Sewing for Sanity

Burdastyle Sewing Club Perth Meetup - Part 2

2011-07-10T23:06:00.001+10:00

One of the best parts about going to the Perth Burdastyle Sewing Club meetup was getting to see all the wonderful, creative and arty stuff that members were making and wearing. After being there for only a few hours my wish-list of future sewing projects has grown even bigger...

First up we have Irene with her very groovy necktie embellished t-shirt.

At first I didn't even realise this was a necktie that had been pleated and attached to a store brought top. Irene pleated the tie to fit then stitched it on by hand, how awesome is it?


Irene and her pleated tie t-shirt.

I totally want me one of these and if op-shops don't turn up anything suitable soon I may have to plunder hubby's tie collection ;)

Next up is Gill who, besides making all her own silver jewellery, was also sporting a delectable winter weight skirt, made by herself in a mixtures of fabrics and featuring a pleated front. Any excuse to add pleats or buttons to a wardrobe item always piques my interest and this skirt ticks both boxes !

Gill would also like you to know that she has mastered the welt pocket!!!
Welt pockets are something that I have so far not attempted, putting it into the "ooh-that-looks-way-too-tricky-and-fiddly" basket, so I have real R-E-S-P-E-C-T for Gill's accomplishment:


Gill and her amazingly neat, accurate welt pockets:)

Gill is also a professional visual artist (painting) and jeweller :)

I noticed that one of the clubs members was wearing this most adorable mini patchwork badge:

The whole thing was maybe about 5 cms (?) in diameter and looked stunning on the wearer's (Sarah's) grey cardigan. The badge is the result of an evening sewing session by several members in the club. If I ever have the patience to try patchwork making one of these will be at the top of my list!

Finally we have the very lovely Sally, a new member like myself. Sally managed to knock out the majority of this gorgeous summer dress during the meet-up session:

Sally's sublime summer dress.

Sally if you ever decide you don't want this let me know... I think this dress would be just the thing for our 40+ summer days!

Add strappy sandals, floppy wide brim hat, big sunnies,a tan belt and you would be good to go to the beach or for an outdoor BBQ dinner party :)

This is one of Sally's first projects BTW- if any of mine had looked HALF this good I would have been ecstatic!!!

Burdastyle Sewing Club Perth Meetup - Part 1

2011-07-10T01:08:00.002+10:00

Have you heard of Burdastyle groups? If not then get onto the Burdastyle groups page quickstitch!!

Today I had the most lovely experience of meeting with members of the Burdastyle Perth Sewing Club, a totally awesome 3 or so hours spent with a bunch of people who love sewing as much (or even more) than I do!!

Meet-ups are held at the most wonderful Sandra Bryan's- aka Sewanista- workshop studio:


Sally, Sandra, Gill and Fleur

Sandra runs lesson from her workshop for people of all ages and is also an article contributor to the eco-friendly Peppermint magazine.
Fantastic to know there are such talented, creative and sharing people in the Perth arts community isn't it?

A wonderful quote on the wall of the studio.

A bonus to the day was that BurdaStyle headquarters had sent a "little something" along for members of our group. Apparently we are now the largest BurdaStyle Sewing Club going- yay Perth!!!
Looks like I picked the right time to join ;)
Our BurdaStyle pressie was a totally cute card for writing your personal measurements on, plus a spool of Mettlers thread and a very sweet Brudastyle button badge:

BurdaStyle goodies

I had a fabulous time at the meet-up and can't wait to attend the next one!!

If you haven't got a club going in your area why not start one up?

Next up : some pics of arty sewn stuff seen at the meet up :)

July W.I.P

2011-07-05T00:11:00.000+10:00

A sneak peak of what I'm working on...

Striped Kwik Sew Pants

2011-07-04T16:06:00.000+10:00

As I had so much fun making the first pair of pants up I decided to give another pattern from Kwik Sew's "Sewing For Toddlers" (by Kerstin Martensson) a go.

This time I decided to try the "Pants with side seams", which is designed for wovens and firmer knits.

There are two peices to this pattern, but besides that construction is as simple and easy to do as the knit pants.

I think the leg may be slightly wider on this version? They look a little baggier...

Either way Cooper seems to like them!

New pants are great for climbing in....

:) :) :)

Camo Kwik Sew Pants

2011-07-03T16:43:00.000+10:00

Managed to knock out another pair of the knit pants from Kwik Sew's "Sewing For Toddlers":

I used a camouflage printed tracksuit material picked up on sale from Textile Trader's.
The back of the material is white, fleecy and annoyingly shed fibres all over the printed side after prewashing- I am so hoping it stops shedding after a few washes grrr.
Interestingly this fabric had "made exclusively for JoAnn's" on the selvage - isn't this an American textiles store?

I decided to add elastic to the leg cuffs this time to make the pants a bit warmer (has gotten cold here) and to eliminate the need for folding them up, as they are a little long at the moment.

Love how quick this project is to make- just what I need right now!

Toddler pants

2011-07-01T15:50:00.000+10:00

Have started to go back through my collection of patterns and sewing books :)
While I don't actually have that many specifically for children (though I'm sure that will change) what I do have is the Kwik Sew book "Sewing For Toddlers", by Kerstin Maternsson.
Although a bit dated in styling and some of the fashions (I am guessing the cover was shout during the early 1990's?) this is a good book for basic patterns, such shorts, pyjama pants and t-shirts.
Also, as with most Kwik Sew products, the instructions are well written and easy to follow - a definite bonus when you are a sleep deprived mum!
As my sewing time is very limited at the moment I was looking for something quick and easy, that could provide almost instant gratification with not too much labour.
I decided to give the "knit pants" a go as Cooper really needed a couple of extra tracksuit type pants, that kids can sure go through pants!

The book comes with a master pattern sheet that you trace the pattern pieces off from, like Burda WOF but much clearer and easier to see. As the knit pants used only one (yes one!) pattern piece I was able to trace the pattern and cut out the fabric during one afternoon nap session (the kids not mine...sewing in my sleep would be a very handy skill to have though).

The fabric I used was a graffiti style knit that I brought at Rathdowne Fabrics during pregnancy (apologies for the photos they were taken very quickly) :

I like that the colour scheme is a little bit different from the usual run of the mill boys clothing. Plus- with the way Cooper is climbing these days- the "trouble" text print is very apt ; )

Construction was very simple- I didn't even bother reading the instructions before sewing except to check out the seam allowance. If I had of bothered I would have realised that Kwik Sew has a slightly easier method of sewing pants than my "sew the inside leg seams, stick one leg inside the other and then sew the crutch seam". Their method has you sew the centre front and back seams together (fabric right sides together) and then you sew the inner leg seams in one continuous pass after that- resulting in 2 seams to sew instead of 3.


Leg seams sewn.

Oh well with a project this simple I don't think it made too much of a time difference! Goes to show though that you should always read the instructions, never know when you might learn something new :)

As I was trying out my "new" vintage Princess sewing machine I kept the seams pretty simple, just a very narrow zigzag with a wider zigzag overcasting the edges:

Very basic and rough seams

Also no doubt Cooper with have grown out of these in no time so speed was a priority over aesthetics...

I did try the suggested method for applying the elastic, where you sew the elastic ends together to make a loop then fold the casing over it and sew as close to the elastic as possible. You end up with the elastic completely encased in the fabric and it eliminates the need for threading through afterwards.
I found it to be a bit of a fiddly process, using a zipper foot I tried to get as close to the elastic as possible but was worried about catching the elastic in the stitching the whole time and to tell the truth I don't think its any easier than sewing the casing and then threading the elastic.
Cuffs were just folded under and sewn with a zigzag stitch, with such a busy pattern I figured that you wouldn't be able to tell it wasn't straight stitch.

Finished pants

Cooper wore his new pants to playgroup for the first time the other day and I received some lovely comments from other mums on the pants. Now I just wish I had brought more of the fabric!!

Bibs applique - as promised!

2011-06-12T23:01:00.000+10:00

Many moons ago (pre-babies) I said I would post more pics of the bibs I was appliquing. Well 14 or so months on (who knew children were so time intensive lol) here are a few:

A car for Cooper.

Hearts for Millie.

And a rocket with safari animal passengers for whoever is wearing it at the time!

At this stage of parenthood I cannot even imagine having the time to change threads so that everything matches perfectly but hey when you are pregnant and housebound....

The only thing I would possibly change about these (in hindsight) is to make sure that the bibs had snap closures insted of velcro. It's amazing how quickly little fingers work out how to undo velcro!

New (old) machine!!!

2011-06-12T22:21:00.000+10:00

Look what I got for $25 off Perth Gumtree!!!
Ain't she a beauty?
Ever since I borrowed a apple-green Sew Queen while learning to sew I have had an affinity for these beautiful enameled old workhorses.

This one has a "princess" badge on it and internet searching suggests that these were imported into Australia from Japan, then rebadged and sold through various department stores.
I love the two-tone enamel finish, the interesting dials, buttons and lettering that remind me of an old Chevy or Cadiallac. Best of all it works and sews the nicest straight stitch I have seen in a while:)
Now to somehow find some time during the week so I can sit and play!

P.S It seeems Cooper shares my love of beautiful old machines- you can see his hand sneaking up to touch it in the last photo :)

Meet the kidlets

2010-06-18T21:05:00.001+10:00

Millie and Cooper are here! Well actually they arrived April 9th and since then I have been busy busy busy!

Who'd have thought such cute little beings could create a hideous mountain of pooey nappies?

Not sewing at the moment but am hoping as soon as these guys start sleeping through "a bit" I might feel like it ;)

All worth it though!

Baby bibs a go-go

2010-03-10T11:13:00.003+11:00

Not much sewing has been going on around here. Many plans have been made and sacrificed to the gods of self-indulgent couch lazing ;)

Still desperate to do something I did manage to decorate a few bibs. Note that I did not SEW these up - they were brought! At $7 a bunch from Target they were waaaay cheaper than what it would take time wise for my poor pregnancy brain to replicate.

I decided to do some "simple" applique to make try and transform these bibs from "functional" to "cute".

Applique is much more fiddly and time intensive than I ever imagined.....

This is my first attempt, a giraffe design based on a onesie print :

I decided to colour-cordinate the thread with each fabric piece. Crazily time intensive swapping all those reels and bobbins over, but I think it does look better!

Hubby said I should sell these at a craft market - I said after a few hours working out and making the first one I don't think we would be recouping our costs or making any type of profit anytime soon.

Besides which I was kinda over it by the end of the fourth bib :)

This is my sewing desk after about 3 bibs in, note widespread mess and destruction:

If you are curious I used a really small zig-zag stitch to sew around the edges of the applique, not quite a satin stitch- maybe 0.5 SL by 1 to 1.5 SW. Also I used the double sided iron on applique paper - wonderful stuff!

Will try and post the rest of the bib appliques up in the next few days :)

Growth of the belly

2010-03-10T10:54:00.001+11:00

A pair of rather daggy shots of the preggie belly...

22 weeks (thereabouts) at St Kilda Pier. Can still get about fairly easily and walk lots!

29.5 weeks - feeling huge as a house and waddling!

You can see part of what used to be the sewing room behind me, it has now been transformed into the nursery :)

Sometimes it takes a spammer to get you blogging again ...

2010-03-08T23:09:00.002+11:00

Or at least for me it has!
A big thank-you must go to the yahoo website Babelfish, which was able to translate a block of Chinese text that had randomly popped up in several of my comment's fields in one day.
As it turned out the text was just a mish mash of "inappropriate" keywords and not a dinkum comment reposted by accident (which I was kinda hoping it had been..).
So I got to spend half an hour checking all my post's "comments" field and deleting the offending material late at night, which has led me to change my commenting process to now being moderated :(
I had really thought (or hoped) that a blog of my size might escape being spammed but it seems that size doesn't matter at all to the spamming community.
Most annoyingly given the nature of the words left in the comments I am pretty sure that several of my posts - or perhaps my whole blog- would have probably been blocked by various net nanny sites, if I had not been alerted to and removed the spamming!
NOT what you want for a plain old unoffensive sewing/craft website!!!
Thank goodness for my email alerts which tell me when I get a new comment - they definately saved the day this time!

Earrings for Aiden

2009-12-30T20:47:00.005+11:00

Slowly slowly catching up on all the missed birthday and Christmas gifts I owe ( a little late for Christmas but better late than never right?). Morning sickness and general tiredness have finally eased up -thank goodness- and I seem to have got my crafting groove back :)

Here's a pair of earrings I whipped for my friend Aiden (who loves pearls) :

Materials used: dyed freshwater pearls (from Lincraft), tigertail, metal crimps and sterling silver hooks.

Originally I wanted to have the pearls on silver tone wire head pins, however freshwater pearl beads quite often have very small drill holes (as was the case here), so had to use the tigertail and crimps instead.

Tigertail can give a more "modern" or "industrial" look, depending on how its used, but I think the overall look worked here :)

All up these were very quick and easy to make - maybe no more than 15 minutes in total.

Wrapped and ready to go! :

Last minute Chrissy present

2009-12-29T18:35:00.001+11:00

I managed to make a little something to pop under the tree for hubby on Christmas eve :)

DH loves his footbal (AFL - Australian Rules) team and I had the right coloured felt on hand,

so I made a tree ornament for him:

Pinning....

Stitching....

Pulling threads to the back....

A messy inside shot before sewing the two halves together,

in a bit of a hurry so it's not as neat as I would have liked ...

Stuffed, finished and ready to wrap - hope he likes it!

Preggy pic!

2009-12-28T15:15:00.000+11:00

Just a pic to show you all how I'm "growing" :)

Passed the 19 weeks mark on Boxing day, which is great as we had some difficulties with the pregnancy earlier on.

Fingers crossed the rest is smooth sailing ....

AN EARLY MERRY CHRISTMAS !

2009-12-24T11:06:00.004+11:00

May you and your family have a safe and happy Christmas!
(May there be plenty of sewing goodies
under the tree for you).

Kate :)

GROSGRAIN is having a giveaway!

2009-12-23T09:18:00.001+11:00

What fantastic timing! I have been thinking of making up some maternity wear and Grosgrain's lovely Milk and Honey dress pattern giveaway pops up on my blogroll :)
Check it out for a peek at the gorgeous dress and a chance to win a pattern !

Meet the Softies!

2009-12-22T14:58:00.001+11:00

Finished my first ever softies, now to think of names for them...Sgt Plod and Nurse Lulu ? Sgt Pepper and Nurse Stiches? er maybe not...

These guys will probably end up winging their way back to Western Australia as part of a present for my friend Aiden and her little just-turned-one boy Lucas, hope he likes them!

