ChickyC

Refashioned Denim Wrap Dresses

2010-07-31T19:12:00.000+10:00

I have been working on a few ideas to sell at the local markets and I came up with these little girls wrap dresses. The denim is from jeans all previously loved by me so far -- yes I am a jeans hoarder! and I made my own bias tape from thrifted bed sheets. I currently have toddler sizes 2 , 3 and 4. And I'm working on the baby sizes too.

These dresses are great for summer worn on their own, and in winter with a long sleeved shirt and tights. Each one is unique.

If you are interested in these, please comment and I'll make an effort to get them up on my Etsy store.

Drape Drape No. 6 : Backless dress

2010-07-31T18:54:00.000+10:00

This is a super-cute one-pattern-piece dress. One seam, a bit of bias strip around the top, and a lot of gathering, and I now have an awesome summer beach dress. Or I will when summer rolls around, for now it'll be layered up.

Once upon a time (pre-kids) I probably would have tried to get away with the no-bra look, but these days that simply is not going to happen. But I can see me donning this with a cute swimming bikini underneath and lazing on the beach. Yes please!

I used merino jersey this time purchased at the recent Fabric Store sale. You can see in the photo above it ended up being the perfect amount of fabric for this pattern. It also definitely has the right drape for these patterns, and was lovely to sew with. Can't wait to wear it more often.

I don't know that these photos do it much justice, but anyway. Here are the close ups of the back binding.

And back gathering.

I also used my twin needle for the first time on the hem. I don't know why I haven't bought one of these sooner, except that I thought it was a complete different attachment for the machine not just a simple needle to insert. Next time I just need to make sure I have matching thread.

Wardrobe Refashion: Hoodie to beanie

2010-07-28T07:24:00.002+10:00

This was a quick refashion using the hoodie of a knit cardigan. I chopped the hoodie off the cardigan, and stitched a running stitch parallel to the chopped edge - approx 5cm in. Then all you have to do is pull the thread to gather and wrap the end of the thread around the base of the flower. And you are done!

I have since gone and tacked down the outer edges of the flower in a few places, just so it keeps the desired shape.

Another Wrap Cardigan

2010-07-27T04:32:00.001+10:00

With such a frightfully cold winter in Sydney I needed to add to my winter wardrobe, so I made another wrap cardigan just like the Aubergine Chameleon (sadly this cardigan has died, the knit fabric did not stand up to the rough treatment that me and my kids give my clothes!).

This time I used a silk jersey and i love it so much more. It just has a better drape and more comfortable fit.

This time around I cut the material into a back section and front section, adding the sleeves in at the side seam. I like it much better this way as you don't get the visible seam line at the back (or front) depending how you put the cardi together.

I shortened the wrap part of this one slightly, as I found previously I was having to twist the cardi to make a better fit. It is now approx 120cm instead of 150cm.

I also made the back length about 60cm, smply because that fitted the width of the fabric that I had. But the extra length on the back means it is sitting much nicer.

I still love the versatility in the ways you can wear this cardi.

And that wraps up the photo shoot as you can see my little man wants to get some walking practice in!

Wardrobe Refashion: Ladies jumper to girls dress

2010-07-26T04:19:00.000+10:00

I have been doing a few refashions lately, but this is the only one I have managed to grab photos of so far.

Before: This pink jumper has seen me through quite a few winters, but was coming up on the short side.

So I cut off the sleeves and used them to make some ruffles on the bottom of the dress. Rather than just cut straight across the shoulders to allow for the smaller neckline, I angled down from the original shoulders so that I could get the ruffled sleeve effect. The fabric flower was made out of some of the scraps.

After: Now Little Miss has a cute dress for her birthday party season :-)

Slinky Pinky - No. 13 Loose Drape Top

2010-07-01T19:07:00.000+10:00

I have finally succumbed to buying a Japanese Sewing Book. I spent ages in Tessuti at Chatswood poring over their selection of books, and finally came back to the Drape Drape book.

And I have ear-marked my next purchase as the Clever and Unique Clothes book

So while the excitement of the new purchase was still fresh I got stuck into my first pattern which is No. 13 top. (photo as borrowed from Tessuti website - the link should take you there)

The fabric I used was an op-shop find for $4 and wasn't quite long enough to fit the pattern so I had to separate one of the pattern pieces and cut the back panel on it's own. And then the other back panel ended up on the cross-grain, so the back is a bit wierd.

The hardest part for this top was tracing out the pattern. Now I have traced plenty of patterns from BWOF Mags, but I now think that they are easy because of the colour coding. The Drape Drape book patterns are all in black and it was quite confusing. I ended up drawing over the ones i needed with my daughter's crayon and then went over again with carbon paper and brown paper underneath. All in all, a bit more time consuming than I'm used to.

After that the pattern comes together quite simply, but I wasn't paying attention when I pinned together so I tucked the front drape piece over rather than under and now more of the wrong side of the fabric shows. It doesn't detract from the top so still very happy with the end result.

I've called this one Slinky Pinky over at Burdastyle, but the colour is more of a pearl than a pink, but hey, the alliteration works for me!

Me-Made-May: The End

2010-06-10T17:54:00.001+10:00

Well this is a belated post, considering that May ended 10 days ago. But I've been delayed by laptop problems, so now for the catch-up.

I have to admit that I became a little lazy with the photos towards the end, so I think I have the right days below.

This is a Me-Made family shot...Little Miss in her new pinafore, Little Mister in his new jumper and me layering up a stripey grey tank dress and green wool top.

Day 28:

Me-Made Green Wool Dress (worn as top)

Me-Made Grey and White Stripey Dress

And I know that Little Miss is hiding in the above photo, but she then proceeded to show me some of the poses I should be using for my photos...

Day 30:

Me-Made Grey tank top

Me-Made Grey and white stripey dress

Me-Made Aubergine Chameleon cardi.

And I wanted to finish the month with something new, so I whipped up this purple number from pattern BWOF 06-2009-129 .

Day 31:

Me-Made Purple Wiggle Dress

I did make a few changesto the original pattern:
-It had gathers in the front waist which ended up looking like a maternity dress so I made some pleats and reduced the curve so that it sat flatter. Even with the pleats I do think this will make a great maternity dress if I ever decide to do pregnancy again.
-The crossovers at the front were pulling the dress at the side seams too much and ended up with loose bunching on the front, so I added a band on the inside back to balance out the pulling.
- I added in-seam pockets (my first attempt!) using the BurdaStyle how-to.
-I took a helluva lot of material off the hem.

