How good is that?

Mustard legs - V1204

2012-01-25T10:40:00.000+11:00

At the January Alexandria session, Renata was musing about making a pair of lemon yellow jeans. So while looking along the drill bolts I found mustard yellow drill. Score. This is one of my colours. While I've been working away from home, at night I've been able to get in a couple of hours sewing. No cooking or cleaning, until I get home.

This is my third version - red and green were recently made. This version has a 'stay' at the front and I've widened the top of the back leg. I just couldn't work out the pockets pieces, so I pinned the pocket pieces together and extended them to the zipper seam. It's a drill cotton so it won't stretch.

The contrast thread was originally going to be grey but then I wanted a less obvious pocket design, so I over sewed it with mustard coloured thread. The pocket curves are traced off using the base on the iron water jug. There wasn't anything else I could decide upon while working in a one bed room apartment.

Last Saturday, my sewing buddies pointed out there was an unsightly curve on the centre back seam. So it's now laying dead flat as I unpicked the centre back seams, raised the base and then resewed the seams and flat edges.
I have kept the grey thread on the belt carriers and coin pockets.

Because the fabric is pure cotton, it crushes, hence the creases. The fabric does breath well when you travel. The jeans do feel a bit loose when I sit.

I'm now working on another jeans pattern - Vogue jeans - in apple green denim. I'm using this mustard pants to get the adjustments right. This is my 'oh my got it's humid' weekend look :)

Minoru jacket progress

2012-01-15T08:56:00.000+11:00

On Saturday 4 of us were at Alexandria worked on our Minoru jackets. All 4 of us are various shapes and sizes. What we found through discussions with Nicole who works at Alexandria, the raglan sleeve is too high for this jacket. So the trial below shows the after effect with 2 inches added across the jacket.

The fabric lines show how the patterns sit. The sleeve is pulling to the front. The split sleeve pattern shows you why.

Alison compared the jacket sleeves to a Sandra Betzina and it was obvious that the sleeves are too high and not wide enough for all four of us. Seriously. It was a real learning for us.

The other issue I realised is the sleeve is gathered to a cuff piece so I can live with this sleeve as long as I square off the elbow to wrist pattern lines. Tasia (Sewaholic) recommended moving the cuff sleeve gathers to the back of the sleeve to alleviate the sleeve line.

I have another trial in the works.

Jalie sweetheart top/dress

2012-01-15T08:37:00.001+11:00

While waiting for my Sewaholic Minoru pattern to arrive, I decided to do a Jalie.

The test top used the soft white knit remnant I've used before and the key finding here confirmed where the top/dress length should be and the hip width and hip placement. I'm a bit higher on the right hip and do still need to accomodate for my round behind. I've used size U. Swimwear elastic didn't work so I've used 2mm width elastic on the bodice.

So, the real garment is this dress. I've found that this fabric is much looser than the white test version and the bodice was a lower fit. I've since raised the side bodice neckline up with front neckline so I don't have anything peeking out.
This fabric has a huge print on it and it was the last on the roll so I've positioned the orchid on my waist. The interesting aspect of this print was placing each piece so that the colours flowed. There was no way I would have the fabric or smarts to get each print piece in the right spot but I might still play with the fit when I get home.

The overall time it took to make this version was 4 hours. I'm working away from home so I have a really great room that I've set up with my little sewing machine.

Here's how I packed the machine in my carry on bag. Big bubble wrap and some packing foam that DH acquired for the bikes. I stored the bag in the overhead locker and no one made any comments because it didn't draw people's attention to 'the little lady with a carry on bag and laptop bag'. He he. It's nice to be invisible sometimes.
Thank you to DH for bringing the laptop this weekend so I can put up this post.

B5497 - Trial

2012-01-02T21:49:00.001+11:00

This top was planned to be complete for Christmas but wasn't. This week I made it up quickly at Sharon's place without elastic due to bad planning on my part. As you can see, View A is V-neckline for the front view and back view.

I don't normally wear dolman sleeves but I thought that short dolman sleeves might work. The elastic is used on the sleeve head seams to keep the gathers in place. This pattern also uses elastic on the mid bodice seam below the bust, using the seam allowance as the elastic casing. I used size 6 top and size 12 bodice but I'll used size 10 bodice next time.

The bodice length works (minus 10cm). This top really needs the elastic on the sleeves because the sleeves fall to my elbows and the sleeves should end just off the shoulders. Since finishing this top, I've taken 2cm out of the front and back V-neckline. I also shortened the back tie piece by 2cm.

The next version has these adjustments and the bodice is now dress length. This white fabric was a Pitt Trading remnant so this top has cost me $1 and 4 hours to make. I did use the Coverpro for the hem finishes so I'm using this top as Coverpro practice as well. When I wore this top version, the neckline and sleeves kept moving around so I was determined to make this style work.

This version was made on New Years Eve and worn on New Years day at the movies. We saw Tower Heist and it was fun to watch (not Gold Class). We saw Bill Cunningham earlier in the week. The top fits perfectly and doesn't move. It now has elastic in the shoulders and around the bodice. These pics were taken by DH. The fabric was a clearance piece from Spotlight so this dress might have cost $7 in total and took 5 hours to make, including cutting out and getting the print placement right. Using the Coverpro on the hemline was brilliant. I always split the hem stitching climbing into cars. This time, I didn't split hem stitching climbing into the 4wd.

V1204 - Green festive season

2012-01-01T15:30:00.002+11:00

All week I had been toying with how to add a coin pocket to these pants. And I was trying to find the energy to have them ready to wear on Christmas Day. Well both issues were resolved so it's definitely Happy New Year to everyone. Thank you 'sewing gods'.

The fabric was from the fabric shop that moved away from Burwood earlier this year. This is a green cotton drill and I am loving the coloured jeans that are out this season. I've still got plenty of this fabric for another project. And I'm still building green into my wardrobe - slowly.

This version has smaller front pockets than the first version and I've used different pocket stitching. The topstitching is a combination of normal thread and embroidery thread. You can see the top stitching but it's not bulky. The pockets are really shallow now and the coin pockets look a bit 'burda' to me.

I did the fly front stitching and I fudged the waistband to match. This version has a lower waist than the first red version and I did build in more room for my thighs. I had removed 2 cm from the centre back from the pattern but I still needed to take another 2 cm from the actual centre back. Either the fabric stretches or I just can't get the cut right on the centre back yolk

These pants took me less time to make - because there wasn't so much unpicking as the first version. 6 hours in total. I'm eagerly waiting for more rivets to arrive in the mail because I'm now running out of these nickel rivets that I bought in NZ in October. I wasn't able to find any in Sydney.
There are lots of creases at the front and behind the knee because I wore these at an all-day sewing session with my sewing buddies and then headed out with DH for plenty of post-Christmas socialising.

Jalie jeans 2908

2011-12-14T07:01:00.000+11:00

This is the coolest pattern. I'm bias. After unpicking the previous woven pair V1204, this pair was much quicker to finish. And they really are low rise.

The fabric is a stretch woven from the Remnant Warehouse ($3 for 3 metres) and the metal zip was 20c from a sale. So really, this pair were definitely low cost and low stress.

By the time I made this pair, I knew that the centre back seam was going to be trimmed back by 3cm because of my sway back. Next pair, I'll raise the centre back yolk by 3cm so the back jeans don't drop when I bend over.

I didn't use the topstitching thread on the zipper opening or down the centre back. Sylvia at work said this made these jeans look more dressy. I did add two coin pockets. Again, I had a machine with top stitching thread, a second machine with sewing thread and the overlocker set up for these jeans.

Next pair will have smaller back pockets and smaller coin pockets. I'll petite them.

V1204 - jeans/pants

2011-12-13T21:53:00.001+11:00

This has been the 'pants' year as I've worked on a couple of pants patterns so I had better skills to make jeans.

Mushy made this pattern and I loved it because of the straight leg design and the pattern is designed for woven fabrics and not stretch woven fabrics. These pants are described as "fitted, below waistline pants has front side slant pockets, back patch pockets, fly zipper closing, back yoke, waistband, carriers and topstitch trim". Here's knottygnomeknit's version in denim.

The front pants have been shortened so the jeans finish closer to my hips than right on my waist. I've also raised the pockets because not only were they long, but they were deep.

The inner back seam has been increased by 2 cm and the curve is also deeper. The waist has also been lowered for the next pair of jeans. Below is my version of making the leg width less full. I was going for a more straighter leg version.

Now that I've finished these pants, I think I've effectively sewn this pair, at least twice. At least the amount of unpicked thread on my floor indicated these needed lots of tweaking. I'm not normally this particular but I really wanted these pants to look good and not home made.

When I wore these for a day, I realised that I needed to resew the belt loops onto the waist band. They were way too long at 9.5cm long. I cut them back to 7.5 cm.

I also saw how long the pocket bag showed under the pants so they are now 6cm deep as opposed to 15 cm deep.

I had lots of fun adding the rivets and jeans button. Using a hammer is definitely my thing.

I've also added more room for my thighs so hopefully the bagging around my butt will disappear (he he). The next pair will be green and should sit closer to my hips. I do prefer low rise jeans.

The top is Kwik Sew 3378. This top has recently been adjusted. I've taken 4cm out from the centre back seam.

Sharon suggested using one machine for top stitching, a second machine for normal sewing and the overlocker. So that's what I did and I was able to progress through the pattern instructions much easier, without needing to thread and rethread the sewing machine with each step.

While writing up this review I found an blog about how RTW jeans either emphasis the butt as either a one mound or two mounds. I definitely have a two mound butt.

More summer 'fits'

2011-12-02T07:07:00.000+11:00

This RTW green dress was too big at the armhole and the bodice was too wide. The armhole is now 2 cm lower at the shoulder seams. I've also taken out width from the two back seams (2.5cm each) to bring in the bodice. This took 2 1/2 hours to do. There was no unpicking involved.

This RTW dress has been taken in at the centre back seam by 5cm. The hem has come up by 4 inches. I've also tucked in the front neckline so that it doesn't gap. This took 2 1/2 hours to do.

This pink number is one that I made as a wearable toile. The fabric was a gift and I've got stacks of it. This dress is not lined.

I've taken 3cm from the side seams and the tricky part was resewing the armhole edging. This took 2 1/2 hours to do.

