Tag Archives: DIY District

Milla Dress

Featuring Cotton Lawn from DIY District

The bohemian style of the Milla Dress from Slow Morning Studios caught my eye with the interestingly lined bodice panel surrounded by gathered sleeves and skirt pieces. It’s honestly the biggest sleeves I’ve ever sewn. This is a pull-over-your-head dress, so no zips or buttons needed. I’ve used the beautiful floral liberty-style cotton lawn sent to me by DIY District and I’m so happy with the combination. The cotton lawn is a non-stretch lightweight woven which suits this pattern. In fact, with the size of those sleeves and the amount of gathering, I would choose an even lighter fabric next time but for this make, I’m love the vintage vibes with this lovely liberty design.

The pattern comes with simple instructions for construction. I like that there is some assumed knowledge in the instructions. Nothing important is left out and all the illustrations are clear. This can be seen with the construction of the neckline. The neckline is not exactly a V-neck but has a V-keyhole feature and there is an option to add ties which I’ve done. The instructions are to match the bodice outer shell to the lining and then to sew and turn inside out to finish. The assumed knowledge is the sewing into a V-neck. The added instructions would be to mark the midline, then baste the seamline to the mark on both sides to the point of the V. This will act as a stitching guide for the neck seamline. Once stitch, it’s important to cut into the V stopping at the stitch line then trim to the point of the V. I love how so much detail and technique it can take to make something like a V-neck look sharp. If you don’t sew, you never appreciate the skill and knowledge it takes to make something look so seamless!

The dress is a lovely loose fit. There’s obviously a lot of ease in the pattern so sizing is straightforward. My measurements of 37-inch bust, 33-inch waist and 38-inch hips fit between the size38 and size 40 so I made the size 38. I’m comfortable with the fit. The pattern comes as a dress but also a blouse and has long or shorter sleeve options. I’ve chosen the longer sleeve option which has elasticised sleeve hems.

Talking sleeves, I have to mention that I cut the sleeves crossgrain. Cross grain runs at a 90degree angle to the fabric. The width of the fabric was narrow at 110cm so the fullness of the gathered sleeve pattern would not fit. Cutting crossgrain was my only option. I think for sleeves, cutting crossgrain is fine as there isn’t much strain on the fabric but I would be wary of doing this on a pair of trousers as the fabric is weaker. If you tug at the fabric that is cut on a crosswise grain, it will have more “give” than one that is cut straight of grain.

The liberty style cotton lawn is an easy fabric to sew as it’s a stable woven fabric. I’ve used a 75/11 size machine needle. It would also be okay to sew with a universal needle. I have chosen to finish all the seams with overlocking which is nice and quick. In fact, the whole sewing process was quick. It’s a great project if you need a dress quickly as it can be done in an afternoon. I’m definitely squeezing another one in but next time I’m going to shorten it for a beach dress and make it with super lightweight fabric. With this heavier cotton lawn, I’m wearing it more as a winter dress and it’ll also be great for the in-between seasons. I would style it with a denim jacket and boots to make it cosy to wear.

Here are some Australian winter beach photos!

Thanks for reading and happy sewing!

X Em

Flora Dress

Featuring Nani IRO Rakuen silk and cotton in black

The Flora Dress is a new release from Pattern Scout. I was excited when I saw the release because she had detailed this dress on her YouTube channel last year. It was just made from rectangles of fabric with pleats. The simplicity of the dress is exactly the style that I love Pattern Scout patterns for. With the pattern release, the rectangle fabric concept is still there with a bit more refinement in the neckline but still retaining the wide tucks to fit the bodice.

The dress is made for lightweight woven fabrics that do not have any stretch. It was so lucky that I had the Nani IRO Rakuen fabric from DIY District. This fabric is a blend of silk and cotton with a composition of 70 percent cotton and 30 percent silk. It’s beautifully soft and lightweight at approximately 129gsm (a bit under 5oz). “Rakuen” translates to “paradise” which is depicted by the flowers and birds in a garden in what the description describes as a black background but, I would say that it’s more of a midnight blue background. I’m not disappointed as I prefer this colour.

So impressed by the precise cutting and presentation of the fabric when it arrived.

Construction begins with sewing these pleats or tucks in the front and back pieces. It was a very satisfying exercise once you get into the rhythm of matching the notches of the tucks, folding, and marking the lines for the length of the tucks, sewing, and pressing the tucks and then repeating the whole process until the fabric was shaped into a fitted bodice that flared out into a flowy skirt. I guess the process reminds me of origami which is quite meditative and rhythmic when forming the shapes with the process of folding. It also requires the accuracy of origami, so I made sure that I measured the distance of the top and bottom of each tuck.

Love the feature of the wide tucks of the Flora Dress

My sizing fell between the size 12 and 14 with a full bust B Cup. I did a toile of the size 12 because looking at the final measurements, there is a fair amount of ease in the waist and hips. I prioritised the bust measurements in choosing my size which worked out perfectly. To make the toile, I cut the tank top pattern pieces only which saves fabric. I used some of the remnant cotton lawn pieces from various previous makes. When making a toile, I find it’s important to use similar fabric. I’ve learnt this the hard way in the past!

Sewing with the beautiful Nani IRO cotton/silk fabric was lovely. Again, due to the fine nature of this fabric, I sewed with a 75/11 needle to make sure the fabric wouldn’t catch when sewn. I also pre-washed my fabric with an organic detergent (no enzymes) in a cold wash and air dried it. I remember shrinking some rayon once because I thought I would cheat and skip the pre-washing. Bad mistake! It shrunk so significantly that I couldn’t wear the top. That was in my first year of sewing and I’ve not made that mistake again. The other tip I can give regarding sewing with this fabric is to be careful when pinning the fabric. I used my quilters clips at times rather than making holes with my pins. I need to invest in some finer pins like what they use for bridal dressmaking, and I need to sort the blunt pins from the pincushion.

