Boo Dogg and Me

Ginger and Sorbetto - perfect summer wear

2012-02-10T13:48:00.000-08:00

Thank you for all your wonderful comments on my last post - I'm feeling very loved. If I was more organised, I'd have loved to take part in Debi's Sew Grateful week, but darling Little M is teething like nothing else, so I've been busy holding what is usually a very active and non-cuddly baby this week. Kinda blissful for me given she's usually not so cuddly (just a pity it's cos she's in pain!). I do have a giveaway planned for very soon though, so listen out.

Prior to this week however, Little M has been very obligingly having huge lunch time naps. Which means sewing time for me! I bought this lovely orange cotton sateen from Spotlight a while ago for $5/m, and thought it would look wonderful as an A-Line. So I made up the Colette Patterns Ginger skirt.

I like this skirt. It came together easily, though I found I had to go up a size -- did anyone else find it runs a smidge small? Usually I'm uniformly the one size in Colette Patterns.

I love the way the facing is attached in this skirt, and after reading the instructions some time ago, have been using it on all my skirts. You sew the facing down next to the invisible zip using a regular zipper foot. Am I dumb that I didn't think to do this before? I'd been hand-stitching the facing down. Ah well.

Do you like my personalised clothing tags? Michael got them for me for Christmas! Aren't they awesome? And extremely useful for telling which is the back of a skirt! Thank you my love - I'd been hankering for some for quite a while.

I also made this black cotton voile Sorbetto. I made the bias binding in the same fabric, and used french seams everywhere. It is very light and breezy. I got the voile from Rathdowne Fabrics and Remnants - I think it has some bargains, but feel it has gotten more expensive now that it has exposure via Project Runway.

In other news, I am thoroughly sick of my hair. I am thinking about cutting it very short - a la Jean Seberg - what do you think? My reservations are that the last time I had my hair that short I weighed a good 6 kilos less and my face looked quite different. Will it suit me?

Isn't she gorgeous? Pity about the cigarette - though I guess it was the done thing at the time.

A Very Swanky Sorbetto

2012-01-27T23:18:00.000-08:00

I've recently jumped on the Sorbetto bandwagon - have you? It is such a cute and easy pattern and is free!

I made this in a beautiful black eyelet from Tessuti that I bought two weeks after Little M was born. I needed to line it, so I used some magenta chiffon from my stash. The binding is the same gorgeous Mokuba wool binding I used for my NY Cape.

I didn't have quite enough of the eyelet to make the full pleat at the front, so I decreased it by approximately 1.5cm. I also stitched the pleat down as the thickness of the eyelet, and the double layer made it stand out from the body too much. I basted the eyelet and chiffon together and treated it as one piece of fabric - I thought about doing a separate lining but thought it would look funny through the eyelet. I made a straight size 6 with no alterations bar decreasing the pleat and stitching it down - though I did hand-stitch on the binding so it looked neat.

Next time I was thinking about lowering the neckline a smidge -what do you think? I really like the Sorbetto top - so easy and cute - I think I'll be making more - perhaps in cotton though so it is more airy for this crazy heat we've been having!

My Most Favourite Skirt in the World

2012-01-20T13:10:00.000-08:00

Do you make yourselves a special garment for Christmas day? I do. I've gotten into the habit since I started sewing, and as of next Christmas, I'm going to sew something special for Little M too. I'm also going to sew her birthday dresses every year - I've got the cutest pattern picked out for this year - more on that to come soon.

This year I had a sew myself something that would allow me to breastfeed, and something heat-friendly - Melbourne's weather on Christmas day was tropical - reminded me of my Queensland home! When we were in Italy, Tessuti posted this skirt made by Georgia on their blog. I immediately fell into lust, and wanted to make my own using some of my Singapore cotton. Here is what I came up with:

I used a yoked waistband off a simple skirt pattern, and the tiers are just rectangles of the fabric - the full width and 25cm long. I didn't have enough fabric to make 3 tiers - I stupidly didn't check my fabric width, made the skirt using 3 tiers (1st tier is one piece of fabric, 2nd tier is two, 3rd tier is three), slipped it on to test the fit and looked like I was wearing a bandage on the top half. My fabric was 110cm wide, Georgia's lovely version was 145cm wide. Woops. So I unpicked and started again. Dedication I say.

I fully lined it using a viscose lining from my stash as the fabric is very sheer - the lining makes the skirt more full and very swishy, which I love. Who doesn't love a good twirl?

The best part of the skirt to me though is the pom-pom trim along the hem (completely copied from Georgia). It is from Tessuti, and is extremely cute (Little M thinks so too - she tried to rip it off - I think she's brilliant for using her pincer grip, but would prefer her not to practice on my skirt :-). I used just under 4m.

I feel very feminine in this skirt, and hope to wear it more this summer - I might wear it to lunch with a dear friend of mine today. I don't know what to start on next - got the Colette Patterns Handbook for Christmas from Michael - should I make the Meringue skirt? Any other suggestions?

Lisette Portfolio Tunic and More Clovers

2012-01-15T13:33:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! We had a lovely holiday period here, did you? It was great to have Michael at home, and Little M loved Christmas and all the wonderful gifts she received from everybody. And she gave us a wonderful Christmas present - she started to crawl on Boxing Day! Prior to that she had been commando-crawling, but on Boxing Day she really took off. I'm run off my feet keeping up now though!

With Michael being at home I had some time to sew. As I mentioned in my last post, I was hankering for a black pair of the Clover trousers. So they got made - the only change I made was to decrease the front crotch length by 1cm - I think I'm happier with the new crotch length, but haven't worn the pants for any length of time yet to tell.

I also really need a few more 'nice' shirts - I wear t-shirts most of the time, and am sick of them. I don't really have too many shirt patterns in my collection, so at the Clegs Boxing Day Sale, when all patterns are $5, I picked up Simplicity 2245, the Lisette Portfolio tunic.

I made view C, the shirt. It is a very easy make - the only quandary I faced was that my bust size is a size 14 (!!) and the rest of my body equates to a 10. So I went the middle ground and cut a 12, and took in the side seams from the bust point down. Probably not the 'proper' way to do it, but I wanted something that was easy to make.

I made this out of my lovely Singapore cotton, with some scraps of linen from Tessuti in my stash. I love this blouse - love the collar, and the cute button detail at the back.

I really recommend this pattern - it is a simple project with enough cute details to play around with. I think I'm going to make the longer dress-length tunic - but have so many projects on my mind at the moment!

Clover Pants and Jasmine Blouse

2011-12-10T22:16:00.000-08:00

Ah, home sweet home. We've been back about two weeks now, and while I really didn't want to come home, now that I'm here it is lovely. I'm reunited with my pup, have been to Brisbane to see my old friends (had a great engagement party to go to) and see my family, and have caught up with my Melbourne friends. And it's Christmas time! I love Christmas, and this year will be especially exciting with Little M.

Since we got back I have repaired the zip on my Clover pants. What a mission! So.. here is my review.

These pants are easy to put together, but challenging to fit. I ended up making 3 muslins before sewing the 'good' version. In the end I gave up trying to get a completely smooth look. I think I'd still be going if I did.

See the wrinkling around the crotch? And around the knees? I tried like the devil to fix that, but no dice. I made a size 6 for my first muslin, out of material that had stretch. I didn't like the fit, so I cut another muslin out of different stretch fabric to see if it made a difference. The size 6 were huge. So I cut a size 4, and made the following adjustments:

Lengthened both the front and back crotch by 3.5cm each.
Graded between a 2 and a 4 for the waistband.
Added a smidgeon (probably about 0.5cm) to the inner thighs, tapering to nothing at about the bottom of the knee.

The fabric I used is a grey stretch (2%) denim from Tessuti, with a bit of a stripe in it. I love the fabric. These pants do stretch out quite a bit after a day of wear, but I think they still look fine.

I desperately want to make a black pair (got a lovely remnant from Tessuti that will be perfect) -- but am thinking of reducing the crotch length by about 0.5cm to only 3cm. What do you think? At the moment they sit on my belly button - I think they're meant to sit below?

I also made the Jasmine blouse to go with these pants. It is a lovely blouse and easy to construct. I made it from a very sweet and very sheer swiss dot cotton (also from Tessuti). I made a size 6 -- I love breastfeeding, but I do not love the increase in my bust size. I'm hoping when I wean Little M that they will go back to my normal size and this blouse will be a bit looser across the bust.

I'd love your advice regarding the pants - I've never had to fit to such an extent before.. and while the Colette Patterns' sew-a-long for the Clovers was wonderful, I found it hard to 'diagnose' my fit issues. I think I need someone there with me to say 'oh yes, those knee wrinkles are due to (insert fit issue)'. Wouldn't that be wonderful?

Bonjourno! And Fabric Purchases

2011-11-23T22:45:00.000-08:00

Bonjourno!

We are currently on the last few days of our Italy trip… so sad. We’ve just finished a magical 8 days in Rome, and are now ending our trip with 3 days in Venice. I can’t believe a month has gone so quickly.

I had planned to do an outfit post while away… I had my Jasmine blouse and Clover trousers all ready, but the invisible zip busted on the Clovers - I think because I have made them in denim, the zip is not strong enough - have you any thoughts on this? I took them to a tailor in Rome, who inserted the worst looking zip I have ever seen in my life, for the princely sum of 13 euros. So no outfit post.

But… I have done some significant fabric shopping! I couldn’t come to Italy and not buy fabric. Without further ado…

In Rome, I visited Fratelli Bassetti Tessuti (the Fratelli Brothers’ Fabric).

The Assorted Notions blogger has visited there, which was how I initially learnt of this store. It is amazing. There are hundreds and hundreds of fabric rolls. It was kinda hard to sift through due to the sheer volume of fabric. It is organised according to fabric type. I was wandering through it, and came across a wall of silk. Beautiful, luscious silk. A salesman came over to me (all the sales-people are men), and started to pull out the ones I had touched. I asked how much and he took out a little notebook and wrote 60 euros per metre for each fabric on the wall. I was horrified. That is a lot of money, especially when converted into Aussie dollars! After a short pause, he then crossed out the 60 with flourish and wrote down 25 euros. I smiled. A lot more affordable (though still not that cheap). So I bought two types:

The grey, black and cream is a silk wool. The red and white is a silk twill. Simply divine.

Earlier in our trip, I visited Trieste, which is close to Bassovizza, where Michael’s work was. One day in Trieste I happened across a fabric store (how fortunate!). They were having a summer-weight wool sale (again, how fortunate!). All summer-weight wool was 5 euros a yard. Woo-hoo! So I bought these three:

Sorry for the bad pictures - the grey is a medium-ish weight, and I plan to use it for a tailored jacket. I don’t know if you can see it in the pictures, but there is a light-weight black with a fine but large-scale bright blue check – I think wide-leg trousers - what do you think? There is also a relatively light black with a self-stripe that will be great for a skirt.

Finally, I also went fabric shopping in Singapore. We had one night there. I went to Arab Street, which is an entire street of fabric. I was like a kid in a candy store - we just don't have that in Australia. I bought two Japanese cottons for $12 a metre (which is one of my most favourite fabric types, and much cheaper than I usually pay).

So there you have it! So much fabric to remember our trip by. I'm in a small amount of trouble for adding so much weight to our luggage!

It has been wonderful so far. Little M has been an angel, and is much beloved everywhere we go. I think she’ll think she’s starved for attention when we go home. She’s quite the social butterfly. I don't particularly want to go home, but am looking forward to seeing my friends and family - and sewing of course! And I'm really not looking forward to the flight home - Little M was perfect on the way here, but I'm dreading the way back - wish me luck!

Black Bow Beignet

2011-10-14T02:47:00.000-07:00

I've made the lovely Beignet pattern before in red linen. But I need some wardrobe basics, and a black skirt was on my list. So I got Beignet out again and made it in the same heavy black linen from Tessuti as my 40's wide-leg trousers are made.

I used a green cotton poplin from my stash to line it, and some buttons from good old Spotlight. I made it in a size 6 with no alterations - a bit of a surprise as I usually have to add length.

I don't really have anything new to add regarding this pattern. The most difficult thing about it is sewing the lining and the skirt together at the front facing - there are two opposing curves that require careful pinning and a lot of patience. Apart from that, there are many pieces to put together, but they are not difficult.

I did two things differently - instead of sewing in the cotton tape around the waistband the pattern calls for I sewed a wide piece of grosgrain ribbon. I did this as the waist of my red linen Beignet stretches out quite significantly. The wide grosgrain ribbon seems to really hold it in place.

The second thing I did differently was sew one of Tilly's bow belts using her excellent tutorial. I think the bow belt makes the skirt all the more cute!

This skirt will get a lot of wear - a black skirt is so versatile. I am really loving all of my Colette patterns at the moment - do you have patterns in your collection you faithfully return to?

Simplicity 3688 - 40s Wide-Leg Trousers

2011-10-08T22:03:00.000-07:00

Our little family has had a very exciting year so far - having Little M has made life amazing. To further add to our incredible year, we are all heading to Italy for a month in November! I haven't been overseas since our honeymoon 4 years ago, and have never been to Europe, so I am extremely excited!!

Because I am a good Virgo, I have been thinking about and planning mine and Little M's wardrobe. I thought about sewing her a mini-wardrobe, but her lovely Aunty Ruthy gave her the most amazing set of Italy-clothes - a sweet corduroy coat and matching dress, a knitted cap with a pom-pom and matching cardigan, a cute winter dress that is grey, and a long-sleeved tee. So, I will save Little M sewing til she is a bit bigger.

My wardrobe is going to be mostly pants and tops, and here is my list of sewing projects:

wide-leg trousers;
Colette Patterns' Jasmine blouse;
Colette Patterns Clover cigarette pants; and
Another Colette Patterns Beignet.

I've made some headway - have finished the Beignet (will post on this soon!), and have finished the wide-leg trousers - here they are!

They are from this pattern, which has been well reviewed around the traps:

They were easy to sew. I did make a muslin first though. Here are the changes I made:

I started with the size 12, and ended up increasing the crotch-depth to a size 16 (I must be really long-waisted).
I also increased the size of the darts, effectively taking the trousers in by 4cm in total.
I also lengthened the darts at the front by 1.5cm.
I lengthened the pants by approximately 10cm so that I could use a generous hem. I think it makes the pants swing out nicely.
I cut the size 14 along the inner leg seam - I wanted them to be really wide without losing the shaping over the hips.
I used an invisible zipper.

The fabric is 100% heavy linen from Tessuti - beautiful fabric and easy to work with. Linen frays like the devil though doesn't it?

Karen of Did You Make That? fame has said these trousers are like wearing a pair of pyjamas, and I have to agree. They are sooooo comfy. I'd like to make another pair in maybe an olive green - would look so chic with a white tee and brown sandals in summer - do you think?

Tessuti's New York Cape Pattern

2011-09-24T21:30:00.000-07:00

After sewing my second Lady Grey this year, I had been seriously hankering for more winter sewing. I thought about making a jacket, but then Tessuti released their New York Cape Pattern, and I decided that a hooded cape would work a treat!!

The pattern was expensive ($35), but I really wanted it... :-) It came printed on printer paper, with black and white photos and instructions on A4 paper. The cape is unlined, and all edges are finished with poly-cotton hong kong binding for the inside and wool binding for the outside.

I found the pattern very easy until I got to the wool binding. I sewed the binding on according to the instructions, but it looked awful. It was all wonky and the edges were wavy. I don't know what I did wrong, but I unpicked it, sewed it again and it still looked awful. My next attempt was to sew it in by hand. Thats 10m of hand stitching. It still looked dreadful. So I unpicked it and sat down for a while and thought about it.

I realised that the binding was too short in length. I also realised that if I was going to sew it in by hand I should only use a single thread, not a doubled-over thread. So, off I trotted to Tessuti to buy more binding. I bought half a meter more than the pattern suggests.

I sewed it in by hand, and here is what I came up with!

I am very happy with it now. I did do a few other things differently than the pattern instructions. I added a line of topstitching along the edge of the hood, as the layers of wool were a little bulky. Now it sits flat.

I also hand-sewed the buttonholes. To do this, I consulted Shaeffer's Couture Sewing Handbook. I used silk thread and a buttonhole stitch. I am really proud of them:

The fabric is from Tessuti - a dark navy wool/cashmere blend, the wool binding is also from Tessuti and is black, and the black buttons are from Spotlight.