I do love the end result though, its working great as a breastfeeding top, and is casual enough to wear through the day with tights. But I'll be dressing it up with boots to wear out to dinner tomorrow night. Yay :-) Oh and this dress is called the Purple Wiggle Dress, since Little Miss went around telling everyone that I am Geoff the Purple Wiggle. (And if you don't have a toddler - or haven't had one in the last 20 years - these are the Wiggles I am talking about)

In the midst of all this I am working away to get some stock together to sell on Etsy and at my local handmade craft market. I thought I would have it all done by now, but I should know better with 2 kids that things will always take longer than expected. Hopefully I'll get it all finished this weekend and will be able to show you then....How exciting !!!

Me-Made-May : Day 25 & 26

2010-05-27T07:41:00.000+10:00

Ugggh rain, rain, go away! I need to see some sunshine!

Day 25:

Me-Made Cheshire Cat Stripe Top

Me-Made Black Pocket Dress

RTW tights and belt.

And Day 26 was one of those one where the Me-Made top got messed up by the kiddies before the photo could be taken...nothing exciting anyway, just the Peach Scribble top and refashioned jeans.

Here is what I finished yesterday for the kids:

A fleecy pinafore (op-shop material), I didn't use a pattern, just guessed at sizing. I added pockets with bows from the scraps. Little Miss is loving pockets at the moment

A warm jumper for the little man. It is actually 2 layers sewn together, fleece on the inside and knit on the outside. Again, no pattern, I just drew around the outsideof a long-sleeved Tee to get the right sizing. I added the applique plane cut from some denim scraps, to add some fun to it. I am trying to apply the same principle of adding details to the kids clothes as well as my own.

I think it has to be my turn next, I have spent the last few nights tracing patterns out, so if I can get the material cut tonight, I should be able to pump out a few finished outfits really quickly when I next get to the sewing machine. I find the tracing and cutting takes up the most time, but it does make it satisfying when the finished item comes together relatively quickly at the sewing end of things.

Off to pick another Me-Made outfit for today :-)

Me-Made-May : Day 22, 23 & 24

2010-05-25T08:20:00.000+10:00

Day 22 was getting out of the house on a rainy weekend. This is actually the first time wearing the Glint of Glamour top out of the house, it is super comfy, but I did feel a tad dressed up for just hitting the shops.

Day 22:

Me-Made Glint of Glamour Top

Me-Made Purple Twist Top (layered underneath)

RTW Jeans

Day 23 was a lot of time in the car visiting friends, and the Frangipani skirt stood up well, I think the fabric being so well worn that it just doesn't hold wrinkles like most skirts would.

Day 23:

Me-Made Frangipani Skirt

RTW Top and Tank

I am really liking the grey dress as a layering option, I do have to tie knots in the back to shorten it, but its super comfy and flowing. Perfect for a day at home cooking with the kiddies.

Day 24:

Me-Made Grey Dress

RTW Jeans and Green Top

I've also been scouring Anthropolgie and ModCloth for some top inspiration.....

Stripes by ChickyC featuring Anthropologie

Easy Access by ChickyC featuring Anthropologie

Detailed Tanks by ChickyC featuring Anthropologie

Musings on planning and styling my wardrobe.

2010-05-21T15:36:00.000+10:00

Me-Made-May has really got me thinking more about my current wardrobe and what I am wearing, and what I should wear and what I should sew.

Looking back at the photo's for this month, I have realised
1. I have a lot of plain coloured pieces, and overall the wardrobe feels a bit boring.
2. I seem to be sticking to plain shirts/skirts, when in reality(or out shopping) I am drawn to items that have interesting details.
3. I like print fabrics, but quite often don't have the confidence to wear it (Just need to get over that one!)
4. I wear jeans a lot, almost every day if I could, which is fine, I'm a mum and at the playground everyday... but ... I do need to stop wearing plain shirts with them, and make up some pretty tops.

I think I also need to figure out what styles of tops suit me. I do feel a bit more limited at the moment, as I like to be comfortable when breastfeeding, so that means either stretchy tops with low necklines, or some kind of opening at the top.

So whats next for me?
I need a white long sleeve T-shirt for layering up this winter, What pattern though???
BWOF 07-2009-109B

BWOF 07-2009-122A

BWOF 06-2009-129 Would make a great breastfeeding top if I shortened it, and made in a really stretchy fabric.

BWOF 12-2009-121

I'm also thinking BWOF 06-2009-119 could look good in a black and red print cotton that I have. I'd remove the collar though.

I also plan to make up BWOF 07-2009-128(no photo online) in a bright red print from the stash. Previously used the fabric on a maxi dress but I don't have any pics of it.

And I need to finish the purple paisley skirt (BWOF 06-2009-125)

And start the plaid jacket. BWOF 12-2009-110

Not too much to ask...right?

.

Me-Made-May: Week 3 on and off the wagon.

2010-05-21T14:06:00.001+10:00

Week 3 of Me-Made-May started off well enough, I have been realising that I need to add more prints into my daily outfits, so I brought out some old favourites, that haven't seen much wear lately. First was this hippy skirt which was one of my first refashions about 9 years ago. I took a full length cheesecloth skirt and made a drawstring fitted skirt. Its super comfy, as long as you don't look too close at where the seams are starting to fray.

Day 14:

Me-Made Green Wool Top

Me-Made Hippy Skirt

Day 15 was a repeat of Day 4 and not photo-worthy. Day 16 I brought out another printed skirt refashion which is stretchy enough to pull off these yoga moves that Little Miss is fond of doing at the moment.

Day 16:

Me-Made Aubergine Chameleon Cardi

Refashioned Black boob tube

Refashioned Green Paisley Skirt

Day 17 was layering up again against a cold and rainy day. The black dress was a simple alteration adding in an exposed zip at the top to allow for breastfeeding access.

Day 17:

Me-Made Purple Twist Top

Refashioned Black Dress with exposed zip.

The challenge went a bit downhill for Days 18 19 and 20, where after rain and 2 sick kids, all I had was my Me-Made hoodie. And yesterday nothing at all.

