Notions Of Fabric

A week ago, I had the amazing opportunity through the Husband's work to go to the V&A for a corporate late night. I had missed out on booking tickets to the Dior exhibition and had resigned myself to having to go over the summer break and line up for returns or last minute tickets, until Husband messaged me with the ticket. I could not have said yes faster! The event included 3 events, 2 of which are the fashion exhibits currently running. After arriving we had ourselves a nice gin and tonic and a snack before heading into the Dior exhibition first. This turned out to be the perfect plan, as by the time we left the queue was about 5 times as long as when we went in. The dresses were just... To die for. For anyone who has read my blog before (probably only 2 people, I love the New Look silhouette and wear it probably 5 days a week. To see the original designs was so inspiring. I actually really preferred some of the original Dior designs to the more modern looks designed by the ...

The final thing I wanted to make while I was in Australia was a huge departure in style for me. Although my style mostly consists of high waisted skirts with floaty tops, or dresses with a high waisted fitted bodice and a big skirt. Basically, quite 50s vintage vibe. So having high waisted trousers maybe does make sense, but I've never worn any before. So, in Australia with time and the Lander pattern (also bought in a Black Friday sale), I decided why not? I'd give it a go. With the plan to make a wearable toile, I thought of using corduroy fabric, again from Spotlight. And even though I had a plain color in mind, when I saw this fabric it just spoke to me! It was the perfect autumn fabric (and with the top I am wearing, which is from Cotton On, it's the perfect warm autumn outfit) and makes the perfect autumn pants! Only problem is that I've gone from Australian summer to British spring... But I forsee a lot of wear in the autumn. I made a size 12, but at the rage of ...

While I was at home waiting on the new visa processes, I had 2 months in which to sew. I finished 3 projects, of which this is the 2nd one. These are the Carolyn PJs. I bought the pattern in the Black Friday sale last year, as it wasn't a pattern I thought I'd use a lot. For actual sleeping, I tend to just use a cotton night shirt (a longer t-shirt) rather than pajamas that intense, but I knew they'd be perfect for lounging around the flat when we got back into the London spring. And I was right, they are definitely my most worn me-mades of late! As with the other projects from Australia, the fabric is from Spotlight and is a lovely navy/red flanelette check with a touch of white. I took a poll of some of my non-sewing friends, who voted red piping instead of white, so I went with that as well. I made the long trousers view (View B), with piping at the cuffs and along the collar. The only thing I omitted was the pocket on the top, purely because I knew I wouldn't use it...

Hi again guys! Surprise I'm back! And with a top which I made quite soon after returning from Australia... I had tried the Ogden cami last year, and was frustrated by the fact that it didn't fit and sat strangely. I decided this time to try a size down (size 10) and it turned out that's all I needed to do! The fabric I used for this make is some kind of slinky poly from a shop (I don't remember which) on Goldhawk Road sometime last year. I don't normally go for this colour, but on that day it really spoke to me and I'm glad I went with it. I only bought a metre, so it's perfect for an Ogden. The other issue with my very first Ogden was actually fabric choice, so between sizing down and changing fabric this was now perfect! I am currently working on 3 others - two in different lawns (one Liberty), and one in a sandwashed silk. I'm particularly excited for the silk one as it will be so luxe! I don't think there's much else to say about the Ogd...

I won't apologise for the delay. Suffice it to say that it has been a while, and I want to blog more than I do. But here I am, back again! This is a project that has also been coming a long time coming. I bought the pattern for the  Luzerne trench  back when it first came out, and although I really wanted to sew it and knew that once I had that I’d wear it a lot, I was too intimidated to start. But I bought the fabric (beige twill from fabric.com, actually the same as one of the samples Deer and Doe used on their website), prewashed it and then put it in a drawer. For years. The turning point for me was being back in Australia. Due to visa dramas, I was back home at my parents without a job and with very little to do for several months. But, I was reunited with my old sewing machine and was able to have a small corner of the upstairs living room in front of a big bay window. My stash might have been in the UK, but I had patterns stored in my Google drive. So I printed ...