This burnt orange dress took 2 hours to fix. Mostly because I took the back zipper out, then took out an inch from the centre back seam, overlocked the seams and reinserted the back zipper. I've taken out 2 inches.
I made this dress at least 5 years ago and I have a jacket made out of the same fabric. This dress is not lined but the jacket is.

In total, this alteration took 2 hours to do.

This dress took 2 hours to fix. I cut off the sleeves, dropped the shoulder seams by 2cm, turned in the sleeve edges and took the side seams in by 1 inch.

Yesterday I didn't like the look of this dress around the waist so I took off the front waist band. So in total this dress has taken 2 1/2 hours to fix. This weekend I'll take out some of the fullness out of the blue cherry dress too.

This is the quilt fabric that I've used a lot. I made this dress a couple of years ago and it's not lined but has bias binding on the neckline and armholes. I've taken this in at the side seams. The seams are overlocked.

This alteration took 1 1/2 hours to do.

I won't bore you with any further alterations. What I have learnt by altering my summer dresses is the hardest part was deciding if the dress was worth keeping and then what area needs to be adjusted. Once I'd done this planning part, the rest was doable. I'm not saying it wasn't stressful, but it was worth the work.

I'm working on Vogue 1204 pants so I'll really ready to make these pants from scratch now.

And one day, I'll learn how to layout these pages better...

Fit

2011-12-01T10:59:00.001+11:00

These two dresses have been favourites however they did need some rework. Unpicking is not a favourite task of any sewer but I needed to restyle these dresses because I still love the fabric but the fit was really really bad.

This black and white number did have sleeves and a mock from belt. The problem was the size because overwhelming. The fabric is a heavy raw silk and it's lined with cotton fabric. I had worn it to work for two summers and our summer is here and I still consider it a staple. I've pinned the original sleeves and mock belt to the dress so you can see the style. Without the sleeves and belt, it looks more streamlined.

Bulky before

Less bulk

This blue print sun-dress was also a favourite with it's long hem so I could wear flat sandals with it. Again it's too heavy looking ie too long and too wide. I keep forgetting I'm short. But I love the shirt style and fabric print. My parents come from a cherry growing area so any cherry print is special to me.

I unpicked the skirt from the top but I left the front pleats and front button tab attached to the blouse. The front still had three pleats at the front, which I'm reconsidering. Do I leave them in or take them out? I've also cut 5" off the hem so that it's about knee length. So these are still dresses, just better balanced for my frame.

Work alterations

2011-11-22T09:39:00.000+11:00

Last week I took out my summer clothes and they all needed altering. Isn't that always the way. So this was the perfect weekend to decide on whether I should invest my time on altering or giving my clothes to charity. What I had to decide was: Is this style still suitable for work? Does this style still work on me? Is this one of my colours? I originally made this dress in December 2009.

This dress needed the sleeves to be brought closer onto my shoulder by 2.5cm. I also brought in the side seams by 2cm on each side. The great thing was this dress isn't lined and the seams are overlocked. I had already taken off the trim that I had originally put on this dress two years ago. Overall, I invested about 2 hours on this alteration.

Colours - PR Sydney weekend

2011-11-21T12:32:00.001+11:00

This weekend was PR's anniversary and there were a few celebrations around the states. As you know we had a Sydney PR weekend in October with fabric shopping and a bunch of great workshops.

In one of the workshops, I wore a neat burgundy cuff watch that I bought in the states in March. I found a STAMPS watch seller in Australia. We also played with a style app on my phone - 'Clinton Kelly's Style Rx' app. It's not a comprehensive style file, but it's a just reminder when you can't decide on a style.

Our style and colour person Wendy did my colours - Deep warm. Now I keep this picture on my phone so that if I don't take these colours shopping with me, they're still on my phone.

Dark blue buttons

2011-11-15T09:10:00.002+11:00

Thank you for the comments. The dark blue buttons won, so 9 button holes and 9 buttons sewn on later, the shirtmaker dress is finished. Even though this has taken a while (three months) in between study, rugby and family commitments, I will make this again. I never thought rugby would ever impact my sewing.

Here's a list of what I did to this toile.

- normal seams and turned over edges, like I was first taught at school,

- lining front and back using a combination of chiffon and poplin. I ran out of the chiffon because this was a last minute decision to go from toile to wearable toile

- blue and white ribbon tape with white border on collar stay and sleeve hem

- 9 x 13mm shank buttons. I did buy a spare button.

- hand stitched front tab, inside collar and buttons.

- roll shoulder adjustment

- sway back adjustment

- dropped bust point by 3cm (age/gravity)

The back bodice looks messy because this fabric is as stiff as tissue paper. When I make this dress again, I'll use fabric with some drape to it. Then I will also taper the hem so that it sits closer to my body.

UFO - Shirtmaker dress

2011-11-13T18:54:00.002+11:00

This is a classic shirt style that I thought would be worthwhile making. It has tab front and enough detailing to wrestle with a few finishing options to make the same dress look a bit different. You would remember this dress from Sharon's blog. And I made the shirt version in December last year.

The toile fabric is from Rathdowne (Melbourne fabric shopping visit in 2009). It's a chambray blue colour and light weight but stiff and very sheer. The fabric irons really well and the weave makes it unravel easily. So with that in mind, halfway through testing out this style I decided this version could be wearable, so I've lined it with a 3/4 chiffon and 1/4 poplin. I didn't have enough chiffon in my stash, so I've made do with some poplin.

The original toile was going to have long sleeves with a cuff, but because the fabric is lightweight, I've decided on a short sleeve with cuff. I saw a someone on the street wear the same dress and it had short sleeve with cuff, so that helped me make up my mind.

As you can see, the sleeve has the same ribbon detail as the inside collar stand. The lining is the same dark blue colour as the ribbon detail, so I think it might be worthwhile getting dark blue coloured buttons. What do you think?
With the left over fabric, I'll make a belt.
I don't love the sleeves at the moment so at some point I'll have to either take them out or change the length of the sleeves. I can add another horizontal pleat if need be.
By the way, yesterday we visited Sydney's first fabricabrac to see what fabric was on offer from other like-minded sewers who were selling from their stashes. The venue was probably large enough but it was packed with curious sewers. They also had a coffee bar so I think the organisers should have had a successful event.

Cardi - winter is over

2011-11-08T20:31:00.001+11:00

While trying to make a shirtmaker dress work, I've finished a new cardi. Why? Because the dress toile is taking up a lot of thinking time and I needed a quick win to boost my confidence. Back to the cardi.

I've made this before and I know how the collar sits. The facing always seems too wide and I have now decided to take out a tuck out of the neckline to overcome it falling out all the time. The last time I made up this cardi, I used a contrasting facing and took advantage of it gaping.

At the PR weekend I learnt that I could wear brown (Deep warm), and I had a couple of pieces in my stash but I wasn't quiet sure if I should invest the time to make up these pieces. So I now know I can do some bold and muted colours and this dark chocolate brown is one of my colour options so this is what I've come up with.

The ruffle pieces are 2inch strips cut on grain but roll hemmed on the overlocker with red thread. I didn't have brown thread so I used a bold red, because I do have red pieces that I can co-ordinate this cardi with.

I've also used two black snaps to close the cardi if I need to. This is my last warm garment that I'll be making for the next 5 months. The humidity has started in Sydney but I'm thrilled to be in the warmth again.

Back from travel

2011-11-08T20:16:00.000+11:00

My sewing fingers are now ready to begin again.
You saw the top below in September while I was trying finish off my study. The study is finished. In the mean time we've been to New Zealand 3 times. Yep. Two visits were all about rugby and last weekend it was a family birthday to celebrate DMIL's 70th in the sleepy seaside town of Raglan.

The basic top pattern I used for this was Kwik Sew 1997 and I've insert an invisible zip because I wanted the zip feature. It's not a feature on the pattern.
So I took this top with me to NZ on the weekend. While we had 32C weather in Sydney, I was still wearing thermal layers in NZ. I know you can't take photos while in Customs, but I think taking pics at this area with tikkis is allowed.

I'm not into Rugby but here are some pics I took at the matches.

These were some Argentina supporters - the "party pumas".
The real Argentina fans were loud, fun and kept singing throughout the match.

We got to see the All Black perform the Haka twice.

These supporters looked like something from 'Where's Wally"...

Here's a beach at Raglan. They have good coffee.
And I did get to buy fabric when we were in New Zealand.

Quick topper

2011-09-30T22:47:00.000+10:00

The mags and books that I bought from Taunton's arrived yesterday. The box they came in was a bit worse for wear and the Postie shook the box when he handed it to me and asked me what was in it. Funny guy. He then asked me if I was a teacher.
I bought Sew Stylish Spring 2007 #1, Fall 2007 #2, Winter 2007 #3, Summer 2007 #1, Winter 2009, Winter 2010, Little Green dresses and Betzina's Power Sewing on sale.
Ok, so this morning just after 5am I had to check that our work website was updated. And it was. It was a major update. Yippee. With my excitment, there was no way I was going to get more sleep so I decided to trial a topper (bolero style) from Sew Stylish (Spring 2007) that I'd read yesterday. Below is the fabric folded in half 50 inches by 30 inches. Then it's folded in half. The side cut is my attempt at the sleeve curve - freehand.

The instructions suggest you then fold it into 'quarters' and then cut the sleeve curve. Below is how it's folded in quarters. Then you only need to cut the sleeve underarm curve. The style I chose was the dancer's sweater.

I love the colour of this fabric but it's not a favourite fabric, so I've used this fabric to see if the instructions and my adjustments worked. The finishings of such a small and quick piece still confounded me so after rummaging through my notion stash, I decided to go with no trim at all. Just a simple single fold and straight stitch.

Instead of 50 inches long, mine version is 45 inches long. The width is 30 inches but the side view pic shows that the back has some bulk, so I could make this about 28 inches next time.

This shot is supposed to show you the arm shape, but I feel like I'm about to start dancing the Zorba. WOopha!

UFO Grey pants

2011-09-29T06:53:00.000+10:00

Last night I had a go an adjusting these pants. The fabric is a slight stretch woven. I have similar grey work jackets and I needed a grey pair of pants that fit. Unfortunately the side pockets again gaped too much for my liking. So I took them out. You can see the pocket shape I used on the front in the picture below. The lighter grey fabric is the pocket lining. I ran out of the grey wool fabric.