But....I am excited about Day 21, because I am wearing my newly finished Frangipani Skirt. The rest is not Me-Made, but that's ok, I'm still working through the laundry backlog.

Day 21:

Me-Made Frangipani Skirt

RTW Wrap Cardigan

RTW White Top

RTW Black Tank.

This skirt is BWOF 04-2009-101B skirt without pockets. I have seen a denim version of this skirt on another Me-Made-Mayer, and after all the rave reviews on Pattern Review, I decided it would be perfect for the remnant of vintage fabric I have been holding on to for well at least 5 years. It was one of those things I could never decide on what it should become, originally I had a curtain in mind, then cushion covers but now its a skirt. And I love it!

I lined it, and labelled it.

I had to do the zipper twice, but its the best looking zip I've done (despite needing another iron in this pic). It needs a hook and eye closure at the top, but I don't have any floating around so it can wait.

And I have wanted to use these buttons on so many projects, but they suit this perfectly. :-)

And best bit of all is it used every bit of fabric except for a 5cm x 5cm scrap. No wastage whatsoever. Actually I had to take 5cm off the pattern at the hemline because there was so little fabric to begin with. But the finished length is fine for me, anything else would probably have been too long.

I now have a pile of kids clothes to sew up to get their winter wardrobes finished. So far Little Miss has 1 jeans refashion, 2 tracky pants, 1 pyjama pants, 1 tights. She has 2 pairs of tights and a jumper dress cut and waiting. Little Man has 2 tracky pants finished, 2 monkey pants and 1 jumper on the cutting table.

Me-Made-May : Day 12 & 13 plus a Cardi refashion

2010-05-13T13:11:00.000+10:00

Well the weather turned, and it feels like winter, so its become all about layering for Me-Made-May, and I am loving the black pocket dress for layering.

Day 12:

Me Made Black Pocket Dress

Me Made Peach Scribble Top

Day 13:

Refashioned Grey Swirl tank

Refashioned Yellow Ruffle Cardi

Refashioned Dark Skinny Jeans

Today's outfit has a new refashion which I started earlier in the week.

Up close shot of the ruffle cardi, I used the ruffle idea from this Anthropologie Whirl and Wind Cardi

I think the buttons are straight, its just the way I am standing. Here is the before, just a plain black jumper and some leftover t-shirt scraps:

I cut a deep V-neck and hemmed the edges, added the buttons (fake, there are no buttonholes) and then added the ruffle. I used Made-By-Rae's tip of just shoving as much material under the presser foot to get the uneven ruffles.

Blue Polka Dot Dress

2010-05-11T22:52:00.001+10:00

We have had some unseasonally warm days lately, which has thankfully worked in the favour of my me-made wardrobe. I got to wear this dress for only the second time.

Day 11:

Me-Made Blue Polka Dot Dress

** Do you like the "koala in the gumtree"? it was Little Miss's idea :-) **

I have had this dress finished for a while, mind you it took a while to get finished, lots of little snatches of working on it.

The major hold up had been because I had bought 6 buttons, but realised at the final hour that it needed 8. And every time I walked past my button lady's shop, she was closed. (Secretly, I had feared the worst, she looks over 90 years of age, and every time I walk into her shop and give a cheery hello to wake her from her nap, I worry that it will either give her a heart attack or she won't wake. So when she hadn't opened in a week I figured I would have to try my luck elsewhere. But alas there she was the next Thursday napping away, and so the dress is finished)

This dress is a combo of the Tara top and Shari dress from BurdaStyle. I used the two different patterns as I liked the sleeves on the Tara, but funnily enough when it came to the last alterations, I ended up trimming them down to cap sleeves as the original were too big and too fluttery.

The top can be unbuttonned to allow for breastfeeding, and I achieved this by cutting out 2 bodice pieces and 3 of the waist bands. For 2 of the waistbands I cut them in half and the third is interfaced. I sewed the 2 bodice pieces together along with the waistbands, added some buttonholes and away we go...easy access.
\My only gripe is that the dress does show a lot of cleavage and too much bra. It looks fine with a tank underneath, but I am thinking of reworking the top breastfeeding section with some white stretch material underneath so that I have the coverage all in the one top.

I saw a similar dress around the middle of summer and was getting worried that I wouldn't get it made before the weather turned cold. It seems I shouldn't have been worried.

I also finished my baby slings today, and used Topsy Turvy's tutorial for ribbon labels, to add some finishing touches.

Me-Made-May : Day 8, 9, 10

2010-05-10T18:37:00.000+10:00

Just a quick visit from me today....I did another skinny jeans refashion and actually remembered before, during and after pics...

and here is evidence pics of Me Made May days 8 9 and 10.

Day 8:

Me Made Peach Scribble Top

Refashioned Dark Skinny Jeans

Day 9:

Me Made Cheshire Cat Top

Me Made Green Wool Top

RTW Jeans (the day did start with Refashioned Dark Skinny Jeans, honest!)

Day 10:

Refashioned Black Grey Swirl Top

Me Made Grey Dress (worn as top)

Refashioned Maroon Mens Shirt Skirt

And now I'm back to the sewing machine. I have a baby sling order to finish and hopefully a jumper refashion anthro-style.

Me-Made-May : Day 6 & 7

2010-05-08T06:58:00.000+10:00

Uh-Oh.....Camera malfunction, so no pic for Day 6.....you'll have to make do with this Polyvore pic to see what I wore. (Lesson learnt, no matter how much of a budding photographer Little Miss is, you shouldn't expect a camera to come out alive after a day with a 2yo!)

Me-Made-May: Day 6 by ChickyC featuring Superfine jeans

But on a brighter note I finished my hoodie...and I am so glad, looking out the window today it is bright and sunny but WINDY, so at least I'll be warm now. I can't believe that I attempted another stripe material so quickly after the Cheshire Cat Striped Top, but here it is.

I took it slowly and am pretty happy with how the stripes match up. I am particularly happy with the overall finish, there is nothing about it that screams handmade to me, which is something that a lot of my me-made-items lack.

