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Hello chums,

I took a rather unexpected break from blogging. Actually it was forced upon me…its summer holidays and the kids have been wanting to play a new PC game they got as a present. Wrestling for control of the computer when you are a significantly outnumbered as I am means that I have no access to write up my blog posts :-(. I need a laptop <sigh>.

Still I have managed to bribe them with extra morning PC time in exchange for 30 mins to write up this post. Please forgive any typos and remember that Done is better than Perfect :-). I am running behind on posting my finished items and these were finished over a month ago actually. OK here goes…

I bought the Oakridge pattern a  long time ago but never got round to sewing it up . I even started it but never finished it off. In a flurry of productivity I decided to tackle some of my UFOs after getting back from holiday in early May and these 2 were in the pile.May bank holiday weekend 480May bank holiday weekend 486May bank holiday weekend 497May bank holiday weekend 537May bank holiday weekend 538May bank holiday weekend 559May bank holiday weekend 569May bank holiday weekend 577May bank holiday weekend 579

I made  a muslin (the one with the secretary bow was the muslin btw) which was wearable. The only alteration I made was to raise the armscye so I could move my arms up high.

Its ok buy am not convinced. I have worn the black floral one once since the photo shoot and it was alright for hanging out at home but I didn’t like to go out with it on…maybe its the flare at the hip. Or that the  fabric is too stiff on the black one.

If I make this again I’d need to reduce the flare.On the muslin it wasn’t an issue but using the cotton which is stiff just makes it stand out. Goes to show that you need to muslin in a fabric that behaves similarly to your intended fashion fabric! Hubs says its looks nice on me. But I just dont like that fabric. I have decided to pack it away until next season and see how I feel about it then.Can fabric choice grow on you?

I really like the lilac muslin one with the pussy bow. So I think I will only use drapey but lighter weight fabrics for the Oakridge in the future. I am not sure I will make that many more of these – I know I will definitely make one more.

I am so behind with my finished projects posts on the blog but if you like to see what I am sewing you can hang out with me on Instagram Stories where I have discovered a love of oversharing what I am up to 🙂

Thanks for stopping by! Happy sewing!

Hila

XOX