Tutorial Tuesday/Pattern Review: Delphi Dress by Named Clothing

This pattern (The Delphi Dress by Named Clothing) caught my eye as soon as it went on to our website and I have been looking forward to making it for ages! The finished dress looks lovely and the instructions are so clear and straight forward.

Downloading and printing it off is so easy, once you know your sizing. I personally found that the sizing was very accurate.

Once I had pieced and cut out my pieces, I decided to use a fabric with a nice weight and drape to it.  I used our Coral Blue & Red Diamond Floral Geo Jersey Rayon Spandex Knit (only £5.95 per metre!) 

I decided to use the ‘lightning stitch’ on my sewing machine but a small zig zag stitch would work just as well.

Tips

The bodice

Sewing the bodice and the top floaty layer is very straight forward and creates a lovely neckline. I decided to trim the seam allowance and snip towards the neckline. This helped it to sit flatter when turned back to the right sides.

The straps

I decided to use a very light weight piece of interfacing to steady the straps but looking back on it, I think I could have probably got away without it! If the interfacing is too thick, you will end up with a lot of bulk.

Once I had the straps ready to sew on, I pinned and basted it all before being brave enough to sew it all together! I was also able to fit the straps by myself, quite easily.

Hems

When I hemmed both the layer and the skirt, I used a small zig zag stitch. I also made these hems quite narrow and, after a good press, was really pleased with the finish.

Last weekend I wore the dress to a birthday party and got lots of lovely compliments about both the fabric and the dress!  Named Clothing have a large collection of beautiful patterns so be sure to check them all out HERE.

A Cotton Jersey or Cotton Lycra will be perfect for this dress. A few of my picks from the store:

For more ideas, patterns and tutorials, follow Girl Charlee's boards on Pinterest.

For more ideas, patterns and tutorials, follow Girl Charlee's "Tutorials & Free Patterns" board on Pinterest.

Don't forget to sign up for our email updates to keep up to date with all our New Fabrics, Sales, Giveaways and all our Knitty News!  Click HERE to sign up! 

Happy Sewing!

~ Jen & The Girl Charlee Team

Tuesday Tutorial: Easy Summer Swing Dress

With good weather finally here, how about sewing up this cool and classy Easy Swing Dress from The Sewing Rabbit? Great for any occasion with a fun colour blocked bodice and full circle skirt, this is sure to become a wardrobe favourite. Jessica takes you every step of the way in drafting your perfectly fitted dress by using a tank top from your closet and a little math. Enjoy!

Jessica's tutorial is incredibly easy to follow because there is a corresponding image to every written step. This is the perfect project to sew up in an afternoon.

Any knit fabrics with a good amount of stretch (i.e. Cotton Lycra, Cotton Jersey or Ponte de Roma) will be perfect for this swing dress. If you decide to colour block the bodice like Jessica did, you only need a 1/2m for the contrast fabric so I recommend shopping through our precut half metres. A few of my picks from the store:

For more ideas, patterns and tutorials, follow Girl Charlee's boards on Pinterest.

For more ideas, patterns and tutorials, follow Girl Charlee's "Tutorials & Free Patterns" board on Pinterest.

Don't forget to sign up for our email updates to keep up to date with all our New Fabrics, Sales, Giveaways and all our Knitty News!  Click HERE to sign up! 

Happy Sewing!

~ Mark & The Girl Charlee Team

Tutorial Tuesday:10 Minute Beanie

A really quick and simple tutorial today with this fantastic 10 minute Beanie Hat.

0.5-0.75m will make you 2 hats and there are size guides from new borns to adults so you can use your off cuts to make gifts for friends or family!  

Melissa from Melly Sews shows you how simple it is to to self draft your Beanie and then guides you through the make with simple instructions or a video tutorial.

CLICK HERE for the full tutorial!

To make way for new BOLT by Girl Charlee ranges, we have discontinued the following lines.

Stocks are limited so shop yours now before they sell out!  Click your favourite below or see the whole range HERE.

Once they're gone, they're gone!

For more ideas, patterns and tutorials, follow Girl Charlee's boards on Pinterest.

For more ideas, patterns and tutorials, follow Girl Charlee's "Tutorials & Free Patterns" board on Pinterest.

Don't forget to sign up for our email updates to keep up to date with all our New Fabrics, Sales, Giveaways and all our Knitty News!  Click HERE to sign up! 

Happy Sewing!

~ Mark & The Girl Charlee Team