Tag Archives: Skirt

Dove grey skirt, Japanese

09/11/2010 10:08 am \ 12 Comments \

So I’ve made a new skirt, this one is skirt “d” from the Japanese pattern book, “Unique Clothes Any Way You Like” by Natsuno Hirawai.  I’m already in love with its tendency to flutter and float about my legs as I walk in little ripply silver waves, promising to be delightfully cool to wear during summer!
The skirt is cut in one piece, which is a strange almost tear-drop shape, with only three other pieces for the waistband, and two separate button plackets.  I chose these three large nacre buttons for closure to complement the soft silver grey of the fabric.  Actually I made this using the wrong side of the fabric out.  The right side has a much more shimmery shiny metallic silver finish to it, but I chose the dull dove grey wrong side with a slightly felt-y texture over this as I’m not really a disco ball kind of a girl.  Although come to think of it I do have some silver sequinned fabric in my stash… calling to my inner disco queen, a flashy persona buried deep within the prosaic Australian exterior…  I must have bought it knowing she was down in there somewhere, hehe.
The shape of the skirt piece means that the one seam in the skirt joins a with-the-grainline edge on to a cross-grain edge, requiring absolutely straight-as-a-die cutting and sewing to avoid horrible wrinkles and bagginess around the seam.  If it wasn’t for this need for accuracy here I would rate this skirt as a laughably easy project… of course if you are working with a very stable strong fabric then this wouldn’t be a problem… but I chose this slippery crepe; wonderful draping qualities but with a tendency to shift and stretch.  I think I did an OK job with the seam, and I like how it cuts across the body diagonally providing a subtle random off-kilter focal point to what is otherwise a featureless A-line skirt.

Details:
Skirt; skirt “d”, “Unique Clothes Any Way You Like” by Natsuno Hirawai, pale mauve-grey crepe
Camisole; Country Road
Cardigan; my own design seen first here, black jersey printed with rubbery plastic snakeskin scales
Shoes; Perrini, had for so many years I’ve forgotten where they came from
Sunnies; RayBan

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A post-modern bustle

05/11/2010 1:09 am \ 7 Comments \

So today I’m trialling a new way of wearing this skirt, and I have to say I think this one is my favourite… I did like it how I wore it previously with the flappy bit over the hip and wore it that way first since that is how it was modelled in the book Unique Clothes Any Way You Like, by Natsuno Hirawai and I also thought this way was interesting.  But when the zip closure is swivelled around to the back, the front of the skirt takes on an appearance of monastic simplicity, a smooth sheath uninterrupted by darts, gathers or any other fabric manipulations to mar the smooth fall of cloth…  and from the back is this sort of droopy bustle which I think makes quite an interesting rear view, no?
Today am leaving the beach house 🙁 and heading into the bush to spend a few days with my parents 🙂  Depending on whether Mum and Dad’s internet service is behaving itself I may or may not be doing any internetting at all…
Oh, and I’m happy to report this morning I got my confirmation email, accepting me as a Lifetime pledger for Wardrobe refashion!!  You may have spotted my upgraded button already in the side-bar…  I have already been living my sartorial life in this way for most of my adult years now anyway, with just the odd new purchases slipping in here and there, and just thought it was a good time to make a definite commitment to reducing consumerism and doing my bit to promote the rewards of creating one’s own wardrobe.
For good measure:

I pledge that I shall abstain from the purchase of “new” manufactured items of clothing. I pledge that I shall refashion, renovate, recycle preloved items for myself with my own hands in fabric, yarn or other medium for the term of my contract. I pledge that I will share the love and post a photo of my refashioned, renovoted, recycled, crafted or created item of clothing on the Wardrobe Refashion blog, so that others may share the joy that thy thriftiness brings! 

Details:
Skirt; skirt “m” from Unique Clothes Any Way You Like, by Natsuno Hirawai, grey/apricot cotton linen mix
Camisole and cardigan; Country Road
Sandals; Marco Santini