This project took me a loooong time... but I am really happy with it. I think it will be great for Melbourne's spring - not really cold but not warm yet either. I wore it this morning out to breakfast and it was perfect!

I'm Back! In Black and White!

2011-09-04T16:54:00.000-07:00

Hello! It is has been soooo long since I've posted a project! I have been doing a little sewing - not a lot though, because Michael was away in Chicago for 2.5 weeks, then we went to Cairns for a week. So not a lot of free time for me!

I finished this blouse some time ago. It is Pattern 'C' from 'Casual Sweet Clothes' - the Japanese pattern book I sewed my other shirt from. The fabric is 100% medium weight cotton from Tessuti Fabrics.

These pictures were taken ages ago - I've since cut my hair and lost another 5 kilos, so I'll have to take some more up-to-date pictures of me in another completed project very soon!

This shirt came together very easily. It is essentially a simple princess-seamed blouse, with the sleeves sandwiched between the seams. You finish the neck edge and arm-hole edges with self-made bias binding. The pattern calls for the stripes to all be going horizontally, but I like the way the CF and CB panels are vertical. Plus I would have had to do way too much stripe matching if I'd made them all horizontal!!

The only complaint I really have about the shirt is that it is too large, especially now that I have lost more weight. I can't seem to get my head around the sizing in the Japanese pattern books. I guess I'll have to do muslins in future projects from these books. But muslins take time! And time I do not have.

Little M is verrrry active these days. She sleeps through the night (started to at about 2 months), and will nap after every feed, but only for a short while - 30 mins to a rare 1 hour. So I am on my toes the whole day! She's so lovely - her personality is really coming through, and my goodness she is cheeky! I love her so much and love being a mum. It has taken me a while to find my feet with motherhood, but I found that Michael being away really helped me, and I got my groove.

Sorry I haven't been commenting on the wonderful projects I've seen around the traps - I've been reading and admiring and filing things away for inspiration. There are so many beautiful projects out there!

Negroni Finished!!

2011-07-17T15:08:00.000-07:00

Well, it is three months and two days overdue, but Michael finally has his birthday present.

As I blogged about earlier in the year, it is the Colette Patterns' Negroni shirt. I made a muslin, and ended up doing a sloping shoulder adjustment, which added some more room under his arms as well as shaping to the shoulders.

I'm pretty proud of this shirt. I'm not happy with the way the third button pulls across the front, but that is because Michael has grown a little in that area (by his own admission! He's aiming to downsize a bit). But I think I did a nice job on some of the elements.

The pockets:

The collar:

I seriously ruined the first pair of sleeves I set in. I was stupid enough to just hack off a bit at the end of them to make them shorter... didn't think to shorten them at the 'lengthen or shorten here' line. So I unpicked nearly the entire shirt and put a new pair in. Luckily I had extra fabric.

Michael really likes it, and put it on straight after little M and I sang happy birthday to him this morning and presented it to him. I'm just so glad to have it done!

Japanese Sewing - Casual Sweet Clothes Top 'L'

2011-06-17T23:33:00.000-07:00

Thank you everyone who suggested patterns for the viscose knit. I've decided to make a dress out of it - McCalls 6069 - for after breastfeeding. I think it will be best to use such lovely fabric for something I'll wear forever.

But for now.... I've been eyeing off the Japanese pattern books at Tessuti for a while now. Lisa, Nichola, Leisl, and Colette have been whipping up garments out of the various books that have made me drool with envy (check out Tessuti's Blog - click on 'japanese pattern books' in the right hand toolbar). I don't read or speak Japanese, but the pictures are excellent, and there are good resources on the internet for basic translations of sewing terms.

So, to solve my breastfeeding clothes dilemma, and have an excuse to buy and make some of the Japanese patterns) I decided to make some shirts from the Japanese pattern book 'Casual Sweet Clothes':

I've made up pattern 'L' first after seeing Lisa's gorgeous linen version. Here is the pattern photograph in the book:

And here is my version, made up in a Japanese cotton called 'Pink Hyou' from Tessuti, that is completely divine - it is quite drapey and has a crepe-like texture:

I lined it in hot pink 100% cotton voile from Spotlight, to accentuate the shoulder ties:

I made a few changes. I did as Lisa did and finished the sleeves with a self-made bias binding. The pattern calls for elastic in the sleeves, but I thought Lisa's sleeves looked better. So I copied her:

I also (as did Lisa) had to take in the shoulder width significantly. I took in 7cm at the front and 5cm at the back by creating both centre front and centre back sleeves. This was partly my own fault - I cut the biggest size, and really shouldn't have. I think I would have been fine with the smallest size, and maybe added in a bit around the hips.

So - my first foray into sewing post-baby! What do you think? I really love the shirt but am worried it makes me look like a football player - I do have quite broad shoulders already. It does effectively hide the post-baby belly I have. I took a deep breath and weighed myself for the first time after giving birth today - I have 4 kilos to lose till I am back to my pre-pregnancy weight. If I can stop eating croissants and Anzsac biscuits it probably won't be too hard to lose (I hope).

Next up is some hard work on Michael's shirt. I am re-doing the sleeves after some serious stupidity on my behalf, so it is taking even longer than I had hoped. Wish me luck!

Hello.... Advice Please!

2011-05-25T22:00:00.000-07:00

Hello! Thank you to all who left such lovely messages on my last post. They were so nice to receive!

Life has been CRAZY! Little babes are so much work, but my word, they are worth it. Our bub has been growing so much! She turned 6 weeks old on tuesday. She's gained nearly a kilo since birth, has started to smile, lifts and turns her head... she does so much!

I've had a bugger of a time getting breastfeeding going, but now it is under control. I was so despondent when it looked like it wasn't going to work out - I've battled grazed nipples, mastitis, and a little bub who has a 'barracuda' style of feeding - but all has come good now and we're on track. Phew.

I also finally feel like I have energy for a few extra-curricular pursuits, so, you guessed it, sewing is on my mind!! I'm slooowly working on Michael's b'day shirt (now over a month late), but I want to sew something for myself to wear. So - your advice please!

I have some of this lovely viscose knit from Tessuti - this is the only image I can find with the fabric (hope it's okay that I'm using this pic Tessuti ladies!):

It is a lovely blue colour, with silver lines shot through it. It is 176cm wide, and I have 2m. It is really cool fabric. What should I make? I need it to be breastfeeding compatible. Any ideas? I originally thought of Tessuti's Fave Top pattern, but am unsure now. I'd love some suggestions!

I hope you're all doing well - I'll post some pics of Michael's shirt soon - have still got to do the buttonholes, buttons, sleeve hems, and shirt hem. And I've got to go slow, as my sleep-deprived brain is not as sharp as it used to be!

A Little Baby Girl

2011-04-18T00:09:00.000-07:00

Last week, on the 12th April, at 00:30am, Little Miss Boo Dogg joined our family. She decided to come 2 weeks early, and Michael, Boo Dogg and me have been welcoming her, getting to know her, and loving her.

I went into labour early on the sunday morning - my waters broke, but no contractions came. The hospital sent me home to see what happened, and if no contractions came, to come back at 7am monday morning to be induced. I was induced monday morning (hellish and horrible), and then our darling was born just after midnight that night, weighing 7 pounds 12 ounces, and 51cm long. It wasn't easy going - I lost a lot of blood, had dangerously low blood pressure, and fainted in the shower and scraped the living daylights out of my spine (luckily no more serious injuries than that). But I'm on my way to fighting fit now. We had four nights in hospital after she was born (Michael stayed too), and now we've been home for 2 nights, getting into a baby rhythm.

Michael and I have decided not to put any 'identifying' pictures of our baby girl out there in Internet world, but I do have a picture of her perfect little feet to show you:

Aren't they just the sweetest? She is such a darling.

Hope all your sewing is going well - I'm sloooowly getting through my blog reader!

My Bump! 37 Weeks and counting....

2011-04-01T12:05:00.000-07:00

I feel like I haven't 'appeared' here in some time. I haven't really had any new garments I could actually model for a while, and have been living in the same 3 dresses for the last 2 months or so. It has gotten cooler here in Melbourne, and I'm finding dressing for the autumn/winter temperatures a little harder than summer.

By 'bump' is going great guns though! Here I am in one my staple dresses:

I had a 34 week 'size and well-being' scan just under a month ago and they estimate our little baby girl will weigh about 3.5kgs/8 pounds at birth. My midwife said that if she was having a baby she would want them to be that weight, so I feel good that she will be a good healthy size that won't be impossible to push out (yes, I do think about these things. Almost constantly.).

Overall, I've felt very well. I have had one 'issue' - I have pelvic dysfunction and have to wear a compression bandage and a brace. The dysfunction cropped up about 6 weeks ago (unfortunately just before Michael went to the States, which was very difficult for me), and I've been banned from any type of exercising (which is very annoying for me). Since Christmas I have also had extremely swollen feet that never go down, but my blood pressure is perfect, so they are just a nuisance rather than something 'being wrong'. So really, I've had a very good pregnancy, and feel very lucky. I've not really been sick, I've not put on too much weight, and most importantly, the baby is healthy.

So now I have 3 weeks to go! I've just begun my maternity leave, and today we are setting up the nursery. This coming week I am going to wash all the teeny baby things - little cot sheets, mini mittens, tiny onesies. I'm really looking forward to it! Isn't it funny how doing copious amounts of washing can become fun?

More Sister-Related Sewing: A Birthday Skirt

2011-03-29T14:52:00.000-07:00

You all know my little sister Ruthy now. It was her birthday a couple of weekends ago, and I made her a skirt.

Ruthy is a classic pear shape, so I wanted to make her a skirt that would emphasise her teeny little waist. If I'd had my new Sewaholic Crescent Skirt pattern, I would have made her that, as it is designed specifically for pear-shaped women.

Alas, the Crescent Skirt wasn't even for sale back then, so I made Ruthy the Wiksten Tulip Skirt that I have made for myself before in denim. I made Ruthy's in a Marc Jacobs cotton sateen that I got from the Fabric Store in Brunswick at their 50% off sale:

The fabric was soooo good to sew with, and I've made this skirt a few times before, so it was a good, straightforward project. And it fits her perfectly!

I also made myself one in linen to wear post-pregnancy - I made it a smidgeon larger than I usually wear to accommodate any 'shape changes' - and linen is usually pretty forgiving:

Well, I only have 3 days of work to go until I'm on maternity leave! I am really looking forward to having 3 weeks off before the baby is due (hopefully she doesn't come too early!). Michael took some 'nice' pregnancy photos of me yesterday, so I'll post them this week to give you an idea of the size of my bump!

Rouge Lady Grey - With Guest Model

2011-03-26T23:35:00.000-07:00

I hope you're all having a happy weekend - I am! Today my gorgeous youngest sister, Ruth, came over for afternoon tea and generously agreed to model my finished Lady Grey coat for me. I would love to be able to model my most prided project to date, but my belly is far too big now for that!

So here is my darling sister in all the Lady Grey glory:

Doesn't she look amazing? My beautifully pad-stitched lapels and lapel roll lines:

The pad-stitched collar:

The lining - I actually had to add a ribbon hem - the lining is soooo short! I was quite annoyed about this to begin (should have read reviews again), but think the ribbon looks pretty, so I've gotten over it:

To tailor the coat, I followed Gertie's Lady Grey Sew-A-Long posts. I followed them pretty much to the t., which involved:

• Interfacing by hand-stitching all coat pieces with hair canvas;

• Marking and stitching the lapel roll line;

• Pad-stitching the lapels;

• Stitching the seams down flat to the coat (I didn't topstitch them as I thought the stitching wouldn't show anyway).

• Stitching together the coat shell pieces (not the collar or the sleeves);

• Stitching together the lining pieces (not the sleeves); and

• Hemming the lining using lace.

• Marking and stitching the collar roll line;

• Pad-stitching the collar;

• Attaching the collar to the shell;

• Hemming the shell with lace (and also ribbon); and

• Attaching the lining to the shell by hand.

This coat took me a long time - I had two weeks off work, and Michael was away in the USA, so I worked on it full-time during that time. I then worked on it on a more part-time basis for another two weeks. The hand-stitching is very time consuming, plus I had never pad-stitched anything before.

It was very fun to sew - and very good for me to sew something more advanced than I usually do. Definitely my most satisfying project to date, especially when Ruthy put it on and I could see how nicely it sat.

It was so fun to have Ruthy to style - she was looking stunning (no surprise there, she always does), the sun was out, the chocolate pudding was tasty, and Michael's photo taking skills were right on the money. An excellent afternoon! Hope your weekends are going as nicely as mine.

The Baby Quilt - Finito!

2011-03-22T02:49:00.000-07:00

There is something about having a baby that makes me want to sew things I usually have little to no interest in sewing - like a quilt. Don't get me wrong, I think quilting is amazing - they look like works of art. Its just usually not my thing I suppose.

But this little ragamuffin baby inspired me to sew her a little quilt. I began the quilt about 2.5 months ago, my most long-term sewing project to date. To begin, I went to Patchwork House in Hawthorn. I was lucky to choose such a place as the woman working on that day was so patient with me. She helped me choose my five fabrics, work out a size, and suggest a few quilting layouts. She was also wise to make me go home with just the fabrics, and come back when I had sewed them together for the batting and backing fabric.

Using Michael's scientific and logical brain, a design for my squares was settled on, which he then helped me choose where to place each fabric. I then sewed them with the machine. Then I went back to Patchwork House, got some lovely soft organic bamboo batting, and chose a backing fabric. There was a different woman working that day who was equally amazing, and helped me choose thread, and work out a quilting design. And she alerted me to quilting pins - weird curved safety pins that worked a treat. Away I went and did the quilting by hand. I gave myself a significant scab on the tip of my middle finger (I've since bought myself a nice rubber thimble).

Last saturday I went back for the final time and chose some fabric to make bias binding with. Saturday arvo I made the binding, and I started to machine stitch on one side of the binding, using my walking foot on my machine. Sunday arvo/evening I hand-stitched on the other side. That little part took about 3.5 hours - thank goodness for rubber thimbles.

Two intensive washes later, to get rid of my fabric pencil marks from drawing on the quilting design template, I have a 40" by 45" baby quilt ready:

I love it - apart from one thing - there seems to be too much excess fabric pillowing up - maybe I didn't quilt enough or firmly enough? Any quilters out there have any advice? The pillowing seemed to appear after washing, as well as a mild amount of pilling on the blue fabric - I can't imagine why, they are 100% cottons, and were most certainly not cheap (about $26/m).

I still think it looks really pretty, and I'm very proud of it - do you think it's suitable for a little baby girl?

Some Future Planning

2011-03-20T17:07:00.000-07:00

About a month ago, Michael headed off to California for two weeks for work - lucky Michael - Mexican food heaven, cheap beer, very pretty landscapes, and fun experimental work for him!! But I was lucky too, as my lovely hubby went fabric shopping for me - not once but twice!! (He also got me the Issey Miyake perfume and my favourite perfume Ja'dore by Christian Dior - I was thoroughly spoilt!).

Michael went to Stone Mountain and Daughter, and got three lovely cotton prints:

Sorry for the poor pictures (thats the limit of an iPhone I suppose). The red print is my favourite - it is so pretty.

Michael got me 3.5 yards of each, and they are all medium weight. So, of course, my mind has been going into planning overdrive for these lovely cottons. I don't want to sew with them until I've lost some baby weight, and I know I'll need more separates for a while given the mechanics of breastfeeding. So, with all of that in mind, I purchased Sewaholic's Crescent Skirt Pattern:

Tasia's (the Sewaholic :-) version of this is made in a quilting cotton, so I think it will suit my cottons perfectly. My plan is to make A and C in the blue-toned cottons. What do you think?

I am excited about Tasia's new pattern line - they look so pretty, and it is nice to have another boutique line to purchase from. Her Pendrell blouse has been out and about in many of the blogs I love with great reviews, so I'm really looking forward to making the Crescent skirt. Has anyone else bought this pattern?

A Babushka for My Babushka

2011-03-17T03:26:00.000-07:00

Do you ever see a creation on someone's blog and know, then and there, that if you don't make that, you will probably never think of anything else ever again?

I had that experience today at approximately midday. I saw in my blog reader that the amazing and wonderful Jorth had posted something, so I popped over to her blog. And staring me in the face were the cutest ever little softies. The minute I saw the little darlings I knew I had to make one for my soon-to-be-born darling.

