Top - Modcloth
Skirt - Made by me
Shoes - Ernest Wyler
Showing posts with label dressmaking. Show all posts
Showing posts with label dressmaking. Show all posts
Wednesday, August 27, 2014
What I Wore Wednesday
I bought this cherry fabric at Lincraft recently in a 40% off fabric sale. I LOVE SALES! I only bought one metre because that's all I'd need to make a skirt. Afterwards I realised the border print was only along one selvedge, which meant the border wouldn't go all around the hem of the skirt, so I went back to Lincraft to buy another metre... Of course I wasn't the only one with such fantastic taste in fabric, so unfortunately it was all sold out! As were all the other Lincraft stores in Canberra. So it sat in a bag for a two or three months because I couldn't decide how I would utilise the border print. Should I have it only on the front hem? Or use it in the waistband? Or run it up a side seam? In the end I decided to just have it on the front hem. And I can't see the back when I'm wearing it, so I'm pretty satisfied LOL.
Top - Modcloth
Skirt - Made by me
Shoes - Ernest Wyler
Top - Modcloth
Skirt - Made by me
Shoes - Ernest Wyler
Wednesday, August 20, 2014
What I Wore Wednesday
I've been neglecting my blog, but Mardi's Blog Hop post has got me going again. So now I have a few outfit posts coming up soon. First one coming up!
Last year I bought some gorgeous check fabric at Spotlight, reduced to $3/m. I bought quite a lot and last year I made this dress. It's tricky to sew with because the fabric doesn't sit straight - it warps all over the place, but it falls beautifully and feels lovely to wear.
I had heaps of fabric left over so I recently made a skirt. I decided to use up ALL the fabric, which meant it was a really full skirt, but also quite long. I didn't use a pattern - the waistband and the skirt are both just rectangles.
I'm still not sold on the length - I'll probably shorten it eventually, but I've worn it several times at this length. The skirt is roughly pleated into the waistband.
So my very thrifty outfit went a little something like this.
Top - $10 at Zonta pre-loved clothing sale
Skirt - Made by me for about $6
Cardi - hand me down from my sister Alicia
Brooch - gift from my sister Charlotte
Shoes - faves from I Love Billy, which are knocking at deaths door but I refuse to turn off life support just yet
My friend Sam, who has the most awesome taste in clothing, has recently started a blog and done a Bernie Dexter dress post here!
Last year I bought some gorgeous check fabric at Spotlight, reduced to $3/m. I bought quite a lot and last year I made this dress. It's tricky to sew with because the fabric doesn't sit straight - it warps all over the place, but it falls beautifully and feels lovely to wear.
I had heaps of fabric left over so I recently made a skirt. I decided to use up ALL the fabric, which meant it was a really full skirt, but also quite long. I didn't use a pattern - the waistband and the skirt are both just rectangles.
I'm still not sold on the length - I'll probably shorten it eventually, but I've worn it several times at this length. The skirt is roughly pleated into the waistband.
I bought this top at the Zonta pre-loved clothing sale recently. I loved the colour but it was shapeless and un-flattering. I took the sides in before the following picture was taken, and afterwards I sewed some vintage lace around the collar for a bit more pretty.
So my very thrifty outfit went a little something like this.
Top - $10 at Zonta pre-loved clothing sale
Skirt - Made by me for about $6
Cardi - hand me down from my sister Alicia
Brooch - gift from my sister Charlotte
Shoes - faves from I Love Billy, which are knocking at deaths door but I refuse to turn off life support just yet
My friend Sam, who has the most awesome taste in clothing, has recently started a blog and done a Bernie Dexter dress post here!
Monday, August 11, 2014
Blog Hopping With a Difference
My dear friend Mardi Winen invited me to join the crafty little Blog Hop that's making the rounds in the blogging world. Mardi and I have been friends (thanks to the internet!) for a long time now, working on some Design Teams together, exchanging emails and keeping up with each other via blogs and Instagram. We met in real life a few years ago on a retreat and she was just a warm and beautiful and real as I thought - a beautiful soul.
So this Blog Hop is about crafting. Actually, the posts I've seen so far have been about scrapbooking but I'm going with a different theme. Dressmaking. :)
What am I working on right now?
