After yesterday’s solar eclipse non-event, (just for the record, this morning at the same time, the sun was out in all its glory) I decided that I would do something constructive with my day off. I haven’t done any sewing for a while, and being still fresh and enthusiastic from watching the ‘Great British Sewing Bee’ plus subscribing to a sewing magazine, I thought it was about time I tried my hand at making something new.

Now, I do not have a fantastic track record with my sewing endeavours,(if i did I would have a sewing blog, showcasing all of my wonderful creations), but I have managed to produce a couple of items that are actually wearable, and anyway practice makes perfect, so I dug around for a suitably ‘easy’ pattern, just to get myself back into the swing of things.

That sorted, I  nagged Mr Grump to come with me to the other side of town to find the new fabric outlet that had recently opened. We eventually found it after trawling around the units on the industrial estate where they were situated (actually the bright pink painted wall outside helped)!

The friendly couple were very chatty and it turned out the lady knew my little sister ‘(the lovely lady with the long, blonde hair and fishtail plait. I get described usually as ‘the stocky one)’ as she used to buy her fabric from the shop my sister worked at some time ago. I bought some fabric and other bits and set off home to start work on it.

This dress is something you are supposed to be able to knock up in an evening, so I thought I would get a head start and cut the pieces out before Miss Hap came in from school. She was going to stay the weekend with my sister who has a caravan on the coast and we were taking her down there in time for dinner.

Anyway, I soon realised that I had miscalculated the amount of fabric needed and was short of about 3/4 of a metre. I was cross so poor old Mr Grump trotted off quickly before they closed (early on a Friday) to get the rest of it so I could get it done last night.

After a lovely visit with my sister and a catch-up we headed home for our dinner then I was going to start my dress. Usually I have my mannequin ‘Dolly’ handy to help me work things out and pin my creations to, but she has been banished to the shed as I have neglected for so long and Mr Grump was sick of her hanging around,

Mr Grump himself, decided to have a few drinks and put a bit of music on (probably to drum out the BBBBBRRRRRRR  of the sewing machine), so he was quite happy, I, however was getting mad. I could not figure out how to put the zip in this dress, and after the fourth failed attempt, and the clock nudging midnight, had decided to take drastic action.

I commandeered Mr Grump to be my Dolly and plonked the dress on him. I just needed to figure out how the zip actually looked when worn, and he was on hand for me to see how to do it. Luckily he had a few drinks under his belt by then, and was suitably anesthetized against any stray pin pricks that my clumsy hands might have inadvertently inflicted on him.

It worked, as I did finally get the zip in, and the dress finished off. It is a bit lumpy and bumpy in places (probably due to me also being lumpy and bumpy in places), but overall I am rather pleased with it! Teamwork eh, isn’t it great?!