Doily.

I purchased this crocheted cropped jacket today. I have been making an effor these past six months to only buy clothes if I need them for work. This is not work wear, but there is no possible way I could crochet a vest like this! I love it so much I just had to show you all...

It reminds me of a vintage crochet doily... which Jamie thinks might not necessarily be a good thing. Regardless, I fell in love with it!

It is a rainy Sunday evening here in Sydney. Jamie is spinning his legs on his indoor trainer and I am relaxing listening to the radio.

Maybe we will start thinking about dinner soon.

Sam xox

Sidonie skirt.

I purchased this fabric over a year ago now, for no other reason than just loving the colour and pattern. After 12 months of sitting in a drawer, I finally decided to make a skirt from it. However, only having 1 meter of the fabric seriously restricted what could be done with it. I searched through the Burda Style website and came across the Sidonie Skirt pattern.

With a few alterations to the original pattern, I was able to make a cute skirt with only 1 meter of fabric. The main difference is that I shortened pattern pieces 1 and 2 by about 2 inches at the shortening line, then cut the pattern one size too big. I then shaped it slightly so that the skirt sat nicely on my hips rather than on my waist (which compensated for the shortened pattern length). I did not cut the pattern on the bias either, like the instructions told me to, rather the way I cut it means that the straight grain line is running vertically through the skirt. This does not seem to make any difference to the wear. The best part of all? The Sidonie skirt pattern only cost $3 to download and took less that 1 hour to make!

Front view of the skirt.

Invisible zipper and hook and eye.

A peak inside the skirt so you can see the stitching.

A not-so-clear photo of the skirt on. When the weather is

nicer I will take a better one I promise!

Overall I am really pleased with how easy this skirt was to make, how quick it was, and how well the pattern works with 100% cotton fabrics. I think this style of skirt is quite flattering and looks good with a t-shirt or singlet top. I can see myself whipping up a few more of these before the summer is out!

Sam xox

There is a zipper foot for every zipper.

I never realised until last weekend that there was such a thing as an invisible zipper foot. Yes, I had heard of the regular zipper foot, and had even put a zipper or two in with one over the years, but the invisible zipper foot was an entirely new concept to me. I did not really understand what the difference was, until I purchased my own today.

You will notice that this zipper foot has two grooves underneath - these are to feed through the zipper teeth right next to the needle.

If you would like to learn how to sew an invisible zipper into a garment you make, click here to check out an awesome tutorial!

Sam xox

Finally, vintage patterns.

I have spent months now searching Etsy and eBay, trying to find some vintage patterns that would still be considered fashionable and are in usable condition! I found this quite tricky. Mainly because most of the old patterns listed on these sites are pretty outdated - no I do not want to make power suits, no I do not want to make my own T-shirt with shoulder pads, no I do not want to make a range of random looking hats.

The other challenge was sizing. It seems to be that once upon a time patterns were sold in single sizes, and I found it hard to figure out if patterns I did like would actually fit me, as the sizes and gauge seemed to change depending on the pattern brand.

A few days ago I finally found some hidden gems. They are all the right size, in good condition, and just too cute. They are in the post on their way to me. So excited!

Vintage 1950's Simplicity4293 "Jiffy Dress"

Vintage 1960's Butterick 4814 A-line Dress Pattern.

Vintage Early 1960's Simplicity 5126 Suit, Scarf & Blouse Pattern

Sam xox

Dressmaking class.

On Saturday I attended a three hour course on 'how to make a dress' using the dress pattern V8184 by Vogue Easy Options. It was held at the Tessuti fabric shop in Surry Hills (remember I blogged about Surry Hills here?). Many of you may have noticed my post a few posts back on the tessuti online fabric shop and all the beautiful fabrics they had available. Well, the online shop is nothing compared to the actual store! What a hidden gem! If you want to have a look, check it out here and watch the video of inside the shop.

I arrived at Tessuti as doors opened Saturday morning, with my sewing machine in hand. I was feeling nervous as I do consider myself a novice when it comes to sewing clothes, and I was unsure what to expect from this lesson. My nervous eased when I met our teacher Georgia. What a gem! She was infectiously bubbly and enthusiastic about dressmaking. She had brought along a variety of dresses she had made using this pattern, and showed us how she had altered each slightly to give it an 'extra something'. Her workmanship was something to behold!

I still can't get my head around how much info Georgia managed to pack in the three short hours. I feel like I learnt so much: how to pin and cut a pattern properly, sewing a toile, fitting the toile perfectly to a body, and using the toile as an individualised pattern.

I even learnt how to sew a perfect princess seam AND bone a bodice! I am totally prepared now to make this dress, and I would definitely recommend anyone who is in or near Sydney to attend one of Georgia's classes - worth every cent!

After the class I spent time browsing the walls of fabric, until I found the perfect one...

Here are some pics.

Three hours of hard work.

My 'couture' bodice.

Princess seam & boning.

Heavy-weight cotton fabric in an oatmeal colour.

Tessuti card.

