t wait to meet you on Tues!
It is so vibrant! Lovely and hip 😀
Author
Thank you, hoping for the right warm weather to wear it. I was still wearing gloves tonight 🙁
Cheeky! So, it was my fault you ended up with more fabric? I’ll need to use that excuse as well! Anyway the print is gorgeous! Love your little number! I do like animal prints! The colours are great! I kind the like the clash between tights and your dress 🙂
Author
Of course it is :). I’d rather like to think it’s not an animal print, not my cup of tea at all. Just a funky print :). The tights are ridiculous, but I love them, ha ha!
This dress looks so comfortable, while still looking stylish.
Author
Thank you! I haven’t actually worn it yet, it’s so cold still in London… 🙁
This dress! I must make another Inari, you have inspired me (again!)
Author
Thank you! You have inspired me to go make another Drapey dress!! So there! 🙂
That’s a fabulous fabric choice – so bold, I love it!