Right now I'm between projects but I have lots of fabric washed and ready to sew into dresses or skirts. Some are summer fabrics so I'll leave those for a bit later. I aim to use my heavier fabrics first so I can get some wear out of them this year.
How long does it take to create a project?
When I make a skirt or a dress I try to get the whole thing done in a day. But it doesn't always work out that way. Sometimes I give myself a head start by cutting the fabric the day before. And sometimes I don't get to do the finishing touches until another day. But my aim is to get it done in a day, so I choose a day when I don't have much else planned.
I cut this dress out the day before I planned on sewing it. I used vintage sheeting as lining - it's pretty and it's cheap!
What are my fave things I love to createwith at the moment?
I'm finding skirts to be pretty quick and easy. When I make skirts I usually don't use a pattern. I have a purchased skirt in a style I like, so I lay that on my fabric and use it as a guide for cutting out a curved waistband, then I usually try to fit as much fabric into the skirt as I can, so that it's as full as possible. I always use patterns for dresses, but I often alter the design, or use a combination of two patterns - like the bodice from one with the skirt from another.
How does my creative process work?
When I shop for fabric I don't usually search for something specific, I just buy what appeals to me. When I see something I like it usually seems pretty obvious to me whether it would work best as a skirt or a dress. I loved this cherry fabric and because it's thin I thought it would work best as a dress. Because I'm so fair, prints on a white background don't flatter me, so I chose a plain red to use as a trim. Defining the skirt hem, neckline and armholes in a darker fabric should be more flattering on me.
How do I become inspired and stay inspired?
Mostly the internet! I love so much clothing on Modcloth, and I follow some gorgeous stylish girls on Instagram. Pinterest too! Fabrics really inspire me.
What is my signature style?
I'm not sure what you'd name my style, but I like bright colours, retro styles, and fit and flare dresses. These are the dresses I made in 2013 (these are all one pattern design which I altered).
So I'm going to pass the baton to my family bloggers - they should be uploading their blog posts next Monday.
Janice Kingman
The one who taught me how to make stuff, beginning with padded picture frames and fimo jewellery in the eighties. She's always busy knitting, crocheting and stitching - clothes (including lots of bridesmaids dresses for her girls), cushions, purses and bags, and plenty more. Twice a year she has a little garden party to sell her wares to her friends. She's always got a million projects planned and has withdrawals if she hasn't been into the sewing room for a few days. My mother.
Charlotte Lam
The one who introduced me to scrapbooking - I love to scrapbook with her (but it only happens once every few years). She's also passionate about Project Life, is the card making queen and makes the sweetest baby toys. She's so resilient (she lives with a house full of in-laws) and I'm excited seeing how she's decorating her boys' bedroom, since they no longer have all four of their little family in the one bedroom! My baby sister.
So this Blog Hop is about crafting. Actually, the posts I've seen so far have been about scrapbooking but I'm going with a different theme. Dressmaking. :)
I bought this collection of new and vintage zips at the op shop for $3.
What am I working on right now?
Right now I'm between projects but I have lots of fabric washed and ready to sew into dresses or skirts. Some are summer fabrics so I'll leave those for a bit later. I aim to use my heavier fabrics first so I can get some wear out of them this year.
This is an older pic..
How long does it take to create a project?
When I make a skirt or a dress I try to get the whole thing done in a day. But it doesn't always work out that way. Sometimes I give myself a head start by cutting the fabric the day before. And sometimes I don't get to do the finishing touches until another day. But my aim is to get it done in a day, so I choose a day when I don't have much else planned.
I cut this dress out the day before I planned on sewing it. I used vintage sheeting as lining - it's pretty and it's cheap!
What are my fave things I love to create
I'm finding skirts to be pretty quick and easy. When I make skirts I usually don't use a pattern. I have a purchased skirt in a style I like, so I lay that on my fabric and use it as a guide for cutting out a curved waistband, then I usually try to fit as much fabric into the skirt as I can, so that it's as full as possible. I always use patterns for dresses, but I often alter the design, or use a combination of two patterns - like the bodice from one with the skirt from another.
