Tag Archives: Cardigan

Style Statements…

26/08/2010 8:58 am \ 12 Comments \

Personal style blogs, anyone?  Personally, I adore personal style blogs.
I just love to look at clothing choices, how people interpret and use fashion, and am fascinated by the ability of clothes to express one’s personality somehow.  People-watching is such a fun and interesting thing to do, because you can really tell such a lot about someone, simply by the clothes they have chosen to wear…
Lately I’ve been toying with the idea of composing a personal style sentence for myself, just for fun.  I do think I’ve got a distinct style, and this blog is partly to help me determine what it is (you’d think at my age I’d know by now, yeah)  A personal style sentence would help me make choices in clothing, and everything else, that I won’t regret later, both in shopping for ready-made as well as in my sewing endeavours.
I’ve already had some debate with Mum and Cassie, about each of our own style sentences, but none of us are satisfied with what we’ve come up with.  I thought mine could include the word “sporty” but Cassie disagreed strongly.  It’s because she associates the word “sporty” with tracksuits, which I NEVER (ever ever) wear… but I am outdoors a lot and am reasonably active in my life so I think “sporty” could be in there somewhere.  “Polished sporty”?  Hmmm.  Have to give it more thought… but so far I’ve come up with some adjectives to play with: natural, simple, sporty-but-not-of-the-tracksuit-variety (outdoors-y?)…
I once read about a two-woman company, Carrie & Danielle, who assess people’s lifestyles and come up with a two word Style Statement to describe them.  Just two!  As an example; Modern Luminous.  The first word describes your core; the second word is your creative edge.  It’s a kind of style sound-bite, or mantra that is designed to streamline your consumption choices.  (Oh, and it’s nice to know it’s all positive; no one is classified as Grumpy Stress-bunny, or Whiny Neurotic…phew) While a small cynical side of me rolls my eyes at the narcissistic desire to categorise oneself, the other side of me is attracted to just that.  So part of me is “how silly” and the other part of me would just  love to know what my two words are…!
Afterthought: this was my ensemble for today’s agenda of dog-walking and bike-riding, followed by grocery-shopping and a smidge of office work.  It was good to be out and about on such a glorious day.  (and looking forward to the final of the Ben Cousins‘ documentary tonight…)

Details:

Cardigan; refashioned by me from husband’s old jumper, which has already stretched and is overlapped decoratively and fastened with a pin to a new better fitting position
Top; Sexy Woman, found secondhand
Jeans; Soon
Pony necklace; souvenir from girls’ weekend away, some little shop in Melbourne
Boots; Francesco Morichetti, from Zomp shoes

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Leopard twin-set; 6 different ways

19/08/2010 2:43 am \ 15 Comments \

 

I haven’t done one of these for a while and I just felt like doing another one, thanks to my enthusiasm for my new leopard print twinset!
I foresee the future usefulness and versatility of this twin-set is in the fabric and the print.  Firstly the jersey is close knit and of high quality that looks quite luxe; and here I’m just going to say I reckon it pays off in the long run to spend a little more on quality fabrics.   Your clothes will last longer, they will look better, and most importantly you will look better in them too!  Isn’t the time and effort you put into your dressmaking worth a good quality fabric?
Secondly the print is a mix of ivory, grey, charcoal and just a touch of black, a particularly useful colour combination to have in a print.  I don’t know about other ladies, but I have a lot of solid colour neutrals in my wardrobe and not many prints.  Although I love neutrals with a passion, just occasionally I feel I look a little uninspired and dull when I wear them as a set of unrelieved solids.  Every now and then a print, and particularly an exotic print like this, is what is needed to refresh and add a touch of interest to a mix of blocked neutral solids…
Of course the beauty of a twin-set is that it can be split, the top and the cardigan can work separately with other garments as well as, natch, together.  Is this cheating, doing a six way styling feature using essentially two garments?  Well I don’t think so… anyway here ‘tis…
When going casz, the top and cardigan works just as well for summer and winter…
At left, when a tiny bit more chic-ness is required, say for shopping or running errands about the neighbourhood; and at right, for the first time I’ve included an option for business attire!  I don’t have very much need for business wear in my lifestyle, but I think this combo is smart enough for this purpose…
And for a more dressy option when say, meeting friends or the husband for lunch, or going out in the evening (the ensemble at right is how I wore it last Saturday night for a soccer wind-up dinner and presentation at Sam’s school, he won fairest and best trophy for his team!! so proud… )

 

