From sack to svelte

03/06/2010 2:17 am \ 11 Comments \

A wardrobe re-fashion:
I had been planning to make myself a useful LBD for winter this year but struck gold at the secondhand shop… I felt incredibly lucky when I found this at a price less than fabric would have cost me!  It’s a Cue dress, which is quite a good label in Australia.  It’s made of a good quality sturdy stretch fabric.  He he, I just checked the label which says viscose/polyester/nylon/elastane mix, which sounds Hideous with a capital H!, but is actually feels pretty good to wear.  It’s a still-fashionable sombre dark charcoal.  The only problem with it was it’s sack-like shape.  Unfitted tunics were the IN thing a few years ago in Australia and I am guilty of buying, or should I say sewing, into that trend myself too, see here… Yikes!
This year I prefer a more fitted look.  I have no wish to be asked when is the baby due, thanks… and yes, that has happened!!
Luckily the zip in this dress is in the centre back, making it an easy matter to bring in the side seams at the torso tapering down to the hips and sew in a couple of unobtrusive long darts on the front.
Voila!  New gothic chic!

Details:
Dress; Cue, found secondhand and altered by me
Petticoat; Metalicus
Tights, Kolotex, David Jones
Booties; Django and Juliette, Zomp

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“Jailbreak” dress

02/06/2010 12:56 am \ 18 Comments \

Remember this fabric and pattern?
Well I made it up over the weekend and submitted a review of the pattern to Pattern Review.  I’m still getting the hang of that site.  The other day I realised (lightbulb going off!) that the C beside your review meant there were Comments!!  Also finally worked out how to link to my photos to get a bigger photo displayed, a lot of my comments were complaining, and rightly,  that only the thumbnail photo wasn’t enough…!  I think I might sign up for a bit longer; at first I just signed up for the free month trial and am debating whether or not to continue with a paid membership…
Anyhoo, here is my review of Vogue 1087.  I know this dress seems a bit out of context for Australia, it being winter and all, and I still have some winter sewing to complete before I can get onto spring wardrobe planning.  But I just went ahead on a whim…

Details:
Dress, Vogue 1087, cotton jersey knit
Shoes; Sandler, from the Salvos op shop




Pattern Description:
Fitted dress, below mid-knee, has pleated and tucked front forming wrap effect. Front extends to back at sides, back has zipper and hemline vent. No side seams.
Pattern Sizing:
12-18
Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you had finished sewing it?
yes
Were the instructions easy to follow?
Steps 12-14 were a little tricky to work out. I’m not sure how it happened, but I had the wrong front lapping over after this stage, so I had to go back and unpick and fix this up.
What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern?
I didn’t like that it would be very difficult to adjust to custom sizing.
Fabric Used:
thin stretch jersey knit
Pattern alterations or any design changes you made:
According to the pattern, the darts on the back of the skirt are supposed to be facing out (sewn wrong sides together). I don’t think so. Mine are on the inside of the skirt, where they should be. And I inserted thin strips of bias-cut woven cotton under the zip tape to stabilise it.
Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others?
Yes, I would sew this again. It’s a beautiful dress.
Conclusion:
One thing I can’t understand about this pattern, and didn’t even before I started, is WHY DO YOU NEED A ZIP IN A STRETCH FABRIC DRESS? However I went ahead and inserted an invisible zipper as instructed. And now the dress is finished I can still slip this thing over my head no worries, with no need for a zip. Next time, I’m leaving the zip out…!
As I had chosen a striped fabric the biggest difficulty I had in making this dress up was matching the stripes up in inserting the zip, in stretch fabric no less. And when you factor in the joining of four pieces (L & R bodice and L & R skirt) all on your zip, matching the stripes becomes even more tricky. The instructions did say not suitable for striped fabric, so perhaps it’s my fault. But I really like the final look of the dress in stripes! And I got them matching perfectly, so it worked out.
Step 23, the pattern instructions say to finish the neck edge, you will also have to finish the armhole edge here, although it doesn’t say so…
Next time I make this, I will also either interface the back neck facing, or cut the pieces from a woven non-stretch fabric. This would give a better finished look.

