For something a bit different today I’m taking you on a walk with Sienna and me. We usually head out for an hour each morning and briskly zoom along to get our heart rate up high. This is Sienna’s favourite part of the day… on a beautiful day it’s mine too …
Other details:
Top; Metalicus
Skirt; Vogue 2894, cotton
Thongs (flipflops); Mountain Designs
Every so often I feel the need for a dressmaking challenge, a change from the workaday shirts, blouses, skirts and pants that can be run up in a day or two. When my Monday morning gals gave me a Fabulous Fabrics voucher for a birthday gift a year or so back I wanted to make some sort of classic. So I opted for this trench coat pattern, Burda 7786, view A.
The pattern was a great pattern, one I will use again; though ended up being not extremely challenging. Large amounts of double topstitching, but all the seams were simple straight easy seams.
Home seamstresses will concur that half the hurdles of DIY are sourcing the fabric you envisage for a project; in this case I went with this seersucker in spite of its white colour which wasn’t my ideal. I really wanted more of a beige or tan or even chocolate coloured cotton, as a classic trench coat colour but couldn’t find anything which fitted the bill. I feel this white is a bit too “lab coat”. As my original career was as an analytical chemist when I wore a lab coat day in day out I’m keenly aware of avoiding the lab coat look! However the belt on this one makes it less lab coat, and even though its a bright bright white this has ended up being a good useful fashion choice for summer. I think I’ll keep it going for another summer in this guise, then will probably dye it for next summer, for a change.
There was enough of this fabric leftover for me to make a little top, posted about here.
Wore it out today to meet some friends for morning tea, then it’s back to the office…
Other details:
Skirt; Vogue 7303, olive corduroy
Camisole; Country Road
Sandals; Vicenza, from Soletta shoes
Gold necklace; my grandmother’s
Pink necklace; self-made
Yesterday at the nursery we bought three of these new kangaroo paws, the colours of which I think are absolutely stunning. The stems are dark purple and the paws at the top are sage green. So unusual. We are pulling out a bed of roses that have never performed all that well and replacing them with these and a few other native plants. But while they are still in their pots I decided to use them in today’s photo shoot.
I made this outfit for last summer and wore it a lot then; the top is McCalls 4454 view C and the skirt is Vogue 7880 view B. The straps and edging on the top are a lovely thin natural coloured crochet border with black velvet ribbon woven through, some of the latter I used to make a little bow on the bodice also. The bottom edge of the top and all the edges on the skirt are finished with a black rolled hem done on the overlocker. The fabric is a self embroidered soft sage green. The days are warming up but this purple Metalicus cardigan is thin enough to wear on a mild day like today.
After a bit of gardening we plan to visit my brother for his birthday ( and photograph my sister-in-law’s tea cosy!)
Other details:
Cardigan; Metalicus
Thongs (flipflops); bought in some little shop in South Africa
When I saw this happy sunny cotton print at Fabulous fabrics last year I had to make something out of it immediately. I love the bright bright colours of this fabric and the sort of vaguely exotic ethnic print on it, a mix of paisleys, florals and medallions all overprinted and shadowed on each other. I made the skirt from Vogue 7880, view C, a pattern I’ve used quite a lot as I like all the random overlays. This is the longest version, the one my daughter complains about when she sees me making it up (“why do you always make skirts too long, Mum?!”) On this particular pattern I’ve usually finished the edges with a rolled hem on the overlocker, and it was making this skirt that I discovered a golden rule of overlocking; always use overlocking thread on the overlocker. For this project I was using a mix of leftover threads in various colours, some overlocker threads, some ordinary sewing machine thread, and boy, did my overlocker chuck a major hissy fit. I got so frustrated with it unthreading itself, thread breaking etc I was ready to heave it straight in the bin. However I managed to breathe deep and regain a zen-like calm (ha!) and eventually got it finished. And by “eventually”, I really mean “eventually”. Like hours later. Yes! I am master of my overlocker. This skirt is the spoils of a war with my overlocker that I WON and my overlocker now knows to submit to me. Yeah, right…
Had a very pleasant day today (except that I’m now facing office work); visited a nursery with my friend E, then spent some time with my sister-in-law, before running a few errands. Looking forward to the weekend!
Other details:
T-shirt; Country Road
Thongs (flipflops); Mountain Designs
Cardigan; Nine, bought at Labels
Pendant; bead from Gypsy Bead
Something different for today. After my office duties I am taking my daughter out for a special treat to lunch; Fashion Friday at the Globe, so I’m wearing this dress I’ve posted about before. Don’t want to post another picture of the same dress, so instead I’m delivering something I promised to do about a month ago, namely showing the versatility of my favourite skirt, first posted about here.
Its made of a slightly shimmery pale pink damask from my favourite skirt pattern Vogue 7303, with my own variation in the addition of three extra layers both front and back, joined onto the lining and separate from each other. So effectively it has eight different hems. And yes, it was extremely complex to make. But worth it.
For today’s post I’ve styled it to be worn as a casual skirt for summer and winter, as slightly more dressy (say if I’m meeting friends during the day) winter and summer, and finally as a semi-formal skirt again for both summer and winter. So you can see how versatile it’s been in my wardrobe!
