I rarely, well actually never do custom orders, I just don't have the time , but knowing how much some people want to own a Weekend Doris Dress or Sweater I have decided to release a limited number of custom slots in my Etsy Store .
There are five choices of stretch fabrics available including vintage fabrics like this one:


You will receive a dress or sweater made to your own measurements, and you can choose the length of the sleeve, to have pockets or not, decorative exposed zip etc.
Shipping in the UK as usual is free.
Plus if you use code Birthday6 you get £2.50 off your complete order.


Still want to make your own Doris? Then the code Birthday6 works on everything in store including instant digital downloads and paper patterns. (while stocks last).
And finally, if you want me to teach you to make a Weekend Doris then there are still a few places available at my forthcoming class at Ministry of Craft in Manchester. Stretch Yourself.
There's more.....from September I'm also offering one to one sewing classes from my home in Stockport. Take a look at the Learn To Sew button at the top of this page for more information.

Woven Doris in Vintage rayon,bias neckband, short sleeves no cuffs.

I've made a few Weekend Doris dresses from woven fabrics recently, I love to see the different effects different fabrics have. There are however a few adjustments that have to be made to the pattern before making a woven Doris. The pattern is designed for stretch fabrics, so firstly I size up one size. I cut my neckband on the bias and cut it at the largest size, any excess can be trimmed when I attach it. For most people the dress will fit over the head without any adjustments here, but if you are not sure, the back can be cut in two pieces, with seam allowance added and an invisible zip inserted. That was what I did with my first woven Doris, but found I was popping her on over my head anyway.

Lightweight satin Doris, with rolled hems at neckedge, sleeves and dress hem.

The sleeves need a little extra adjustment:

1: Draw a straight line down the centre of the sleeve piece.



2: Cut along that line, leaving a hinge of paper at the top of the sleeve.



3: Open up the sleeve piece and work out how much extra room you will need in the sleeve. I find an extra 5-6 cms at the cuff edge is plenty, but measure your upper arm and add in what you need. Remember, using a woven fabric means you need more ease than with a stretch fabric. (Note if you have very large upper arms, you might be best to make the sleeve a two part sleeve, with a seam down the centre, add in the extra you need for your bicep, add a seam allowance, and any excess at the sleeve head can be taken care of with one large dart....I haven't tried this I should say, but it works in my head.)



4: Place tissue paper/pattern paper under your adjusted pattern piece and trace.

 



5: If necessary using your ruler or set square neaten up the cuff edge.



6: Transfer all pattern markings, and label your new sleeve piece.

7: Measure cuff edge and adjust cuff pattern piece as needed. (they should measure the same.)

Today, despite feeling really rather poorly I helped India make herself a woven Doris. I let her loose on my new sewing machine and with some of my best vintage fabric.

Launching my first womenswear pattern has been a steep learning curve, and I could not possibly have done it without the support of some very wonderful fellow sewists. These wonderful women not only agreed to test my pattern, but encouraged and supported me throughout the whole process.
I love each and every one of the garments they made with my pattern, I love how each person has adapted the pattern with fabric choice to make it quite their own.

First up is Jayne, an experienced and lovely seamstress. I adore Jayne's dress with the lace pockets and sleeves.



I have been inspired by several of my testers for this pattern, and this dress is definately one I'm going to copy. I already have the lace, just need to find some fabric to co ordinate with it.

Jayne also made two tops, (see photo at the top of the page.), they look fantastic on her with a mini skirt. Love this look.



Clare is next, how fabulous is this animal print version? Clare is a teacher, I hope her students appreciate just how cool she is.
She also made a plain back version in a similar cloque fabric to my yellow dress.



Naomi made this really cute blue marl version with contrast pockets. Naomi is a confident beginner sewer, and said she enjoyed making up the Weekend Doris dress.



Helen, better known to many of you as Justsewtherapeutic made up this totally gorgeous, Mad Men series 3 inspired Doris. I adore this, another one I think I may have to copy. Check out Helen's blog for more fabulous creations.



Finally, we have Marilla. You can read about Marilla's Weekend Doris here . Marilla has been a huge help to me while I have been working on this design, and I'm so grateful to her. I am also so going to copy her corduroy version...I have the cord downstairs on my dining table and will be cutting out today.



The Weekend Doris is designed as a short (or even very short) dress, but I include instructions with each pattern to lengthen the dress, as I know not everyone likes to wear short dresses. Marilla lengthened her dress, but kept the pockets in the same position. I think this has worked really well, and love the belt too.

So, if these have inspired you to make your own Weekend Doris dress or sweater, just click the image below to go straight to my Etsy shop. The pattern is avaialable as a PDF that you can print at home, but also includes a complete PDF for large scale printing at your local print shop. The paper version includes a master copy to trace your pattern as many times as you like.

My first womenswear pattern, the Weekend Doris Dress and Sweater pattern is now available to buy!
My testers have been beavering away at their sewing machines and running up so many fabulous examples, I can't wait to share them with you over the next few days, I'm sure some of them will be sharing on their own blogs too.





The pattern is inspired by the casual styles of the late 1950's and 1960's, specifically the kind of casual outfits Doris Day would wear. You can see my inspiration board on Pinterest
I like to relax at the weekends like most people, but I'm not a yoga pants and t shirt kind of woman, I still like to feel put together, just in a more relaxed fashion. This pattern is perfect for that retro inspired casual weekend.