The pattern itself was pretty straightforward to follow, however I feel my softies did end up looking a little different - namely narrower- and not as cute as Jodie's (from Ric-Rac) original. Whether this is due to my sewing or the pattern I'm not sure, Jodie makes and sells many wonderful softies though her etsy shop so if the pattern is slightly different from her original I think thats understandable- especially as it was free :)

Next time I sew this pattern I would probably widen and contour the main body shape a little more to give them a more "plumper" appearance. When sewing these two I made the template for the face a little bigger - about 10cm in diameter- than Jodie's suggested 8cm:

Still its a great pattern and you do end up with very two softies as a result :) Mine took a bit longer than 1 hour to make up and sew - maybe three or four- but I did do it in bit and pieces over several days, and am pretty new to softie sewing- I expect the next lot (for my babies) to whip up a lot quicker !

WARNING! SOFTIES UNDER CONSTRUCTION...

2009-12-17T19:26:00.001+11:00

When looking for a cute free pattern for my first go at softies I came across these guys (by Jodie from Ric -Rac) on Softie Making- aren't they adorable? :)

Jodie is a very creative and talented craftster who makes the most fantastic elephant and robot softies (plus a variety of other drool-worthy items) that have me green with envy at her talent!

She has very kindly posted the pattern - and helpful tutorial - free here on her blog, for any would be recreational softie makers :)

P.S. While you are visiting Ric-Rac check out the amazing Selvedge Frock - its truly a work of art!

Pictures from Rathdowne Fabrics and Remnants

2009-12-16T12:20:00.003+11:00

Yesterday I managed to go back to Rathdowne Fabrics and take some long overdue pictures, so I can show you all the wonderful fabrics they have! (I might have also managed to do a little shopping for myself ...)

First up is the absoulutely gorgeous vintage Swiss Guipure lace- I so badly want to buy some of this, even if it was only a little piece to embelish a nice summery top:

Next is a table full of beaded evening fabrics, unfortunately I don't have anywhere to go at the moment that require this :(

A couple of unusal Nylon lace fabrics- not sure exactly what you would use this for but they look very interesting. I wonder if they are vintage ?

A fabulous selection of wool/cashmere and wool blend coatings, great for chilly Melbourne weather :

Some devore style and patterned stretch velevets - I love the yellow leaf pattern!

Just some of the terry towellings available, quite a few different textures and weightings. Also LOTS of colours YAY!!

Pre-quilted/padded fabrics in the upholstry section. I have my eye on that middle roll for a nursery play mat :)

Plain lycras suitable for swim and gym wear.

Plus a pretty darm good selection of printed swimsuiting, enough to inspire me to have a go at sewing my own bathers post pregnancy:

Lots of trims, love the pom-poms!

...and more trims. Beaded, feathered, sequined you name it its there! This was only maybe a third or so of what they have in the trims/ribbons section, there was also a few rows of drool worthy lingerie laces that I deliberately kept away from :)

Finally what did I end up buying? Well I was really good and just got a few essential items (more thread, wide elastic for pregnancy waistbands) plus this print fleece :

Yes it's Miffy!!!!! I'm stoked as Miffy was one of the favourite characters with the kids when I was doing library storytime, plus the fleece is a really nice quality :) Can't wait to start sewing this one up!

You can read about my previous visit to Rathdowne Fabrics & Remnants here and my store review here on Sewing Pattern Review.

Yellow Kwik Sew 2978 Baby Romper

2009-12-11T10:30:00.025+11:00

Finally putting up a picture of the romper I finished a week ago (so slack), and I have to say that I am falling in love with this pattern! I already knew how user-friendly Kwik Sew patterns are but really appreciated it even more when making up a new genre of clothing previously unknown to me - baby clothes!

This time I made up the long sleeved romper (view A) in a size XS:

The only error I had with making this was totally my own fault - I cut the shoulders out back to front (pregnancy brain!). This means I have ended up with a mirror image of how it should look (the buttons should be on the right shoulder) but I am sure that whichever baby ends up wearing this wont care!

Putting the press studs in was again a bit of a fiddly job, worth it in the end but enough effort was needed for me to decide that I am definately going to invest in a proper press stud "press" as soon as I can afford it!

I'm sure the neighbours must have though we were building the ark with all the banging going on from me hammering the studs in *oops* - maybe next time I'll let them know first...

If you are interested you can read my previous post for the cardigan / pants option here and my review on Sewing Pattern Review for this romper version of the pattern here .

Cheap Gutermann thread !!!!!

2009-12-10T22:45:00.002+11:00

Look what I found at Kmart Northlands today in the haberdashery section:

Gutermann thread on clearance! The 100 metres was reduced to $1.50 a spool and the 250 metres was $2.50 each. It looks like Kmart are deleting and/or cutting back on their sewing lines.
Normally I only buy Gutermann thread if : a) the budget stretches to it or its a *really* special project AND b) I can't find anything cheaper to match my fabric, but at this price I thought "what the heck" and really stocked up :) Just call it an early Christmas present to myself!
I'm not sure how long they will have the thread for (the case was half-filled so I would say its just remainders) but it may be worth taking a trip soonish if you are in need of good thread.

Surfing the [craft] web

2009-12-10T12:52:00.002+11:00

One day, when I am more motivated and have heaps of money for supplies, I would love to make crafty items and sell them over the internet.
I hope, however, that I never NEVER make ANYTHING that could end up on here:

http://www.regretsy.com/

A website devoted to the weird, strange or just plain ugly items that some people try to sell on Etsy (site is not affliated with Etsy in any way).

The amazing thing is some of the items featured have actually sold!

** Warning some of the crafted items are of an extremely hideous or "out there" nature so don't view if you are easily offended or have kiddies around :) Kate**

Another cute ruffled free apron pattern

2009-11-30T21:03:00.005+11:00

In an earlier post I mentioned a cute ruffled apron pattern sheet that Spotlight had to download for free on their website. Unfortunately they have since removed it from their website :(
Luckily I came across this post by Morgan of One more Moore, which gives instructions for a very similar half-apron. If you really liked the Spotlight version I am sure you could easily cut a rectangle and straps to measure for the bib :)
I'm planning to make one of these ruffled aprons up myself (one day...) as they are just so darn cute! Who doesn't like ruffles?

If aprons are really your "thing" you can find more free patterns and instruction on the websites below:

http://craftstew.com/sewing/38-free-apron-patterns

http://tipnut.com/free-apron-patterns-tutorials/

http://phyllisdobbs.info/free-apron-pattern-designed-with-meow-meow-cat-fabrics/

http://7layerstudio.typepad.com/7_layer_studio/2009/11/tutorial-for-empirewaisted-apron.html

You might also want to check out my earlier apron-making attempts :)

Kwik Sew 2978

2009-11-30T17:57:00.047+11:00

Finally I have finished my first baby outfit *YAY* !

I brought this Kwik Sew pattern after reading all the wonderful reviews for it on Pattern Review and let me say it definitely lives up to all the hype:)

In true Kwik Sew fashion the pattern was fast and easy to sew. The hat was soo simple I was able to whip it together in about 15 minutes after cutting out ( it would make a great beginner's project on its own).

The hardest part of the whole pattern was sewing the cuffs "on the round" for the size extra small cardigan. The 6 mm (1/4" ) seams were also a bit tricky but they gave a nice finish :)

The pattern asks for baby snaps- I used ones with a pearl finish from Lincraft. They come with a little tool that you use with a hammer to fix the snaps in place. This was a bit fiddly and I had to redo the top snap 3 times when it failed the open/shut test (the snap came apart). If I it looks like I'll be applying a lot of these in the future, I might end up investing in this press, as pointed out to me by Kristy from Lower Your Presser Foot. I'm not sure if the press only does plastic snaps but if so I think I could live with that for the amount of time it would save.

You can read my full review of this pattern here.

I made soup!

2009-11-30T17:51:00.002+11:00

Super-healthy soup too! I put in carrot, celery, swede, onion, potato, green beans, butter beans, fennel bulb, chickpeas, corn, zuchinni and tinned organic tomatoes. How good is that for the babies?

Not earth shattering (or sewing related) I know, but not bad for someone who can't open the fridge or pantry - at the moment- without wanting to hurl :)

I finally have a sewing space again!

2009-11-28T10:34:00.001+11:00

Last weekend DH sorted out the spare room/sewing room/ nursery so that I have somewhere to sew, at least until the twins arrive :)

So now I have somewhere to sew.....

....and somewhere to pinup and cut out fabrics and patterns (excuse all the fabrics piled up I didn't "tidy" for the pic) ......

...... as long as I can ignore this pile of junk (which has nowhere else to go) behind me LOL.

Well at least it's an improvement on using the kitchen bench :)

Baby fabric pics from my shop at Rathdowne Fabrics

2009-11-26T19:00:00.003+11:00

After posting my review of Rathdowne Fabrics & Remnants I realised I had forgotten to add pictures of what I actually purchased! Maybe I can blame it on having pregnancy brain this time, I seem to be forgetting stuff more and more often...
At least though I have managed to track down my camera cable, so posting pics is now a possibility :)

Here are the lovely fabrics I scored, total cost being around $19:

From L to R : Yellow polka dot cotton knit, yellow cotton knit with a flower like pattern woven in, blue cotton knit with teddy bear faces woven in, yellow ribbed terry towelling and 10cms of green ribbing. I brought a metre each of all the fabrics except for the ribbing.

Clos up of the blue knit showing the cute teddy bear faces! I don't know what sex babies I'm having yet but I figure even if they are both girls I can whack a girly hairband them on to make it obvious if I have to. I just couldn't pass this fabric up and it was only available in blue.

Close up of the yellow knit showing the broderie anglaise style flowers woven in.

Snuggly yellow terry towelling with a ribbed effect. So glad to find some in colours other than pink, white or blue. It has a good stretch to it and is a nice weight- not too thick and not too thin. Not sure what I'll be making this into but do know I'll be washing it a few times first - terry towelling has the reputation of shrinking like crazy!

All up not a bad selection of fabrics, hopefully I will be able to make quite a few baby clothes up in the next week or so :) Now just to work out sizing...

Rathdowne Fabrics & Remnants

2009-11-26T17:16:00.003+11:00

Yesterday I had a chance to stop into Rathdowne Fabrics & Remnants on my hunt for baby fabrics, and I'm so glad I did! From I entered the ample fabric showroom to when I left with a nice bundle of baby-suitable fabrics the whole the whole experience was FANTASTIC! A very nice change from my last fabric store foray :)

Location: Rathdowne Fabrics & Remnants is located at 154-158 Victoria Street, just off Lygon, in Brunswick. Street parking is free (!!!) but there are also 6 bays out the front just for customers and I was able to nab one of these on my visit :) A helpful sign on the corner of Lygon and Victoria St proclaiming "Cheap Fabrics" helps to point the way, useful if you are unfamiliar with the area ...or easily distracted like me.

Staff: Well staffed – 3 customer service staff on shop floor at time of visit. Friendly, super-helpful, very knowledgeable of fabrics and the fashion industry. Manager Sandra is particularly helpful if you have any questions regarding stock or the business' role in the industry. The business is family owned and still family run, as I had the opportunity to find out by meeting one of the owners- Dean Sunshine-while talking to Sandra. The son of Rathdowne Fabric’s original founder, Morre Sunshine, Dean was more than happy to answer my questions about the business and provide some interesting details about the business’ involvement with Project Runway Australia. Embarrassingly I had no idea that parts of both season one and two had been filmed on the shop floor and that this was where the contestants sourced their fabrics from! I definitely need to catch up on past episodes now ... :)

Floorplan: Housed in a warehouse style unit, the space is carefully thought out and well lit. Dressier/evening wear and high end fabrics are arranged at the front, with more "casual wear/ dress style fabrics and knits in middle and upholstery fabrics at the back. Fabrics are arranged by type (lycra, fleeces, woollens etc) on tables and racking, with offcut bins throughout offering the chance to snag a bargain at a further 25% off the marked price. There is ample space to move around most of the aisles and stock is kept neat and orderly, with prices clearly marked on roll ends in texta. Several cutting tables spaced throughout store mean that you do not have to carry rolls of fabrics very far and staff appeared willing to help move fabrics if you are unable to do so.

Stock: A simply wonderful selection of fabrics that changes regularly due to what job lot remnants have been brought – and from where- by the owners. Mainstay types of fabric (fleece, knits, evening wear) will always be in stock but styles, colours and textures may vary. Speciality and more unusual types of fabric also appear on the shop floor- during my brief visit I noted Swiss Guipure lace (vintage!!!!), woollen/cashmere coating and a wide range of swimsuit fabrics on display. There is also good selection of curtaining, sheeting and upholstery fabrics to be had. Rathdowne Fabrics buys remnant rolls from big name clothing manufacturers such as: Seafolly, Allanah Hill and Bettina Liano plus excess stock from smaller designers seeking to have a clear out – this leads to an unusual variety of fabrics to choose from. Quality is high and pricing good with many fabrics appearing to be about 25 to 40 % cheaper than what I've seen elsewhere. They also carry a range of patterns (Simplicity, Kwik Sew and New Look), notions and haberdashery, adding to the convenience of shopping there for the home sewer.

Conclusion: Lovely family owned store with absolutely brilliant staff and stock.
A stop here is a must for any fabric shopaholic living in or visiting Melbourne. Be warned if travelling by plane you will have to plan your packing accordingly – so much interesting stuff to choose from could easily send you over your baggage limit :) Eftpos facilities are available instore (excluding MasterCard and Diners) and Rathdowne Fabrics will ship internet orders both Australia wide and Internationally.

Order forms and other information can be found on their website:
http://www.rathdownefabrics.com.au/
Bonus: Dean Sunshine happily agreed to let me take photos of stock and the showroom during my next visit!! Stay tuned for future pics of some truly scrumptous yummy fabrics :)

Bargain! Op-shopping in Northcote

2009-11-24T15:51:00.067+11:00

Seeming as my camera computer cable is still M.I.A (no doubt shoved in a box somewhere in the spare room) I thought I would share with you my latest find on the vintage pattern front. Luckily my printer/scanner is intact and in working order so I can show you the covers in all their retro goodness :)

First up some very groovy blouses in a variety of styles- dig the hairdo's! On the right a lovely 4 colour print displays the stylings of Weigel's quilted nightgown and nightdress ensemble. Obviously kitten heels are a must for any self respecting housewife in the 1960's :)

Next another nightie set in a choice of 2 sleeve and hem lengths. Note the "racy" pose of the figure at the bottom showing the matching bloomers- Miaow!

A sporty style button front dress and another dress with an slightly 1940's (50's?) look to it. Except for the hairstyling which looks pure 80's.

An office ensemble which wouldn't look out of place in a James Bond film- on Miss Moneypenny of course :) On the right is a dress with an interesting tie-front / seam line combination.