How does my creative process work?
When I shop for fabric I don't usually search for something specific, I just buy what appeals to me. When I see something I like it usually seems pretty obvious to me whether it would work best as a skirt or a dress. I loved this cherry fabric and because it's thin I thought it would work best as a dress. Because I'm so fair, prints on a white background don't flatter me, so I chose a plain red to use as a trim. Defining the skirt hem, neckline and armholes in a darker fabric should be more flattering on me.
How do I become inspired and stay inspired?
Mostly the internet! I love so much clothing on Modcloth, and I follow some gorgeous stylish girls on Instagram. Pinterest too! Fabrics really inspire me.
What is my signature style?
I'm not sure what you'd name my style, but I like bright colours, retro styles, and fit and flare dresses. These are the dresses I made in 2013 (these are all one pattern design which I altered).
Janice Kingman
The one who taught me how to make stuff, beginning with padded picture frames and fimo jewellery in the eighties. She's always busy knitting, crocheting and stitching - clothes (including lots of bridesmaids dresses for her girls), cushions, purses and bags, and plenty more. Twice a year she has a little garden party to sell her wares to her friends. She's always got a million projects planned and has withdrawals if she hasn't been into the sewing room for a few days. My mother.
Charlotte Lam
The one who introduced me to scrapbooking - I love to scrapbook with her (but it only happens once every few years). She's also passionate about Project Life, is the card making queen and makes the sweetest baby toys. She's so resilient (she lives with a house full of in-laws) and I'm excited seeing how she's decorating her boys' bedroom, since they no longer have all four of their little family in the one bedroom! My baby sister.
Sunday, May 25, 2014
Embellishing tops
Tassy lamented recently that she had no long sleeved tops. I had a look around the shops and boy, I wasn't keen on what I found! I ended up buying three plain tops in Kmart for $4 and $6 each, with a mind to pretty them up.
When I bought this marle grey I really wanted to add neutrals to it. I didn't have something specific in mind but thought I'd try some doilies and vintage trims. I love the offcut trim on the neckline. It would have been great to have enough to go all the way around, but I think this is still OK. I wanted the doilies to overlap and casually flow up towards the shoulder, and scattered a few buttons around. I stuck everything down with a glue stick first, then machine stitched the trims and doilies and hand sewed the buttons. The wooden bonjoir button came from the underground markets in Wellington when I was there with my family 18 months ago.
Twice at the op shops I have scored tins of vintage buttons. It's so exciting to rummage through to find really special gems. I will have to post some pics of special button finds on my blog soon. Anyway, along with gems there's a plethora of plain buttons. They're still pretty because they're so shiny and nice and heavy, not like cheap modern plastic buttons. For this top I gathered all the plain buttons on the table and roughly made them into a heart shape. I used this to gauge the right size to make my hand drawn heart, then drew the heart on the Tshirt with a water soluble pen. I cut a piece of vintage sheeting the same size and attached it to the inside of the Tshirt for some extra stability. Then I used a glue stick to attach all the buttons to the heart. It didn't really take much rearranging to make them fit. Once the glue was dry I sat on the couch and hand sewed the buttons in place.
This was actually the first one I did, and if I was going to do it again I'd make the bow smaller. But to tell the truth, I can't bring myself to pull this apart and do it again, so it's going to stay a big bow. :) I used leftover fabric from a dress I made Tassy last summer. I sewed a long rectangle for the loops of the bow, a small rectangle for the centre of the bow and a long rectangle for the ties.
She's got a few new wardrobe pieces now, and all up they only cost $14.
When I bought this marle grey I really wanted to add neutrals to it. I didn't have something specific in mind but thought I'd try some doilies and vintage trims. I love the offcut trim on the neckline. It would have been great to have enough to go all the way around, but I think this is still OK. I wanted the doilies to overlap and casually flow up towards the shoulder, and scattered a few buttons around. I stuck everything down with a glue stick first, then machine stitched the trims and doilies and hand sewed the buttons. The wooden bonjoir button came from the underground markets in Wellington when I was there with my family 18 months ago.