The dress is short, with optional pockets and decorative exposed zip. Three quarter length sleeves and neckband.
The sweater skims the hips and looks great with casual capri pants and ballet flats.

Knit fabrics are recommended for both. I have made up both in sweater knit, vintage polyester knit, ponte and interlock. All work well and give a slightly different look each time.



The pattern is available as a PDF and as a paper copy from my Etsy store.
Flossie's Garden

My Weekend Doris dress and sweater pattern is out with the testers, I'm already getting some great feedback, and hope to have the pattern ready for sale by the beginning of March.
One of my testers wanted to know if it was possible to use a woven for the pattern. Stretch fabric is recommended, but curious I had a play and with a little alteration it is possible.



This Doris is made using some printed poly, a fairly lightweight dress fabric. I cut the front one size up from my usual size to accomodate my full bust, but graded down two sizes smaller at my waist and hips, for a hopefully slightly more streamlined dress. The back was cut in my usual size ,but again graded down at the waist and hips, with seam allowance added at the centre back to insert a zip.



The resulting dress works pretty well. The sleeves are slightly snug at the cuff, so if I wanted to do this again I would add more to the bottom of the sleeve. Others might find they needed to add more to the width of the sleeve along the whole length.
I wish I had interfaced the neckband, it stands up in a cute way, which I like, but would've been better with some body to hold it in place. The neckband could be left off all together, and replaced either with a facing or bias bound edge.
Maybe I'd add inseam pockets next time too.

Are you sick of these dresses yet? I'm sorry if you are, but there are more to come!

Yes, it's another Weekend Doris Dress! This time made with some vintage poly knit I bought a while ago at Stockport Vintage Village. I loved the print, but the fabric really is awful, very 70's synthetic, with very little stretch for a knit. I thought the chevrons might suit the Doris, and I was right. I love this dress and I really didn't think I would.



Concerned at the lack of stretch in this fabric I decided to add a back zip. So added seam allowance to the back and inserted an invisible zip. I swapped out the original zip pull for a more 60's style large ring pull. Sorry for the poor photo quality...ever tried to take a photo of the back of your dress on your own? Not easy!



And the Snap Crackle and Pop? Well, try wearing a dress made in this poly over tights, and under an original 1960's poly cardigan....there is a lot of crackle, but thankfully so far no snapping or popping, or bursting into flames!

I can't leave this idea alone! Maybe it's the bleak cold grey January making me want to snuggle up in comfy clothes, or maybe it's my poor swollen tum. I'm struggling with gall stones and currently waiting to hear about surgery to remove my gall bladder. No fun at all, not least because my abdomen is so swollen and tender, so much so that most of my usual favourite dresses are not as comfortable as I'd like, and even though they still fit, I'm very self concious about my bloated tum.



I bought this dogtooth check poly/wool sweater knit in Abakhan on Friday, think I paid about £6 for 2 metres. It has slightly more body to it than the sweater knit I used for India's sweater top, and it feels like a higher poly content.

Again, I used my third draft of this pattern, but added a decorative exposed zip at the centre back. I've never been a fan of exposed zips, but I think it works well on this design. I did consider making it a working zip, but the dress doesn't need it to function, so why make extra work for myself ?



Ideally I'd have placed the zip a little lower, you can see here how it is pulling rather more than I'd like at the back neckband. Next time!



I am though, really very pleased with this pattern, might have to play a little more with it, but so far so good.

India is home from University for the weekend, so I made the most of her, in payment for modelling she gets to keep this sweater, plus a few more of my Weekend Doris samples that she has taken a shine to, and of course they look a lot better on her.



This sweater is made using my third draft of this pattern, and a piece of polyester/wool mix sweater knit I bought in Abakhan yesterday for £3!



The sweater goes together very quickly, a satisfactory make leaving me enough time to also make myself a Weekend Doris dress too, but you'll have to wait for that one, only till tomorrow.

Despite my less than flattering attempts to re create a sweater and dress from a vintage sweater last weekend, I simply could not let this idea go. When my friend Jayne sent me a pin of the most wonderful mid weight quilted cloqué jersey dress fabric, I knew it would be perfect for this vintage style.

 

I re drafted the pattern with a lower and therefore hopefully more flattering neckline, and also adjusted the underarm and side seams to accomodate my bust, but skim my waist and end in an A line hem, to hopefully balance my top heavy figure.
I also added pockets.



I decided against adding a zip in the back. The dress no longer needed it with the lower neckline, but I think an exposed zipper would be a nice design feature at the back, especially if I could get one with a silver ring as a pull....very 60's!



I'm mostly very pleased with this version, I adore the fabric, the lower neckline is much better, and I like the neckband as a finish on this fabric.



I also still love the 3/4 length sleeves and band finish.



I like the size and positioning of the pockets, but I think having them double layered was a mistake. They pull in the side seam too much and spoil the line of the skirt.
The hem too, is not perfect. I pondered adding a band to the hem, but didn't want a sweatshirt style look...although that is an option for future makes with this pattern.



This pattern still needs a little refining, it needs to come in a bit at the side seams, especially at the waist, and maybe take the A line in a little further too.
Mostly though I'm pretty pleased with it. Really not the most flattering dress on me, but as a Weekend Doris dress I think it is almost there.