Finally my favourite two of the lot : a very interesting selection of blouses (amazing the amount of variety when compared with today's patterns) and a lovely dress with unusual front darts and a wrap around skirt.

If I ever get better at grading patterns up a size I'll definately be giving the 4920 dress a go.

I am guessing that these are mail order patterns published in the 1960's and 1970's. Most appeared to have been printed in U.S.A - except for the Weigels - which gives a Moorabbin Victoria factory address. How interesting to think that once we might have had a local pattern publisher.

All up this bundle of patterns cost about $2 total.

Not a bad haul for what was an unexpected - and unplanned- shopping trip :)

Out on the web - on the hunt for baby fabrics

2009-11-20T18:37:00.001+11:00

While looking around for sites that sell baby suitable soft wintery type fabrics I found this site:
http://bubbaearth.com.au/

Now admittedly Bubba Earth is aimed more at the make-your-own-cloth-nappies market (not sure if I'm up for that), but they do have a few fabrics and accessories that I think could be used for baby clothing.
First of all I think this Minkee could be used to make some cute jackets, bootees or hats up - and they have a reasonably wide range of colours. I'm loving the pale yellow but if I have a girl I would definitely also be stocking up on fuchsia pink!
Bubba Earth also has a selection of terry towellings, organic cotton and hemp fabric. While all come undyed / "au naturel" they do sell dye kits online in some really funky kid-friendly colours.

Finally (for me) the most exciting part is their snaps collection! After having (at best) a choice of pearl, white, silver or gold snaps available in most of the fabric stores I've visited, I was thrilled to see snap packs sold in colourgroupings of "primary", "jewel" and "pastel". Each pack contains 20 snaps and each "group" appears to have 4 different colours in it - which would be great for making rompers look more professional and colour co-ordinated. Admittedly I have occasionally seen coloured snaps at Lincraft, but usually the colour I want is sold out and the range is really limited to begin with :( Also at around $5 for six snaps I don't think they would be very cost effective for rompers. Looking at the Kwik Sew pattern I picked out that would be $10 on snaps alone - ouch!

Well all that said I've yet to actually order anything from Bubba Earth yet (will have to wait until my next sewing budget appears ;P ), but as soon as I do I'll let you know how they are service and delivery wise.

Fingers crossed they turn out to be good.

A little bit of Sydney Road shopping - Part 2

2009-11-19T11:03:00.001+11:00

Thanks to Sew4Fun who was able to clear up the mystery of half sizes on vintage patterns for me :)

In her own words:
"Half Sizes are an old pattern sizing that were phased out in the 80's I think. It used to be thought of as the "mature figure type".
The half-size lady has a fully developed figure but is shorter, about 5'2" to 5'3" tall. The waist is also larger in proportion to the bust, and the shoulders are narrower. "
So I guess that means I have a prematurely "mature figure" (except for the height issue) lol.

My main reason for visiting Sydney road was to (hopefully) pick up some winter-style children's fabric. Unfortunately for me most of the little fabric shops dotted up and down (and there are many!) seemed to cater more to women's dress fabrics or evening fabrics. Also as it is currently the beginning of summer here winter fabrics like polar fleece were pretty much non-existent. So that left Spotlight. The Brunswick branch, smack in the middle of Sydney road.

I kinda have a love/hate relationship with Spotlight. Sometimes I love Spotlight - such as when I find a store that has a large dressmaking fabric section, or friendly helpful staff, or they have a 20% off sale :)

Other times it’s a case of vast disappointment - such as when the store has cut back its dressmaking supplies to almost nonexistent to make room for "home decor" items, when the queues to have fabric cut are impossibly long and I have a short time budget due to being on a lunch break or when the exact pattern I want is sold out in my size and the new order doesn’t arrive for weeks on end.

Sydney Road Spotlight is kind of in between the two - I neither loved nor hated it but I would probably rather shop elsewhere if I can help it! Firstly -while not being non-existent - the fabric/dressmaking section was small. Now given that the entire shop itself wasn't huge (they do have to squeeze into old buildings and I imagine rental would be high) I can understand that, but unfortunately it does limit your options somewhat. The haberdashery section was tiny - compared to other stores- and made near impossible to reach by two massive fabric roll trolleys blocking up the aisle. Being pregnant I have found I'm getting less and less agile the bigger I get and this was a real pain as what I wanted was right behind the trolleys.
On the plus side they did have the pattern in stock I wanted ( Kwik Sew 2978) and some baby suitable fabrics.

Unfortunately though the range of baby fabrics - at least in stretchy fabrics suitable for rompers - was limited. Fabric choices were either terry towelling in three colours (white, pink and blue) and a cotton knit in 2 prints- one really cute red elephants and the other a so-so animal print in red or black. Polar fleece seemed to be thin on the ground, either I missed it in my hurry to get out of there or they had removed it to make room for summer stock. I did see some on the sales trolley that had Dora the explorer or Spiderman on it but didn't really think it’s really age appropriate for babies. Besides I hate dressing kids in head to toe movie/ TV merchandise.

The flannel table yielded better results with all flannel being marked down to $2 a metre, so I picked up a couple of metres of lemon yellow and sorbet green. Not what I came in for but am sure it will come in handy for bunny rugs or something :)

Probably the most disappointing part of the whole store visit was the customer service I received from one of the staff when asking if they had a particular item in stock. Now I know Spotlight stores sell Kwik Sew books - or at least they did up until I moved to Melbourne. Darwin used to have a range of titles in stock and I think I even saw the odd FFRP on display at times when in Perth. However after checking out the twirly magazine/book racks in this store (and having to squeeze past stock to do that) all I came up with was a plethora of "Get Creative" magazines and knitting titles.

So I asked a staff member if they had Kwik Sew titles in stock.

Staff member looked at me and said "All we have is over there" (waves arm in general direction of twirly racks) then gives me a look that made me feel like I was asking a reeeaaally stupid question. Now other Spotlight stores I have been in - if the staff member is on the ball- they offer to look up items on the system and order stock in, if its available and even if it’s really busy and there’s a queue behind me (oops did I complain about queues before? ). Now this store was quiet (I was the only person in line) and maybe this staff member was new, or having a bad day, but they didn't offer to look anything up or even try to find out if these books were ever stocked.

Retail staff please note: I don't care if you have to make a phone call, ask another staff member or search a computer, at least attempt tomake the most basic effort to find out!! I'll wait if it's something I really want, honestly!

I know Spotlight stores are part of a large chain and you probably can't expect the same level of service you would get from smaller, family run stores but still it was way under what I expected. I love sewing and even if the person on the other side of the counter is not a sewer I expect some sort of enthusiasm for the job and a reasonably helpful level of customer service. Is that too much to ask?

Ok, rant over....

A little bit of Sydney Road shopping - Part 1

2009-11-18T12:38:00.003+11:00

The other day I had a chance to do a quick trip along Sydney Road (Brunswick) to check out the op-shops and numerous fabric stores there. As DH was with me (we had just had our 12 week ultrasound- exciting!!!) it really was a brief visit, fabric stores make hubby twitch - especially big, often unorganised ones like Spotlight...but more on that later...

We stopped in at Savers, this massive supermaket-style op shop, which has proper shopping trolleys, check-outs and a very organised tagging and arrangment system for all the pre-loved goodies. However I think this is the type of store that you have to visit regularly - judging by the amount of people there I'd say it has a fairly high turnover rate- if you are after anything crafty/sewing related. There were a few rolls of plain colour synthetic type fabrics there at a good price but as I am looking more for baby suitable stuff I left it. Also I really couldn't see myself using it for anything - am I getting better a resisting 2nd hand fabric or is this a new wonderous side effect of pregnancy? Maybe not ;)

Next stop was this little traditional style op-shop (I can't remember the name sorry , I think it was Don or Donny something), where I managed to pick up this retro delight:

Check out the sizing - 16 1/2 !!!! Yay finally an vintage pattern that I might actually have a hope of fitting. Someday. After the babies are born. ...and I'm back to my old self....

Well anyway I was soo excited to have finally have found something close to my "Normal" bust and hip measurement - even if it might make me look like Mrs Brady from the Brady Bunch (you never know 60's and 70's parties are happening all the time right?).

Then I got home and read the back - "Specially sized for misses and women about 157 to 160 cm (5'2" to 5'3")" - yikes ! Give that I'm 5'9" thats gonna still mean a lot of adjustment if I ever make this baby up, or I'm going to have an indecently short dress :(

Am wondering if that what the 1/2 size refers to? It's not something that seems to be used in modern patterns so will have to look it up....

And in other news....

2009-11-17T19:52:00.000+11:00

In case you have been wondering what why I haven't been sewing for a while (besides the move), its these guys:

Yep thats right hubby and I can be expecting the pitter patter of multiple feet sometime in May 2010 :)

Hopefully now the worst of the morning sickness is over I can start sewing again....at last an excuse to buy baby patterns!

Prima pattern pics

2009-11-12T20:49:00.000+11:00

Well as promised here is a view of the very easy Prima sundress. I think it would be ideal for a beginner sewer - or someone like me who just wants instant gratification ;P The weather is heating up here in Melbourne and I'm hoping to whip this one up real soon - though maybe I would make two shoulder straps rather than the halter neck-tie so I could wear a bra underneath :)

I have included the Prima sizing chart so you can get an idea of what they mean by "size 10-20".

BTW I was looking for a website which had pics of the Prima pattern designs on it to link to - if anyone come across one I would be very grateful if you could drop me a line!

Hello from Melbourne

2009-10-01T09:38:00.006+10:00

I know I know its been ages since I last posted :( but I have finally landed in Melbourne and have my laptop set up again!
The last few months have been crazy with packing, a long planned holiday to Perth and organising the move, but finally the new house is more or less unpacked (if you don't count all the boxes stacked up in the spare room) so DH and I can now return to Life As Normal - aaaaah!
In order to make up for my slovenly-ness in posting I though I would share my latest magazine discovery (thanks to Mia's sewing friend Di in Perth), that those in the sew might be interested in :

http://www.magazinesubscription.co.uk/subscribe-to/Prima-Magazine.html

Prima is an English "women's" magazine and the cool thing about it is that each issue comes with a clothing pattern insert ! Usually there is only one garment to make (for women) but from what I can see they are fairly simple and CUTE !
the edition which I currently have (August 2009) features a "Easiest -ever sundress or top" designed to be made out of jersey fabric. Sizing is quite generous (size 10 - 20 UK) and the simple design would make it ideal for beginner sewists.
The bonus for me is that I now I can finally buy a "women's " magazine without feeling like I am wasting my money and as the magazine is from the UK it covers different topics from the ones we have here. Also it focuses more on "lifestyle" than "gossip" so the articles are a lot more substantial - if you like reading.

I brought my copy for $6.50 from a newsagent in Karrinyup, Perth. Not everyone will have this magazine but usually if they have a collection of other overseas magazines you are in with a chance and its definately worth a look.

As soon as I can find my camera USB cable (probably in one of those spare room boxes) I will try and download some pics of the pattern, so you can see the design in all its simple purdy-ness:)

Ok...THE news...

2009-07-21T20:53:00.003+10:00

I have been so avoiding this, hoping that if I ignored it it would all just "go away" and I wouldn't have to deal with it ... but *sigh + deep breath* we are moving, AGAIN...after only 10 months in our new location!
Why you may ask? Well DH has been offered a fabulous new job, in VICTORIA of all places!! For those of you unfamiliar with Australian geography that means moving from one end of the country to another. We have only just started to settle in here so I feel a little peeved that we are moving so soon :(
Still am trying to console myself by thinking about all the wonderful fabric and sewing notion related stores that will be at my fingertips by living in Melbourne (where we will be based).
If anyone who lives in the NT is reading this I have a rather large stack of Australian Stitches magazines (at least a year or so) that I am happy to giveaway as long as you can come and pick them up! If anyone else is interested in particular edition please let me know and I can possibly send it to you somehow if no-one else is interested locally :)
Cheers guys
Kate

It's been a while..

2009-07-21T20:41:00.007+10:00

and I have lots of news !! Unfortunately not much of it sewing related- but if a kinda funky freehand crochet (in other words I don't have much of an idea what I am doing but am darned if I don't get a scarf out of my efforts...) counts then pics of my latest project will be posted soon!
Otherwise I have been snooping around vegan cooking sites trying to come up with new and interesting recipes. While I was at it I came across this option at PETA which I will post for no other reason than it won't fit in my widgets profile :P (BTW they didn't have a vegan option which is why is says vegetarian!).
Happy sewing all!

I Am artistkate78, and I Am a
Check Out All the Celebrity 'Veggie Testimonials' at PETA.org

It's my birthday!!!

2009-06-21T19:02:00.004+10:00

This year has is going waaay too quick - can I be 31 already? Luckily I have a lovely husband and friends to help me celebrate, if not in person then via the mail box :)
Not much has happened on the sewing front, wore my completed half circle skirt to work a received quite a few compliments on it! Show one of my co-workers the serger rolled hem that I was worried about and he said that maybe my tension was a little uneven in places, but not overly and it still looked OK. Coming from someone who used to teach clothing design/manufacture classes at a college I will take that as a good sign!
I am feeling the urge to start cutting out and preparing something - maybe a nice summery dress? For my birthday I received a gift certificate from my M-I-L , however after hours of treading the tiles at the shops I haven't be able to find anything to buy clothing -wise with it.
I'll be darned if trying to squeeze into those "average" dress sizes doesn't just makes me want to give up on clothes shopping altogether!
Maybe it's time to head back to the sewing machine (and lovely alterable dress patterns) after all?

Patternmaker half-circle skirt finished!

2009-06-08T11:39:00.005+10:00

Yay !!!
It took a while but finally I got this one finished off, embarrassing considering how ridiculously easy the pattern is.

At first I wasn't sure about the finished product but now I've worn it have decided its not too bad :) - in fact I like the swishy feel it has! I can say that it is highly likely I will be making this one again in the near future, especially after taping all those A4 pattern pieces together :)

You can read more in my pattern review here.

Patternmaker half-circle skirt progress

2009-06-07T23:44:00.003+10:00

OK I know I have been sitting on this project for absolutely ages but the end is finally in sight!!
Today I added the button and buttonhole to the skirt waistband, not a big amount of sewing but more than I have been doing lately :P

This time around I actually ended up reading the section in my sewing machine manual about sewing buttons using the machine.
They suggest taping the button to the appropriate spot:
Before using the clear foot to stitch it on:

Makes sense really. Up until now I have just been using the shank without any foot on to hold and sew the button down, but having a foot on really does make it that much more stable. The only thing is that by using a foot you do have to tape it on, or the button just keeps wanting to slip right out!
Here's a test run for the buttonhole using my machine. As you can see the stitching is quite uneven on both sides and looks quite sloppy, very disappointing Janome!!!

