Tag Archives: Owop

blue roses *

v1247
* … Tennessee Williams…

Hello! I’ve made a new skirt. Hehe, hot on the heels of writing that I was a wee smidgeon tired of making Vogue 1247 skirts; what should I do? but immediately vogue1247make another one!!  Doh!!  Clearly there’s something terribly wrong with me… #madvogue1247addict

But wait, there is a perfectly good reason…. I’m doing One Week One Pattern again, and of course chose to use this pattern, well I’ve got so many of them!! lotsa skirts and I was kinda hoping that we would get at least ONE day warmish enough for me to wear the one top I have from it… but it’s been so freaking cold; officially the coldest and wettest winter and early spring we’ve have in like thirty years or something like that!  I’m getting to the end of the week, no motivation whatsoever to wear that thin little summery top, and only have 6 pocketed V1247 skirts.  Which are what I consider to be the only true V1247’s, all my ones without the pockets are kinda pretenders to that crown, and even though I love them all too I ruthlessly omitted them all from the line-up.  So what can a girl do? but get cracking and make for herself another true V1247, obviously, so I have a nice 7 to round the week off.  Yeah, I know; a normal person would have worn one of her existing ones, twice; but see I already had the fabric earmarked for the pattern anyway; and just decided go for it; whip it up, make it happen.

side

Fabric; pale teal denim, just very slightly stretchy, with a reverse print of smudgy roses.  This was a remnant given to me by my friend LW, who was cleaning out her stash.  Something funny/miraculous; the remnant was kinda oddly and awkwardly shaped, yet it was absolutely perfect for the pattern pieces! like it was cut just perfectly to fit them all on with the smallest of scraps leftover.  I freakingLOVE when this happens! it’s like the planets aligned for a pattern/fabric match made in heaven  🙂  Even if I was feeling a bit meh about V1247 to start with, when I laid out the pattern pieces and saw how perfect it was it totally galvanised me into excited pattern-love all over again.  I managed to cut my skirt about 10cm longer than the pattern, and I cut the pocket linings and waistband facing from a small piece of nani Iro quilting cotton, from the little bundle of pieces that Mum gave to me for my birthday, for my rag-doll Sally.  I used it for her tote bag.

waistband-facing

obligatory “waitress” pocket pic

pocketsaaaaaand, my week of exclusively wearing Vogue 1247 skirts, in a nutshell…!

owop16v1247

Back very soon, with something that is NOT Vogue 1247… I promise!!

Details:

Skirt; Vogue 1247, lengthened by about 10cm, teal denim
Top; Nettie, by closet case patterns with my own collar variation, ivory knit; details here
Cardigan; knitted by me, Audrey in Unst, wool bought in Paris as a souvenir, details here
Tights, my own pattern, black stretch, details here and my tutorial for making your own custom fit tights pattern is here
Socks (not seen); hand knit by me, details here
Boots; made by me, details here

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one week one pattern

Hello!  I’ve been taking part in One Week One Pattern again.  Where we wear a representative of one pattern, for every day of a week.  I am completely unable to resist a clothing challenge and particularly one tied up with sewing, so I signed up immediately  🙂
Before it started I did a quick recce of my clothes and checked the weather forecast.  I have several contenders for the pattern I could have used but given the winter-y type of week we were expecting I went for the warmest option!  my jeans collection, made using Burda 7863.  At the time of signing up I had six left; two others have been chucked out.  So quick sticks I made another, the last pale coffee pair, so I could get through the week without doubling up.  Not that I’m, um like, weirdly obsessive about things like that or anything  😉