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A whiter shade of pale…

27/10/2010 8:02 am \ 7 Comments \

Today being slightly cooler (and on a side note, man has this been a delightfully warm spring…!) I am finally able to wear the scarf that Sam brought me as a gift from his trip to France.  It is a soft-as-clouds woven chenille; ivory, or white, the colour he told me I wear the most and is convinced is my favourite colour.  Hmmm, I’m always fascinated when people tell me what my favourite colour is, since I’m so unaware myself of what it is… he could well be right.  Possibly my favourite colour changes a lot, even daily, depending on my mood.  But there’s no denying white and variations of are a recurring theme for me in my wardrobe…  Even though my skirt is technically green and my top is technically blue, they are really both now just slightly off-white themselves.  A few years of laundering and drying out in the sun has bleached them to a faded shade of nothingness to satisfy even the most die-hard lack-of-colour lover such as myself…  And with a snowy ruffle of petticoat peeping out from my skirt, and pristine new bobby socks, well today I’m just a symphony of paleness, merely lacking a picnic and a hanging rock…
I have mentioned it before on this blog, my personal love for white shirts and how they are not just useful but beautiful.  As if there is an international synchronicity of minds, Barbara has started a white shirt sew-along (button over there in the side-bar), and how could I not but join in?  This is good.  My obsession with white shirts has been legitimised and sanctioned with an official outlet.  I don’t have to invent a reason to make a white shirt. When debating whether yet another white shirt is actually a reasonable addition to the wardrobe, I can now easily self-justify, well, I’m committed to The White Shirt Project.  Yes.  End of story.  Permission granted. Purchase of white, and even lacy, fabric may now proceed, guilt free.
And I can semi-cheat, hehe, having just completed two white shirts quite recently… specimens 1 and 2 below…

Details:
Top; Butterick 4985, blue self-embroidered cotton with lace details
Skirt; Vogue 7880 view B, sage green self-embroidered cotton
Petticoat; Metalicus
Socks; knitted by me, white cotton
Scarf; gift from my son, Paris
Boots; Francesco Morichetti, from Zomp shoes

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Crisp white shirt; check

25/10/2010 4:40 am \ 27 Comments \

A while ago I identified a hole in my wardrobe; supposedly a basic that no woman should be without, and have now dutifully filled it.  One crisp white shirt; check.  Now my husband can relax that his white linen shirt will be safe from my clutches.  Well, mostly safe, hehehe (cue evil witch cackle).
I used Burda 8497; a wrap front and tie-at-the-side-of-the-hip style that is flattering to a person of my proportions, I think.  And a very feminine style.  Rather than a button up, which is a little more masculine.  The fabric is a poly-cotton, easy wear but not luxe, so I left the edges all nice and snowy-pristine with no topstitching and I think this ups the stylishness factor a touch.  This pattern just allows for ordinary fold down hems on the sleeves, which can be a little boring and middle of the road; so for this shirt I drafted sharply pointed fold-back cuffs which are each permanently sewn closed with two pewter buttons masquerading as cufflinks.  This gives the cuffs a vaguely evening-y or business-like air to them, yes?  And adds a bit of interest to what is otherwise a quite featureless sleeve.
And for my morning tea with some friends this morning I jazzed it up with a screamingly colourful in-your-face gypsy-ish skirt of many layers.
Aaah, the weather is so divine at present.  Walking along the beach yesterday and this morning was a sheer joy.  Everybody is making the most of these days to the max, whilst simultaneously trying not to whinge about the lack of rain …

Details:
Shirt; Burda 8497, white poly-cotton, pewter button “cufflinks”
Skirt; Vogue 7880, printed cotton
Sandals;  lasoffitadi Gilde, from Zomp shoes

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A good hair day

22/10/2010 9:01 am \ 12 Comments \

Of course, as every woman knows, a day involving a hair appointment has a high chance of being a good hair day and then, ipso facto,  a very good day indeed.
Having my hair done is a favourite self-indulgence.  Well, OK, ahem, I do have a few self-indulgences (no-one mention shoes, please), but this one is quite high up on my list!  It comes from being incapable of doing my own hair.
At my mum’s suggestion I experimented with a new way of wearing this skirt; skirt “m” from the Japanese pattern book “Unique Clothes Any Way You Like” by Natsuno Hiraiwa.  The garments therein are designed to each be worn in a number of different ways.  This skirt is quite unshaped to the body and so can be swivelled around so the zip and er, flap (for want of a better description!) sits anywhere around one’s hips.  Today I tried it pushed back in on itself to create a kind of big pocket.  This could make it handy for keys or a tissue, in a pinch!
What do you think?
Below is how it looks with the flap “out”.

Details:
Skirt; pattern “m”, from “Unique Clothes Any Way You Like” by Natsuno Hiraiwa, apricot/grey linen/cotton mix
Top(under) Country Road
Cardigan; Metalicus, secondhand
Scarf; Country Road
Thongs (flipflops); Mountain Designs

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International Suit-Up Day

13/10/2010 3:19 am \ 11 Comments \

What uuuup?!
I was planning to do something else for today, but when my son informed me last night that today was International Suit Up Day, well, how could I not?  Barney is our family’s favourite character from How I Met Your Mother, and his sayings are oft quoted around our house, er and not just by me.
So I hope everybody else is suitable suited up for a business-like day, and no, I don’t think that includes tracksuits, people.  C’mon.  Even if you don’t wear a suit on a daily basis, and I certainly don’t, even if it’s months or perhaps years since you “suited up”, go and dig up that dusty old thing from its hanger, release it from its dry cleaner’s bag and pop it on.  Just for the day, and just for fun!
My suit is looking a little dated now, and I’m thinking I need to tailor a replacement, but this project will have to go to the end of a very long list of projects I have mapped out…
As for my photo, well I’m supposed to be climbing the corporate… oh, I’m sure you get it.  A metaphor pictorialised.