I think I am addicted to sewing because I woke up at 5am and finished these pants. What was bugging me was the amount of slack or billowing that was happening down both sides of the leg. Last night I eased our 2cm from the outer leg and 1cm from the inner leg. There's still a bit of bulk so I'll ease this out another time.

I think the next step is going to be to try a new pattern with a slim fit leg. So after making x number of pants this year, I've learnt lots about pocket placement, a bit more about fit and I think I can now attempt jeans. The back view still looks wedgie through. I'll have to add a bigger butt curve. Now that'll be fun.

Tip: When I took the waistaband off and cut the waist down to size, I put two safety pins mid way along the zipper, so I wouldn't accidentally pull the zipper handle off the zipper. I've done that heaps of times before.

Back sewing

2011-09-28T09:46:00.000+10:00

Sunday morning was when I sent in my last assignment. However I did get a chance to sew at Rhodes on Saturday because I could see the light at the end of the study tunnel. I worked on these pants (again) because they were sitting way too high on my waist (Harry-high-pants).
The pockets were not part of the pants pattern. They were my 'interpretation' of pockets that sit flat on my body. The original side seam pockets are not flattering so on Saturday I spent 4 hours dropping the waist line by 2.5cm placing the new pockets and then unpicking them and dropping the waistline again by 2 cm. I added the waistband and closure last night.

So today I wore these pants to work with heels and they felt comfortable. That's really all I was aiming for. The grey pants are next...

Study break and ufos

2011-09-11T13:09:00.000+10:00

How do you fit in study when you sew and go train? It's not possible. We'll it hasn't been possible for me so I've had to down tools for three weeks to get some study out of the way (Diploma in Management). This has meant no sewing since 28 August and no training during the week. I have been able to fit in a bike ride on Saturday and Sunday mornings but I'm back by 8.30am. DH has been taking up the housework and my aim is to get through this by the end of September.

I haven't been able to sew with my sewing buddies at all - 'not happy Jan'. I've missed two ASG Saturdays and I missed the all-day session with Connie Crawford. I'm missing self stitched September too - still not happy.
Below are my UFOs. The two pants need adjusting at the waist, that's why you can see an unpicked waistband on the grey pair.

The top below is finished but I want to profile it with my green gear so there's a skirt in the wings or I can wear this with my green pants. I've based this zip top on Kwik Sew 1997 and I've insert the zip because I wanted the zip feature. It's not a feature on the pattern.

Below is my toile Jalie skort. I've used stash fabric that I used on a rashie vest last year. Again I'll profile this once I get some time and a top that works with it. I'm also finding it's a bit cold for me to wear this and there's no way I'll have a tan when I do review it. I'm using my new coverpro on this skort to learn the basics and that's also on hold until I get this study done.

Of the five modules I have to plough through I've managed to finish three and I hope to finish the 4th one by tomorrow night. Then there's only one more module to get through and I'll be back in the land of the living. Thanks for the blog break.

UFO stocktake

2011-08-22T14:28:00.000+10:00

Because we're at the back end of winter, I've been thinking about what I will do next. That means I've got a new list of UFOs.

Black zip top Kwik sew 1997 (working on the zipper)
Blue skort Jalie 2796 (ready to attach the shorts to the skirt)
blue croc jacket with detachable fur collar Vogue 1198 (wondering if it's too late or not)
collarless tunic top Vogue 8503 (cream fabric)

I've also had Angie Zimmerman adjust a couple of basics for me that I'm currently working on.

pants Mccalls 2874 (currently finishing off the waistband)
shirt Mccalls 2874 (picking fabric)
jean Jalie 2908 (choosing stretch denim)
shirt and shirtmaker dress McCalls 5433 (grey/blue stiff cotton)

Then I have a 50th in a fortnight and an engagement in November so my sewing planning continues. I'm so tempted to whip up a couple of knit dresses.

There's also the issue of 'green' or 'navy' for the first pieces.

The bottom line is, there's been no real sewing going on.

Lace - a four letter word

2011-08-01T20:35:00.002+10:00

That was a comment from a lace expert at the Love Lace Symposium on Saturday. True.

I never knew that the Powerhouse Museum has a Lace Study Centre. Yep. Here's a link to an ABC story about Love Lace.

The museum also hosts the International Lace Awards. 130 lace works from 134 artists from 20 countries. entries from And I was in the room with these international experts. Everyone I met told me where their entry was in the exhibit. When they asked who I was "just a sewer" made me feel in awe of their experience and dedication. I sat in the back row with the Lace Study Centre volunteers and next to the previous curator.

The speakers at the Symposium were all finalists. Unbelievable.
Love Lace Curator, Lindie Ward walked us through 14 pieces within the Lace collection. One piece that you'll find on the PHM website depicts a 1650's women placing her husband's chopped head into a basket. There was a 1930's lace piece that was from an Aeroflot chair that had a star and sickle laced into it. She showed traditional lace pieces showing industrialisation and metal lac using water jet cut steel. During Sydney Design 2011 there is even a bike tour around the CBD looking at lace in building structures - modern and heritage styles.

This lead us to the first speakers from Demarkersvan's owner/designers Joep and Jeroen Verhoeven Netherland. These guys were inspiring with their range of design ideas, collaborative work with other artists and design schools, their approach to funding of the arts and their more than fair work practices at their factory in Bangalore, India. Joep and Jeroen have brought together industrial design and lace embroidery to bring attractive urban design everywhere with lacefence. They were passionate and chilled about their work.

Their Cinderella table consists of 57 pieces of plywood that took over two years to put together. Their company began in 2006 and they have really gone ahead in leaps and bounds. They have used solar panels and created a butterfly light installation that took 2 1/2 years to produce. Their project based work is extensive and they definitely do things in a collaborative and sustainable way.

Helen Pynor is an artist that produces sculptures with human hair. This talk about hair extensions. Her work covered grooming Afro-American hair referring to Susan Bordo's Cassie's hair. She discussed international hair-trading and a UK court case that argued whether hair is dead or alive. Helen then told us a story about someone who had donated their hair and showed the hair plait to us. Then she showed us pictures of her hair sculptures ranging from clothing through to body parts in her more recent works.

At the break I met two of the younger lace award entrants from Canada. They both do other art installations - I was in awe.

We then had a panel discussion about what is lace and it was clear that each speaker was passionate about their work and took the time to articulate what lace was - and there was no talk of doilies. Liz Williamson, Ingrid Morley, Douglas McManus and Diana Brennan are all artists and all deal with lace in their works but were not lace experts. Ingrid's work is an Lorrie installation that has metal lace. Ingrid found lace themes in the countryside. Pelvic CT is one of Douglas's works. Liz's textile work is quiet extensive, beyond what my small mind is aware of.

At lunch I ended up sitting next to the assistant curator and then chatted to Helen Pyno's mum about getting onto Skype.

By this stage I was pooped and definitely out of my depth so I thanked Deborah Vaughn for her hospitality and when I got home I spent a good hour cycling in the afternoon sun thinking about 'what if" with my own work. At this stage I can safely say it's great that we have such designing minds out there that we can draw from.

Mixed bag - B5087

2011-08-01T18:26:00.000+10:00

I have a stash of 'leftovers' and I wanted to try a jacket pattern that I could use a mix of fabrics and textures. Since making a few red pieces I wanted to make a a quick jacket to see me through our 7degreeC mornings. Below is my 'what do you think look?"

The sweater knit fabric is an oldie from the archives of Knitwit at the bottom of my stash. I bought it prior to getting married so we're looking at the 90's. The collar knit was probably 2002 when Roberta was teaching.

The prep time on this was trying to think of whether this would work. Mixing up the fabrics; what would contrast and not clash; do I line this or don't I line this jacket; make a belt or buy a belt? You know what it's like.

I bought this pattern because of the sleeve options, it's unlined so if you want a quick jacket this is good, it's kind of double breasted without the stark buttons (snaps).

What I was trying to avoid was looking like 'home made'. The princess seams help with fit. I can make this jacket more military if I want. Most importantly the collar is worth it to keep you warm. It's a huge collar but it rolls really well.

What I did realise was that it's just the right length. I'm short so if you're more than 5' nothing, add some length to this jacket.

The inside pictures below make the fabric look raspberry, but it's a dark ruby colour. The lining is sunsilky and the lining definitely needs extra width. Actually the sleeves more width for a winter jacket.

The trim is something I added to pull together the texture features of jacket.

So after lots of preparation (my thinking time) this jacket came together in four hours max. I will make this again and I'll add more width to the lining and more width to the sleeves.

UFO pink - nl 6057 and m5556

2011-07-24T21:36:00.000+10:00

Congratulations Cadel Evans. As he said he's been cycling for 20 years and he's finally got the yellow jersey at the Tour de France.

There are some really traditional influences I've seen with tunics. That's why I bought this pattern a while ago. I love the detailing so I attempted make this for to a short person - me.

I began this top earlier this year at a sewing workshop with Angie Zimmerman. The red silk blouse worked well and at the workshop I cut this tunic out and I've just finished it. The buttons have a sparkle to them to match my ballet flats.

Below is the buttonhole detailing that I attempted with the varigated pink thread I also used it on the front tab stitching but it ended up looking like white thread. I bought the thead from St Vinnies near work. I used the matt side of the fabric for the neckline and collar pieces.

I also managed to use the fastturner tool to pull through the button loop closure strips. I used the varigated pink thread on this too and again, it wasn't worth the effort - this time. I will try this thread again in future. What you'll notice is this is view B but there's no hem detailing. The fabric is a stretch woven and I cut the size 10. When I make this again, I'll still use the 10 but I'll add an invisible zip to the side seam and add a few darts so that the style is less relaxed.

The pants are NL 6057 and I've made the 10 then I ran out of fabric. The front hem has an additional piece added, but not to the back piece. That's bad planning on my part. I used a woven satin for the inside waistband so the pants front needs some wear to sit properly.

I bought this pattern at the Simplicity warehouse (not factory). I love the dress and tunic top style on this pattern and I bought this pattern for $5. I'll make the front tummy bit a bit bigger when I make these pants in a woven on my next attempt.