I ended up using the buttonholing feature but restitched over it manually to strengthen and neaten the buttonhole, I think it looks much better now:

I think if I ever replace my very basic sewing machine I will definitely be looking for something that gives a much more professional buttonhole finish !

Cool tip for cleaning silver quickly without smelly chemicals!!!

2009-06-06T13:31:00.003+10:00

Yes I know another non- sewing post but this tip (from my next door neighbour Zafira) was too good not to share:)
I am not sure quite how it works, a chemical reaction of some sort I guess?

You need:

-A bowl large enough to hold the silver that you want to clean.
-Aluminium foil.
-Bicarbonate of soda
-Boiling water

Line bowl with a aluminium foil (enough to cover the inside).
Heap a couple of tablespoons (I use about 3 or so) into the foil lined bowl.
Place silver jewellery, small silver items etc... on top of bicarb in bowl .
Pour boiling hot water on top.
Wait about 60 seconds (or a little bit longer for really dirty items) and voila!!
Take items out, rinse with clean cold water and dry.
They should be looking pretty darn good by now :)

As far as I know this only works for silver, don't use on silver that has other metals/items combined in and/or on it (e.g. pearls, gold ) as I am not sure what it would do to anything not silver!

I am NEVER going to buy Silvo again!!!

Guess where I've been...

2009-05-26T18:49:00.009+10:00

No sewing but a few holiday snaps... Any idea yet? A hint middle of Oz, really warm during the day and darn cold at night.

Lots of amazing colour- especially at sunrise/sunset (and early mornings- yuk!)

Finally a close up of some nice red dirt- which ended up in and all over everything!

Think of it as kinda like natures own talcum powder that stains :P

And yes it HAS taken me two weeks to publish this - slack I know!!!

More pics (and hopefully sewing) to follow :)

Slowly, slowly...

2009-05-10T10:08:00.014+10:00

It seems I have succumbed to the recent malaise that seems to be doing the rounds on several blogsites; that is not much is happening. Whether its due to the current state of the global economy, or global health I am not sure, or maybe I have just made too many changes to my life recently and it has taken awhile to get them all sorted out ?
Anyway what I DO know is that over the past few months I HAVE :
-Completely changed my eating habits and diet (hopefully for the better!)
-Lost a few kilos (yay!)
-Exercised more
..And read a few good books :)
I also managed to get food poisoning and(more recently) thrown my back out :( but its all better now :)
Plus hubby and I are going on a holiday to Alice Springs/ Uluru starting next weekend so I can't complain :)
On the sewing side I finally managed to stick all those pieces of a4 paper together for the half-circle skirt I am making out of "Make your own clothes" (by Patternmaker and Marie Clayton).
This is the main skirt piece after I stuck 26 pages together and cut them out. That's not including all the extra pages surrounding it that were just filler. Having stuck all the pages together I realised the shape is symmetrical.... wouldn't it have been soo much easier if they had printed half the pattern piece with a line that you place a fold? Not to mention it would actually fit on my dining table a whole lot better- that is one HUGE piece of paper to have to wrangle around!
So I folded the pattern piece in half (just to check that my eyes were accurate and it really was symmetrical around a central line) and then cut down that line...
Voila! smaller pattern piece that is way easier to maneuver and store, plus it now fits perfectly on the table :P
What I want to know is why the pattern piece does not come like this to begin with? Surely if the Patternmaker program works it out all mathematically it could be changed quite easily?
Nevertheless I have the fabric cut out now and can't wait to see what the skirt will be like made up - if its as well fitting as my shorts (from the same book) I'll be very happy!

Just so you know...

2009-04-22T22:26:00.002+10:00

...I haven't dropped off the face of the earth!!
I am still in the midst of trying to get fit and healthy and have not done any sewing sadly.
I HAVE printed out the Patternmaker skirt pattern but have as yet to begin taping the 20+ A4 pages together .....
So as soon as I move my sweet tush on that project I should be back on track :)
Also I have taken up a vegetarian diet, it was not something that I had particularly planned on doing but after a lot of reading have decided that it really gels with me health wise and philosophically. As such I have been fielding a lot of questions from friends and work colleagues, from the genuinely inquisitive/curious (which is fine by me) to the downright patronising!
Working in a library has allowed me to do LOTS of research into my new diet/lifestyle and my love of reading has probably been another part of why I have slowed down on the sewing front lately.
So anyway that's all I am going to say on the matter, I am happy to answer any genuine questions in regards to this, however there are a lot more learn-ed people out there (Dr Dean Ornish for one) who are way more qualified (or are actually "qualified') to speak on the subject than me .
In the meantime gals and guys have fun sewing :)

P.S......

2009-04-06T21:46:00.000+10:00

I have updated my bloglist - check it out!

PatternMaker shorts- in the flesh!!

2009-04-06T20:21:00.007+10:00

Well here's the result of my first attempt at shorts using the PatternMaker software CD from Make Your Own Clothes (By Marie Clayton).
I am pretty happy with the fit, its the first time I have not had to take something out at the side seams to fit my thighs and bum :P As you can see the waistline is rather high and I didn't add the waistband as I was supposed too! I just applied the elastic to the waist using my serger then folded it over and stitch through it using a longer stitch length (4). This is where my natural waist sits, however I think in future I would probably take off a few centimetres as I like my clothes to sit a bit lower on me. I am quite long seated/waisted ? so that explain the looooong crotch seam.Although you cant really see it in this pic the waistline actually sits much more level than any other pants or shorts I have sewn. Of course I have never really done the "proper" alterations for my measurements to any pattern I have used, this now shows me what a difference the right alterations could make!

Back View - I am pretty happy with the fit around the tush overall :) Also for like the first time since I was 12 the fit skims over my lumps without clinging! Nice! - I could easily see this becoming my new exercise shorts pattern template.

Now a note on the inside crotch seam alteration (the software did still have a few little "quirks"), I made mine curved but realised afterwards that it should be straight- Doh! (mental head slap) so I am going to have to fix that up before I make these again. Still hopefully that shouldn't be too hard, just get two rulers and play around until both inside leg seams are the same length!

Next up I am thinking of making the semi-circle skirt mentioned in the same book, the pattern piece looks like half a fat donut- hope it works out!

PatternMaker shorts

2009-03-24T18:40:00.008+11:00

Recently I had the good fortune to came across Make your own clothes by Marie Clayton.

At first glance I didn't think much of this book, the patterns look somewhat basic and a bit 1980's- however after I tried out the accompanying CD ROM to make a basic shorts pattern I am now totally hooked !!

Although the short are not totally finished, I can already tell by initial fitting that they are going to actually fit properly and better around the thighs and tush than ANY other pants pattern I have tried! (I know I sound like I am waffling but previous attempts at making shorts or pants had left me convinced that I should just stick to skirts!)

This is all due to the fact that on the CD-ROM you receive a basic pattern making program - type in your measurements for a particular garment and the program will draft it to fit.

The software used is from PatternMaker , they have quite a wide range of different "packages" available on their website but looking at the ones included in the book they seem to have most basics covered for the beginner/home sewer.

You are able to change the patterns in the book subtly by typing in different leg / arm width (hem / cuff circumference) thus changing ease allowance.

If you used the basic pants and scoop neck top patterns to make maybe make your own basic "sloper" you could very easily trace and redraw over them to create different necklines, seamlines etc creating outfits quite different than those on offer in the book.

For me the most interesting part was seeing how the back crotch seam looked after putting in my measurements, the back middle seam was a lot longer than anything I have seen in a regular pattern. I think this is why they will fit better.

Normally when making pants/shorts I struggle to get them to fit properly around my thighs and derriere, and if I do manage to make it look OK then the waist line will inevitatbly be higher at the front and much lower at the back. So far my basic shorts appear to sit evenly on the waist - I am stoked :) When I have finished them I will post a few pics on my blog comparing them with my other pant-making experiments so you can see the difference.

Now there are a few little quirks to the software, the very basic 1 pattern piece shorts that I am making don't appear to have an option to change the cuff circumference- therefore the allowance seems to be set at the basic (small!) size.
I was able to fix this up by extending the bottom hem out on each side by the required amount (I measured around my thigh circumference and then added a few centimetres) and then blended this new cutting line back into the top parts of the pattern, which appeared to be OK. I also measured each newly drawn seamline to make sure that they would match up when sewn together, I had to pinch out a tiny amount on one seamline to make them the same:

Whether this error was due to operator error or software design I am not sure, I plan to go back and re-read the relevant sections again.

There is also an online users group and help manual for PatternMaker software, which when I have more time I fully intend to check out.

Also I must point out that so far I have only actually used one pattern out of the book- so maybe I am not the best qualified person to review this as yet! Still what I have seen so far has me pretty excited! I have already played around with entering my measurements into the program for the Basic Pants Pattern and Sleeveless Dress (which features on the front cover) and hope to try these out next. I have a feeling how the bustal area on the dress works out will be a good indicator as to how useful this software will be for me.. it would be great not to have to do FBA's anymore!

What to do with a Mylock 744d...

2009-03-23T22:28:00.007+11:00

This here is just a few ideas/notes on how to make the most of your brand-spanking-new super dooper overlocking machine (I know there are a few of you who hung out for the recent Janome sale and actually brought one!!!).
Firstly make sure you make use of any and all freebie classes offered by your Janome dealer/retailer. Really it is worth so much to take the time out to spend an hour or so going through all the functions on your machine with someone who knows what they are doing.

Make sure you make (yourself!) and get to keep samples of all the functions that your machine has to offer, that way at least when you are staring at the rather basic and uninspiring manual illustrations going "does my stitch tension look right?" you will have something other than those little B+W pics to guide you (would it kill them to publish the booklet in colour?).

If your dealer does not offer you a free one-on-one lesson as part of buying their machine ask them why- it should come standard!

Watch the DVD- yeah I know its not quite the same as doing it yourself but for me it did help to "fill in" the basics of the manual. Smarter people than me have had this ready to play on their laptop next to their machine while threading up etc... Great idea!

Try not to be scared of THREADING THE MACHINE! If you can thread a sewing machine and get it to work you can do this! Really. Its just like threading your machine needle 3 or 4 times over. In fact I would even go so far as to suggest.....

PULL OUT ALL the threads (yes that's right all the ones that came very nicely threaded in the machine directly from the factory...) and RE-THREAD your machine.

From scratch...

And then see if it works...

And if not then check your manual, the DVD etc... very likely (like me) you have managed to leave a thread off some little loopy thing and if you re-do it all again it will more than likely work like it should (really!).

If not take a deep breath, walk away do something else then come back and look at your threading with a fresh eye, if you can't see whats wrong then...

You guessed it-pull out all the threads and do it again! By now you will be pretty up to speed with your looper/needle threading and will cope so much more better if you have to re-thread because one of the threads snaps/mid breaks in the middle of a project! Also you will have a much better idea of what looks right and wrong when threading up YOUR machine :)

Try using different machine functions as soon as possible. The sooner you use them the more experience you will get and the more comfortable you will feel using them! Also your projects will look better (and you will complete them faster! ) if you make the most of all the basic and fan-dangled functions that an overlocker has to offer.

Now you may think I am all talk but in the very minimal time I have had to sew lately I have experimented with:
-Threading and re-threading my machine
-4 Thread over-locking
-Using the rolled hem function (OK with mixed success but a least I tried right?)
-Sewing on stretch and woven fabrics
and 3 Thread overlocking (mainly because my machine was already minus a needle from the rolled hem experiment).

This is my test patch for the 3 thread overlocking function:

Please note that this is only a very quick sample and the wonkiness is most likely due to the fact that I haven't pressed the fabric and its crinkled a bit! From what I have read some people use the 3 -thread function on its own to get a very narrow seam on fine fabrics- I have heard mixed messages about this. My dealer says that as long as you use a smaller stitch length this should be OK , while other people on the web have had problems with unravelling (but maybe they just used a normal stitch length?). I think that if you were using a non-laddering stretch fabric it would be OK, I am yet to try it on a woven chiffon- or other sheer- for myself.

I plan on using the 3 thread in this case over my regular sewing machine stitching to make a small but very strong seam on a pair of PJ shorts I am making (using a Patternmaker pattern, but I will talk more about that in future posts).

Hopefully I will have finished them in the next few days and be able to show you the end result!

Happy sewing/overlocking!

How the "little guys" are doing in Darwin :(

2009-03-23T21:44:00.008+11:00

Since I last posted (gee has it been 2 weeks already?) a LOT has happened up in 'ol Darwin.
The most major news on the NT fashion sewing front (and probably the news that is going to affect me, personally, the most negatively) is that two of the local "independent" fabric/sewing stores are closing down :( .
Strangely enough both are owned by women who appear to have come to a similar conclusion at the same time, that is : given the recent 30% rise in the cost of fabric and sewing materials (thanks to the drop in value of the Aussie dollar) and the very likely future reduction in local consumer buying of such products (again thanks to the economic situation), now would be a very good time to shut up shop and/or retire.
I can totally understand why these businesses are closing down, and think that if it was myself I would prefer to leave on a "high" rather than hang on until it becomes an economic necessity, however it DOES mean that Spotlight is now the main (in fact I think one-and-only) game in town when it comes to fashion fabrics for the home sewer! Though that said there IS always the internet as another option for those of us in geographically remote climes- thank goodness !!).
Quilters will still have Dragonfly Design fabrics to go to as an alternative, however I think these guys will probably be feeling the pinch too as people spend less on what is seen as "hobby" related items.
Now the very awful upside of all this is that due to the fact that these businesses are closing down I have been able to snap up some patterns at very reasonable prices (50% off) :

Quite a few of these patterns are current catalogue and the others are hopefully "classics" or at least styles that won't date too quickly....Being on sale so cheap I thought I should stock up while I have the chance to (who knows what the future holds, plus Spotlight has already had its 50% off sale :P ). Unfortunately for me I have recently realised I tend to "collect" patterns (soo many potential outfits, does it really matter how many actually get made?) so I will be working quite hard in the near future to make at least a few of these up. Truly...honestly.....

You know I am counting on y'all to hold me to it :)

Altered Kwik Sew skirt

2009-03-07T18:40:00.006+11:00

As promised here is the elastic waisted skirt I made recently:Basically I just used the main panel from my Kwik Sew 3240 pattern to make this, leaving off the flounce at the bottom. If I were to make it again I would add a few inches to the length, also it is a tad tighter than originally planned as I got a bit seam-happy with the serger and cut off more allowance than I meant to :P

A slightly closer look (not until I posted this did I notice the thread hanging out of the side seam!):

The fabric I used is a really nice stretchy cotton-feel-probably-synthetic-blend with a interesting herringbone pattern and variegated brown stripe woven in.

