Tag Archives: Sienna

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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Rocking the double denim look

05/08/2010 9:56 am \ 18 Comments \

So here is my new dress, Vogue 1152, with more me-appropriate sleeves (for the “before sleeves”, see the post below).  I’m very happy with this now, will be perfect for a casual day-dress suited to the simple warm days not now very far off on the horizon…? (said hopefully)  Today being still just a little cool I’ve opted to try out at styling the latest double denim trend, and wear the new dress with my old jeans underneath… tres cool, no?
So the key to making the new double denim trend work is to definitely not have the same denim head to toe, take a look at the pictures just below…  no no, no and er, no.  Too avoid this very dated “denim suit” effect the modern interpretation is to mix it up in terms of colours/shades and texture.  So on the bottom half I am wearing my trusty ol’ denim jeans which have the two tone stone-washed look we knew and loved er… only a few years ago, and on the top half the lightweight chambray dress in a much paler shade of indigo.  And I’m thinking this isn’t tooooo bad!  But if the double denim thing still offends you;  relax, I will definitely be wearing this sans jeans before too long…!
Below is my review of this pattern.

Details:
Dress; Vogue 1152 with minor variations, cotton chambray
Jeans; Little Big, from Labels




Pattern Description
Loose-fitting dress has front and back princess seams, front and back gathers, front insets with contrast piping, back elastic casings, self-faced yoke, left side invisible zipper, short sleeves with pleated cap and gathered lower edge into self band and curved hem.  Length is 2″ above knee at centre front.
Pattern sizing
8-14.  I cut size 10
Did it look like the drawing/illustration on the pattern envelope once you had finished sewing it?
Essentially.  I altered the sleeves and fiddled about with the fit somewhat.  Also I have a suspicion the dress in the photo on the pattern envelope has a big bulldog clip at the back to make it nip in at the model’s waist like that… either that or the dress has been fitted to her shape like I did with mine.
Were the instructions easy to follow?
yes
What did you particularly like/dislike about this pattern?
I liked the look of it from the envelope photograph; the V-neck, the prettiness and the shirt-dress vibe it has without being a shirt-dress
After finishing I decided the puffy sleeves didn’t suit me, and ended up changing them.
The dress ended up being (for my taste, too) loose-fitting; just as described, and close to how it is illustrated in the line drawing on the back of the envelope but not in line with how the dress appears in the photo.  And the back elastic casings are situated too high I think.  I had to alter it to look less “maternity”
Fabric used:
Cotton chambray
Pattern alterations or any design changes you made:
Shaped the bodice sections to bring it in more at the waistline and also to take away some excess fabric in the bust-point.
Added another single casing with elastic on the back, additional to and underneath the double one stipulated in the pattern; also to help define the waistline better.
Eliminated about 1″ in sleeve width, and the lower gathering and sleeve bands completely.  I simply narrow hemmed the ungathered lower sleeve edge instead.
Would you sew it again?  Would you recommend it to others?
Yes I will sew this again.  I am planning to make this out of a light chiffon-y stuff for a fancy springtime lunch dress, but am going to implement even more design alterations than I did with this one.  I would recommend this pattern; as long as you are aware the dress is looser fitting than it appears in the photo.
Conclusion:
It might sound like a tale of woe, but I am very happy with this dress now.  I definitely prefer my version of the sleeves, although if the dress were out of a lighter weight fabric the sleeves may flop down like in the envelope photo and look better than they did in my cotton chambray version.

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Takes the Bronze

30/07/2010 8:41 am \ 22 Comments \

My new cocktail dress…
I’m kind of in love with it.  Wish I could be wearing it all day, if that was in all way appropriate (might attract a few sideways glances in the supermarket, for one)  And as for my work in the office… well the pussycats might appreciate that I went to the effort.  Oh, hey you look great, but really, you shouldn’t have.  Not for us.  Just going to be vying for prime position on your lap as usual, is all…
I did meet some gals for morning tea this morning, but as I was easily the most dressed up (in exactly this outfit, my new favourite since I finished it, and have worn it three times in the last three weeks now) then the new cocktail dress would have been a tad overkill.  Sadly.
The flavour of this design is kinda eighties, I reckon.  The silhouette is reminiscent of the costumes we were treated to on Dynasty; the exaggerated shoulders (and how cool are they?!!!!) the peplum.  The mid-knee length.  The clever designer of this pattern however has taken the essence of that genre and given it a modern little twist.  The asymmetry of the collar treatment.  The jagged uneven teeth on that peplum.  I think that’s why I was drawn to this new design.  Classic shape but with an edgy funky strangeness about it.  A slightly off, not very faithful interpretation of a shape now considered way old hat.

