Monthly Archives: September 2011

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Lack of Tshirts

06/09/2011 5:10 am \ 17 Comments \

More correctly, I do not have a lack of Tshirts, but just a lack of me-made Tshirts.  And after a few experiments I feel this dress really looks best over a form-fitting knit Tshirt and not over a blouse.  So here it is again, this time over my striped Tshirt.  I’m not sure the dress is as successful over a print as it is over a solid coloured Tshirt… what do you think?
Anyhoo, it should be obvious that I adore this dress and have worn it a lot over winter and hope to continue wearing it over these cooler early cool days of spring too.  This should go some way to assuaging my disappointment that it is too warm to wear my new crocheted skirt already, and I had been looking forward to showing it off at least once during self-stitched September!   This is often a minor problem with me, though naturally, not such a problem that I am not massively thrilled about the warmer weather!  But, with my sewing and knitting projects at this time of year, I am partly stuck in “winter” mode and still envisaging projects suitable for the cooler weather, when really it is too warm to be wearing them for very long…  why do I keep doing this?  How do you go with thinking ahead in your seasonal wardrobe planning?

Details:
Dress; the “gathered hole” dress form Pattern Magic by Tomoko Nakamichi, made of a grey wool mix, details here
Tshirt; self drafted, navy and white striped jersey, details here
Tights; Metalicus
Shoes; Francesco Morichetti, from Zomp shoes

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Pattern Magic 2; wearing a square

05/09/2011 5:51 am \ 29 Comments \

This was one of the earliest garments in this excellent book to catch my eye, and as it turns out probably the easiest.
Only one or two basic measurements and very few seams…
While the design is called “wearing a square”, well yes, the pattern piece is a square.  That is if you can be bothered drafting a pattern piece, which I did not…  I just measured straight onto my fabric, marked with pins, and cut out using my big old quilting ruler and rotary cutter to get the straight lines, yes, it is that easy.  However the fabric piece is actually a rectangle; a double square, on the fold. 
My only advice?  Check your forearm circumference measurement, I “drafted with my own measurements” as recommended, but allowed for a few extra centimetres on my sleeves and I am glad I did!  I do not have big arms, but I am guessing there are very few who would be comfortable with a 20cm sleeve on their forearm…  
I find little cardigans very useful, so am very pleased with this one.  The draping on the back and the very subtle drape on the back neckline caused by the straight lines of the garment  are both flattering and unusual.  I decided to go for an open-ended zip for closure at the front, so it can be unzipped all the way if I wanted it hanging open.  But I tried this out and probably won’t, as it has a tendency to slide off my shoulders if it is left open…
It’s a cute little thing, no?  I just love it!  The fabric was given to me by my friend C, part of her late mother’s stash so I’m not sure of the composition.  It is quite thick-ish, and looks stretchy, but is only very slightly stretchy, and has a tendency to fray.  So I finished the lower edge and sleeve hems by overlocking the raw edges, turning under once by 1cm and stitching down, and the neckline edge has a 4cm hem. The fabric has this blue, grey and white marle on one side whilst the other side  is a grey and white marle.  I have plenty left, so might make something with the grey marle on the outside next time…

Details:
Cardigan; the “wearing a square” design from Pattern Magic 2 by Tomoko Nakamichi, made of blue/grey mystery fabric
Dress; Burda 8511 modified to be fully lined, made of tobacco coloured wool mix
Tights; Kolotex
Boots; Andrea and Joen, from Uggies in Dunsborough

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Taking advantage of one’s surroundings…

04/09/2011 5:31 am \ 11 Comments \

I received a comment on my photo yesterday in the Self-Stitched September flickr group that read in part that my ensemble looked perfect “mostly due to the beach background” LOL!  *
Well I’m afraid the beach is going to steal the show again today because when I am fortunate enough to be staying by the beach then I see no reason not to make full use of nature’s beautiful offerings, particularly when one is simply logging a mere outfit.  I’m not vain enough to believe my sewing creations are going to elicit any Wow! factor all by themselves!
So, today; I am using another little ploy for when one’s jeans have shrunk a tad, just roll them up a little bit and voila, the ankle-freezer factor has been happily disguised!  Now they look as if they were meant to be like this…  Another plus is that one can wade, which is as far as I will go in at this time of year.  Shams asked if we swim at this beach, and yup we sure do! but it is still a tad chilly for full immersion.  But the feel of cool salty water lapping about your ankles, and soft and squishy but still slight abrasive sand underfoot is always such a deliciously blissfully healthy feeling for your feet, don’t you think?  I think it beats any foot pampering offered at any beauty spa, any day!
My half-zip-front parka is one I made about five years ago, and so it might be outdated but I still love it.   It is self-drafted, but a completely slavish imitation of a Marni design from their Spring/Summer 2007 collection, so I feel I’m borrowing a bit of designer-style austere chic when I don this… .  I really like how the high bunched up collar turned out.  It’s basically a double layer rectangle cut to fit the neckline, sewn in, then with a lace inserted between the two layers and exiting through some tiny buttonholes to tie it loosely.  It does have some piecing on the front, and all the seams are double topstitched, but it is probably hard to see it in this photo.