Unfortunately the rolled hem function did not like the raised brown stripes of the fabric, leaving a noticeable stub of thread behind:

While doing the rolled hem my lower looper thread kept breaking. I am guessing that this may be due to either the quality of the thread used or they way I have threaded it (thought I am pretty sure I did do it right!). I plan to go back to my Janome dealer Pam and ask her what she thinks.
Her is another view of the fabric, showing the variegated brown striping:

Back after a break

2009-03-06T19:29:00.004+11:00

You might have been wondering where I've been lately...
Well after looking at one -bad-pic-too-many I have decided that its time to get back on track fitness wise and start exercising again!
I was pretty good at doing exercise daily about 9 months ago but after the big move to the NT have slacked off majorly (soo many excuses : its too hot, its too late, I don't know anyone, my walking clothes don't fit ) and been eating/drinking what the heck I liked (well being up here is a bit like being on holiday...).
So all in all what with the new exercise regime and working full-time I haven't had alot of time for sewing, but be assured I am going to find a way to squeeze it in- hopefully starting this weekend!
I did, however, manage to sew up a very basic pull-on elasticated skirt before I started the health kick and brought heaps more old (and older) patterns, so I will be posting pics of these shortly!

Burda 8041 pants finished!

2009-02-22T19:56:00.006+11:00

Yay! Have finally finished my 3/4 Burda 8041 pants! I must say these are a little "slapdash" as I got rather carried away with trying out my new overlocker.... Still I think they turned out OK (but not fantastic) due to the fact that the fabric used had a large amount of stretch to it. I have definitely noticed an increase in sewing speed since I have stared using the overlocker, for instance it took me much less time to go from this: .....To this:

Please forgive the mud spatters, we were taking a dog out for a walk at the local beach and I decided to try and tie it in with a photo shoot :P

Side view:

I am not too sure how I feel about this pattern as yet, I was hoping to leave it in my closet for awhile to "mature" but I needed a pair of shorts (kinda) to throw on today and this was what was handy :) Part of me thinks that they look alot like pyjama pants but on the other hand being so makes them rather comfy :). Also I got away without doing any proper fitting due to the fabric used- which bring me to another question: do RTW clothes cater to a larger clientele and therefore size range by using stretch fabrics? By all rights I probably should have gone up at least half a size but by using the give of the stretch fabric I was (barely) able to get away with not doing so. Admittedly it probably would have looked alot more stylish if I had of given myself more ease but what can I say, I'm an impatient sewer!

You can my full review for this pattern here.

The results of my freebie overlocker lesson.

2009-02-21T19:48:00.010+11:00

When DH brought me the Janome MyLock 744D he was told that it came with 1 hours free tuition for the user. I made sure to book in for this straight away as I was a bit in awe of the overlocker machine (having only ever worked with regular sewing machines before) - here is the result of my 1 on 1 tuition session:

As you can see I have a very handy "cheat sheet" for specific settings -relevant to my particular overlockers make and model- relating to the particular fabrics I will mostly be dealing with when using the machine. Next to it are several samples of various stitch settings and functions that I made during my tuition. I have to say that the rolled and lettuce hem functions are particularly exciting for me, but will obviously require alot more practise!

The great part about having the 1 hour tuition session is that I now feel a whole lot more confident about using my machine :)

Pam - from the Janome Sewing Centre in Winnellie - assures me that these machines work better the more they are used (or maybe that's the user?) so I am going to be working very hard to get mine "worn in ":) I am lucky that I have such a friendly and helpful person so close to home. Pam also runs sewing classes on Wednesday nights which I shall be looking into in the near future.

I fully encourage everyone who buys a new machine, and is offered tuition by the dealer, to make use of it as soon as they can after buying - I think it definitely shows you all the features that are available with your model and takes away some of the "scariness" that may come with buying a new machine.

Off now to find things to serge- cheerio!

Valentines Day Pressie!!!

2009-02-14T22:03:00.007+11:00

Woo-hoo! Look what DH had waiting for me when I finished work on Valentines day!!!! Yep you're right it's the Janome MyLock 744D I have been drooling over these past few months!!! I can't believe he got the exact model I wanted :) How's that for active listening ?
It has 4 thread overlock, differential feed and a user-friendly rolled hem option- also good reviews on sewing.patternreview.com. All I need to do now is work out how to use it and the best way to use it for what I sew. After having only recently discovered that my Janome sewing machine has a topstitch foot (and I have owned it at least 4 years...*blush*) I am keen to make sure that I use the MyLock to its full capacity from the get-go.
To that end I am now booked in for my free 1 hour lesson on using this particular overlocker - I have been assured that I will receive a "cheat sheet" covering the functions but I plan to also make sample of different tensions so I have a visual aid when back at home.
Already I have had a little play serging some of the seams of my Burda pants- I have to say that yes overlocking is quicker, but there is also the temptation just to serge and forget all about fitting! Hopefully the Burda pants wont end up a total wadder....
On a final note apparently the store my DH brought the machine from was donating all the profits from sale to the Victorian bushfire appeal- how great is that?

Terrific Totes

2009-02-12T19:15:00.005+11:00

The other day when I was having an attack of the "blahs" a very kind reader -Susan- sent me some shots of her work to help with inspiration :)

Susan is from Ohio and designed both these bags herself.

In her own words: "I like to make totes – it’s portable art on display!
The tote on the left (below) was my attempt to sew something that looks like it’s been crocheted. I sewed strips to a backing; round and round I went! Great way to use up scraps. (It woulda been easier to crochet it, though!) "

The tote below is from Susan's own pattern "Basketball Tote" which - as the name suggests- was designed around a basketball:

I love the way both of these totes look- both the styles and colour combinations. The top "crochet look" scrap tote reminds me of a landscape and the "Basketball tote" has a fun, springtime feel to it . Both definitely are portable artworks to me!

Thanks Susan for sharing your work with me and allowing me to post it here. Seeing these did definitely brighten up my day :)

Vintage Patterns

2009-02-09T19:52:00.012+11:00

Thought I would share my latest "haul" in the retro/vintage patterns departments :)
First up is a circa 1970's (I think!) top, dress and pants combo by Butterick. Check out the illustrations, back when graphic designers used markers instead of Adobe Photoshop: I think the top and pants on this one might work OK today, made up in the right fabrics. Personally I think I could only get away with the top as a sheer over shirt for bathers or a singlet maybe. I'm not too sure about the dress- unless you are waifishly thin like the rather whimsical illustration or pregnant (then all that extra fabric around the waist would come in really handy!) I don't think its going to work. Unless of course you actually want to look two sizes larger than your real size....

Next up I have a rather charmingly illustrated Simplicity apron pattern from 1964. The original price for this item was 45 cents - I paid less than this, hows that for negative inflation? :)
The middle apron variation is noted as being "suitable for border print", a fashion print which has had a bit of a resurgence in the last few years :

I might have to make one of these aprons up just to see how it turn out! Before I do so though I will have to get my head around the difference in patterns from this era. Not having worked with many vintage patterns or *cough* having been around when this one was printed the actual markings are a little foreign to me. Unlike modern pattern which have the marks and patterns printed on them, these have the marks cut out as holes or notches and the numbers/letters punched into them:

A close up of the punched letters that denote the different pieces and the notching, I think this is a facing piece (the pattern sheets are rather fragile so I haven't unfolded them yet):

There is also a letter "P" (or lowercase "b") punched into the envelope flap, I am not sure quite what this is for:

A hint for storing retro/vintage patterns safely: while working in the archives department of a State Library I found out that they often use those clear A4 sheet protectors to store old archival documents /items in, but they make sure when buying them to get the protectors marked "copy safe". The "copy safe" type should (usually) be acid free and so not contribute to further deterioration of your items :)

It's just not happening.....

2009-02-08T17:02:00.008+11:00

I seem to have lost my sewing mojo at the moment :(
My sewing machine and associated sewing paraphernalia are sitting unloved on the dining room table:

I don't know if this is just a case of the "blahs" or what but I feel like I have run out of steam on the sewing front this weekend. However I am going to have a go at cutting out my Burda 8041 (that I had hoped to be sewing today) later tonight, in the hope of kick-starting some creativity.

At least the cat seems to be enjoying the sew-free zone....:)

Burda WOF 6-2007-109 (strapless peasant style dress)

2009-02-05T18:44:00.010+11:00

Well I have finished the Burda WOF 6-2007-109 dress, but it doesn't look much like the original line drawing! I originally wanted to make this dress just to have something cool to wear around the house and maybe down the beach in our humid Darwin weather.

Half-way through making this I realised that the loose styling probably wasn't going to be very flattering on me, in fact I would probably end up looking like a maternity wear advert. So after a bit of thought I decided to see if I could create a little more of a waist by adding some extra rows of elastic.

Below is the end result, I don't think it looks too bad however I am wondering if I could have gone with a bit less fullness on the skirt:

Here is a closer look at the top. I was worried that with adding a few extra centimetres to the length I wouldn't have enough fabric, so I used some of the matching embroidery anglaise fabric (shown here) to add a band to the top. If you think the seam on the bust looks a little puckered you are right- the band fabric was about 1cm shorter that the dress fabric, so I eased the dress fabric in with a bit of gathering to fit the band. Not probably what I would do again as I think it looks a little strange. Also instead of attaching the skirt section at the waist I stitched it on top of the bodice panel a few inches down from the waist- just to make sure the dress was long enough :Here's a shot of the elastic on the inside, two of the rows I sewed flat onto the fabric before sewing the side seam of the bodice. the other three rows were joined to make bands and applied afterwards:

Marking out where the original two lines of elastic would go (using the embroidered patterns as a guide):
I then marked quarters on both fabric and elastic, then matched the marks up to each other and pinned:I used a triple zig-zag stitch to attach the elastic, stretching it to fit the fabric evenly between the pins (quarter marks). The end result:

Other bands were added afterwards to help keep down the boofiness factor around my midsection :)

Below is a close-up of the top edge of the skirt panel (its upside down). I tried Burda WOF's technique of folding the edge over, sewing with a fine zig-zag and trimming away the excess fabric underneath to finish this. I think it worked pretty well:

You can read my SPR review for this pattern here.

Wonky fabric -grrrrrrr!

2009-02-04T21:11:00.005+11:00

I've been busy making up this Burda dress over the last few days. I like the simple style and knew that I had some suitable fabrics in my stash that I could use - making it eligible for the SPR Stash 2009 contest as well. Both fabrics are light cottons,in pretty much the same colour. The first has an embroidery anglaise pattern all over it :

The second fabric had simpler lines of flowers embroidered across it , except for the richly detailed hem , which was the whole reason I wanted to buy both fabrics in the first place.

I brought this fabric about 3 or 4 years ago from Homecraft Textile in Mirrabooka (western Australia), and all I can think is that I must have been pretty distracted- or a little green in the fabric buying department- as I never noticed that the pattern had been stitched on slightly off grain. You can see below how crooked it was at the selvages, the blue lines are the embroidery pattern, the yellow is the pricking line on the selvage and the black is the fabric edge. There is about 2 centimetres difference between one end and the other:

Luckily the actual pattern itself was still relatively even spaced so I cut my pattern pieces using that as a guide, and ignoring the selvage. I know it means that the dress will probably be a bit off grain, but to tell the truth I am not even sure if it will work or suit me, and the fabric was pretty cheap. I figure I haven't got much to lose! :)

I could waste a lot of time on this...

2009-02-01T12:49:00.005+11:00

I found this website when looking through one of the finished contest galleries on http://www.sewing.patternreview.com/ (I can't remember whose review it was that I first saw use of this web application on -I think it was an "Endless combinations" one - if it was you let me know and I will acknowledge you ! :) ):
http://www.scrapblog.com/default.aspx
If you have always wanted to scrapbook but have not have the $$$$ to fork out on all the trimmings give this a go! It's free to create your own "scrapbook" and the graphics program is quite sophisticated for a freebie IMHO!
There are lots of background, frames, "stickers" and fonts to play with, plus you can check out other peoples Scrapblog (if they are open to public) as well! This would be a wonderful way to keep in touch with loved ones far from home.
Some people have used this site to create visual diaries for art which I think is FANTASTIC- truly today's artist must be able to present their works in a variety of formats and marketplaces. Imagine being able to apply for art courses at universities around the world by having them access your virtual online diary? And maybe getting real-time feedback on said diary and presentation?
Anyway enough of a rave/ramble about Scrapblog- I just like it as it enables me to show my sketches (the few I have
scanned) in a book-like format (click on "Kates Visual Virtual Diary" if you are interested).
If someone was savvy enough they could do a online fashion shoot for free using this sort of web application - let me know if its you :)

I think I might have brought a dud.

2009-01-31T11:14:00.010+11:00

Pattern that is.
A friend and I have been eyeing off this Burda pattern, ever since it first appeared in the Burda Young collection a few years ago.
Happening to be in Spotlight on the last day of their "50% off all patterns sale" I felt quite lucky and smug with myself that I was able to pick it up (and that it hadn't been sold out like the other patterns I wanted).
So it sat next to my laptop for a few days and when I finally got around to looking it up on Sewing Pattern Review here is what other sewers had to say about it:

Jackie M found a few flaws with the pattern design, the biggest one being with an off grain pattern piece -
"The center front is on grain, but the side front is not, so the pant leg twists, because there's no way to straighten the grain on a pant leg once it's been stitched simply by folding over a piece of it onto itself. And as you pull and tighten the foldover to adjust to your figure, you pull the center front and center back seams out of whack."
"It's an interesting concept. Good intentions on Burda's part, but poor execution ..."

Cyclegal notes-
"When I tried to fit as I went the front didn't lay right. Just a bunch of trial and error, and rip-rip-rip, baste baste baste! The part on the front that folds over (inside part) needs to be just right or the front doesn't lay right, hard to describe, but if you make them, you will know what I mean."

Both rated this pattern as "Recommend, with Modifications ".

And here's a user comment direct from the Burda shop site itself (at least its good to see that they have left negative comments up, or maybe they haven't had time to remove it yet?) -
"This pattern is just awful. I spent a tedious hour or so putting it together (yes, it's tres facile) but it sits wacky on the hips and is just outright uncomfortable. Of all the people who voted well for this pattern, did anyone actually make it? It looks good but beware! It's a disaster."

Yikes!

On the plus side there were 2 more reviews, both of a more positive nature- on SPR here and here. While not exactly glowing with praise, one of the reviewers said that she would make this pattern again and the other said that she would recommend it to others. They also rated this pattern as "Recommend, with modifications".
In my mind having to do modifications to make the pattern work is not something that you would expect from a one dot "easy" pattern :(

I still plan to have a go at making this one up , despite the less than glowing reviews, and will post pics of the finished product here on my blog.
Having read all the information provided by other users I will (hopefully)be more aware of any potential pitfalls (most seem to revolve around the front lapping and off- grain pattern piece) and won't be too disappointed if the end result is not what I expected.
Thank goodness I only paid half RRP price - I would have really been kicking myself if I paid the full amount for this one!