Details:
Dress; Vogue 1155, “antique” silk taffeta
Shoes; Misano, from Labels
Bag; gift from my husband, early on in our marriage

Pattern Description
Semi-fitted, lined, above mid-knee length, fully interfaced dress has princess seams, midriff, peplums, two piece short sleeves, wrap front with buttons, hook and eye closures
Pattern sizing
6-12.  I cut size 10
Did it look like the drawing/illustration on the patten envelope after you had finished sewing it?
yes, except I had added 7.5 cm to the overall length, and ended up overlapping the fronts a bit more to get better coverage
Were the instructions easy to follow?
The instructions were clear.  Bear in mind this is an Advanced/Plus Difficile pattern.  There is a rather bewildering instruction in one part; steps 28-31 would have you sew the midriff section to the bodice, then sew the midriff facing at the ends of the midriff only, turn right side out and handsew the top level of the facing on the inside.  (??)  A far better method to complete this part is the traditional way, ie, right sides of the midriff and midriff facing together encasing the bodice, the sew the three layers together in one clean seam.  This is how I did it.
What did you particularly like/dislike about this pattern?
I love the design, and how it looks.  Totally love those sharp out-there shoulders.  It has pockets!  How many evening dresses have pockets? precious few and there should be more…
The shape is a little boxy for my tastes and not as fitted as I would have liked, so I made a few fitting alterations to get a bit more shape into it.  I  also didn’t like how the entire dress was to be interfaced.  Iron on interfacing has it’s rightful place, but for an entire dress?  I don’t think so…
Fabric used:
Silk taffeta, or silk dupion
Pattern alterations or any design changes you made:
The instruction to apply fusible interfacing to every piece gave me pause.  Eventually, because I was using very stiff fabric which has a lot of its own body already, I decided to just interface the facings, as traditionally.  I also interfaced the sleeve cap pleats once sewn in place, as these need to be quite stiff to look good.
I added 7.5cm to all skirt and skirt facing pieces, as I thought the dress looked very short on the pattern photograph.
Step 28-31, sewed the midriff facing and midriff to the bodice in one clean seam, rather than in the piecemeal method outlined in the instructions.
I have a narrow torso, and removed about 3cm width here overall,  graduated around each of the midriff sections. When it came to sewing on the buttons and hook and eye closures it was still a little loose about the midriff and the skirt gaped a little more than was comfortable for me, so I also overlapped the front pieces a little more (another 3cm) than indicated in the instructions.  Overlapping the fronts a bit more gave a better fit for me and made me feel better covered up.
Would you sew it again?  Would you recommend it to others?
I might sew it again.  I wouldn’t mind a black version now!  I would recommend this pattern to advanced seamstresses who like garments with an edgy look, as well as a sewing challenge.
Conclusion:
Well, I adore my dress!  Although I reckon this could be categorised as much a coat as a dress.  The construction is just like a lined coat.  And the closure, very coat-like too.  But I feel very modern and sharp in this and am excited about wearing it to special occasions!

Later edit: You WILL need a petticoat or slip with this dress as it gapes considerably when you are seated.  I made one using Burda 8071 in silk satin of the same colour, sitting 2cm shorter than the dress.  It works beautifully.  To see the slip, go here.

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Black, gold and beaded cocktail/ball dress

27/07/2010 9:40 am \ 8 Comments \

This is not a new dress (although I have finished my new evening dress and will show it here soon!)  This is an old dress I made about  three years ago, out of lovely matte stiff silk taffeta for the overskirt, very fine black tulle for the underskirt; and the bodice is gold satin with a beautiful beaded, embroidered and sequinned black tulle fabric overlay.  There is black satin ribbon sewed as a decorative detail under the bodice and tied in a little bow, and I also added thin black satin ribbon shoulder straps.  The beaded fabric was very expensive, about $80/metre from memory, so I only bought about 40cm, just enough for the width of the bodice!  There were still some scraps, and the beaded tulle was decorated a little sparse IMO, so I cut out quite a few of the beaded/embroidered motifs from the leftovers and hand-sewed them onto the bodice after it was finished to fill in the gaps and make for a super-luxurious, fully sparkly bodice!    The pattern I used was Burda 8046.  I haven’t checked if this pattern is still available, but I’ll review it anyway…

