I had a family black tie event coming up in June and wanted to wear a me-made outfit. I had already made myself some frosting for NYE but didn't end up wearing it because I didn’t actually go to a party. It was New Look 6468 in view A. I wanted something a little less glitzy- I think this jumpsuit can only be got away with at NYE... I had previously purchased Mcalls 7777 which looked like the perfect style for the occasion so originally I wanted to make this.
Making plans
I’ve been on a self-imposed fabric ban all year to reduce my consumption so have spent very little on fabric and sewing. I decided that I could allow myself to spend some money buying some good quality, beautiful fabric that had been on my Wishlist for a long time- Atelier Brunette. I to-and-froed between Stardust double gauze, Tabby and the Rayon Viscose Moonstone- all in dark green. I've loved the latter for ages, but looking at it made up into garments made me question whether it was one of those fabrics that only looks good on its own but not in sewn up. I just decided to go for it and trust in the Atelier.
Just after I bought it from The Draper's Daughter they dropped Atelier's new collection Dune, and I was a bit gutted that I didn't wait a couple of days, these fabrics are so beautiful.
I ended up not leaving myself enough time to make M777 and seeing as this pattern has a fitted bodice and I planned to use expensive fabric, I decided to leave it for now and give myself the time it deserves for another occasion.
Having already bought 2 metres of Moonstone becuase of M777's requirements, I was a bit restricted in what I could make. I thought a cool pair of trousers and matching top for a faux jumpsuit would be a more versatile alternative. Together they would be smart, but hopefully I would be able to wear both pieces on their own as part of my normal wardrobe to get the most out of the fabric. I couldn’t find a way of fitting trousers and a top on to 2 metres though, and even one pair of trousers didn’t always fit! The Rae pants by Named which are top on my to do list require 2m25 or 2m50!
Winslow Culottes wrap hack
I decided I should find a pattern from my stash, and looked at all my trouser patterns. The Winslow Culottes, and Helen’s incredible array of pattern hacks, emerged as the best contender. I’ve already made a pair, so I felt more confident about making them in spenny fabric.
I have loved Helen’s wrap hack for some time, wanting to make it in some viscose crepe ...that I don’t own. I thought now would be a good opportunity, but decided to try it first in some lightweight cotton crepe from Seasalt that I’ve had since last July. I bought 5 metres, the longest length of fabric I've ever purchased (they sell in 1, 3 or 5), but it was in the sale so it was only £34! I have already made an Athina top for my mum out of it, but have lots left. This was luckily a perfect fabric choice for the hack, I didn’t feel worried about making a mistake as I still had a lot left, and I’ve been wanting to use it for a while.
I followed Helen’s online instructions, and made these trousers in a day. It’s such a simple but effective design, you omit the waistband, pockets and side seams and I french seamed which worked really well. This fabric was great for finger pressing and then ironing, which you need to do a lot of in order to finish the edges. I’m really pleased with the result but after trying them on I wasn’t sure that they would look formal enough, despite Helen looking glam in hers.
Morning Glory wrap hack
I downloaded the Morning Glory pattern by Sarah Kirsten a long time ago, but ashamedly haven’t made it until now! Wrapping has become one of my favourite styles... can’t you tell? I have so many wrap tops saved on my Instagram.
As I tried to think of a top that would go with trousers for my black tie outfit, I decided to try a wrap hack of her pattern. I wanted a deep v neckline, I’ve often worn this style in the past when dressing up and really like it. Quite a few sewists have already done this wrap hack but haven't given much info on the alterations made. @lilypillysews was really lovely and sent me some instructions on how she hacked her Megan Nielsen Dove blouse, I don't have this pattern so applied the steps to Morning Glory. Since doing it myself, Mustard Yellow Socks has created a tutorial which I will try for my next version, as it looks more practical than the solution I found.
Sarah’s pattern is a joy to sew. For my first go I made the ‘pattern’ as she directs you to, without any modifications other than adding a tie waistband instead of a hem that extend into ties. Luckily I had some very dark blue linen cupro in my stash to use that I thought would work well. I sewed a button hole in the hem at the back so that the tie that is underneath can come through to the top. I really like the result, but it does not create a deep V.
The next step was changing the shape of the front pieces and make a pattern piece of my modified shape to use in future. I did two things; instead of drawing a straight line from the top of the shoulder piece down to the hem I curved it, and instead of joining this line with the hem at the full width of the front piece, I brought it down sooner so the front piece is not as wide at the bottom.
I attached the ties differently too, inserting them into the hem. I made this second version in woven black velvet that I dashed out to buy from my local fabric shop, the first woven velvet I’ve ever used. I bought 70cm which turned out to just be enough. I really enjoyed working with a different kind of velvet, it is less shiny than its stretch cousin which gives it a depth of colour unlike stretch velvet. I chose to bias bind the neckline, edges and sleeve hems because I thought folding it over on itself twice wouldn’t be as neat as its quite thick fabric. It also gave me an excuse to use my lovely flowery binding from France.