Details:
Parka; self drafted, a copy of this one at right, from Marni Spring/Summer 2007, black cotton
Jeans; Burda 7863 with modification, rust coloured stretch corduroy, details here
Sandshoes; Country Road

*Actually I’m sure the comment was intended to be a nice comment but I just couldn’t help but laugh when I read that bit…!

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Lace, as beachwear

03/09/2011 9:15 am \ 12 Comments \

 

I’m not much of an outfit planner.  I’m more of a grab-something-clean and put it all together there and then as the fancy takes me.   A bit random but I’m OK with that.  So, packing on an already busy day for a weekend away I sorta just grabbed a few various separates with the thought I would work it all out when the time came… which is undoubtedly not very sensible and one ends up with some strange choices at times.  But I have far from classic tastes and like to play with weird ensembles… why?  well because it is fun!
Take this ensemble… The chambray shirt, made using a man’s shirt pattern, and little white sandshoes; well they are just super casual full-stop.  The juxtaposition of the housewifeliness of these items against the completely opposite, rather sexy, boudoir-y vibe of black lace is an odd one that satisfies my taste for the occasionally absurd in my apparel.
The black lace skirt with blue lining used to be dressy in the first flush of its youth, a few years ago, but now? Well the poor old thing has been put out to the sartorial equivalent of the pasture, often stepping in for very casual duties, like gardening or vacuuming out the car, or washing the dog.  It might not scream “beachwear!” but it’s really very comfortable and easy to wear.  And when it comes to the beach, as long as the footwear is appropriate then anything goes!  Right?  Right!
Details:
Shirt; Burda 7767 modified, cotton chambray details here
Skirt; my own design based on the basic shape of Vogue 7303, layers of black lace with randomly stitched on black border lace strips and gunmetal blue lining
Sandshoes; Country Road
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Ten second photo op…

02/09/2011 1:16 pm \ 16 Comments \

Omygosh, busy or what?!
It’s been one of those ridiculous days; zipping about from one thing to the next and managing to achieve… well tonnes!    Have you ever had one of those super busy days which by its own very crazy jam-packed busy-ness somehow bestows upon you temporary powers of superhuman efficiency and capability?  Well, today was one of those rare and happy days.  Today I fitted in a dental appointment, a few hours of office work, a horrid but necessary visit to Ikea, a baking session…  during the baking time I even nipped briefly into the laundry and re-commenced searching for a dress pattern that had mysteriously disappeared and I’ve been searching for it on and off for a few days.. and found it!  Yup, it was that serendipitous kind of a day…  a bout of grocery shopping, packing for a weekend visit to the beach house, followed by the drive down to aforementioned beach house…  Well, we are here now so hopefully a nicer photo should be the outcome for tomorrow.  Sorry about today’s awful photo, I noticed on the drive down that that the sun was setting and I hadn’t taken a photo for self-stitched September yet, so literally pulled over to the side of the road and begged Sam to take a quick snap…. this is it!

Details:
Top; the twist top drafted from Pattern Magic by Tomoko Nakamichi, charcoal jersey, details here
Jeans; Burda 7863 modified, black corduroy, details here
Boots; Andrea and Joen, from Uggies in Dunsborough

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Navy, with ivory shirt

01/09/2011 8:40 am \ 17 Comments \

So, here we go, the first day of Spring, and the first day of a month of all self-stitched fun, to be seen in entirety here.  As usual, when the pressure is on to dress for a challenge like this my perverse nature means that I could think of absolutely nothing to wear this morning.  Yes really!   Sounds ridiculous, I know…
And just saying now; I will understand entirely if this is not everyone’s idea of what a blog should be and if people choose to switch off for the month, BUT I have enjoyed these challenges before and I find them very helpful in assessing my self-made wardrobe and its wearability.  I want to try to mix up old and new and be “interesting”.  There will be some new creations popping up this month.  So I hope it doesn’t get boring.
So what of today?   My ivory shirt and the skirt are new-ish, both made in the last month or so… and it may appear black in the photo, but my outfit is navy blue.  I made the jacket a few years ago but haven’t worn it for one of these challenges yet.  I was pretty proud of this jacket when I made it, because it is completely lined and also underlined, my first attempt at a properly tailored jacket.  Also with no iron-on interfacing, as an experiment.  As a result, the jacket is very soft and very comfortable, and the tailoring has stood the test of time.  And when I dyed this previously charcoal skirt blue it hadn’t occurred to me that I now had something passing as a suit.  Hehe, me, in a suit?!    Mon dieu!  The funny thing is that I didn’t think I was going to look quite so suit-y when I selected these items…  and it was only when I was dressed and looking in the mirror I was like, woa, I’m in a suit!  Actually I do have another suit, also made by me, that gets worn, like, never.  Never ever.  And now I have another one….  you’d think I’d have learned, right? 

Details:
Jacket; Simplicity 4698, navy blue silk hessian, to see this jacket styled in 6 different ways go here
Shirt; Burdastyle magazine 10/2010,102, made of white brushed cotton, details and my review of this pattern here
Skirt; Vogue 7303 lined, made of charcoal wool mix then dyed blue, details here
Tights; Metalicus
Shoes; Django and Juliette, from Zomp shoes

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