I recently downloaded Clinton Kelly's Rx style guide and it's a fun styling app. Yes it's not extensive, but I love the style prompts he offers.

Next in the pipeline is B5087 in two different red winter fabrics.

Green spring - B4789

2011-07-20T21:09:00.000+10:00

It's still cold here (7 degree C mornings) but I love working with green fabric so here's the story about this dress. This fabric was a remnant piece that I bought from Pitt Trading last year at $2 per metre. I bought some more fabric from Pitt Trading last week but that's a bunch of stories in the making. This fabric has two-way stretch and it has a huge print so I tried to keep the yellow colours away from my face.

The front has a knot just below the bust, and it's easy to make up, but I got it wrong, even after reading the reviews on PR. However, I was able to save fabric and the error is tied up in the knot.

I've shown you the front and back so you can see where the print placement is on this dress. I love the v-neck on the front and back. The hem could come up, so I'll do this on the next version. I've used seams great on the shoulder seams and twin needle on the neckline finish. The fabric is so dark you can't see the black thread I've used throughout the dress.
I'm really loving green. This pattern also has pants but I can't see myself making these up while I'm developing woven pants that fit.

I've since finished a pink UFO that I'll post up soon. I'm just planning what I should make to go with it. Decision time:)

Matured fabric - Butterick 5247

2011-07-17T10:42:00.001+10:00

Many moons ago, I purchased this navy/black boucle fabric from Knitwit. I'm sure this fabric has reached its 10th year (Happy Birthday to the fabric). It may also be the 10th year for the navy/black lace too (more birthday cake). I bought the navy/black lace from another place (Sara Lee factory) that has since closed down its clothing subsidiary.

The pattern is Butterick 5247 and when I last made this up it was a gray/green boucle two-way stretch fabric and then needed to taper in the size. That's the fun of working with stretch fabrics. So I've skimmed this pattern and found that the collar change that I made, leant itself to a v-styled cowl/roll collar. The collar turned out this way because I was playing with the fabric to see what it could do. It reminds me of Lost in Space styling. Then I plonked on the lace across my chest and stitched it on. The seam finishes are nil.

Would you believe there was enough fabric left for a skirt, so I whipped one up. It's a simple piece with elastic in the waistband casing. The front open seam are the selvedges. And the skirt is lined. I was able to find navy tights so I've now got the full navy thing going on. The boucle fabric is not warm and isn't soft against the skin so I've worn a layer underneath the top to keep warm.
I think I'll head back to green fabric again. Navy is my work-based wardrobe.

Grey knots - B5283

2011-07-16T07:36:00.000+10:00

I've made this pattern before in View C but the assymetrical knot just didn't work for me in real life. This is view B. I've been keeping an eye on the knit top challenge that RuthieK has put out there and this is my small attempt to try another knit style.

This fabric has two-way stretch and the main challenge was the knot. The fit is good. I didn't make any changes because I wasn't sure how the knot would work out.

The photo above was for my reference so I could keep track of how where the knot is placed. I sewed the knot onto the front bodice centre after sewing the left and right curves under the bust. I had to wearing it to see where the knot folds should go and then I machine stitched this piece together. The back wasn't adjusted for sway back because I was testing the fit of this view.

Pants #3 - McCall's 2874

2011-07-15T06:41:00.000+10:00

The green pants are working well but they were made from stretch woven. This time I attempted navy woven pants so the challenges were definitely about getting the fit right.

This pattern is as plain as they come but it's always about the pants fit for me.

The other challenge was I ran out of fabric so I made do with a voile fabric to finish off the pockets.

The front fit worked as it did on the green pants.

Warning about the pic below.

The back on the other hand needed lots of help and the pic show you the finished results.

I took the fullness out of the pattern leg and there was still fullness at the back legs. The VPL was embarrasing so I refitted the back pockets for more room. I've finished the pants with belt carriers because I just wanted these pants finished without a glaring butt. I don't like UFOs so I've tried to make this work.

I also made up this purple top McCalls 8777 with a remnant piece from of dry dry knit from my stash. PS, I won't be pulling on the pockets again...

Navy wrap - Simplicity 2603

2011-07-14T05:33:00.000+10:00

There was a piece of navy netting that had two-way stretch that I was thinking would work as a cardi wrap. I gone a bit navy to replenish my wardrobe staples.This month was also US Independence Day and today is Bastille Day too so maybe these holidays have influenced my choice.

I'm still getting used to not finishing a hems and seams. This is comfortable layer that I can wear in the office during the winter or when the air-con goes haywire. Our office tends to get cold near midday and the air vent is behind me so I do feel the temperature change throughout the day.

This is the long version and I've done no adjustments. I think I bought this fabric for $3 metre last year from the remnant warehouse in alexandria.

Pants #2 - McCalls 2874

2011-07-05T07:48:00.000+10:00

Happy 4th of July to you all. Eat a hot dog for me please:) Now the days are freezing and I have started working on pants with the aim of making jeans (baby steps). The initial adjustments I make before cutting the fabric are:

sway back adjustment
lower centre front waist
back 'butt' curve (depending on fit)
Length - 92 cm or 36 inch outer leg length

I always check the pattern width markings so that I know how much ease I'll need, depending on the fabric. The previous pants were a loose weave and had some drape so that meant the pants would be closer to my body ie less ease. The jumper is McCalls 8777 made with left over merino wool knit.

This fabric is a stretch woven and it has lots of stretch, so again, the pants won't need much ease. I've stuck with green because that's the thread colour on my sewing machine and overlocker. I also figured, I may as well build a couple of green pieces that I can wear for now. I'm not sewing for a future event, just a couple of pieces to wear now that it's cold. I'll be able to take these pieces with me to NZ in September/October when we take a few short trips because of the rugby. Rugby is in DH's blood, so these pieces might come with me. I can always add black when we're at the games.

I've added a fly front panel behind the zipper.
The back was bulky so I've taken more fabric from the back leg, caused by this heavy/medium weight fabric. It's stiff and less ease will help.

I've taken more fullness out of the side seams, particularly the back leg pieces and cut this pant pattern out in a navy woven fabric that isn't as heavy. More news about this later.

Fleecing moment - McCall 5714

2011-06-25T19:51:00.000+10:00

With the impending NSW Industry Day, my memories of past meetings are full of freezing moments at the Simplicity warehouse. We are really fortunate that Simplicity allows ASG members to meet on their premises one day a year and our meetings have been on wintery Saturdays. So, with Mum's warm experience with her polar fleece jacket and a 25 per cent discount at the local Spotlight store, I took a plunge and decided to make this fleece layer for the day.

The aim was to have a warm casual layer that wouldn't show any marks that might happen while at the warehouse. We have an exciting day at Simplicity because of the fabric and pattern discounts offered they offer ASG members.

The front bodice has a self facing and this piece is interfaced. The under collar and front self faced 'skirt' band are interfaced. I follow these directions so the pieces would maintain their shape for longer. The rest of the jacket is unlined although I was in two minds about lining polar fleece, but it's really thick and my poor Janome needs my assistance when sewing through more than two layers of polar fleece.
While testing the jacket, I realised the 3/4 sleeve length wasn't going to keep me warm so I did a frill test sleeve. Now that the sleeve is done, I've ironed in flat because I don't have the height to make this sleeve billow out so far.

I've never thought using gatherings on polar fleece, but there you have it. Just joking around, I felt that this jacket was a bit robin hood or pirate-like.

As for Industry day, we were in the presence of a great seamstress Renee Wedell. She worked on dresses for Audrey Hepburn, Grace Kelly and Jackie Kennedy during her career in many French couture houses in the 50's, 60's and early 70's. The black dress below is a couture original. The dresses below were made by her for her family. Her sewing career spanned for more than 50 years as workroom manager through to tutor in her later years.

Yes, you are looking at the inside of the Simplicity factory, as you can see.

Fierce scissors

2011-06-25T18:48:00.000+10:00

Taking a pair of scissors to a RTW garment is not something I used to do, but am really happy to do now. I'm taken in by the more affordable garments and when I don't have the time to fit everything into my 'sew from scratch' ideas.
Zipper dress:I loved this style and it turns out that it's made from either a double knit or a ponte. I love the zippers and the dress was $25 to buy from Chico's. The skirt flared out more than I wanted so I took out 5cm from the hem width. Then the back waist was big, so I added another back dart to skim the dress in a touch. So now there are two back darts on the back waist. Lastly, I took up the hem.

Below is this dress with a cardi I made earlier. I try not to wear all black in the office because there's enough activity at the office so I try to stay colourful with my clothes. Otherwise, work just gets too serious. Outside of work, I think I'll go for the rock-chick look and wear this with a suede leather jacket and ditch the neat office accessories.

Criss cross - Jalie 2787

2011-06-22T15:35:00.000+10:00

I've really enjoyed seeing many of you make great clothes with Jalie patterns and this is my first Jalie attempt. I loved the crisscross tops that Quilt Sew Sew Sue and Kbenco made.

This crisscross pattern construction threw me when I initially sewed the side seams together. The cross front sections were loose at the waist so I unpicked and tapered these back onto the back section. The other aspect was the front waist piece was also loose so again, I adjusted the width and sewed the front waist piece to the underneath crisscross piece. Because it's winter, I kept feeling a breeze.

This fabric was ear-marked for the wrap dress and I still have plenty to do a dress later.

What I loved about this pattern was the crisscross design so I've used white FOE to keep the design aspect prominent. I've also used FOE on the bell sleeve hem. I'll keep the sleeve shape as is for this fabric. If I use this with a wool knit, I might rethink the sleeve shape - slim it to the wrist.

Pants - Vogue 8503

2011-06-20T19:36:00.000+10:00

There was plenty beige fabric to make pants and a skirt, so I've chosen a simple flat-fronted pant with back zipper. This pattern has had a few reviews on PR but mainly for the top and not for the pants. I bought this pattern because of the top, but have yet to make it up.

Below is the leg width adjustment and hem adjustment. I've taken out 5 cm (2 inches) from the width at the bottom of the pants. The hem has also been adjusted for flat shoes. The pattern envelope indicated I'm a 14, but the pattern (with ease) indicated a size 10, so that's what I made up.

