Notions Of Fabric

Happy New Year to all! Hope your resolutions aren't broken (yet), that you're recovering from all the Christmas food and alcohol nicely, and that you've had a restful holiday, for those back at work. Today I wanted to have an experience I've had recently, which was super scary. I have gotten quite a lot of attention from friends (and strangers) in the past for my me-made items. A few months ago, a friend mentioned that she didn't have many appropriate work dresses. Many bought dresses are too short, and the style she (and I) like in an appropriate length can cost upwards of $200. So I offered to make her some. We went together to Spotlight, and after choosing patterns we also chose her fabric. In the end, I made a purple spotty Lilou, an aqua Belladone, and a dark green NL6208. (I love this pattern. Such pretty bows - it reminds me I should make another for myself!) Making for others is interesting. I have her measurement (obviously) and I've changed m...

Hey guys! So many awesome people are doing round up posts, Top 5 stuff. I love reading them, but I don't feel like I really made enough things to count! (I mean, I made more than 5, but haven't blogged quite a few of them...) So I thought I'd briefly mention a few of my sewing goals for the next year: Sew more wearable things. Don't get me wrong, I wear my dresses heaps. But I need more tops, and I feel like I should make a few plainer things so that I can mix and match properly. Sew with velvet. Slightly cheating, but I bought a 3m length of crushed panne velvet in the post-Christmas sales, which will be my test run. Make some PJs! This is something I need to do! I am so fussy and am running out of them. Simple as that. Sew a coat. I am hoping to move countries (Australia to the UK) next year, and I would love to have a handmade piece of outerwear to take and wear with me. Find something to do with my scraps... They are going to take over my life otherwise! ...

Hi guys, long time no post! Sorry about that, I won't go into too much detail, but lately has been  busy and the weather has been less than excellent. But I had to come back now... When Tilly and the Button's newest pattern, Francoise, was released, I did a little happy dance. You can see from my other posts that I mostly make one kind of style - fitted bodice with a bigger skirt. But after I made my 3-quarter circle skirt (found here ), I had some fabric left over. In fact I thought I had just enough to make... A 60s a-line dress. (Anyone else a big fan of the children's book Something From Nothing? I loved it as a kid.) And just as I was about to go buy Simplicity 1609 , Tilly announced her new pattern, the Francoise!! It was a match made in heaven. My first one (which I actually have no photos of, yet) was made using the leftover fabric. The pattern is gorgeous and I actually love it on me. I can cut a size 4 and it's a perfect fit too, which is excellent. But ther...

So, I've joined the rest of the sewing community... and I've started knitting. Not for that reason though. I learned how to knit when I was much younger, from my grandma, and made some scarves, to some success (using only knit stitch, mind you). I recently rediscovered my kntting when I moved, and now we live 3 hours away from my old hometown. However, we have friends getting married, we have family members birthdays and other social gatherings which mean we've been back in Canberra almost every weekend since we moved. That's quite a lot of driving, or for me, sitting in the car. So I wanted something to do in the car. So I'm working again on a half finished scarf from several years ago (coming along nicely, thanks), and started a beanie with my friend's help. I also realised, though, that my knitting bag is actually my Mum's. So I made myself one using a pair of fat quarters, a zip, and some webbing. It took less than 3 hours! It's basical...

Hello again. How are we all doing today? I loved the last dress I made, Simplicity 2444, so much that the very next thing I made was... another one! The fabric is really nice, actually. A family friend heard from my parents that I was sewing things, and mentioned that she had a HUGE amount of fabric she wanted to get rid of. I very happily went around to her place to take a look! She mostly did quilting, so many pieces weren't the right size for the job. But I picked up a few, and this one I wanted to use first. I looked it up based on the selvage, and it's actually a curtain fabric, 100% cotton, and quite sturdy. It gives the pleated skirt a really lovely shape.  I cut a 16 again, and pulled it in 2 inches before sewing it up. I (obviously) made the sleeveless version with pattern skirt this time. I learnt a big new skill for this one - bias binding! I used binding as a facing as well as on the inside of the dress - see, so nice! (Looks so nice...) ...

Last weekend, one of my cousins had a baby! It's very exciting news for the family, as that part of it hadn't had a baby girl in generations. As soon as I heard the news, I decided that I should put my sewing skills to good use! I thought patterns would be hard as she was only a little baby, and I live in a different state to them. So I tried to find a free pattern which could work and be flexible. Being a lover of the circle skirt myself, what better than to make some for my new baby cousin! I found a useful pattern piece and tutorial here . The first I made using remnants from the dress for me I'm currently finishing off. I decided to use bias binding on the bottom (and although it was supposed to be a circle skirt in one piece, I had to cut 4 sections - and used my first French seams), and I think it makes a cute touch. Now, we can match! Then, after seeing how little fabric you need (you can fit one onto a fat quarter!), I pulled a fat quarter I hadn't us...

Hey guys! So I had some posts queued up, but I was hoping that maybe someone out in the wilds of the internet would be able to help me with a few things. So I've been having a few issues with fit, on the back specifically. I think I must have a small back or something, because I find that necklines are too wide, and they gape (at the front and back, but more at the back). I've tried taking it down a size just around the neckline and grading back to the regular size at the bust, but this doesn't seem to work. Would it be better to just take a slice out of the back, or a wedge shaped section? Or (and I just thought of this so maybe it's totally crazy) could I go down a size, then do a FBA for my larger chest area? I don't have any fitting books or resources at the moment, so I was hoping someone might see this and be able to help... Please?