Melilot - What a Star

Greetings Earthlings.

Does it all feel a bit alien right now? In an attempt to crack on as normal I though another blog post was in order - and this time a new pattern! (To me..)


WHY haven't I cracked on with the Deer & Doe Melilot shirt before now?! I'll tell you for why.

I've had this pattern in the stash since it was released, however in my inexperience, I did try this in some super slippy viscose and completely messed up the hidden button placket. Rage ensued - the fabric got recycled - and the pattern went back in the box. And there it stayed.

A few years older and slightly more wiser - and with the knowledge it's ok to ask for help - I revisited this pattern at my weekly sewing class.

Some nice black viscose from Stoff & Stil fit the bill for this - it had been destined for a dress but it turned out to be a little too sheer for that. A top would be fine for it but no-one wants a semi-see-through butt. The fabric itself is jet black and perfect for what I intended with this starry night shirt.

I traced the pattern off again from scratch - Size  46/48 - which is the upper size for this paper pattern (however they have now released larger sizes in PDF format).

In the spirit of 'eat the ugly bug first' I thought I'd tackle the dreaded placket straight away.

With the assistance of The Fabric Wrangler and encouragement of pals I cracked it - lots of marking, lots of ironing, and a folded paper version for reference!

As it turns out, it's one of my favourite features of this shirt - hidden gold stars!!!



I made the long sleeve version as I wanted to test the pattern in full - if that fit no doubt the short sleeve version would be fine.

There were 2 minor alterations made to the pattern:

1. Straightened the collar point (I just don't like rounded collars)
2. I didn't do the proper chimney cuff plackets - I went for a strip of fabric, where you fold it over like bias binding - no idea what this is called properly! This is because I knew I'd mess the other kind up and at this point I liked the shirt and didn't want extra hassle.


The finished item is great! I love the length of the shirt, it's got good coverage for leggings but isn't necessarily a tunic length so also looks smart with jeans etc. The dropped shoulders make it super comfy and it's basically an all round awesome pattern.


 So let's just address the elephant/frog in the room here. Yes there is a star gazing frog on my shirt.


I don't imagine anyone will have been paying that much attention to my ramblings but he did already make an appearance on my Willamette shirt here.

That shirt just never got worn - the wrinkles on the front bothered me and the fabric was a bit too thick. So I unpicked the frog and tried version 2.0. The stars are cut on my Cricut Maker using some Happy Glitter from Happy Fabrics - this stuff is amazing.

Mr Frog and his Happy Glitter choices...
 I'm actually quite chuffed at how I managed to scatter the stars 'randomly' and they extend just over the back and down the sleeve.It's really difficult to capture in the photos but they are 'antique gold glitter'. (The top gold in the pic above)


The shirt has already been worn out in the wild (before the stay at home situation!) and even received some complaints on it's quirky nature. Of course I flashed a bit of placket ;-)

Feel free to comment and come and say hello on InstagramFacebookTwitterPinterest and Bloglovin too xxx


Villanelle and the Mighty Sports Bra

Sliding in a little late to the Killing Eve references but did not want to miss the chance to share this little number...

If anyone watched Series 2 no doubt you will have seen Villanelle's rather marvelous Pyjamas/escape outfit. It had the news going mad for where you could buy a set. But from where?!

Turns out it was custom made from good-ol' British Funkifabrics!! I definitely could not resist this little fabric purchase. And it was little, as I could only get 1 meter. Pj's were definitely out of the running - however the material is flex-Lycra so you wouldn't want to be sleeping in them in any case!

What is brilliant and what you can't see in the show, is that there are also silver glittery bits adding that little bit 'extra' to fabric that's already quite extra in its own right.


Pic from Funkifabrics

So I was reading a post the other day, and it had also been mentioned in Yoga with Adrien that power poses can affect how you feel. Makes sense. Apparently standing like a super hero lowers the levels of cortisol in our blood and increases levels of testosterone, which elevates confidence. Feeling a bit hefty of late let's give it a go.....
 


Confident like Villanelle? Not sure about that. Paranoid about my neighbours watching me do this, yes.


This little number consists of The Mighty Sports Bra by Evie LaLuve.


I had heard the pattern ran quite small but I cut my measurements as per the chart provided and it was great! It's obviously very stretchy and therefore forgiving but this bad boy is going to hold you in for any sport that is for sure! For the first attempt at the pattern I went full bells and whistles to check all the elements.  I would definitely make another of these, even just the basic version without overlay.

It's far from perfect as my attempts at fold over elastic were a bit wonky and stretched out however the overall effect is ok. I'm also bigger than the mannequin so the wonky bits actually stretch out and sit flat on mine when I'm wearing it.

The top is compressed and designed as a sport bra rather than a lounge bra and therefore it has good length. The interior is double lined and there's even room to pop foam inserts for extra oomph and support. My cover stitch did NOT enjoy the thick elastic band at the bottom.


The leggings are whipped up from Apostrophe Patterns 'My Fit' Leggings.


You input your measurements and hey presto, a leggings pattern pops out. These are plain and simple ones with a contour waistband. I've also encased 1.5" elastic in the top of these aswell for extra hold around the middle! Ridiculously comfy.

Now to be honest, I will never wear this whole outfit out of the house like in the pics, and if I do it will be with a more appropriate vest-top over it! That being said it's a fab 'costume' and would be good for something like a fun run or Tough Mudder etc. So much fun to make!

Feel free to comment and come and say hello on InstagramFacebookTwitterPinterest and Bloglovin too xxx