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Tuesday 6 October 2015

Love Sewing Magazine - Marilla Walker Sailor Dress

When my copy of Love Sewing Magazine plopped through my door yesterday afternoon my plans for the evening suddenly changed!  I was going to have made a start on the Child's new dress but this seemed more important!  The pattern is a new version of Marilla Walker's Sailor Top which I made in June and wore a lot over the summer, so I knew I would love this (and I do!).


Marilla has updated the pattern to include multiple sizes, a dress length as well as top, longer sleeves (although I lengthened mine further) and some other little changes.  This pattern comes on a pattern sheet with the magazine so it was really easy to trace out and start making straight away.


I only made two small changes to the pattern.  As I said before I lengthened the sleeves by a few centimetres as I do prefer a longer sleeve length (I get cold easily!) and I followed the instructions for the original top for the neckline so my ribbon is on the inside rather than the outside.  This was purely because I used yellow ribbon and wanted it on the inside.  My favourite bit about this pattern is the shoulder gussets, they really lend themselves to being made in stripes but I would like to try some contrast fabrics next time like Kathryn's which I love.  Or maybe two separate solids.


The jersey I used for this dress is the same as I used for my last Sailor top but in the reverse colour way.  This is a very stable jersey in a lovely weight which is perfect for this dress.  It is also very soft and this dress definitely comes under the secret pyjamas category! Unfortunately the eBay seller this came from is out of stock of this fabric but if there was more I would buy a lot of it.  I do have another two metres left and I think I'm going to save it until I find the right pattern to use it on.


For the pocket I used a small piece of Nani Iro double gauze which I had leftover from a Maya dress I made in August.  I do love that dress so much but it won't be getting much wear until the spring (I had it on this morning and was a bit chilly on the school run!) so it will be nice to see the fabric on something I hope to wear until the weather gets really cold.


While I had the remains of my Nani Iro out I pieced them together and whipped up a quick cowl.  For the other side I used the same jersey I used for my dress so it's lovely and soft on both sides.  It's long enough to wrap around twice but could be worn just draped over once.


I am really pleased I found a use for the rest of this fabric, I don't like wasting any fabric but this is my favourite colour and it's perfectly suited to being a scarf.  I think I'll be wearing this most days from now on!




17 comments:

  1. Ha ha, it sounds like a sponsored post mentioning two of my patterns in one go! Looks lovely and I really like the Nani Ito scarf xxx

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    1. My next post is going to be about your patterns too....what can I say, I like them!! xx

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  2. It looks brilliant - and the scarf is an amazing addition. I love it! xo

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  3. Really cute sailor dress. I'm glad you got to use your leftover Nani Iro fabric for accents!

    At first I thought Marilla had updated the free digital pattern with multi sizing. Then I re-read what you said and realized it was in the magazine. I wish I got this magazine here (Canada). *sigh*

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    1. Thank you! I'm so glad I used them, there were only tiny scraps left when I'd finished!

      I think the magazine has an international distributor, try looking on their website. It's a great magazine!

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  4. Beautiful, love the pocket and scarf they really give the dress zing! You could invest in some thermal undies then you could keep wearing it!

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    1. Thank you Louise! I do tend to wear a lot of layers in the winter so I'll see how long I can keep it in rotation for!

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  7. Can I ask the name of the eBay seller please? Or a link to it pretty please? I can't find anywhere that has jersey that's not too thin. I quite new to sewing so haven't got a clue what I'm looking for.
    Your dress is beautiful and I adore the scarf!
    Claire.x

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    1. Hi Claire, the seller is Brunswick Mills http://stores.ebay.co.uk/Brunswick-Mills?_rdc=1 They do have some other jerseys for sale but as I haven't tried them I don't know what they are like. This was called "sailor stripe t-shirt jersey". I've just bought some denim off them which was really nice too! I hope that helps, good luck!

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    2. Ah thankyou so much!!! I'm very grateful for that. I'm off to look & spend :)
      Xx

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    3. I just never know what to buy online, I'm rubbish at what fabrics called and so like to feel it to see what I'm buying but my local shop doesn't have much jersey in.
      I've seen a few Instagram pictures but they end up being from America so I'm over the moon that you're in the uk :)

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  8. This looks so great Jenna! I love this pattern as a dress too, and the addition of the contrast pocket is such a good idea. I'll need to check out that eBay seller as I can't find good striped jersey anywhere locally. Love your scarf too!

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  9. And thanks so much for the mention too! Xx

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  10. I love this dress pattern anyway and it is so lovely to see it on your blog page, as it looks so good on you. The scarf is a clever idea too and I am going to look through my scraps anytime now and make a cowl for myself - just for fun! Thanks Jenna!

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