Tag Archives: Sienna

Back to my usual haunts…

02/05/2011 5:20 am \ 9 Comments \

… and back with my usual walking companion   🙂
I think she’s missed our little outings.  She sure was happy to get out and about this morning, and was quite the scamper-puppy.
It seems to me, from casual convo’s with my friends, as well as reading opinions from out there in blogland, that autumn is possibly the most favourite season of the general population.  It certainly is mine.  This kind of weather is just so glorious one becomes stuffed full of feelings of goodwill and joy and love of life just by the simple act of going outside.
It was unsurprising to learn that we have just had the sunniest April on record (after a completely sunny March also), and that more of the same is on offer.  And a bit amazing, since we got rained on so heartily the last few days of our walk, well c’est la vie…  So ironic, no?
Not that I’m aiming to gloat about our lovely weather, well, not intentionally anyway, but take a squiz at our weekend’s 7-day forecast below…  I’ll have to make more excuses to get outside this week, which is going to take some doing given that the office needs opening up again, and sartorially I have a ball-dress to plan… eeek!

Details:
Shirt; adapted from Burda 7767, cotton chambray, details here
Skirt; Vogue 7303, orange hessian silk, details here
Belt; Country Road, had for yonks
Necklace; made by me from knotted rope, tutorial here
Shoes; Betts&Betts, had for yonks
(temperatures below in Celsius, natch!)

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Lacey, sort-of Duro dress; 6 different ways

15/04/2011 6:11 am \ 16 Comments \

Oooh, I do enjoy doing these more than is healthy.  Playing about in my wardrobe, I mean.
I made this dress, a modified version of Simplicity 3745 out of white dotted swiss voile and a crocheted lace for the border and bodice trim about two and a half years ago and have worn it tonnes of times since.  I’m sure I will wear this one to death.  I was inspired by a minor infatuation in the fashion world for the Duro dress. The funny thing is that initially I wasn’t one hundred percent happy with it.  The shape of the dress with its V-neck and gathered areas both in the bodice and in the skirt was new for me.  I felt the bodice made me look a little bit matronly in the bust.  This is kind of hilarious as I am really the complete opposite of matronly in the bust area, so yeah, the dress was a new experience.  But initial “is it really me?” thoughts notwithstanding, the dress has had plenty of outings.  So I guess it turned out to be “me” after all.  The presence of lace helped, probably.
White is sometimes seen as a difficult colour to mix and match, a prima donna colour much the same as black which can swamp and downplay any other colour.  But I had no troubles playing with this dress and creating six different seasonal looks.  In fact it was heaps of fun!

The light colour, airiness and laciness of the fabric says “summer” all by itself, so in the warmer months the dress is ready to go with a colourful scarf as its only adornment, below left.  To be honest, the lowness of that neckline does mean a scarf makes me feel a lot more comfortable in this dress…
If a fancier summer ensemble is required the all-white look is always elegant, with a little cardigan, heels and an elegant bag all that is needed to dress it up for a half glamorous soiree, below right.

For a casual day, a few drab neutrals downplay the rampant femininity of that frothy white lace at left, and on a cooler day the freshness of white gives a lift to a warm richly textured and coloured scarf, a denim jacket and some slouchy boots, to make a nice outfit for meeting some friends or the husband out somewhere, at right.

On colder winter days, the dress has enough of its own personality than it can stand being toughened up a bit with all-black accessories such as biker boots and a little black leather jacket and a long skinny scarf. Actually I have worn this exact outfit several times last winter but never took a photo for the blog.  And for a smarter day look, the lace border of the dress looks interesting when peeping out from under a winter coat.

Which look here is your favourite look?
(The look I am wearing today is the drab one, with my dog in the picture with me…)

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Autumnal shades, and a dilemma

13/04/2011 4:22 am \ 25 Comments \

Just been enjoying those lovely fresh autumnal days lately, feeling the sunlight warm but not harsh on the skin, breathing in that fresh crisp air.  When the days are just that little bit fresher like today I get to employ one of my favourite outfit styles; layering a few thin cardigans together to get a bit of a autumnal colour palette happening.  I just love these rich warm colours together, I think they are “me” colours, and I’m happy the weather is cool enough for me to wear this great dress again.