A quick rummage in my stash, a quick trip out for some felt and filler, plus a few hours tonight, and I have a little babushka for my own babushka:

They are very simple to make - the tutorial link is on Jorth's Blog. The other good thing is that you can use scraps of fabric, with a bit of felt and filler. I think I spent around $10 in total.

I am still going on my baby quilt, which was going to reveal the baby's gender, but I think this bit of baby sewing lets the cat out of the bag --- I'm having a girl!!!!

Still alive... sewing progress on my Lady Grey Coat

2011-03-08T03:12:00.000-08:00

While I have been absent from blogging land for a little while, I have been sewing like mad. I had a serious yearning to make another Lady Grey coat, using Gertie's tailoring tutorials. I'm getting there.

Equipped with 3.5m 100% wool boucle, 3.5m 100% silk, 2m of lace, 2m of hair canvas, silk thread, regular thread, interfacing, buttons etc etc, I have:

Interfaced by hand-stitching all coat pieces with hair canvas;
Marked and stitched the lapel roll line;
Pad-stitched the lapels;
Stitched the seams down flat to the coat (I didn't topstitch them as I thought the stitching wouldn't show anyway).
Stitched together the coat shell pieces (not the collar or the sleeves);
Stitched together the lining pieces (not the sleeves); and
Hemmed the lining using lace.

Most of this has been done by hand, and phew, I'm beat from it. Here are the pad-stitched lapels (my first time pad-stitching - you can tell!):

The hair canvas interfacing:

The lace hem and lining fabric:

I still have to:

Mark and stitch the collar roll line;
Pad-stitch the collar;
Attach the collar to the shell;
Hem the shell;
Do the belt and belt loops;
Do the lining and shell sleeves; and
Attach the lining to the shell.

Do you think I can get it done before baby time? I still have to finish Michael's b'day shirt and finish my baby quilt, and I'm due on the 26th April.

My pregnancy is going well - I have some pelvic instability which is slightly painful and a real nuisance - I have to wear a brace - but bub is getting bigger and bigger (as am I!!). I should be finished the quilt soonish, so I'll post some pics to show you - the quilt colour-way will also reveal if the baby is a boy or a girl!

Hope you're all doing well, and I'll post more progress pics soon!

Michael's Muslin - Negroni Take #1

2011-02-12T15:31:00.000-08:00

This week has been an interesting one. In between trying to start two new journal articles due very soon, and finishing up two others (bring on maternity leave!), I tried a few new techniques to get the Negroni muslin done for Michael. Michael heads off to California (lucky him) for work in a fortnight, so I needed to get moving to be able to have a nicely fitted shirt before he leaves.

So, without further ado, here he is, modelling the muslin!

He looks so sleepy! It was pretty late at night, so I'm grateful he put it on and smiled for the camera!

So, I think it looks pretty good from the front. Michael likes a slim fit, and we've gotten that. The shoulder width seems to be good from the front too.

But - look at the back. Bleh. Do you think this is due to the shirt being too long? I haven't hemmed it, and it is much longer than his RTW shirts. The sleeves also look a little funny - Michael did say he feels the shirt is a smidgeon too tight under the arms - if I deepened the underarm, would that help? Does the shoulder width still look good?

Here he is with his arms in the air:

I'd love your thoughts on fit -- what alterations do you think I'll need to make?

Now I'm back to making some breastfeeding-friendly clothes - a button down slouchy blouse.

MPB Negroni Sew-A-Long: Day 1

2011-02-01T01:35:00.000-08:00

Today started the MBB Negroni Sew-A-Long. Peter instructed us to essentially prep our pattern - read the instructions, choose the size, trace the pattern pieces etc.

Michael decided he wanted a short-sleeved shirt (I'm a little disappointed, as I wanted to do a sleeve placket), so I've traced for that version. I am however, going to adapt the collar to a traditional collar rather than the one-piece camp collar the pattern provides for. That will be a challenge.

I measured Michael up and he is a medium at the neck and chest, but between a medium and large for the waist. We measured the waist on the shirt pieces, and decided to trace off the medium. I use a light-weight interfacing to trace patterns - it is great, as it generally sticks to the fabric really well which means I don't have to pin.

About a fortnight ago Michael and I were in the city at a photographic exhibition and one about Australian fashion over 100 years (both finished now but excellent). Tessuti's fabric sale was about to finish, so I took Michael in to choose his fabric and buttons. He chose a green shirting and buttons that look like they are made of mother-of-pearl. So I really am prepped for sewing it up now!

So - here are the materials for Michael's b'day shirt!

So - day 1 down.

I am sewing a little for myself at the moment. It has been extremely hot here the last few days and I have no energy. Zip. I feel massive from the heat too. I am also low in energy as my mum is really sick. She had a hole in her lung at the end of last year, and it has happened again. She was operated on today, but it isn't clear if she'll be better now. It is scary - my mum is only 54. She did smoke for 40 years, but it is hard to think of your parents as anything but invincible.

Anyway, hope all your sewing is going well, and you'll hear more Negroni updates from me soon.

What I'm Working On: The Caped Crusader Project

2011-01-20T19:29:00.000-08:00

Thank you everyone for your lovely comments on my 'evil' dress. I'm much more at peace with it now.

I have, however, gotten to the point where I just don't want to sew anymore maternity clothes. I figure I have enough, and I'm kind of looking forward to getting back to my regular size. I love having my bump, but I'm not used to carrying this much extra weight (I've put on about 8.5kg so far - I start the third trimester next week!!)-- exercise is much harder now, and I'm going through a really tired stage again (my mum and sister swear I will get energy again soon). Plus I'm really really really really looking forward to meeting the little bub!

With that in mind, I looked through my stash, and tried to think of something that I could sew for 'after' that didn't really require any fitting. My body is sure to be 'different' for a while after I give birth, so no sewing fitted dresses, skirts, or blouses for the time being! I came up with this Burda Style Magazine 01/2010 cape:

You can buy it from their website. You're meant to make it out of a stretch jersey, making a cape that pulls on over your head - no fastenings. But I had 2m of a brown houndstooth that I got from Tessuti's $10 bin a while ago (fabric content unknown, but no stretch), and I thought it would be perfect for a cape a Sherlock Holmes type.

I've been keen to try out some new sewing techniques. I also have been keen to use the book I got for Christmas, 'Couture Sewing Techniques' by Claire B Shaeffer. Using this book, I amended the pattern in the following ways to allow me to use a non-stretch fabric and try some new techniques:

I have wanted to do bound buttonholes for some time, and thought they would look good on this cape. I used Shaeffer's technique for these -- the process was extremely well explained. I practiced the bound buttonholes first, then did my cape - what do you think?

I also wanted to change the pattern to have arm holes (I'll need to be able to get my arms out there to push prams, nurse bub etc). So I'm using Shaeffer's technique for bound pockets, but with no pocket pouch. I'm doing these tonight or tomorrow night.
I've completely lined the cape (the Burda Pattern doesn't line it).
I've done french-flat-felled seams on the fashion fabric, and regular french seams on the lining fabric. I used a tutorial on BurdaStyle for the french-flat-felled seams. I think I'll use this technique for Michael's shirt too - they look so pretty.

I'm going to do the hem with lace.
I put a pleat at the CB - this pattern is sized oddly (72, 76, 80, 84, 88), and I misjudged my size. It actually looks really good with the pleat (if I do say so myself :-).

I still have a fair bit to do. I need to do the pockets, finish the back of the bound buttonholes on the lining fabric (I'm using Gertie's tutorial for that bit), sew the buttons on, do the lining hem, and the regular hem.

Usually I work really hard on projects, being very single-minded and devoting all my spare time to sewing. I'm working at a much slower pace with this one, and I love it!! It feels so much more rewarding, especially when a technique I haven't used previously actually works. I'll be back soon with more progress!

Vogue DKNY 1103: The Fit Nightmare

2011-01-16T23:53:00.000-08:00

Doesn't look too bad does it? Simple empire waist, nothing really to fit... I thought it would be perfect for my 2nd last maternity sewing project (I'm still going to be sewing, just no more maternity stuff). It was straightforward to sew, just not straightforward to fit.

I made a muslin, using a straight size 12. It was huge. Huge I tell you. I could have fit another pregnant me inside. Incredible. So I cut a 10 for my fashion fabric, thinking that would solve most issues, and I would only have to make a few tweaks here and there. Wrong. Here are the alterations I made on the 10:

Decreased the CB seam by 4cm in total.
Increased the shoulder seam by 2.5cm on each neckline side, tapering out to 1.5cm at the sleeve edge.
Decreased the side seams by 4cm on each side.
Decreased the length of the elastic on the back and the front by 2cm each (and it is still too loose now, but I will be growing more).
Increased the length of the bodice upper front by 5cm.

Here is what I ended up with:

I also inadvertently cut off twice the hem I meant to, which means the dress is a bit shorter than I intended, but I think it is okay. It is the narrowest hem in history though.

There are elements I do really like. I like the sleeves:

And I like the gathers on the front and back:

What do you think? I think it is cute, and it is cool to wear (I used Japanese cotton again from Tessuti Fabrics - I'm addicted), but after so many issues fitting it, I can't help but look at it in disgust. It should not have been that difficult to fit, given its relatively simple design.

I should probably feel like I triumphed over the evil pattern, but instead I just feel tired looking at it (another reason I think it is time to stop sewing maternity clothing).

So I have the last project for maternity (a vintage sundress - very easy, and almost finished), and then I'm making myself a 50's housedress that is for when the baby is born. It isn't fitted at all, so I don't need to worry about fit, which is a massive relief.

I'm also making a cape for when bub is born (it will be winter here), and Michael's b'day shirt. I'm also making a simple quilt, and some baby bunting to decorate above the cot. I'm feeling a little bit overwhelmed and as though I've committed to waaay too much. Time will only tell if I actually get it done.

What is everyone else sewing at the moment?

Delving Into Men's Tailored Shirts

2011-01-07T23:45:00.000-08:00

After taking a few deep breaths, last night I committed myself to making Michael a tailored shirt for his b'day in April (before bub is due) this year. I set this idea in stone by blabbing to several friends at dinner that I would be doing so. Michael was there and heard, so there is really no backing out now.

I had decided Colette Patterns' Negroni shirt would be perfect:

I think this is a wise choice for my first men's shirt as I've used Colette Patterns before and the instructions are nothing short of amazing. I also got Michael's approval, which is clearly the most important factor in pattern choice.

To further make this project easier, I have joined Peter's Sew A Long (his blog is Male Pattern Boldness - it is hilarious and he is an awesome seamster). It is perfect timing - his sew-a-long begins on February 1, and he is using the Negroni pattern. My plan is to make a 'wearable muslin' version with the sew-a-long and then make the 'good' version after that for the b'day present.

Is anyone else sewing along? I'm quite excited!!

I've got a Burdastyle Anda waiting to be photographed to show you, and I'm unpicking and making smaller a Vogue DKNY frock that should be ready soon - I'm quite frustrated with the DKNY frock as I made a muslin first, amended the pattern, and it was still massive. Very annoying. And then my sewing will slow right down, as I'm back at work on Monday - very sad about that. Hope you're having good weekends!

New Favourite Sewing Technique: Shirring

2011-01-04T14:05:00.000-08:00

Recently I've realised that having an expanding bust and belly calls for some expandable clothing. Especially on hot days, or days when I have lunches or dinners to go to where I may eat a lot (there just isn't as much room in my belly for food as I'm used to). So shirring has become my new favourite sewing technique.

To arm myself with some appropriate shirring fabric, I went to Spotlight (chain fabric store for non-Australians) a couple of days after Christmas when I was still in Queensland, and was lucky enough to get there on a day where there was 30% off all fabric, including already discounted fabric. I got 11.5m of fabric for $51. Woo Hoo!! I got 2.5m of some green floral cotton voile for $3.50/m that I'm making into a Burdastyle Anda frock; 3m of some white cotton sateen with little black polka dots for $3.50/m that I will make into a shirtdress when I've lost my baby weight; and 3m of some navy and cream striped cotton sateen for $3.50/m that I'm not sure what I'll do with yet, but is for later on too.

I spent the most ($7/m) on 3m of this lovely cotton voile with pinky tones that I turned into a shirred dress:

(side view to show you how my bump is growing at great speed!)

What do you think? I used Jorth's tutorial again, but did the sleeves differently, as well as many more rows of shirring so that I have a bit of waist definition in this dress - not that I really have a waist anymore. The sleeves were taken from one of my birthday dresses. I used the front and back 'flounce' pattern pieces and joined them to a regular straight strap to create the sleeves:

I really like how they turned out. Again, shirred dresses are an easy project - the only time consuming thing is doing lots of rows of straight stitching. It really is just two rectangles joined together. I'm also glad I've learnt to do shirring, as I think it will be a good technique for little baby clothes!!

I also realised that I missed my blog-iversary, which was on New Years Eve. I can't believe it has been a year. I've had so much fun looking through my projects to see how my sewing has progressed, and had a good laugh at my sewing attempts when I had a broken arm. Thank you for reading along with me, and making my sewing all the more fun!!

The Turnabout Dress

2010-12-31T16:28:00.000-08:00

Happy new year everyone! I hope your celebrations last night were lots of fun. I want to mark the new year by saying thank you for visiting my blog and leaving comments that really are insightful, fun, and helpful. I'm looking forward to the coming year of blogging!

The film Rosemary's Baby is a solid favourite of mine -- Mia Farrow is awesome -- and I love her maternity clothing in it. How about this one?

She rocks the pregnant 60's look so well. So, inspired by her cute tent dresses, I decided to sew 'The Turnabout Dress'.

It is from 1966. I love the names and descriptions given to vintage garments - "The Turnabout Dress - Back to front ... front to back ... wear it either way" - how cute is that?

I wanted this to be a nice breezy summer dress that would accommodate my bump, so I chose a lovely light 100% Japanese cotton from Tessuti Fabrics. I tell you, Japanese cottons are divine to work with and wear. Granted they are not overly cheap, but they are soooo worth it. I wore this dress yesterday in 40 degree heat and it was very comfortable and light. Very important when sporting a bump that adds extra kilos you're not used to to your frame.

The front comes together on the bias, and the back goes across the grain (does that make sense?)

I added about 2cm each side of the centre front seam from the bust line down to accommodate my bump, and made it longer in the front than in the back. I also used self-made bias binding to finish the arm holes and the neckline - the pattern called for you to turn these edges under in a narrow hem. I also finished the centre front seams using the Hong Kong finish with a satin bias binding to make it more pretty (there is only one seam so it seemed worth it to use a more complicated technique):

It was an easy sew - there is just one pattern piece, and really only the CF seam and the shoulder seams. And it is so comfortable. One of my next sewing project is another tent dress, but from the 80s. Tent dresses are such great maternity garments.

I'm hoping I'll be able to wear them post-giving birth - what do you think?

Maggy London & Marc Jabobs: A Maternity Match Made in Heaven

2010-12-22T22:04:00.000-08:00

Our beach holiday has been going very well. Relaxing, swimming, eating, walks on the beach.... ahhhh. We were meant to go to Vietnam for Christmas, but growing a little baby prohibits you from having the necessary immunisations, so a change of plans was to be had.

As I mentioned in a previous post, for our beach trip, not to mention the lovely tropical weather of Queensland, I decided to sew a few things to accommodate my growing belly. I envisioned airy frocks... light materials, lots of belly room, a few long ones, and a few short ones. Perfect summer holiday wear.

Today I thought I would show you the Maggy London Butterick maxi dress (B5456). Here is the pattern picture:

It has all the requisite elements for a good maternity dress - empire line, you can wear a bra, isn't fitted etc. It is for knits only, and I wanted this to be cool to wear, so I went searching for a 100% cotton knit. I found a funky lightweight Marc Jacobs knit at The Fabric Store in Fitzroy. It is light without being transparent or feeling cheap. It was also the easiest knit I have ever sewn with - nice and stable.

Anyway, onto the dress!!

There were a few things I disliked about this pattern. They have you sew the bodice up, leaving the shoulder seams open. You then sew the bodice shoulders, leaving the lining open. Then you hand stitch the lining. I wish I had read ahead - there are ways to sew a bodice together without doing any hand stitching, so I'm annoyed with myself and with Butterick.

I also dislike having a bodice lining, but then sewing the lining and bodice together as one piece. It looks so much prettier to have the seams concealed. Ah well. Next time!

The only other thing I dislike is that you can almost see my bra at the back, and you can at the sides. I know how I can fix the back issues, but does anyone have any ideas about how to fix the sides?

