No New Clothes Challenge - Months 6 & 7

I hope this is OK as part of this challenge because I have got a new dress but I did make it - is that alright I wonder? I've often wanted to buy a Clothkits kit and when I saw this dress in the sale I thought the time had come to snap up a bargain. Unbelievably good service from Clothkits as I ordered it on Thursday and the package arrived on Friday, beautifully wrapped too.

I happened to have a rare afternoon free on Saturday and so set to work. Cutting out was easy without all those silly paper patterns that quite honestly frighten the life out of me and the instructions are perfect for a beginner like me. The other joy of Clothkits is that you get the thread and matching zip too so no faffing around having to buy extra bits.

Once all the pieces were cut out it was time to start sewing and after several (!) phone calls to my mum I was in the swing of it and sewing away beautifully ....  well I say beautifully the dress would not stand up to close scrutiny by an expert but it looks fine from a distance.

And here is the finished article ..... I don't actually plan to wear it as a dress though as I'll feel much happier wearing it as a tunic which is why it is so short in case you think I'd got a bit scissor happy with the hem ;-)

I'm thrilled with it and it has given me a bit more confidence to tackle the paper pattern I have. 

Things I learnt. The special little up/down button on my sewing machine is the key to getting the bobbin to catch. I need to be a bit more accurate with the sizing as although I put a zip in the dress I really don't need it and can slip the dress on without undoing it which makes me think I was a little over cautious in the sizing. The zipper foot I have is wrong. I need to be able to visualise 1.5cm more accurately! 

I would definitely buy again from Clothkits and will look out again for anything that comes up in the sale.