Notions Of Fabric

Happy Monday everyone! And an especially happy Monday to my lovely friends in the ACT - lucky things, they have a public holiday today. But I don't feel that bad, because I'm on holidays anyway. Today I have my latest version of one of my TNT patterns - Deer and Doe's Chardon skirt . I ADORE this skirt, and have made it 5 times so far (although only 1 other has made it to the blog - I need to fix that!). Find my first version in black twill  here ! As well as this, I have one in navy with red trim, denim (the ultimate skirt in my wardrobe), and grey cordouroy (which is in the mending pile due to a small hole). So definitely a TNT pattern then! I made my usual size for this one (44), with no alterations except raising the hemline slightly. I love the autumnal vibe this one has, and it goes equally well with stockings or bare legs. This shade of brown is practically a neutral, right? I went for contrast with the pockets, using a dark green fat quarter from my sta...

Evening all! It will be a short post tonight, and I also want to apologise for my face in these photos. I had to get these photos done and up today, but I'm ridiculously sick at the moment (and mostly still working, thanks to my profession). I got greeted three times today with 'Wow, you look unwell!' - which is just what you want when you feel like death warmed up. Anyway, this is coming under the wire, really, but is my entry into the Gingham-Along hosted by Karen of Did You Make That? How it came about is a slightly complex story.... When the Ginghamalong was first announced, I was like 'YES! MAKE ALL THE GINGHAM THINGS!', but then I realised I'm trying to save money as well as sew my stash, so my plans went by the wayside. I still have an amazing mental image of black and white gingham shorts (so if anyone knows where to find gingham sateen, let me know!). Except, on Friday (the 9th), I saw an ad for 40% off at Lincraft, where they have a decent...

Hello lovely people! It's finally getting nice here in Sydney (although I believe it will rain again later in the week), and I have another dress to show you! I think we've allworked out how this works by now. I love to wear dresses, pretty much no matter how cold (well, in Sydney, anyway). And sorry, but this is a quick post - I'm swamped with work today, but wanted to share this one with you anyway! This lovely is another Deer and Doe Belladone . I've already made this gorgeous pattern a few times, but this one has a few small alterations to the previous one (and I have one in the 'to-take-in' pile as well!). I've gone down a size from my first (to a 42), a pleasant side effect of running, but I have also added little darts on the upper back overlap pieces. I find that the back can gape otherwise, which is a problem I have with a few patterns. Maybe I have narrow shoulders? Anyway, other than those few changes, this is exactly as is. I l...

Hey everyone! So, it's been a month... My bad. I did warn you I was going back to work tomorrow... And work has been crazy, I've ended up with heaps of extra stuff to do, and unfortunately all of the crafty things have had to take a backseat for a little while. Hoping I can get things back to normal soon though! (Also slight apologies for the background today - we were experimenting with in-our-living-room photography with a sheet as a backdrop. Not so successful, but plenty good enough for the blog!) Today I have my latest dress to share with you - and I have to say, this time it looks exactly like what I saw in my head. That doesn't happen all too often in my experience. This lovely is a bit of a mashup. It wasn't intended to be, though. I started off with Kwik Sew 3682 , which has a lovely deep V on the bodice (View B). However, I had bought slightly too little fabric, and even if I hacked 4 inches off the skirt (which I often do with patterns, because they...

Hello lovely people! Hope everyone is well. It's been a great few weeks off for me on school holidays, but it'll be back to work tomorrow for. me. At least it's supposed to be warmer this week - I'm looking forward to  a day or two with no stockings! This dress is a stockings dress though. It is one I made late last year, actually, but I haven't worn it all that often. It is a departure from my usual style, but I like it.  This a Tilly and the Buttons Francoise. It's not my first, but I think it's my favourite. In terms of construction, this was made exactly the same as the first (in a size 4). I was planning on having sleeves, but the wool I chose doesn't have enough stretch for sleeves. Or enough fabric in the piece I bought. The main reasons that I don't wear this dress a lot is the length and the fabric. It's a great wintery dress to be worn with stockings! However, here in Sydney there isn't a huge amount of stocking weath...

Hello lovely people! I hope that you are all well, and if you are an Aussie, that you are staying warm and dry. Today I have a totally seasonally-inappropriate dress to share with you. I mean, it is the middle of winter here, but for me, that still means dresses - just with many layers on top and underneath to keep me warm. This dress is also a small first for me - this is my first full muslin on a dress bodice! I know, I know, I should have started making muslins ages ago, but my habit is much more 'make-the-dress-then-take-it-in-at-the-zip' kind of girl. Way too much work making a muslin, or so I thought. Turns out, it's totally worth it. (Photos for this post taken by my brother, with guidance from my Mum) I didn't keep my notes as to all the changes I made (silly), but I did go down a size from before, and take out the back darts. The underarm seam is just slightly crooked, but not enough to really notice. I had originally planned to use the S2444 skirt pat...

Hello again lovely people! Today I come bearing a pretty dress, a tale of happiness and wild despair and then returning happiness. This dress has been... a saga, to say the least. And just as a heads up, this is a picture heavy post. And... it's long. Very long. You've been warned! Let's get the particulars out of the way first though, shall we? This is McCalls 6696 , a gorgeous button down shirtdress everyone and their cat has already made. Yeah, yeah, once again I'm late to the party. But I am glad I waited this time. This is View B, with sleeves and gathered skirt, in a size 14. It fits perfectly. And I adore it. It started off so well. I had 4 yards of this lovely Kaufman Essex Linen Blend fabric in a lovely light blue (they call it Water) from fabric.com which I had originally intended to make a Victorian style dress from Black Sails. However, after not finding a pattern that already worked, and fully realising that I wouldn't wear the dress, or have ...