So, some thoughts;
1. black stretch corduroy: 
probably one of my least favourites, which is kinda ironic given that black jeans are supposed to be such a fabulous wardrobe staple.  I don’t know why I’m so ambivalent about these jeans.  They are useful, but I pretty much only wear them when I’m travelling or if I’m in a rare mood for black.
2. burnt orange stretch corduroy
old, very comfy and long term favourites, but if I’m brutally honest these look pretty awful now.  For at home, doing chores, only.  I’ve come thisclose to making them into a skirt.  This might still happen at some point.
3. burnt brown stretch bengaline;  
my cool new ones and the current favourites.  I’m very much in love with everything about them – the colour! love it so much!!!! – and am really excited about their possibilities with my other autumnally coloured stuff.
4. white stretch denim flares; 
still sort of nice, even though they’re not really very fashionable I still like wearing them a lot.  I sorta go in and out of love with them.  It’s nice to have some flares to mix things up a bit too.
5. olive/grey stretch gabardine; 
My oldest pair, that have even outlasted my two other Burda 7863’s.  I’ve gone through short periods of hating these too, but I always hang onto them because I absolutely know I’ll come around to loving them again.  Actually I would be a bit devastated if they died.  The fabric is really the nicest, classiest, and probably the best quality out of all my jeans, ever.
6. cafe au lait stretch bengaline; 
my newest ones, made up quick so I could have seven representatives for the challenge and not really loved yet.  I’m a bit uninspired by them right now but I’m sure they’ll come into their own soon enough.  Maybe when worn with my lighter ivories and whites.  I do like outfits that are a mix of pale neutrals.
To be honest… I’m struggling to like them.  Something terrible happened.  I liked them at first, and then all of a sudden the words “beige slacks” popped into my head.  And the rose-tinted glasses fell away from my eyes and an awful new reality was revealed.  In my group of friends we have a bit of a joke about “beige slacks”.  As in, isn’t it the most un-stylish thing you can imagine.  Not necessarily the things themselves, sometimes you see pants of this colour looking just gorgeous although, granted, not always.  It’s mostly just the words, “beige slacks” that kill the dream, all your hopeful ideas that you might be looking nice today.  I’m trying to tell myself that my jeans are nice, that they are cafe au lait bootlegs, which sounds kinda smart but I might be kidding myself.  I think they might be beige slacks.  Oh, the horror.
7. pale grey non-stretch corduroy;
made into a skirt; and yes these might not look like jeans but they do fit in with the group! originally this skirt was a pair of jeans made using Burda 7863.  The knees got all stretched out and saggy, but the upper bit was fine and the colour is so great so I re-made them into this skirt as described here.  I still love this strange little jeans/skirt, and think I’m within the rules to count them in my Burda 7863 line-up, yes?!
My OWOP14 Flickr set with links to the individual pieces worn each day can be viewed here…

So, obviously I love this pattern so I won’t go on about it.  Jeans are comfy and practical and warm, so yay.  But after a whole week of wearing jeans I am really looking forward to getting back to my skirts and dresses.  I was so pleased I could wear a skirt on the last day, today!

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Bitumen hued shorts, with French fly

