Unicorns everywhere….

Hi there! Hope all’s well in your bit of the world?

Today’s post is a pretty quick one; I probably wouldn’t even bother sharing this now except for the very lovely fabric involved!

I was lucky enough to get free tickets for the Knitting and Stitching Show in Harrogate in November. I’ve managed this one way or another for the last couple of years, so Mum and I have a regular day out together. Mum doesn’t sew so much any more, as she says she doesn’t enjoy it as much, but with a totally unseasonable trip to India booked for February, she was on the look out for lighter weight fabrics to keep herself cool and comfortable. And I’m always game for a day out fabric shopping (see my previous post about keeping my fabric stash under control……)

Those who follow me on Instagram will have seen I had the edge taken off my day by the loss of one of my shopping bags.

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Gutted! Went to the #knittingandstitchingshow today and I’ve managed to loose my @thefoldline bag with 3m of @girlcharleeuk jersey in it. How the hell did I manage that? Talk about taking the edge off a day out. Rant over, just knew people here would understand my upset, where my husband won’t 😢

A post shared by Rebecca (@redwsews) on Nov 24, 2017 at 7:40am PST

However, sewing people are officially the best and my bag was not only found but hand delivered back to me (thank you so much again, Eleanor!) So the day was saved and I was able to get on with prewashing my spoils.

One of the impulse buys I made was the first to get made up (so I don’t feel too bad about it as it never officially hit the stash!) It was from the Dots n Stripes stall, where I habitually drop a reasonable amount of cash, and it was the most glorious, light weight, fleece backed sweatshirting fabric. It’s so light weight I hesitate to call it a sweatshirting, but I don’t know how else to describe it?

Anyway, I was actually attracted by the print (who, me?); navy background covered with white unicorns with gold, sparkly horns. I decided that, having bought all manner of unicorn print fabric for the children, it was definitely my turn and bought 1.5m.

I initially thought it would be the Moneta dress which would be used for this, but I suddenly decided I was somewhat bored of that particular pattern, especially as I also made one up for Mum using some fabric she bought. So I reverted to the Lady Skater dress by Kitschy Coo. The big difference between the two is the skirt; where the Moneta is a gathered waist, the Lady Skater is a flared skirt from a smooth waistline. I do tend to find that more flattering, plus it’s nice to have a change.

Having made this before, the only tricky part was the cutting. For a size 4, the pattern suggests just over 2 metres of fabric and I only had 1.5m of a directional print.

Just my kind of challenge!

After some serious pattern tetris, I just about got the whole thing cut out, leaving mere shreds behind to be sent to school (Katie’s Foundation class apparently have an unending appetite for fabric scraps for junk modelling). I also cut pockets (because who doesn’t want pockets?) using the Southbank sweater dress pattern pieces, but used scraps of another light weight jersey in navy blue.

Pulling this one together is so straightforward now and it can be so relaxing making something without having to refer to the instructions at all. I skipped the cuffs on the sleeves (although there are pattern pieces), deciding that overlocking them and turning them under once before top stitching was adequate on this dress. Sure, there are a few drag lines that are down to this fabric being less stretchy than previous versions, but I really don’t care; it’s too comfy!