Phew! I’ve finished the capsule work wardrobe that I’ve been making for Cassie over the past few months…! Most of these things have been previously blogged, and I’m just rounding up here with the last three pieces…
item 1; limoncello top; based upon NewLook 6483, with widened shoulder line, and slimmed down body. I did have a small amount of leftovers that I hoped would be enough to get a skirt out of, but actually it wasn’t… *sad face* but hey, the plan was just for a top and it is a pretty one after all! Fabric from Spotlight, button from stash.
I finished the armholes and neckline with pink cotton voile cut on the bias, simply because I had no yellow or even yellow-ish fabric that would do… The same pink voile was used to make the little skinny button loop in each of these two tops.
item 2; pale pink top; same NewLook 6483 pattern, but a narrower shoulder line, same body as pattern. Fabric from Spotlight and the same pink cotton voile used to finish the armhole and neckline edges. btw, I did a tutorial on how to do a bias binding finish like these, here
item 3; pink “banksia” skirt; based upon my heavily modified Vogue 8363. I know I always cite this pattern, but I think I really shouldn’t because I really have modified it so extensively that you couldn’t make this skirt using the pattern, actually. Fabric is a beautiful Jocelyn Proust print from Spotlight, and it’s lined using a pink lining fabric from my stash.
We bought these fabrics together last year, back when we first started planning her back-to-work wardrobe as a new Mum, and I estimate that with the lining, and not including a small amount of leftovers that I *think* I can squeeze a little skirt out of, or maybe “something”: I used 2.5m to make these items; bringing my yearly total up to 4m at this point;
but in addition to that….!
Cassie and I are working on a new pattern right now, and I have used another extra 4m of some of my “junky” fabrics recently in sewing samples and testing garments. I may or may not actually wear some of these at some point, but I hope to wear them a few times, at least! Anyway; even though I haven’t blogged those things, my real “fabric used” total is actually up up to 8m and in my #use30from stash challenge: I have 22m to go!
Thoughts! I have some… this is more like a diary entry, more than anything else… so I know this is besides the point really; but I popped into Spotlight the other day to pick up a zip and was sorely tempted to buy some fabric! It was really hard to just walk out with my zip! but I’m determined to use 30m first. Ideally; I would love to get my stash down to a very small amount of beautiful fabrics that I’m really excited to use, rather than being full of donated fabrics that I didn’t choose for myself, or buy, and really don’t “want” to use at all, to be perfectly honest. I don’t want to just toss things out willy nilly though, and am really keen to use the 30m from my stash gainfully.
That’s it! See you soon!
The top is kinda selfdrafted, loosely based upon a bodice piece from a really old NewLook dress pattern that Cassie keeps as her “block”, and the cowl neckline is a hack, she got the idea for it from a Pattern Magic pattern book tutorial. The avocado green merino knit is leftover from a long sleeved tee I made for myself, originally bought from The Fabric Store. I did a binding finish on the back neckline, and the armscyes I did by rolling and invisible slip-stitching by hand, because you know; I’m a glutton for punishment.
I agonised over what button to use! this one seemed cheerful and not twee
Some other mods; well, I point them all out in my video below, but it is a non-speaking video, pretty boring maybe, sorry, because I’m just so awful at speaking, every time I started I’m immediately tongue tied… so I just didn’t. Maybe I’ll get better at this and next time actually speak. However, for those who like The Deets, they are, in the order shown:
First thing to get made was a shirt for Tim… He has a job now where he has to look smart, so I decided to make a business shirt… I bought the really lovely deep maroon, mini-scale gingham cotton shirting from Tessuti’s in Melbourne, and used Burda 6874, my kinda go-to shirt pattern since I semi-retired Burda 7767. d’you know 
For Kelly’s top, I’d chosen the asymmetrical cowl top from Pattern Magic 2; the shape of the cowl is dictated by the shape of the facing. It’s always a bit of a challenge to draft your own patterns, but well I love a challenge! and I knew the shape of this top would be super flattering for Kelly and suit her beautifully… I cut the pieces on the bias and inserted a maroon invisible zip in the left side seam, so it zips down undone… however Kelly says she can squeeze into it without having to undo the zip which is cool. I think the bias-cut is what gives it that little bit of stretch.
Next up! a pullover/sweatshirt for Craig! truth now… I was running out of time, and steam! and this fair near killed me!
With the bias binding facing up, and following the previous stitching as a stitching guide, topstitch the pressed edge of the bias binding down. Since you’re using the previous stitching as a guide, the width of your double-topstitching will be nice and even from the outside.
And, last but not least! I also made a few more little hardback notebooks… just fun little things, however I do know that the recipients do actually use notebooks regularly so I know they will be useful too! I used mostly a mixture of leftover and old papers; from old scrapbooks, some with the children’s scribbles still on them! I’m sentimental that way 😉 , various papers, musical paper, some pale coloured wrapping paper, writing stationery; just lots of different stuff.
Partly because I stingily didn’t buy much of the print, and also partly for the same visual grounding reason as having a belt: I cut the pocket bags in a thick chocolate brushed twill, a small bit of leftover fabric harvested from Craig’s old pair of chocolate moleskins and which I used to make 
Above, I spaced it to turn up the hem exactly between two horizontal stripes in the print. The lower edge of the skirt is finished in bias cut black cotton, the same as for the inner waistband and pocket facings. See that little tiny row of mustard stitches along the top? I initially started hemming with black thread to match the bias; but quickly realised that even though I made my stitches as tiny as tiny could be, that row of minuscule black dots did show up on the right side of the skirt if you looked closely enough, and I didn’t like it!! So I switched to the same mustard thread that I’d used in other seams, which disappears nicely into the print.. so they’re pretty much invisible on the right side, which is the main thing!