Issues aside, this is a very comfy dress that I think looks quite cute - (although looking at it now I do look a little heffer-ish). It will be great with flat sandals (I'm less and less able to walk around in heels - my back hates me for it now that I have a belly out in front).

We're jetting back to Brisbane tomorrow for Christmas with my family, and then will be back in Melbourne for new year. Hope you all have wonderful Xmas and new year celebrations, and I'll see you soon with more frocks!

Christmas Bags

2010-12-18T22:30:00.000-08:00

I'm officially on holidays now! Yay! We arrived at the beach yesterday and had a swim - the water is just gorgeous. Unfortunately today is bucketing with rain, but it has been nice reading books and relaxing. Although boo dog hates it. I'm using michael's iPhone to post this, but I'd written it before going so it should make some sense!

As you may know, I decided to try my hand at crafting some Christmas presents this year. I made some necklaces for various women in my life, but wanted to make something else. I was starting to feel like I may have to hit the stores until I saw Tilly's post on a cute fabric bag she had made as a gift for her sister-in-law. I immediately wanted to make some.

I had a look in my stash and found some small pieces from projects past. I decided I wanted to make three - one for my mum, my sister, and my sister-in-law. Using the same pattern as Tilly, the Buttercup Bag by Rae, I made these three bags in two evenings:

The one up top is made of linen, for my mum, the checked one is Japanese cotton for my sister-in-law and the other one is cotton sateen for my sister.

I changed the pattern so that the pleats went toward the centre - the original pattern has them all going in one direction. I then made the centre pleat a two-fold pleat.

Here is a close-up (sorry the pics do not show the detail very well!):

All in all, they turned out very well, and were very easy to make. I am going to make myself one out of the same linen as Mum's.

Did you craft any Christmas pressies this year?

Maternity Maxi Dress

2010-12-14T03:02:00.000-08:00

When I saw Jorth's tutorial for a shirred-bodice dress (she made one for her super cute daughter, but gave instructions for a more lady-sized version too), I knew I had to make one for my Christmas day dress.

I've had many a shirred-bodice sundress in the past, but for some reason can't locate any of these currently. Odd - must have been too thorough in past wardrobe clear-outs. I practiced shirring, having not done this in the past, and then went to Tessuti Fabrics to buy some pretty special fabric. I ended up with a silk and cotton voile called 'Senegal Garden':

I fell in love with the colours, and the softness. It is also nice and light, which is important as we are in Queensland for Christmas this year and it will be hot hot hot!!

So, using Jorth's tutorial, I mocked up a pattern. I made it slightly different to Jorth's version by adding a ruffle at the bottom. I also had to do about 18 lines of shirring - I think maybe the 'foot width' of my machine is narrower than Jorth's - I needed way more lines of shirring.

So - here it is!!

I don't really have anything groundbreaking to say - it came together easily (I'm glad I practiced the shirring though), and I've worn it to a farewell party and was very comfortable. The fabric was fantastic to sew with- really easy and held its own well. It will be great for our Queensland holiday - we're leaving on thursday of this week for a week at the beach, and then a week with my family.

In case you're interested too - I'm 22 weeks pregnant this week!! All is going really well, we're beginning to really feel like we have a baby coming soon! There has been lots of little movements for Michael to feel, and I've been feeling very well. Although I'm a bit more tired this week than previous weeks. Here is a picture of my bump - my obstetrician says I have a nice little cantaloupe.

I've got a few more frocks to show you in the coming weeks, and some bags I made for some Christmas pressies. How are your Christmas preparations going?

Michaels Lined Pooch Bag for Boo Dogg

2010-12-04T20:47:00.000-08:00

This post is a little different, its a wonderful creation by Rachels other half, Me! Michael! This is my first sewing experience, and I think I did a fantastic job (Rachel has her doubts though). She started to make this zippered pouch, using some left over oil skin and fabric, but then I took over and finished it.

I have been told there a lots of things I should have done, like clipping the seam allowances on the inside, poking out the corners etc etc ... But Boo Dogg seems to like it.

I'm not sure what she's going to put in it, but there's plenty of room!

Maybe she'll bury her bones in it for later?

Michael.

Making Christmas Gifts

2010-11-27T21:51:00.000-08:00

Thank you to everyone's lovely congratulatory messages. It is a treat to have so many people happy for me, and it has made my happy pregnancy hormones even happier!

I'm still making myself some maternity frocks and smocks, but have spent this weekend making some christmas presents for my sister and sister-in-law (and maybe some for me!!). I have been lurking on Tilly's Crafty Christmas Club Blog since she launched it a while ago, and have been inspired by many of the cute treats people are whipping up over there.

I decided to make some necklaces, and here is what I came up with:

The template for these is the free Amy Butler Fabric Necklace. I used a navy and white polka dot cotton voile for one, and a silk remnant I got from Tessuti ages ago for the other two. You use little foam balls to create the balls - they are super easy and extremely quick to make. And they look cute on.

The second type of necklace is a yo-yo flower necklace:

I made these after seeing them made on the Saints and Pinners Blog. They are a bit more complicated than the fabric necklaces, but really are just whatever number of yo-yos you decide, sewn onto a piece of felt, with buttons in the centres. I made the chains out of 3 strands each of tapestry thread that I plaited then sewed on.

So... what do you think? I am a bit worried the yo-yo necklaces are too crazy - do you think they're cute or just too much?

Next up I'm making placemats for my other sister, mother, brother-in-law and sister-in-law out of this gorgeous Mexican oilcloth Michael and I bought yesterday. Michael is being a good helper-elf and has made me a template for them and cut out the oilcloth.

I am mildly obsessed now with crafting things -- anyone got any good tutorials for little homemade treats?

More Maternity Sewing: Vogue 1027

2010-11-22T23:28:00.000-08:00

One of the last times I was in at Tessuti Fabrics, I was discussing maternity sewing with Lisa and Liesl. I was saying to these lovely ladies that most of my work clothing was getting too snug for comfort, especially if I was at work functions with food and beverages, and my tummy got even fuller!

They suggested I sew up a black knit dress. Lisa then suggested I sew Vogue 1027, which I have sewn before, and Tessuti featured on their blog. I heartily agreed with Lisa that Vogue 1027 would be an excellent dress to accommodate a growing belly. Here is the pattern photo:

I made it up in a slinky black rayon jersey (which was the devil to sew) - I can't find the pics of that one, but I have the pics of the red cotton jersey:

I love the full skirt. I did things a bit differently with this one (than when I sewed it in 2009). I drafted a neckline facing - I actually did this for the black one as it was awful to sew, and I could just not turn it under nicely. The black turned out well, so I did it for the red too, even though the red knit is much more stable.

I also crossed over the bodice pieces more to account for my growing chest region (ahem). This is something I usually don't have to worry about, but pregnancy has changed my body!

I didn't follow the instructions for sewing the ties. They call for you to do a narrow hem - but this means the wrong side of your fabric shows. I really don't understand why they would do that. Plenty of the reviews on Pattern Review give instructions for avoiding that -- it is just a matter of sewing them right sides together until the notch. Easy peasy and looks much more professional.

Due to the stretch of the fabric, and the fact it is an empire line, I did not have to alter regarding size. In 2009 I made a size 8, and this size fits me just fine now. Don't you just love the forgiving nature of knit fabrics?

I've worn the black one alot already - and wore this red one out to dinner with Michael on saturday night.

I'll have another frock to show you soon - I've made a 'wearable' muslin of another Vogue DKNY dress that I hope to wear Christmas day. Am I the only one who likes something special (and potentially new) to wear on Christmas day?

Big News! With Related Sewing Project

2010-11-20T21:16:00.000-08:00

I'm not sure if anyone noticed, but I have been a more slack-than-usual seamstress and blogger this past little while (well, I have felt that way anyway).

The reason for this is that Michael and I are having a little baby! We will meet this little person at the end of April next year - meaning I'm about 19 weeks.

I was very tired for the first trimester, and used all my reserves for work, but then at almost exactly the beginning of the second, I got my energy back, my appetite back, and started sewing again.

I've just had to to start wearing different clothing - my fitted-around-the-waist work clothing and play clothes are too snug for comfort now, so I've been doing some sewing to compensate!

So... onto my first actual maternity outfit.

It is Simplicity 2554, which I think is from the 1960s - I couldn't find it on vintage patterns Wiki.

And here is my version made in cotton sateen from my stash:

I'm wearing it with leggings here, which are soooo easy to wear with an expanding belly.

The blouse came together nicely - I had to draft my own sleeve facings, but that was okay, and not very difficult. The only part of the blouse that needed attention paid to it was the bow, as it directed you to make 'soft pleats' - something I had never come across before. But all turned out in the end:

I also made a vintage maternity skirt from this pattern:

It was an easy pattern, but I had to take approximately 40cm out of the skirt overall (from the side seams and centre back seam). Annoying. I made this one from a wool ponti knit, which was a dream to sew with. Here it is with the blouse:

The skirt does up with a drawstring, and is still a little big, but I'm assuming I'll grow into it!

I've also made two dresses from the same pattern, but that shall be for another post.

So - the beginning of dressing for pregnancy! For those of you with children, what did you wear throughout your pregnancy? And those of you who don't have children, what maternity styles do you like?

I'm still alive! With a spring jacket to show you.

2010-11-09T23:38:00.000-08:00

It has been a while between posts. The longest it has ever been I think. There is a reason, but that shall be revealed in a later post... (so secretive!).

I have been doing a little sewing, but this project is from a while ago. Remember this dress, from this pattern?

Well, I finally got around to making the jacket and taking some pictures of it.

The fabric is a lightweight suiting from Tessuti Fabrics, and it was just gorgeous to sew with. It does wrinkle a little though, but Michael assures me it looks as though that is the way it is meant to be.

I made quite a few changes:

Firstly, I didn't put the middle 'faux welt pocket' between the two other pockets. I pinned it all on, but thought it just looked messy.
I lined the little pockets in lining fabric. The instructions called for the edges to be turned under, but I have never been able to make nice rounded smooth edges doing that.

I didn't make the sleeves the way they were meant to be made. They were meant to have D-rings that you pulled together, and a placket. I tried doing that and ruined the sleeves. I had to go and buy more fabric. Woops! So I measured around my arm just above my elbow and made a cuff that I gathered the fabric onto. I think it looks nice.
I didn't put those weird looking ribbon ties on. I think it makes the jacket look too busy and convoluted. Plus, this is not a jacket that you 'do up'. It is one to be worn open a little frock or cute shirt.

A view from the back:

All in all, I like it. I don't like the top stitching, which I think looks messy, but I unpicked it once and did it again with relatively the same result. Ah well.

It is a great jacket to wear over little dresses. I wore it to my work meeting today over the Cynthia Rowley racer back dress and felt very 'covered'. I've also worn it with my linen pants and a white t-shirt and was told by a work colleague that I looked cool (not in temperature, but as in 'awesome' - which is funny, as I am not 'cool').

I think I'll make another one - maybe in a really brightly coloured linen. What do you think?

I'm Featured on Tilly and the Buttons!

2010-10-18T20:32:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone! The gorgeous and lovely Tilly from Tilly and the Buttons has featured an interview I did for her about my sewing, stash and hoarding in general.

Pop on over to her great blog for a peek at the interview - I promise you'll want to read the whole blog from start to finish! Tilly makes the most excellent vintage frocks, and is in the process of making a Betty Draper suit.

An Easy-Peasy Project to Ease Myself Back In

2010-10-15T01:57:00.000-07:00

I've had a bit of a hiatus, but there was fabric in my stash calling to me, so I bit the bullet and decided to make myself a little frock to get back into the land of sewing.

I've had this in my pattern stash since the very beginning:

I also had about 1.5m of Japanese cotton from a while ago, and 0.5m of some blue denim (I have no idea when or where I bought it - maybe an op-shop because I haven't bought this type of denim for a project before).

So I made View A:

Excuse my very tired face, somewhat limp hair and extremely minimal makeup. It is a horrible-weather day here in Melbourne, and it was pretty tough to get out of my warm clothing!

The back view:

This dress is very easy to make. I jazzed it up a bit by doing french seams:

And by facing the bottom band. I didn't have enough denim to do the facing, so I used leftover Japanese cotton. I think it looks pretty!

I don't really have anything ground-breaking to say about this. There is no tricky closure, it goes straight over the head. The trickiest part is the curving on the yoke, but that is not too bad, as the dress part fits perfectly into it, making it easy to sew. I do recommend this pattern if you want an easy, summery, tent-ish dress. I've worn it a few times already, with sandals on a warm day and boots on a colder one.

I do have something else to show you soon - I finally finished the matching Cynthia Rowley jacket to my black racer-back dress. It had been languishing cut and partially begun on my sewing table for almost 2 months. I ruined the sleeves once, and had to go and buy more fabric, but have finally finished the wiley little thing. I'll try and get some photos soon.

Hope no Melburnians are headed to the Caufield Cup tomorrow (horse racing day for non-Melbourne people) -- the weather is forecast to be insanely wild!

Beautiful Blogger Award and Not-So-Beautiful Road Rage

2010-09-26T15:56:00.000-07:00

I'll start with the good stuff. Tasia from the gorgeous blog Sewaholic has very generously awarded me with the Beautiful Blogger Award! Thank you Tasia.

I have to list 10 things you may not know about me -- I've done this before in another award I was lucky to get, so I'm not sure I have 10 things! But here are a random few:

1. My first job was as a skating rink party hostess. I was paid $4.54/hr and had to either do the chicken dance or the Macarena with the party, depending on the age group of the birthday person. Can you believe that (a) I actually did those dances in front of the whole skating rink and (b) I was paid that little an hour? Crazy.

2. I am working in my third job this year. After finishing my PhD I found it a little difficult to figure out what I really wanted to do. Now I'm back in research at a uni and totally love it.

3. I haven't really bonded with Melbourne as yet. I think I am really a hot weather, outdoor living girl, and that is not really Melbourne's style. I've been here just over a year, so it may happen yet. It's definitely in the cards for us to move back to the sunshine state though (though not for a couple of years!).

Now I've got to nominate five more bloggers to play along. Here goes:

Jessica from Green Apples
The lovely lady from the Long and Winding Bobbin
Alana from Lazy Stitching
Corinne from Cherri-Berri
Lore from Sew Red Hot

Only answer if you have time - and sorry if you've already received this before!

Now onto the bad stuff. Yesterday it was a very lovely day in Melbourne. Hot, clear, dry. Lovely. Michael and I took Bessie for a walk in the Dandenongs. It was just gorgeous. I didn't have to wear a fleece, I actually got a little sun. Perfect.

We were driving back and stopped for a sandwich. It was difficult to obtain said sandwich on account of most of the places in the town we stopped at not making sandwiches on a sunday (!!). But we got one.

We jumped back in the car and had been driving for about 10 minutes when someone rear-ended us at a red light. That is not so great, but it wasn't too bad. Until the idiot reversed back up and rammed his car into us a second time. His reason? We were slowing down too much leading up to the red light. Now, Michael was driving, and I wouldn't describe him as a particularly granny-like overly cautious driver, so this was a bit of surprise to me.

What was even more of a surprise was when the idiot driver drove off. Queue in 5.5 hours of statement-taking by police, a trip to the hospital to get checked over and our day completely ruined. The good news is neither of us is hurt (neither is Bessie), the car is kind of okay, and the police are going to charge him with multiple offences.

Has anyone else encountered such random and deliberate road rage before? I am truly stunned that this guy thought he could get away with it by driving off.

The Fave Top

2010-09-17T16:02:00.000-07:00

Since the effort I made for my birthday wardrobe, I haven't really felt like sewing at all. This is a strange and unwelcome sensation to me that I am trying to overcome.

I had a casual dinner to go to at someone's house last night, and wanted something comfy to wear, so I decided to try and overcome the sewing lethargy with Tessuti's free 'Fave Top' - you can find it here.

It is a very simple project, so I thought I should be able to muster up the energy for it. I finished it just in the nick of time:

It is basically a very loose t-shirt that comes down in those tail-type things at the side (my description is so technical!):

The back just covers my bum - it is loose enough that you get bum-coverage anyway:

I made a few changes/additions to the pattern:

I lengthened the front and back by approx 5cm.
I used bias binding for the neck -- the pattern calls for the neck edge to be turned under.
I interfaced the hem -- it was much easier to sew interfaced, and I could get those nice little 'points' at the side seams.

I wore it with leggings (so comfy for eating a huge dinner in) and little ballet slippers.

