Notions Of Fabric

I know people say this every year, but how is it the end of 2019 already? It has been a big one for us in many ways. We had to leave the UK for a few months to get new visas at the beginning of the year, I lost a job, I got a new (better) one, we have travelled, I have seen much theatre, and as usual I've bought more fabric than I've sewn! Of course, this is a common problem among sewists and I will do a post in a week or so with my intentions for the year 2020 but for now this is a wrapping up post! In terms of sewing, I did a lot in the beginning of the year. It helped to pass the time while I was back at home for 2 months, unemployed and with my family at work every day. And that period of time was a real eye-opener for me! I made three projects which were challenging me in different ways - piping and pattern matching, trousers, and many buttonholes! After that, and the successes which I had with those, I realised that I need to challenge myself more in my sewing. So then ...

Before I had even finished my first Kew dress (which you can find  here  if you are interested), I knew I was going to make another. I just had to do it soon, before we ran out of summer in London! Luckily, even after that, we have a trip or two planned to places which will be nice and warm so there should be plenty of opportunity to wear it again. I can even picture it over a black t-shirt when the weather cools down which could look quite 90s cool. For this next  Kew   I wanted to make it a bit more wearable by leaving off the cold shoulder straps. I do really like them, but I just think that in order to get the most out of this dress throughout multiple seasons (and wearing cardigans/layers with it) that it is more versatile without the cold shoulder. Plus, with this heavier fabric I don't think it would drape quite as well or have the same effect. This fabric was the only piece of fabric I purchased while we were actually in Australia for Christmas (before the wh...

This is the first project that I made while at home in Australia, however is the last one to make it to the blog. Mostly because as soon as I wear it, I wash it and wear it again! It has been in constant rotation ever since I made it, and even more so now London has finally decided that is summer now! This is the Kew dress from Nina Lee. Like my other Australia projects, it was something I hadn't made before but that I had fallen in love with when it came out. Specifically, version 2 with the straps and little wings (sleeves?) was really gorgeous and I loved the line drawing. I always had linen in mind for this dress, so when I went to spotlight I headed straight there. Red is not normally my colour, but this is such a lovely shade I couldn't resist! When I went to look at buttons and they had these lovely ones with exactly the sameshade of red, I knew it was fate! It does wrinkle a little throughout the day but it's nothing major and I don't worry too much about it. I ...