I still had to do a sway back adjustment. I've since added a hook and eye to the top of the zipper so it won't show. This is a normal zipper, not an invisible zip.

Below is the basic sway back adjustment. I also lowered 2.5 cm off the centre front waistline.

The waistline has a facing so this was a 'no-tears' pants pattern. The other factor that helped was the loose weave and softness of the fabric.

If I make these pants again, I'll add in the tapered width to see if the drag lines at the bottom disappear. As a set this is jacket and pants look a bit dull so I'll have to wear a bright top in future.

UFO jacket - Vogue 8480

2011-06-19T20:13:00.000+10:00

November last year was when I began this jacket. The fabric is a piece that I picked up at a curtain/furnishing place at Homebush - and this store has since closed down. I bought the pattern in 2008 and had planned to make it then...anyway.

The pattern is unlined so I decided to line the jacket. That's just what I prefer in a jacket when the fabric weave is fairly open, as this one is.

The fit at the back was adjusted at our sewing workshop but since then it's remained in the UFO basket. The jacket is one that works in the office and I can wear it as a weekend jacket.

Most of the pocket details and back vent were simple enough to do. I was a bit challenged when it came to completing the jacket hem. I attempted the hem twice because the lining pulled the fashion fabric. The second attempt was successful.

I have one more UFO to complete, but I'll attempt pants next.

Blouse #2 - Vogue 8118

2011-06-12T16:55:00.000+10:00

When I made the check skirt, I had bought a few pieces of fabric from the Burwood fabric store - when it was closing down. The idea was to have a blouse that went with the skirt.

Today's weather continues to be grey and cold so I stayed in and completed this blouse. The main differences to previous versions is I've attached the tie along most of the neckline. I've also ditched the facing and used bias tape to overcome the puckers that used to result with the facing piece.

I still need to work on the pink silk blouse and a beige jacket in my UFO stash.

Mum's jacket - burda 7749 view A

2011-06-11T21:54:00.000+10:00

Since winter began creeping into Sydney, I began working on a coat for Mum to wear to church in the winter. This week winter really hit so tonight, I've completed her coat and she loves it.

I've used polar fleece but it's the thickest and softest quality that I could find - from the Fabric Remnant Warehouse. Lincraft and Spotlight have polar fleece but nothing as good as the Fabric Remnant Warehouse.

This is my first go at making a garment in polar fleece. This is the first time that I've made up this coat too.

The coat is fully lined with Sunsilky and the collar and centre front is interfaced with texture weft. I've used raglan sleeve shoulder pads and two large snaps at the front. Mum's hands are not as nimble as they used to be so she should be able to close the jacket, with a bit of assistance.

The other feature that she loves is pockets to keep her hands warm.

I've really enjoyed working with polar fleece. The fabric behaved and stayed in place so I used very few pins during construction. This pattern took a while to cut out but I needed to make sure each piece was made to Mum's measurements. She's not picky but she doesn't edit what she thinks, so I did take longer than normal to plan each piece.

The sleeves are very wide, so I've tapered the sleeves in from the wrist to the elbow. The coat still needs to be wide enough for Mum to wear this over her clothes. The main adjustments were shortening the coat and sleeve lengths. The rest was the pattern was the same.

This pattern has separate front and back pieces for the lining. I almost missed this when I was cutting out the coat. I did follow the instructions at the beginning but they weren't hard to follow. The diagrams were easy to follow.

This was a fun coat to sew. I did some preliminary sewing last night after work for a couple of hours. I did the rest of the coat this evening while DH watched rugby and made dinner.

Fix it weekend

2011-06-11T21:52:00.000+10:00

There were a few DH 'fix-it' pieces to do last weekend. They had been building up so after finishing the red skirts, I decided to clean up and get these pieces out of the way. After sewing on seven buttons and hemming a couple of sleeves, I could get back to working on Mum's polar jacket. Then I got diverted and adjusted grey wool pants that needed a bit of work. I took in the centre back seam and moved the back inseam 2.5 cm (3/4") forward to take out some of the fullness. The front and sides are ok but there is still a bit of bulk at the back legs. That's it from me with these pants, until I can make another pair from scratch.

Then I took to shortening a long black skirt that now fits but was way too long. This skirt had no edge for my taste so I've going to added a trim on the waist yolk to bring it back to life again. Here's how it looks now.

I added the trim at the front. Then I took out some of the fullness at the sides and finally took up the hem. I've also worn a pair of new matt black boots that bought in the states this year. The textured black tights were from Macy's.

And winter has finally arrived.

Checks - McCall 9356 view C

2011-06-08T08:49:00.000+10:00

This piece has also been in my stash for a while so I made this using McCalls 9356 view C and the walking foot on my Janome.

I enjoyed using the walking foot because the lines matched up so nicely.

Here's the side view so you can see how the checks match. What I didn't have was a beige top to match so I've used black and white to get the right balance for my height.

I was able to wear a jacket that I made years ago and a red scarf to get me from home to work. You can tell our winter is still a mild experience but it's now getting cooler.

Festive red - McCall 8972

2011-06-05T16:55:00.000+10:00

Slub fabrics are a favourite of mine. When I saw this red slub fabric being used by one of the ladies at Ballarat ASG last year it screamed "I'm yours". So I bought a couple of metres from Spotlight.

The skirt is McCalls 8972 view F. This view has the fake pockets and some detailing that is lost with this fabric. What I now know is that this pattern fits and isn't that hard to sew together.

The seams are overlocked and I was having the seam edges on the outside of the skirt.

The buttons were again in my stash (clear with watermelon flecks). The white stitches above the pocket is lost in the fabric so I'll do this on a solid coloured fabric next time.

The green top is an Esprit number that I've altered, so I don't have to wear a cami underneath. The cardi is also RTW. One of my work colleagues said I remind them of Christmas. How sweet.
This skirt also has a belt option that I'll have a go at.

Red skirts

2011-06-05T16:37:00.000+10:00

It wasn't too hard to find red fabric to match my new silk blouse. In fact there was a red skirt that I'd made last year and needed a bit of adjusting at the waist Vogue 8426 view A.

What you'll notice is that this skirt has a back pleat so that meant the main adjustment was on the side seams at the waist. I couldn't bear to play with the sides too much because of the detailing. I also raised the hem because it was too low. The hem is still not quiet there but I can manage with this length for now.
The ribbon at the back allows me to slip this top on - zippers or buttons. It also allows me to adjust this to fit my frame.

This second skirt, McCall 8972 view H, was made last month to match the top. The key feature is a fitted waist yolk and pockets on the front. Both skirts are lined.

More RTW adjustment

2011-06-04T10:29:00.000+10:00

Most of my clothes are now 5cm (2") too wide in most places and there are a couple of key RTW clothes that I just love and want to keep wearing so that's what I've been tackling over the last four weeks. New clothes are still being planned at the moment. Belt adjusting has also become a new skill that I'm mastering thanks to the belt tool I had in my stash.

This RTW dress needed adjusting so at the back, I've taken out some of the fullness down the centre back seam.

The front neckline still needs some work ie a couple of well placed pleats, to make the front more fitted. I might give this a go on the weekend.

And yes, I will give this dress a good press before I wear it again. The dress fabric is linen with cotton lining so it's a layer I can use in between seasons.

Red ufo done

2011-06-03T20:40:00.000+10:00

Since my last post I've been in two minds about my wardrobe. I've shrunk but I think I've stabilised. And yep, I finished the first silk blouse.

The top is Vogue 8118 and it really doesn't crease. It's been sitting on my sewing desk waiting for its accompanying skirt for three weeks. The next version of this blouse will have bias for the neckline facing and I'll sew the neckline tie lower down the neckline.

The seam finishes are zigzaged so they don't form a rigid like a french seam would have resulted.

The skirt is one that I made last year but I've since resized it by taking out the back zipper and bringing the side seams in by 1" on both sides.

Pants adjustment

2011-05-11T16:37:00.000+10:00

A few years ago, we travelled to Vietnam and I had some tailored pants made for me.

I am now able to fit into the pants, but they were baggy on the waist as well as wide in the leg. I don't have time to make a new pair but the pants have a handy adjustment on the centre back waist that you can see below.

The pants look ok from the front.

From the back, there's lots of room in the back leg, so until I'll need to take some of the volume out of the back leg.

9 May update: Since making these pants, I've also realised that my front waist is lower than the pants. I think I'll become an expert altering soon. Or, is a high waistline back in?

Silk sensation

2011-04-20T06:47:00.000+10:00

On the weekend I did a silk top workshop at Rhodes ASG and we had Angie Zimmerman as our tutor. She's just great with the theory, sample finishes and individual assistance. Nothing is a hassle for Angie and we love having her run classes for us, when she can squeeze us in.

Here are the two tops I started. The first one Vogue 8118, I've sewn before without the front tie piece but I found that my waist and hips are smaller so I've cut it to fit. I also played with the tie piece and reduced the width by a third. The fabric is a soft silk, but I felt that the tie still needed to suit my frame.

The fabric print was a bit tricky so I had to be careful to place the white flowers around my bust and not on top of my bust, like headlights. I'm thinking of adding white piping on the tie piece, so that's going to be something to consider, just to bring out the line of the tie piece. I'll do a fine fold over hem on the sleeves and the bodice hemline.

The second tunic top McCalls 5556, has been in my pattern stash for a while. Here's the thing. I checked my sizing on the pattern envelope and I came out to a 14. When I checked the pattern pieces and ease, I cut out a 10.

From Angie's notes, I'll need to do a straight stitch seam with a closely sewn and small zigzag finish (1 width, 2 length zigzag). I've also got to cut out the collar and trim pieces in another fabric. The pink I've used is a toile, that I hope to wear. I doubt that I'll do a contrast hem finish but I will attempt this in the same pink fabric. It's worth practicing on.

Altering jacket 4

2011-04-18T22:19:00.000+10:00

Last year I made five jackets after a workshop with Angie Zimmerman at Rhodes. I've now shrunk a bit so I decided to do some alterations to the first of these jackets - jacket 4. I also altered some work pants that I had made, because they have a piece in the centre back that makes waist adjustments a breeze. More about that later.

