Did you know that Maai Design’s online fabric store is stocking See You At Six’s collection of rayon fabrics in twelve swoon worthy prints?  I think I can safely say, the designers have considered all of our needs.  There are soft, medium and bold colours, plus the never out of fashion black & white.  Floral, geometric & abstract prints are in the mix too!  And if you can endure this long blog post, there is a discount code for you at the end.

I had a hard time deciding which print to sew for the See You At Six Blog Tour, so I short listed my top five and handed the decision over to Maaike (the store owner) who clearly knows about my love of brights.  How gorgeous and vibrant is the cornflower blue?  But today for a change, it’s not just about me, my big girl has a new dress too!

Miss A’s dress is based on a RTW one she wore ALL last summer.  It was a cropped jersey singlet attached to a long floaty skirt making it the dress of my daughter’s dreams.  It was comfortable, there were no closures (ie. easy to get on and off) and it had the all important a swish factor.  That dress is too small now, so we set about trying to replicate it.

One of the benefits of sewing clothes is that you can customise them.  The design change that I slipped through on this project was to switch out the singlet top for a tee with sleeves.  Sun projection is always a factor in our harsh Australian summers.

I started with Titchy Thread’s Rowan Tee and then did a little measuring on the recipient.  Armed with a traced copy of the pattern and my french curve I created a new cropped high/low cut line between the bust and the waist, and then added a 1cm seam allowance.

The skirt section of the dress is a rectangle (approximately 75cm x 135cm) which, after I removed the selvedges, was seamed (short edges together) to form a cylinder.  I then gathered the top of the skirt section to fit the bottom of the cropped tee.  The rayon fabric sewed and gathered beautifully, it has just the right amount of swish, and it’s far less see through than the dress it’s replacing!

Miss A adores her new dress and so do I.  I think it will be the first thing into her suitcase when we pack this weekend for our upcoming family holiday in the sun.

Pattern:  Modified Titchy Thread’s Rowan Tee
Size:  7 (for my petite nearly 10 year old)
Fabric:  Cotton/lycra jersey from Crafty Mamas Fabrics & Triangles Mint from Maai Design’s online store
Alterations:  Shortened the tee and added a rayon skirt
Accessories:  NA
Location:  Ballarat

Back to usual programming… The Roscoe Blouse by True Bias probably need little introduction.  I thought a boho-inspired blouse (think raglan sleeve and gathered neckline) would be the perfect pattern to showcase this gorgeous rayon fabric and I was right!

I traced my pattern on the flat (rather than the fold) so I could cut each piece in a single layer.  I find it’s much more economical with fabric (ie. you use less) and the fabric is less prone to ‘shifting’ as you prepare and cut your pattern pieces.  Kate shared a cutting slippery fabric tip earlier this week… it’s well worth a read.

When working with this fabric I used my silk/wool setting on the iron and I found it preferred half, rather than my usual full, steam.  The fabric does crease a little in the course of wearing, but that’s not uncommon for natural or made-man fibres that are created from naturally occurring ingredients.  Did you know rayon is predominately made from wood pulp?

On the construction front, I changed the method for attaching the bias binding on the neckline and the cuffs to avoid stitching-in-the-ditch.  Stitching-in-the-ditch is a sewing technique that I’ve never mastered, and for that matter, never care to master!

Lara explains my preferred method so perfectly, that I’ll quote her… When binding necklines, armholes and hems like this it is much simpler and neater to apply the binding to the WRONG side of the garment, then turn it to the outside of the garment and top-stitch in place, enclosing the seam allowances and covering the seamline.  This way you will make sure that the binding is secure and the stitching will be straight and even on the outside. It won’t matter if it wavers a fraction on the inside.

I lengthened each end of the bias binding by 14 inches (35cm) and split the binding into two pieces to ensure I could fit them onto my fabric.  I added seam allowances to both pieces to accommodate a join.  The binding join was strategically designed to sit at the centre back and the newly lengthened bias binding became the ties.  I’m really happy with  how this turned out.

And the pattern… Well, I sewed a size smaller than my bust measurement suggested and I wish I’d taken some length out of the sleeves and off the hem too.  The front slit is a little low for my liking, hence the ties are tied in all the photos!  I know it’s a boho style garment, but it just feels like there is too much volume in this top for me.  I’m guessing it’s going to look great on my sister-in-law.  Yes, it’s another of my recent makes that’s looking for a new home.  Sigh…

If you had some of this divine fabric in your stashing would you be sewing for yourself, for some little people in your life, or would you dip a toe in both camps?  I can highly recommend the latter!

Pattern:  True Bias’ Roscoe Blouse
Size:  6
Fabric:  Arrows Blue from Maai Design’s online store
Alterations:  Eliminated the need for ties by extending the bias binding.  Changed the construction method for the binding so that it was top-stitched in place from the right side.
Accessories:  Boots from Florsheim
Location:  Hop Temple, Ballarat

Maai Design is offering a 10% discount on the whole See You At Six collection from 12th – 30th September 2016.  Just use the code: seeyouatsix at checkout.

Have you been following the See You At Six Blog tour?  If not, go check it out…

12th of September: Shelley from Bartacks and Singletrack

13th of September: Kate from Sewing With Kate

14th of September: Nicola from Create.nic

15th of September: Anna from Blogless Anna

16th of September: Caroline from Usefulbox

17th of September: Suz from Sewpony

18th of September: Allison from The Tall Mama

19th of September: Toni from Make It Perfect

20th of September: Suzanne from Dressed in Pretty Little Things

21st of September: Natalie from Sew Outnumbered

22nd of September: Jenya from While She Was Sleeping

23rd of September: Maaike from MaaiDesign

I purchased the rayon fabric featured in this post at a discounted rate, but the opinions are my own.