It is a great pattern - nice and easy - and free! I'm still feeling no love for my machine though -- I'm going to read a book I got for my b'day today and resolutely ignore it - I must need a good break!

Cynthia Rowley Dress: Simplicity 2443

2010-09-09T00:27:00.000-07:00

The final dress in my montage!

Made from this pattern:

Here is my version:

This is what I wore on Saturday - the day of my birthday. Michael and I had plans to drive to Hanging Rock and have a picnic with my Mum, Dad, sister and her boyfriend, but it was pouring on the day. So instead we drove to Hanging Rock and went to the cafe there. My lunch was disgusting. I ordered a grilled chicken sandwich that had avocado and a capsicum, corn and onion salsa in it. Sounds nice right? It would have been if it didn't come with half a bottle of sweet chilli sauce poured over the top. It was gross. We couldn't see the Rock due to the rain, but the drive was kind of fun.

But onto the dress! I made it in a ponte knit from Tessuti. I'm in the process of making the jacket, but have stalled a bit. The dress construction is not too bad. The opposing curves of the yoke are quite tricky, but as this had been flagged by previous reviewers, I hand-basted that entire seam in to ensure it wasn't going to be naughty when I was sewing it. It sits quite well now - here is a picture from the back:

And a close-up of the front:

Like my necklace? Michael gave it to me for my b'day! That and tickets to see Mary Poppins (which we saw last night and it was awesome :-)

The only alteration I made was to add 5cms length to the bodice -- other reviewers had said it was a bit short-waisted. I kind of wish I hadn't. I was wearing it when in at Tessuti the other day and the lovely ladies there thought I should shorten the bodice so it sits on my natural waist, and take in the side seams a little. What are your thoughts?

It is a very comfortable dress, but the yoke is not for the faint-hearted. I really needed to take it slow and steady, but thankfully it went in okay the first time.

My review is posted here if you'd like to stop by.

Full-Skirted Flirty 50s Number

2010-09-07T00:15:00.000-07:00

Onto the second dress in my birthday weekend montage!

This is the frock I wore on the friday night, to dinner at Hellenic Republic with my parents, my sister and her boyf, and Michael.

It is Vogue 8615:

I made a muslin of the bodice first. I cut a 12, with a C cup. I do love the fact that this pattern has options for how big or small your bust is. The muslin fit perfectly, with no alterations.

So, I cut the 12C, and sewed away. I sewed in the lining, and it looked beautiful. And then I tried it on. And it was way too big. How annoying.

Now, I haven't lost weight, so it is a mystery to me why there was a size difference. The muslin fabric was very similar to the Japanese linen/cotton I used. Weird - anyone got any tips as to why?

But I took it in. I did this by increasing the back darts substantially, both in width and in length. Then I unpicked the invisible zip and took it in about 2cm each side at the top, tapering down. And here is a closeup of the fit from the back:

And from the front:

I'm pretty happy - it fits like a glove!

Now, cos this was a special occasion frock, I took some time to really add to the dress. First, I made a matching belt, using a belt kit:

I am so happy with it. How much nicer does the dress look with the belt! I didn't have a press-stud tool to get the little metal holes, so I sewed around them instead. I actually really like how they look.

The second thing I did was sew in horse-hair braid to the hem of the skirt. The skirt is a circle, and after seeing Gertie's tutorial of how to do this, I wanted to do it quite badly. I forgot to get a picture of the braid, but you can really see the effect in this picture!

So much fun!

I really recommend this pattern. It is straightforward to sew - even with alterations for fit - and is very vintage in its styling. I've posted a review on pattern review if you'd like to have a peek!

The Coloured Sugar Party Dress: Simplicity 2360

2010-09-05T02:56:00.000-07:00

So, this marks the first in my birthday weekend dress montage!

This dress was for my birthday party last night - we went to a very beautiful restaurant called Rice Queen on Smith Street in Fitzroy, and I had lots of fun. There was a jazz band playing that were persuaded to play a jazz/funk version of happy birthday!

The dress is made from this pattern:

And I love it! It is made from a Mad Cortes satin silk called "Coloured Sugar" from Tessuti. I splurged a bit on the fabric, but was lucky that it had been reduced by 30%.

Most of the pattern is easy to make. The bodice has princess seams and is easy to construct, as is the skirt, which is just two pieces of fabric. The neckline and armholes are finished in bias binding - I used self-made binding (obviously :-)

Those little ruffles did my head in though. Doing a neat narrow hem on them ruined my patience, and I had to make the right side ruffle 3 times before I was happy. Lucky I had a bit of extra fabric.

The ruffles for the back and front are joined together as one piece.

The ruffles then constitute the sleeves - the dress itself is a basic sleeveless bodice.

I did make a few minor changes. I omitted the pockets. I also did not put the elastic in the waist - I thought it might make the silk sit a little funny. To compensate for no elastic, I made an extra long belt that I could wrap around my waist twice to cinch it in:

I got so many nice compliments from people for my dress. I also got asked to make one for a few people - that is always a good way of knowing that I've done a good job on a garment!

I think I'll get a lot of wear out of this. It would look cute with sandals too.

More posts with the other two dresses coming soon - I had such a nice birthday and was lucky to receive many beautiful presents - including tickets to see the Mary Poppins musical from Michael!

P.S -- I'm adding my garments to PatternReview - check out my review of this one here

Anda by Burda Style

2010-08-29T02:56:00.000-07:00

I am an avid follower of the Grosgrain Blog. If you haven't seen it, you should check it out. Kathleen makes the most amazing dresses, all of her own design.

Quite often she will do a sew-a-long, called "Frock by Friday". The last one she hosted was sewing Anda by Burda Style.

I have been on a bit of a mission to have a few more simple and casual items in my wardrobe, so thought I'd have a bash at making Anda. I didn't participate in the Grosgrain sew-a-long but did check out Kathleen's tips.

This is a very simple frock. I made the size 38, which was the smallest size - I think you can have a bit of leeway with sizing in this dress as it is not fitted. But if you are small-framed, you would need to scale the pattern down. This would be easy though as there is only two main pattern pieces (the front and the back), and each is cut on the fold.

Here is my version in a light-medium weight cotton:

You can make your own bias binding to finish the neckline and sleeves:

The waist is done with a casing that is sewn on the outside, and then a drawstring ribbon. Very simple. Because it is done this way, I would not recommend using a fabric that is medium weight or heavier. I think you'd end up getting some weird gathers going on.

It would look cute in a shorter length too - I went the longest length on the pattern - I always have to do this with patterns - I'm not even that tall (172cm) - but always seem to need the longest length for it to hit the right spot on my legs.

I plan to make more of these - instant gratification sewing at its best - I think it only took a few hours from cutting to hemming. I saw some really lovely soft rayon with retro flower prints at Spotlight this week and was sorely tempted. I think I'll go back for some soon and make another one.

Has anyone else made this frock up?

PS - I'm almost finished my outfit montage for my birthday weekend (next weekend). I'm wearing a full-skirted frock (that I made some time ago and blogged about) to go to dinner on friday night, the Simplicity 2443 racer back dress Saturday to Hanging Rock, and a Project Runway ruffle-y dress to my party Saturday night. Then the following wednesday Michael is taking me to see the Mary Poppins play, and I've made a 50's style frock with 3/4 sleeves and a full circle skirt. Pics to come!

Call me Crazy..... Lady Grey Round 2

2010-08-24T17:09:00.000-07:00

Is anyone participating in Gertie's Lady Grey Sew-A-Long?

I am!

Go to http://www.blogforbettersewing.com/search/label/Lady%20Grey%20Sew-Along if you're interested in having a look.

Gertie will be posting tutorials, vlogs etc to help her devoted readers in this sew-a-long.

I am planning in making it for spring/summer temperatures, maybe in a light cotton cord, possibly in a purple or a green. Something like this from Tessuti?

What do you think? The only thing I'm wary of is that green will not go with the reds in my wardrobe. Would purple be better?

What do you think about spots for coat fabric? Would it work better with a block colour?

And how about cord? Do you think a cotton drill or something else would be better?

Any advice would be much appreciated!

A 40's Shirtdress

2010-08-20T05:53:00.000-07:00

Remember this pattern?

You may remember I've made Views 2 and 3 previously:

Well, I decided to make view 1 in this lovely 50's rayon that I got from ebay:

I used little gold buttons with flowers on them. They are quite cute. The rayon was awful to sew with. It moved around, frayed badly and was generally difficult. Ah well.

I know this pattern well enough now to not have any difficulties with it's construction.

A side view - see me practising my nice posture? :-)

And then from the back:

It isn't my most favourite version of this pattern, but it is a great dress for work.

Which is your favourite?

Simplicity 2896 - AKA The Best Pants in the World

2010-08-18T00:33:00.000-07:00

Hi all -- I feel like it is forever since I last posted. I had one of my best and dearest friends visiting from QLD on the weekend, so did not have much time for the internet and the like.

I did manage to hem my linen pants though. So, I present to you Simplicity 2896:

AKA the best pants in the whole world. They are made from this pattern:

They were very easy to make. I did make some changes though:

I didn't add the pockets. I wanted a nice smooth line.
I also amended the fly so that the extension was already adjoined to the centre front.
I made the longest length (they are still too short in my opinion).

They are made from a navy linen from Tessuti Fabrics. They sit on my natural waist perfectly:

A back view:

Do you think they look okay with no pockets on the bum?

I think they are nice and slimming side on -- what do you think?

I love them so far. There are only two issues I have with them - (1) they could be longer. Heels don't look overly good with them (2) they wrinkle like mad (I suppose that is the price you pay for wearing linen).

I'm in the middle of making my birthday dress - I've completely changed tack - fabric, pattern and all. I'm making something a little more 'cold weather friendly' -- but it shall be a surprise until I'm finished.

I do have another dress to show you from a while ago, so stay tuned!

My take on Casual

2010-08-08T01:14:00.000-07:00

Well, I went about as casual as I go, and I was still majorly overdressed. Mostly because all of the other party-goers were wearing TRACKSUIT PANTS!!!!

So, my outfit was way over-the-top in comparison:

I wore my Lady Grey Coat as well.

I made up this little grey ponte jersey dress as my attempt at casual:

It is BurdaStyle's Melissa Dress with a dryndl skirt instead of a straight skirt:

I have made this dress in a size 36 before, and it fit me like a glove. Not so this time. It was huuuugggge. I took it in by approximately 4cm on each side seam. Massive.

I also finished the neck and armhole edges in self-fabric bias binding. I do like this little dress. I like the 'V' neckline on the back:

And the cute little cap sleeves:

It is also very easy to make, and does not use much fabric at all.

So - a casual outfit for what was really a pyjama party! At least I was comfortable and felt nice in what I was wearing.

I still intend to make Simplicity 2443 for my birthday weekend. My parents arrive on the friday, and I'll be taking them out for lunch and hanging about. I think 2443 would be perfect for such an outing - what do you think?

Then on the Saturday, the day of my birthday, Michael, my sister, her boyfriend and I are taking my parents for a picnic at Hanging Rock! (for all you non-Aussies, there is an iconic mystery novel and film about some missing school girls after they go for a picnic at Hanging Rock, a landmark in Victoria). I am in the middle of sewing some slouchy linen pants for that. Busy times of sewing ahead!

A Rosy Macaron

2010-08-06T17:45:00.000-07:00

A couple of weekends ago, my sister and I took a trip to Spotlight, as she wanted me to make her a 'tent' dress - and also conned me into making a skirt for her!

While I was there, I spotted this gorgeous rosy cotton sateen. I love cotton sateen. Possibly my second favourite fabric after Japanese cotton. It was only $6/m, so I had to have some.

I got 2.5m with nothing in particular in mind, but I have been wanting to make another Macaron from Colette Patterns. So I thought I would try my hand at another made up in my rosy sateen:

What do you think? It fits well.

I also did a lapped, handpicked zipper, using the Cupcake Goddess' Instructions:

I'm not sure though - does this have enough 'lap'? I think I need to 'lap' them more.

The sleeves turned out well:

I wore it out last night to dinner with Michael. I paired it with a little black cardi, some (new!) black suede boots I got for 70% off at a sale, and my Lady Grey Coat for while we were out and about. And.... with my new haircut! What do you think? It is pretty short!

On a side note, do any of you have gluten allergies? What does it feel like? I seem to be unable to eat wheat-y foods anymore. Not a sewing topic, but would be great to hear from anyone!

Tomorrow I'll have a post about my 'casual' outfit. The party is tonight, and I've decided what I will wear. Have a good weekend!

To the Other End of the Spectrum: Red Carpet Dress

2010-08-02T04:31:00.000-07:00

The other thing on my immediate sewing list is a party frock for my upcoming 30th Birthday Party. I have about 1 month.

I bought this pattern for this purpose:

I think it is suitably 'Party' - do you?

Now, the problem is fabric. I need 4m. What sort of fabric do you think would work best with this pattern? There are no fabric recommendations made on the pattern.

Taffeta? Silk? Cotton?

Now, how about colour? I have two choices - monochromatic, or (obviously) patterned in some way. I think I look best in bright, solid colours.

Something to consider is that if I make it in a monochromatic fabric, I can enter it in The Tessuti Awards. I can enter it in the 'Frock Up In Colour' category -- the prize is a trip to New York. Quite a prize.

Obviously, the fabric must be bought from their store. So, I looked on their online fabric store website, and came up with some options - both contest appropriate and some patterned ones that couldn't be entered:

Bright Red Rayon. $28/m. Would be slippery to sew.

Grey Double Silk Georgette. $28/m I'm guessing it would be slippery to sew too.

Japanese cotton. $25/m Easy to sew with. Medium weight - maybe too heavy for all the gathers?

Satin Silk. $42/m (this is getting way out of my price range given I need 4m). Would probably be a bit slippery to sew.

Silk twill. $28/m. Slippery-ish. Maybe too light-weight?

These are just a few ideas. And of course, I can shop elsewhere for fabric for this dress (sorry anyone from Tessuti who may read this!).

So - what do you think? What type of fabric? Which colour? Patterned or monochromatic? I'd love to hear what you think!

The Difficulties with 'Casual'

2010-07-31T21:32:00.000-07:00

Okay, I have a confession to make. I don't wear jeans. I have a lovely pair, and used to wear them all the time, but haven't worn any for about 12 months.

This kind of makes more casual outings a little difficult for me.

I have this dilemma at present. I have a 30th Birthday Party to go to next weekend at the Birthday Boy's house. I've been instructed to wear something of a casual nature.

Michael and I had a conversation about what this is for me. Apparently (and correctly) Michael thinks I do slobbing around the house or glam girl in a pretty frock really well. Nothing in between.

I am sewing up Vogue 9668 in a red wool crepe and initially thought to wear that. It is too dressy. What should I wear????

I'm admiring Stitchy Witch's Jersey Cynthia Rowley Dress

I'm a bit put off though by most seamstress' comments that attaching the yoke to the bodice is really difficult.

I love the look though.

My other thought is to make a similar dress using the Burda Style Melissa bodice (very similar to the Jenny dress) with a basic gathered skirt on it.

Decisions!

What would you wear to a house-party for a 30th birthday? Any suggestions for what I could make? I'd love to hear your thoughts!

A Pouffy Skirted Party Dress

2010-07-23T16:59:00.000-07:00

Ever since I saw Gertie's Lemon Tree Dress I have been yearning for a simple-design 60s full-skirted dress. I found this one on etsy for a mere $3:

What a bargain! It was still in the factory folds and had not been cut out!

Now, I was a little concerned that it would be a smidgeon too small, so I used 1cm seam allowances instead of 1.5cm. I should have stuck with the 1.5cm as it is now a tiny bit too big.

But, with a belt, I think it looks good!

It has a nice round neckline. I used an invisible zip - I was going to do a lapped zipper, but I didn't have one long enough in my stash in the right colour, so I went for an invisible. Which I had to pull out twice before getting it right. Grrr.

I used a cotton sateen that I bought from Spotlight - it was on sale for $4 a metre. I think for the volume of fabric in the skirt the fabric is perhaps a tiny bit too heavy. The belt does seem to hold up the fabric somewhat.

This was my test version of this dress. My 'good' version is the navy blue and white polka dot Japanese cotton that I bought before I broke my wrist - I am dying to sew it up.

I am getting very good at making 'test' garments or muslins before making the 'final and good' garment. I must be getting more patient! I'm currently on my 3rd muslin for Vogue 9668. The 9668 dress is a real pain to fit - and its meant to be an 'easy' pattern!

