Tag: Garment Designer

Summer dress three…

Panelled dress - front

Inspired by the dress I made last week, Vogue 1301, I made another one today. I drafted the pattern myself, using the Cochenille Garment Designer software, and made alterations as I went along. I forgot to lessen the amount of ease included, so the armholes are still a bit big, but overall I’m really pleased with this one.

As you can see, the seams are overlocked on the outside, making it super quick and easy to put together. The pockets look a bit high on the mannequin, but my waist sits higher than hers, so they’re actually in the perfect place for my hands.

Panelled dress - back

The belt is my usual 2″ sash, nice and long to make a bigger bow. The neck and arms are bound with vintage cotton bias binding. The fabric’s a cotton lawn from Fabric Land, and I think I have enough left over to make another dress!

The first priority is to make some kind of petticoat to go underneath. I’ve just ordered a 1970s lingerie book, having seen the gorgeous pictures on Miss Peelpants’ blog. I can’t wait to make some pretty things when that arrives. In the meantime I can wear the purple petticoat that goes with my my Phase Eight dress, which should make this one safe to wear for work.

Black Fleece Hoody

Black fleece hoody

I’ve been saving my pennies for ages, and last week my copy of the Cochenille Garment Designer software arrived. I haven’t said too much about it yet because I’m still on the steep part of the learning curve. This means that anything I might have wanted to say was probably unprintable anyway.

The first pattern I drafted and printed out was a simple dress… which would have been lovely if it hadn’t turned out to be at least six inches too big! I hadn’t checked the design ease in the pattern, and it was rather more generous than I’d expected. Oops.

Black fleece hoody

This little fleece hoody is my second attempt, and I’m really pleased with it! Isn’t it adorable? I particularly like the slim bell sleeves and the edge-to-edge fastening at the front. It’s trimmed with bias binding because they’s my current obsession. I think it makes for a lovely neat edge, and it would be great in a contrasting colour too.

Unfortunately I went a little bit too far the other way with the design ease on this one, and it’s come out a little bit too small for me. I’ve popped it into my Big Cartel store, alongside the organic fabrics, so if you’re a size 34-36″ chest it might be just right for you.

This pattern’s definitely a keeper though, unlike my first attempt. And now I’ve made one pattern that’s much too big, and a second one that’s much too small… it stands to reason that the third pattern I make should be just right!