Ta da!
New shorts!
The funny thing about these is that during one of my regular stash sort-throughs, I had picked up this bit of fabric, shaken it out, sized it up, done one of those quick mental assessments (I’m sure you’re familiar with that) and designated it as a new pair of Burda 7723 shorts.  That was months ago.  Then distraction had set in  (I’m sure you’re all familiar with that too) and I had all but forgotten about it.
It was only until this week, doing the one-week-one-pattern challenge, and I was starting to wonder which Burda 7723 thing I would wear today, which would be the privileged “double-up”, so to speak, thus marking it as my favourite, when that potential pair of shorts suddenly popped into my head again.  Of course!  Now was the time…. I made these over the past few days, just in time to be included in the week of Burda 7723’s.
The fabric is very lovely, a very soft linen/cotton mix that crinkles up beautifully from Fabulous Fabrics, with a woven-in pinstripe of motley charcoal and ivory giving the fabric a gentle overall hue of variegated warm grey.  The pieces are the leftovers from this dress (which was transformed into a mini later and given to Cassie, giving me some more fabric to play with) and we had bought even more of this fabric later for Cassie to make herself a pair of trousers, so there were some leftovers from that project too.  Just enough for me to squeeze out the pieces for this fantastic pattern.
These shorts are pretty much made straight up to the pattern, except that they have back patch pockets and are flared just slightly.  Also I incorporated a French fly, after reading and giving some thought to the Waves series on the superior finishes often evident in menswear and lacking in womenswear.  Thinking about it made me decide to have a go at working out how to put in a French fly.
I checked out some of Craig’s really good suit trousers to get the general idea, and adapted the bare bones of the French fly principle to fit into my own pattern.  I did take some pictures during the process so I can do a tutorial if anyone is interested…?
The French fly performs the same duty as a waist stay.  Actually, it is the very same principle…  I know you cannot see any difference on the outside of the shorts, but I do feel like everything feels beautifully firm and pulled in.  What is more, the front of the shorts does sit a lot better with the French fly in place.  I’ve always thought the area right above the zip pull (meaning that bit you grab to pull the zip down) is the weak point on a pair of trousers/shorts.  The little bump of that zip pull, and the small empty space above it and just below the waistband, combined with the fact it is sitting right at the junction of zip/waistband where all the wearing strain is, often causes the shorts to bulge or gape a teensy bit at this point.   Having the French fly has pulled the shorts in nice and firmly right underneath that zip pull, taking the strain off at that spot and allowing the flap of the fly to sit down flat in a more relaxed way.

Details:
Shorts; Burda 7723, grey linen/cotton mix
Top; my own design, embroidered and cut-out ivory linen
Camisole (underneath); Country Road
Shorts; Bronx from Zomp shoes

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Just a splash of Colour…

So on what is yet another sunny sunny day (yeah, we do get lots of them here) I would normally head straight for the shadows away from that notoriously harsh Australian light that drains all colour and detail from my clothes and everything, but I knew these cheerfully intense colours were strong enough to stand up to the full force of the early morning sunlight.
I have been asked many times before if I touch up my photos or alter them, and I admit that in a photo like this I certainly do look as if I’ve stepped straight into cartoonland, but let me assure you right now that this is not an altered photo in any way.  Apart from my usual cropping, that is.  I like my photos to be square.  Yeah yeah.  Square, just like me….  🙂
The second to last day of the one-week-one-pattern challenge, and I have worn all of my garments from the pattern Burda 7723… or have I??  
Hehe, stay tuned…. I might just have a surprise up my (voluminous orange) sleeve….

Details:
Top; Vogue 1247, orange shot cotton, details and my review of this pattern here
Shorts; Burda 7723, hot pink linen, details here
Sandals; Misano from MarieClaire shoes

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Cordelicious

O, hai, peops!
(drum roll) another pair of Burda 7723 shorts.
This is ma “greige” corduroy pair, that gets more appreciation as the cooler autumn weather rolls around.  The pattern modified in that they are longer, and substantially flared.
Colours, or lack thereof; well, but monotonality pleases me.  I like beige (what can I say, 80’s girl and all that) and I like that when one removes the obviousness of colour from the equation, then the textures and the flavour of the fabrics are allowed to shine.
The soft velvety furriness of the corduroy shorts, against the matte translucency of my net cardigan, and the crisp and simple cleanliness of the white cotton top with its self scarf.  The subtlety of these textures and the individuality of the fabrics can really be appreciated in an outfit of just one shade of soft pale neutrals.
So.
This week is feeling remarkably like a me-made exercise, is it not?  Except that it is much much shorter  🙂 and much much more restrictive  🙁
And I am finding it a very interesting experiment, just the same  :))

Details:
Top; Top “a” from Unique Clothes Any Way You Like, by Natsuno Hiraiwa, white cotton, details here
Shorts; Burda 7723 modified, grey/beige corduroy, details here
Cardigan; my own design, coffee and white net, tutorial to make a similar one here
Sandals; Misano, from MarieClaire shoes
Nail varnish; BYS Fool’s Paradise