Amazingly, I did not use my overlocker in this make. Pattern Scout is great for their instructions for French seams. I decided to follow those instructions and I’m getting more skilled using French seams. It’s a satisfyingly neat finish. The neckline is finished with bias tape which there are also great instructions if you want to make your own. I used some pre-made black bias tape which saved me a bit of time and fabric. 

A great summer dress for evenings, pool side or day dress.

As you can see from the photos, I’ve sewn the long midi version of the dress with wide straps, and I left out the pockets. I know everybody loves pockets but with the finer fabric, I did not want to risk the outline of pockets and to be honest, I never use pockets in a dress because I’ll always have a bag. It’s a great inclusion in a pattern but I decided to skip it which made the construction even easier. The last thing to point out is the side slits of the dress. Slits are an important inclusion if you want to stride out or ascend stairs with a natural gait!

The Nani IRO fabric is another beautiful gift from DIY Fabric. This is another item sewn for my holiday capsule. I’m looking forward to wearing the beautifully soft and breezy fabric in the heat. It will be good for the evenings where I’ll need something a bit dressier for dinner but will remain cool to wear. There is also a light sheen from the silk in the fabric which probably hasn’t been captured in the photos. It gives the dress a luxurious quality and feels amazing. I can’t say enough how beautiful this fabric is to sew and wear.

Thanks for reading and happy sewing!

X Em

Helmi Blouse II

Featuring Nani IRO Lei Nani Organic Cotton Lawn Fabric from DIY District

When Diep from DIY District Fabric reached out regarding their online fabric store based in Kyoto, Japan, it was hard to choose only a few pieces with the wide selection of high-quality premium fabrics on offer. This beautiful Nani IRO Lei Nani Organic Cotton fabric in red was kindly gifted from DIY District in exchange for an honest review. It is made from one hundred percent organic cotton and is beautifully sheer and lightweight being around 100gsm (3.5oz) which made it perfect for another Helmi Blouse. I was drawn to the vibrant red of this cotton lawn. The fabric reminds me of a watercolour painting with a red background and a random distribution of blossoms in white and a hint of shimmery silver through the blossoms.

I had made the peter pan collar version with ¾ sleeves previously in a lightweight muslin fabric. This time I’m sewing the full sleeved version featuring ruffles along the shoulder seams and a stand collar. I thought I would focus my blog on sewing with this lovely fabric.

As mentioned, this fabric is 100 % organic cotton, so my usual procedure is to overlock the two cut ends of the fabric before washing. To avoid shrinking the cotton, I made sure to only use the cold wash with an organic detergent. I then air dried the fabric and once dry, I ironed it with a medium heat iron. Impressively, there was no loss of colour and the fabric has kept it’s shape well after washing.

Moving on, I prepared my machine by threading a matching red cotton thread. Due to the fineness of the fabric, I changed my needle to a 75/11 needle which is great for lightweight fabrics like cotton voile, silk, synthetics, Lycra, and Spandex. It’s always nice to start with a fresh needle with a new make which ensures there’s little chance of the fabric snagging. 

The Helmi Blouse requires about 2.6m/2.9yards of a fabric measuring 114cm/44inch in width. Now, here, it’s important to take note that the Nani IRO Lei Nani Organic Cotton Lawn Red has quite a wide selvedge which means that the pattern measured only 99cm which is narrower than the 110cm mentioned in the description. Luckily, I was sent enough of this gorgeous fabric with a bit to spare.

Instructions of the Helmi Blouse are great because it covers a variety of fabric types including sheer fabrics like finishing with French Seams. Testing the fabric, it also stood up well to overlocking, but I preferred the French seams with the finer fabric. I’ve made the size 36 with the medium bust as my measurements are 35-inch High Bust, 37.5-inch Full Bust, 33-inch Waist, 38-inch Hips and it’s a comfortable fit without any modifications needed.

This time, I used the keyhole neckline finished with binding and included the ties rather than a button closure. I made the binding from the same fabric by cutting a 2cm strip on the bias. I found it easier to pre-press the bias strip, first in half then inwards by half to the midline. Using the pressed line as a guide, the bias strip was sewn to the keyhole opening. It was easy with the pre-pressed line to fold over and finish the binding. I also made sure I reduced the stitch length to 1.8 to sew around the curved keyhole. The rest of the sew went pleasantly with everything fitting into place.

This Nani IRO lightweight cotton lawn is incredibly smooth and untextured compared to other cottons that I’ve worn. It’s very breathable but at the same time has a crisp finish. This will be great to wear in spring and summer. In fact, I’m packing this for my tropical getaway where it can get very hot and humid. When I first received this fabric, I thought it might have been a silk blend because of the slight sheen and silky-smooth feel of the fabric. I think this texture must be due to a very high thread count. I find the weave of this cotton lawn is tighter than the muslin fabric which I used for the first version of the Helmi. I hope this will mean that the blouse will be more durable without the thickness and rough texture of ordinary cotton.

Even though this fabric was gifted, I can say that I would purchase this fabric from DIY District without hesitation. The quality and the service were incredible. From the time of ordering to receiving the fabric was a matter of days and it was easy to reach out via their website which is in English as well as French. As mentioned, this fabric was gifted but all opinions remain my own.

Thanks for reading and happy sewing!

X Em