I love the result of this top, even if the tie situation is slightly awkward at the side and back, I will get a lot of wear out of it. But when I tried it on with my blue lemon Winslows, there was so much wrapping and tying going on it was a bit much.
On a side note, I’m not sure if I’m tying the Winslows right, but there ends up being a bow at the back and at the front, which seems slightly strange. My ties weren’t long enough to cross over my body and tie both bows at the front/back, and if I try to hide one bow with the other trouser piece, you can see the lump underneath. I decided this mix was not going to work, and went back to the drawing board for trousers.
THE pattern- Winslows elasticated waist back hack
I searched through the hashtag for the Winslows so many times, trying to find some inspiration for people using it to make more dressed up outfits. This post by @mary.makes.a caught my eye because of how elegant the outfit looks; a combination of a deep v top, floaty fabric and long trouser length. This post pushed my decision to go with the front pleats of the Winslow, at first I wasn’t sure whether it would suit my fabric choice.
Having made the standard pleated version before I didn’t make a muslin; I knew they fitted me. The one issue I had before was with the waistband being slightly too tight, but making half the waistband elastic would eliminate this problem.
The sew took longer than I expected because the fabric was particularly tricky to work with. It frayed like mad and its lovely fluidity means it moves a lot. This means my side seams don’t hang quite properly which is a real shame but I don’t think it’s that noticeable. I french seamed everything to ensure longevity and I wanted to take care over my finishes to make these into a special pair of trousers. I made view D, cropping the length slightly so that they hit my ankles. This is longer than my grey woollen version, which is more of an everyday length. I don’t usually wear long trousers, I love a cropped leg, but length really adds to the formal feel.
I hand sewed the waistband closed after inserting the elastic. I had a few issues here with the seam of the waistband coming apart and so I had to unpick my hand stitches and resew what was coming apart. This took me an extra couple of hours to fix. Once the waistband was completed, I added another line of stitching over the top of the centre back waistband (see below). I found when pulling off the culottes that the elastic tried to flip over on itself and this extra stitching reduces this.
I hand sewed the hem closed, which was quite tricky due to the fabric's movability. The trouser legs were uneven but I couldn't just even up the shape with a simple chop as they were the right length at one side seam but not the other.
I was overjoyed when I tried them on. This fabric and the Winslows are a match made in heaven. The flowiness and pleated style instantly make you feel glam, and the elasticated waste back ensures perfect fit through the front and absolute comfort. This fabric has the most beautiful bottom heavy drape that is perfect for evening wear but it snags easily. I am so glad I tried this hack, I had plans to make some summer Winslows from crisp cotton and this is now what I’m going to do! There’s no going back.
Peppermint ruffle sleeve top
While waiting for my Atelier Brunette fabric to arrive, I thought about what top would go with a pair of Winslows and I realised that it really needed to be a tuck-in job rather than the wrap arounds I had already made. I decided on In The Fold’s free Peppermint Ruffle Sleeve pattern, and I’m so glad I did. I have been wanting to make this pattern for so long!
I increased the V neck to be lower, using a curved line to redraw. I just guestimated the size by holding the pattern piece up to my chest and drawing a dot where I wanted the V neck to hit. I altered the front facing piece in exactly the same way. Having used the velvet up already, I was left with few fabric options, and I was so glad that I had some black linen in my stash. I just managed to squeeze it into the 80cm I had left, if I cut the back and back facing pieces in two, adding extra seam allowances.
I have not made this pattern before, and it was a more complicated sew than I had anticipated because of the French seams. Having recently gotten into french seaming everything, I was very pleased the pattern was written with them in mind. I don’t think I've sewn so many french seams in one garment, and so many tricky ones too! The armhole seam and the ruffle sleeve seam were challenging due to the amount of ease built in to the former, and the ruffles of the latter. But luckily it all turned out okay and I didn’t have to unpick any seams!
Yay, this top is perfect for the Winslows. I tried it on tucked in, the V was just the right depth, and the fantastic ruffle sleeves are the perfect balance with the long, wide legged trousers. It's slightly awkward tucking it in, because it creates bunchiness and I have to do what looks like a funny dance to reach inside each leg and pull the top down from under the trousers. The linen I used has an interesting finish, not all the fibres have taken to the dye so it has a kind of textured appearance and a sort of sheen. You can see where the dye meets the selvedge that isn’t printed in my sleeve hems and the back facing, I quite like this feature.
Kochi Jacket
I didn’t make a jacket especially for this outift, but I have had cut out for a long time a kochi in black melton fabric leftover from one I made my best friend for Christmas. I sewed this last week in preparation for the party, and it's going to be a real staple. It's a good weight for British June weather. I used a long tie instead of the ties in the pattern, and added some belt loops into the side seams.