Kreativ Blogger

2009-01-28T19:10:00.019+11:00

Belinda from Sew-4-Fun nominated me for a Kreative Blogger award! Thanks so much Belinda I am totally in awe that someone with such a fantastic blog and wealth of sewing knowledge would even think of me :)

The rules for the Kreativ Blogger award are fairly simple:

1. Copy the award to your site
2. Link to the person from whom you received the award

3. Nominate 7 other bloggers

4. Link to those on your blog

5. Leave a message on the blogs you nominated.

It's hard to pick only 7 blogs as there are soo many good ones out there (and the number is increasing all the time), especially when it comes to sewing!

So without further ado, and in no particular order, here is my list of nominees (drum roll please...):

Katherine from Bloom's Fabric Obsession - a fellow Australian who drafts alot of her own patterns and has a yummy taste in fabric . I also discovered http://www.patternschool.com/ thanks to Katherine's blog- an excellent free resource!

Stacy from Stacy Sews : Diary Of A Fabric Junkie the first sewing blog I ever started reading. Stacy's blog convinced me that is was possible to make stylish and fashionable garments at home :)

Tany from Couture et Tricot - if I could sew half as well as Tany, or create at the rate she does I would be one very happy blogger! Not only that but Tany knits like a dream too...

Vicki from Hongkongshopper who has made some seriously cute stuff! I always look forward to reading her reviews on http://www.sewing.patternreview.com/ .

Melissa from Fehr Trade who made the ace-est dress ever, out of an Ikea shower curtain, for the Glastonbury Festival and lives on a houseboat (how cool is that?). I love Melissa's alternative sourcing for garment materials :)

Jenny of Chronically Uncool from Illionois. Check out the amazing Tetris print fabric - I can't wait to see what Jenny will makes from it !

Mimi of Myraida - who has created a seriously sumptuous wardrobe!

Happy sewing/blogging/creating everyone :)

My first (second and third ! ) offical blog "followers"!

2009-01-27T19:59:00.009+11:00

Originally I was going to do a post to say WOW I have my first official blog "follower" ( I only found out when I had a new icon pop on my blogger "dashboard") - Karen !
However in the time it took me to get around to posting this, I gained two more : naptimeseamstress and Stephanie from 1+1=3 !
So I want to say a big thankyou to you guys and everyone else who reads my blog .
It's great to know that other people take the time out to read my various sewing related ramblings and hoprfully getting soem enjoyment out of it :) :)

Happy Australia Day!!!

2009-01-26T10:46:00.003+11:00

Here's to meat pies (the thing I missed most travelling Europe), lamingtons, beach picnic's, BBQ's and VEGEMITE!!!!

Have a great day all those who celebrate :)

Ta-daaaaah!!! It's finished!

2009-01-25T20:35:00.006+11:00

Please excuse the rather awful shot - it was taken betwen finishing work and running out the door again- but here is the finished Kwik Sew 3240 skirt in pink:

All in all I am pretty happy with how this one turned out. Using the tip given to me by CrescetaLuna I have been able to resolve the twisting-skirt-around-the-elastic issue, which occured with the black version I made. You can read the review I did for the pink version here.
Of course I had to wear this the very next day after making (it was the only thing ironed in my wardrobe *blush*), and the fabric held up fantastically during the whole day. In fact after work I popped on a different top and headed out to the Janome Store in Stuart Park to drool over the sergers there (and dream!). Hopefully if our house sells (its under offer) I will be setting myself up with a MyLock 744d *fingers crossed*. Even though I have managed pretty well up until now with only a basic sewing machine I still think an overlocker would come in pretty handy, especially if it cuts down my sewing time on TNT patterns!

P.S according to my Janome lady its going on sale next month - yippeee!!!
P.P.S My DH has just asked him why I didn't get him to take the photo- so expect a better pic of the skirt soon....

More pink progress- alomost done!

2009-01-21T21:04:00.014+11:00

Well with being back at work fulltime and free-time seeming to be in short supply I have decided to make today's post fairly picture heavy , in order to bring you up to speed with where I'm at with the pink skirt (Kwik Sew 3240 take three).

Sewing up the baby hem for the lining:

Pinning the skirt and lining right sides together using my ironing board (and its very ugly cover, really have to do something about that ...sigh....):
Lining and skirt stitched, turned right sides out and topstitched:

Sewing the elastic in using my zipper foot. Although you can't really tell its sandwiched in between the lining and fashion fabric of the skirt. I sewed the elastic ends together (to form the waistband) before sandwiching it in:
Sasha, my cat, getting affectionate with the table edge and keeping an eye on my work (quality control). BTW no I don't drink while sewing, that whisky tin is what I store my pins in- DH gave it to me :)

Hopefully in the next day or so I'll have my review done for the Stash 2009 contest and you'll be able to see the finished product!

I never mentioned pattern buying in my New Year's resolutions....

2009-01-20T22:46:00.009+11:00

Which is just as well as when I visited Spotlight they were having a 50% off all patterns sale. This being a once -a-year type of thing I felt totally justified in getting some new Kwik Sew patterns I had been eyeing off for a while:

The Simplicity dress resulted from reading kbenco's review of it on SPR, plus it has extra bust pieces included for different cup sizes. That means (hopefully) not having to do a full bust alteration on this one - yay!

I also picked up some cheap trim in the hope of making more skirts and maybe embellishing them this time.

All in all a good time was had by me, and I didn't buy one piece of fabric.....

Funtastic Freebies at Fitzpatterns!!!!

2009-01-19T21:20:00.009+11:00

I thought I would share this website as I know there are alot of people out there who are looking for "free" clothing patterns:

http://www.fitzpatterns.com/

I first stumbled across fitzpatterns a couple of years ago and spent alot of time madly printing off their freebie patterns. I have yet to actually make them up BUT it is on my list of things to do, if I still fit into the size I printed that is.....

It's good to see, given the current debate on Burdastyle forums about some of their patterns no longer being completely open source, that this particular website -which has free patterns- is still going.
That said I don't think the patterns collection have been added to much recently, as they seem pretty much the same as when I first visited 2 years ago. In total there are 9 free patterns, which include -among others-a shrug, batwing tee and knickerbockers.
Fitzpatterns also has a range of pay to print patterns which are available for very reasonable amounts.

The patterns are aimed more at the hip-young-thing market I think, making it ideal for the teen/ young sewer. There are however still a few pieces on there that are probably addable to most peoples wardrobes, regardless of age :)

I am hoping to make up 2211 DANA A-line wrap skirt as my first project, it looks super comfy and I love the pouch pocket on the front.

Please make sure you read the Conditions of use prior to downloading patterns.

If anyone makes one of these up please let me know as I would love to see it :)

Pink skirt progress

2009-01-17T18:51:00.012+11:00

Well I have been madly stitching (in between trying to clean my fur ridden house and adjust to full time work again!) and have so far...
Found out that the lovely linen-like fabric that I picked up at Spotlight Osborne Park's closing down sale frays like crazy.
So I have had to get my trusty "C" foot out to zig zag the edges using my Janome MYexcel18W.

Here is a pic of my current workstation. Normally I am in the spare room, but due to entering the Stash 2009 contest (and hopefully sewing LOTS) I have moved to the dining room. Check out the table, it's antique English Oak, given to us by our lovely Perth neighbours Eadie and Paul :)

The upside of synthetics...

2009-01-16T06:34:00.006+11:00

Well after whinging about how cheap looking the black fabric that I made my Kwik Sew 3240 skirt from was, I actually have something good now to say- it doesn't crease!!!
A last minute decision on what to wear to work (hmm what doesn't need ironing?) saw me grab my newly finished KS skirt off the hanger -the skirt that was only going to be for going out "emergencies" (as I was sure the fabric looked too cheap, would be too hot , the lining made it too boofy etc...).
I teamed this with my "nice" shop-brought cotton blouse (standard office wear). By the time I had driven the 15 minutes or so it takes from home to work the "nice" shirt transformed from neatly pressed to "I slept in this overnight and didn't bother to get changed this morning" creasing, while my homemade skirt emerged from the car looking cool, calm and collected with nary a crease in sight!
The skirt fabric stayed crease- free all day, with only very feint wrinkles by the time I got home. I think I could have easily changed tops and wore this out again to dinner without a worry- if I had to.
Surprisingly given the fact that I was wearing 2 layers of synthetic fabric (with the skirt being lined) and that it was about 35 deg Celsius outside (95 degrees Fahrenheit), I didn't feel hot at all while wearing it. I think maybe this is due to the "swirly" design of the skirt (lotsa ventilation there !) plus the fact that my fashion fabric was quite light and slightly open weave.
Soooo after all this rambling what do I REALLY have to say? If it wasn't for being in the Stash 2009 contest I may never have used this fabric :it was a remnant, looked (to me) quite "cheap", I got it for nothing with a bundle of other fabric and was very synthetic. I probably would have run out and brought more fabric rather than think of using this !
However being in the contest I had to use what was in my stash and -wanting to make something I "needed"- decided a black skirt was the go. This being the only piece of black fabric in my stash big enough I decided to use it because at least then it wouldn't be in my stash any longer!
I am glad now I used this fabric as it has given me a new appreciation for a fabric type (synthetics) that up until now I have mostly avoided in favour of cotton / cotton blends.
In future I will be taking a closer look at synthetic blend fabrics when buying fabric and judging them on their merits (not creasing, new technology) not just dismissing them outright.
Lesson learnt :)

Win a free Zara Wood print!

2009-01-13T19:15:00.003+11:00

I have soo been meaning to put this up but kept forgetting!...
I found out via Frankie magazine website that Zara Wood AKA Woody is giving away a limited edition signed print.
All you have to do is join her mailing list to be in the draw to win! This is a fantastic chance to score a piece of art by an up and coming young artist!

One down, one more to go.....

2009-01-12T21:08:00.006+11:00

Yay -I have finally finished my black version of the Kwik Sew 3240 skirt!

I now have a basic black skirt to go out in AND have gained my first point for the Stash 2009 contest.

It took a little more fiddling about this time as I lined the skirt, due to the fabric being quite see-through.

Adding lining created quite a bit of bulk around the elasticated waist band, what with there being a double layer of fabric folded over. The result - teamed with the shininess of the fabric- is not as figure flattering (or comfortable to wear) as my first attempt.

Still part of making this was using up what I had in my stash, and it feels great to finally be rid of a piece of fabric I have had kicking around for years.

Unfortunately the pink version I am making next (which I have already cut out) will need lining too, so I am going to attempt to sew the elastic casing slightly differently in order to cut down on the boof factor.

You can read the review I posted here for this skirt-attempt on sewing.patternreview.com.

Next up the Kwik Sew 3240 skirt take 3- in pink! Then after that maybe a change in pace, or at least pattern :)

Cute free apron pattern!

2009-01-11T16:49:00.030+11:00

***PLEASE NOTE : this pattern sheet is no longer available through the Spotlight website mentioned below. If you are interested in making this particular apron please email me and I will try to help you :) Otherwise this post here might help if you want instructions to make something similar :) Kate Nov 2009 ***
_____________________________________

After scooting down to Spotlight today not only did I come back with the requisite black lining for my Kwik Sew skirt, but I picked up one of their freebie pattern sheets that they have hanging up all over in the fabric sections.

Now normally I don't bother with the free pattern sheets as they usually involve quilting, which is not a pastime of mine, but this one was too cute to resist:

Now is it just me or does this remind you a bit of the Simplicity 3752 pattern? I really like the look of Simplicity's frilled half-apron, so I would probably make this one up without the bib.

You can download this Spotlight pattern sheet, and other projects, for FREE from their website here (the apron sheet is under "Sewing Centre Projects").

Progress!

2009-01-10T21:16:00.015+11:00

I have almost completed my black Kwik Sew 3240 skirt for the Stash 2009 contest.
I decided to make view B, which has a lace inset at the flounce seam, for something different.
For the lace inset Kwik Sew has you sew the lace on top of the seam that joins the flounce to the skirt, then cut through the fabric (but not the lace!) underneath, turn the excess fabric back and zigzag along the edges of the lace (from the front).

The end result is a quite neat looking finish (I think) and applying the lace over the seam first means that you can make sure the placement is correct before sewing.

Luckily the lace a I chose had a little flower motif that I could line up along the seamline, making it easy to see if the lace was sitting straight.
I was hoping to get a thicker lace to use for the inset, however Spotlight seems to have a shortage in non-stretch black lace at the moment and this was the best/ most sturdiest feeling I could get.
Unfortunately after trying on the skirt I realised that the lace is a bit too "peek-a-boo" for my liking, with my white legs contrasting rather starkly with the black fabric. Sooooooo I think I am going to have to add a lining, which I will have to buy (so cant be included in the stash yardage).
Luckily I haven't sewn the elastic in yet....
I think with a thicker lace you wouldn't need to line the skirt- or if you don't mind showing a strip of your thighs :)

As you can see I like to use a lot of pins to make sure the lace and turned fabric really stays in place before zigzagging! I desperately need to get some more Japanese glass head pins from Wendy Gager's website (hopefully she sell's them online - I brought them instore before),as I am yet to find anyone who sells pins of the same quality up here. Currently I am resorting to using all my old pins at the moment to make up numbers and they are very blunt in comparison.

All pinned up and ready to go...err ...sew!

Sewing Contest

2009-01-09T19:09:00.006+11:00

I have finally bit the bullet and signed up for my first sewing.patternreview.com contest: Stash 2009 ! The aim of the contest is to use up some of your fabric that you may have had sitting around (hench the "stash") for awhile. Fabric has to have been in your stash longer than 5 months and has to be sewn into something usable and/or wearable. There are winners for longest stashed fabric used and most yards sewn. I am entering purely to be a part of the contest vibe; I have seen the output of some of the other contestants and I know what I am up against :)

Still I think it will be fun and hopefully I will put some of the fabric that I have been hanging on to (for no definate purpose) to good use!

Below is a peek at my first planned project for the contest, two skirts from the Kwik Sew 3240 pattern I made up recently:

1950's inspiration

2009-01-05T20:39:00.003+11:00

Looking for some inspiration for that galaxy-style dress pattern you haven't gotten around to making, or simply love the glamour of 1950's bombshells? Then check out Daddy-O's website- who have the most fantastic and cutest range of 1950's style dresses I have ever seen!
I only just found out about this site due to my work colleague Mel, however I think I will be a regular Daddy-O's online browser from now on!
The cut and colour combinations are just too cute- and if you can't be bothered knocking up something similar yourself I have it on good word that they ship to Australia.
Also the styling and choice of models for their product photography is just spot-on for clothing of this era- I love the make up, hairstyles and individuals used in each. Plus as a bonus quite a few of the outfits appears to go beyond the ambiguous S-XL sizing, great for all us ladies who don't fit into an "average" size range.

