A Late Valentine for Mathilde…

I just love it!

And I think you should all go over here, to Tilly and the Buttons, and buy your own pattern NOW!

As I said before, of all the things I have made for myself, this is the one that I am proudest of.  I love the orange buttons. I love the fabric even though it is a deadly slippery polyester and I cursed the whole way through sewing it.  Tilly recommends that you use something that is not slippery if you are a beginner.  She definitely knows what she is talking about and I suggest you take her advice. Having said that the instructions are so clear that even I, as a beginner, was able to steam through with no other problems apart from the ones caused by my fabric choice.  Look! I even did french seams:

You can see in this close up that there are tiny dots of orange, so of course I had to have orange buttons.  I already had some in my stash but they were not quite right, so (for my sins) I found these here on Etsy. They were delivered super quickly in time to finish it for my weekend away.

I do know that it is by no means perfect. The more observant among you will see that there are only six buttons. The pattern calls for seven and I think it would be better with more but there were only six available. And as with my Tiramisus, I probably should have waited for the sewalong instead of steaming in and ignoring anything that looks ‘long’. I am slowly learning through my failures that all of these things (Interfacing, pressing, tracing pattern markings, staystitching… I could go on endlessly) are actually essential if you want something wearable.  I should have taken more time with my tucks. They are a bit, well lets just say variable?

They actually look much worse in that photo, where for some reason I’m pushing my chest out, than they are in real life.  My  friend (who is usually brutally honest)  reassured me that I am the only one who would notice. Apart from the rest of the sewing community of course, who are clued up to these things.  And even though I cut a 2 at the shoulders, then up to a 3 at the bust, hips and waist there is still a bit of extra fabric around the neckline.  I get this on pretty much everything, so it is definitely me and not the pattern.  It also looks like the back isn’t matched up properly, but I promise it is, it just looks wonky in the photos.  And the top of the back does lie flat, despite evidence to the contrary.  I think it had been squished down by my coat – I may put a hook and eye at the top to stop this happening (yeah right, like you’ll ever get round to doing that!)

So there it is. It’s not perfect but I love it. I love it so much and I am going to make loads, in every colour and fabric and each one will be better than the last until Tilly is forced to take out a restraining order to keep me away from her blog.