The birthday project

A couple of months ago, I purchased some lovely material on sale at The Fabric Store (and made this top with some of it). In addition to the green-and-white checked fabric, I also got this very lightweight striped cotton.

My intention was to use it for a skirt, but any skirt would need lining (which I've never tackled before). I'd forgotten all about it until today, when a lovely friend gave me some spare tulle she had in her garage. Now, my plan is to make myself a spectacular gathered skirt lined with a tulle underskirt in time for my birthday!

After trawling through my patterns, I've decided that the best design to use would be the tried-and-true gathered skirt that I've made a few times (including for my first ever sewing project).

I don't want the tulle lining to go all the way up to the waistband (because it will be bulky to sew into the band, and probably scratchy to wear), so I'm planning to sew some black cotton lining the same as the main skirt piece, but at half the length. I'll then sew gathered tulle to the bottom of the lining so that it will show around 10 to 15 centimetres below the main skirt.

I'll then tack the top of the cotton lining fabric to the outer skirt piece, gather both layers and sew them into the waistband together. The bottom of the skirt should, when hemmed, look something like this.

The question I now have for others now is: will this work? Or is there a better way I should go about adding a tulle underskirt? Maybe I should use a different skirt pattern altogether! If you have any thoughts, please leave a comment. I'm not planning to sew this skirt in a day like I normally do. I'm going to chip away at it a little bit at a time over the next couple of months in the hope of having a finished piece for my 30th birthday. 

Hurrah!

My latest sewing project...

I'm at home sick today (mostly to rest my back which I put out last week), so I thought I should post a long-overdue update on my sewing activities.

A few weeks ago, Rebecca and I went to a 30 per cent off sale at The Fabric Store. One of the prints I came away with was this pale green check, which I decided to make into a sleeveless top (using the same pattern I've used to make this, this and this).

I had quite a few issues making this top, but they were all entirely my own doing. I made the mistake of thinking I could 'switch off' because I'd worked with the same pattern before, but anyone who sews will know that this is a stupid approach to take. (I also partly blame Michael Tunn for distracting me with his excellent Australia Day online radio playlist.) The first big mistake I made was joining two wrong edges of the back (and not realising until after I'd added a zip). The second mistake (after I'd corrected the first one) was to sew the front to the back so that one side was inside out. Oops. Consequently the project took a lot longer than the 'two hours' mentioned on the packet (as they always do anyhow).

While I don't yet have any photos of me wearing it, here is the finished product. As you can see, I decided to omit the planned button details and instead made a bow out of matching fabric. It also goes nicely with the Snug brooch that Rebecca kindly gave me.

The top is very comfortable worn untucked with jeans, and can be dressed up for a more 'corporate' look with a skirt. Here it is with the black skirt I made last year.

I'm not entirely happy with the fit of the top (it would be ideal if it was a little bit more fitted under the arms), but overall it's not bad. The really great news is that I've just received these three sewing books, which will teach me more about how to adapt patterns to suit me (rather than just making the smallest size and hoping for the best). It will take a bit of practise, but I think it will be worth the time investment.

New sewing project: apple print dress

So rather than addressing the fact that I haven't shown my face around here in quite a while, I'll just get straight into showing you my latest completed sewing project.

A little while ago, my friend Kass (who I've known since I was eight, but not seen since I was twelve) contacted me and asked if I'd be interested in joining her to work on a sewing project. She had an original 1950s dress pattern that she wanted to try out, and I couldn't say no!

We both decided to tackle the view on the left. Kass is also adding the embellishments, but I decided to leave it plain given that I chose a bold fabric. We both made some minor alterations to the bodice, and I also omitted the piped waistband and decided to the bodice directly to the skirt. Here is the bodice in progress.

The bodice was by far the most complicated bit, so I was glad to have that out of the way. However, while the skirt was easy since I've worked with gathers before, it was very time consuming due to the ridiculous volume of fabric. Here is the unfinished dress (no zip or hem) right after I attached the skirt to the bodice.