Some of my favourite outfits are:
This beautiful "Veronica" dress by Stop Staring, just tell me you can't see it being worn by a sultry nightclub singer?
This red, white and blue "Marion" dress, also by Stop Staring, kind of has a 1950's secretary feel.
This nautically themed dress- reminds me of Christina's "Candyman" music video.

My colleague Mel is thinking of ordering something from this site so hopefully I will have a chance to see what the quality of fabric/workmanship is like.
BTW in case you are wondering I know this isn't strictly a sewing site review and NO I haven't received anything for writing about this site (just in case anyone thinks this is a sneaky way of doing underhand advertising!). It's just that I love so much how different this clothing line is from what we (in OZ at least) have available in stores that I had to share!
Also by "snoop shopping" fashion sites like this I hopefully will be to be more adventurous- and creative- in my own future fashion projects:)

Just browsing......

2009-01-04T19:07:00.008+11:00

While looking for a pattern link on Kwik Sew for my latest pattern review, I noticed that they have released a few new patterns that I haven't seen before (I went through a phase of looking at their catalogue all the time when I realised how easy -for me- their patterns were to make).

It seems Kwik Sew has finally realised that sewers want to make clothes that look trendy and modern, not just crafty 1990's style stuff.

I quite like the View B of this dress pattern,it reminda me a bit of the Duro dress that was quite big a year os so ago. These pants look like they could be flattering on my figure, with their wide flared leg and higher waistline. Check out the long sleeved version of this jacket, it reminds me of something more typically seen in Burda WOF magazine , with its unusual collar and use of drawstrings .

For newbie sewers (and those who still want to check up on their technique) Simplicity have a "Sewing Buddy" option on their website, where you can download a video (onto your computer and/or ipod) showing how to make New Look pattern 6826. The pattern styling would probably appeal to teen /young adult sewers as well - making it a great way to get the next generation sewing!

Finally Katherine of Bloom's Fabric Obsession has created some wonderful bathers and has very kindly given links a most fantastic online FREE online swimwear pattern school. It's filled with heaps of useful information, written by a swimwear designer/manufacturer and store owner Stuart. You can also download free templates for bathers but make sure you read ALL the handy information on measuring and FAQ's first!

Kwik Sew 3240 Skirt

2009-01-02T18:37:00.007+11:00

Well after the debacle that was my last attempt at garment construction I am happy to say this time everything was smooth sailing!

I picked this Kwik Sew pattern as it looked quite basic, didn't require a zipper or waistband and was a bit different from other skirts that I have made to date.

Looking at my largest hip measurement I cut a size L - a departure from my "normal" Kwik Sew M sizing.

I think 4 months of not doing regular exercise plus holiday eating is now being felt in my waistline *sob*.

I was a little iffy about whether I would need to add any length, but after reading FFRP had a sneaky suspicion that I was long in the torso not the leg..... and I was right! So from now on I will only be lengthening garments that include a top section- unless I can see that the skirt is designed to be hideously short (in which case I probably wouldn't be making it anyway :P).

This must be the first time in a looooong time that I have been able to cut and make up a pattern straight out of the packet- its feels great! Its a sewing fantasy of mine to be able to pick up any pattern I like, make it up and have it fit perfectly without any alterations/fittings. I know this is never going to happen in reality but at least with this project I got to feel like I was "living the dream" :)

You can read my full review of this skirt here on Sewing Pattern Review. I took more care with my photography this time and had fun trying out different angles and camera setting- I think it shows!

New Year's Sewing Resolutions

2009-01-01T17:59:00.003+11:00

As part of my New Year's resolutions I thought it was only appropriate that I include some sewing related ones (bedsides the usual lose weight, make more money etc).
So here 'tis:

1. Make and replace ironing board cover (current one stained and quite ugly).
2. Sort out "sewing notions box" as it seems to have grown out of control...
3. Sort through "vintage" elastics and chuck any that the rubber has degraded in. Note to self: DO NOT buy old elastic in future, pointless and futile!!!
4. Make up jewellery display board asap.
5. Reduce fabric stash by AT LEAST 50%.
6. Try and make up 50% of patterns in stash- especially those big 4 ones that have been sitting there forever.
7. Don't buy ANY new fabric, with the exception of: swimsuit fabric, something from Tessuti ( a one off treat I think at the moment) and any one-of-a-kind retro finds.

Now let's see if I can stick to the list!

2008-12-31T17:18:00.006+11:00

Happy New Year's Everyone!

May 2009 have lots of lovely things in store for you!

Chrissy Pressies!

2008-12-29T00:27:00.026+11:00

Gorgeous Things was asking readers what they got for Christmas this year.
Better late than never, here's some of the goodies I received:

A "seven rings of good fortune" necklace , a "Small food" cookbook and a Christina Aguilera DVD from my husband Rod.

A cute Jag coin purse from my friend Aiden.

A lovely beaded bracelet -handmade by my friend Fleur- and an interesting blown glass set.

Plus (even though I actually brought it myself) a leather bag featuring a South Australian Aboriginal Art design, from the Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory .

The best present however was getting spend time with friends who came up to visit us just before Christmas:) It definitely helped to banish the homesickness bug!!!

Kwik Sew Dress/ Top (altered) - finished!

2008-12-27T19:51:00.012+11:00

Well after many days of procrastination I have finally finished the top muslin made from this Kwik Sew pattern.
I have to say after mucking around with it for so long I am actually quite disappointed with how it turned out. This is by no means the actual original pattern's fault- as I have always found KwikSew patterns to be easy to use and make- but rather is most likely due to the fact that I am very inexperienced in doing full bust alterations.
Plus I kind of "winged" it with this one, not being totally sure what to do.
The main issues are:
- Lack of room in the "bustal" area. I think any extra space I added was taken away again by my extra wide darts, putting me in no better place than I was to begin with.
-The darts themselves: looking at the photo I can now see that the side dart is too high up, and both are too long. Also I got funny wrinkles/ "poufs" at the dart tip which didn't go away no matter how much I pressed them!
- The way in which I did the FBA caused the seamline under the bust to curve upwards, thus making the fabric underneath puff out in a rather unflattering way underneath.
-The lining fabric for the bust (sheeting) has absolutely no give whatsoever. Which is unfortunate as the seersucker floral does.

One thing that I did like was using a tip I read from an old back copy of Australian Stitches to put elastic inside the straps. This stops them from slipping off your shoulder when wearing the top. I used clear elastic for this, however I think I pulled it a little too tight-the straps now dig in like Wonderbra ones! Next time I will cut the elastic only slightly smaller than the strap, not a good inch or so.

All in all I think I can chalk this down to a learning experience. I am not too keen to try and work out the kinks in my alteration as I am pretty sure there must be a better (and easier) way to do it.
If I feel tempted to use this pattern again I would probably look at using a fabric with some in-built stretch, plus follow these guidelines put out by KwikSew on making bust pattern adjustments.

The good, the bad .....and the nineties.

2008-12-26T11:31:00.032+11:00

After flicking through my "new" bundle of circa 1990's sewing magazine I realised that most of the projects therein could be divided up into the above categories.

So without further ado I give you:

The Good

Some examples of the reason why I like to keep an eye out

for older sewing patterns/ magazines when op-shopping.

Some of these patterns would still look quite fashionable today.

A rather nautical styled 1 piece bathing suit pattern from Burda June 1993. Made all in black it could fit right in with the recent trends of Grecian styled dresses (the ties around the waist) and deep V/ slashed necklines. As to whether it would suit me without alteration is another thing...

Below you can see a nice simple jersey dress.
Unfortunately the English instruction booklet was missing from this June 1992 edition of Neue Mode, however as the pattern is quite basic it shouldn't be too hard to "wing it" without.

Two bustier patterns. Bustier on blonde- Burda June 1992. Bustier on Brunette from Neue Mode May 1992- it appears each pattern was only available in select sizes in the Neue Mode. This bustier was for a size 36 only.

Another 1 piece bathing suit, this time with asymmetrical top, from the same June 92 edition of Burda as the bustier above.

Next up we have:

The Bad

Now I don't really care much for cherry sprigged seat covers even with matching red piping!I think if you can afford a sport car you would not be making these babies yourself. .

Next to continue the horror we have a lovely matching floral set that looks more like it would be at home in a bedroom (covering pillows maybe?) than on this model. Still it was the nineties and Diana magazine seems to be catered towards the more frillier aspect of that decade.

Luckily this pattern by Burda Spring/Summer 1993 didn't catch on as a fashion must have. Who would have thought that terry towelling shorts- with front pleats- would look baggy and unattractive in reality?

Finally did anyone actually look at this photo before deciding to run it in the Jun 1992 edition of Burda? This child is obviously unhappy people! Was this truly the best shot they could get- or was the budget limited to one shot per shoot only?

And lastly we have...

The Nineties

Yep in all its pastelled, puffed and padded glory.

You can betcha I wont be using any of these stylings in the near future!

Wow how bouffy is that hair, teamed with a ruffled and square padded shirt it somehow reminds me of "Dallas".

Despite the overall hideous-ness of this ensemble from Diana (complete with matching handpainted scarf!), the white camisole underneath actually doesn't look too bad.

Is it just me or does those shoulder pads make this girl look like a quarterback? And the peter pan collar.....

Finally

It's interesting to note that Burda used to also publish a "Miss B" magazine, obviously aimed at the younger (teen?) sewer. I would love to look through one of these if I ever get the chance.

Also look at how much information you got in this 1992 Burda magazine- step by step instructions for tricky areas on all patterns! It appears they stopped doing this around 1993, a pity as some of the modern Burda magazine instructions still really need it.

Merry Christmas!!!

2008-12-25T18:44:00.007+11:00

Merry Christmas everyone!

Hope you have a wonderful holidays however you choose to spend them.

May all your sewing projects in 2009 be "wadder" free!

(P.S. above is hubby's Chrissy table centrepiece- cute!)

More retro sewing finds!

2008-12-25T00:53:00.013+11:00

While one of my BFF's from Perth and her partner were visiting we decided to take them to one of the many outdoor markets that are part of the Darwin lifestyle.

Usually these markets consist of stalls selling locally grown Asian fruit/veggies (Dragon fruit, papaya, breadfruit and snake beans all available!), plus a few local craft stalls selling jewellery and clothing.

However this Sunday we decided to check out the Nightcliffe markets, next to a charity store that luckily for us girls was open (the boys weren't interested). Not only did they have a tonne of fabric and sewing haberdashery in store but also a stack of sewing magazines and patterns.!
All up I spent about $4.00 total, which considering the money is going to a good cause, is pretty excellent in this day and age. Although the sewing mags are from the early 1990's I spied a couple of pattern that wouldn't look out of place today. Also zippers, Kwik Sew and Simplicity patterns for 10-20cents a piece, who can argue with that?

Browsing around...

2008-12-16T21:35:00.000+11:00

Hey folks!

I have had visitors lately up here in the top end, AND have started a new full-time job in one of my local libraries (join one today!).

Therefore not having much time to actually make anything myself I give you the best of my net-surfing over the past few days:

First up is Stacy Sews (http://www.stacysews.com/) I have to admit this was the first sewing blog I read that I felt related to people in my age group. Stacy sews stuff that is trendy, useful and up to date. Also now her talented daughter -Taylor- has taken up the sewing bug (and doing it really well!)

Also every Thursday Stacy posts a bunch of useful sewing related links AND she contributes to the Burdastyle website- just more good reasons why you should read the Stacysews blog.

Next up is Burdastyle - brought to you by the fantastic people who publish Burda World Of Fashion magazine. If you sew and haven't already found this website then please go there NOW! It has the most fantastic FREE fashion patterns- all drafted beautifully! Plus you can see what others have made (with and without patterns) and participate in a whole new realm of discussions, competitions and exchange of fashion ideas....

If you haven't heard of Burdastyle and you are into dressmaking/couture/fashion sewing, then please beg, borrow or buy (remember karma always comes back to you) a copy of the Burda World of Fashion Magazine.

If you are not sure what this is about check out the pattern reviews on sewing.patternreview.com- it will give you an idea of what type of patterns are available in this wonderful magazine. Also there is a website here that you can directly order the magazine from- plus they offer a few FREE downloadable fashion patterns from back issues!

If you live in Western Australia, Town of Vincent public library did have the Burda WOF available for loan (and inter- library loan) as part of their collection. I am not sure if they still carry this title but for the price of a few minutes of your time (to join the library) I am sure it is worth a look if you want to check this magazine out in proper paper format.

Finally : Fehr Trade. What can I say but that you have got to admire a girl who can take IKEA shower curtains and see in them a dress suitable for the Glastonbury Festival. The author of Fehr Trade- Melissa-lives on a HOUSEBOAT (former floating hotel) - how cool is that? Plus she holds fashion shows of her work-truly an inspiring experience for the stuck at home sewer.
Happy holidays everyone!!!

A few of my favourite (sewing) things...

2008-12-13T00:11:00.001+11:00

While I am faffing around with the Kwik Sew 2955 top I thought it would be a good idea to show some of the sewing tools that I find handy (and cheap to buy).

First up is this elastic grabber/threader/tube turner thingy:

The thingy I am talking about is the one that looks like a pair of tweezers with a ring on. This is the most useful thing for threading elastic through waists and turning tubes. Basically it is like a pair of tweezers, except the end have blunt, jagged "teeth" that interlock together.
The ring slides up and locks the teeth together on whatever elastic/ribbon you are threading, then when you have threaded it you slide the ring down to release it- easy! To turn tubes insert the blunt end into the tube, close the teeth onto one side of the tube end, slide the ring up (while inside the tube) then start feeding the "tweezers" through until you come to the other end of the tube, turning the tube as you go. The teeth don't damage whatever fabric you are using and the ring makes sure it is quite secure until you are ready to release.
The blunt needle like threader came with the "tweezers" as part of a pack however I never use it, it is just that much easier to use the "tweezers".

Japanese glass head pins- I brought these as a present to myself from Knitwits in Nedlands. Originally I was a bit skeptical as they were quite pricey at $9, but after reading about how you should have good pins for sewing I thought I would give them a go.
Now I have used them I am totally converted. Good pins make pinning, cutting and sewing up so much easier, plus I don't get snags in my finer fabrics any more from imperfect/blunt pin ends.
These babies are sharp!

