shoes Archives - Page 6 of 7 - Handmade by Carolyn

the spoils from Scandinavia…

26/06/2014 5:47 am \ 26 Comments \ Carolyn

I totally should have posted this before, sorry!… some fellow fabric enthusiasts expressed interest in seeing my Scandinavian purchases; the spoils sought and acquired, packed and repacked, schlepped through cities, one cobble-stoned street after another; and once safely home to be borne triumphantly aloft with pomp and circumstance and deposited with due ceremony unto the bottomless black pit that is The Fabric Stash. Haha, only joking, hopefully I will get around to making some things up without too much delay! I have already muslined up a highly possible “maybe” for the caramel leather.
Anyhoo, without further ado here are the goods:
leather from Copenhagen…
two pieces of the caramel and one small piece of the yellow

from Stockholm;
an enormously expensive upholstery fabric which may prove too scary to actually cut into… eeeek! and below; a linen mix that is a modern Swedish design. I fell in love with this straight away and bought the rest of the roll, which wasn’t very much! I’m really hoping I can get out of it the summer frock that I have firmly in mind.

from Norway;
it might not look traditionally Norwegian but somehow this fresh navy and white gingham print does seem both nautical and Norwegian to me. I’m thinking of a little summer-weight, boxy, zip-up hoodie of some kind.

from Iceland:
fish leather, from left green wolffish (catfish), black cod, salmon.. well, salmon! and aqua blue perch leather.

and a knitting book;

Also in Iceland; on our last day I just couldn’t resist a visit to the brick and mortar store whose online site is one of my favourite to visit and merely drool over the eye candy within, KronKron. Long ago I succumbed to an online purchase from these cooler than cool Icelandic shoe designers. Well, I would have hated myself forever if I had left Iceland without popping into the real deal.

Take a look at these details. Obviously I was helpless to resist, of course.

Posted in: Uncategorized \ Tagged: fabric shopping, shoes

Snowy-white Nougat

27/09/2013 11:35 am \ 42 Comments \ Carolyn

The clever AnaJan of Stepalica is designing patterns now! and I was honoured when she very kindly sent to me her debut design, the Nougat dress to try out. Thank you so much Ana!
The Nougat is a classic, waisted, sleeveless A-line dress with a pretty swirly-skirted silhouette and closure by invisible zip in the left side seam. Where the pattern is extremely clever however, is that it includes three variations of various degrees of difficulty, meaning there is a something for all skill levels. If you want a challenge then version A with its multiple curved seams will give you a good one; if you want a pretty, A-line dress then version C delivers this too. I went for the trickiest version A for my first go, but the one pattern includes all pattern pieces and instructions for the two progressively more simplified versions B and C, and there are comprehensive instructions to walk you through constructing the more fiddly bits of the more advanced version A. I was a bit late for the Nougat sewalong, but I consulted Ana’s posts when I did get around to making my own version, and I found all her sewalong instructions to be detailed, thorough and very helpful.

Ana suggested for the bodice and skirt yoke pieces to be cut from different colours of fabric, to enhance and showcase the swirl effect of the piecing. The seaming can be seen far better on Ana’s very impressive blue version of the dress here with absolutely perfect seam joining! However, I really just wanted a lovely fresh plain white dress to ring in summer, so used a small portion of an embarrassingly ginormous quantity of white fabric that I have stuffed in bags in the cupboard under the stairs (mwahaha) This fabric originally spent a few years as pictured below. Until I decided that big white swags of fabric decoratively framing a bedhead were a haven for spiders as well as pretty passe. I took it down many years ago, but obviously I kept all that wonderful fabric! It is actually very nice fabric; a mixture of synthetic organza and chiffon which means of course that the dress can be just tossed in the washing machine, will drip dry, and will never ever need ironing. Yeesssss!

before…

The bodice and skirt yokes are made of double layered organza, with the inner/lining layer a plainer version of the pattern, relatively un-pieced apart from a few basic shaping seams and darts. Because all my fabrics are pretty fray-tastic plus see-through, I put quite lot of thought into how I could stabilise all those raw edges. There are so many of them in this multi-pieced design! I didn’t want to overlock because the stitching would show through and be super obvious on the outside of the dress. So for the organza bodice and skirt yokes I sewed the seams, pressed open, trimmed the seam allowances quite narrow with my cutting wheel, and then double top-stitched each side of each seamline. I posted a close-up picture of the seam detail on photo maisonette last week.
The skirt is actually three separate identical chiffon skirts, layered. One is attached to the shell of the dress, the other two sandwich the lower edge of the lining. Each side seam is sewn in French seams, and I finished the lower edges of each skirt using the rolled hem stitch on my overlocker. I do really love the romantic ripply look of the layered skirts. The design is a very lovely shape. Very twirl-tastic, yes? I did a twirl photo, just because. Hehe, one of my pictures revealed that I am a fairly grim-faced twirler. I am so impressed by people that can twirl and have a happy, carefree facial expression at the same time. Me, I need to concentrate on not falling over!

