After an incredibly stressfull 2010 I'm hoping for a slightly slower pace in 2011 and I'm looking forward to setting up my sewing room. We've been in the new house for about three weeks and the machines haven't even been set up.
Wednesday 29 December 2010
A new beginning
After an incredibly stressfull 2010 I'm hoping for a slightly slower pace in 2011 and I'm looking forward to setting up my sewing room. We've been in the new house for about three weeks and the machines haven't even been set up.
Tuesday 9 November 2010
A Trio of Simplicity 3510
Here are three versions of Simplicity 3510 - a Project Runway pattern for girls dresses with a range of variations.
Apologies for the very bad photos - I was struggling to find a good spot and unfortunately this one was too bright.
All three tops are the regular bodice with raglan sleeves. First up is Miss P's top. It's a size seven and is made from Heather Ross double gauze. Obviously I shortened it to be a top rather than a dress, I also gave the 'skirt' section of the top an a-line shape rather than the straight skirt given in the pattern. The only other thing I did was shorten the elastic for the neck ties. If you use the elastic guide provided then it will nearly be longer than the neckline casing. I cut off about 5cm and looking at the tops on the girls, I really need to cut off at least another 5cm as the neckline is sitting too far out.
Miss G's top was the first version I ever made. It's a size eight and is made from a really crisp cotton - I shortened the elastic more on this one and it sits better.
Friday 5 November 2010
Plans for the weekend
- Finish the BurdaStyle Kasia skirt
- Finish the girls' tops
- Trace out a BWOF blouse and knit boat neck top
Saturday 30 October 2010
My weekend
Our house is under contract so the sewing machines and fabric can be unpacked and played with again. With the Melbourne Cup long weekend I'm not due back at work until Wednesday so hopefully some of the above fabric will get sewn up this weekend.
Saturday 23 October 2010
Crafty Christmas Club
Tuesday 14 September 2010
Painting? Yes. Sewing? No.
Before all the packing commenced we had a family trip into the city and I was able to make a quick stop off at Tessuti where the three lovely pieces of fabric above came home with me. From left to right there is a lovely navy and white stretch cotton jersey, a crisp white shirting and a beautiful silk chiffon in shades of grey. I'm planning a simple t-shirt for the striped jersey, but haven't decided what type of sleeves I want yet. The shirting is obviously for a shirt. I'm planning a short sleeve top for work and the left overs are for a contrasting collar and cuffs for another shirt. For the beautiful silk chiffon I'm planning a simple sleeveless, cowl neck top. I haven't selected any patterns yet - I keep coming up with heaps of ideas as I paint.
With school holidays next week and the seemingly endless house prep I'm not sure when I'm going to make it back to my machine, but hopefully I'll be able to squeeze something in soon.
Thursday 2 September 2010
Balloon Top
Full sleeve
V neck at the back
I really like this top, it went together really easily (even though I don't speak Japanese) and I've got plans to make another in a pale pink jersey for spring.
If you read my other blog, you'll know what it absorbing all my time. We've come to the stage in our build where we need to get our current house ready for sale and as I don't have a dedicated sewing space (I tend to spread out all over the kitchen and the study) I have to pack away my sewing things for a while.
Here's a little look at my sewing table as it is at the moment (it's a bit embarassing)
Not pretty for potential buyers. On the table is a half made Kasia skirt, McCalls 3830, a nighty for my youngest, a HotPatterns Weekender top, a quilt for my nephew and a couple of pairs of pants I need to hem for my SIL. There's also a few other patterns and pieces of fabric I've pulled out thinking that I'd quickly whip something up and then been forced to put aside.
I'm hoping that I can use the non sewing time to plan, cut out and prepare a few things. I'm planning on using my blog to set some goals for my summer sewing so you'll probably be seeing a few patterns and fabric combos in the near future.
Saturday 17 July 2010
Not the start I was hoping for.
So today I told the family I was going to do nothing but sew. I still haven't accomplished much, kept getting distracted. The top is cut out and the neckbands interfaced. It looks like it will be great.
The simple pencil skirt is pushing my buttons. I've used a beautiful plaid I bought last winter of clearance from Tessuti. I've carefully matched the horizontal lines across the side and back seams and lying flat on the table it looks fantastic, exactly what I was hoping for. Unfortunately when I put it on I have all kinds of gathering at the top of my thighs. The back is fine, so I think it's just my pot belly causing the issues. I took some of the curve out of the side seams and extended the front darts by approx 5cms and this seems to help. I've put it aside for now and will take another shot at it tomorrow.
Thursday 1 July 2010
And we're off...
No pictures of any of my work yet, but I do have a couple of simple things on the go.
First is a balloon top inspired by Yoshimi's - I love the look of hers so I bought my first foreign language pattern and I'm hoping to get it cut out tomorrow.
My second item is a very basic pencil skirt from M3830 to bolster my work wardrobe.
Wish me luck!
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