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A very simple cardigan

13/08/2010 9:27 am \ 17 Comments \

I made myself a cardigan; a quick fix project out of some stash fabric… and put together a little tutorial.  I did another cardigan tutorial back here, but this one is a leeetle different, although using the same pattern…
The fabric I am using is a thin but closely knit, slightly fluffy leopard print stretch jersey, and I have planned a simple single thickness cardigan.  I’m using grosgrain ribbon tape to strengthen and stabilise some seams, and have got five tiny pearl buttons to finish.
First I turned to my standby basic cardigan pattern; this I drafted using an old favourite cardigan as a basis.  I just laid down the cardigan as flat and as straight as possible and drew around all its edges… then once I had cut out the paper pattern I re-checked it against the original fabric cardigan to see it was close enough to the right dimensions.  This is a style and shape that has proven to fit me and (I think) to flatter me, so I’ve used it several times…  The back piece is laid on the fabric fold at right, the front is in the middle and the sleeve is laid out   left hand side of the fabric.  btw, this is a half sleeve, and has to be flipped over halfway through cutting to get the whole sleeve, er… now you can see how slapdash a cutter I can be…! lol.  Even though it looks a bit makeshift, and why don’t I get serious and just cut out a whole sleeve paper pattern piece; it has actually worked very well for me like this every time, so I haven’t bothered.  Lazy, I know…  Oh, and I cut the body and the sleeves longer than these pieces since I had enough fabric to do so.

I sew the shoulder seams first, then fit the sleeve cap into the arm scye and sew these seams next…

Then sew the underarm seam in one go, from the bottom hem edge right up the sides of the cardigan and on under the sleeve to the wrist edge, making sure to match up those sleeve-to-body seams to each other.

Use a short strip of grosgrain ribbon, sew it on over the shoulder seam and catching it under.  This will stabilise this seam and prevent it from stretching through wear…

Pin the grosgrain ribbon, right sides together, all around the front and neck edge…

Sew the grosgrain ribbon to the edge,  as close as possible to the ridge of the ribbon edge…

Turn the ribbon to the inside of the cardigan and invisibly hand-sew the edge of the ribbon on the inside…  Make sure the edge of the ribbon is cut off evenly on both fronts of the cardigan, and level with where you want the bottom edge to be…

Turn up the lower edge of the cardigan twice, press and invisibly hand-stitch hem in place, also the wrist hems…

Measure where buttons and buttonholes are to be, and sew them in position.  Using a grosgrain ribbon to line the neck-edge enables you to machine sew buttonholes straight onto delicate knit fabrics easily, and also to stitch buttons on securely through the two layers without risk of light knit fabrics pulling out of shape; which they would without a strong backing…

Et voila, a very simple cardigan to provide an extra layer of colour to your ensemble, if not some warmth!

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Domestic diva

12/08/2010 2:25 am \ 12 Comments \

Should one make the effort to look stylish when one’s daily schedule involves simply popping into the supermarket, the post office and the bank?  Or if one’s place of work is in the home?  After all, if the peeps around you are in their tracky dacks and ugg boots the pressure is on to follow suit, and if you’ve gone to the effort to dress up kinda nice then you run the risk of feeling overdressed and flashy when all about are very casz…
Well, I reckon all power to the thoughtful dresser.  I feel better within myself if I look like I cared… so I do make an effort.
Having said that I’m not super dressed up here, but just a bit.  This is a very simple dress (sometimes the simplest will be the most worn item in one’s wardrobe!) that is not gorgeous, but handy.  I’ve found it to be a very versatile garment; to see how I styled it in six different way, see here.  Oh, and I know I wore this cardigan only the other day, but I’m loving its drab blue sooooo much, could be grabbing it everyday if I wasn’t trying to mix it up more… and it went so well with the socks I had on I just had to put it back on again for today.  I’m really making an effort to rotate through my wardrobe, but some things are proving handy and comfortable and fit in so well with my style thoughts for that day… so here it is again.  And the new shoes.  Wearing them in.  Love them so much…

Details:
Dress; Burda 8071, ivory eyelet cheesecloth
Petticoat; Metalicus
Cardigan (under); Country Road
Cardigan (over); refashioned by me from old jumper
Socks; knitted by me, Patonyles sock wool
Shoes; Francesco Morrichetti from Zomp shoes
Bag; Gucci

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Just blown in…

10/08/2010 5:55 am \ 3 Comments \

Scene 1:
A dilapidated hall.   The monthly scheduled meeting of Shoe-aholics Anonymous.  A circle of seated ladies, subdued and looking sheepish, but very well shod.  All eyeing each others footwear covetously.
Convenor; Ladies, we have a new member, here to confess her sins.  Please make her welcome.
Me; Hi, I’m Carolyn and I’m …. (gulps and takes a deep breathe, lower lip wobbling) addicted to shoes.
All in unison; Hi, Carolyn

Yes, it’s true.  I stay away from shoe shops as much as possible, in order to avoid wear and tear on the credit card…  but look at my New Shoes!!  Cool, no?  I bought them on a recent day out with my friend J, my enabler and partner in shopping crime…  These are going to be worn and worn and worn…  I think they are tres stylish and they are as comfy as.  Perfect for my lifestyle.  Welcome to my shoe shelf(ves) new friends, I hope the other shoes make you welcome and don’t get jealous of your fabulousness.
Oh, and if I look a bit wwwwwindswept here, it’s because I AM.  Very.  This morning was like being in a windtunnel.