Accessories
All Well Bucket Bag
There have been so many amazing versions of this pattern pop up on Instagram it didn't take much convincing to buy. I made my first All Well a few weeks ago, the cross body version in calico, which is too lightweight. This was a test-run for the real thing, a birthday backpack for David in black denim.
Once you sort out where to source your eyelets from, this is such an easy and delightful sew. If you're in the UK, I found that Fabric Land sold the little packs of eyelets that come with their own applicators (all you need is a hammer). It's not very obvious this is what the white tool in the middle is, though, as it doesn't state that on the packet. I became very frustrated that I couldn't find the right installer for the size of eyelet, but then I realised it was there all along! Neat.
I recommend going pin mad when sewing on the base. My third All Well I made from another black denim that I had picked up from my local fabric shop as a remnant, a lovely deep black stretch, heavy denim. I chose the mini version, I've seen a lot of people wear mini kankens around and have been thinking about how useful it would be to have a mini backpack for nights out.
Im really plased this pattern has popped up, it fills a very useful functional hole, and is such an easy sew if you’re looking to make a bag. I’d like to make myself another ‘handbag’ style one but this time sturdier and smarter. I’m usually a 100% backpack girl so we will see how it goes.
Matching earrings
What better way to complete my outfit than making a pair of custom made polymer clay earrings to match! I wanted them to be inspired by Moonstone, so chose to emulate the colours rather than the shapes. Using the same kit and tools as I did before I mixed together colours to get the desired shades. I mixed black, green and blue to get the forest green, pink and a lot of white for the pale pink, and brown and yellow for the terracotta colour. Im really pleased that the colours turned out to be so similar. I wanted simple shapes, similar to ones I made before but bigger and thicker this time too.
Reflections
Winslows: Super comfortable but the Atelier Brunette fabric creases like a nightmare. I spent a lot of time ironing out all my creases beforehand only to emerge from a twenty minute taxi ride with my whole crotch and legs in a creased mess. The creases smoothed out somewhat as I stood up for the rest of the evening. This is the big downside to this fabric!
All well: The backpack was great, it was really nice to have a handsfree bag. It's small and black so still looks formal. It can keep quite a lot in it and there's no worry of thin straps breaking under the weight of a phone, wallet and makeup like there is with so many RTW cross-body clutches.
Ruffle Sleeve top: I had a mare while getting ready for the party. I had travelled to get there and toothpaste residue from my toothbrush leaked onto the shoulder of my top! Despite trying my best to clean it with hot water and detergent several times, I couldn’t get it out, and ended up fading the dye itself and creating a light spot. You can imagine the stress. In the end, I didn't take off my jacket anyway because I was cold.
Since getting home I have dyed the top black using Dylon washing machine dye and I am so pleased that it seems to have covered up the stain. Some lovely people on Instagram replied to my call for help and suggested that I do some visible mending with patches, but I wasn't sure that this would work in the shoulder area and was worried it would leave the top quite unwearable, seeing as it's meant to look formal. It has dyed the top a deep black, which is what I wanted really, even though I liked the original linen. All those threads that weren't properly dyed are now black, so it looks much more uniform and, as a result, formal.
I can’t wait to wear this outfit again. I didn’t actually get any photos of me in it stupidly, except one group shot. I kept meaning to get a nice one of me and David, but forgot! So I got changed at home to show you.
Next time, if I go to a more summery event, I might make it less dark and sew a lighter coloured ruffle top in a colour to complement the Atelier Brunette, like the light pink.
But I would also love to make Deer and Doh's Magnolia dress in a viscose crêpe from the Atelier, although I'd have to save up for a while as the requirements are quite big. I have been totally persuaded by creations made by @nuggetiwithaneedle and @vclbrown who has made a gorgeous deep v hack that's just up my street. I think it would be complicated to work out though, especially as I don't have a body form.
As you can see, searching for my black tie outfit has led to my sewing output rocketing this week. I am glad that I have made garments that are all wearable in other less formal contexts too. Although the Peppermint’s deep V is probably too risky for lecture-going, I have needed a smarter evening-appropriate top for a long time and I’m glad I’ve got round to it.
Despite my collection, I am yet to make a plain black Kochi, and so this staple will come in handy from day to night.
I am less certain about the wearability of my Winslows; their length and this fabric create a fabulous result but one that is rather formal. I shall see how often I can sneak these in. Still, they are probably my favourite ever make, I am sure they will grace me with their presence for evenings out and special occasions like birthdays. Sometimes you just gotta sew frosting!
Patterns: In the Fold's free pattern Peppermint Ruffle Sleeve Top, Helen's Closet's Winslow Culottes, All Well's Bucket Bag, Papercut Pattern's Kochi Jacket, Sarah Kirsten's Morning Glory Top.