Tuesday, December 31, 2013

2013 Sewing Round-up

Getting this one in at the last minute before the end of the year! Here's what I made this year (not including gifts or things I made for the kids).


 


 



 






Circle skirt












Ponte tunic






 






 
Blue gingham Cambie 


Apple Skirt 


Floral Cambie

22 items. Not bad! I am going to aim for quality over quantity in 2014.

My biggest hits this year:

The fit is not perfect but I love the print and the shape is flattering. I will make this again next year.
So, so cute! I get comments every time I wear it.
This fits me pretty much perfectly. It's a really smart looking dress for work or a nice dinner.

-Ponte tunic
I absolutely wore this to death in winter and can't wait to make some more!
This makes me happy every time I wear it. The fit is almost perfect and I love the fabric. It's a real 'any occasion' dress.
The name says it all! Just so damn cute. Also, the Apple Skirt .
 
 
 
....and the misses. I'm ashamed of how many there are!
 
Just doesn't fit! A shame because I love the shape. I plan to make another one next year.
 
-Sadie the Cleaning Lady Frock
Completely fucking ugly. Plus it's too tight across my shoulders. It went in my 'donate to charity' bag today.

 
-Hideous 70s dress
This is only saved from the charity bin because it looks great with my 70s denim jacket. It looks totally shit by itself.

 
-Ridiculous 60s dress
Ugly. Stupid. Pointless.

-Circle skirt
I love it in theory, but in reality it doesn't suit me. There is just far too much fabric. I think half circle skirts suit me better.

So what have I learned this year?

I've learned that there are a few things I need to do to pretty much every pattern before I cut my fabric. It seems I have a short torso, hollow chest, and thick waist. It's good that I've found this out because it makes life much easier when it comes to fitting.

I've learned that there are some things that just will not suit me, no matter how much I want them to. Flowy shapes or boxy shapes are just not me. 

I've learned not to take short cuts. There are some steps you cannot skip, such as stay stitching! 

I've learned to be patient and not force myself into deadlines because that results in crappy garments.

I've learned to use fabric from my stash (mostly).

Each year I can see tangible evidence of how much my sewing has improved. I still have a long way to go, but I'm not in a hurry!

 

Monday, December 30, 2013

Final project for 2013

I snuck in one last project for the year....another New Look 6106. I made the midi version this time- I had intended to make my first one this length but didn't have enough fabric.

Pretty basic and straightforward really. This pattern is a dream to sew. The only thing I changed was the lapped zipper to a centred one. 

 

The fabric is Montreau drill from Spotlight, on special for $9.99/m. I bought 2 metres and ended up using almost all of it because my first skirt front had a huge mark right in the middle of it! I noticed it when the girl was cutting it for me and she looked on the right side and told me that it didn't show on the right side. Well, it did! I should have checked it myself. Silly cow! And she didn't cut it straight so one side was a whole 2 inches shorter than the other!

Anyway, I love this skirt and it will get lots of wear and I plan to make a gazillion more. Although I think I prefer the shorter version!

Have a happy new year and I'll be back in a day or two with my 2013 sewing round-up!


Friday, December 27, 2013

Christmas & Cambie

Hello there! I hope you all had a merry Christmas. We sure did! For the first time in a few years, it was stress-free with no family issues. I got some great gifts- mostly fitness stuff from my husband and his mum. My sister-in-law made me this beautiful wrist pin cushion and hand sewing kit. I absolutely love handmade gifts! 


 


This is what I made for her- a wrap skirt from a 1970s pattern. I wanted to make something for her without having to ask suspicious questions like, "Um, what is your waist measurement? Just out of curiosity!". I spied this pattern in my stash and it was sizes Small, Medium and Large so it was a winner. It's a bit hard to see with my craphouse photography, but there are big ol' pocekts on the front. It was really easy to sew up and I plan to make one for myself soon.


 


I wanted to get my Cambie finished to wear on Christmas Day but it took a bit longer than my first one. I had a devil of a time with the zipper and slip stitching the bodice lining. This time I added the pockets and I am so glad- they really make the dress! I also left out the skirt lining again because I don't think it needs one.

This fabric has been in my stash for ages, waiting for the right dress. I think I've definitely found it! I will pop some action pics in the next post.








Wednesday, December 18, 2013

Sewaholic Cambie

Finally...I've made a Cambie! I must be one of the last sewists in the world to make this wonderful dress. I received the pattern for my birthday in May and decided to give it a crack.

I used some gingham that my sister-in-law gave me. I had 3 metres of it, and although I've never worn gingham and didn't think it would suit me, I used it anyway, thinking that it would be good fabric to test out the pattern. (Funnily enough, yesterday I bought a blue gingham Sourpuss blouse...now I own two country bumpkin items!)


 


I cut a size 2. Once I'd sewn up the bodice, I basted the zipper on to check the fit and discovered two things- the waist was far too tight, and the bodice was too long by 1 to 2 inches. I must have a very short torso! I didn't want to start all over again, but I found that when I folded up the waistband it fit fine. So I unpicked the waistband and just sewed the bodice to the skirt. 
That was the only change I made- the bodice fit me really well and I didn't even need to bring in the darts. Oh, and I did a centred zipper as I didn't have any long invisible ones. Oh, and I only lined the bodice, not the skirt too as indicated on the pattern. Think that's it! Oh, I also left out the pockets!


Nope, did not even bother with pattern matching.