Twice at the op shops I have scored tins of vintage buttons. It's so exciting to rummage through to find really special gems. I will have to post some pics of special button finds on my blog soon. Anyway, along with gems there's a plethora of plain buttons. They're still pretty because they're so shiny and nice and heavy, not like cheap modern plastic buttons. For this top I gathered all the plain buttons on the table and roughly made them into a heart shape. I used this to gauge the right size to make my hand drawn heart, then drew the heart on the Tshirt with a water soluble pen. I cut a piece of vintage sheeting the same size and attached it to the inside of the Tshirt for some extra stability. Then I used a glue stick to attach all the buttons to the heart. It didn't really take much rearranging to make them fit. Once the glue was dry I sat on the couch and hand sewed the buttons in place.
This was actually the first one I did, and if I was going to do it again I'd make the bow smaller. But to tell the truth, I can't bring myself to pull this apart and do it again, so it's going to stay a big bow. :) I used leftover fabric from a dress I made Tassy last summer. I sewed a long rectangle for the loops of the bow, a small rectangle for the centre of the bow and a long rectangle for the ties.
She's got a few new wardrobe pieces now, and all up they only cost $14.
Wednesday, March 19, 2014
What I Wore Wednesday
I loved this reproduction 1960s shirt dress pattern, and bought some cute bird and leaf fabric along with some royal blue for a contrasting collar. (Butterick 5747)
I thought some matching buttons would be cute. :) They're so easy to make.
The dress was too small to start with but after letting out the seams it fits OK. Not awesome, but OK. I'm really happy I went with a contrasting colour. I ditched the dickey (he he) cos that made the neckline too high and I already liked the shape of the neckline with the collar, so I bought a cheap singlet top to wear underneath which only shows a little. I wish the skirt wasn't so deceptively full in the drawing - otherwise I would have made it much fuller! I didn't realise until it was too late.
Dress - Made by me
Singlet - Kmart
Necklace - Diva
Crocket Bracelet - Made by me
Shoes - Yes Style
I just googled my pattern number and found some gorgeous dresses made from this pattern.
Love this red and white one.
The close ups in this apple fabric are gorgeous.
Wednesday, March 05, 2014
What I Wore Wednesday
I went through mum's vintage patterns when we stayed with them at Christmas, and came away with a few to play with. I tackled the bottom right pattern first.
I took the pattern pieces out of the packet and almost threw away the first couple of small pieces, since they had no printing on them. I thought they were rubbish. Then I realised ALL the pieces were like that, and they had little holes punched in them. I did freak out a little at first, but after reading the instructions I realised it was easy to cut and mark up.
I do love this fabric, but I've decided the style doesn't really suit me. It does look better with a belt tho.
And a cardi breaks it up a bit too.
Here are some pics of mum in 1969 wearing a dress Grandma made her using the same pattern. She has the version with sleeves, which I actually tried with mine, but it looked too utilitarian so I removed them.
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Mum's dress has the neckline according to the pattern. I altered mine cos it was SO high and choking me!
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Dress - Made by me
Belts - Unknown
Shoes - ASOS
Crochet Necklace - Made by me
Cardi - Hand me down from my sister in law
I took the pattern pieces out of the packet and almost threw away the first couple of small pieces, since they had no printing on them. I thought they were rubbish. Then I realised ALL the pieces were like that, and they had little holes punched in them. I did freak out a little at first, but after reading the instructions I realised it was easy to cut and mark up.
I do love this fabric, but I've decided the style doesn't really suit me. It does look better with a belt tho.
And a cardi breaks it up a bit too.
Here are some pics of mum in 1969 wearing a dress Grandma made her using the same pattern. She has the version with sleeves, which I actually tried with mine, but it looked too utilitarian so I removed them.
Mum's dress has the neckline according to the pattern. I altered mine cos it was SO high and choking me!
Dress - Made by me
Belts - Unknown
Shoes - ASOS
Crochet Necklace - Made by me
Cardi - Hand me down from my sister in law
Wednesday, February 05, 2014
What I Wore Wednesday
I found some barkcloth in an op shop recently and ummed and ahhed for a little while before finally deciding to buy it. After all, they had 50% off everything in the store and there were 5.3m for, in the end, $5!