I am wearing my new ivory summer sandals too. Aren’t they lovely? Obviously ivory is one of my favourite colours anyway, no matter what the season, and I really like the woven wedge heel too. These will be appearing in lots more summer piccies to come!
Making my dress was not all plain sailing. There are boo-boos. I didn’t notice at first that the two halves of the back bodice were different to each other and so mistakenly constructed it as a mirror image of one side; therefore three of my seam lines on the right side of the dress do not join up. One on the shoulder, one on the bodice and one on the skirt/bodice seam. Rats. But since I did use just one colour you can’t really tell without super up-close inspection, hehe. My other seams all mostly join up 😉

Details:

Dress; the Nougat dress by Stepalica patterns, white organza and chiffon

Sandals; c/o Misano shoes

it’s hard to know what to do with your arms when taking side view piccies…

Pattern
Description:

The Nougat is a classic, waisted, sleeveless A-line dress with a pretty swirly-skirted silhouette and closure by invisible zip in the left side seam. The pattern includes three variations of various degrees of difficulty, the most advanced option has a complex swirled twisted diamond motif in the front bodice, with sunburst seamlines radiating out and then back in again to join together at the left hip.

Pattern
Sizing:

European size
32-44. I cut a size 34 in the bodice, grading out from the waist to a size 38 at the hip level. Because of these personal sizing changes I also cut the skirt pieces to be a bit more flared going down to the hemline than the pattern to give a better look proportionally.

Did
it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you had finished
sewing it?

Yes.

Were
the instructions easy to follow?

The instructions are very clear and well written, and very helpful. I definitely needed them for that complex diamond motif! but I did use some of my own preferred sewing construction techniques for some of the basics.

What
did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern?

The silhouette is not one I would normally go for, and I quite thrilled with how much I like it. I really love the line of the skirt.

I really enjoyed the challenge of sewing the diamond motif and in spite of a few boo-boos I am pleased with how it all came together.

Fabric
Used:

Synthetic organza for the bodice and skirt yoke and chiffon for the skirt

Pattern
alterations or any design changes you made:

I stuck pretty closely with the original design, and just cut the skirt a bit more flared for my version. I sewed double rows of topstitching flanking each seamline on the bodice and skirt yokes, both to visually define them better and to anchor and stabilise the seam allowances and guard against fraying.
Would
you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others?
I think I only need one of version A in my wardrobe since it is quite a distinctive design, but I would definitely sew either of versions B or C again. I recommend version A to the advanced seamster looking for a challenge.
Conclusion:
I am very pleased with it! I really wanted a white dress for summer which is why I went for a solid colour version of the pattern, and now it reminds me of an old-fashioned tennis dress. There is something quaint and ladylike and yet still sporty about the silhouette that I really like. The seaming is really interesting, and I am in love with the swishiness of the skirt.

Posted in: Uncategorized \ Tagged: daily outfit, dress, pattern review, shoes, Sienna, Stepalica nougat, Wardrobe Refashion

Knots

11/03/2013 7:30 am \ 67 Comments \ Carolyn

I’ve made a dress, utilising the design on p52 of Pattern Magic, by Tomoko Nakamichi.
This appears to be a fairly plain dress on a casual glance. But it is not. It has a “feature”: a feature that like many Pattern Magic features, seems to the casual, non-sewing observer to be a superficially simple thing, like “so? what could possibly be difficult about that??” but in actuality, getting to the nitty gritty of it, is a fair dinkum epic saga to put together seamlessly and successfully. In this case, the feature is that the bodice explodes out into an incorporated posy of entwined knots that looks sorta like a statement neckpiece, or maybe a 3D sculptural bib. Prof Nakamichi describes it as “By bringing together several knots that resemble tiny bells I have created a unique garment that evokes the sounds of bells ringing”
This is achieved by the front being six pieces… four of these end in a long strip; which is later tied into knots which you weave together as artistically as you can. Counting from a shoulder; sections 1 and 6; and sections 3 and 8; are each one piece; comprising two sections joined by a bridge, so these joining bridges have to be knotted before you can sew the top sections to the rest of the front.