I'm very happy with the way it turned out. I wasn't sure about all the fabric in the skirt- especially in the back. I thought it would be super foofy and make me look silly but I like it. I forgot to understitch the lining and I didn't like the way it was rolling out so I topstitched all the top of the bodice.


 


I will wear this a lot- it's lovely and light and floaty.

I'm going to include more pics of me wearing my creations for the times when I don't have any new ones to post about. Here's me going to a Christmas party last Saturday wearing My Dream Dress, which everyone raved about at the party. 









Sunday, December 8, 2013

More un-selfish sewing

I've been a busy girl again.This coming week is Jimmy's last week of prep (the first year of schooling in Australia- I guess the same as Kindergarten in the USA). His teacher has been so amazing and I know that she will love these gifts. 


 


The bag on the left is for the teacher; the one on the right is for the teacher aide who is also awesome. I am in love with Spotlight's Monteau printed drill that they have at the moment- it's reduced to $9.99/m. I ended up going back and buying another 2 metres of the one on the left for myself.

 
 


The bags are very simple and quick and have pockets on the inside.
 



I also whipped up this reversible pinny for the teacher's daughter.

 


And some 'taggies'- one for the teacher's bun-in-the-oven, and two more for a couple of other lucky bubbas that I know. The weird-lookin' green fabric is minky, a deliciously soft fabric commonly used in cloth nappies.
I love making taggies for babies- they take about 20 minutes from cutting to finishing and babies just love holding onto them and stroking the ribbons on their faces.

The other side :)


 I have two more things I'm working on, but unfortunately I can't share those until after Christmas. I hope to fit in another skirt for myself between now and that time.




And here's my baby girl in front of the Christmas tree.






Saturday, November 30, 2013

A few projects

Wow, it's been over a month since my last post! I thought I'd better get a post in for the month of November!

November has been super busy for me as a teacher. School finishes in November for the private schools here, so I've had reports to write, concerts to organise and attend, and student exams to freak out about. On top of being a mum to three kids, running my band, teaching all day on Saturdays, and practising for a big orchestra concert a few weeks ago. I haven't really had much time to sew, but I've started on some Christmas gifts.

First of all I made two dresses for my 3-year-old. The last Christmas dress I made her was from two years ago and I'm still trying to squeeze her into it, but I thought I'd make her another to last for the next couple of years. It's a super simple dress to make. 


 


The pinafore dress is one I've made many, many times before, but again, she's been wearing the same ones since she was 18 months old. This is a size 4 so she should get a decent amount of wear out of it. It's fully reversible. The fabric for both of these dresses came from my stash.

I've got about 5 more handmade gifts to make, so I should have kept selfish sewing on hold for a while...but the other day as I was cutting fabric for my next lot of gifts, I decided I might as well cut out a skirt for myself while I was at it. I started sewing that afternoon then finished it the following night and have worn it 2 out of the last 3 days because I LOVE IT.




Spotlight had this vintage printed drill on sale for $9/m. I grabbed a metre, hoping (stupidly) it would be enough to make the mid-length skirt, but of course it wasn't so I had to make View A and just managed to scrape it out of the metre of fabric. I'm glad I didn't have enough to make the other one because I think it's super cute!




The skirt was sooo simple to make. I think the pockets are fantastic! And I love that I can wear pretty much any colour on top with this skirt.




I need to get my arse back down to Spotlight and grab the rest of this stuff before it sells out!

 





Tuesday, October 22, 2013

A cute new outfit!

I've been a busy little bee at my sewing machine for the past two weeks. 

First of all I made this polka dot blouse. The fabric is gorgeous- soft, cool and floaty, and was a bargain from an op shop that I've been waiting to find the perfect project for. 




These were the 3 patterns I intended to use: Kwiksew 3668 for the body, New Look 6808 (view B) for the sleeves, and New Look 6078 for the collar. However, when I made the collar it was too big for the neckline so I just cut the mandarin collar from the Kwiksew.

 


Nothing much to report with this, except to say that I left out the darts (except the bust darts) because I wanted a 'blousey' look. Unfortunately I interfaced the button placket so it sticks out a bit awkwardly if I blouse it out too much. And looking at the above photo, I notice that my button spacing is really shite.

Oh well, it's still a great blouse and I've worn it twice already. Once with my burgundy pleated skirt...

 


...but I felt it needed a pink skirt to look really cute. 
I picked up this pattern from Spotlight last week when they were having an 'all patterns $5' sale.

The fabric (which is a much nicer pink than the photos show...it's pretty much the exact same colour as the one on the pattern envelope) came from a fabric store called East Coast fabrics, which is like a treasure trove of cheaply priced, good quality fabrics. This fabric is amazing quality and was only $4.95/m!



This was so nice to sew! It would have only taken a couple of hours if I followed the instructions but I decided to add a lining, for decency (the fabric is not undie-friendly) and just to make it look more professional. It still only took me about 2.5 hours all up.

I had to reduce the side seams to 1/4 inch. I cut the smallest size and it was too tight across my thighs. I need to accept that I am no longer a size 8 on the bottom half.




And guess what? I HEMMED IT BY HAND.  I have never, ever done that! I think I will do it all the time now!

 


Husband left before I was dressed this morning so I had to take some dodgy photos in the mirror.

 


I think this skirt is the nicest thing I've made! So it's not the most exciting item in my wardrobe, but I'm very proud of it because it doesn't look hand made!