Details:
Dress; Burda 8511, with minor modifications and lined, purple raw silk (hessian silk?) seen first here
Apricot cardigan; Metalicus, found secondhand
Khaki cardigan; Country Road
Scarf; refashioned from an old Tshirt, seen first here, tutorial here
Shoes; Betts & Betts, had these for about twenty years

I went out and bought a few extra supplies for my Vogue 8333 jacket; the horsehair canvas and the silk organza for the underlining.  Something I have not got yet though is the lining and this is because I have hit a bit of a dilemma; when I looked at the silk linings I still couldn’t decide which side of this fabric is to be my right side…  When I first spotted this fabric in Japan I knew it was The One, and I initially was drawn to the wrong wide of the fabric, which is the darker side.  It is mostly a very dark charcoaly-brown, almost-but-not-quite black, and showing through is the multicoloured thread of the other side, coming up as dots of coffee, beige and bone.
However since I got home and have looked at it a few more times, the right side is starting to grow on me too, a rich mixture of all the warm shades of coffee, caramel and bone, and with a hint of metallic gold sparkly thread every now and again which probably doesn’t show very well in my picture below.  The golden sparkle was the initial turn-off to me for using this side out as I’m not sure if a sparkly coat, even a subtly sparkly coat is really “me”, but the warm cosy browns are kind of appealing to me a lot right now.  It would certainly be a more interesting jacket and more out of the ordinary.

Thoughts anyone?
In fact, I will admit that actually the sheer beauty of this fabric is crippling me somewhat… the prospect of stuffing up is causing a mild case of paralysis.  When you have cheap fabric and an easy project it’s very easy to slice straight into it and whip something up, and the confidence and lack of worry one has simply because of the cheapness of the fabric and the easiness of the pattern, often insures a good dressmaking result.  On the other hand when one is facing magnificent fabric and a difficult pattern, the looming menace of failure sits on one’s shoulder like the little old man of the sea….

Does anyone else ever get flummoxed by the crushing responsibility of not ruining a too-beautiful fabric?
(I will confess to fleeting thoughts of going and buying less gorgeous fabric for this project, just to avoid making a terrible mistake…. !!!  this has not been ruled out!)

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Roundabout

28/03/2011 5:43 am \ 12 Comments \

Me-Made March, Day 28
This morning my Monday morning gal pals and I were discussing Mad Men and the fashions within, and it was fortuitous that I happened to be wearing this dress and my friends noticed and admired it… fashion trends come around to these parts slowly and sometimes not at all, as I mentioned in this post previously.  I can never tell when I make something for myself inspired by an overseas trend whether or not it will “fit in” for around these parts.  I would have to say this particular trend for early sixties inspired, big-skirted, floral dresses such as this one has not taken hold here (at least, not yet), and I look pretty unusual when I wear it.  To say I stick out like a sore thumb wouldn’t be too far from the truth.  Sadly.  It’s such a feminine fashion, maybe too prettily feminine for the likes of our extremely isolated little city with our strongly beach-y outdoors-y lifestyle.  I feel I look a bit like an extra from Hairspray, or something…
However that is certainly not going to stop me from wearing it!  It’s super comfy to wear, the sort of dress that makes you feel like skipping and humming when you have it on, and I feel good in it.  Let’s face it, not many of my dresses inspire me to head over to the playground equipment in a playful mood…  And I think it has enough personality that it can stand a little styling fun.  I’m already looking forward to toughening it up in the winter with boots and a biker jacket, or even my new khaki army jacket…

Details:
Dress; Vogue 8555, with pleated bodice of my own design, printed cotton, details of the bodice drafting here  and my pattern review here
Thongs; Mountain Designs
Nail varnish; Santorini Sunset

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Sunday…

20/03/2011 6:38 am \ 14 Comments \

… and a walk in the park avec husband and doggie.
It’s funny; I made this blouse following one of those wardrobe advice articles in a fashion magazine, that every woman should have a crisp white blouse in their collection.  So I made one.  This one.  And even though I’m a self-confessed white-top-addict I hardly ever wear it…

Details:
Top; Burda 8497 with foldback sleeve cuffs added, white cotton, details here
Skirt; Vogue 7303, printed cotton
Hat; Country Road
Sunnies; RayBan
Thongs; Mountain Design
Nail varnish; Bright Light, BYS

Out of interest I googled the Collette Dinnigan current collection last night, yes, it was Collette Dinnigan showing at the fashion parade and lunch I referred to last Friday.  And was amazed to discover that there were perfectly lovely garments very well suited to the age of the assembled crowd, as well as in a financial position to even consider Collette Dinnigan…
This is a sample of some of the actual garments we were shown…

kinda… skimpy?  and below are just some of the slightly more sophisticated of the current collection we did not see.  Similar style, I agree but just that little bit longer and that little bit more covered up and a bit more of a grown-up air about them; looks that would have been far more likely to have ladies at the luncheon stampeding over to the boutique, credit cards at the ready…  except for me, naturally, who would have stampeded instead right over to the fabric store, or even the op shop looking for old wedding gowns to chop up.

Actually, I’m still a bit tempted to visit the op shop, hehe.
(inspiration photos from Collette Dinnigan Spring/Summer 2011 found here)

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Mad dogs and Englishmen*

15/03/2011 2:57 am \ 13 Comments \

That old line about mad dogs and Englishmen going out in the midday sun kept popping into my head as we were out here this morning.   Although technically speaking, it is before nine o’clock in the morning and nowhere near midday yet, but it’s already 28C **, and on such days we get out early so Sienna doesn’t burn her tootsies on the pavement.
But it’s true, I do indeed have English blood in me.
Additionally it’s good to see we have a sane dog…
This is the little dress I made out of one of Craig’s old polo Tshirts, and the scant remaining scraps from the striped business shirt I made for him.  It has proved itself a fantastic little knockabout dress for hot days, I’m so super happy with how it turned out.  It’s not glamorous, but so comfy, cool and practical, and was basically like a free dress.