Details:
Dress; Burda 8046, black silk taffeta, black tulle, gold satin, black beaded/embroidered and sequinned tulle
Sandals; Sachi, bought at some little boutique in Melbourne
Bag; gift from Craig, very early in our marriage

Pattern Description
Close-fitting strapless or halter neck dress with under-bust seam, and bolero jacket.  I made the strapless version of the dress
Pattern sizing
European 32-44 (US 6-18); I initially cut size 38 (12) but ended up adjusting the bodice to be quite a lot narrower.
Did it look like the drawing/photograph on the pattern envelope once you had finished sewing it?
yes, except that I added very thin ribbon shoulder straps to hold it up…!
Were the instruction easy to follow?
very easy
What did you particularly like or dislike about this pattern?
The pattern is fine.  It is very easy to sew up.  I chose it because the shape of the dress fitted the vision I had in my head for this particular dress.  I would have preferred a boned bodice with an internal foundation and waist stay and in retrospect should have constructed the bodice to allow for this…  However I am perfectly happy with the outcome
Fabric used:
Fine black tulle for the underskirt, black silk taffeta for the overskirt.  Gold satin for the bodice and a beaded/embroidered and sequinned black tulle for a bodice overlay.  6mm black satin ribbon sewed on as a decorative division between the bodice and the skirt.  3mm black satin ribbon shoulder straps
Pattern alterations or any design changes you made:
I added thin satin ribbon shoulder straps after fearing that bodice wasn’t going to stay up by itself….  They weren’t strictly necessary but I wouldn’t have felt comfortable without them…
Would you sew it again?  Would you recommend it to others?
I would definitely recommend this as a very easy strapless dress pattern.  Sews up very quickly.  With added straps, it is perfect.  Without straps… not so much
Conclusion:
I expect the halter neck version of this pattern is the perfect “very easy ball-gown” pattern, perfectly suited to a beginner project.  The strapless version is easy, but as the design is not fitted very firmly at the waist I can imagine one would be constantly hoinking it up without added shoulder straps…  although maybe a larger-busted woman wouldn’t have the same problem.  I do love my dress however and have worn it to at least four or five formal functions with great success.

 

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On growing old gracefully

26/07/2010 7:02 am \ 3 Comments \

Today met my girlfriends for a get-together and debrief after the school holidays…

{You know how when something is troubling you, a good bit of advice is to write a long letter to yourself where you can purge all the negativity out of your system?  Then you are supposed to rip up same letter and toss it out?  Well I just did that with this blog post.  I had written a long rambling lot of introspective balderdash…. I knew it was kinda silly when I wrote it, and even my husband came home and advised me it was not worthy…  the long and short of this is that the “blah blah blah” that was here before is gone from this blog.  If you have already read the first draft of weirdness and scratched your head wondering where was the expected sewing, knitting and fashion, well I apologise sincerely.  Sometimes one needs to vent.  And vent I did.  Sorry!}

Man…  as an afterthought; what on earth am I wearing? back to business… today wearing the khaki and air-force blue colour combo I predicted would be my staple for this winter.  Well, the denim is close enough to the “dirty” blue I’m loving; and the texture and colour of my scarf works just perfectly right for what I wanted, considering I dressed without much thought this morning.  Some of my favourite ensembles have been the result of a rushed thoughtless random grabbing of separates…

Details:
Dress; Cue, found secondhand and refashioned here.
Jacket; Ezibuy
Scarf; knitted by me from various wools
Leggings; Metalicus
Boots; Andrea and Joen; from Uggies

