First up is a pattern I am really in love with. Nettie!
Before we get down to the nitty gritty, I just want to say I didn't test this pattern, nor am I stroking the rather gorgeous backside of Nettie's creator, Heather Lou (although I wouldn't say no...) - I am genuinely positively pleased this pattern exists in my life.
I first made the bodysuit as a little test in early August to see whether I picked the right sizing. I used this awesome knit I picked up in New York in March. I can't remember the shop, but I think it was the day me, Lauren, Sonja, Devra and Trice hit the town in force. It's more of a knit than a jersey so has some lovely stretch to it to accommodate the expanding weeks ahead.
I chose the scoop front, high back version with long sleeves. For sizing, I cut the size 10 on top and graded out to the 12 on the bum-bum, as I can always do with a little room in that area, especially now (see next photo!). The fit was perfect and couldn't be more comfortable! I really love the design of the bum and hip area - it's not the vag-slicing cut of the 90s but more of a lean towards the 50s, not dissimilar to the Bombshell Swimsuit. As a result, it's very comfortable to wear under your chosen bottoms and you don't find yourself wriggling about or having to do a covert reshuffle of your bits and pieces.
Another reason why I like this pattern is that it's super fun to make up. With experience, I now really enjoy working with knits and stretchy stuff, especially adding neckbands. For this project I used only my sewing machine and a narrow zig zag stitch, switching between a single stretch needle and a twin stretch needle for top-stitching.
When working with stripes, it does take a bit more time as you need to concentrate during pinning the pattern to fabric to ensure you're matching the stripes correctly. I usually start by pinning a specific area on the side seam of the front, then matching the same spot on the back. I then pin almost each stripe to prevent movement. It takes some time but it's really worth it.
This version of the Nettie will definitely last me for a while and will be nice and cosy with the colder months coming up.
Once I had the fit of the Nettie down, I could get started on what I really wanted to use the pattern for. Back in Spring, I had the dream of a white and navy stripe t-shirt dress for Summer. Luckily in March, I spotted Lauren buying the perfect fabric in Mood and I grabbed about 5 yards too. Didn't care about cost and weight, I wasn't leaving that treasure behind!
I also made this up in August to wear on my birthday. It was bit of an overcast day, but I did wear it to eat my super lovely breakfast made by Mama Delle. She even found me alcohol free bucks fizz!
Even though this knit was less stretchy, I still decided to follow the same sizing (10 on top, 12 bottom). I used Heather Lou's stretch guide and was confident this fabric would work. For style, I chose high front and high back and added short sleeves to achieve the t-shirt dress I had in my mind.
I worked with my sewing machine and overlocker for stitching and finish, using a twin stretch needle for top stitching. For some reason, the twin needle got fed up with the hem and started skipping stitches so I reverted back to the single needle. I wasn't prepared to put up a fight!
Again, I didn't have to make any alterations and am really pleased with the outcome. It's now a month later, bump is bigger and the dress is still a brilliant addition to my wardrobe.
I am thinking of making another dress version in a heavier black jersey or a ponte for the Autumn to wear with tights and boots. Yey for Nettie!
On a side note the following really made me chuckle. I saw on GOMI a comment that my Martini dress I tested for Capital Chic Patterns was too tight. I made that dress back in mid May pre-preggers to wear to a wedding, yet didn't get around to taking photos for the blog until July...well let's just say my body had started to enjoy some swelling in the belly and bewbs area already!!! I knew I was running out of time to photo that before Shrimp was like, nope, I'm not being squeezed into that, Mama! So, the dress may have looked a little more snug than intended, although I still think it looked good. Anyway, it gave me a good giggle. Jerry's Final Thought...don't judge a book by its cover people, that book just might be knocked up!