Details:
Dress; my own design, based very loosely on Burda 8071, made from an old polo Tshirt and striped cotton, for the lowdown see the details here
Sandals; Sportscraft, from David Jones
Nail varnish; Bright Light, BYS
Sunnies; RayBan

*”Mad Dogs and Englishmen” a song by Noel Coward, 1931
**28C = 83F in the old measurements
Sienna thinking, oh boy, here we go again with the photos (doggie eye-roll), well, I’ll just wait over here in the shade while you get on with it…

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Chocolat

14/03/2011 6:24 am \ 12 Comments \

This is another dress made years ago, that periodically gets worn a lot, and periodically gets shoved into the back of the wardrobe because I’m tired of it, only to periodically rediscover it with cries of joy when those hot hot days roll around again, as they are.   Another little mini heat-wave is happening, so it’s back with the coolest of cool of my dresses.
This has always been called in my head the Bouchee dress.
Just to explain; you can get chocolates here called Bouchee, which are shaped like elephants, hehe…
Rather a silly name… but I like silliness in apparel sometimes.

Details:
Dress; based on McCalls 4454, a camisole pattern, elongated and with large triangular inserts in the skirt, handkerchief hem and two huge square patch pockets added, chocolate self-embroidered cotton
Necklace; made by me, tutorial here
Sandals; Anna, from MarieClaire shoes
Sunnies; RayBan
Nail varnish; Bright Light, BYS

 

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Burda 7723, a pattern review

13/03/2011 6:17 am \ 17 Comments \

These shorts aren’t new here on the blog, I made them over a year ago and have worn them a zillion times since, although not for Me-Made-March yet.  Since this version here was my first attempt at this now fairly well-worn pattern, and the only time I’ve made them up exactly to pattern I thought it was high time to review it… albeit belatedly.  The review I submitted to Pattern Review is below, if you’re interested.
Incidentally the shirt is another of my most-used patterns, Burda 7767 that I’ve made up possibly a dozen times now (?I think?), and also the first cab-off-the-rank from this pattern and the only version made up exactly to this pattern too!!  Hehe, it’s pretty rare for me to stick identically to a pattern the second or more times around… and not introduce little variations and/or improvements (that’s debatable…) for subsequent garments.  Not always fabulously successful alterations, I hasten to point out…  but that’s the beauty of being handy with a needle, if you’re not completely happy you can take steps.  Like I did yesterday…

Details:
Shirt; Burda 7767, pink linen with navy blue top-stitching and buttons, close-up details here, my review of this pattern here
Shorts; Burda 7723, white linen, close-up details here
Thongs; Mountain Design
Nail varnish; Glamourpuss, BYS

Pattern Description:
High-waisted shorts; with double pleated front, fly front, front slanted pockets.  There is included as well patterns for a pair of trousers, and two variations of a jacket.
Pattern Sizing:
European 34-44 (8-18)  I made up a straight size 10
Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you had finished sewing it?
yes
Were the instructions easy to follow?
very easy
What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern?
I love just about everything about this pattern!  The pattern is very well drafted and goes together easily and well.  The pockets are generous and deep, and the double pleated front allows enough fabric fullness for you to shove your hands down deep in those pockets with plenty of room.
Some very very minor issues; it doesn’t have a zip placket, but this is a super easy feature to add yourself.  Also the waistband is not shaped, so subsequent times I’ve made up this pattern I’ve sewn a diagonal joining seam in the centre back of the waistband to accommodate my sway-back.
Fabric Used:
linen
Pattern alterations or any design changes you made:

I added rear patch pockets.  Subsequent times I’ve made up this pattern, I’ve lengthened and flared the legs slightly,  added the aforementioned zip placket, and for one version re-drafted the front piece to eliminate the front pleats, as I was using heavily embroidered fabric and wished to avoid the extra bulk of the pleats.
As mentioned above, I’ve sewn the centre back seam of the waistband with a diagonal seam, to accommodate a swayback.
The waistband is designed to be a double width, that folds in on itself to form its own facing; for two versions of these shorts using bulkier fabric I joined a strip of fashion fabric to a strip of thinner cotton fabric to become the inner facing.
Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others?
I’ve sewn this shorts pattern up four times now.  It is my tried and true go-to shorts pattern.  I highly recommend this pattern!
Conclusion:
Absolutely, this is one of my favourite patterns that I turn to first when I’m considering a pair of shorts.  I think the shape is very flattering and I love the wide waistband, that sits firmly and securely up high on the waist, holding everything in.

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