As with Burda, I rarely buy Kwik Sew patterns.  I really should give both pattern companies more of a chance!  I first saw Kwik Sew 3670 on someone’s blog (cannot remember where) and was attracted to the unusual front drape feature and the lack of zips, buttons or other fastenings.

This is view A, tunic length with elbow length sleeves. It was really very simple to assemble, with cut on facings on the front and binding on the back neckline. It’s only four main pattern pieces – front, back, front yoke/sleeves, back yoke/sleeves – plus one for the back neck and one for the sleeve bindings. There are some inset seams at the corners of the yoke/sleeve/body pieces, but if you take it slowly and follow the instructions, it comes together beautifully.

The fabric is Anna Maria Horner’s voile, yet again, although this one is from the Little Folks range. Very pretty. It’s a fairly roomy pattern – I made the medium, which I am happy with, but possibly could have got away with making a small.  Kwik Sew, I’m going to check through your offerings more often from now on!

Maybe I’ll wear it at Sew It Together in Sydney this weekend!  My bags are packed and I’m ready to go….

I bought this pattern after seeing Kate’s dress.  I rarely look through the Burda pattern catalogue, and I probably wouldn’t have picked this one out just looking at the pattern envelope.  But Kate’s dress looked terrific.  So to celebrate what were probably our last warm days last weekend I finished off my version – and wore it!

The fabric is voile from Anna Maria Horner’s latest range, Innocent Crush. I really do enjoy sewing with these voiles – they are a lovely garment weight. This has enough drape to make the dress flattering without the front gathers looking too maternity-ish. I made view B, pretty much as per the pattern. There are three lines for shortening on the pattern – I chose two. I shortened it about 3/4 of an inch between the shoulder and armhole, and another 3/4 of an inch below the bust but above the waist. I thought that I’d need to keep the length through the bust the same to cater for my C cup.

The dress is shaped with princess style seams that join the insets to the front and the back of the dress. It’s a nice touch! The ties at the back aren’t really necessary but I liked the way they looked. I did make pockets to go on the front, as per the pattern, but once I pinned them on and tried the dress on they looked silly, so I left them off.

I also left out the side zip, but decreased the side seam allowances to give me more wriggle room. I could have probably made it a larger size through the sides. Anyway, I love it! It was comfortable, I think it’s flattering, and the fabric wore and washed beautifully. I might even make the long sleeved version.

This top was actually finished a few weeks ago. It is view A of Simplicity 2892 – I blogged view D here.  This is in size 12, exactly as per the pattern.  Isn’t it strange how I alter some patterns quite a lot, and leave others alone completely – and what variation in size I make from pattern to pattern. It all depends on the flat pattern measurement and the amount of ease I like!

The cotton eyelet was a Lincraft remnant, and I barely had enough to squeak this top from it. I didn’t interface the facings, because of the show through factor with the eyelet. The centre front pleats should have been basted into place (as per the instructions actually…) rather than just pinned, because they’re a couple of millimetres apart. Would you have noticed? I do!

The outer sleeve is gathered to a shorter under sleeve at the sleeve hems. I quite like the effect. This pattern has a number of positive reviews over at Pattern Review.

Like many others, when I first came across McCalls 6164 all lI could see was that eighties leg-of-mutton style sleeve.  Then I noticed view A, which was just like loads of t-shirts I’d seen around recently.  So I made it.

I did make a few alterations. I’ve chubbed up a bit recently due to overconsumption of chocolate and other tasty treats, so I straightened out the curved waistline considerably. I also took about an inch out of the pattern length above the waist.  I made size medium, which I think fits quite well over the bustline and shoulders without clinging too much to my midsection. I altered the sleeves according to Belinda’s instructions, but still added the sleeve band around the bottom, and finished the neckline with a band rather than turning and topstitching.

The lovely striped cotton/lycra was bought at Darn Cheap Fabrics. This is a terrific t-shirt to wear. At first I wondered if the style was a little young for me (after all, I was in high school and uni during the eighties when puffy sleeves were de rigeur) but hey, it’s currently fashionable and I’m not completely ancient yet!  The fancy sleeves and scooped neckline balance out and distract a little from the tummy and waist.  I plan on giving view B a go at some stage and who knows, maybe I’ll even go completely wild and move on to view F (but I don’t think I can do views C or D, unless it’s in pink watermark taffeta – oh wait, that was my year 11 formal dress …. I digress). There are plenty of reviews of this pattern over here.