Just a few other updates; 
My youngest son is home, safe and sound; and it is so nice to have him back with us and everything feels normal again with us all back in the house, I feel so much more relaxed when all my chicks are back in the nest…
And thankyou so much for your lovely comments yesterday for my giveaway.  A few have commented and don’t want to go into the draw for the goodies; that’s totally cool too, and I understand that lots of people have a full pattern collection already and I’m just thrilled that you took the time to comment.  It sounds cheesy but each and every comment gives me such a buzz and I look forward to reading my comments with huge excitement everyday… truly.
The giveaway is just something to mark the day, and my way of saying thanks to you for reading.

Jacket; Simplicity 4698, grey and black suiting cotton
Skirt; New Look 6509, grey and black suiting cotton
Top; Sexy Woman
Shoes; Misano, from Labels boutique

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Trench Skirt; a pattern review

07/10/2010 6:38 am \ 15 Comments \

This is my pattern review, and some close-ups of the trench skirt I completed recently; seen below and a larger view here.
The skirt is pattern 107, from BurdaStyle magazine 8/2009.

Pattern Description:
Knee-length flared skirt that fits smoothly over hips and waist, creating a slim line.  The horn buttons and buckle, welt pockets, self-fabric belt with large carriers, and the double button rows are reminiscent of trenchcoat styling.
Pattern Sizing:
34-42, I cut a 36
Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you had finished it?
yes
Were the instructions easy to follow?
yes
What did you particularly like or dislike about this pattern?
I love this pattern, and its trench styling.  Love the way it looks like I had taken a trench coat and just chopped the top off…  Because of this styling I think the top ends up a little bunched around the waist, which is just how a trench coat is supposed to look when it is belted, but I’m not sure whether the slight bulkiness that this adds to the hip area is flattering (or not!).  Despite the pattern description; in my opinion this skirt does not create a slim-line, in fact I think the sizing runs a touch big.  But I love this skirt and am definitely going to be in it a lot.
Fabric used:
Sturdy cotton drill
Pattern alterations or any design changes you made:
I made the pockets a bit deeper and wider as the pocket pattern piece looked laughably small (I guess I have big hands!).  I finished the raw edges on the inside with Hong Kong seaming.  The front skirt facing fell short of facing behind all the buttons/buttonholes so I used scraps to sew behind and stabilise the buttons and buttonholes which the facing did not back.
The pattern came with a belt piece, which I did sew up, but actually I prefer to use with this skirt a leather belt I already had; looks more professional.  In my experience self-fabric belts, no matter how sturdily interfaced, do not look so wonderful after half an hour of wear, or even less…
Would you sew it again?  Would you recommend it to others?
I might sew this again.  It is a very handsome skirt with nice details, right on trend for the military look and the current fashion for trench coats.
Conclusion:
Love it!

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Me and the best friend

06/10/2010 4:21 am \ 7 Comments \

Nice to be back here with my big furry best friend again …
On our last lovely balmy evening in Melbourne we met friends for dinner down by the Yarra River and chinwagged into the late late hours.  Our friends had been reading the latest Stephen Hawking book The Grand Design, explaining further the theory of relativity and quantum mechanics, and posing discussions such as “why is there something rather than nothing?” and “why do we exist?” and other esoteric fare…
I decided to keep quiet about the fact that my current reading material is the Sookie Stackhouse Chronicles, a decidedly more lowbrow offering…  This is a sometimes camp series about a Louisiana waitress who is a psychic and is also dating a vampire; lol!  Yeah, I do read worthy books (really!), but also I like to escape now and then into black humour and small-town soapie-style fun too…  life is too short to stick exclusively with serious.
Y’all agreed?  Darn tootin’…

Details:
Skirt; partly my own design, based upon Vogue 7303, layered white stretch lace, see full length here
Tshirt; Country Road
Cardigan; my husband’s old jumper, refashioned, see here
Necklace; made by me, tutorial here
Sandals; Vicenza, from Soletta shoes
Nail varnish; Santorini Sunset, NP

 

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