Tag Archives: Daily Outfit

An ancient xanthorrhoea…

22/07/2011 11:05 am \ 14 Comments \

… and me.
We have been busy recently; school holidays and an overseas visitor staying so we have been going sight-seeing.  There is nothing like touring one’s own surroundings and talking about local features to make one truly appreciate all over again where you live.  We have been doing lots of Aussie stuff, including a visit to the Perth Mint where we learnt about the Gold Rush and how many of the world’s biggest nuggets have been discovered here (most of them); lifted a gold brick (far heavier than I imagined) and learnt about the minting process.  Can you guess the melting point of gold?  Go one, take a minute to guess….

We’ve visited Kings Park, the beach and gone paddling on the river.  The last few days we have been down visiting my parents in the country.  We cooked damper and billy tea over an open fire out in the middle of the bush, as well as took plenty of photos of kangaroos.  Each of these things we have done lots of times, but have been extra nice when viewed through the enthusiastic eyes of an overseas visitor.  And today we visited a little traditional sweetshop, then I intuitively headed next door to the junk shop to have a trawl through … I couldn’t resist.  I told our visitor she didn’t have to come with me but she wanted to!  She found a really old kangaroo print dish and a boomerang shaped leather covered shoe brush, also printed with kangaroos and xanthorrhoea (the plant in my picture above).  I found some more glassware and more old mismatched fine bone china to add to my collection, and a manual typewriter for Craig.  Sam found a double-headed adaptor… er, well, one person’s trash etc etc, right?
So everybody scored and everybody’s happy!
Finally; the melting point of gold; 1064C…  How close was your guess??

Details:
Top; Ezibuy (the indispensable one with holes in it, gulp!)
Cardigan; MNG Suit, found secondhand
Jeans; Burda 7863 with modifications, black corduroy, details here
Scarf; dark crimson jersey, details here
(old and cruddy) hiking boots; Scarpa

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Horrible colour, begone

18/07/2011 7:30 am \ 22 Comments \

So, as I mentioned last post, colour…

Exhibit one; some grey synthetic knit stuff from the remnant bin.  Remnant bins are a terrible trap really, aren’t they?, the fabrics within can be so tempting pricewise, and the truth is they might not be very “you” at all.  So in a moment of madness I was swayed by this mottle-y grey fluffy stuff and brought it home, and eventually got around to making up a top and donned it, and it looked more than a bit awful.  No I wouldn’t even take a picture of myself to show here on the blog; I looked pale, and ill, and … awful.  The shape of the top was OK and I liked the monastic roughness of the fabric combined with the simplicity of the silhouette, it was just the colour that was the problem here…  So it was off to check out the dye section.  I was pretty sure the fibre composition here was mostly synthetic, so I bought iDye Poly for synthetics, in Yellow.

Et voila!

I was just hoping to just get a more yellow-y shade of grey out of this that would be more flattering to my complexion; but imagine my delight at this wonderful moss-y green that resulted!  Obviously the grey had far more blue in it than I realised, and I’m sure we all remember from our paint mixing days in art class at school that blue + yellow = green.  This is a prime (haha!) example right here…

Construction details; I drafted the top using one of my other Tshirts as a guide.  The fabric remnant I had was cut off at a funny angle, necessitating the curved lower front hem. I matched this curve on the other side of the front, but I left the back pieces straight for a contrasting hemline.  Initially I meant to curve the back hem too, but I think I like that contrast now.  Both lower hems are unfinished, and after more than a few washings that the garment received during the dyeing process, I can report the happily un-fray/ravel-abe nature of the raw edges of this knit.  However I did handstitch the sleeve hems in a rolled edge.  The neckline, well I tried to be sort of clever here, and apply a bias binding that would both enclose and stabilise the shoulder seams inside, and as well as finishing the back neckline.  This turned out to be a trickier exercise than I thought to achieve my desired effect, but I think I pulled it off.  The front neckline is rolled to the outside in a tight little roll, and hand-stitched down.  (these pictures taken before dyeing, obviously!)

Final summary; well to think I started out with fabric that was, let’s face it, a bad purchase since I wouldn’t have bought this fabric at full price off the roll, and then finally managed to get something that I am actually happy with; ultimately a successful project.  I’m still not in complete love with the fabric, it is a tad cheap and scratchy but the new colour is so wonderful, and was a far more perfect-for-me colour than I was hoping for.
On that note, does anybody know of a good source of pure wool knit fabrics…?