Do you make muslins for everything you sew, or just dive straight in? Or do you tissue fit?

50s Wrap Blouse & Gingham Skirt: A Match Made in Heaven

2010-07-18T02:34:00.000-07:00

Happy weekend to all! You may remember some time ago that I gleefully posted that I had finally found this much-coveted pattern - I had been wanting it so badly since I saw Tilly's Lovely Green Version.

I almost had my plans thwarted - when the pattern arrived in mail, it had been raining here. The envelope was wet, and I rushed inside to open it - very gently. The pattern was also wet. The seller had not wrapped it in any plastic at all. I was very cross and convo'd the seller, who told me she never wraps her patterns in plastic. How rude! It dried out anyway - so here is my 50s wrap blouse!

I feel so lady-like in this outfit, like I should be swooshing around the streets with some little gloves on and a hat.

All in all, an easy project. The instructions were a little bare, and I belatedly realised that the cuffs needed to be finished in bias tape. I didn't have enough fabric left do make any, so I left off the cuffs - instead I have kimono sleeves!

I really like the wrap feature - you can really cinch in your waist as the ties are nice and long.

I used a quite light-weight 100% cotton shirting with dots embroidered all over it. I actually think this fabric is too light -weight for this pattern, and next time I'll use something more medium-weight.

But I do love it - it will go nicely with the pouffy skirts I'm so fond of at the moment!

What is on everyone else's sewing agendas at the moment?

Vintage Notions - I'm in Heaven

2010-07-16T16:14:00.000-07:00

A while ago my beloved favourite fabric store Tessuti posted about a new vintage sewing and craft store in Melbourne called L'uccello. I finished work a little early on thursday (also pay day hehe) and had a bit of time to kill before meeting my friend to walk home together.

So I went to L'uccello of course! And got some lovely goodies!

I've also included two lots of vintage buttons I bought from etsy - so, working from left to right, here's what they are:

1. Nine Navy blue and white vintage buttons from the 1940s. I plan to use them on a navy linen shirt dress. They were $4.50 from etsy.

2. Eight Yellow and mother of pearl vintage buttons from the 1940s. I'm planning a button down blouse using a Burda pattern my friend Maree sent me. They were $3.50 from etsy.

3. Three White flower vintage buttons from the 1950s. I've got a lovely Project Runway shirt dress pattern that only requires 3 buttons, so they'll be used for that - any fabric/colour suggestions? They were $9 from L'uccello.

4. 1940's casein yellow belt buckle. Unsure what I'll use it for yet, but loved the shape, and for $4 from L'uccello, I had to have it!

5. Vintage metal teeth zippers. $1 each from L'uccello. The red and grey ones have had the teeth dyed to match - how cool! I bought these as I'm going to follow The Cupcake Goddess' instructions for doing a handpicked lapped zipper on a BurdaStyle Sidonie skirt I'm making out of the rest of my coat fabric.

If you live in Melbourne, L'uccello is quite reasonably priced, and is like a lolly store!

I'm Back! In Black Taffeta!

2010-07-14T01:00:00.000-07:00

This post has two purposes:

To show you my new skirt - a black taffeta dirndl number; and
To tell you about my scaphoid news.

First, the skirt:

Like my gingham skirt, this was simple to make:

The skirt: one rectangle piece of fabric, 1.5m long and 75cm wide, gathered.
The waistband: one rectangle piece of fabric, that was 12cm wide and 80cm long (the formula is waist measurement + 2cm ease + 3cm seam allowances + 3.5 cm overlap for the button) (Now you know my waist measurement!).
One invisible zip, 10" long (I am 172cm tall so like a bit of a longer zip on high-waisted skirts).
One skirt hook and eye, and one button (I've been using hooks and eyes of late as my buttonholes have been looking a little messy. When I have full use of my right hand back, I'm going to start doing bound buttonholes).

The taffeta was quite nice to work with, but it looks dreadfully wrinkled in the below photo:

Now, onto my other news. It comes with a story. On saturday night, I was sitting on my lounge room floor, patting Bessie, who was lying on the couch (I know, there are some reverse power dynamics in our relationship. I just love her to bits). I'd been patting her a while, and put my left hand onto the couch to hoist myself up.

As I was getting up, I caught the middle finger of my broken right hand on the arm of the couch, and heard a big crack. Immediately pain shot down my wrist, in the scaphoid where it is broken.

I immediately panicked and started to wail. I got a little hysterical, telling poor Michael 'it is broken again' over and over. He calmed me down, and I watched a bit of the Tour de France and went to bed.

Monday night I went to the orthopaedic surgeon in a bit of a flap. I had it x-rayed, steeling myself for the worst. But instead.....

Look closely in the above photo. Can you spot it? NO CAST!!!!!!!

I am now allowed to take my arm out of that smelly cast for short periods of time to get some flexibility back into it! It was like winning the lotto. I've got one month until I'm completely free, but its so close I can taste it.

I am one happy girl now. You'll see nothing but smiles from me!

Gorgeous Gingham

2010-07-10T00:36:00.000-07:00

I know this isn't the most interesting garment in the world to post on, but I am trying to build up my wardrobe with more 'basic'-type pieces.

So - a quick post on a dirndl skirt. Super easy - one long rectangle, an invisible zip, a waistband, hook and eye, and button. And voila!

I love gingham - I have my petticoat on - can you tell with its super volume?! I wore it out this arvo for a lady's only afternoon tea. Cappuccinos and teensy but decadent chocolate brownies were on our menu. Very fun!

It is freakishly windy here today (which is why my hair looks so weird in this photo). Apparently the winds will get up to 100k/hour tonight. Time to batten down the hatches!

A Lunching Lady - Grey Coat

2010-07-04T00:48:00.000-07:00

Just in time for Melbourne's freezing weather, I present to you the Lunching Lady - Grey Coat!

Sorry for the belated photos. I have been wearing it all week, but today took it for a spin to lunch at a lovely organic cafe on Lygon St that Michael and I discovered a few weeks ago. On the way back we visited a park for some pics.

As you now know, Michael had a major hand in the construction of my beautiful coat. Here is some of his handiwork:

Yup, the Magnificent Michael hand-stitched the hem, hand-stitched the pockets in, cut the whole thing out, hand-stitched the sleeves, trimmed and clipped edges, sewed the buttons on, took the pictures, mopped my brow when I was doing the machine sewing, and was just a general darling all in all. (Thank you my love).

It has turned out just beautifully - see the lovely vintage buttons? Well worth the ridiculous price I paid for them.

The back is nice too:

It is not the easiest pattern - top-stitching sleeves, curved edges etc - but the instructions, as always with the Colette Patterns, are so well explained it did not feel like an 'advanced' pattern.

The fabric is a wool/cashmere, and the lining is silk, which was a complete nightmare to sew with. Soooo slippery. If you ever should have the misfortune of having your arm in a cast, steer clear of silk.

I'll have more outfit pics to show you soon - I've made a denim Jenny pencil skirt which turned out well.

Hope you've all had a lovely weekend!

The Sad Saga of the Scaphoid Continues

2010-06-26T17:06:00.000-07:00

Well, this week has been a little bit disappointing for me. On thursday I rocked up to my orthopaedic surgeon's office with a spring in my step, completely expecting to get my cast off. I thought I'd need some physical therapy - after all, the poor little arm had been immobilised for 6 weeks.

I went into my appointment, got the cast off, and got it x-rayed. Still springing around, smiling at everyone, laughing at the shrivelled little arm that had emerged (not to mention the smell).

Took the x-rays back into the surgeon, where he told me I'd need a 'brace' for 2 months - and not to do the washing up. I'm still giggling and smiling at this point. Surgeon tells me to hop on over to another hospital where the occupational therapists that specialise in upper limbs are housed.

La la la, still smiling, thinking lucky me, I'm going to do some sewing today!! Sewing!!

Go in an see the OT and find out 'brace' is more aptly described as 'hard plastic half-cast that completely immobilises my arm and cannot come off for 2 months except when showering'.

No more smiles, no more giggles. Cue in wailing, heaving sobs, few swear words, general cursing of the sky and the earth and wondering when the hell I'll be able to work properly again. Poor Michael. He dealt with all of this right outside the hospital. Mostly by promising me a trip to the fabric store and as much help as I needed to sew my Lady Grey Coat.

So - stayed tuned for later today when I unveil the Michael and Rachel made Lady Grey coat!!!!!

The Streamer Frock Grosgrain Giveaway

2010-06-21T16:04:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone! Have you seen the blog Grosgrain Fabulous? It is absolutely amazing. The frocks are to die for. Kathleen hosts regular giveaways of her frocks, and this giveaway is something else! Check it out:

You can view it here: The Streamer Frock Grosgrain Giveaway. I've entered, and you should too!

Vintage Pinking Shears

2010-06-16T01:07:00.000-07:00

Hi all! I don't have a serger/overlocker, so I've been on the look out for some pinking shears til my 30th birthday when I've been promised one as a present.

My parents-in-law own an industrial textiles company, and have many pairs. But, lucky me, they have gifted me with these vintage pinking shears - apparently they were Michael's Grandma's or Great-Grandma's.

How cool are they? But - I don't really know much about using pinking shears. So - I appeal to you, fair seamstresses. Any tips, lessons learnt, don'ts etc? Can you really use pinking shears to finish the garment instead of a zigzag stitch? Please tell me everything you know! This may revolutionalise my sewing!!

Tea & Hotdogs: A Red Rooibos

2010-06-13T20:21:00.000-07:00

I feel like this poor little dress has been quietly waiting in the wings, patiently biding its time until it could be photographed.

I made this about 2 months ago - I definitely cannot sew to that extent with my blasted cast on. Although I did do some straight stitching on a skirt I already had cut out yesterday. My gosh it felt good to hear the whir of my little machine.

So without further ado, I present the hotdog red Rooibos! It is made from a cotton sateen called 'Hotdog' (from Tessuti Fabrics) and a black cotton voile (some stash fabric that I got from Spotlight for about $2 per metre).

I had to wear it for our coffee outing - the sun was actually out!

Bess was a bit cranky about not coming for coffee, but she did get a 12k run with Michael and a 5k walk with me today, so we told her to get a grip.

I don't really have anything new to add from when I made my spotty version a while back. On this dress though you can see the details a bit better:

When I made the spotty Rooibos, Sunni aka the Cupcake Goddess asked me to a tutorial on how to get the little collar to sit flat. It is super easy, so here is how I did for both versions:

Choose a contrasting fabric that is a bit lighter in weight or quite a crisp fabric for the facing (i.e., lightweight cotton or voile).
When you get to sewing the shape of the collar, make sure you make the tips of the collar a very sharp point. This may entail sewing the points a few times to get it right.
After you have sewn the points, clip and trim as much of the collar off as you dare. Those tips will not be pointy if you don't thoroughly trim.
Turn the collar the right way out. Press thoroughly, and if it is not flat and pointy enough, go back in there and trim some more.
When you have it lying nice and flat, stitch the collar to the dress. To make it invisible, stitch the underside of the collar (which is the red side on this dress) to the facing (which is black). Then the stitching will not show.
When you are doing this, ensure you stitch right up to where the centre of the collar is. This will make it sit completely flat. Also make sure you stitch right down the tips of the collar.

Hope that helps!

ButtonMania & Eight Questions

2010-06-11T18:02:00.000-07:00

I just happened (cough) to go past ButtonMania on Swanston St in Melbourne CBD yesterday with a work colleague after we had finished at a Human Rights in Policing course.

(NOTE: ButtonMania is up three levels of a building that is in the opposite direction to work).

My goodness, what a store. I've never been in there, and can't believe I ever lived without it. I bought the most amazing 1940s Spanish buttons for my Lady Grey Coat. What do you think?

And here they are on the material I have bought for my Lady Grey Coat:

Sorry about the slightly blurry pics - I had such trouble holding the camera with my gammy arm.

It is a navy 100% wool with a slight sheen. I really did want a brighter colour, but the colours I could find in wool were EXPENSIVE! And this coat needs about 4m of fabric. So I would have been looking at close to $300 for a coat. Not on my watch :-) I'd be interested in hearing from anyone who has made this coat - did you actually need 4m?

When I've made this one I think I might make one in a brighter colour in a heavy cotton (or some less expensive fabric anyway).

Now, onto the 2nd part of this post. The very inspirational Tilly of Tilly and the Buttons has tagged me in a game of 8 questions. The deal is I answer her questions then tag 8 seamstresses to answer mine! Here goes:

1. What is your staple meal? (ie. what meal do you cook most often, when you can't be bothered to think of anything adventurous)

Hmm, I don't really do the cooking in our house. Michael has three specialities that we have every week: massaman curry, handmade pasta, and handmade corn tortillas for mexican. If I was left to my own devices, I'd probably have some boiled eggs on nice sourdough toast. I'm more of a dessert cook these days.

2. What do you want to be when you grow up?

I'm not sure! The possibilities are endless. I'm thinking of getting back into sexual assault research full time, but the most important thing I could want to be is a mama when I grow up.

3. What book are you reading at the moment (if any)?

I've just finished reading 'The Book Thief' and now I'm starting 'Dead Man Running' - a book about Outlaw Motorcycle Clubs in Australia. My bro-in-law gave it to me and I'm finding it fascinating.

4. How do you relax?

I have two ways. 1. Exercise. It is the most powerful way to stop my mind ticking over. 2. Over a glass of red wine, on the couch watching something trashy on the TV. Like True Blood. Pure trash, but awesome for relaxing.

5. What colour are the interior walls of your home?

Kind of an egg-shell white.

6. What is your guiltiest pleasure?

Chocolate. Red wine. Spending a week day at home doing nothing but sew. Sleeping in with Michael (so rarely happens). Buying fabric.

7. What time is bed time and getting up time?

Bed time is around 9.30pm. Getting up is 6am.

8. How long do you spend reading blogs (per day or per week)?

Too long :-) I have a quick look over my brekkie in the morning. Then when I get home I have a proper look, leave comments etc.

Now, here are 8 people I'd like to hear some random things about:

Veronica Darling from Veronica Darling
Tasia from Sewaholic
Sunni from The Cupcake Goddess
Jorthy from Jorth!
Lore from SEW RED HOT
Miss Emmi from They Have Called Me 'The Bar Nothing'
Karin from Ancien-Nouveau
Kat from Kat's Creative Adventures

And here are the questions:

1. What is your favourite pattern of all time?
2. What is one place that you really want to visit that you haven't been to before?
3. How do you relax?
4. What is your favourite childhood memory?
5. If there was one pattern you could own, regardless of availability, cost, or whether you'd actually make it, what would it be?
6. If you could spend the rest of your life doing anything you wanted, what would it be?
7. How long do you spend reading blogs (per day or per week)?

Phew! This has been quite a post! Happy long-weekend fellow Aussies!

Vogue 1059 - Alice + Olivia Trousers Tutorial - and a Question

2010-05-26T02:44:00.000-07:00

Well, I am really proud of my first pair of trousers! I'm just so glad I got through them. Maree And Lore, I couldn't have done it without your invaluable tips.

So, here is my guide to sewing trousers. I am no expert, but I certainly learnt some things along the way.

The number one thing I learnt is that it is imperative to make a muslin. Here are the alterations I made from the muslin:

First of all, I followed Maree's suggestion to cut the muslin one size larger, but sew with larger seam allowances. I ended up taking the pants in about 2-3 centimetres further in the hip area, directly beneath the yoke. But I did not do this alteration until I had sewn the waistband on - then I could really see where the changes needed to be made.
The second thing I have learnt is that I must have a very long crotch to waist measurement. I ended up cutting the crotch length at three sizes larger!
I also used a slightly longer zipper, and thus increased the length of the pants from the crotch to just before the waist band by approximately 1.5cm. You can see the nice length I have on them side on:

I should have trialled welt pockets on the muslin - I really screwed up on the fashion fabric and had to do some pockets a la Rachel - which look fine, but are not welt pockets all the same.

Pockets and rear view:

Now, the major design alteration I made was to the construction the fly. The pattern called for approximately four different pieces for constructing the fly and fly guard. I just could not get my head around this. I am quite spatially challenged, but this was ridiculous.
Then Lore from Sew Red Hot came to the rescue, and pointed me in the direction of this amazing video:

http://www.threadsmagazine.com/item/3831/video-an-easy-flat-fly-front-zipper

My goodness, this little 5 minute video saved my life. Thank you Lore! I'm forever in your debt. I watched this video a few times, consulted with my spatially-gifted hubby, and re-drafted the trouser leg to include a fly extension. Here is what the pattern piece looks like now:

The fly extension probably extends 7cm. I trimmed it after sewing in the zipper. It was sooooo easy!