If you are interested in finding more out about this dress pattern, check out Georgia's pattern review here at the Tessuit Blog.

Sam xox

Dressmaker dreaming.

I have spent some time window shopping researching fabrics online and I thought I might share some of my finds with you, in case anyone else out there was looking for good quality online fabric stores.

As I mentioned in this post, you can find a large range of Liberty of London fabrics for a very reasonable price on the Shaukat & Company website (I will be spending some of my first pay cheque on some Liberty fabrics from this store!).

I came across this little gem tonight: Tessuti Fabrics, an Aussie online fabric store with a great variety of unusual fabrics and prints. The website also lists their store location as being in Surry Hills of all places (remember my trip to Surry Hills recently?)!

Here are my favourites from Tessuti Fabrics' online store...

{Dark Clan - Wool - AUS$89 p/m}

This wool fabric is so beautiful, but the price ... I would have to be very confident in my sewing skills! I was thinking that I could perhaps make a lined winter skirt or coat? Maybe for winter 2011?

{Nouveau Bloom - Printed Silk/Cottom Voile - AUS$29 p/m}

This fabric captured my imagination. It does have a nouveau feel to it, and I thought it would look great with the right dress or skirt pattern.

{Osaka Sand Bloom - Japanese Cotton - AUS$29 p/m}

I like the weave of the fabric here as it looks like it would be quite textured. I am unsure what I would make from it, perhaps a summer top?

{Suki Mauve Bloom - Japanese Cotton - AUS$24 p/m}

Finally, I just think this is so cute, the perfect spring fabric.

Don't forget to enter my giveaway here, winner drawn this Sunday August 8!

Sam xox

Dressmaking.

Phew, one week down in my new job. It has been so good but so challenging! Basically the role is one involving community outreach to people living with a mental illness, so visiting these peoples homes and working 1-on-1 with them has been very eye opening and a fantastic learning curve.

* * * * * * *

I have made some progress this week towards my no-clothes pledge.

At the beginning of the week my dressmakers mannequin arrived in the mail. I bought this one on eBay for a really good price, and it arrived at my house in just over 24 hours! I have it all set up and adjusted to my measurements, and have a very large piece of calico fabric to play with on it! I want to try and draft my own pattern for a top using pencils, scissors, pins and the mannequin. I have the idea in my mind, I just hope I can transfer it to reality.

My next step forward involved my very generous sister-in-law Ally (I will be introducing you to her very soon) sending me a book she couldn't give higher praise for, Design-It-Yourself Clothes by Cal Patch. You see, Ally is a fantastic sewer and makes THE most adorable clothes for her 18 month old daughter, buying simple patterns and adding different touches to make her daughters clothes have a vintage/feminine look. So this book? Well Ally was right - it hits the mark in terms of actually explaining in simple language how to draft your own patterns. The instructions are so clear and all the clothes featured I would actually wear, unlike those featured in "Sew U".

As if giving me this book wasn't enough, Ally pointed me in the direction of a dressmaking magazine website called Burda Style. They have a website full of information, patterns and inspiration, which you can browse for yourself at: www.burdastyle.com.

This website is fantastic! There are hundreds of patterns to choose from, and when your heart falls for one, you simply add it to your cart, pay your money (not very much) and then it is yours to download and save. You simply print the pattern off using your printer, sticky tape the pages together, and cut out to your size. There are lots of reasons why I like this method:

1) You can print out as many as you need, so all the fiddling with tracing the different sizes with your shop bought patterns is no more. Simply cut it to size, and if you are making different sizes, you can print it out again and cut it to the new size!

2) The patterns take up no space! Just store them on your computer and print them out as you need them.

3) You have instant access to a multitude of patterns, saving you much more time.

4) The patterns are all about 60% cheaper than in stores in Australia!

While waiting for a friend to finish work earlier this week, I browsed a newsagency looking for dressmaking patterns.

So excited to find the latest issue of Burda Style sitting there in the magazine racks that I took it home with me.

Sam xox

My first attempt on my overlocker.

Declan and Marc called in today and have taken Jamie out on a 'day trip' to Coogee! Declan seemed very excited about the possibility of taking 'the cripple' out. I just hope they bring Jamie back in one piece, and with his crutch and sling :-p

So I am enjoying the piece and quiet (while it lasts) and decided to make a nightie. I purchased the fabric and lace a few weekends ago, but with everything happening I never got a chance to use it.

I think I need to get over locker lessons. The tension was totally screwed, and the only solution I could come up with was to remove one of the two needles (not the best way to troubleshoot!). It seemed to fix things, but obviously it is not the correct way.

Anyhow, I managed to get the nightie finished in a a little over two hours (including overlocker mucking around time wasted).

I am happy with the result. It fits well and is a nice length.

A close up of the top.

The front.

So this was a pretty easy pattern to follow. I really want to have a go at making a coat for winter! I was thinking of buying these patterns.

Kwik Sew Pattern 3490

&

Kwik Sew Pattern 3679

(If you click on the patterns it will take you to their web page)

Sam xox