Details:
top; my own design, from (originally) grey synthetic knit stuff dyed using iDye Poly in Yellow
Jeans; Burda 7863 with some modifications, purple stretch denim, details here
Shoes; Francesco Morichetti, from Zomp shoes

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Blue and green, etc

16/07/2011 6:00 am \ 16 Comments \

We all remember that silly ol’ saying about blue and green never to be seen (together), but I love blue and green together.  Particularly because teal and turquoise, both quasi sort-of versions of both the blue and the green factions, are amongst my favourite colours.  I wore this outfit yesterday, on a very nice morning tea outing with my lovely sister-in-law A…
You know, when I first made this coat I was a little sad that I didn’t have enough fabric to make the full length sleeve, and these half sleeves were the only option.  If I had had enough fabric, the truth is that I would probably have gone for longer sleeves….  but now I have them I am actually very happy at the serendipitous misjudgement on the part of my former fabric-buying self!  The reason?  quite apart from that gloriously feminine and distinctive shape; grey is a fabulous colour for winter clothes; practical and “serious”, neutral enough so all other colours look good against it, and unobtrusive enough that one is not going to tire of it easily… but even in the dead of winter it is nice to have a little bit of colour somewhere in the ensemble to set the mood, and this coat with its half-sleeves has turned out perfect for wearing different layers of of whatever colour is currently taking one’s fancy on the arms, and ditto for my charcoal Pattern Magic gathered hole dress… that hole!  who would have thought it would be such a great idea introducing a great little splash of colour into the ensemble!  (should have taken a picture sans coat but didn’t, meh…)
Colour is starting to occupy my thoughts more and more, and particularly the fact that one is so restricted by what is available in the fabric store.  I am starting to entertain more fantasies about dyeing my own shades… and particularly in the wake of a recent success in the dyeing department, which right now as I type these very words! is drying on a clothes horse in our living room and which I am quite excited about showing here soon…!
So watch this space… and wishing you all a wonderful weekend!

Details:
Coat; McCalls 5525 view B, charcoal wool, details and my review of this pattern here
Dress; gathered hole dress from Pattern Magic by Tomoko Nakamichi, charcoal wool mix, details here
Navy tights, teal top, and turquoise scarf cardi; Metalicus
Boots; Andrea and Joen, from Uggies in Dunsborough

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Pattern Magic twist top; take 3

14/07/2011 4:51 am \ 27 Comments \

So, I had originally bought this heavy cream knit stuff with the intention of re-creating exactemente the dress on the cover envelope of Vogue 1087 (below, right), and obviously got disenchanted with the idea since it sat in my stash uncut… and I did start to think, do I really need another dress, when my winter lifestyle is more oriented towards separates, and since doing Me-Made June I have identified a need for tops not dresses… Luckily, creamy coloured stretchy stuff is not that sort of demanding fabric that is only going to suit one and one only type of garment, and so I changed tack.  Hehe, actually not a hugely surprising turnabout since this twist top from the Pattern Magic book is a pattern I have made up twice before and adore, and the colour is hardly a break-away for me either, but still!  I’m in love with this new top already…
I’m sure you are wondering what this intriguingly sculptural one-pattern-piece top looks like when it is laid flat…  no?  Well, since I have just brought it up and no doubt piqued your curiosity, I shall now proceed to satisfy it… kind of me, no?  Below is my older, but the same pattern, charcoal top, now washed and worn for about a year now so maybe has got a tiny tad mis-shapen over the last year, but you get the idea….  When it is on those skewiff details pull the top in to hug one’s body beautifully and make for a very flattering silhouette.   The cream jersey I have used to make this new version is quite a bit stiffer than the charcoal, and has less stretch, so getting it on is kind of a struggle.  But once it is on it feels great!  I do love a firm snug top, especially in the winter time.