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Birthday scarf

01/06/2010 7:18 am \ 6 Comments \

Today is my brother’s birthday! 😀 (yay)
Since for Dad’s birthday I made him a scarf I decided to make D one too, so bought 3 balls of this lovely soft Vera Moda yarn and got knitting.  Dad’s scarf was of moss stitch, you may remember my strong opinions about the both sides of scarves looking the same,  :/ , thus ruling out stocking stitch…  this time I went for rib; simply cast on 20 stitches and just carried on until all three balls were knitted.  As it turned out this made for a looooong scarf (approx 5ft long!), no matter; my oldest son thought it was cool, worked out a cool way of arranging it and is modelling it here today (isn’t he handsome?)
I’ve been thinking about Mum’s opinion that D is a Winter and I think she’s right, so this dark dark charcoal I think will look really good on him…
The scarf was supposed to have been ready on Saturday, when we saw the family, but even though I’ve been knitting like a maniac to get it finished it just wasn’t done!  So it’s been popped in the letterbox for when he gets home from work… hopefully a nice surprise!

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Last day of autumn

31/05/2010 5:06 am \ 5 Comments \

Today is the last day of autumn 🙁
So I thought I’d mark it by wearing my favourite autumn made garment; my trench coat.  I’ve got it on over a Tshirt and skirt here, but I like how trenches can actually pass for dresses on a warm day, which it is today, sort of.  I was quite toasty here in this photo and wishing I could take something off…  well, I always feel warm during our dog walk in the morning and only start to slowly freeze when I get into the office.  Australian weather being like it is we don’t have central heating here like northern hemisphere dwellers have.  I’ve got the little gas heater warming up my toes right now…!
I left off the belt I made for the coat and instead donned an old black leather belt I’ve had since teenage years; and I like how the accents of black set off the sandy beigeness of the coat.  The black buttons, black legs, black booties, black belt… the colour of winter is creeping insidiously into my wardrobe and before you know it Perth will be clad all in black and grey, yeah it’s hard to believe on a bright sunny day like today! but it will happen!  One thing is for sure, I will be wearing this coat all through winter too, it’s so comfy and feels so nice to throw it on; instant outfit!  I’m so glad I’ve got it!

Details:
Coat; Burda 7786, modified by me to be double breasted and with added wrist tabs, beige cotton
Belt; had for donkey’s years
Tshirt; Country Road
Skirt; Vogue 7303, olive green corduroy
Tights; Kolotex, David Jones
Booties; Django and Juliette, from Zomp shoes
Bag; Gucci

 

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Dining room curtains

30/05/2010 1:10 am \ 8 Comments \

Sewing curtains is a real drag.  No seamstress will say otherwise.  Boring, all straight seams, no challenge in it.  And mundane.
Most of the curtains I’ve made have been plain rectangles with curtaining tape sewn on at the top, which then just hangs there in an unobtrusive way.  I like plain curtains.
But for these dining room curtains I did something a little more interesting; I picked up the two bottom corners and the centre of the bottom together, inserted a big safety pin through all these layers, and pinned the whole lot to the central curtain ring.  That’s on each curtain, btw…  Just for something a bit different.  Oh, also, there is no curtaining tape sewn to the top of the curtains, but the hooks are sewn directly onto the top hem of the curtains.  Again for something a bit different.
The little pussycat figurine standing on the window sill was hand-carved by my grandfather.  Often there is a real pussycat there too.

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Beautiful blogger award

29/05/2010 3:38 am \ 6 Comments \

I was so thrilled to look in my comments and see an award from the lovely Anne; thanks so much Anne!
Whooo, now I have to list ten things about myself…  I always find this so difficult because I’m not very interesting… and this is meant to be primarily a sewing blog and not supposed to be about me.
What to say?
1. I’ve been sewing for over 30 years.  And I still love it!
2. I love “Desperate Housewives”  ;D!!  But loathe Sex and the City  :S Not even the wardrobe can hold my attention on the latter…

3. The British band Muse is my current favourite music.  (I”m not crazy about the clip but trust me the music is awesome…)

4. We lived in the United States for a year.  It was an interesting education.  USA is so different from Australia.  We made some great friends!