I wasn't sure what I'd do with it but in the end decided to make old faithful - another dress. :) I'm so glad I did. I just love it, so much more than I expected! I wasn't too thrilled on all the brown, so I chose to have a yellow trim to bring out the yellow flowers. I think it makes the dress so happy.
I changed the pattern a little - I made the neckline higher, the shoulders wider, the skirt has more volume and I gave it unpressed box pleats instead of gathers. The box pleats took a bit of fiddling but I love them. The sash with a bow is something new too.
The fabric was so nice to sew with, and is so nice to wear. Barkcloth is quite thick and textured. I had to trim a few bulky seems - in some places six layers thick, which is a bit much when the fabric is so thick! It feels so nice to wear though.
I was careful with the placement of the pattern pieces so the bodice pieces would have the same print on both sides, front and back. I was glad I had so much fabric to play with!
The dress cost me about $8. Less than $3 worth of barkcloth, $3 for the yellow fabric and $2 for the zipper.
Dress - Made by me
Shoes - Pierre Fontaine (these poor shoes have no soles and are too far gone to be repaired... and yet I continue to wear them... I haven't found a replacement pair yet!)
Necklace - gift from Mum, from the Stitches and Craft Fair I think
I wasn't sure what I'd do with it but in the end decided to make old faithful - another dress. :) I'm so glad I did. I just love it, so much more than I expected! I wasn't too thrilled on all the brown, so I chose to have a yellow trim to bring out the yellow flowers. I think it makes the dress so happy.
I changed the pattern a little - I made the neckline higher, the shoulders wider, the skirt has more volume and I gave it unpressed box pleats instead of gathers. The box pleats took a bit of fiddling but I love them. The sash with a bow is something new too.
The fabric was so nice to sew with, and is so nice to wear. Barkcloth is quite thick and textured. I had to trim a few bulky seems - in some places six layers thick, which is a bit much when the fabric is so thick! It feels so nice to wear though.
I was careful with the placement of the pattern pieces so the bodice pieces would have the same print on both sides, front and back. I was glad I had so much fabric to play with!
The dress cost me about $8. Less than $3 worth of barkcloth, $3 for the yellow fabric and $2 for the zipper.
Dress - Made by me
Shoes - Pierre Fontaine (these poor shoes have no soles and are too far gone to be repaired... and yet I continue to wear them... I haven't found a replacement pair yet!)
Necklace - gift from Mum, from the Stitches and Craft Fair I think
Wednesday, December 11, 2013
What I Wore Wednesday
Dress - made by me
Cardi - SES
Shoes - Ernest Wyler
Necklace - Only Pearl on Etsy
Wednesday, November 13, 2013
What I Wore Wednesday
My home made check winter dress turned out to be pretty versitile. I love it paired with teal tights, belt and necklace and an angora cardi handed down from my sister Alicia (I am so lucky with her hand me downs!). I wore this to the National Gallery to see the Turner exhibition with my parents, and bumped into Andrew Denton and Jennifer Byrne. Well I was too chicken to talk to Denton but Jennifer Byrne just feels like an old friend so I told her I think she's wonderful and got a pic with her. LOL. I'm such a dag.
Dress - made by me
Cardi - hand me down from my sister
Tights - Glassons
Belt - Jay Jays
Shoes - I Love Billy
Necklace - Etsy
Dress - made by me
Cardi - hand me down from my sister
Tights - Glassons
Belt - Jay Jays
Shoes - I Love Billy
Necklace - Etsy
Wednesday, October 09, 2013
What I Wore Wednesday
Remember the armchair Dave and I made over recently? Well I had heaps of fabric left over so made myself a skirt. And I do love it! I didn't use a pattern, just used a skirt I already have to copy from. And it cost me practically nothing - leftover fabric, no pattern, and a zip from one of the cheap asian junk shops which worked out to cost about 50c!
Top - Temt
Cardi - Ally
Leggings - Valleygirl
Necklace - Only Pearl Etsy
Shoes - Windsor Smith
Tassy loved my skirt too so she promptly put in an order for one.
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