Jaime's Geometric Leini Dress

If you're a blog reader, you know we recently started carrying Named patterns from Finland. These patterns are beautifully packaged and tend toward more fashion-forward designs. I was excited to try them out and choose to make up the simple dress, Leini.

Pattern: Leini Dress by Named Patterns
Fabric: 2 5/8 main fabric, Japanese cotton print & 1 yd white cotton/silk lining
Size Made: EUR 38, US 6
Alterations: None

The Leini dress features two bold pleats on the front and a fully lined bodice. The bottom is gathered with an elastic waist which makes it easy to finish. I've never done a fully lined top before and I did have to rip some arm holes before understanding the instructions. Once I figured it out, the top came together nicely. I love the way this finishes the top and the cotton/silk blend I used to line this makes it oh-so-soft on the inside.

The fabric I choose is a soft neutral geometric print. This Japanese fabric is a fine cotton sateen - it is extra soft and flowy. We have this print in three colors including a bolder navy and a bright chartreuse if you need more color to your summer wardrobe.

The fit of the dress is great. I did my size 6 with no alterations (knowing there is extra room in the hips because of the gathered waist) and it fits perfect. There is some extra room in the bust so if you have a fuller top, I think this would be a great and flattering pattern. The loose fit of the dress makes it extra comfortable to wear so I'm sure I'll get a lot of use out of this on hot summer days.

We ♥ Colette's New Moneta Jersey Dress!

Miranda and I couldn't wait to make the brand new Moneta dress by Colette Patterns. We both whipped one up straight away, and boy, did they stitch up easy as pie. I can see us wearing these dresses all spring, summer and fall!

 

Amber's Moneta

Pattern: Moneta Dress version 3 by Colette Patterns
Fabric: Heavyweight Cotton Jersey
Size Made: S - 4/6
Alterations: None!

I made mine out of a beautiful heavyweight cotton knit stripe, making a classic dress that I want to wear every day. I love it so much!

My new favorite thing is the clear elastic used to gather the waistband (a product which we carry here at the shop now). It blew my mind and made putting this dress together a breeze.

The neckline confused me for a second as I put this together, because the back is lower than the front neckline, which is unusual. Then I told myself to trust Sarai. Sure enough, she is a genius and it's adorable! The low back shows just a little extra skin in this otherwise modest dress.

Next, I want to make Moneta in some of the organic solid french terry we have. I love the thicker stretch fabrics for an easy to wear, flattering dress. I imagine wearing these with all my favorite knit cardigans well into spring...

Miranda's Moneta

Pattern: Moneta Dress version 2 by Colette Patterns
Fabric: Floral Rayon Jersey
Size Made: L - 12/14
Alterations: None!

Purple, blurple (ultramarine?), red wine, peach, deep leafy greens - all my favorite colors are in this rayon knit fabric that came in! I'd say that it matches at least half the knits I've made, so I expect to have this in heavy rotation year-round. 

Next time, I'll cut a little more deeply in the back to show all of my sewing tattoo. I think it's better either hidden or on display. Either option would be easy to do when cutting the pattern pieces. 

I'm going to make so very many of these. There is even a free additional booklet that Colette Patterns has released with even more options!

We think you'll be seeing a lot more Moneta dresses popping up around here! ♥

Catnap Dress Contest: Amber's Pleat-tastic Ava Dress

To keep up with the stitching madness here at Fancy Tiger Crafts we have entry number three, Amber! This contest is producing some hardcore adorable!!

Amber Corcoran

1) Tell us about your dress - which fabric and pattern did you use? Did you make any alterations? 

I used Kitty Dreams in Green for my Ava dress. This was my first time making the Ava dress from Victory Patterns. I couldn't resist the fancy-pants pleat action at the sweetheart neckline. I've made two garments from Victory Patterns before this one and they were both happy successes, so I knew I could count on the Ava to be a great pattern!

2) What obstacles, if any, did you have to overcome for this challenge? 

Obstacles? This challenge was a dream. I relish the opportunity to stitch up cat clothing any ol' day. I've never ironed so many pleats before, but that was fun, actually.

3) How many other cat clothes do you already own? Can there be too many? 