I made my dress using a light stone coloured, linen/silk mix, bought from Fabulous Fabrics about four years ago. Yes! a long time ago! This was another length of fabric previously Too Good To Actually Use.
Due to the nature of the design; some of the strips are cut on the bias and some on the half bias. To save fabric and add stability I cut all the facing strips on the grain. I faced and turned out each strip separately, and then later sewed on the bodice facings. When it came to facing that front neckline, I sewed each section at a time and checked each obsessively for a smooth finish before proceeding to the next one; shoulders first and finishing at the centre front.

front bodice facing

The back is four pieces; interestingly in a princess seamed arrangement. The dress closure is by invisible zip in the centre back seam, and the back neckline is a modest V-line. I added deep, inseam side pockets, and attached a self skinny belt in the side seams to tie at the back. This adds a bit of shape to it, and provides some visual interest at the back, which is otherwise rather plain. The ends of the belt are tied in little knots, a tiny design echo of those knots at the neckline at the front.

This is probably one of the top ten most difficult makes I’ve ever attempted. Vogue Advanced/Plus Difficile?? pfff, Pattern Magic farts in your general direction!*
However I am, in inverse proportion to the degree of difficulty involved; stupidly pleased with it. I think maybe I am a sewing room masochist, deriving a perverse enjoyment from the torture of difficult dressmaking challenges. What a weirdo, huh? But I’m thinking of something easy next.

* Monty Python of course!

Details:
Dress; adapted from the design on p53 of Pattern Magic 2 by Tomoko Nakamichi, light brown silk/linen
Shoes; new! for autumn!! c/o Misano

Posted in: Uncategorized \ Tagged: daily outfit, dress, Pattern Magic 2, shoes

Taupe is dope

28/01/2013 5:00 am \ 14 Comments \ Carolyn

Actually, I think the colour of my new ballet flats and scarf is more ecru than taupe, but the name printed on the side of the shoe box was “taupe”. So I’m running with it. Seeing as not much at all rhymes with ecru.
But whatevs … shoes! in one of my favourite colours. Or is that even a colour? 🙂 I’m thinking these are almost animal print. What I love is that what “looks” like a spotty print is actually little irregularly shaped perforations in the leather, providing natural ventilation for hot sweaty feet. That’s a real plus on hot sticky days like we are getting. Win!

Technically speaking, the new “scarf” is just a wide strip of soft, silk/linen jersey knit bought at the Morrison remnant sale. I originally thought to make lingerie with it, but now I’ve decided that I could well use a soft little summer scarf in this non-colour. Well the colour is perfection incarnate, no? It exactly matches the ballet flats. So, it has migrated from the stash and into the wardrobe, and is getting worn. Yes! Wearable stash! I don’t think this counts as stashbusting, but… 😉 I might still use it for lingerie. Mebbe, mebbe not. I’m still thinking about that, but in the meantime it’s doing fab as a scarf.

I do love a light airy scarf; so fantastic for protecting the decolletage from the notoriously harsh Australian sun. If I’m driving I often rearrange it over my right arm, and it’s amazing how effective it is at keeping one cool, just keeping that direct sunlight off.

The latest addition to the Navel-Gazing Fashion Blogger’s Society photo collection.

Details:

Top; Vogue 1247, details here, made of cotton dyed by me, my review of this pattern here, and see this top styled in 6 different ways here

Skirt; Vogue 1247, made of stretch denim then dyed, details and my review of this pattern here, and see this skirt styled in 6 different ways here

Scarf; remnant

Shoes; c/o Misano

(if you’re new, I’ve pledged to wear only clothes handmade by me this year and to sketch my daily outfits in my Fashionary. I’m calling this the paper doll project)

Some more navel-gazing; this time about the outfit fourth along… (seen first here) this was one of my earlier refashions from Wardrobe Re-fashion days. This is one that I sometimes forget to wear, because it is “old”, isn’t conventionally pretty and is even a little strange… and sometimes I have to wear a thing for a day to decide whether I still love it or not. But whenever I do wear this skirt and top ensemble I’m reminded how much I do love slightly weird clothes. I think I want to get back to making interesting things again.
Anyhoo, I decided again that the men’s shirt ensemble is definitely a keeper. The same cannot be said for something from the previous week, which I am taking the scissors too… pretty soon 😉

Posted in: Uncategorized \ Tagged: daily outfit, paper-doll project, scarf, shoes