I lined the hood with a T-shirt from the refashion pile, and also lined the top section of the bodice that can be seen when the hoodie is zipped up. I had some matching bias binding in my stash, so finished the seam between the hood and jacket with that. I am loving the nice deep pockets....there was a couple of times I tried the jacket on for fit throughout the sewing process and I kept going to put my hands in the non-existent pockets. I would really like to start incorporating more pockets into my sewing, they come in so handy.

And so here is today's outfit....care of our backup camera which spent all of yesterday charging up.

Day 7:

Me-Made Striped Hoodie

Me-Made Purple Twisted Top

Refahsioned Skinny Jeans

Yesterday also saw a successful trip to my local op-shop. I swear there is an op-shop fairy...I was thinking a couple of nights ago how now that the weather has changed I really need some warm jammies because I'm up in the night so many times for the kids. So I toddle on down to the op-shop and whaddya know there is about 3m of this cute flannelette material, screaming to be made into jammie pants. And I think I have something in the refashion pile that will work as a comfy jammie top.

While I was there I (typically) grabbed a few other bits of material, and Little Miss picked up some bright pink material, which I turned straight into a long-sleeved T-shirt for her. I appliqued the Smurfette patch on the front, which I had previously saved from a smaller, stained top. I had used one of her other tops as a pattern for this, but I need to adjust the back for a better fit, I think just raising the back neckline with make it work.

Me-Made-May : Day 4 & 5 with a jeans refashion

2010-05-05T10:44:00.000+10:00

I managed to finish off my jeans refashion. These started as bootleg jeans, but I prefer to wear my jeans tucked into boots these days, so I changed them to a skinny jean, and shortened the hem while I was at it. I saw the skinny jeans method previously on Wardrobe Refashion, I can't find the link, but what you do is put the jeans on inside out, pin wear you want them (I actually just marked the line using a pen), take them off and sew. Done! I used this tute for a nice finish on the hem.

Day 4:

Me Made Cheshire Cat Striped Top

Refashioned Skinny Jeans

Bubba Moe Sling with My Little Man asleep inside

Day 5 sees me taking a new twist on the Aubergine Chameleon Cardi , well literally!! And hopefully I will get to sit at the sewing machine for a kids jeans refaashion, and to get started on my hoodie.

Day 5:

Me Made Aubergine Chameleon Cardi

Me Made Black Pocket Dress

Me-Made-May : Day 3 & Kiddie Refashions

2010-05-04T08:33:00.001+10:00

Well today started like this....(how cute is Little Miss posing like me!)

Me Made Grey dress

Refashioned Black Tank

Me Made necklace

and Brand new Rubi quilted fabric shoes (love,love,love!)

And after a baby induced outfit change it ended like this....

Me Made Green Wool Dress

RTW Black Leggings

Me Made Necklace

I can see there being a lot more of these multiple outfit days (making the challenge harder), just because my Little Man is still a refluxy baby. Ah well such is life, at least it doesn't upset him, he just keeps smiling away :-)

And there was a bit of refashioning in between...

These dresses are my start on Little Miss's winter wardrobe, they are Little Blue Boo style using a bunch of old shirts in my refashioning pile. Super easy to do on the overlocker.

Me-Made-May : Day 1 & 2

2010-05-02T18:43:00.000+10:00

And we're off....I finished my last entry for Spring Top Week on Friday evening, no pattern was used just a bit of making it up as I went along. I achieved the twist in the centre front by marking out like I was going to sew a tube at the front, and then moving one of those lines down about 4-5cms.

And I then had to wear it for the first day of Me-Made-May.

Day 1:

Me-Made Purple Twisted Top

Me-Made Black Pocket Dress

I've also started checking out the other blogs of people taking on the Me-Made-May challenge, and it was something on "The Wardrobe, reimagined" about including any item that had passed through her sewing machine which has given me a different perspective on my wardrobe. It has reminded me that altered clothes have every right to be in this challenge (for me) because without me having made the alterations, the clothes would still be on the floor of the wardrobe gathering dust, yet now here they are in full rotation.

So with that in mind top of my list for this week is to alter the 2 pairs of jeans that haven't seen the light of day for about 3 years now. Both have zips that need repairing and I'll be making them skinny jeans so that they fit under my winter boots.

Next up will be a hoodie and a start on the muslin for my winter jacket. We are going out to the country next weekend, and it will be cold without at least a hoodie.

Oh and here is day 2's outfit (and my little man!) :

Day 2:

Me-Made Peach Scribble Top

Refashioned Shorts

Later Alligator!

A Glint of Glamour

2010-04-29T17:03:00.000+10:00

Here is my third entry for Spring Top Week. It is a batwing style top with a large waistband and armbands. I added some braiding around the neckline. The braiding came as part of a de-stash from my Mum's sewing lady, 3 bagfuls of fabric and 1 bag of lace, cottons and trims made me a happy sewer :-) This top was easy to make, it required no pattern I just used an existing top for sizing, added about 5cm to the bodice and drew a curved line around to the wrist. I used the burdastyle how-to for finishing the V-neck and I'm pretty happy with how that turned out. Majority of this top was done on the overlocker.

The fabric is a jersey/spandex with 2 way stretch, it is a beige colour with a bit of a shimmer (hence the garment title). I got 4 metres of the stuff from a Remnant Warehouse sale.

I really wanted to have a nice, loose fitting top for winter, and this can easily be layered underneath.

This will be my final entry for the Spring Top Week Competition, as I am exhausted tonight so the sewing machines will be getting a rest.

Getting my challenge on

2010-04-28T11:27:00.000+10:00

The thing I love since I have discovered blogging, is how seeing others blogs, challenges, and accomplishments pushes me to do more myself.

Made by Rae's Spring Top Week has forced me to put some ideas from my head (and wishlist) into reality. I am 2 tops down, and will try to get another 2 done.

It also means that I will probably have a much better chance when I take on So Zo's Me-Made-May challenge. I followed along Zoe's Me-Made-March where she only wore things in her wardrobe that she had made herself. This time around she is putting out the challenge for fellow bloggers to join her, and has allowed a 'Lite' version to allow for those (like me) who are taking creative licence and included refashions.

So the rules I am setting for myself are that each day I will wear at least one item made by me, and it can be paired up with an item I have refashioned. I have a few things that I kinda count more as alterations (say full length pants to capri length pants etc) I am going to see if I can get away without using these, but will keep them in a fallback pile just in case.