I made this jacket because I bought the skirt from Laura Ashley 6 years ago and found the fabric at The Fabric Store last year. Yesterday afternoon I shortened the skirt by 7 cms because it looked a bit tired. The jacket is miltary style but was too wide and the sleeves weren't sitting on the shoulders properly. So last night I unpicked the sleeves and reset them to the right position. I also took out 1.5 cm from the side seams but this morning I took out another 1cm from each side and added the waist line pink trim.

I haven't removed the excess seams just in case my shape changes again.

Did I mention that I didn't take the bulk out of the centre back, because of the placket detail? I couldn't face that much rework in one night.

Start/stop sewing

2011-04-18T21:41:00.000+10:00

Two weeks ago, I got together with my real sewing buddies and I managed to finish off a top I started before we flew to the states.

This top Butterick 5562 view B, would not have worked well in the cold because it's a poly dry knit and holds no warmth at all. The great thing about this pattern is the sleeve detailing. I forgot to bring some swimwear elastic on the day, so I used Seams great tape instead.

When I wore it, there was a lot of fabric around my waist so I've tapered it in. I think the front piece is still a bit wide so on the next version I'll place the centre front and centre back seams 1cm over the fold. I'll also add 2.5cm on the hem, if it's a work top.

Then I moved on to hemming the jeans I bought in the states. The pair above uses matching thead colour for the hem. I've used a denim needle and the edge stitch foot. These are two things that I learnt about at Sew Expo. I'm determined to use the tutorial learnings as I go.

Then I decided to raise the hem of this FCUK skirt, because it was a bit long. The pictures above show how I was trying to decide the final length.

As I was playing with the hem length in the mirror I realised that I could sew a horizontal tuck, so now, here's how I've decided to wear this skirt for a while.

Again, I used the edge stitch foot on the hem and the tuck piece has been sewn with a longer stitch length (3), so I can pull the stitching out when I decide to change the skirt look. The fabric is just great.

The print skirt is one of my purchases that I've shortened and I'm testing to see if the hemline works.

The fabric is a stretch woven and it's interlined as well as lined, so hemming it by hand was a breeze.

So I think I'm back to my usual sewing self. I just had to regroup, do some follow up work with my GP and then just get back into sewing. I'm still off food with fat/oil for a few more weeks. I have no cravings for sweets or coffee and I get excited when I have an appetite.

I've started making Easter baked goods for the family so I'll post some food pics, as we head into the weekend.

US wrap up

2011-04-05T20:22:00.000+10:00

After all the planning and research that Alison and Sharon did to prepare for our trip, going to Portland and Puyallup for Sew Expo was so worth the effort. I discovered so much about the states and I loved to visit again. Everyone we met in that week were so welcoming. Thank you Janis for taking us fabric shopping in Portland. Ann and Barbara from Washington State Uni, the organisers went out of their way to deliver our tickets to us. Laura from the Yahoo group hosted a lovely dinner as did the local ASG.

Below is my fabric haul during the one week I had with Sharon and Alison. DH arrived at the end of day 3 of Sew Expo, so I skipped classes on the last day. As you can see I focused on strong cool colours.

The notions, patterns, threads and buckles (oh the buckles) now have separate set of draws in my sewing room, thanks to Officeworks. I did get the big red book - yippee.

I've been back home for just over a week, because DH and I travelled on for another 3 weeks, visiting Seattle a bit more, flew to San Fran, drove to LA and Las Vegas. I visited Disney for the first time ever and loved the whole experience. We missed a few days because I was waylaid in hospital for three days in San Fran and I've been doing follow up work since we made it home - no sewing yet. Travel insurance is worth it no matter where you travel.

From a sewing point of view, my shape has changed but I'm not sure if it's permanent, so my sewing is going to be 'for the moment'. My wrap knit dresses that I made in February look big on me at the moment but on Sunday my godmother did comment - 'your shape looks better now'. She's very honest. Anyway, I'll be doing a bit more research and practice on pattern alterations. I'm so glad I went to plenty of workshops at Sew Expo:)

Did I mention that I bought 8 pairs of boots? Four knee-high boots and four ankle boots.

Portland fabric shopping

2011-03-03T03:25:00.000+11:00

Here's where we've shopped so far:
Fabric Depot - first stop on Sunday. This was a great experience courtesy of Janice.
Mill End - second stop on Sunday. Another huge fabric retailer. I never knew there were so many flannel options.
Now the list gets blurry.
JoAnnes - This was a smaller store but handy to keep in mind.
Michaels - A Spotlight kinda store. This had lots of every craft.
Rose City Textiles - Tuesday. The customer service was fabulous. There were lots of goretex, fleece, wickeaway etc fabric and notions. And they have all sorts of notions.
Bolt - This was closed so we may try to get there today, on our way out to Seattle.

I've kept to my non-list of green, blues and burgundy fabrics.
Hopefully we'll get to as many retailers at expo tomorrow, to find the notions that we've never heard of or only dreamed of.

Alison and Sharon have done the best job of planning this trip. Just excellent. Yes, we're into our second duffle bags now.

Dress or top? B5562 view D

2011-02-25T09:24:00.000+11:00

I'm so pleased this top has recently been reviewed by Shannon, Lori, Sharon and Amanda. All of their reviews were very helpful, so this is my last fabric stash contest entry on PR review.

This grey version is a toile. I used the medium size and the fabric is a medium weight poly/wool/spandex blend knit. It has two-way stretch and I inserted elastic in the seam casing on the shoulder wrap piece. I found the fit needed lots of slivering off, so the next version is a small. The sleeves were too wide as Shannon found so I've taken out three inches out of the wrist width to the elbow.

The grey fabric was bought from Pitt Trading in San Souci early last year, in the hope of making into something last winter. It's now coming to the states with me today, in my hand luggage.

The second version is still view D but a dress and is the small size. The shoulder wrap piece is still the same length but I've placed the gathers above the bust point.

The fabric was bought from knitwit early last year and I'm actually stoked that I've now ploughed through each piece I bought at the time.

So now my sewing machine is taking a break while I fabric shop next week.

Cheers and bubbles everyone.

Sunburn Sunday

2011-02-21T17:55:00.000+11:00

I'm glad I didn't finish this dress until today because my skin would have been red raw today. Yesterday the average temp at Dolls Point was at least 33C and humid. I did have some sunblock on and I stayed in the shade but there was enough glare that I did get some unwanted colour. Thankfully it wasn't much and my skin will heal up today.

So there are still some green fabric pieces in my stash but this cotton piece was from the 'great Melbourne fabric shopping trip' of 2009. Again I've used M2241 but I've extended the facing to add body to the bodice. Here's a version I made earlier.

Since I've been give the great honour of brushing DN's hair, I decided to plaited the shoulder straps by cutting out six straps instead of two shoulder straps.
I think this piece was bought at Rathdowne Fabrics (Aust Project Runway). I have to figure out a solution to support the bodice better but in reality I'll usually wear with this swimmers.

Winter pieces

2011-02-20T21:34:00.000+11:00

Today we spent the day in the heat with family and friends because it's going to be my last summer blast for a while.
Our weather has been humid so these new pieces were made with the intention of having some warm layers for the US trip. I'm not wearing any of these pieces because we've just had a hot/humid weekend (33C). These are my winter colour pieces that will be staples with dark jeans.
This green top is the merino wool knit. It's bulky enough to be an outer layer.

What you'll notice is the centre front gaps forward. My solution was to make this fit with gather stitches. Below is the effect the additional gathering stitches had on this top. I used Kwik sew 3617 view A but then did the gathers because view B has ruching neckline. Now for the purple top story...

Because view B has ruching, I decided to make view A, but with the ruching on View B. I used the same fabric length but I had to leave one seam unfinished so I could get the elastic in the gathers to sit correctly on my shoulders.

The skirt is a leftover piece of cord that I bought from dotsnstripes.co.uk. The bias binding was store bought. The reason for the front split was because I didn't have enough fabric to get the front and back cut from one piece but there was some fabric wide enough for part of the front. That's why there's a front leg split. Now to get boots to match. I hope there are some left in the stores when we get to the US.

Maggy London b5173

2011-02-13T21:05:00.000+11:00

Spot the difference. Can you see how I've changed this dress?

This version has no sleeves. The reason being is the armhole was way too high. I've lowered the armhole by 3cm. By the time I did this, the sleeve didn't fit and I've finally run out of this static-rich fabric. I took Wendy's advice and sprayed the fabric with anti stat but it just kept sticking to itself. I cut the dress out on the carpet because it stuck to the carpet really well. The other issue is that it was just too humid to do anything else.

The front tab has been shortened. When I initially constructed the front, it was so far down my front that it was pointing to my tummy. Not a flattering look. I moved the gathers to my bust area but that wasn't enough to overcome the tummy arrow effect. The remaining front gathers were converted to an inverted pleat.

BTW: DH was not put off by the gathers at the bust area...

From the line drawing, the front neckline does point to the tummy, so I should have done a bit more planning.

This time the side view is a bit less voluminous and if I was taller, that wouldn't be an issue. The back fits really well.

The original adjustments were sway back adjustment, I took some of the volume out of the skirt by straightening the side seams. If I do this again, I'll have to redraft the centre front and raise the front neckline. I'll also buy better quality fabric too:)

Another simplicity 2369

2011-02-13T20:45:00.000+11:00

This time I did a couple different things since last week's version. This fabric has been in my stash since the purple purchase frenzy in 2009. I think this was a local purchase because there were no emotional attachments that came to mind.

This style was really fun to wear to work in the eggplant/brown print so now i'm on the look out for great buckles. So the fabric is a dark print and there's still heaps left. I decided not to use the same fabric as the facing. I've used black underwear elastic. My initial idea was to use white FOE, but I wasn't brave enough to use this contrast. I will next time. Anyway, the black elastic was easy to apply, soft against the skin and keeps the neckline from flipping open.

The drawing shows the belt at the front but my belt tends to hide to the side. That I can live with while I search for some great belt buckles.

Kwik Sew 2111

2011-02-13T20:25:00.000+11:00

I've had a piece of black ribbing fabric that I first bought from emmaonesock.com at least four years ago. I decided to use this to trial an old kwik sew pattern that I was given ages ago. I have some green merino wool knit that I want to make up, so I thought I would test out this pattern with the black rib knit. Thankfully my sewing buddies were around yesterday and they saw how oversized this pattern was and watched my slice out the bulk from every area except the neckline.