LBS

17/12/2012 11:00 pm \ 28 Comments \ Carolyn

The amount of Christmas “creating” going on around here has been insane lately! I have been sewing like an absolute madwoman… !
but this Little Black Skirt is not a part of that. This is a sorta urgent extra! aiyiyi…
My daughter has completed her undergraduate degree and successfully secured her first “real” job. She will be returning to uni next year to do her Masters, but will probably continue to work concurrently in the firm she has just joined…
So, just prior to her interview we attended to a detail of paramount importance: her wardrobe.
For the past few years she’s been a university student, with an appropriately fun and funky colourful casual wardrobe and lots of crazy shoes… hmmm. We assessed everything and came up with one or two smart and stylish little separates that she can wear in the office, but identified a few holes that I will have the pleasure of addressing over the next few weeks… the biggest of which is the ubiquitous LBS.
So I made one for her. It may not look very earth shattering, but I wanted this skirt to be a long-term goodie, a wardrobe builder; a simple, streamlined and smart basic, high quality enough to last for years and years; and also sturdy and practical enough to cope with being tossed in the washing machine.
I used Vogue 8363, and a very nice quality washable wool-mix suiting fabric from Fabulous Fabrics. The skirt is fully lined with black polyacetate lining fabric, also from Fabulous Fabrics, and I juggled the various views of the pattern to give the skirt a one piece darted front, to have those satisfyingly deep, slanted hip pockets, and to have a central back invisible zip opening. I shortened the skirt to hit at a very workable just-above-knee-length. This is both mine and Cassie’s favourite skirt length; suitable for both summer and winter wear.
An easier-to-see view of the pockets can be seen on another version of this pattern I made previously; here.

The hem is finished with a black bias-cut cotton strip.

I adjusted the lining pieces to incorporate an extra few inches of width at the widest part of the hips: since in my experience this is the first part of a pencil skirt to show strain, particularly in a skirt that one is seated in for long periods of time. The darts in the lining are not stitched, but simply folded in position and stitched along the top, for that little bit of extra wearing ease.

Below; the inside view of the lining, skirt back.

The skirt has one shaping dart at the front, two at the back; all the better for that slight sway back adjustment

I worked a bound buttonhole (seen above) for the single waist button.

She owned literally one pair of suitable shoes for the office, so we also bought a new pair of Misano ballet flats in beige and caramel, with black feature strips. These are exactly the same as my own ballet flats, just in a different colourway. These neutral shades are going to be the backbone of her new working wardrobe.
Cassie made her charcoal jersey jacket herself, and blogged about it on her own blog here.
I’m actually rather excited about helping to add to Cassie’s working girl apparel! what to make next, what to make next? but any new pieces may have to wait until the seasonal mayhem has subsided….. 😉

Details:
Skirt; Vogue 8363 modified, black wool-mix suiting; my review of this pattern here
Camisole; supre
Jacket; made by Cassie, and blogged here
Shoes; Misano, from Hobbs

Posted in: Uncategorized \ Tagged: Cassie, shoes, skirt, Vogue 8363

Cut me a little Black

06/10/2012 12:00 am \ 33 Comments \ Carolyn

In my recent, gloriously ruthless, spring clean-out of my wardrobe, I culled an evening gown, originally made using Burda 8046 and first posted here. I’ve worn it about seven times in total; none in the past three years; and have now decided it is too young for me. Cassie didn’t want it either… so rather than toss it the Salvo’s way where someone might snap it up only to butcher it for something else, I decided I wanted to have that wicked pleasure for myself… mwahaha 🙂
The fabric of the lower skirt section is an almost translucent, lightweight, black silk taffeta, and it has a combined lining/crinoline of soft black tulle. And please don’t worry about that beautiful heavily sequinned and beaded fabric on the bodice section, it will not be wasted and will be put to good use, I absolutely promise!

I was pretty pleased to get the skirt pieces of Vogue 1170 from the lower skirt section, and I also fashioned a new attached crinoline from the old one too. This has a lot of extra gathering in the very back region, creating a really frothy bit to help that flounce flounce. Hopefully in a feminine and attractive way 🙂

I even re-used the zip! hehe, of course it was too long but I left it long. It is no bother; sandwiched unobtrusively between the skirt and those tulle gathers it cannot be seen or felt!
I eliminated the centre front seam and cut the skirt front/back section as one big massive piece. I was able to do this by incorporating part of the ballgown side seams, and at the centre front and halfway around towards the back some of the original hem has also been left intact. Instead of cutting a hemline facing as stipulated in the pattern, I hand-stitched a narrow hem to mimic the remains of the original on my ballgown. My skirt is about 10cm longer than the pattern.

I also cut the centre back and side back pieces to incorporate my slight sway back alterations to the pattern, illustrated in my first version of this pattern here.
The waistband has a central vertical joining seam, and is about half the width, necessary adaptions due to the lack of fabric. I think I do actually prefer it this narrower width too!