Finally, once the zip was added and the skirt was hemmed (also very time consuming due to the volume of fabric), it was done! I decided to photograph it with a pop art filter to enhance its brightness.

I've purchased this patent red skinny belt online, as I think it will finish it all off nicely.

This was by far the biggest sewing project I've embarked on, and overall it went very smoothly. It did take me about 12 hours (including cutting the pattern), but I have to say it was well worth it. If I was to make this dress again, I'd definitely remove a lot of the skirt fabric; it's quite heavy (partly due to the canvas-like fabric), so not really suited to Brisbane summer days. That said, I LOVE this dress and will be wearing it every chance I get!

Sunny day dress

Last night, after many months of no sewing (about ten months, actually), I decided to make a dress. I don't know if that means I'm officially 'old'. Ten years ago I would not have predicted that I'd be sewing late on a Saturday night!

I decided to pull out my Sew La Tea Do book and make Pip's fabulous sunny day dress, as I'm sure it will be a good thing to have on hand in summer. I had just enough candy-stripe material in my stash (thanks to my friend Irene), and I decided to use some leftover red fabric for the straps to avoid stripe overload. The pattern was for small to medium, so I sized it down a tad. I probably could have gone a bit smaller, but I guess a dress that's a little too big is better than one that's too small! I also omitted the pockets, simply because it would save time.

Pip also suggested using iron-on hemming, but I decided to sew my hem. This bit took quite a long time, as I had to get rid of a lot of excess fabric. I'm not entirely happy with it, but the dodgy bits are on the inside so I don't really care. I'm going to make a red sash to go with the dress as well. That way I can choose to wear it a little more fitted if I want to. I think the original 'flowing' design will be perfect for our humid Brisbane summer days, and perhaps even for the beach.

Overall, this was a really easy dress to make. The straps take a while to sew, but nothing in the pattern is overly hard to do. Pip's instructions are perfect for beginners. She even tells you when to make a cup of tea!

Making sewing plans

Remember my first sewing project of a skirt with Thea and Sami pockets almost a year ago?

Well, for some time I'm been planning to make another one. I figure I should get a much nicer end result now that I've made this pattern a few times! This time, I'm going to have one pocket instead of two, and the pocket fabric will this time be Thea's 'Marguerite' design on black linen (a big thanks to Thea for the lovely sample that was in my ABCD goodie bag!).

For many months now, the pattern pieces have been cut and waiting to be assembled. Alas, when I went to sew them all together (back in March, I think), my machine was not cooperating, so there was nothing to do except buy a new one!

Of course, I've since gotten myself extremely sidetracked, what with a new job and studying and holidaying, so I still haven't made my skirt. Sometime soon, I will get there.

Sewing experiment... and a new skirt!

Yesterday afternoon I spent a couple of hours experimenting, and made a skirt with no instructions. When we visited Coffs Harbour my nanna gave me a box of 39 weekly 'Make it Easy' patterns from the 1980s. Each week included patterns for a few items, such as a skirt, a top and a dress, in one envelope. I wanted to make a simple skirt to replace the one I've been wearing to death for 16 years - my mum made me one when I joined St John Ambulance when I was 12, and it still fits (although it's a little closer to dark grey than black these days!).

I found a simple-looking pencil skirt; however, when I went to cut my material I realised that there were no instructions included in the envelopes - they must have originally been accompanied by a weekly magazine with all the sewing details! Having made a few skirts already, I figured this wouldn't be a challenge at all - just do the darts first, and leave a space long enough for a zip. And here is the result! (The photos are terrible, but this rain means no venturing outside for nicer pictures.)

It all came together really quickly and easily. However, I encountered a problem when I tried to test the sizing after sewing in the zip - I couldn't get it over my hips. So, I put in a longer zip, and removed two of the darts in the back. It is now perfectly fitted - so perfect, in fact, that if I put on even a tiny bit of weight it will no longer fit! I must admit that I didn't bother taking the measurements - they were the same as listed for the other skirt pattern I've made, although I realise now that particular skirt is not fitted so the hip measurement didn't matter.