All I really wanted was a basic outer wool knit layer with a zipper neckline. From the amount of altering/sashing I did with the scissors yesterday, this pattern is going to charity, or will be used for fleece fabric. The fleece idea was Alison's suggestion.

Today I spent the morning unpicking and added a rib/elastic hem and rib hemmed sleeves. The overlocker was handy getting this bit of sewing done. I also redid the neckline finish so the edges are now neatly finished. I also interfaced the collar for a cleaner finish. Now I'll give this top a wash and hopefully it will shrink a bit. It will not be worn out of the house - promise.

The merino knit has a lot less give so I have to rethink this a bit more and choose a better pattern. What I now know is how to make this top up with an invisible zipper.

Maggy London b5418

2011-02-13T19:39:00.000+11:00

This dress took a bit of time to pull together. There was no way I was going to attempt b5418 in one night. With the amount of gathers in the bodice, I would have had the quick un pick as my third hand. I've tried to style this dress with blue and black shoes.

Below are the front pleats. The vertical pleats fold over the side horizontal pleats.

Below are the back neckline pleats.

The pic below shows how this dress would be great for someone who's pregnant. There's lots of room at the front. To overcome this volume, experiment and extend the front vertical gathers. With our humid days, I'm sticking with this version for the time being.

The fabric is from Knitwit and has two-way stretch. The other great thing with this dress is it has a 'foundation piece' under the bodice to give some support. The straps have pleating and should be wider on my shoulders, like the picture but they didn't work out that way.

When you wear the short version with flat heels, it's a basic beach dress so this style is adaptable, depending on the wearer/occassion.

The only adjustment was the hem length, so really this is a toile.

charity pillow cases

2011-02-13T18:24:00.000+11:00

The charity sewing for Puyallup this year is pillow cases. Below is the last piece of quilt fabric, now a pillow case. I think this will be a girl pillowcase.

Here are the three that I've produced today. The blue ones have no trim and I'm assuming these will be a hit with young soccer fans.

These will be three of hopefully a million pillow cases that are provided by the people who visit Puyallup this year. If I have any spare time, before our trip, I'll try to make a couple more pillow cases.

summer skirts

2011-02-05T22:54:00.000+11:00

Here's the skirt story. This story is still about clearing out my fabric stash. We've also had a very hot week and it's still in the 30's tonight.

The skirt pattern is the leftover piece from the summer dress I made the for church part of the wedding last week. It's my favourite Butterick 3597 and it's not lined. The top is also a left over piece of the teal/green cardi M5978.

This skirt was a remnant piece from dotsnstripes.co.uk from a couple of years ago. I've used a Hessian trim to get the length to right spot so I can wear strap sandels with this skirt.

This skirt isn't lined and I've eliminated the centre back seam to keep the bold pattern continous on both sides of the skirt. This is a stretch woven cotton.

I've tried to place the grey parts of the print on the skirt, but you definitely can't ignore the browns.

The top I made a few years ago.

Views A + C - Butterick 5525

2011-02-05T22:38:00.000+11:00

This top is really easy to make after one trial. This week I made it in both views A and C

The red version was fun because I fixed the neckline and played with the fabric pattern print, so the sleeves had the same print. I'll get to the skirt in another post.
Then I decided to make up view C in a print, just in case the pleats were too much. The neckline sits better but doesn't make the pleats too prominent. I lengthened the pleats by 3 cms so they act like darts.

Wraped up - simplicity 2369

2011-02-05T22:30:00.000+11:00

I couldn't let this week go by without finishing the first toile of this dress. The fabric is from Knitwit direct and I chose this fabric because of the dark all over pattern. The raglan sleeves threw me a bit but I realised I needed to take some fullness out of the front piece as my roll shoulder adjustment.

The fabric pattern is large so I didn't bother trying to match it up. This length is going to be my dress length. The buckle was purchased at Jimmy's buttons in Melbourne. The neckline facing is used as a feature instead of being sewn on the inside of the top. I think doing this in a contrasting colour would lift a plain knit fabric too. There's some spandex in the fabric so it should keep it's shape over time. Basically none of this dress was bought in Sydney.

Tidy up

2011-02-05T22:21:00.000+11:00

This is my first go at making a belt. This is a dress that I made some time ago but I wasn't sure about the fit or the belt. The dress is Butterick 5277 and I've used a stretch woven suiting fabric. The dress is lined but in our hot and humid weather, I'll be using a soft poplin lining in future.

I've done a bit of adjusting to this dress because it didn't fit too well. It was billowing and a bit sack-like, so that forced me to finally make the belt. I've used a simple silver buckle with no rivets. There was some old waist band stiffening in my stash, so that's what I've used inside the belt.

Below is the final one-shoulder dress. It was good for the heat that we had last Sunday. It was comfortable and fun to wear.

Green-ery

2011-01-30T08:09:00.000+11:00

At the begining of the past week, I finished off my first b5242. It works really well with a lined bodice as the pattern suggests. I will make this again, with the right fabric.

The neckline is well placed and from the PR Reviews I lengthened the front waist darts by 3 cm, to avoid the maternity dress look. Below is the back skirt. I've taken out some of the skirt fullness. I don't have the height to carry it off. The other issue is the skirt was too long and made the dress seem matronly, so I've raised the hemline and will adjust it again at the centre front again.

Our Australia Day holiday we had an eating fest but I woke up early that day with a thought, so here's how I followed it through. Today the weather is going to be warm and humid. We've got a wedding and the one shoulder dress that I've made won't suit the church part of the ceremony. If I was younger, I could get away with it but it's been drummed into my head, not to flash too much flesh in church. When we've visited temples and other places of worship in other countries, it's a sign of respect so I've made this dress to deal with the heat. But I've also made a matching cardi.

M2241 is definitely an oldie that's been sitting in my pattern stash. Both fabrics were purchased on our Melbourn shopping tour of 2009. The dress is simple and unlined. I've placed the straps where my bra straps sit - bonus:) This is a 12 size and I've done the back shaping for a better fit. Together, it looks like a sweetheart neckline. The fabric is a stretch woven and I've used an invisible zipper.

Here's a close up of the cardi finishes. I've used green satin bias binding. The hems are the selvedge of the lace fabric. I've used boring M5978. I hand stitched the binding so that I could sew one stitching line on the front.

This week I'll get back to making Simplicity 2369 below.

Great people

2011-01-25T21:29:00.000+11:00

I'm truly convinced that there are so many great people who sew because throughout our US trip planning process and registering for Sew Expo at Puyallup, there have been lots of issues/hurdles, but people are basically helpful and kind.
This will probably be our only visit to Puyallup because it's a long way to travel but we just don't have the breadth of learning experiences and sewing suppliers in Australia. The show organisers have had lots to deal with this year and they are so helpful and willing to be accommodating to us. Rita's blog is handy as is their facebook page. Most of all Ann Sagawa emails us directly, and she's never met us. How good is that?

We've also been doing fabric shopping research for Seattle, Portland, LA together as well as fabric research when we head our separate ways, so include San Francisco in the mix. PR review has been real handy as have the Yahoo and Stitches girls. Blogfriends like Mushywear, has offered her Portland fabric knowledge (which I'm more than happy to accept).

I was shopping at Spotlight on Sunday and the male shopper who was looking bewildered at the snaps/closures/velocro section gave me a handy travel tip. Sew snap closures in your travel trouser pockets to deter pickpockets. This would have been a great deterrent a couple of years ago when DH had his wallet taken at the Eiffel Tower. See what I mean?

So I know that there are undesirables out there, but they are just so outnumbered by the wave of great people in our international sewing community. Love 'yous' all.

Cardi - M5978

2011-01-25T07:51:00.000+11:00

Here's my take on this basic cardi M5978.

This fabric was from Knitwit early in 2010 and in December I made it into a dress.

The snaps on the front are from The Snap Source. They're great because they have long prongs. I've also used grey fabric for the front and neck bands and used the grey to outline the neckline. I've also used twill tape on the shoulder seams to keep the shoulder shape stable.

The red skirt had been an orphan but now it looks like it's part of a family. The sleeves are long so I will look at adding some gathers on the next cardi, if the fabric is a solid colour.

So obvious

2011-01-23T21:43:00.000+11:00

At the 2008 Industry day at the Simplicity factory, I bought two bolts of quilt fabric. I don't quilt but I thought these would be great as toile fabric.

In 2009 I made this dress as part of a pattern stash contest. This dress gets great wear at work in the summer.

During the week I woke up and realised that this fabric would suit our 'dining' table. The wall, tiles and chairs have a similar yellow colour. So obvious.

The print reminds me of our europe trip in 2009 in the fall. Every where we went had the same fall colours with their halloween pumpkin decor. Back to this week - I ironed with the hem over twice and did a straight stitch so the first table cloth was done.

Yesterday while I was with my sewing buddies, Goosegreen (Alison) was giving us a show of the sewing machine needles she has. It's a huge and impressive collection. This morning I grabbed the rest of the bolt and made a second table cloth, using a 100 size needle and a patterned stitch in orange in the hope of having a more decorative hem. There was a quick trip to Spotlight to get a thicker needle but I may need to get a 130 size needle, but that can wait until we get to the States. Yipee:)

Just pics

2011-01-18T10:18:00.000+11:00

This morning was much cooler and not as sticky, so I've taken these reality shots of the striped dress so you can see the fit. I will readjust the bodice back because of the fullness at the waist.

Here's the top, not as wide as originally made. I look 2cm out of the sleeve width and graduated it to the hipline. More soon...

Express clean out

2011-01-16T18:35:00.000+11:00

There is still lots to clean out in our house and yesterday I spent some time planning a few items to wear when we go to the US next month while pulling out the fabrics that just won't do anymore (stratchy feel, dated print, poor quality and 'what was I thinking'). Granted, none of this weekend's pieces will keep me warm, they are layers.

I bought this fabric in Melbourne two years ago when 5 of our sewing buddy group spent 5 days fabric shopping. I focused on buying purple and green fabrics and this is a piece of memories from that trip. I've used a combat print FOE on the sleeve hem and the centre trim uses the selvedge. The front neck has been lowered and I used the selvedge on the centre front seam of the collar. This is view A without the belt. If the hem was lower, I would add a belt, but I'm a bit short in height to carry this off well. PS, I've made the bodice slimmer so I'll put the updated pics up tonight. There's just no shape otherwise.

