Anya shoulderbag

Before CHristmas I won the pattern for the Anya shoulderbag from http://sozowhatdoyouknow.blogspot.no/ In return, Zoe wanted me to sew the bag(!) and take some photos of it.

Here is my first attempt on making the shoulderbag, and it turned out quite nice.
As I wasn't sure of the size, I made it up in a fabric I have plenty of, and that wasn't meant for any specific purpose. It's a quite sturdy cotton from IKEA, quite similar to canvas(?).

The pattern consists of three pieces; the bag, the button tab and the yoke. In addition you have to cut the shoulder straps - two rectangles.
Zoe's instructions are clear and detailed, with lots of photos to guide you through every step, from cutting the fabric to finishing your bag, so this project is very suitable for beginners. For the experienced sewist, just after a nice shoulder bag, it's an easy make that can be customized to suit your needs.
I added an inside pocket in the lining to hold my bus pass, other than that I followed the instructions.
As I am short, the shoulder straps are shortened quite a bit.

I am very happy with the bag I've made, and plan to make more in other fabrics.

My Davies

When Sewaholic released the Davie dress, I had to get it.
What's not to love - princess seams, a flared skirt, made for knits
I've made two Davie dresses so far, and I love them both.

My first one is made as view B in a french terry from Mood fabrics. It's a lovely purple colour, and the fabric is nice and soft. It's a lot thinner than other french terrys I've had, but it works very well with this dress.
I made the dress straight from the pattern, and it kind of fit, but not quite. I'm short, so dresses with no waist seam are bound not to fit me properly. I fixed it by raising the shoulders by 1,5 cm, it made the waist hit better. I also made some alterations to the back seams so compensate for my sway back.

After using the dress for a while, I was not happy with the sleeve openings. They were very low and showed off whatever I was wearing underneath, and I decided I had to do something about it to be able to wear the dress without a cardigan. I ended up raising the shoulders by another 2,5 cm. This meant I had to undo the neck binding and re-do that.
Now I am more comfortable with the sleeve openings, but I'm not sure I'll be comfortable wearing the dress without tights, as it's a bit on the short side for my liking (which is a bit annoying, as I had plenty of fabric to make it longer to start with).

The colour is somewhere between the two below.

The next dress was made with some changes. Firstly I made it longer, using the pattern pieces from view A. Also I wanted a dress more appropriate for winter. Sewaholic had suggested to add sleeves by using the Renfrew pattern, so I set to work on altering the pattern. It was a bit of a challenge, since the dress had princess seams that ended up in the sleeve openings, but after a lot of thinking, measuring, drawing and redrawing, I had the changes I needed to make a Davie dress with sleeves.

The blue fabric is a different french terry, from Stoff og stil. It's quite different to the french terry from Moods, stiffer, I guess. They both have loops on the inside.
I had just enough fabric to sqeeze out a view A, as it's a bit longer than view B. I had to make the right sleeve from two pieces, but the seam down the middle is pretty much invisible.

I started cutting the fabric on the last day of 2015, and it was the first make I finished in the new year. It turned out just like I hoped, perhaps even a little better.
When it was all sewn up, the long length and high neckline made it suitable for an Amish dress, according to my husband. I took some cms off the length and cut a wider neck which I bound with bias binding as per Sewaholics instructions. I am very happy with the final result.

I think the Davie dress is a lovely dress, another hit by Sewaholic. My only issue with it is the wide sleeve openings, but that's not too hard to fix once one is aware of it. The nice fit bodice with the flare skirt is a great combination.