Details:
Top; the twist top from Pattern Magic, by Tomoko Nakamichi, heavy cream knit stuff from Knitwit
Skirt; skirt “d” from Unique Clothes Any Way You Like, by Natsuno Hiraiwa, silver grey crepe, details here, and to see this skirt styled in 6 different ways go here
Tights; Kolotex
Shoes; Django and Juliette, from Zomp shoes

(below; a spectator…)

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Winding cable scarf; grey and brown

12/07/2011 3:42 am \ 15 Comments \

This is a scarf I finished last year, but never blogged about for some reason, which is peculiar since I have worn it once or twice… just never got around to photographing it, I guess.  I discovered it anew in my recent winter woolies sort-out.
I knitted it using a pattern that was just on two photocopied, typed sheets stapled together, from Calico and Ivy from where I bought the wool; so I expect it was probably designed by one of the talented ladies at that store.  The design is a cable but instead of twisting over and over the same way to finish up with that classic barley twist cable design; in this design the cable was twisted first one way then the other, so you end up with a meandering cable, that loops in and out of the scarf in a lazy snake-through-the-grass kind of a way.  It is cleverly reversible, so both sides look pretty much identical; thus satisfying a slight pet peeve of mine about right-side-and-wrong-side scarves…  The ends are tapered to a lovely curved arrowhead point, quite an unusual feature.  I should wear it more because I always get compliments for it, but I have this feeling that being of an eclectic mix of neutrals that it doesn’t end up going with any colour much except for other neutrals!  Yup, I am very strict about how I mix my neutrals and my colours; I have quite firm views on which colours go together and which colours don’t, and the shade is so vital and just has to be taken into consideration also… I know, pretty neurotic huh?
 Anyhoo, the long and short; this scarf looks great with other earthy neutrals, but I don’t tend to ever wear it with any actual colours.  So perhaps not as versatile as I first envisioned when I selected this wool!
The wool is a Noro yarn, hand-dyed in Japan, and I’m afraid the tags with the type of yard and the colour  has long been tossed out…. so I cannot provide you with this info.  Sorry!

Details:
Scarf; hand knitted by me, using Noro yarns, to a design by Calico and Ivy
Brown top; Metalicus
Black top; Sexy Woman, found secondhand
Skirt; my own design; charcoal jersey knit
Tights; Spencer Lacy
Shoes; Francesco Morichetti, from Zomp shoes

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Some thoughts on “indispensables”

09/07/2011 10:39 am \ 14 Comments \

I do really have to get onto the white/ivory top issue, and make some more.  This little ivory merino Tshirt that I am wearing (an old faithful from about four years back) has sprung a few holes.  Thus the necessity for a cardigan over the top…  Very very sad.  But looking on the bright side, an opportunity for me to introduce something new…?
Hmmm, see here’s the dilemma, when you have something in your wardrobe which is nigh on indispensable, which you reach for over and over and over and wear to death because it goes with everything; when it has reached the end of its life, should one try to replace it with something exactly the same, or should one try to move on and seek out new silhouettes and colours, a new sartorial direction for one’s wardrobe?  
I’m torn.  
Another little thing that is really almost dead is my little olive green corduroy skirt, which I keep wearing, but really really shouldn’t.  It too is now looking pretty awful. ( When I do dare to wear something that is looking a little shabby and horrible, I can’t help but the words of my Granny pop into my head; what if I was to have an accident?  What would the doctors and nurses at the hospital think when they see my hole-y top, or pilled and baggy cardi, or mis-shapen and bald corduroy skirt?  Tut tut…!)
But, I digress; what do you do about those indispensables in your wardrobe? when a really truly favourite basic has had it, do you try to replace it with a clone, or do you see the opportunity to go for new looks?

Details:
Top; Ezibuy
Cardigan; MNG, found secondhand (and covering up some rather un-strategic holes)
Jeans; Burda 7863 with minor modification, grape stretch denim, details here
Scarf; my own design, Patons ivory pure wool, details here
Shoes; Francesco Morichetti, from Zomp shoes

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Army style jacket, with detachable (faux) fur-lined hood

07/07/2011 11:22 am \ 32 Comments \

I mentioned some time ago my new army/military style jacket; finished way back in March, well, here it is!
When we were in Tokyo I saw all ages and both sexes, everywhere, sporting big khaki army type jackets.  All with military details, lots of pockets, cinched in waist belts and sometimes with fur-lined hoods, and I just fell in love with them and decided I just had to have my own.  They just looked so big and comfy and cosy looking, and the girls (and boys) wearing them looked so warm not to mention so so so too-cooool-for-school; casually and bulkily stylish…  I’m sure a lot of the ones I saw were real army jackets, possibly from army disposal stores or secondhand stores, but naturally with my DIY aesthetic I was always going to try to make my own… 😀
Of course what I wasn’t taking into account was that it doesn’t really get all that cold here and especially for the hoodie part of it!  I expect I will wear it without the hood for most of the time… but it was still fun to have a go at making a furry hood, and it just might come in handy for some mornings, and if we ever go down to the country.

