Simplicity 2654, Alma, Sorbetto, Ottobre....

Another great weekend was had by the girls and myself at the wonderful Sewjourn last month. And wow, so many amazing garments were made by everyone!

Here are some of the pieces that I completed.....

Simplicity 2654 High waisted Sailor style pants made with a really lovely light weight garberdine. It's hard getting used to the wide leg after living in skinny leg jeans for ages, but I must say I really love them. I've also made the shorts, but you'll have to wait for warmer weather for those!

with Ottobre long sleeve top (blue and white polka dot stretch,bow added). I love these tops and have made a few now; they're a great staple for the wardrobe.

 From left to right:

Sewaholic ALMA Blouse - cotton, butter yellow and white polka dots. I'm still not sure about this top yet, the darts are a bit weird on me. Also, the upper and under collar was a real pain to fit and sit properly. I think I prefer Simplicity 2599 for fit. I don't think I'll make this one again.

 

Colette Sorbetto top, Linen, not a big fan of this one - it's a free download from the Colette website and I used fabric from the stash so not really bothered. HUGE armholes. It was VERY short even for me.

It'll be good for summer though I guess. I won't make this again.

 

Butterick 3524 blouse made with cotton Darla fabric. This one I do like, I know come spring/summer that it will be worn a lot.

 I came home from the Spotlight sale this morning with a nice stash of new sewing patterns. All New Look patterns were only $3 and Simplicity $5 - you can't go wrong!

And this is one of the buttons I chose to finish off my Cynthia Rowley shirt dress I started at Sewjourn.

Actually, I finished it but decided when I came home that I did not like a lot of it so, I have chopped, taken in and re-hemmed too! I'll show you that one another day...

Kathryn. xx



Autumnal Dress...

  What do you all think of my Autumnal Dress?

I actually made this last year from my stash of 'Trees' fabric (remember this post?)

It has been the perfect dress to wear today, (it is actually a little warm) so it's a good opportunity to get it blogged!

It's the same pattern as the watercolour dress I made a few weeks ago.

 

 

I really like this style because it is so comfortable to wear and it covers all the lumps and bumps too.

 

 

And it's the simple things in life that make it easier.......a full length mirror in my sewing room!

Can you believe that I have been making clothes for years and have been trying them on and running back and forth between our Bedroom and the Sewing room! CRAZY! 

 

Kathryn. xx

Watercolour Dress.....

Last week I walked into Spotlight wanting some wool blend suiting fabric for a cape I've had in mind for a while.

I didn't buy the wool fabric (not a very good range - unlike the vast range in the catalogue) but I did come out with the most amazing fabric I've seen in ages. It was stacked with the blue/beige end on show and when I pulled it out I was gobsmacked!!

So, 2 metres of fabric and a few hours of sewing I have a wonderful new dress to show for it.

The pattern is a vintage 'STYLE' pattern, I'm not even sure you can still buy this brand?

 It will be perfect for our Autumnal weather.

Very happy.

Kathryn. XX

New Look 6803

Sunday afternoon I decided to use this Amy Butler 'Nigella' home decor weight fabric for New Look 6803. Now, it's not my usual colour pallete, but I love it none the less.

The pattern itself is so simple in its' construction ie; no zip, a few darts and simple neck interfacing, and it was made in just over an hour.

 I have to say though, without the belt it does look like a bit of a sack.

 Simple, no zip

A couple of darts et voila!

It's very comfortable and will be great for summer.

What have you been making for summer?

Kathryn. xx

I made a skirt....

 Yep, I made a skirt and I love it.

I used 'New Look 6594' and tweaked it for me.

 I used some of my gorgeous new 'tree' themed fabric from this post, I only had 1 yard, so I cut it in half and used each half for a front and back piece, then added the black linen along the bottom for a bit more length.

Then gathered it all up and added the waistband (which I made shorter).

I love the colours in this fabric, something a bit brighter for winter don't you think?

Now, onto the dresses....

Kathryn. xx

Tunics....