Well, lets see...I have four other cat garments already, so this is number five and I'm already working on number six. There has been mention by a certain person that maybe I have enough cat clothing...but I disagree with that person. There can never be enough cat clothing!

4) Do you have cats? How many and what are their names? Do they like your cat dress? 

Egon is my only pet and he likes to keep it that way. He is very particular about things, wanting everything to happen according to his whims. He likes to look his best and is most happy when he has his summer do, a lion cut. I think he appreciates style, so yes, he must love this fancy dress.

5) How do you keep cat hair off your handmade garments? 

Cat hair is a major problem with this fluffy beast around. I can never quite get it all off of my clothing, no matter what I do. The sticky rollers are the best, and once I've de-haired I have to leave the house immediately. I've considered dyeing Egon black so I can dress in my favorite dark colors...

6) Why should you win the Catnap Dress contest?

If the contest is judged at all on most pleats, I stand a good chance of winning.

Catnap Dress Contest: Miranda's Parade of White Cats

Next up is Miranda's Catnap entry. Miranda is extra early for the new extended deadline, February 21st! Don't forget to catch the deets here! Check out the amazingness Miranda has created once again!!

Miranda Harp

1) Tell us about your dress - which fabric and pattern did you use? Did you make any alterations?
This is the Emery pattern by Christine Haynes. I love a fitted bodice with set-in sleeves, and this one fits very well. The little back neck darts really help the fit. As far as alterations go, I pleated the skirt instead of gathering it to fit the bodice. The dress is made from the Kitty Dreams print in Cranberry - the deep dark reds and purples with splashes of lavender and tomato red .... check out the orange bobble trim I found to go with it!

2) What obstacles, if any, did you have to overcome for this challenge?
Every single time I sat down to sew, I had a little helper. Every single time. So you know what I did? I sewed her her very own skirt.

3) How many other cat clothes do you already own? Can there be too many? 
I have at least three other dresses with cat prints. As soon as I thought that maybe that was enough, the Catnap collection came into the store... I don't have any other clothes for my cats, although sometimes Rilke wears a necktie.

4) Do you have cats? How many and what are their names? Do they like your cat dress?
I have two cats, named Rilke and Juniper. Rilke is a seven year old boy cat, and he is definitely my familiar. He is a huge snuggly beast. The only time he leaves my side is when I'm sewing and that's when Juniper takes over.

 

Juniper is a five year old huntress whose favorite things are chasing bugs and things that smell bad. They love my cat dress - they just think it needs two more white cats on it to be perfect.

5) How do you keep cat hair off your handmade garments?

I do a terrible job of that. I do love my Lilly brush!

6) Why should you win the Catnap Dress contest?

I am really into crazy print dresses - I know I'm going to wear this one all the time! Thanks, Lizzy!

Amber and Jaime Make Chambray Hawthorns!

-jaime
Amber and I recently finished two Hawthorn dresses! The Hawthorn is the newest pattern by Colette and we've been dying to stitch it up. The Robert Kaufman Chambray Union fabrics have also been calling our names so it was an easy decision which fabric to use.

The Hawthorn has many variations, including a shirt version and a sleeved version, but for summertime action, we both chose to go sleeveless dress. The light weight chambrays are perfect for this dress and feel great to wear.

The dress features front and back dart shaping, a fitted waist and a flared skirt. The button-down front means lots of fun picking out buttons! Amber chose to use the dark indigo chambray with tiny multi-color buttons that pop. What a stunner! I chose to use the dobby dot chambray with mis-matched vintage pearl buttons.

These dresses are sure to be a wardrobe staple, carrying over to the fall when they will be perfect for showing off some knitwear - can you imagine them dressed up with handknit cardigans and shawls? Maybe with some opaque tights and boots?! Yes.

Thanks to Black Eye Coffee for the beautiful photo location.

Better Know A Crafter: Kate Gagnon Osborn & Courtney Kelley

We recently hosted Kate and Courtney of Kelbourne Woolens at Fancy Tiger for a lace shawl workshop and meet & greet. If you were able to attend and meet these ladies in person, you know that they are both a big ol' pile of funtimes. While they were here these ladies--who make a living from all things yarn and knitting related--took full advantage of our sewing classrooms and whipped up some new adorable garments. 