Details:
Skirt; Vogue 7303, green cotton velveteen
Top; Cue
Cardigan; refashioned from old jumper
Tights; Metalicus
Boots; Francesco Morichetti, from Zomp shoes
Bag; Gucci

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The wind and the tides as our companions…

07/08/2010 9:50 am \ 6 Comments \
Walking along a wintery morning beach.
The wind whips at our hair, tying curly tangles in sudden lusty gusts, prompting me to seek the warm sanctuary of my cosy handknit hoodie about my ears and saving the hair from a cruel tussle with the hairbrush when I get home…

This is Sienna’s favourite place to be in the whole world.  When we are here she regains the unalloyed joie de vivre of a puppy; uncomplicated, pure and complete in her appreciation of soft sand and rippling water.  The tide is her playmate, her partner in the crime of meaningless high-spirited fun.  The peekaboo waves are an irresistible tease, their behind-her-back whispering a gentle and cheeky provocateur demanding her stern attention…

And sadly for her it’s out with the hose and the hairbrush at home…!

Details:
(ancient) Jeans; Country Road (should probably re-fashion these as they are embarrassingly shabby now, but find myself strangely clinging very hard to the store-bought clothes I still have since my Wardrobe Re-fashion pledge…)
Tshirt and charcoal cardigan; Country Road
Wristwarmers; Sportsgirl
Hoodie; knitted by me to my own design, Jo Sharp Silk Road yarn in colour Ambrosia
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Aviation chic

07/07/2010 4:16 am \ 10 Comments \

My outfit today has a sort of aviator/biker appeal about it.  I really love the Burberry fall 2010 collection like below, but I watered it down to suit my suburban not-very-high-fashion neighbourhood with its elderly population. 
I’m not sure why the current interest in aviation style clothing, probably a spin-off from the immense current popularity of military-inspired fashion.  Most people getting on a plane in these modern times opt for a comfortable loose get-up involving tracksuit pants, sneakers and fleeces but say “aviator fashion” and the old fashioned images of, say, Amelia Earhart are what immediately springs to mind…  an iconic woman who was adventurous and independent, feminine but dressing with a strong masculine style.   Perhaps a shocking look in her time but considered very sexy and relevant for women of today.  I guess little wonder fashion is aiming to emulate her style.

Details:
Jeans; made by me, Burda 7863, black denim
Tops (underneath); both Metalicus
Cardigan; my own design, snakeskin printed “rubber-y” black jersey knit
Boots; Andrea and Joen, from Uggies

Photos below;  at left, Amelia Earhart, found uncredited on the net; at right from Burberry Prorsum Fall 2010 collection

 

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Except the boots…

21/06/2010 5:27 am \ 5 Comments \

Today my outfit is completely handmade by me!!  Doesn’t happen with extreme frequency, especially during winter when jumpers and cardigans are in constant appearance, so feeling pretty pleased with this outfit!  And my socks are knitted by me too, although they’re clearly not visible here…!  I really like the mix of blues and khaki combination, muted but strong; a colour scheme I really wanted to wear this winter.
Sigh, one of the factors causing me angst at the moment is whether or not to join up to Wardrobe Refashion again.   I’ve noticed that it is not going to cost us to join up, which is a good thing.  But I keep coming across new Metalicus tops in yummy colours which when I spy them am immediately convinced will fill a gaping hole in my wardrobe…   But do I really need new tops?  No.  Want?  Er, well, yes…. (shamefaced)  Yesterday I got out a woolen Tshirt from winter last year and it had big holes in it, a victim of silverfish (sad face)…  so some new tops should be on my to-get list.  And I have a big craving for some Metalicus.  It’s like a drug.  I must resist.
As well, in the West last weekend Rob Broadfield in his restaurant review penned a particularly scathing (and kinda nasty) comment on a certain type of woman who hails from the western suburbs (which I don’t) and who wears Metalicus (er, guilty).  My friend D once described the type as a latte-drinking, western suburbs airhead.  I think I’m safe on the latte issue, the western suburbs issue, and the airhead issue.  But I am failing on the Metalicus front…  And I definitely do NOT want to be lumped into that, or any, category of women.  I like to think I have my own style and am different from the herd.  (As we all do!)  So teetering here, on the whole Wardrobe Refashion issue…  
I did some more sewing over the weekend and have some new things to show you, but much better suited to a chillier day than today!
Today’s random picture below; cute droplets of water on my benchtop, must be a “sign”, no?

Details:
Jeans; Burda 7863, khaki stretch gabardine
T-shirt; refashioned from husband’s old T-shirt here
Cardigan; refashioned from husband’s old jumper here
Scarf; refashioned from husband’s old tank here
Boots; Andrea and Joen, from Uggies in Dunsborough

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