I have been playing around with Polyvore to put some outfit combos together, that way it shouldn't be such a struggle to put together an outfit each morning. Here are a couple I have done so far....[note: these items are as close a match to those wardrobe items I have made/refashioned ]

Chilled Gladiator by ChickyC featuring BCBGeneration dresses

Chamelean Spots by ChickyC featuring Paul & Joe dresses

Peach and Stripes by ChickyC featuring Dorothy Perkins tops

I am very excited!! but now it is time to get off the computer, and get back to making those "Spring" (Autumn in my case) Tops. ;-)

Peach Scribble Top

2010-04-27T15:32:00.001+10:00

This is my second entry for the Made By Rae - Spring Top Week.

I used the same pattern as the Chesire Cat Stripes top which is Burda WOF 04/2009-112. Hang on, I haven't blogged it, just put it on Burdastyle....well here it is....and more photos here.

This time though I only had a 2 way stretch material (and not much stretch at that). And I've added some more sleeve length than what I had on the Chesire, but still a few cm's shy of the pattern requirements.

The embellishment is Anthropology inspired, and simply uses the scrap lengths sewed on freestyle. My 2yo says it looks like a turtle, but I can't see it, I obviously don't have her imagination :-)

Aubergine Chameleon

2010-04-27T15:23:00.001+10:00

This is my first entry for Made By Rae's Spring Top Week.

Being in the Southern Hemisphere I am taking the liberty of including some longer style tops (because I'm sure I read that Rae would accept it...somewhere).

Anyway I had seen a similar style during one of my wanders through the mall I cannot remember which shop, but do remember it had a $175 price tag, which is well out of my price range. But the style itself is really easy to make. Essentially you just need a piece of material 3m long x your height of your back (or longer if you want a longer top), plus enough for 2 x sleeves. Then you need to cut in two slits for where the sleeves will go. So fold your 3m length in half, measure your back width, divide by two and that distance from the fold is where your sleeves will go. Move the slits down enough to allow for a bit of a cowl neck at the back. I used a sleeve pattern from another cardi. Sew in, then sew together the 2 ends(shown in red) so you end up with one big loop of material and you are done. See!... nothing to it.

The material I have here is a thin, loose knit. And I can see myself making another out of a thicker knit as winter gets colder.

Oh and the best thing about this top is the number of different ways you can wear it. Here's a few so far.

Sibylle progress - Part 2

2010-04-27T15:10:00.000+10:00

Well it has been a long time between posts, and in case I held you in suspense....Yes! I did get the dress finished in time to wear to the wedding. Was it the full Sibylle dress? Well, no. Did it work as planned? Well, no.

So here goes, I had part 2 "The underdress" all cut and ready to go, I put the bodice pieces together with the skirt and thought I'd try it on before I went any further, and I'm so glad I did because I immediately realised there was something very funky going on. I had obviously not marked where the waist should be, it was joining somewhere past my hipline and looked shocking. And despite the fact I had added some length to the skirt, there was no way near enough for it to be decent. So now I had not much material left and still a dress to get finished so I decided to turn to something tried and true(Perhaps what I should have done in the first place ;-)). The only thing of which I have for my figure at the moment was the "Sleepy Garden Dress". I simply laid the pattern out, drew a straight line above the bust and continued it round the back. I used the straps I already had cut out, and voila a finished dress with no need to make any adjustments.

And this is a photo from the wedding.

The skirt section (Part 3) is still in the to do pile, and now that there is no rush I can see it staying there a while :-)

Sibylle progress - Part 1

2010-03-19T10:31:00.000+11:00

I have decided tomake the Burdastyle Sibylle dress to wear to a wedding in (omigod) 1 week.

I am using thrift store fabric in pink shades. The underdress will be a shiny pink (formerly curtain I think). And the contrast top material is a silky material with pink floral pattern.

Given the short timeframe I decided to break down the dress into 3 parts,
1. Contrast fabric top.
2. Under dress.
3. Wrap skirt.

This is different to the original dress which has an under dress with tulle skirt and over dress with the top and skirt. I'm completely ommitting the tulle because its not my thing. And I'll be having the 3 parts all separate pieces, so that I don't have to wear them all together if I don't want.

I was contemplating lining the dress (something I usually omit because of laziness), but then realised that I could use the same contrast material as the lining since it has such a silky feel. Then I figured if I'm going to use nice material then I should make the dress reversible. In theory this should be fine, but I need to put some more thought into how I fit the side zipper so it looks ok from both sides

I really like the idea of the reversible dress as since I don't get dressed up all that often I want to be able to be able to mix up the ouitfit a little so I'm not wearing the same thing every time. [ This is my substitution for shopping for a new dress for each event I'm invited too :-) something that has been hard to give up!]

Since I have enough material I've also decided to make the skirt reversible too. So with just this one pattern I figure I have about 6 outfit possiblities. Even more if I wear the top or skirt with different dresses in the wardrobe. Ah well, there will be time to figure that out later...and every chance I'll photograph and show you all the options!

So onto the actual progress. All of the material and pattern is cut out. I have finished the contrast top, I'm not necessarily happy with it yet, but I'll wait till I finish the other parts before I make alterations to it. Here's the pics so far....

Here I am wearing it backwards to the BurdaStyle Sibylle as I think the big bow is quite cute. What I'm not happy with is how blousy the bodice parts are, I think its not doing any favours to my arms. I think I will need to take some material out of the underside.

So Part 1 is done. And I've started sewing the bodice together for the underdress. I'll just do the pink material one first and fit it so that I can make changes and then only have to sew the floral dress once.

Back soon!

Black Pocket Dress and Sleepy Garden Dress

2010-03-12T16:28:00.000+11:00

Well its been a productive sewing week in this house.

First up I finished this little black dress which I got the idea from the mosep dress pictured in my last post. This is a nice comfy casual dress, but I can easily dress it up with a belt.

It crosses over at the front which means it still works as a breastfeeding dress. I used a small loop on each of the shoulders to create some shape, but these can be moved up and down to slightly change the shape of the shoulders.

I’m loving the deep pockets at the front of the dress. It should also see me through to winter if I layer it up. It was mostly sewn up on the overlocker.

The second dress is a pattern from BWOF 10/2009 Dress 113. Material is an op-shop find, its previous life was a bedspread which makes for a comfy soft feel.