Kate Gagnon Osborn and Courtney Kelley of Kelbourne Woolens

What are your names?
Courtney Kelley and Kate Gagnon Osborn. Sometimes, we pretend to be one person named Kelly, but that is only when we’re trying to get out of doing something. “Oh, no, that’s Kelly’s job. And she’s not here today….” Courtney really wants her name to be Agnes, and pretends it’s her middle name as a consolation prize, but it’s not. Her middle name is Ashton, like Ashton Kutcher. And it fills her with RAGE. Kate’s mother named her Erin when she was born and then changed it to Catherine when she was six months old. Her reason? When Gagnon was mispronounced as “Gannin” it rhymed with “Erin” and she didn't like the way it sounded.

Tell us about your crafty self.
Our main job is as the owners of Kelbourne Woolens, distributors of The Fibre Company yarns. We design knitting patterns, write books, and teach. We both have weaving backgrounds and worked in yarn shops, which is also how we met. I (Courtney) was managing an LYS and hired Kate to work part time while she was in grad school at Philadelphia University studying textile design. We started working together designing knitting patterns for the shop and found we worked together very well. We both really like to knit, obviously, but we also are slightly obsessed with needlepoint at the moment. Kate is much more prolific, Courtney has a tendency to purchase projects and then not finish them.

What makes you want to be crafty?
Our wolf spirit. Obviously.

What types of crafts do you do?
We do ALL the crafts, but not scrapbooking. Definitely NOT scrapbooking. We like things with needles: knitting, crocheting (I guess that is a hook), sewing, needlepoint, counted cross stitch, embroidery. But we mostly knit and sew. And in our dream world, we’d have a warp ready to weave at all times. But you don’t need needles for that. So that and crochet are the exception. Courtney likes to garden, pickle and can things and is a good cook. She mostly refuses to post pictures of her dinner on Instagram, but there have been a couple exceptions. Kate doesn’t cook, instead she does the dishes, and also doesn’t post pictures of that on Instagram.

Tell us about what you made while you were in Denver.
Kate made the Reglisse Dress by French pattern designer, Deer & Doe. She used a really beautiful blue + white washer linen from Robert Kaufmann. Despite the kajillion yards of bias tape required, she really likes the finished dress! (Full disclosure, due to her crazy short waistedness, she did shorten the bodice after she got home, as she found the armholes to be too deep and the waist to hit her at an odd place. But that is the beauty of sewing, right? Customize, customize, customize.) Since coming home, she has almost completed a second version of the dress out of a striped cotton. And bias tape as hem = her new most favorite technique!

Courtney made a pair of velveteen cheetah shorts with a lovely pattern from Sarai of Colette Patterns called Iris. The pattern was pretty straightforward, but a bit tricky, as Courtney’s hips are like a size 4, and her waist an 8…but we worked it out. She has no waist…such a shame. The pattern was super easy to follow, even with the pockets and invisible zipper (which she initially forgot about and had to rip the side out and add it in at the last minute…). And she used tiger buttons for the pockets in honor of Fancy Tiger!

How did you learn to sew?
Kate learned to sew from her paternal grandmere, Yvette, and to knit from her maternal grandmother, Verna. 

Courtney learned both from her maternal grandmother Julia Ann. She learned to crochet from her paternal grandmother, Lucy. We were both kids when we learned.


What is your favorite animal?
Kate’s favorite animal is a shark-honey badger-dog, so I guess that’s a chimera? No…it’s really a dog.
Courtney’s favorite animal as a pet is a dog, in particular Queenie, Queen of Dogs, her corgi/sheltie mix. But she also likes pikas. They leap through the air with wildflowers in their mouths! Seriously.

Thanks Kate & Courtney! Happy sewing and knitting and everything else you do that is awesome!!

QuiltCon Sew-a-Thon: Robe Belladone Dress

So, I'm not 100% sure I put this Robe Belladone dress together correctly--the instructions were in French--but it seems to have turned out quite alright!

(Don't hesitate to try these patterns yourself, we now have the adorable Deer and Doe patterns with English translation!)