Here are a couple of tunics that I made at Sewjourn last weekend (see previous post)

 I used one of Rachel's patterns from Ottobre which was actually a 'Top' pattern.

I made it wider in the centre front to make my gathers/pleats for a bit of interest, and just made the hem longer and a bit wider. I think they both turned out really well. I wasn't sure about the slinky fabric in the photo above, but once made it feels great.

 Rachel gave me this textured black knit fabric (gee, I'm a free loader aren't I?)

She didn't like it, I really liked it. But it turned out much harder to work with than I imagined. I had to unpick the arm and neck bindings umpteen times to get the fit right.

But, overall I am very happy with it, you can see the texture in the pic above.

Kathryn.

Sewjourning clothes......

As promised (last week) here are my garments that I made at Sewjourn.

 Lined waistcoat, (Simplicity 4079, view F)

 Skirt, modified and ruffle added at the back (McCalls 3406).

This is a standard skirt pattern I use and play around with.

 And this jacket, can you believe it is made from Polar Fleece? It is so warm and cosy and I have it on today. From Simplicity 4032 view D. I think, when I make it again, I will adjust the buttons so that they are about an inch and a half lower.

Anyway, these were my projects whilst away at Sewjourn.

I had fun and I have worn each piece a few times already.

(and I have had so many comments on the jacket too!)

Hope you have a great weekend, Kathryn.

The 2 minute wrap tutorial......

Whilst watching "Little Dorrit" a last Sunday night, I was inspired to make a simple wrap like Little Dorrit's. Hers was obviously knitted but I liked the concept and thought "how effective and simple" it looked. I am sure this has been done before but here it is if you are interested.

I am not kidding you, this took about 2 minutes to make. 1. Take a width of very stretchy fabric and cut about 22" in length.

My fabric was about 55" width.

2. Take one end and turn in a complete circle so that the right side of the fabric is facing up again.

3. Fold in half placing right sides together, pin.

4. Because my overlocker does not like very fine knits, I used a simple turned seam on the edge to finish. Make sure the ends are secure and threads are hidden.
Voila!

I think it would look great for an evening out with a black top underneath. It just gives that bit of glamour without going overboard.

What do you think?

I hope it is not too naff?

Kathryn. XX

A very quiet house!

Today is the first day back to school here in Victoria.

Gosh, my house is sooo quiet! It is absolute bliss.

As much as I really enjoyed having the "kids" home for two weeks, lolling around in our PJ's and watching movies, going to the park, etc... I must say I was looking forward to today so I can get on with this....

Putting more Handbag doorstops in Our Shabby Cottage and My Shabby Cottage...

making more of these for Christmas/Birthday presents...

And something that I have wanted to make for a long time now that doesn't involve pinecones or gumnuts!! Christmas Wreaths! I bought these this morning at the "Warehouse" for just 97cents each!! BARGAIN!

I have seen wreaths made from fabric scraps that are just tied around the circumference and jazzed up with ribbons etc....

I have a big bag of scraps and I'm not afraid to use them.....

I shall keep you posted...

Kathryn. XX

Mary Rose top....

It took me half an hour to get dressed the other day!

Which is a hell of a lot of wasted time in anyone's book - usually it's two minutes and I'm done. The weather in my neck of the woods is somewhat strange...cold one minute, warm the next so dressing for Spring isn't always easy. I either have a lot of dark Winter clothes or a lot of Summer (40C heat) clothes and not many in between.

So, I rummaged through some old patterns of mine and decided on this top. I made it with some pretty Mary Rose fabric that I have had for a while. (I bought it very cheaply online so to use nearly two yards of it was OK! (It's $26AUD per yard in Australia! OUCH)!

It was an easy pattern to make up (Butterick 3524) and one that I have used a few times. This time around however, I did change a few things - I made the bust line lower (who ever made this pattern up must have had very tiny boobs - not that I have huge ones but a little more room there doesn't hurt), and I added quite a bit of length to it - I like things a bit longer - and I added the lace around the edges.

It's very girly and pretty and I love it!!

What other fabric can I cut into next....?

Kathryn. XX