The shoulders are so cool, and so easy to do!

I did without the back zipper and used a contrasting exposed zipper on the front. I’ve been wanting to do that for a while, so I’m glad I can tick it off the list. It also makes for a breastfeeding friendly dress --- Can you tell that's high on my priority list at the moment! :-)

I should note here that the pattern pieces for the centre front and back were about 10cm longer than the side front and back, but not a major issue for me as I took a lot of length off the hem. Speaking of hems… I used my machine’s blind hem stitch for the first time and it has given such a nice finish and again quite easy once I read the instructions. I’ll definitely be finishing a lot more dresses and tops using this stitch as it’s a much more professional look, and all the bad memories of blind hemming school skirts by hand can now be banished :-).

I’ve also managed to get the next project cut out whilst the kids were napping today so here’s a sneak peak. It’s the Burdastyle Tara/Shari combo I've been working on but I’ll be making a few more adjustments to make it a bit more breastfeeding friendly.

Ruffles and stripes, and all things nice

2010-03-04T13:58:00.000+11:00

This is a top I made recently with fabric picked up at the op-shop for $1. I was really drawn to the pastelly stripes.

I didn't use a pattern, but took the ruffle idea from Lily's ruffle skirt tutorial (over @ House of Mirth). I simply used 2 ruffles instead of one, and joined them at Centre Back (well not quite centre so it turned out!) and then overlapped at the front.

I took advantage of the ruffles to make this a breastfeeding friendly top. The front panel is not completely joined to the top band. It is only stitched in the very centre and then buttoned on both sides. This makes for easy access for me! I've had the idea for this in my head for a while, so I'm glad its finally worked out. This top is definitely a keeper, its been in and out of the wash constantly since I finished it. I'm only sorry that I didn't take the time to overlock the edges, because now its starting to fray on the inside. But that's what you get for being daunted about threading an overlocker for the first time.

I have since conquered the fear, and said overlocker is now threaded up with black thread waiting for me to tackle somthing similar to this mesop. dress.

Dove love and some kiddie refashions

2010-03-04T12:58:00.000+11:00

Well I logged onto BurdaStyle last night and found that my 'Just Dovely' dress made it into the top 50 for the Alabama Studio Style Competition. I have a feeling voting has now closed, but here is the link anyway.

I've also been working away at some quick refashions for the kiddies. First up Little Miss needed some new swimmers as she was getting quite a few "plumber's crack" comments at her swimming lessons! So I took a dress of mine from about 10 years ago (knew I kept it for a reason) which was made out of swimsuit material, and using the worn out swimmers as a pattern I cut a new pair for her. She really likes them.

And then not a sewing refashion, but refashion none the less was these cute little pink baby shoes

That hove now become cute little black baby shoes for my Little Man with the help of a permanent marker.

I imagine that over the coming months there will be quite a few girl to boy refashions as I try to make the most of Little Miss's hand-me-downs.

Bag...Check, Blazer....Check

2010-02-27T17:59:00.000+11:00

Yay I finished both my black clutch bag and cropped blazer to wear to my dinner last night. So impressed!

I finished the black bag in one day with only one kidlet around. And I managed to get plenty of pics so I could put a "how-to" together. Here's a better pic of the finished product coz you can barely see it in the light above.

I lined it with denim from some old jeans becase it needed some structure and that's what i had lying around. But the denim added a lot of bulk to the side seams, in particular where the top of the bag folds over.

Here is the before pic of the blazer. You can see where i had put the pins for the curved look I was trying to create.

You can see in the next photo that the lining is pulling and creating a pucker (on the right hand side), so I'll have to let the lining out slightly in that spot. Otherwise I am completely happy with this refashion. And it only took 1 hour! Gotta love that.

I want, I want, I want

2010-02-24T01:01:00.003+11:00

I have so many things I want to sew right now....and I can't sleep, so here's an insight...

Black clutch purse (seen on marieclaire.com) ---Want it done by Friday 26th Feb

Cropped Blazer - like this one on lovemaegen.com...love her style, and her hair! I've got the pink op-shop blazer waiting to be hacked.---Want it done by Friday 26th Feb

Blue Polka Dot Dress, similar to this Betsey Johnson. I have this great royal blue polka dot material to use. I'm in the process of altering the Tara #8043 and Shari #7951 Patterns from BurdaStyle, I think this one will be a few weeks away.

Plaid Jacket - Inspired by this Ben Sherman jacket. I found some great material at The Fabric Shop last week, its a similar plaid but with purple instead of red. I think I'll make it hip length. I'm still deciding which BWOF pattern to use, but I'm leaning towards 110 from 12/2009, using buttons instead of the zip. I'll be doing a muslin using a coat I found at the op-shop a couple of years ago that is huge on me. The seam ripper is going to get a good workout on that one.

Tulip Dress - I'm using some purple paisley pillowcases I found at the op shop for the fabric. For the pattern I'm using the contour-bust dress from BurdaStyle and Skirt 125 from BWOF 06/2009

And that's enough....now to focus focus focus!

Alabama Studio Style #2 - Just Dovely

2010-02-23T21:17:00.000+11:00

Whilst rummaging through my WIP pile yesterday I found this little girls dress which I started making about a year ago. I stopped previously when I realised that it was wayyyy to big for Little Miss, and started to make a smaller version (blogged here). Well I thought this would be another good entry for the BurdaStyle competition, so I attached the sleeves, and tried reverse applique with hand-stitching for the dove this time.

The thing I like about making my own clothes and refashioning is the ability to tell a story in the garment. For example this dress is made from a pair of my favourite jeans which had died and the remnants of a quilt cover I made. And the dove is symbolic as a memory of a loved one we lost a long time ago.

Up next on the sewing table....a pink blazer picked up from the op-shop for $8, I'm going to remove some length and perhaps add some cuffs to the sleeves. It'd look good with the outfit I plan for a fancy dinner on Friday night, we'll see if I can be that motivated.

Refashion in Alabama Studio Style

2010-02-22T21:16:00.001+11:00

Today I completed what will be my entry on BurdaStyle's latest competition. This didn't take too long ( = about 5 days worth of snatched mummy moments) and has brought back to life a tank that was destined for the bottom of the wardrobe.

