Notions Of Fabric

This skirt is something that I don't do very often - making 2 things from the same fabric! This is a Chardon skirt. Again. You will have seen it before a bunch of other times. I've made it in black (twice), in brown corduroy, in blue and red... I love it. After making the Blackwatch Plain Ruby dress, which I love, I realised that I had heaps left over. Like, a lot. So I did what any self-respecting sewist would do. I used the same fabric to make a skirt! I cut my usual size, which is a 44 and it still fits great. I used bias for the hem and it looks great, and I used a lightweight slinky poly lining from my stash for the pockets. Not much else to say other than it gets a lot of wear and it's another great cold weather option!

This pattern is the Deer and Doe Belladone. Those who are long time readers of my blog will recognise my love for this pattern company. I have made Belladones, Daturas, Chardons, and of course a Luzerne! I actually also am planning to make Sirocco and Magnolia at some point soon - they're both on my Make Nine for 2020. (Since writing this post originally, I have made the Sirocco once, with plans for a second, and I changed my mind on Magnolia, buying the Myosotis pattern instead!) I have made quite a few Belladone's in my time, it must have been 4 or 5, although not many are still surviving. This is mostly due to moving interstate, across the world, and also my fluctuating weight. But I do like the silhouette and I always really loved the cross over element at the back (to the point where I've never made it with the plain back!) This fabric was, I believe, one of my earliest purchases from TMOS (the Man outside Sainsbury's) in Walthamstow? It's a lig...

Here is a real wardrobe workhorse - these Maritime Shorts must have been worn hundreds of times since I made them! These shorts were made before our trip home to Australia for Christmas 2018. It turns out that it was perfect timing - I had already made the Ogden which I am wearing in these pics, and I knew that a navy pair of shorts would be perfect for my wardrobe. This linen  is a fabric I picked up from Guthrie and Ghani, and the lining in the pockets is the scraps of Liberty lawn from the dress I made for the bbq the day after my wedding. I actually still have enough to make another set of pockets out of it, so I will be keeping it and making it last as long as humanly possible. It's such a nice lining and of course compliments the linen perfectly. These were the 'real' shorts that my starry print ones were the test for. Making those, they came out a little bit big so for this pair I went down a size and they were perfect! They fit really well, and I got ...

It's another New Look 6048! As you can probably tell by now, I love this pattern and feel very comfortable wearing it. The fabric for this dress was another Village Haberdashery purchase. This was my first Rifle Paper Co. fabric purchase, and it is the 'Wonderland Alice Tea Party' in black. I have always loved the story of Alice in Wonderland and when I saw this tea party themed print, knew I had to have it. The colour palette is very me and it's fun but not too excessive. Choosing this pattern for this print was easy, as the fabric is a cotton, but more of a quilting cotton in terms of weight and drape. I find NL 6048 good for this kind of fabric as I like when the skirt has some shape to it. I remember being in the store and messaging the husband with a question: 'Would a whole dress in this print be too much?' The answer was a resounding yes, so I bought enough for the skirt and picked up some plain black cotton sateen and a complementary sky blue zipper...

This skirt is really a winter exclusive, due to the fabric. It is a wool blend, I think, and is a very warm fabric with quite a lot of body. It gives this skirt a really cut look and holds the shape of the skirt. I picked it up from Walthamstow at Saeeds, loving the winter vibe and the purple colour. I used it to make a self drafted 1/4 circle skirt. I used the By Hand London circle skirt calculator with the 1/4 circle and the mini length. It is hemmed using bias tape to keep as much of the length of possible. After finishing it and trying it on, it was gaping at the waist, so I took the zipper out and reinserted it, taking a diagonal wedge out towards the top. In retrospect, I should have made a shaped waistband instead of just using a rectangle. Since I made that waistband adjustment, I have lost a little bit of weight so the skirt is a little loose. However, it actually make it perfect for winter wear, because it fits perfectly when you take a winter sweater and...

This dress we actually took photos of once before, last year. We were in the gorgeous town of Zell am See in Austria for the Husband to do his first half ironman race, and we stopped one evening under the picturesque town church for photos. Unfortunately, it was a bit too late in the evening and the photos turned out unsalvageable due to the dimming light, so you get photos in my sewing room against the blank wall again. Sorry? This pattern is one of my favourites - New Look 6048. One of the reasons I like this pattern is that it is a great canvas for making a dress when you only have a small piece. The bodice fabric I used for this dress I picked up at my favourite fabric store in Sydney - Achieve Australia. I had just enough for the bodice (and remnants which will make lovely pockets in something else!) and used a matching light cotton for the straps and the skirt. It is quite a light cotton so the dress is fully lined using the matching lawn for the bodice and a sligh...

This is the first new blog post that I have done since... Well, for a while. I had a very productive few months during lockdown/working from home. This project is then how I spent pretty much the whole of my summer holidays (aside from one pair of Carolyn PJ shorts in double gauze, hopefully soon to have a matching top!) Since going back to work however, I have had so little time to do anything but work that I have sewed something crazy like 7 seams total. But anyway, that is how I have been feeling and that is what it is. I try not to dwell on it. I have to start by saying that this was a PROCESS. That being said, it is totally possible without being overwhelmed if you break it up and take your time! If you include all the planning time, I have had this project in the works since before October 2019, which was when I bought the fabric for the outer from Guthrie and Ghani during SewBrum 2019. Then I got the following: Outer fabric from Guthrie and Ghani (navy blue Softshell fabric, now...

Another blog post, another Ruby! As soon as I saw this lovely plaid cotton, I knew it would be the perfect wintery Ruby dress. I wear it through the winter with tights, it pairs beautifully with all my boots, I can wear it with brightly coloured scarves and accessories if I want... It's the best. This Ruby is the same size as all my others. Using the length of fabric which I had, I actually wanted to get 2 garments out of the length of fabric. So, in an effort to save fabric I only put the facing inside this one, not a full lining - and I will admit, I will regret it. Every time I put it on I adjust the facing and slightly regret that I didn't fully line it, but once I have it on it's not actually a bother. The one thing that does actively annoy me about this dress is that I didn't put pockets in it. Mostly that bothers me when I wear it to work (I get given a lot of things and carry a pen at all times), but again, it's clearly not enough of an an...

I ummed and ahhed about whether to post this dress or not. I don't usually talk about my fails, which I think is totally normal. People don't want to embrace their failures, but this I think it an interesting failure, and for a few reasons. The first reason is the pattern. This pattern is McCalls 7504, which looks really lovely on the envelope. I sewed it up in a size 14, using the finished measurements to choose my size as I typically like less ease than most patterns are designed for. I did make the correct size and it fits decently. This was actually not picked by me, but was chosen by the Husband as something I should try in order to branch out and try new silhouettes. Normally his complaint is that all my dresses are "the same" - by which he means - they have a fitted bodice and a flared skirt. Which yes, they do, because this is a look that not only works on me (I think) but is something I feel comfortable in. But in the effort of branching out, I thought...