Here is what the new improved fly looks like on my trousers (sorry this isn't the greatest photo):

And here is what they look like on me!!

Now, it is from this last photo that I have the question. See how coming up from my crotch I have that kinda 'U' shape going on? What could be causing that? Here are my thoughts:

Is the crotch seam still not long enough?
Or is it too long? Does that area look like it extends too high?
Did I not trim enough on the inside seams?
Do I need more length on the trouser length before I get to the waistband?
The fabric is relatively heavy - could the fabric be too heavy? It is heavier than my Herringbone, Cue and Veronica Maine suit pants material.

I don't really notice the 'U' shape when I'm wearing them, but its pretty obvious in the photos! I'd really appreciate your help and any thoughts/tips you might have!

Winners!!!!!

2010-05-25T03:32:00.000-07:00

First of all, the lucky winner of the fabric - Miss Emmi!

1. Miss Emmi 2. Karen 3. Marion 4. Original Mischief 5. Lynn 6. Cathi 7. Kelli 8. Bridget 9. Martha 10. Rachel 11. Starz 12. Stickenickan 13. The Celebrated Author 14. Stephanie – New York Drift 15. Nancy 16. pins&needles 17. Khadija 18. Parakeetpie 19. Morgan 20. Kat 21. Hanna 22. Maricou 23. Lipstickvixen 24. Debi 25. Stephanie 26. RavenzTarot 27. Clairegeit 28. Kennis 29. Popababe7 Randomized list generated May 25 2010 at 20:23:24 by www.psychicscience.org Free educational resources for parapsychology, psychical research & mind magic.

And the lucky winner of the fabric ... Sara!!

1. Sara 2. Claire Louise Milne 3. Starz 4. Stickenickan 5. Tina 6. Tilly 7. Stella - pitchinwoo 8. Cathi 9. Marion 10. Eleanor 11. Morgan 12. Allison 13. Lore – Sew red hot 14. Kennis 15. Jodi 16. Pattern Junkie 17. Becky Randomized list generated May 25 2010 at 20:27:16 by www.psychicscience.org Free educational resources for parapsychology, psychical research & mind magic.

Congratulations Miss Emmi and Sara, please email me at r_king1@hotmail.com with a postal address. I'll be posting them on Thursday when my hubby is around to write your addresses for me - I can't legibly write with my left hand!

Thank you for all who entered, and stay tuned for my trouser pattern review and tutorial tomorrow night!

Lovely Vintage Pattern Finds & Only One Day Left to Enter Give Away!

2010-05-23T22:07:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I had the most magical day with Michael and Boo-Dog. We went to Flinder's Beach, near Red Hill - about 1.5 hours drive. It was too cold to swim, but we went for a nice long walk on the beach, and collected some sea shells and bits of glass. We also laughed like crazy at Boo - since she moved to Victoria, she has become a bona-fide swimming dog. She used to hate the water! It is so nice watching her just plonk down in the water of her own accord.

But - onto the sewing! I have a few more pattern purchases to share with you. Scouring etsy and opp shops for patterns is one of the only things keeping me sane at the moment.

I bought this one on etsy - Simplicity 4255 from the 1950s. I have wanted this pattern soooo badly since seeing Tilly's Awesome Green Version. I have been checking etsy and ebay regularly for this little baby, and I'm so glad I found it. I want to make mine in green too and wear it with a black pencil skirt. I also want to make the pants but am unsure the style will suit me. What do you think?

The next ones I bought from an opp shop today on the way back from getting my x-rays. I never find nice patterns in opp shops, so I am incredibly stoked. I got all six for $11. These first two are my favourites:

Simplicity 4920 - c1961

Simplicity 6170 - c1965

Butterick 5355 - c1970s/1980s?

Butterick 3046 - c1960s - I'm not pregnant, but how super cute is the maternity one? I reckon I can wear this when not pregnant.

Simplicity 6851 - c1980s?

Butterick 5031 - c2007 - These last two aren't so vintage, but cute anyway, and were 50 cents each.

On Wednesday I'll be posting my pants! And a tutorial on how to amend a trousers pattern to make fly-sewing sooooo much easier.

Give Aways! 4m of Fabric and a 1949 Pattern

2010-05-20T19:00:00.000-07:00

As promised - here is the giveaway!

I am doing two separate ones:

4m of this lovely medium-weight 100% cotton:

The colour in the photo is pretty much true to colour. It would be great for skirts and dresses. It might be too stiff for a blouse though.

The second giveaway is this pattern - Simplicity 3075 from 1949. I just saw it for sale for $35!!!! It is complete, and in good vintage condition.

Now, here are my give away rules:

To enter, you must become a follower of my blog, and leave a comment to this post. If you already are, just remind me in your comment :-)
Make sure your name/blogging identity is visible.
You can enter for either the fabric or the pattern, and must specify which you'd like in your comment.
If you want to enter both, feel free, but leave me two separate comments (one for each). This will be easier for me with my broken wrist (I promise there is a rationale behind that).
I'll post anywhere in the world - it'll just be via slow mail.
The entries will close on Tuesday night at 8pm, my time.
Good luck!

Let me know if you've got any questions.

I'm personally waiting for the Colette Patterns sale to start - check out the Colette Patterns blog if you're interested - you have to become a newsletter subscriber to take advantage of the sale.

Some Future Planning: Pattern Purchases and Creating a To-Do List

2010-05-19T02:44:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone! Thanks everyone for your lovely well wishes - I have actually been too tired to miss sewing yet, but I have only had my cast on for a week.

I've had a crazy time since breaking my scaphoid. I went back to work Monday, but then today (Wed) the Injury Management Consultant informed me I was not legally allowed at work until my medical cert had expired and I got a statement saying I was fit to go back to work. Woops! So I'm off work until next thursday. Its probably for the best - I'm still sore and learning to cope with no right hand.

So, to occupy myself, I thought I would do two things:

Show you the two new patterns I bought on etsy; and
Put together a list of 10 things I'd like to sew next - with your help.

So, first of all - drum roll please - my two new patterns!!!!!

First of all, a lovely little princess-seam dress with sleeves:

How cute is it? I am thinking it would be a good versatile dress - for work and play, depending on the fabric. I am considering making it up in the lovely spotty cotton I bought to make the dress for the wedding. I think I'd wear this dress a lot more so it would be better to use the fabric for something that would get more use. What do you think?

Now, number two:

I love this one, and it was only $5. The seller says it is from the 40s, but I am wondering if it is from the 30s? Pattern dating experts, help me out here.

What sort of fabric should I make this from? Plain/floral/patterned? Cotton? I need help!!

Now onto my list of 10 things to make. Please feel free to comment about whether you think a particular type of garment is needed more or less. I do know I have a serious penchant for dresses.

So, here are my ideas at the moment:

The two patterns above.
Another pair of trousers, in black linen (I promise the pant pattern post is coming soon)
Simplicity 2501, View C, but with a rounded collar. I'm thinking a b&w polka dot. What do you think?

Now, this one is a bit daring -- Colette Pattern's Lady Grey. Do you think I'm up to it? It is rated 'advanced'. I just love this coat. The Cupcake Goddess made this and incited serious coat lust in me with her version.

I also want to sew another Jenny pencil skirt, but in a black wool.

So, that makes six garments. Suggestions, please! I'm not really after 'party' dresses at the moment, and am willing to expand my pattern collection some. Maybe a shirt dress if anyone can recommend a good pattern?

Stay tuned too, I have a give away coming up soon!

A Seamstress' Worst Nightmare: A Broken Arm

2010-05-13T05:20:00.000-07:00

Well folks, my health woes have just been bumped up a step - I've broken my right wrist.

Yep, I'm in a cast for six weeks, minimum. I've broken my scafoid, which my brother-in-law who is an orthopedic surgeon, tells me is particularly bad as it can need surgery if not healed correctly.

So, how did I manage to break my wrist at the tender age of 29? Boxing. Yup, I decided some time ago that I would like to do boxing, in a proper boxing gym. What possessed me to want to do such a thing? Boxing is great fun. Its stress-relieving. And its fantastic for fitness. But, as I've discovered, its also great for causing significant injury.

I broke it because the gym did not strap my wrists, or tell me what can happen if you don't strap them. And, to make matters worse, when I told the instructor my wrist was sore, he told me it was probably muscle soreness, and urged me on. When I got home that night, I couldn't really use my hand, but wrote it off as muscle pain. Woke up in the morning, really couldn't use it, but went into work. It was bruised and aching, but I kind of managed to make a few notes. About 11am, my boss noticed I wasn't using it (It was kind of obvious as I am right-handed) and I was driven to the emergency room.

No sewing for me for at least six weeks. Queue in significant feelings of depression.

I had such high hopes. This dress in this fabric to wear to my sister-in-law's wedding:

I don't know what I'll wear to the wedding now.

I was also in the process of making another beignet - in black cotton sateen.

I sew most days a week - it is going to drive me mental.

I'm going to play catch up with the pants I've made and my red roobois, so I have a few blog posts up my cast, but mostly I'll be living vicariously through you all!

Or, maybe I'll follow the lead of lovely bloggers like Jorth and have my lovely hubby do some guest posting about titillating topics like nonlinear Gauusian optical physics.

What do you think?

Getting in Touch with my Roots: Naomi Wolf

2010-05-02T22:56:00.000-07:00

Well, some time ago I received the Kreativ Bloggers Award, and posted - as part of the 7 things you may not have known about me - my professional background as a feminist criminologist specialising in sexual assault.

These days I work as a researcher for a state police service. While not quite as hard-core patriarchal as they once were, police services are not known for their feminist sentiments.

I still retain closeness to feminist work: applying the principles in my own work, working on projects regarding sexual assault survivors and the legal system, and remaining active in the sexual assault sector. But I was particularly pleased when a ex-colleague from the sexual assault research centre I worked at before the police service messaged me to let me know Naomi Wolf will be speaking in town this week!

I think this is quite serendipitous. Since moving to Melbourne, I've gained some weight, and have not been feeling my most attractive. I think I need a healthy dose of feminist realism regarding body image. I do ascribe too much to beauty ideals marketed via the mass media. Oddly enough, I care more about how other women perceive me, rather than men. I've also just finished reading The Women's Room for the first time.

Naomi Wolf's talk is also of great interest to me, as some of my fave bloggers discuss the relationship between vintage clothing and feminist ideals. I've never really thought about this link comprehensively before -- which is quite odd, as my view of the world (for both professional and personal purposes) is via an examination of constructions of gender and how that prescribes women's lives.

I've thought about how modern clothing prescribes women's experiences. For example, an age-old rape myth is that women wearing short skirts and skimpy tops are blameworthy for their own victimisation. Or, how music video girls are always scantily clad and dancing in overtly sexual ways. And I've thought about the 70s styles of loose clothing that was somewhat asexual in nature, and the abandonment of the bra. But I've never really thought about the 30s, 40s and 50s (my favourite vintage eras) and how these styles may be linked to stereotypes regarding women.

Maybe Naomi Wolfe will help me in these thoughts.

What are your views on feminism and vintage clothing styles? Has it ever entered your consciousness? Does it influence which era's styles you will sew or wear? What about sewing and feminism? What are your thoughts?

PS - I'm cutting out the pants muslin tonight. Was in sunny Queensland over the weekend, so got no sewing done at all!

Feelin' Pretty - Advance 3929 for Pattern Review Contest

2010-04-26T02:53:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone!! Hope you all had a nice weekend. I did - I went for a run today and my neck feels quite okay! I am much more chipper for it.

I am also feeling pretty chuffed with myself as the lovely Sunni (aka the Cupcake Goddess) featured my blue and white polka dot Rooibos in her stitching spotlights! Thanks Sunni! Then I was looking on the Colette Patterns website, and Sarai has used my Rooibos and my Ceylon in her gallery! Wow, I am feeling very special in all.

I've also done a bunch of sewing this weekend. It was a relatively quiet one (a 30th B'day Party on Sat night, but that's about it). Michael is about to submit his PhD, so it is quiet time here at the ranch.

I finished my Pattern Review Vintage Pattern contest dress. And boy, do I love it. It was not without tears, mostly due to having to take out a whopping 18cm from the waist, and then sewing the back to the front bodice. Ah well, it has been worth it in the end!

Ah, I'm in love with my own sewing skills this week (sorry to be so vain, but it is so nice when it pays off). Because this was for the contest, Michael and I went to some extra effort with the photos. Here are a few detailing my handiwork for the contest:

The neck tie.

The invisible zip.

My lovely enclosed seams.

I will post my other projects over the next few days. I finished my red and black Rooibos dress, and my little niece's 1960s party frock (she is turning 3). Hope all is going well in your parts of the world. xx

Vintage Pattern Contest on Pattern Review

2010-04-21T01:29:00.000-07:00

I am thinking about entering the vintage pattern contest on Pattern Review. Is anyone else?

There is about 10 days left, so I better get moving if I am.

I'm thinking of making this dress from the 1940s:

I've made View 3 previously, but am thinking I would make View 2 with the neck tie. I have my eye on this fabric to make it with:

It is a soft drape-y Japanese cotton (I actually don't know if the fabric store still has it in stock, I am hoping they do).

Do you think this fabric is too busy to make View 2 with? Do you think it will still look vintage-like if made up in this fabric?

I'd love your thoughts! I'd also love to hear if anyone else is entering, and what you are making if you are!

A Cup of Rooibos

2010-04-19T01:06:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone. Thank you for all your lovely well wishes regarding my injury. And we definitely see eye-to-eye regarding the evil tram person.

A quick injury update before I get into the sewing talk.

My neck is slowly getting better. I went back to work today, and was relatively pain-free until about 2.30pm when I had some spasms in my shoulder. I have another osteopath appt on Wednesday arvo, so lets hope things hold out until then.

To make matters worse, however, I am sick again. This time in my sinuses. I am kind of wondering if the last two colds I have had have actually been my sinuses playing up. This is a pretty distressing issue for me, as just before I completed my PhD (so about 14 months ago), I had a sinus operation to fix my chronic sinusitis. There is always a risk the operation will have to be repeated, or will not work, so I am going through a pretty nail-biting stage of wondering what is going to happen. I have been sick in this way now 3 times in 3 months. Something is clearly going on. I've also had an infected gland that I've only just finished taking antibiotics for. I am sooooooo tired from it all. All I want to do is crawl under the blankets and sleep. Truthfully, I am feeling a bit down about it all.

Anyway, enough whinging on my behalf. I hope you all had lovely weekends. The sun was shining (for once) here in Melbourne, and we took advantage of it. Yesterday we had a big lunch at our house for Michael's 30th birthday. It was heaps of fun! And it was the perfect time to christen my lovely new Rooibos dress:

What do you think? This is another Colette pattern (I think this is my favourite so far - it definitely came together the easiest). The only alteration I made was to lengthen the hem by 7cm.

The material is some cotton polka dot I bought from etsy. The contrasting material is white homespun cotton. All in, this dress cost me about $15. One of the least expensive I've made in some time. It is a nice pattern to sew, with some cute details. Like the little collar:

The back has a rounded neckline (I got a little sunburnt yesterday and have a matching burn line):

I am thinking of making another one almost straight away of some dark red cotton sateen I have in my stash (the colour was called 'Hotdog' - hopefully I won't look like one in it). I have a 30th birthday of two friends to go to soon, and think a red Rooibos would suit well.

What are your thoughts? A red Rooibos, or can you envision the dark red sateen in another pattern? Please let me know what you think!! I need sewing help!!

Thai Fabric Maxi Dress

2010-04-12T21:45:00.000-07:00

I have not been doing much sewing of late, though I am nearly finished the dress I'll be wearing to my husband's 30th Birthday dinner this friday night. I am taking him somewhere quite swanky, so have made a special dress to suit (more on that later).

Some time ago, my sister travelled to Thailand and brought me back 4m of some lovely fabric (thank you small sister!). I was going to make it into a 50's party dress, but it wasn't the right drape and handle. So I decided to make a flowy maxi dress.

I used Vogue 8380, which I have used before (my skull dress for Christmas day was made from this pattern). I altered it by lengthening it to be floor-length and using a contrasting black grosgrain ribbon as the ties. I also included a few more gathers for the skirt, to make it more full. See how it picks up in the wind?