I like how Alabama Studio Style philosophy fits so well with Wardrobe Refashion in terms of re-use and sustainability.

I used the sleeves of another tank for the embellishment, the shapes are just free-hand and then I zig-zagged them on.

I think on tomorrow's agenda is to get some better photos and actually send in the competition entry. Good luck to anyone else out there who is entering.

....Hmmmm actually just found something in the Work-In-Progress pile that could also work for this comp...back to the sewing machine.

Nursing Top and Stash-busting

2010-02-19T17:55:00.013+11:00

Today I decided to get my little helper involved in my stash-busting, but before she was up I did a quick refashion to wear today....

I sewed together a black baby-doll top that always stretched too low when i wore it, and a grey side draped dress that I made about 2 months ago. I turned the dress around so that the racer back is now at the front, and I've only sewn the tops together at the top part of the racer so that I can pull the black top to the side and breastfeed my little son. I'm quite happy with the result.

Next job was to empty out my scraps (god only knows why I keep them!) and make an absolute mess :-)

And then I took two plain coloured singlets of Little Miss, and using her keen eye for colours she helped me come up with this butterfly and rainbow shirts. Its amazing what a difference a few scraps can make.

And finally using Dana's tutorial we made these quilted cards, they are so easy to do, and a great way to use up those scraps. I've finished 6 and have a pile more to do.

Upside down tulip....hmmm balloon?

2010-02-19T17:54:00.000+11:00

Well it has been a long time in between posts for me, but I'm blaming the pregnancy and newborn as the reason I haven't been blogging.

I will aim to get some more refashions posted shortly, but here is a quick one I did today. I have been loving the tulip/draped style skirts that are around at the moment, and actually am halfway through a new one made from a pillowcase. But true to my form I can't stay focused on one project so I whipped out this white A-line skirt today.

I added 2 darts to the back to raise the waistband up a couple of inches, and then added some pleats to the bottom hem of both back and front.

Here is the end result...

I did smaller pleats on the back as I thought it might make my bum look huge otherwise. I don't know that I like the smaller pleats now though...Oh well its wearable for now. But I'm thinking its more of a balloon shape than tulip (well perhaps).

And here is one from a while ago that started as a zipfront Cue women's business shirt, and finished as a little pinafore for my daughter.

I used the zip placket as a waistband. And I had removed the collar and cut in half to make the straps. I originally intended the buttons to go at the back of the dress, but it looks cuter with them at the front.

Unfinished business

2009-04-01T20:37:00.007+11:00

I seem to have started accumulating quite a few unfinished projects:

The mila dress is sitting in the box because I'm not liking the idea of adding lining to solve the see-through issue
I took apart a pair of jeans to make a pleated skirt, but i need to finish the hem before I can pleat. Plus my iron is simply disagreeing with me and trying to burn everything it touches.
I still haven't sewn the buttons onto DD's boy style pants, even though i've decided on the pattern I'll use.

Lazy, lazy, lazy and I feel even worse about it since I just won the give-away on Wardrobe Refashion for responding about "How I make time for the small things". So with that as my motivation it is my mission to finish the above 3 things this weekend. There I've said it.

Now one little thing that might distract me is that I'm trying to find some fabric outlets better than Spotlight which my local store ain't so local anymore. So I saw a link on Veronica Darling's blog to a fabric outlet in Alexandria, which just so happens to be having a sale on Saturday. So i'm going to check it out. I'm going with the intention of finding some nice jersey material to make this style of dress:
The thing i love about it is that it is simply 2 long straps of material at the front that you can tie anyway you like, and so create many looks from the one dress. There are how-to's on Rostitchery and BurdaStyle and it looks pretty easy.

Also this week I bought a pair of size 16 pants in crepey material with the intention of making harem style pants like this:I don't think it'll take too much effort to refashion them(just elastic at the waist and ankles) and hopefully they look a bit better than tracky-daks for lounging around in. I have tried a few pairs on in the shops and I think I can get away with wearing them.

Wish me luck for the weekend sewing effort!

Looking ahead to winter

2009-04-01T20:36:00.001+11:00

With the cool setting in at night now, I'm starting to think about winter wardrobes. I have had 3 successes today out of the one jumper. Here's what I started with:

I then cut off the sleeves and the turtleneck. It was at this point that my dear daughter added her own input.

And I agreed a beanie was a great idea, so I added a running stitch around the top and gathered it together. And here's the finished product, (without the model who didn't want to participate!)

Next I had the sleeves to work with:

Which were the perfect length for pants for someone with little legs. So I slit the seam about halfway down each sleeve. And then stitched the slit sections together to form the crotch of the pants. Added some elastic around the waist. And here you have the finished pants.

So finally I was left with the bodice of the jumper. I was thinking it could be a cool little mini skirt for me to wear with tights, but I decided against it and made a jumper dress for little miss instead.

Guitar singlet and Paisley skirt

2009-03-23T13:40:00.000+11:00

This morning a lack of un-stained t-shirts in DD's wardrobe convinced me to whip up something for her. I took this stained and stretched T-shirt along with the fabric tag that came from DP's new jeans.

I then cut off the sleeves, which didn't have any stains, and pinned them to the inside of the armhole on a new singlet.

It was fiddly stitching but a cute end result. I then zig-zag stitched around the guitar cut-out, and what do you know - a sweet little t-shirt for little miss to wear. Lets see how long this one stays white!

I also did a quick trasformation of this green paisley dress that I haven't worn in about 8 years: (bad photo)

Into this knee length skirt, by trimming off the top then stitching the two layers together and adding a bit of elastic on the inside so that the stretch lining didn't lose shape.

Girls Night Out

2009-03-21T11:56:00.005+11:00

(Sorry for all the bad pics in this post I really have to figure out some better lighting.)

I had a girls night out to go to last night, and true to form wanted something new to wear. I have quite a stash of dresses tucked away waiting to be turned into something new, so 2 got the opportunity yesterday. The first one was this brown spotted dress, it has always sat quite low around the neckline so I haven't worn it much, I cut off some length and attempted to add a ruffle around the neckline and shorten the straps at the same time...it didn't work, I think I'll need to adjust the width of the ruffle and how far it extends around the top. So I decided to cut my losses, and put it away for another time.