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Limoncello

Today I’m wearing (Surprise!)  shorts!  😀
But great colour, yes?  In a fresh and cool shade of acidic citrus yellow, like a shot glass of limoncello, that wickedly delicious stuff that is to my mind another synonym for “summer evening”.
So, OK.  Playing one-week-one-pattern is fun, but I am feeling like there are no surprises here.  Nothing new, only a small pool of Burda 7723’s from which to choose.  So I apologise for the repetition and lack of suspense happening here, and can only offer a (hopefully) quite nice outfit in a photograph of a (hopefully) pleasing perspective, colour and composition.   I have no idea whether or not that I am successful in this.
But I can only try.
Would you like to know the definition of a reeeeally funfun day?  Doing two hours worth of mind-numbingly dull accounting, only to suddenly wake up and realise you have been entering the year 2011 into Every.  Single.  One.
Hola!  (time to check out the actual limoncello situation, I reckon…)
In the meantime; the funny below gave me a big chuckle, so please enjoy…
Later peops!

Details:
Top; my own design, made from an old pair of chartreuse linen trousers, details here
Shorts; Burda 7723 with modifications, lemon yellow embroidered cotton, details here
Tassel and chain necklace; made by me, details here
Sandals; anna, from MarieClaire shoes
Nail varnish; BYS Fool’s Paradise

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Peachy keen

I knew I should attempt to work this jacket into at least one day of the one-week-one-pattern challenge.  And today is the coolest day forecast for this week (27C) so I decided that today just had to be that day.  But confession time; I was a bit on the toasty side in this thing…  
But that one teensy gripe aside; my satisfaction with today’s ensemble is pretty darn high.  Today I am feeling like the selection of Burda 7723 for my one pattern was real inspired; since on a day when I arbitrarily just fancied going a bit more dressy/pretty I could do so without breaking my own rules.  A big Yay! for sportswear patterns!  
Actually I do not wear this jacket enough, and I was glad of the excuse to pull it out again.  It is quaite naice, is it not? and I love its pretty peachy pinky colours.  Not to mention that it actually turned out to be a nicely-made jacket, if I say so myself; that I wouldn’t even break into a sweat over another seamster having a close-up squizz at… 🙂  It went together easily, with all the seams meeting up just where they should.  And the sleeve caps are set in perfectly; my own personal barometer for judging how well a jacket or a shirt turned out.  The innards look as neat as the outer, and it all fits me very comfortably.  
This should all add up to the perfect little jacket; but for some reason I just do not wear it very much.  Maybe because the long-sleeved, cropped and fitted style feels just a tad “classic”.  Office-y.  Am I the office-y sort…?  er no.
But push up those sleeves, problemmo solved!  Not only am I cooler temperature-wise, but Ah’m coooooler too.
You can tell I’m an 80’s girl  😉

Details:
Dress; Burda 8071, of ivory broderie anglais cheesecloth, see this dress style in 6 different ways here
Petticoat worn underneath (not seen); also Burda 8071, of champagne satin, details here
Jacket; Burda 7723, raw silk, details here
Shoes; Bronx, from Zomp shoes

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White as white…

I’m pretty good with laundry.  These shorts are a testament to that, since I made them over two years ago, the first pair of shorts using this week’s pattern Burda 7723; and despite being subjected to rock-climbing, hiking, camping (just so you know, the rural dust here is icing-sugar fine and red) and generally plenty of gettin’ down n’ dirty with whatever mother nature has to offer they are still as brilliantly white-as-white-can-be as the day I sewed that last stitch and snipped that last trailing thread…
(ahem)
Well.  They’re not toooo horrifically off-white anyway….  😀
so I hope you enjoy reading this care label.  It certainly gave me a laugh!

Details:
Top; top “b” from Unique Clothes Any Way You Like, white cotton, details here
Shorts; Burda 7723, white linen, details here
Shoes; ??  given to me by Mum, cast-offs from one of her friends
Ultramarine Scarf; new!…  made by me, from the leftover pieces of jersey knit from this top, and using this method

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