This dress is nice to wear. It is a relatively simple design, so it allows my pretty Thai fabric to speak up. A shot from the back:

Boo-dogg likes this dress too. I wore it to a comedy show about two weeks ago, and she kept going underneath my skirt. She really is very cute:

I will be out of action for a while. A very rude person barged into me from behind when I was getting off the tram at work this morning. I was carrying a rather heavy bag, and sort of twisted when this person ran into me, then sort of fell off the tram. I felt a bad pain go through my neck and shoulder, and then couldn't stand the weight of my bag. I went into my office, took off my suit jacket, and went into the conference room to try and do a few stretches. No can do.

I rang my osteopath begging for an appointment, and got in for 9.30am. Someone from my office had to drive me. The osteo says I have sprained my neck and shoulder, and has written me a certificate for 3 days!! I am devastated. I've only been at my work for 10 weeks, and have had 2 colds and now this. I really hope they are not seeing me as some sort of sickly individual who was not a good hire.

So, lots of ice, anti inflammatories and rest. Not my idea of fun.

Trouser Update and My Own Pattern Binge

2010-04-04T22:37:00.000-07:00

Seems this was the weekend for pattern bingeing (thanks to Tilly for a great phrase!). Clegs had a $5 pattern sale on this weekend, and I actually think I was quite restrained. Here are my purchases:

Simplicity 2501. Gertie has made this one in a cute polka dot. I love the version that has the waist band that makes it look like it has a peplum.

Simplicity 3673. I love version A. I'm thinking I'll make it in a black matte fabric or a black polka dot.

Vogue 8615. Again, my inspiration for this came from Gertie. I also purchased it as I need to come to terms with the fact I live in Melbourne, where we actually do have winter, and not Queensland anymore, where the weather is blissfully and perpetually hot all year round. Adjustments to my wardrobe are needed.

Now - the trouser update. Here are my issues to date:

I chose the worst possible fabric to make a muslin with. It is some sort of heavy cotton-poly, and, even using a brand new needle, my machine absolutely hates it. The needle would just not go through the fabric when there was more than one layer. I am going to buy some actual muslin to make the test garment with and start again.
The fly is a new sewing process for me. I attempted it on Saturday, when I been up until 2am, and had a hangover. I rarely drink enough to warrant a hang over, and rarely stay up that late either. I blame my husband, sister, brother-in-law, and my cousin. They were just too fun for words.
Some of the instructions are not very clear. Which I clearly needed them to be on Saturday

So, my plan is:

Buy some muslin to make a test garment with.
Consult some online resources and my sewing guides regarding how to sew a trouser fly instead of just relying on the pattern instructions.
I have also emailed the instructor of the sewing classes that Tessuti Fabrics hosts. I am thinking maybe a formal lesson on how to construct trousers may be a good idea, instead of me sewing them on the fly (hehehe very bad joke, I know).

So, as I was disappointed with my trouser effort, I've moved onto Vogue 8280 and Colette Rooibos until I get into gear again for trousers. I won't have much to show for a little while though - I am going away for work tomorrow night, and my little bro is visiting next weekend.

Hope you all had a nice long weekend.

A Duo of Tulips (skirts that is)

2010-04-02T17:06:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone. In my quest to make some more 'every day' kind of clothes, including ones I can wear to work, I have been concentrating on skirts, and my first pair of trousers (more to come on that soon).

I've just finished making two tulip skirts. The first is the Burda Marie tulip skirt:

It is made from japanese cotton from Tessuti called Osaka Night Bloom. Japanese cottons are my favourite fabric at the moment. But they are a little expensive ($29/m), so choosing this pattern to make something out of the 1m of material I purchased was a good idea!

The pattern is easy enough. But until now I have thought that I was a size 40 in Burda. Every Burda pattern I have sewn has required taking in. I didn't realise the size conversion to Australian sizes - I think a Burda 40 is an Australian 14. I ended up making this skirt in a 36 and it fits me perfectly.

The 2nd tulip skirt I have made is another Wiksten tulip skirt. This is such a great pattern - I wear my denim version at least once a week, and always get great comments. I've made this one as more of a 'work version'.

I used some of my precious vintage buttons on this skirt, and the fabric is a remnant I got from Tessuti a while ago (please excuse the creases - I didn't realise until I had taken it off):

The only adjustments I made to this skirt was to lengthen the hem line and make the belt a bit longer.

So - what do you think? Which tulip do you like better?

Hope everyone is having a great Easter weekend and doing some lovely sewing and relaxing.

Sewing Trousers for the 1st Time... and some Tilly Buttons

2010-03-23T23:43:00.000-07:00

Today I was lucky enough to receive a lovely little present in the mail from the gorgeous Tilly, whose giveaway I won a while ago. Here are some cute pics of my present all wrapped up and my card:

And here are the buttons!

Thanks Tilly!! I promise my sewing-themed Sencha is at the top of my list!!

In other news, I have decided to delve into the world of sewing trousers. For the first time. Here is the pattern I have chosen:

It has received good reviews on Pattern Review, and a friend of mine has sewn another pair of alice + olivia trousers and thought they were nicely drafted and relatively easy to sew.

I am a bit nervous though about this uncharted territory. Does anyone have any tips about trouser-sewing?

I am going to make them a size larger than I would normally make or buy. And I'm definitely going to make a muslin. I'm also going to take this pattern to the Burda Style Club I'm going to tomorrow night to get some tips.

But please!! Any tips or resources you may have for sewing trousers, please share!

Beignet, Sencha and Me....

2010-03-21T01:26:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone, hope you've all had a lovely weekend.

I have been very busy - my Mum and Dad have been here to visit for my sister's birthday - and it has been bordering on manic. But it was great fun, and included a vintage fashion fair this morning.

But - onto the point of this post. I finished my Colette Patterns Beignet skirt and Sencha blouse (I wore it for the winery tour we did yesterday):

The skirt is made in a red linen - from where else but my fave Tessuti Fabrics. It is lined in red cotton and has black vintage buttons. I found this skirt relatively simple to fit and sew. I did not sew the pockets however, as the linen is quite bulky and I did not think the pockets (which are drafted to sit on a curved hip line) would sit flat. I cut the longest belt length, as I do like a good long belt. I found the curve where the lining and the skirt facing are joined ridiculously difficult though. Did anyone else have this issue?

This is the third time now that I have sewn the Sencha blouse, and with out a doubt, the most successful. My first attempt was massive. I originally made the size 6 - the one in these pics is a size 2 using 2cm side seam allowances instead of 1.5cm. It did come together very easily this time though. And, for the first time, I made my own bias binding. I may be in love. I want to use hand made bias binding on everything. I also used vintage buttons for the blouse - which you can see here:

The fabric is a really soft cotton - it is quite sheer though. I will have to wear a singlet or slip under it for work.

I really love this outfit. So.. now I have a lovely skirt and blouse that will suit many occasions. Such as... dancing?:

Or smelling the roses:

(Yes, I am a complete geek)Hope you have all had lovely weekends!! And hope the Melbournians enjoyed the gorgeous weather we were lucky enough to get!!

1945 Advance 3929 - AKA a simple dress in gorgeous fabric

2010-03-13T23:55:00.000-08:00

I had originally intended to make the shirtdress. I am mildly obsessed with them after seeing my friend Maree's polka dot Burda Magazine one (you should check out her garments - she is Maree P on Pattern Review and everything she makes is outstanding).

And with the fabric I used for this dress, I had originally intended to make a blouse. However, I ended up with view 3 of this pattern:

With this amazing Japanese cotton called Garden Night Patch from Tessuti Fabrics:

(You can find this fabric here)

Which equals a simple but pretty 1945 dress for me!

This is a 6-gore skirt, with a bodice that is literally two pieces and two facings joined together. You gather the bottom of the bodice and sew it on. The sleeves are simply narrow-hemmed. Pretty simple huh?

Well, I did think so in the beginning. The above photo is me contemplating the massive amount of fabric I had to take out of the dress to make it fit. I am not exaggerating when I say I had to take out 15cm out of the skirt!!!!

Vintage sizing is becoming the bane of my sewing life. Well, sort of. Maybe I need to re-think the sizes of the patterns I am buying. This one was for a 34" bust, and 37" hip. I guess I am smaller than that, as this is the third pattern of that size I have had to grade down.

I do love the dress, and can't really complain about the fit issues, as I should have done a tissue fit before cutting into my fabric. So it was just me being an impatient seamstress, wanting the glory without going through the process. All ended well anyway, as grading down was not difficult.

The fabric is lush. Very soft, nice and drapey. My pup (who I am whistling for in the below photo) was rubbing her little head on my skirt when I wore it:

Here is another fun shot - I asked my hubby to take one looking down at me to see if I appeared bigger or smaller. I can't personally see any difference. I have a friend who will only allow close-up photos of her be taken when she is sitting down, claiming she looks thinner when the photo is taken from higher up (I know, pretty neurotic).

I do like the effect of the sun coming through on this photo.

What is everyone making at the moment? I have just cut out the Beignet Colette skirt - I need a few wardrobe staples, but am such a sucker for a brightly patterned dress. Discipline!!!

School Fete Goodies

2010-03-12T20:35:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone!

I have had my brother visiting this weekend, and today we had many errands to run together - he is an army man and needed to stock up for his bush trip.

One of the errands I put on the list was to visit a local primary school fete. I am a complete sucker for fetes. My primary school in Queensland runs the best fetes - awesome home baked bikkies, cakes, and lollies, fantastic crafts (I get a new crocheted blanket every year for about $8-$10), and great lucky dips. Not to mention the book stall.

So I thought I would start venturing out, seeing some new school fetes, especially as I am not in Queensland any more. Now, the one I went to, my brother and I agreed, is nowhere as good as our primary school (and we're not just being biassed :-). There was a bit too much 'funkiness' going on, and not enough good old fashioned toffees to break your teeth, chocolate crackles, lolly necklaces, or crocheted items. And the prices were much more expensive. Ah well, I suppose the primary school is in a 'trendy' area of town.

I did get some lovely things though:

The little hair ties and two clips are for my niece Lil's 3rd birthday in April. The hair ties were $2 (bargain) and the clips $2 each (also a bargain). The two brooches are for me - the felt flower was $4 and the Polly Pratt button one was $6. The vintage buttons were $3, and the little denim wallet, which is beautifully made and lined in the cutest pink fabric was $6. They were all great bargains.

There were other things there that were gorgeous, but I couldn't justify paying the money asked. For example, there was a cute cotton skirt with an a-line shape and elasticised waistband in a contrasting colour. Just two pieces of fabric sewn together and a piece of soft stretchy material on top. Asking price.... $50. At a school fete? I could make it for around $10 in about 30 minutes.

I didn't find a cake/biscuit stall, but did find a jam stall. My brother also won a wine raffle and gave me the reward, and I bought two plants:

The jams were $5 a piece, the wine ended up costing $5, and the two plants $15 (I know, I got ripped off with the plants, but the lady running the stall was very nice).

So... that was my fete outing!! Do you go to fetes? Did your primary/secondary school have one?

Burda Style Jenny Dress

2010-03-06T18:45:00.000-08:00

I bought the Jenny pencil skirt pattern some time ago from Burda Style some time ago and loved it. It was a four-variation pattern that included a dress, and each variation was released individually over about 2 months. I didn't really give the dress much thought - I didn't know what it looked like and had other dresses on my mind.

Then I saw Nichola's version. Talk about an incredibly stunning dress. Then I was lucky enough to be at Nichola's work, Tessuti Fabrics, when there was this lovely stripey remnant sitting on their remnant table.

I ummed and ahhed over what to make with it. First I thought a pencil skirt, but there was 2.3m -- that could be a waste of leftover gorgeous fabric. Then I thought Vogue 8184, but there are many pieces in the bodice, and I was worried about matching up the stripes.

Then, a little light bulb went off in my mind. Jenny!!!

This is such a nice dress to make, even with the added complication of matching stripes. It came together really well. Here is the side view:

I feel pretty sexy in it. It is nicely figure hugging without making me feel like I can't breathe.

One recommendation I do make with this dress is to make it rather snug if using a stretch fabric. I cut out the 38 originally and scaled down to the 36 in the skirt, and still have quite a bit of room to move.

My hubby took the shots - this one is his favourite:

And this is one of mine. I am trying to spice up my project photos by using props. This one is a vintage mirror I picked up for about $2 at an op shop.

It is a long weekend here and I am going to cut out my next project this afternoon. I am making a 1940's dress in some lovely Japanese cotton I bought (again) from Tessuti Fabrics. Tomorrow I'll also post my Sencha blouse -- I have made 2 now - one is for my sister as I seriously overestimated my size. Even after taking it in is waaaayyy too big, so she gets a blouse! She is taller and a little broader than me so it should fit. She is coming over for lunch today, so I'll get her to try it on then. Hopefully she'll let me take a pic of her in it too.

The Cutest Little Parcel in the Mail

2010-03-04T23:55:00.000-08:00

A few posts ago I wrote about Casey of Elegant Musings making the most adorable little cherry brooches.

You may remember that I tried to find some cherries to make my own, but was unsuccessful. I kept my eyes peeled on Casey's blog for an announcement that she had them available in her Etsy Store. The minute she did, I bought one of them my own. Et voila!!

How gorgeous is the little business card? And the card the brooch is on? And the actual brooch? They are extremely reasonably priced too - $6 for the brooch and $2 for postage to Australia. How could I not get one??

I went for drinks with the girls from my old job last night, and my husband picked me up from the city. He had the envelope waiting for me to open in the car! How cute.

I wore the brooch today with a white and black polka dot cropped cardi and a black pencil skirt. Thanks Casey for making such lovely accessories!!

This weekend I will post pics of Ceylon with the changes made, and my Burda Style Jenny dress in striped stretch cotton (just got to hem it). The fabric was going to be Vogue 8184, but I decided on Jenny instead. It is a long weekend here - thankfully! I am soooooo exhausted.

Colette Macaron

2010-02-27T15:30:00.000-08:00

Last night I wore Macaron out to dinner with some friends, so I was able to get my lovely husband to take some pics of me in it. Here is one of me having a cup of tea before going out:

Overall, I think it turned out well. I got lots of nice comments, and a friend wants me to make her one (she is totally pint sized though, nothing at all like my shape, and at about 5 foot 1". I am 5 foot 8" - I don't know if I am ready to make clothes for someone so differently shaped to me).

I used a quilting weight cotton for the patterned parts and a cream pin cord for the contrast. In hindsight, I think using a lighter fabric for the contrast may have been a better idea. I didn't end up doing the pockets as I was worried about them being too heavy in the cord. The cord does look nice though.

I did have a nasty time with the waistband though. For some reason beyond my knowledge, the waist band did not match up on both sides. I had to do some tweaking to get it to line up - especially on the zipper side. This photo shows the wonderful job (if I do say so myself!!) job of lining them up:

The waistband does appear to wrinkle slightly, but I think this is because the fabric has a small amount of stretch in it. As the night wore on, it actually relaxed a fair amount (making it a little loose in my opinion). I also had to remove about 4cm overall from the waistband. Either I've lost weight or I'm over-estimating my measurements.

I also had a crazy time with the invisible zip, and I'm still not that happy with it. I found it really difficult to insert the zip when the top of the bodice was already joined. I've only ever put in an invisible zip when the fabric is not joined together at all. But, even though I'm not very very happy with it, it is still okay. The back is very cute:

I really love the tulip-shape of this skirt, and the fact that the little fold/pleats hug my waist down to my hip, then the skirt flares. It is a very nice pattern with so many cute details. The inverted shape of the sleeve, the sweetheart neckline, the shape of the waist....

Now, you may also realise that I have cut my hair short. I usually have short hair, but did go through a stage of thinking that I might grow it. I was experiencing some major vintage hairstyle envy with people like Debi and Gertie. But I did some soul searching, and I'm not a long hair gal. It doesn't suit me, and I think my short hair reflects my personality better. I've also ramped up my exercise again (Michael and I are going to do a half-marathon in April), and short hair is so much easier for running. Here is a pic of my new hair:

Well, I'm off to do some more sewing!! I'll have more pics tomorrow to put up too. I've re-done my Ceylon sleeves (sits so much nicer) and sewn a Sencha blouse (they are the loveliest blouses but I had to do some tweaking with that one too). Hope you're having nice weekends - it is a miserable day here - perfect sewing weather!