OK (deep breath, confession time)…. er, I left off the pockets too.
:O
Hehe; normally I am such a rabid pocket-lover I wouldn’t dream of leaving off something so inherently marvellous, buuut… (here we go) I sorta had to mostly through lack of fabric, but also, while wearing my previous two versions of this skirt pattern (here and here) I have found that I pretty much never use the pockets. They are situated very high, and have a very narrow opening that is almost impossible to widen without disrupting the structural integrity of the skirt/waistband junction. Furthermore: they are actually kind of a nuisance. Since they are true “bags” that just hang there with nothing to tether them, they have a tendency to bunch up a bit when you’re putting the skirt on; and need to be manually smoothed down flat to avoid obvious bulges on one’s hips. When the skirt is lined like this one; that is even more annoying to sort out: since you have to either do it from inside the pockets themselves (see previous note about laughably small pocket openings) or lift up the skirt and pull them down straight from underneath. In short: I have to concede that this particular design is better off without them! Shock!
And please admire my rather fantabulous new shoes for summer too. They are from Misano, like my ballet flats. This warm rich shade of caramel leather is definitely my kind of shade, and will liven up and enrich all of my favoured neutrals. I like that practical wedge heel too, safer and a lot easier to get about in than a stiletto. I am really looking forward to wearing them and wearing them. These are going to be long term players in my shoe collection!

Details:
Skirt; Vogue 1170 with minor modifications, a refashion of an old ballgown; black silk taffeta with a black tulle crinoline, see my review of this pattern here
Shirt; my own design, of black polycotton, details here
Sandals; a gift from Misano

Posted in: Uncategorized \ Tagged: daily outfit, shoes, skirt, Vogue 1170, Wardrobe Refashion

First aid for thongs

05/10/2012 12:00 am \ 20 Comments \ Carolyn

My sister-in-law S gave me this fabulous quick and easy fix for thongs, to help eke out their oh-so-tragically-short life span for just a little bit longer… if you love wearing thongs as much as I do then this one is a real goodie.
The hole on my old pink pair had enlarged over time, enough for the thong-y bit to start popping out with frequent and very annoying regularity…. In my lifelong scientific observations and road-testing of the humble thong, I have observed that this is the traditional problem spot, the first piece of the apparatus to fail…

S suggested making use of another common and oft-unappreciated little household gadget, the bread-bag closure thing-y
clipping it on over the thong-y bit underneath (please excuse the highly technical terms in use here) and pull it in nice and firm

voila!
There is a tiny bit of a hump underfoot but they will be perfectly good for a spare pair…
and your thongs will live on to walk another beach 🙂

Posted in: Uncategorized \ Tagged: shoes, tip

Rotto; a travel wardrobe…

04/10/2012 12:00 am \ 23 Comments \ Carolyn

We have just returned from a really delightful island holiday… :)))

Time away:
5 days
Where to:
Rottnest Island
Season:
Mid spring. Cool nights, daytime highs from 20C right up to 30C
Expected activities:Veeeery casual island lifestyle; swimming, walking on the beach, cycling, bbq’s and some dinners at the pub.
Colour scheme: nearly all !Brights! and with the freshness of white and just a touch of black

What I packed: (click on each garment name to link to its original construction post)

(left to right; top to bottom)

white top with self-scarf

clementine top

ivory lace knitted cardigan

black skinny knitted scarf

white boxy top

strawberry pink jeans

scarlet hoodie

ultramarine corduroy skirt

hot pink linen shorts

sunflower bathers

green/ultramarine ballet flats, a gift from Misano

pink thongs, KMart

straw hat, Country Road

raincoat

Verdict:
This was a great assortment for a fun and relaxed family beachy holiday; I stepped out of my comfort zone with all those !brights! and was pretty pleased I had done so. All my ensembles felt cheerful and happy; and vibrant in the brilliant sunlight.
In retrospect, having two white shirts on such a short holiday, I felt like I was doubling up too much and had less choice. I love love love white shirts with the deepest passion imaginable; but I think an improvement would have been to substitute one with one of another colour, for a bit more variety.
The raincoat was useful for, oh let me think, about a minute? total? but I wore it as a “cardigan” for one day, so it didn’t go unloved. It’s best to pack it at this time of year, just in case…

on a happy note, I have discovered that this skirt design, Vogue 1170, is ideal for bicycling! it’s like it has been designed for just this very activity… If you click on the link in the list above to see the back view of the skirt you’ll see what I mean… that high curved back flounce sits perfectly on a bike seat with no straining of fabric, there is plenty of room for pedalling, and minimal creasing of the back. The front is quite flat and straight too, so it doesn’t flip up. Win!