5. Typical Hollywood blockbusters bore me.  I love quirky foreign films with a twisted unexpected storyline.  The Sixth Sense is that rare Hollywood film that hit the jackpot for me.  One of my all time favourites.

Phew, ten things is a lot to think up…
6. I’m addicted to fabric.  It’s terrible.  Even though I might have 1000m of fabric stuffed into my laundry cupboard so I can’t shut the door, I still kid myself I will have time for just one more sewing project…  Crazy.

7. Knitting socks is another “what am I thinking?” secret addiction.  I’m not sure I could ever buy another pair of socks… well, one must have something to do whilst sitting in front of the TV of an evening, no?

8. I secretly wish my kids would never grow up and leave home.  I would miss them horribly.

(at right, my children and me in Italy)

9. (also related to the above picture)  I wish I could learn another language.  I learnt Italian at school.  Over the years, and having no Italians to converse with, I completely forgot it all, or so I thought.  When we visited Italy a few years ago I was amazed at how much I understood of conversations around me, and how the right phrases popped into my head when I needed them…!
10. I know I said this in my last award, but it’s such a big thing about me I’ll say it again.  I am extremely shy.  If you met me I’d be so tongue-tied you’d think I was a stuck-up snob.  I’m not really.

Now I name five others to award to.  It’s difficult to pick just five out of the many fabulous blogs I enjoy reading, but I’m awarding to:

Faye, of Faye’s Sewing Adventure

Karin, of ancien-nouveau

Lily, of The House of Mirth

Stephanie, of The Naked Seamstress

Caroline, of Church Sexy

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Champagne in the city

28/05/2010 9:18 am \ 7 Comments \

I am sometimes accused, by family members who shall remain nameless, of never wearing an outfit more than once.  Well, ahem, I do wear things more than once, but choose not to bore readers of this blog with repeat photos of the same outfit worn the same way over and over.  I do try to mix it up a little if I’m a posting a daily outfit shot, by mixing and matching items in my wardrobe for a slightly different look each time…
The Mossy Feathers dress I’m wearing today is one that can’t really be mixed and matched much; it’s pretty much a stand alone garment.  And today being such a beautiful autumn’s day I didn’t want or need to cover it up with a coat or cardigan.  And please excuse my fierce expression, my husband is always telling me to smile more in my photos…
Today I met up with some friends for lunch in the city and a fashion parade; Aurelio Costarella.  The dresses were gorgeous, natch.  All evening wear, which is his specialty.  He talked a bit about what he was up to; he is currently working on Winter 2011, having already wrapped up Summer 2010/11.  The garments we were seeing today were of course Winter 2010.  It was funny when he confessed that some of the looks today were like new to him, too, as he had forgotten about parts of the collection since completing it over a year ago!…  they work so far ahead in the fashion industry and are always moving on, always looking ahead and not back over old seasons…
A fabu-dabulous day out.

Details:
Dress; Vogue 2820, printed silk and chocolate brown net piping and necktie
Tights; Kolotex from David Jones
Shoes; Sandler from David Jones
Bag; Gucci

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Pattern Magic; page 11

27/05/2010 2:09 am \ 6 Comments \

The latest in the Pattern Magic toiles; this one is on page 11.  There is a minuscule chance I will wear this toile.   Maybe it is a bit young for me; much as I detest that phrase “age appropriate dressing” that is so stifling to feminine flair and creativity in apparel.  I can’t bear that women should be forced into a pigeon-hole by their age group… however that being said I’m not sure this top would do for me.  Perhaps I should re-phrase that; not too “young” for me, but too … flirty and girly.  Too cute.  I’m too tall for cute.  As it happens my daughter has already asked if she can have it, so it will not go wasted…
I’m just loving the challenge of Pattern Magic, by Nakamichi Tomoko.  However I’ve realised, through a few recent remarks and conversations with others, that it is a book for advanced seamstresses.  A beginner would struggle.   Even more so if you have no Japanese…
Up until now I’ve gone steadily through the book in order but for my next project I’ve decided to skip ahead a few as there is a top that I really want for my winter wardrobe… soon!

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