Left; for casual summer wear, with a tank top and thongs(flipflops), and right; for casual winter wear
This skirt, Vogue 2894, is one of my most recent projects. During my wardrobe clean-out I decided I needed a really colourful floral skirt to brighten things up, so went to Fabulous Fabrics and, voila! I feel it’s got some great colours to play around with that can match up with a lot of my current garments. I wore it with a cardigan for this photo and for this morning, but actually it’s now getting a bit too hot for cardigans and am going to have to “summer” things up a bit an the apparel department.
Actually I popped in to Fabulous Fabrics yesterday to pick up some extras to finish up some sewing projects I’ve currently got on the go, and browsing through the pattern catalogues I was a little shocked at how light-on the summer Vogue book was. There seemed to be much less on offer this season. Is the economic crisis affecting the home sewing market? Surely not. Now would seem the ideal time for people to be getting out their sewing machines and running up their own garments at home for a quarter of the cost they are in the shops… The added bonus is that you are wearing something unique that you will not see on anyone else. This is always one of my primary motivations, the cost saving is a secondary consideration. Although spending less per garment definitely means you can have a much more extensive wardrobe!!!
I wore this outfit to a morning tea this morning (skirt universally admired, which was nice!) and a friend commented that if she saw my skirt in the shop she would definitely be buying it. Of course I don’t want to see anyone else wearing my skirt but it was nice to hear! I spouted on about the benefits of making your own clothes as I always do and with any luck, not withstanding my powers of persuasion, I may convert one person to the home sewing crusade.
After office duties today I will be doing some exam taxi-ing again, and visiting my niece for her birthday, and other errands. Later I hope to go to an art exhibition with my husband, if he gets home from work in time.
Other details:
Camisole; Country Road
Cardigan; Metalicus
Bracelet; from a craft fair in Brisbane
Necklace; gift from my friend Becky
Shoes; Neo, bought from Nine West (I think)
Please excuse my funny facial expression in this photo. I think I’m suffering from early-morning-itis.
I think of this skirt as a sort of shabby bohemian look. It was made from Vogue 7880, although you probably wouldn’t pick it from the pattern thanks to the mad improvisation going on. I used view B minus the weird hanging bits, the view I like the best as it has such a random jaggedy hemline. The upper section is out of soft grey and fawn cotton, printed to look like patchwork. All of the skirt pieces were shortened by about 8cm and joined as per the pattern. Then I sewed together random strips and panels of a mixture of lace and broderie anglaise cheesecloth to the lining to make a “shabby chic” frothy petticoat underneath.
I originally bought about 2m of this embroidered cheesecloth on a whim and made this top, then used the leftovers to make today’s skirt and this dress! So it was a worthy investment of, oh, about $30 for two and a half garments (this skirt being the half)!
Its a grey and overcast day today, so I am matching the weather in my attire, how Wuthering Heights is that?! See, I can be quite literary in my shallowness, when I choose to be.
After my usual “walkies” this morning (not wearing these shoes!) I’m just working in the office today, in between taxi-ing my daughter to and from exams, and later I will visit a friend who has hurt her back.
Other details:
Cardigan; Metalicus
Camisole; Country Road
Sandals; Vicenza, bought from Soletta shoes
Necklace; bought from Live!
This skirt is another version of Vogue 7303, made up quite plain as a mini. I fell in love with the fresh green lime print of this fabric and thought it would be ideal for a cool little summer skirt. Just the colour alone is refreshing! I matched the print of limes on the skirt with these orange slice earrings that I bought back in the 80’s which are now definitely passe as earrings, but look OK strung on a chain as a necklace. A good way to rework some old accessories.
This skirt pattern has been such a great pattern I can’t see myself ever tiring of it. Its most important asset is that it fits me perfectly. The value of this cannot be over-emphasised. And its plain enough to jazz up in ways only limited by your imagination.
Actually, setting myself this challenge of wearing something completely different every day has been very good for me, and breathed new life into many of my clothes that I have passed over in favour of a few favourites too often. And taking my photo each day has also made me more aware of my personal grooming and image that I’m presenting to my family and friends and the world. I’m telling you it’s not always a pretty sight, and I’m definitely trying to smarten up my act a bit.
I firmly believe that when you make an effort to look good on the outside and you are pleased with your appearance and attire, it definitely lifts your spirits and makes you feel much better within yourself. The result is a happier more cheery me who is more pleasant for my family and friends to spend time with! I hope!
Plus, I’m realising I’ve made heaps of clothes that aren’t maybe quite as hideous as I sometimes think. They just need to be “styled”, with things I already have, or can be made by me if I need to. Half the battle in making your own clothes and loving them enough to wear them is simply to just DO IT. Without second guessing yourself too much. We shouldn’t just assume that shop-bought is necessarily superior.
Other details:
Cardigan & T-shirt; Country Road
Sandals; Vicenza, bought at Soletta Shoes
Necklace; earrings (origins lost in the mists of time) strung on a chain