Plastic bobbin tidy - I think this cost me about $10 from Janome in Balcatta. Buying this has meant that I don't have to spend forever untangling bobbin spools in my sewing box. Ideally I would like to have more bobbins pre-wound and sitting ready ...maybe one day :)

Finally a "universal" invisible zipper foot that I brought from Textile Traders a few years ago. Not by any means the best one on the market, but a cheap option when starting out. If you can get the hang of using this dodgy number, by the time you can afford a proper one you'll be inserting zips like an expert:)

A full review of this item on Sewing Pattern Review is available here.

Kwik Sew 2955 Dress (WIP)

2008-12-01T10:44:00.000+11:00

I brought this pattern a few years ago when I went through a phase of only wanting to sew Kwik Sew patterns.

I found the pattern really good when getting back into sewing, as the instructions are really clear and all the pieces are printed on good quality thick paper.

I have made this dress up a couple of times already, however due to weight gains over the past year it no longer fits properly in the bodice- at least when made up in a fabric with no stretch as here:

"Squooshed" cleavage overflowing into armpit area!

So I have been trying to figure out how to do an Full Bust Alteration on the bodice area. My "Fit For Real People" doesn't have an exact how-to on this style of bodice (I'm not very experienced), nor has any web sites I've looked at yet (I was hoping someone on SPR may have reviewed this but no such luck!).

So I have kind of been muddling through trying to do it by using a slash-and-spread method. This is my progress so far:

Original bodice section with red lines drawn in for slashing + spreading of bodice (original dart in blue).

Slashed bodice section.

Trying on the slashed bodice to see if its going in the right direction....

Putting tissue paper under the bodice and taping slashed sections down (trying to make centre and side seams sit where they should).

Trying to flatten the slashed+ taped altered bodice and work out how many darts (pluswhere to put them!).

Finished bodice redrawn with new darts (sorry about the pic being side on - I am having issues with loading this one)

Vintage Goodies

2008-11-29T00:41:00.000+11:00

A visit to some of the local Op-shops up here have turned up a couple of interesting items...

First up is this 1960's sewing booklet. I just loved the cover when I saw it and thought that it (or a colour copy of it) would look great framed in my sewing room.

Inside were a few 'groovy" (for back then) projects aimed the 1960's teen sewer.
No patterns came with the booklet so whoever originally brought it was expected to draft all the patterns themselves using body measurements.

Although not in vogue now I am sure this shift dress was the height of fashion at the time - just look at that hemline!!! I wonder how the maker was expected to sit down in this?

This beach hat is a fairly basic design - not much coverage from the sun though. Also the illustration tends to make it look like a bolster cushion cover.

Ok look at me darling!! Thats right, head over your right shoulder.....

Got to love the very "mod" posing!
Also that hairdo looks like it could take off and fly with those "wings" (flips) sticking out!

Btw the pants in this picture are described as "terrace" pants - was that to make them sound more glamorous/funkier than they actually looked?

I guess that particular name for pajama-style pants didn't catch on.

Finally I picked up this c1980's dress pattern.

I am actually quite taken with the style of the longer version but don't think (with all my lady lumps) that it would suit me.

Luckily I have a sewer girlfriend who has a build more like the model in the photos, so it may end up being passed on to her.

In total these two items cost me about 70 cents in total - not bad for a quick rummage!

Vogue Hat 7727

2008-11-26T01:35:00.001+11:00

My DSD Coral has come up to visit us in Darwin, while she was here I got her to model this hat for me- so I can post another pattern review!

You can read the full review here.

With the hot weather and high UV ratings we get here in Darwin I am planning on making quite a few more of these, hopefully with a larger brim for extra protection. This one is really just a trial run to see how the pattern went together,using some left over scraps of fabric I had held onto as I loved the fabric (quite PINK though ...).

Due to a measuring error I have inadvertedly made the hat small for me to wear comfortably- as I have since found out from Mary Nanna after posting my review the correct way to measure your head for a hat pattern is "not across the crown, but over the forehead, over the ears and round the base of the back of the head".

After reading Mary Nanna's feedback I realised that it made perfect sense (duh!)but for some reason it didn't occur when I needed it!

Hopefully now that I have the correct method of measuring I might be able to rustle something up in time for the March SPR "Sewn Hat" competition :)

Burda WOF Kimono sleeved top (10-2007-114)

2008-11-24T00:30:00.000+11:00

Have finally gotten around to posting a review on http://www.sewing.patternreview.com/. I have been a "lurker" of this site for a few years, but have not-until now- ever posted anything. This site is a great source of sewing related information, plus (this possibly being the most useful part) you can see and read about what other people have made all over the world.

The pattern I decided to review was from Burda World of Fashion Magazine October 2007. A Kimono-styled sleeve top, designed for knits and featuring distinctive neckties. I made it up in a lovely stretch velvet devore fabric, brought from the Balcatta Janome store and which had been sitting in my stash for a good six months.

I had actually completed the top just prior to my move to Darwin and was pretty happy with the results:

Back view of Burda WOF 10-2007 Top 114

You can read the full review here.

NB: Just a note on the fabric - as lovely as stretch devore velvet is this fabric shedded lots of microscopic glittery fibres (from the cuts edges) really badly while making it up and then a little more for the first few washes. Not only did these fibres get over- and into- everything, but they are also quite itchy and could be a problem if they got in someone's eye.
I have a metre of the same fabric in a blue colourway and will be running it through the wash (which I didn't do the first go) quite a few times before I cut and sew it up. Otherwise it was a great fabric to work with, retained its shape beautifully, nice drape and great to sew on my very basic sewing machine (no overlocker yet!).

Life In The Top End

2008-11-16T21:12:00.001+11:00

Well we have finally made the move to the top end and are starting to settle in. My animals have already declared themselves indoor pets from now on (they are not impressed by the 40 degree heat) and so in the midst of unpacking I have also had to deal with mounds of pet hair (the heat is making them moult).

As I am still sorting out my sewing room I though I would post a couple of pictures taken in the new area we are living:

Sunrise at a local park overlooking one of the canals.

I am normally never up at this time so thought I had better capture this special occasion (and the view) :)

Storm clouds moving over the marina out our backdoor.

The clouds blocked out the sun so quickly I felt like I was in one of the scenes from "Independence day".

Now to check out what type of fabric and sewing supply stores they have up here...

Darwin trip

2008-08-13T19:00:00.000+10:00

Just a few pictures from our jaunt up to Darwin.
Most of the week was spent checking out suburbs and talking to Real Estate agents, as the rental situation up there is pretty dismal with a less than a 1% vacancy rate.
However the weather was fantastic- dry, warm and sunny, perfect for singlets and shorts. With the temperature a beautiful (to me anyway I like the warm weather) 30 degrees each day we were able to check out a few sights - and swim in the hotel pool!-during our stay.

One of the signs that you are greeted by in the National Park.

Fannie Bay Beach near East Point.
Looks lovely but unfortunately you can't swim in the water due to crocodiles, sharks and stingers.

Cullen Bay Marina- where the seriously rich live. Also has a cafe strip overlooking the water- a nice spot to have breakfast.

Crocodile entree on the menu at Crustacean's (tastes like chewy chicken- or snake apparently).

Croc skull on a whip stall at Mindl Beach Markets.

You can buy Camel, Buffalo, Roo and Crocodile Jerky, as well as the regular beef, from Territory Jerky at the Mindil Beach Markets.

Roadkill cafe ...charming name but luckily the food is not actually scraped off the road.

Indonesian Satay stall - food is cooked on a small portable BBQ on the side. Very popular and very yummy.

Mindil Beach sunset. The perfect end to a Darwin day.

Peter Pan in the garden

2008-08-04T16:00:00.001+10:00

Well hubby and I are flying up to Darwin for a week for a reconnaissance before we move there to take up a 2 year contract. As I am not sure if my mobile net link will work up there (my mobile provider doesn’t list the NT as part of its coverage area), I thought I would load some photos up.

First up are some photos of the most wonderful Peter Pan statue that resides in Queen Gardens near the WACA.

I really love all the different animals that are twined around the base of the statue:

(Sorry about the photo quality – these were all taken on my mobile phone camera!)

Secondly to tie in with the aprons and my love of all things kitchen appliance and accessories, I decided to have a go at customising my own tea towels. Baines Manchester had plain blue 100% Indian cotton for $1.00 each. After buying a few I decided to try my hand at applique.
Below is the one that I ended liking the most- butterflies cut out of fabric scraps, reinforced with iron Vilene and zig zag stitched:

Finally a picture of my cat Gremlin, who loves to keep me company while sewing...

Day Out in the City ...and a new book!

2008-08-03T20:11:00.001+10:00

We had skipped into the city to see the O.N.O photographic exhibition at the Central Tafe Gallery, featuring work by Australian and International Artists . Unfortunately the gallery isn’t open on a Sundays, at least not for this exhibition, so we missed out (much to my and Rod's dismay). Still all was not lost as there were a couple of other places I had on my list to visit next time I was in the CBD...
First up was to check out King Street – Perth’s epicentre of design and decadence.
Since the resource boom in WA the stores have been continuously upgrading and upmarketing on a scale not seen since the early 1980s. Gucci, Louis Vuitton and Empire Rose all have a shopfront on King street , but the main (and most exciting) reason I wanted to visit today was that Perth now has a Tiffany’s!!! This is something I never thought I would see but goes to show how times are a-changing...

Next stop was Borders and a perusal of the magazine selection. Not much luck there (we seem to be hideously slow in getting overseas sewing magazines here) but a visit to the sale table turned up an unexpected gem:

How to Sew by Nikki Trench
ISBN 978-1-4075-1764-3

Now this book is aimed at the absolute beginner, and while I am not strictly a beginner anymore I found the projects inside too cute to resist...
A pretty suntop that can also be lengthened into a sundress.

Some nice Cargo shorts – though hubby being quite conservative I don’t know if I would have much luck with stripes.

A wraparound top that I think would be really nice and cool to wear when we move up to Darwin.

Other projects include: Bunting, Reversible Shopping Bag, Slouchy Drawstring Pants, Flirty Flared Skirt and Tie Ribbon Panties.

I must admit the use of fabrics and styling really helps to make this book a little more trendier than other beginner sewing ones I have seen.

This book would probably appeal to tween and teen sewers, with its more contemporary approach, as well as adults. The only drawback may be that paper patterns are not given, you have to enlarge and photocopy from templates at the back. Also the size range may be limited for some (S,M,L), as I haven’t made any of the projects up yet I have no idea how they would correspond to regular sizing. Looking at the models in the photos I am assuming that being a size 14 to 16 I will probably be pushing to use the size L and may have to enlarge the pattern pieces a bit more to get the right fit . However seam allowances for most of the projects are 1.5 cms so there is also the option of just using a 1cm or 0.5cm seam, instead of grading up a size.
Now I picked this book up for $9.95 (hardback) off a “sale” table, but looking on Amazon US and UK I would think that this is the regular RRP. At this price it would make a fantastic gift for a beginner sewer, perhaps given with a few sewing notions and a few metres of suitable cotton fabric?

Kitschy Kitchen Craft

2008-08-03T03:08:00.000+10:00

I must confess I have thing for aprons, I know it might sound weird from someone who was born about a decade after women were burning bras and is part of Generation X but... I really, really like them.
I like that they are not just decorative. When I cook I tend to wipe my hands on whatever is close by, so wearing an apron seems to be the easiest way to make sure I don’t end up wearing half the ingredients.
Also given that hubby and I do not (yet!) have a dishwasher and that my sink area is very tiny I have found an apron to be pretty darn useful in preventing a lovely dishwater patch slopping onto my top. At least it absorbs the spills while I negotiate dishes in a sink the size of a bucket.

And they can look kinda cute...well I think so anyway.

Over the year friends have made and given me quite a few, but they are starting to look a bit raggedy so I decided to try and make a couple myself.

A quick visit to Textile Traders in Osborne Park netted me 2 craft fabrics that were within budget (half price at $5 /metre), and fitted in with my kitchen colour schemes :

A coffee design cotton featuring cups and coffee bean motifs on a beige background. As coffee is one of my daily weaknesses I felt that this would be right at home in my kitchen.

A more traditional "wallpaper print" style cotton in really pretty shades of blue (one of my favourite colours).

After looking on a few blogs and pattern sites for inspiration. I decided to have a go at making my own pattern up as I only wanted half aprons and they seemed pretty simple to make- basically a rectangle with ties.
(If you are interested in free apron patterns Tipnut
has heaps, most just need to be drawn up from diagrams/measurements. Or you can try searching google for "apron patterns"- theres plenty out there!)

My first apron was a 75cm x 47 cm (1cm seam allowance) rectangle, hemmed at the bottom and gathered at the top to a distance that I felt wrapped around my waist nicely, This was then sandwiched into a folded strip of fabric (57cm x 10cm= 55cm x 4cm finished width) which served as the front waistband piece. I then attached ties ( 72 cm x 8cm = 70cm x 3 cm finished width)that I made to each side and added a patch pocket ( 12 cm x 12 cm to give a 10cm2 pocket )to the front.

Blue apron with "mobile phone pocket".

The second “coffee cup” apron I wanted to be a bit shorter and frillier. I made the main rectangle piece 25 cm deep for this one and left the width the same as the original fabric width. I figured the extra gathering would look OK.

I really liked the cute coffee cup motif in this fabric design and so took care cutting the pieces so that the cups were featured part of the waistband and across the centre of the apron skirt.

As I still had some fabric left I sewed 2 more strips of the cups motif together. Then gathered and attached them to the bottom of the apron, making a frill.

The ties were cut from the rather plain brown sections from near the selvedges

Coffee cup apron (folded in half)

Excuse the purple hoodie (cold here!) - the length of the coffee apron on me.

I didn’t add a pocket to the coffee apron as I thought it might be too much at the time, however after using the blue one I wish I had. The little pocket on the blue apron is the perfect size for my mobile phone or iPod to fit in snugly and has turnd out incredibly handy!

Both aprons were made to be a bit wider than the usual shop brought ones as I wanted good coverage and to be able to tie them comfortably.

Sculpture By The Sea 2008 - Cottesloe

2008-03-13T00:06:00.000+11:00

Rod and I were lucky enough to get an afternoon off together to see this great public art exhibition that occurs every year at Cottesloe:

This is one of THE most fantastic FREE public art exhibitions that has become a regular event on the Perth scene.
Sculptors from around the world dislay their works in, on and around the beaches of Cottesloe. Members of the public can look at , picnic next to or swim by unique pieces of art during the exhibition. The effect can be a little surreal...

If you are local and haven't been to this yet and live in the Perth area check it out next time it's on.

This event is also held in other locations nationally and internationally, you can check out dates and times here:

http://www.sculpturebythesea.com/

Sun, sea, surf,sculpture and the fabulous Cottesloe shoreline - what else do you need?