Notions Of Fabric

This is such an oldie but a goodie. I hadn't even realised that I hadn't taken photos of it yet until I was going through my cupboard in preparation for this photoshoot. In fact this is truly one that I love and wear a lot. I actually took photos of it last during this shoot, as it was already on the ironing board having just been washed, and then I wore it all day - again! The Lady Skater is such a versatile pattern. It is a really lovely shape and style for casual weekend wear, and I have worn mine quite a lot, although this one was always my favourite. I have made, I think 4? but only 2 are still around. This is mostly due to the fact that the Lady Skater was the first non-sweater knit I made, and I didn't really know much about knits. I did have one in a hunter green panne stretch velvet (which was lovely and I wore it for my first UK Christmas), which didn't have enough stretch so it didn't last very long, and I had another with a similar situatio...

Hi again guys! Hope you are all doing well - or, well enough. Another post of something from the wardrobe today. This fabric is one I picked up in a bulk order from fabric.com when I bought the twill for my Luzerne Trench - so I've had it for a while... But I have also had this top in my life for a while and wore it quite a lot last summer. It comes from right at the beginning of my Ogden cami making run, after the first one I made. But every version has turned out slight different, and this one was no exception. It is this gorgeous cotton lawn in the massive electric blue check. I have used lawn before to make several Ogden camis, but this behaved quite differently to the Liberty one which I have made. This lawn is lighter but not as drapey. It's perfect for hot sweaty summer days where you don't want to have the fabric against your skin. So it sticks up a little bit when wearing, as you can see in the photo, but I really don't mind. As with all m...

This was another case of making a dress in a week, actually. Although this one was so much less stressful! With World Book Day being on a Thursday each year, I realised on the Saturday before it that I didn't have a costume for the day. The few costumes I own are currently in Australia (I didn't see the point in bringing them over in the move), except for the costume I used for Halloween, which wasn't a book character. So I either needed to buy one straight away or make something that could work. I spent a few hours looking at costumes, but so many of the ones that I could actually get in time were so cheap looking and I just couldn't bring myself to do it. Then I remembered that I actually already owned appropriate fabric and it had barely even made it into my stash! This gorgeous fabric is from Lindy Bop (which when I went back to find it seems to be in administration?) It was labelled as crepe, and it sewed and wears beautifully. And of course, this...

As I often do with new patterns that I like, after I made my first one in the navy and white stripe, I promptly made another in a different but striped knit! Once I knew that the first dress was going to be successful, I ordered this gorgeous rainbow stripe knit from Tilly and the Buttons! I liked the idea of having a rainbow, and because this fabric is black printed on white (not black when woven) I needed a pattern that doesn't stretch very much. This fabric though is lovely, really comfy with a lovely stretch and the rainbow colours work super well with the black. I really love the end result! There is a little fading across the bust when I wear it due to it stretching slightly, but I don't think it's really noticeable and definitely not enough to stop me wearing it! As with my first Moneta, I placed the stripe horizontal on the bodice and vertical on the skirt. I think that looks better on me than the other way around. I made the same size (M), however...

After I made the two Moneta dresses back to back very quickly, I moved on to a pattern I've made lots before, but using a new variation. I have been doing a reasonable amount of sewing since schools have been closed - I am still working, but doing distance education stuff from home. Working from home has been a bit of a strange adjustment, which does have some perks, but I have been finding it hard stopping work, when it's right there on my laptop all the time. So I made a schedule, which includes a few hours sewing time each afternoon. This has actually been really great for my sewing productivity and for my mental health as well. I made another Linden! I already own 4, just not View B. I had wanted to try it though, but I don't have many drapey knits. What I do have in my stash is a set of 5 lengths of knit fabric from Girl Charlee which I won in the SewBrum raffle last year. So this is my chance to sew more knits, as this is not something I usually do and I'm st...

After the busy time making my last dress (see my last post), I then had a period of about a month when there was no sewing or even thinking about it, because I had family visiting and lost my sewing room because it became a spare room instead. An amazing time, but no sewing involved! When I got my sewing room back, I wanted to sew something new, but nothing too complicated. And then I remembered one of the things on my Make Nine was a Colette Moneta, and figured, it should be easy! I had set aside in my head this striped knit for ages - it's not too thick but the white is opaque, which I was very excited about when I purchased it. I have made the Lady Skater in the past, and while I liked that pattern it didn't feel like it was something I could wear to work, and I was hoping to add some knit dresses to my wardrobe which were a bit more work appropriate. It turns out that Moneta is perfect for that! I chose the 3/4 sleeve option for some cooler weather  wear (a...

This is a dress which, while I don't regret making at all, I do wish I had done slightly differently. It was a real adventure though... I was coming up to Christmas, thinking about what to wear to both mine and the Husband's work parties (I get to go to his, but he doesn't get to go to mine!). His is always easy - it's black tie, and I only see the people once a year, so I have a few very fancy dresses that are RTW which I rotate through. In all honesty, I don't have much interest in sewing a dress for a black tie party, given I only have one a year - but that may change in the future, I guess. When it comes to my party, as a teacher it is a much more chilled affair. I do need an outfit, of course, but it doesn't need to be black tie. So, I made the super decision on a Saturday to sew a new dress! The party was on the following Friday, which was also the last week of school before the holiday. So on top on prepping for the end of the term, and my Christma...