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Oversized knitwear

16/07/2010 5:16 am \ 3 Comments \

The latest Vogue magazine has been singing the virtues of oversized knitwear for this winter.  This isn’t a look I go for very often, but I thought for once in a while, why not?  Granted the fashionable colours for this year are more of your putty greys, beiges, caramels, charcoal and black.  Sometimes it is nice though to splash out with a taste of cheery warm scarlet to brighten up the day.
For today I dug out this jumper that I had made for my husband, very early in our marriage.  Definitely pre kiddies, anyhow…  I don’t think he’s worn it for at least ten years.  I mentioned in a previous post how I occasionally borrowed my husband’s clothes, and Caroline commented how her husband’s clothes would be HUGE on her, well, lookie here, people, at what my husband’s clothes actually look like on me, too!  I think “oversize” and “loose” are being achieved here satisfactorily, no?  I think an oversize jumper can look very cute and sexy, when it is styled right.  It’s best worn with close-fitting, if not tight, pants or a skirt; so the big loose top part of your ensemble is balanced out by a sleeker, streamlined lower part.  We have no desire to go out looking at all “dress-up box”, now, do we?
This jumper is made using Patons 8 ply, an Australian pure merino wool that sadly seems to have disappeared from the knitting aisles… it came in a fabulous range of pure self colours which lent itself beautifully to fair isle designs as well as one colour affairs such as this one.
I followed a pattern which has long gone so I can’t share with you here, sorry.  It was my first go at cables, and once these were de-mystified for me in the making of this jumper I’ve not looked back.  Now I’m just like, cables? meh… no biggie.

Details:
Jumper; made by me, using Patons 8 ply to a Patons pattern
Jeans; made by me, Burda 7863, khaki stretch gabardine
Top (underneath); Metalicus

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Noro baggy beanie

14/07/2010 3:48 am \ 5 Comments \

So, here is the other baggy beanie I’ve made for this winter.  This is made using one ball of Noro Kuryon? I think?  I bought it a few months ago, and have lost the tag so colourway is unknown, sorry!…  It’s my own design, but obviously there’s nothing tricky or difficult about making a beanie.  The beauty in this beanie is in the lovely knobbly wool, and it’s woods-y shades of moss green, heather-y purple, a touch of fungal yellow, all shades of brown and deepest charcoal.

Tension: 12 sts and 20 rows to 1ocm square

Cast on 60 stitches.
k2, P2 rib to end
repeat for another 11 rows (12 rows rib in total)
Continue in stocking stitch (K 1 row, P 1 row) for another 24cm length, Decrease for crown as follows:
K4 K2 together, repeat to end of row (50 stitches)
P 1 row
K3, K2 together, repeat to end of row (40 stitches)
P 1 row
K2, K2 together, repeat until end of row (30 stitches)
P 1 row
K1, K 2 together, repeat until end of row (20 stitches)
P 2 together until end of row (10 stitches)

Cut thread leaving tail of 15cm, thread through wool needle, pass through stitches left on knitting needle, pull tight and tie off.  Sew up seam of beanie… done!

Can be worn long and baggy, or the ribbing rolled up to make it a little shorter  🙂

 

Details:
Beanie; made by me to my own design, Noro Kureyon
Skirt; made by me, Vogue 7303, olive green corduroy
Top, tights and cardigan; all Metalicus
Boots; Andrea and Joen, from Uggies

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Splitting up a suit

09/06/2010 4:44 am \ 4 Comments \

Challenging myself to wear everything in my wardrobe: I’m still coming across old winter skirts that have seen more fashionable days, but are still perfectly good.  Today’s is another one.  Do you remember this skirt?  I had got a lot of this grey cotton fabric for free from a local designer; free because the large-scale black floral screenprint on it was pretty scrappy in parts.  I just went over the scrappy bits with a felt tip pen (Sharpie) which fixed it up fine…  I had challenged myself to make a suit; thinking every woman needs a suit in her wardrobe “just in case”.  So I made a suit of a jacket with two matching skirts.  Of course in the three or four years since I made these I have had zero occasions for a suit.  Even my most corporate of office moments are still too casual for a suit.  Well, (shrug) it’s there if I need it.  I haven’t shown you the jacket yet, but I will…
This is natch the second skirt belonging to the suit.  I really struggled to find a way to wear this skirt this morning.  I’ve fallen out of the habit of wearing it.  And it’s that awkward length again.  Naturally I’ve fallen back on my beloved neutrals to try to coax it back into my heart…  I quite like the gentle neutrality of beige oyster and charcoal together; with the rich brown leather of the shoes.
Today’s random picture below; seen on my walk this morning

Details:
Skirt; New Look 6509, view A
Top; Metalicus
Cardigan (under); my own design, coffee and white net
Cardigan (over); MNG, found in a secondhand shop
Scarf; bought in Venice
Shoes; Betts & Betts Brazilian Collection, had these for about 20 years

 

 

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