Details:
Jacket; Burdastyle 05-2010-127 with my own modifications, khaki ripstop cotton and grey marle fleece lining
Skirt; Vogue 7303, olive green corduroy, to see this little skirt styled in 6 different ways go here
Top and tights; Metalicus
Socks, handknit by me, details here
Shoes; Francesco Morichetti, from Zomp shoes

Dressmaking details; if you want to know…
I used Burdastyle 05/2010, pattern 127 as a starting point, and as usual made a few modifications to get the army-style I envisioned, but as the bones of the jacket are essentially the same I think I can dare to write a review for this pattern??  I used ripstop cotton in khaki, a wonderful fabric both tough and hardwearing and so so so perfect for an army style jacket!  I have also made this and this from the exact same fabric, so I guess it is obvious I love it…!  I’d better not buy any more, hmmm?  The lining is a pale grey marle fleece, and the faux fur is… well, faux fur.  I think from memory, it was labelled silver fox.  All the materials are from Spotlight.
The modifications I made:
Lengthened the jacket by oooh, roughly 7cm? and also slightly enlarged (length-wise) and slightly lowered the lower front pockets.  I chose to enlarge these because I thought the original smaller ones would not have the right proportions on the lengthened jacket…
I drafted a completely different collar, a sorta slightly curved rectangle, because I wanted more of a wide standup collar than the little fold-down one in the pattern…

My sleeves are not vented or cuffed, and have a tab with snap closure, for more of a military-looking effect.
I did not incorporate buttons and buttonholes at the front as stipulated in the pattern, but instead inserted an open-ended zip, again inspired by the styling of army jackets I’ve seen around
My jacket is fully lined, with grey fleece (for warmth, and also to enhance that bulky look an army jacket is supposed to have)  as it turns out it is very warm!  I did not hem the lining, but enclosed the flat raw edges inside the sleeve and lower hems of the jacket.  The fleece was partly leftover from this project, I had to buy a bit more.

I added a tab at the lower edge, and another tab at the neck edge; both features I mentally noted from the army jackets I saw in Tokyo.  These both have snap closure.
The self-fabric belt is interfaced with the thickest, heaviest-duty iron-on interfacing I could find, and the buckle and eyelets were from Spotlight, like everything else.

I made a detachable, (faux) fur-edged hood.  For this, I used a modified version of the hood from KwikSew 3667, with the lower edge cut flatter and a bit narrower to fit in with the neckline of my jacket.  It is also lined with fleece, and has buttonholes sewn in the bottom edge, which correspond with the buttons that I sewed inside the collar edge.  I realise the fur-edged hood is probably kinda silly in this climate, but I think it looks kinda cool, and it just may come in useful one day?