I made this dress in Malka Dubrawsky's Simple Marks fabric, in anticipation of her Color Your Cloth class at QuiltCon.

The dress has an adorable keyhole back. Cute!

Perhaps I will make another cute dress from my new handprinted fabric from Malka's class...check back soon to find out!

Miranda Made A Million Dresses

Miranda here, dress maven and reluctant fashionista.  Over the past six years of seriously sewing for myself, I now count 34 dresses in my closet.  That's when I embraced my inner Ms. Frizzle by making dresses out of whatever fabric I darn well wanted to: moths, birds, owls, sea creatures, horror movie characters, woodgrain, weird sparkly polyester blends.

The majority of the dresses I've made have been based on the dirndl dress pattern in Wendy Mullin's book Built By Wendy: Dresses. It's infinitely adjustable while remaining basic.  Recently, I've been experimenting with adding a waistband, pockets or a hood. A hood requires a side zipper, which isn't so scary once you know that you can alter your pattern easily. This book helped me learn what sewing rules to follow and what rules you can bend and break.

Other patterns I have used:
Colette Patterns - Truffle (from the Colette Sewing Handbook)
Colette Patterns - Macaron
Burda #6016 - "Heidi"
Burda #6066 - "Theresa"
Jamie Christina's Miz Mozelle pattern

Sewing my own clothes has allowed me to own my goofy, girly style and to become comfortable with my body.  When your clothes fit both your body and your personality well, it just feels good. If you've never made yourself a whole garment, I can tell you wholeheartedly that it is worth every stitch. You are worth every stitch.

Darling Ranges is Darling to the Max!

I love this dress!

The moment I saw this navy blue Liberty Lifestyle print I knew...I must make a dress for fall.

The pattern I've been dreaming of is this adorable Darling Ranges dress from Megan Nielsen. I love the juxtaposition of the modest elbow length sleeves and the saucy neckline. ...and I adore the parade of buttons for closure.

The dress came together quickly with just one little stumbling block. I made the size XS, and had trouble with the sleeve coming together. The sleeve was too small for the armhole, so I ended up letting out my sleeve seam allowance to a scant 1/4" to make it work.

Now the dress is one of my favorite ever! I read from other sewists about similar issues with the sleeve, so next time I'll add an inch to the sleeve when cutting.

When winter arrives I'll be keeping cozy and cute, wearing this dress with tall boots, jackets and cowls!

Field Study Craft Crunch!

As you probably know if you're a blog reader, we just had the amazing Anna Maria Horner visit us here at Fancy Tiger Crafts. Her brand new collection, Field Study arrived a couple of days early so of course Amber and I had to whip up some new outfits.

Anna sent a trunk show for her events full of samples sewn up in her new fabrics. I might have tried on the "Painted Portrait Blouse" she sent that was sewn up as a sleeveless pocketed dress. I knew immediately that I had to make one. This pattern is awesome and I had already made another version of it, a long-sleeved blouse. There are at least 12 different ways you could sew this pattern up so this time I made exactly what she sent with the trunk show. SO CUTE!

I choose one of my favorite prints from this collection, Coordinates in Midnight. Start to finish this dress took about 5 hours - it was serious craft crunch time getting it done in time for Anna's arrival. It turned out beautifully.

 
I love it. It looks great and feels comfortable to wear. The pockets are amazing - not only do they add an interesting visual element, but I can have my lipgloss and phone on me at all times. This dress is going to look great over leggings in cooler months with a cute cardigan thrown over it so I'm looking forward to wearing this one for a while.

Amber used the fantastic "fine feathered" print from Field Study to make this Wiksten Tank "Tee". After already making four Wiksten Tanks, she changed this one up a bit by adding short sleeves and bright blue piping to it. Perfect!

To add these cutie sleeves to her tank she used both the Wiksten Tank and Wiksten Tova patterns--creating a short version of the Tova sleeve pattern piece and substituting the armhole from the Tova, drawing it over the Tank armhole.

Emily, Amber and I all took Anna's Multi-Tasker Tote class over the weekend and we love our new totes! Perfect for an evening of knitting and picnicing in the park with friends and doggies! Next time you are in the shop ask us about our totes, please. We'd love to gush about them to you!