Wednesday 26 September 2012

Funky PJs and other bits and pieces

The kids picked out some funky flannel at Spotlight a little while back and I finally got the chance to make them up - just as the weather starts to warm up :)

There's really not much to say - I used Butterick 5853 for the two animal print pairs and Simplicity 3577 for the white pair.  The all had over an inch taken off the top of the waist and I had to add bands to the bottom of the Simplicity pair because the stated finished length was significantly shorter than the actual finished length!  I did laugh when I was reading How good is that and saw that she'd used the same fabric for her pj pants.



While I was on a bit of a roll in the sewing room I finally made myself a cushion for my chair.  Nothing too fancy - just a simple envelope with a little piping but I love the bright yellow scissor print.


And my final piece of miscellaneous sewing?  A giant bag, a tent bag to be exact.  The bag our tent was stored in disintegrated so Wade asked me to make him a new one.  It never hurts to have a few brownie points in the bank so I used some old fabric that we found at his parents house and made a simple drawstring bag.


Not the most glamorous sewing, but definitely very handy.  Hopefully I'll have a new dress to show you very soon.

Tuesday 18 September 2012

Simple tops - McCall's 6519

I couldn't resist this splotchy coloured silk when I saw it on eBay (and it's even better in real life) but I'm still finding my way with patterned fabrics so I thought I'd try this really simple top from McCall's 6519.


For the first time ever I cut out a pattern in a single layer - I couldn't risk one of the black circles falling in wrong spot!  With only 4 seams this is a really quick make but it need a couple of adjustments.  I raised the armhole by 1 1/4 inch and added an extra inch of length through the body.  The neckline and armholes are finished with bias strips and I finished the bottom with a narrow hem.  The top was fairly straight through the body so I cut a size 12 and the blended to a 14 from the waist down flaring out about 1/4 inch at the bottom.  


I can't believe how much I've already worn this top - it's going to get a lot of wear this summer.  I was hunting through my fabric stash and came across this really soft grey knit and thought I'd give it a try too. Turns out this pattern works just as well in a knit! 


I've got plans for another couple of these tops and the dress on this pattern too.  You'll be seeing more of McCall's 6519.

Tuesday 11 September 2012

Bleach Boys - Vogue 8742

Little by little I've been gently nudging myself outside of my comfort zone.  If you were to peek inside my wardrobe you'd find plenty of black, grey and a healthy sprinkle of colour (and probably shoes all over the place).  What you wouldn't see is much pattern.  If you count my recent dotty top then this dress brings the total to five patterned items!


This bleach boys ponti from Tessuti was one of my purchases at the recent meet up.  At the time I wasn't certain what I would make - there were plenty of great suggestions including using it for a jacket, but I had a vague idea that I wanted a dress.  I flicked through all my patterns and came up with Vogue 8742, it had the simple lines I was after but I knew I'd have to eliminate the gathers.  The ponti is quite thick and would be too bulky all gathered up.


This pattern is rated as very easy and it really is.  The princess seams make fitting adjustments really simple.  As well as leaving out the gathers I also omitted the back zipper and scooped out the neck (it was way too high for my comfort).


I didn't read the instructions so I'm not sure how they suggest you finish the neckline but I used some black spotty bias tape (no idea why I bought it but I love it).  I couldn't quite fit the full length sleeves on my fabric so I just cut it where the fabric ended and I quite like the length they ended up at.


I really love the way this dress looks - I think it's very flattering and it wears really well too.

Thursday 6 September 2012

No Charger = No Photos

The Melbourne meet up well and truly got my mojo going again and I've got a few finished projects to show you, but I can't.  We left the camera charger at my in-laws so no camera charger = no photos = no project posts.  Hopefully it will arrive in the post very soon.

I know we've just moved into spring but I have a couple of projects on my Autumn/Winter list that I want to make before I start planning for Spring/Summer.  It's not warm enough to wear summer dresses yet and I hate making something and then not being able to wear it!

Do you plan for the new season or do you just sew what you please?  I've loved having my Autumn/Winter list to refer to.  There are so many things that I want to do that sometimes I get completely overwhelmed and I'm not sure where to start - being able to look at my list is great.  And because I love posts with photos, here's one from our most recent trip to my in-laws - we all loved the green lantern coaster at Movie World.