This is the fifth new pattern that I've adjusted this month and I was really happy that the hems were even. It's now ingrained in my mind to measure from the waist point on the pattern or use the side seam marks to double check the length. The centre back hem is 2 cm lower than the front to cover my behind evenly. In the cold, I'll wear this over a black thermal, like the picture. That's the plan. The next version will have seams great on the shoulder seams.

Here's Butterick 5525 View B. The front and back fabric is left over from last week's green dress. I just love the colour and the way this fabric handles (from The Fabric Store). The sleeve contrast is also a left over piece that I know won't wear well but it does the job. When I started to use this print, I stopped, took out similar useless fabric pieces from my stash and they are now in the local charity bin. I'm over poor quality fabric.

Anyway, the centre back seam is not on the fold. I've shaped it and it suits my sway back better. After I sewed this top, the front neckline was gapping too much so I unpicked it and too 1.5cm off both sides of the centre front side seams and the neckline now sits much better. This pattern has a couple of neat versions that I plan to do.

In the pipeline is M5978 cardi in a print. This pattern is kind of boring, but I'll try it. There's also a Maggie London knit dress B5242 ready to make up. There are plans for Simplicity 2369 dress and another Maggie London knit B5418

Faux wrap - Vogue 8379

2011-01-15T13:38:00.000+11:00

This is my favourite faux wrap dress that I've made before. At our last sewing session, my sewing buddies were all making something in green so this is my first green piece of 2011. Yes - green with envy...

I added a grey/green piece of lace on the neckline and then added some beading to lift the neckline. The girls at work commented on it. They're so used to seeing my wardrobe change that it's only when I do something different that they comment. I bought the fabric from The Fabric Store early last year with Sharon.

This has my normal adjustments: sway back adjustment, roll shoulder adjustment, shortened hem line and I use the sleeve size without the cuff.

This week I saw a couple of episodes of The Mary Tyler Moore Show, so I used the striped knit burgundy and gave it a bit of 70's treatment on the neckline and cuffs.

The nice thing is I orginally used the 14 size pattern and now I'm using the 12 size. You can see how I've had to take out fabric from the back bodice. The skirt wasn't working so I made the side seams straight.

The front is easier to retro fit because I've just readjusted the existing wrapped front to fit.

The cuffs don't close together. Faux cuffs.
I think this fabric was also bought from The Fabric Store at the same time.

I'm also fish-sitting a friend's pets and they're keeping me company in my sewing room. They're not too fussy. They just enjoy being fed and swimming around while listening to my sewing machine hum. I've even put the aircon on so they don't get too hot:)

Wrapped - simplicity 2603

2011-01-15T12:47:00.000+11:00

This year I'm wrapped in the cardi-wrap that many sewers did last year. So here's my version.

I chose to make view A with a soft cotton/spandex burgundy piece that I've had for over two years. The original fabric that was supposed to be used was a marle grey but I felt that I needed a wrap with colour. I've not adjusted the pattern and I've used M size. Next time I'll use S size. Normally on the shoulder seam I would use 'seams great' for stability but I couldn't figure out where this would be. The centre back neck gathers are sewn with swimwear elastic so the gathers are even. So I've figured out a couple of ways to wear it and I know there are more...

The top is view E from the same pattern. I've done small pleats on the front neckline instead of the gathers. There wasn't enough fabric to make the gathers a feature on this striped knit.
The jean were store bought. I've yet to attempt making jeans.

We're in:)

2011-01-11T21:14:00.000+11:00

This morning I registered for Puyallup - Sewing & Stitchery Expo 2011. As Sharon mentioned, this has been on the cards since Alison brought it up about this time last year. I find it hard to describe to non-sewers about this event so depending on who I'm speaking to, I try to explain it based on what they've experienced before. But this is going to be a great opportunity for us to see lots, learn lots and meet a huge range of sewers that we just don't have here in Oz.

My seminar picks are:
2 hour shirt - Marta Alto
Coats made easy - Cecelia Podolak
Sew with your feet - Debra Justice
Pants fitting from you - Linda Lee
Power sewing toolbox - Sandra Betzina
Shirt dress restyled - Cecelia Podolak
Sew like a pro - Connie Crawford
The arty cardi - Marcy Tilton
Fit from the floor - Lorraine Henry
Customise and design fabric - Stephanie Kleinman
Intro to drapery - Jan Bones

Friday afternoon will be chockers for me with 4 sessions so I should know where I'm going by then.

DH had no objections to my going because the Seattle area and Portland, are boutique beer meccas and he loves beer, so he'll be joining us at the end of Expo. DH and I will tour the west coast for three weeks so depending on my fabric purchases, DHL might help me out a bit. I do however have a list of fabric stores when I'm with DH :)

Decisions

2011-01-04T21:43:00.000+11:00

Happy New Year to everyone. It's been a big 'get organised weekend' (kitchen, bathroom, sewing room, pending US sewing trip) and eventually I did manage to make some progress on this one-shoulder dress. And I have an event to wear it to at the end of the month - yipee!
Below on the left is the first idea I had. The blue centre piece is on the back and the left is the front. I prefered the front, so I replaced the centre back piece with the pattern fabric. On the right is the other issue - I realised the centre front print was not in line with the flowers on the centre side pieces. I cut this dress out last year and this year is my year of 'considering the details' in life.

As you can see, on the left I replaced the centre back piece with the printed fabric and on the right I tipped the centre front upsidedown.

The built-in bust was way off the mark (no photo). It looked 'un-real', so the bra pieces were taken out! I wore a bandaue instead so my bodice went back to looking 'natural' not 'Las Vegas showgirl'.

On the left the armhole will be finished with a bias strip in the printed fabric. On the right I've since adjusted the top of the zipper (see the yellow pin) to overcome the gap. The hemline was at the right level so I also need to handstitche the lined bodice and centre back vent.

The printed fabric is a poly with spandex and the blue fabric is also a poly with no ease. I have some black strappy heels to get me through the event. Fingers crossed.

one shoulder - NL 6912

2010-12-29T07:58:00.000+11:00

The key to a great dress form is sometimes in the support that you build into it. This dress doesn't mention support but I think that I should keep defying gravity where possible especially if I want to wear the one shoulder version view C.
Initially I thought that lining the top pieces would work but then I wondered how easily would it be to buy a bra that suited this dress.
I'm currently hand sewing the bust insert pieces into the top lining, before I machine stitch them into place. My concern is about keeping the top fit as is while building in support but at 2am last night I couldn't sleep because I kept wondering 'what if'.
Years ago I made a wedding dress for a very slim colleague who needed the bust built in. We tried a few bust pieces but the best shape were shoulder pads. True. It worked really well and she was proud of her new shape.
More soon.

Dress or top

2010-12-24T17:10:00.000+11:00

This week I was tossing up which version to make up from Kwik Sew 3658. The top or the dress.

Initially I made this up as a dress for Christmas eve dinner. Our weather today is mild but overcast and my planning is to have a couple of knit outfits available.

This dress uses a large knit print Pitt Trading in September at $2/m. The fabric has a dry knit feel to it, so it should wash/wear well. The other aspect of this print was it's on a black background, which I liked. The print colours are bold enough and the only way I could keep the pieces continuous was to have the print aligned rather than match up, if you know what I mean.

This next version was the Christmas day version but for the life of me I couldn't figure out where to measure from to get the hem right. The reason for this is the collar is all part of the bodice and it is self faced. At the hem I've added continuous piece but this hasn't worked out. This version was also earmarked to be without sleeves but there was too much fabric in the front shoulder seam so I've added the short sleeve.

The red/grey fabric is from the winter Knitwit direct collection and I've still got plenty left for different styled knit dress for weekend BBQs. When I wore this version with my bare legs I realised it was a bad look, so I think this will need some work outfit for autumn. I'll have to do a bit more planning with the next version made from this print.

This last top was made (cut and sewn) in an hour on Christmas eve morning before I left for work. What motivated me was that my key task at work was to clean so it was 'down tools, gloves on and cleaning products in hand'.

The fabric is from The Fabric Store $8/m from a sale last year. I've used this fabric for a dress and then realised that it's works best for tops.

Merry Christmas to you all, happy sewing and enjoy the festivities over the holidays.

Christmas summer wardrobe

2010-12-19T20:25:00.000+11:00

Our Christmas days can be swelteringly hot or cool, but it's always a eating fest with lots of running around with kids. I figure this is their holiday to just have fun, so that means running around and this year there's a pool involved (yah).
Most of my knit dresses are work dresses so they are so not festive or bright. At the Remnant Warehouse I picked up a bright coral printed knit and decided to be bold.

The dress is lined with tricot knit and I've used a sleeveless pattern Kwik Sew 2683 as the basis.

The fabric was less than $10/m so if I end up taking my shoes off on the day and end up running around with the kids, I can do so without any worries how my dress with perform.

There's another knit piece in my stash that would be another worthy knit dress so I'll see how time goes this week. Maybe I can squeeze it in for Christmas eve? So my two unfinished pieces are done.
25 Dec: This dress really worked well on the day.

UFO shirt - McCalls 5433

2010-12-19T20:18:00.001+11:00

Sharon's rust shirtmaker dress made a strong impression on me because she always does excellent finishing and she's got a great eye for detail. Her dress is really well made and fits her perfectly. Anyway, she inspired me to pay more attention to my sewing so at the last Rhodes Guild session I cut out a shirt length style with the aim to lift my game. I got to the point of adding the collar and put it aside do to Mum's sewing.

This weekend I made time to work on it a bit at a time, and not rush into it. DH was helpful in deciding what buttons to add to the shirt. First time! Anyway, I wanted a cap sleeve, so I took the sleeve from B5328.

Here's how my shirt turned out. I do like the fabric contrasts. The skirt was made earlier this year and it's become a work staple.

The front and back pieces are lined because of the embroidered cut out bits in the fabric. The lining is a lightweight poplin. I've used this for the front and back pieces, collar band and button front.

The back needs more adjusting and the black buttons were from a Lincraft sales years ago.

This shows the french seams, bias sleeve finish and the lining effect on the inside.