Lisette Traveler Dress

I was browsing the fabric shops on the web one day and came across this chambray which is dotted with little navy birds. I thought it would make a really nice shirt dress so pulled down my Lisette Traveler pattern and my Grainline Alder Shirtdress pattern. Neither of which I have made before but have been meaning to for a while.

The Lisette pattern won purely on the basis of a 'First In First Out' ruling. I am glad I did make this one in the end because it is getting too cool for a sleeveless dress and this will be great over autumn/winter with some warm leggings on underneath.

Although you can't buy the Traveler pattern anymore on the main sites, I am pretty sure it can be tracked down on Ebay. See the original page listing here. It is a fantastic pattern with 3 views. I went for view B which is more of a tunic style shirt. I do like the pretty sleeves on view C, which reminds me of the Deer and Doe Bleuet (but without that great little back bow detail).

I nearly went for a standard collar over the mandarin style, but in the end made it as pattern (something I tend to do when making a pattern for the first time). I think next time I will swop it for the proper collar though.

This may have lingered as an unmade pattern for so long because I assumed it was going to take ages to make. Boy was I wrong! This one was such a pleasure to make. I did the construction in short bursts, mainly because it was still the school holidays and I didn't want to leave the girls to their own devices for too long. Doing it with the pace of a sew a long meant that I took my time and concentrated on each stage, especially making sure my topstitching was nice and straight on my plackets.

The sleeve hem instructions baffled me but with a bit of help from the lovely and reliable sewing gurus on IG I figured it out. It was as simple as going back and unfolding the pattern sheet to find the hem allowance, which I hadn't made a note of earlier when tracing it off. I always miss details like this, so typical of me!

I didn't alter anything about the pattern and didn't blend sizes as my measurements seemed to be quite uniform. Thankfully the length is perfect for me and I really like where the sleeves hit when they are turned back.

I love this shirt and so does hubby, so I have left the pattern out to make again soon. Once I get some clothes in the girls drawers again I should be all set!

Noodlehead: Road Trip Case

The summer holidays have come to an end and while there hasn't been a whole lot of activity in my sewing room, I managed to make something that had been on my list for a while. The Road Trip Case by Anna Graham of Noodlehead.

The pattern itself is a great little portable organizer which could be used for so many different options depending on your hobby or craft.

There are several different ways you could sew in the pockets, one of the options fits in a rubber band loom, and if you are lucky enough to have one of those in your home, you will appreciate somewhere to keep all those pesky little bands.

I chose to sew across the long pocket to create 4 little pockets to hide treasures in. The options for the pockets are to have flaps over the openings, or to create an elastic casing and fix it with a loop and button.

We have quite a few children's knitting supplies scattered around the house so it seemed like a great idea to put them in one place. And the good news is, that since taking these photos, my daughter has a renewed interest in her knitting doll. I think it had become invisible on her shelf, but having a new bag means that it is in the spotlight again. For now at least!

I won't pretend to have done an amazing job with the finish of this bag, but I was happy with the end result and think I would handle the vinyl, zipper and binding better on a second attempt.

The overall size of the bag is not too big, mine is approx. 13" x 8".  I would say it is the perfect size for a child to handle. It will be coming on holiday with us as it will be just right for taking all her bits and bobs in the car. Her sister may want one too so its a good job I have some vinyl left over.

The vinyl pocket is brilliant. I love the idea of being able to see the contents at a glance. If I were using it for me, I would be able to pop a knitting pattern in there and work from it at the same time.

The zipper is nicely nestled between two strips of binding, making the pocket look professionally finished. I used a different length zip to the requirements and just cut it down to size, but to avoid any hassle with attaching the binding across the zipper teeth, I would try to find the correct length next time.

I finished one pocket flap off with poppers ....

...and the other end with Velcro. I like both fastenings, the poppers were easy to add on because I have the right tool so they took a fraction of the time to install.

Overall, we love this pattern. The instructions are well written and it wasn't stressful to sew up. I can see me making another one so they have one each. Anything that avoids sibling squabbles in the car on long journeys is a must!