My review of this pattern, if you’re interested…

Pattern Description:
Unstructured long-sleeved jacket; with two piece sleeves with vents and buttoned cuffs, front buttons and buttonband, epaulettes, four flapped patch pockets at the front, belt loops at waist level for the self-fabric belt and a short, buttoned collar.
Pattern Sizing:
36-44.  I made a 38
Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you had finished sewing it?
In essence, yes.  I made a few modifications.
Were the instructions easy to follow?
Yes.  I did some steps differently and in a different order, to accommodate my modifications…
What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern?
I like everything about this pattern!  The basic bones of the pattern are great; being unstructured it is therefore very easy to fit, to put together and also easy to incorporate your own alterations.  The fun is in adding your own details.
Fabric Used:
Ripstop cotton, and fully lined with cotton/polyester fleece.  A strip of faux fur (silver fox) to edge the hood
Pattern alterations or any design changes you made:
Lengthened the jacket by about 7cm? and also slightly enlarged (length-wise) and slightly lowered the lower front pockets.  I chose to enlarge these not because I thought they were too small but because I thought the originals would not have the right proportions once I had lengthened the jacket…
Drafted a different, slightly curved rectangular collar, because I wanted a higher standup collar than the little fold down one in the pattern
Inserted tabs with snap closure in the top and bottom of the front edges
Instead of the front buttonband and buttons, extended the front opening edges slightly so I could insert an open-ended zip
Fully lined the jacket in a polyester cotton fleece
Added a hood, also fully lined with fleece, and edged in faux fur.  This has 4 buttonholes on the lower edge, and attaches to 4 buttons sewn around the neckline, inside of the collar
Left off the sleeve vent and cuffs, instead inserted tabs with snap closure inside the lower end of the sleeve seam, sewed the sleeves closed to the end and hemmed over the raw edges of the lining.  The lower hem of the jacket also encloses the raw edge of the jacket lining inside
Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others?
I would definitely recommend this to others!  I might sew it again, if I need another jacket like this.
Conclusion:
This pattern was one of the first to catch my eye in this magazine, and I always had a mind to make it.  After visiting Tokyo, and being totally inspired by the cool cool army/military style jackets I saw worn over there, I realised this was the perfect pattern I could adapt quite easily to get that style of jacket.  And I’m totally happy with how it turned out; even if the hood is not super appropriate for our climate I still love it, and am very pleased with the smart styling and warmth of the jacket even sans hood.  The waist belt is a nice finishing touch, although I am very glad I lengthened the jacket as I think the belt would have looked a bit funny on the shorter length.

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Flares in Black

05/07/2011 7:21 am \ 44 Comments \

I have made myself a new pair of jeans!
They are of black, stretchy corduroy with black cotton for the pocket lining and the waistband lining, and are very near perfect; if I say so myself 😉  It seems my lifetime is spent on the quest for the perfect pair of jeans, the design details of which change with passing fashions and fads that temporarily sway my choices.  My current passion is for flares, and I think I have managed to nail them here.  I’m super happy with my plum flares, both in terms of fit and comfort… and only had the teensiest tiniest twinge of regret that I didn’t flare the ankles out just that tad further, to make a really truly flared pair of jeans.  Not enough regret for me to be in any way disappointed with those jeans, but just a little factoid I stored away for a future pair … like a note to self; flare out just that leeetle bit more next time.  So I did, and here they are!
This time, I graduated the lower leg section; from a fitted-to-the-pattern knee and then out to the ankle by about 6-7cm on each side seam overall.  I did my usual centre back pinch-in for a sway back adjustment (illustrated here).  The only other alteration to the pattern was to add a zip placket; an absolute essential feature in any pair of jeans which is inexplicably absent from this pattern.
With great difficulty!, I took a picture of my own behind to show the pocket details… which is the same but mirror image on each pocket, natch.    This time I went with two varying width zigzag lines crossing each other, and two concentric part-circles.  The outer of these was drawn using a jar-lid, the inner is just carefully sewn in a sewing-foot width away.  Easy peasy. 
And it seems fitting that I should welcome a newbie pair of jeans into the fold, just as I am bidding adieu to two old pairs *; welcome, new flares in black, and may you prove as useful and wonderful as my old pair of black straight-legs.

Details:
Jeans; Burda 7863 with minor modifications, black stretch corduroy
Top; Ezibuy
Cardigan; Country Road
Gloves; from David Jones **
Black scarf; handknit by me, details here
Khaki scarf;  made by me from an old Tshirt, details here
Shoes; Francesco Morichetti, from Zomp shoes

* I have said goodbye to these (I agonised at unnecessary length about the deterioration of these last month…and have finally, sadly, laid them in the Salvoes basket…) and these straight-legs, in which the zip has gone.

**The gloves… It was flipping freezing this morning; 3C!  Although we had hit our high of 16C when I took these photos I left my gloves on because I thought they added a certain something to my outfit, a sorta chic that was lacking without them…  And I was pretty stunned to see a guy in shorts and a singlet sunning himself on the beach during our walk today!  Decided he must have been a British tourist…  ðŸ˜‰  
It’s OK, I’m allowed to joke about the British since I have British blood in me too!   🙂

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