Instead I picked up this white dress which has had a broken strap since the first time I wore it, and is quite short on its own, so doesn't leave the house unless I'm feeling adventurous. I decided to cut off some length (above the bottom embroidery) and then simply zig-zagged the hem, fixed the straps and voila, a simple white top to wear out. I will get so much more wear out of it this way.
I've also taken on lorchick's comment to embellish DD's boyish pants with some buttons...*slaps head* that must have been why I bought that bag of beutron buttons a few weeks ago. Here are some ideas so far:

Productive Weekend

2009-03-15T21:02:00.006+11:00

Well I've had myself a productive sewing weekend amongst other things like enjoying the sunny days. I noticed a pair of trousers in my sewing bag that haven't seen the light of day for many years, and the tan pinstripe was perfect for some shorts I've had in mind. All the hard work was done for my so I just added a couple of darts at the back to bring them from a size 12 to a size 8, plus I added a fake cuff to the bottom. I really like the length of the shorts so they got a workout today as we wandered the markets.

I used the offcuts of the trousers to make a pair of trousers for my little girl, they look slightly boyish on her, but will be great for winter. Also they have the proper cuff on them so they should last her a couple of years by unfolding the cuff and adding more elastic to the waist.

I've also just about finished a new dress for my daughter to wear this week to a special family event. It only needs to be tried on to sew the straps to the right length. I used a pair of old jeans for the skirt, and the top was made from leftover material from when I made my quilt cover. Actually this dress is my second attempt as the first attempt is way too big, I was guesstimating (badly) on Friday night at how tall little miss is, so the first attempt can go to the back of the cupboard until she's older. Bugger too because I was tired and trying to finish the dress and ended up having to try 3 times to attach the bodice to the skirt, my seam ripper sure got a workout! This was also my first attempt at applique and I'm not a huge fan of how it worked out because the zigzag stitch length varies so much (no satin stitch on my machine:-( ) but from afar its pretty cool.
The mila dress is all cut out, but my motivation is lacking because I've realised the print material is pretty thin and see-through so I'll need to add some lining. Maybe the next time I get a couple of solid hours to just get it done...maybe....

Inspiring giveaways

2009-03-06T08:23:00.000+11:00

I've been trawling the net this morning and stumbled across this great giveaway at http://grosgrainfabulous.blogspot.com ... absolutely love it, check it out ....

Sunday Laundry Shirt Dress GIVEAWAY!!!!

I also found some inspiring things over at Anthropologie, might have to use some of the ideas in my refashioning.

Refashioned Purple Skirt

2009-03-03T13:48:00.013+11:00

Here is my first refashioning attempt for myself since taking the Wardrobe Refashion 2 month pledge. I took 1 ugly purple men's button down shirt( I remembered to take a photo after the first cut), and using this refashion for inspiration turned it into a skirt. I used the cuffs for pocket detail on the back of the skirt. I do intend to put some funkier buttons on the front, but that will have to wait until I find my sewing machine manual that tells me how to do automatic button holes.

I also made a bedspread and pillow cases last week, and again just need to add buttons to the bottom section to finish it off. I think it also needs a bright contrasting pillow to complete the look, but that will come later.

My next refashioning item will be this dress and use the Mila Dress at BurdaStyle for the pattern.

Coffee Date Dress

2009-02-20T14:47:00.005+11:00

I finished the coffee date dress last night. I am definately learning as I go, for this dress the pattern is a size 32 and I figure I'm somewhere between a 34-36 so I add 1/2" here and an inch there and managed to get it to fit me. I had to relocate the bust darts as they were definately in the spot for someone much smaller than me. I also didn't like the big ruffle on the pattern so I made mine a bit smaller. I like it better this way, there is still a bit of detail on the dress, but it's not so in your face! You'll notice I had to add in another dart in the armhole as it was gaping a fairbit, luckily the ruffle hides the end of it so it doesn't stand-out.

Now I get to wear it to a friend's wedding on the weekend. Yay :-)

The sack dress is finished

2009-02-18T10:09:00.003+11:00

Yay, I finished the sack dress last night, and I'm happy to say it looks a lot less like a sack than it did a couple of days ago. It took about 4 attempts at taking the seams in and lengthening the darts to get it to sit straight. I was going to redo the neckline to be a lower U shape but I think I'll leave it as it. The sleeve are a bit wider than I would have liked, but they'll stay like that for now because it'll take me ages to figure out how to fix them otherwise. Sleeves are definitely not my thing. I'll add a few more accessories, but for now I like it.

My next project is the coffee date dress. I was going to make this from my stash in a pale green fabric, but I think I'll be bored with it, so I picked up a nice print on the weekend, and I'll use that instead. Its all cut out, and hopefully I can put it all together before the weekend so I can wear it to a wedding. I don't know that I like the big ruffle, so I'm thinking of doing a thinner ruffle, but more of it, (iykwim)

The sack dress

2009-02-16T13:26:00.006+11:00

So I showed my boyfriend the pattern I was making and he promptly started calling it "The Sack Dress". Sadly I'm part way through and think he might be right, it is looking awfully sacklike, but I'm going to finish it regardless as I don't think I can salvage it now.

Here are the pics of the items i finished refashioning last week:

The Naughty Dress

Tracky Daks

Mini Skirt

The beginning

2009-02-15T08:03:00.004+11:00

So, after years of hording old clothes thinking "I can use that for something else one day", I have finally decided to stop procrastinating and get sewing!

A few days ago we decluttered our wardrobes and came up with a bag of stuff to go to the op shop, but of course I couldn't let it go without pilfering first! I sat down the following day and have made my DD 2 sets of trackies out of an old pair of mine, a little mini-skirt out of an old singlet top, a dres out of an old tank and I've earmarked about 10 other items as my To-Do's. I'll post these creations once I figure out how to upload photos. If all goes to plan I'll be able to create a few step-by-step tutorials.

I've also got a stash of material hiding under the bed which i want to get sewn up. I've been browsing for free patterns on the web to start with so that I can build up my sewing skills high school Home Economics 10yrs ago just doesn't seem like much experience :-)
I think I'm going to give the Coffee Date dress a go from BurdaStyle (http://www.burdastyle.com/patterns/show/3896) and I also found a pattern while I was op-shopping Very Easy Very Vogue 9411 that I'll try too.

Anyways a lot to do, now finding the time to do it....

See ya later.