I wanted a waistband without stitching on the outside (like the one my mum had made), so I looked in the box of handy reference cards that came with the patterns to see if there were any tips. I found comprehensive instructions for making a perfect waistband, right down to slip-stitching it along the inside seam.

In terms of construction, this is by far the best quality item I've made. I'm really pleased with how it all came together, especially since I had no instructions to guide me. It's proven that I really HAVE learnt sewing skills, not just the ability to follow steps written for me.

How I went with my 2010 goals

Some of you may remember that at the beginning of 2010 I wrote a list of six goals for the year. I thought I should revisit and see how I went with them.

Goal number 1: Learn how to sew
Success! This is the goal that I most wanted to conquer. I started off with a short course at a local school, as well as some help from my friend Shilo. I haven't yet tackled the cushions I want to make with my Florence Broadhurst fabric, but that's because I want to tackle more difficult things like clothes first. Then the cushions will seem super easy! Here are a couple of my creations from throughout the year.

Goal number 2: Get plantation shutters installed

Thanks to a very generous wedding gift from my parents, we got our plantation shutters in March. There were some slight problems with them (the mechanism on the living room ones was a little loose, and there was a large scratch on the bedroom ones). But, Cosmopolitan Shutters were kind enough to replace the whole lot for us, so now they're perfect!

Goal number three: Have some art works framed

Although this goal hasn't quite been completed, I took some steps towards achieving it! At work they were auctioning off some high-quality frames used for art works, so I picked up a couple of big ones for some of our prints. I'll just need to take them to the framer for correct mounting sometime in the new year.

Goal number four: Finish the bathroom

Again, this has been partially done. We repainted the week after our wedding, but haven't quite finished off the second coat of the edges. We didn't install towel rails, but instead got a much more aesthetically pleasing stand-alone rack. We've decided to have a bit more work done on the bathroom, such as replacing the vanity and shower curtain rail, and installing the shower head and tiles a bit higher (as with the height of the new bath the shower head is far too low for John!). Here's what we've done so far.

Goal number five: Paint the cupboard doors

Ok, we didn't do this one. Maybe next year.

Goal number six: Learn to take better photos

I think I did ok with this one. I didn't get myself a better camera, but just practised a lot more. I think my main success was photographing food, but I think I also did ok with photographing our home as well. How do you think I went?

I also achieved success with a couple of other goals that weren't listed in my original list. I got married, but I also learnt to drive, and in a manual car! I started taking lessons at the beginning of my long-service leave, and finally got my licence in early October. Now all I need to do is build up the confidence to drive alone!

I already have a pretty big list of goals for 2011, so I'll do a post about those in the coming weeks.

New impromptu top

This morning John went out on his bike for a few hours, so I decided to use my time constructively and finally sew the top I'd been meaning make for ages. The pieces have been all nicely cut out for more than a month, but I haven't found the time (or patience) to tackle it.

I used the same pattern that I did for my last top. At the last minute, I decided to do away with the plain black sleeves and instead use some vintage checked fabric that I picked up from Lifeline in Toowoomba recently for 30 cents (yes, 30 cents - and I only used about a quarter of it). Everything went quite smoothly today, and I only needed to unpick a couple of times.

And look! I even took some close-up shots without having to be asked by my readers! The brooch is from That Vintage, and was a treasured birthday present from Shilo earlier this year.

More top pictures!

Well apparently my self-shot photos in the mirror aren't good enough, so Rebecca kindly took some more for me at work today. The stripes photograph a little psychedelically, but at least you get a better idea of what it looks like!

And I have great news too! Shilo has just added her new skirt photos to her blog. Get yourself over there right now and have a look.

Round-neck top complete!

After work on Friday I headed off to Lincraft to buy some plain black fabric to make into a round-neck top from the same pattern I used for my last project. I got the black fabric, but I also got some cute navy and white stripes. So, on Saturday morning I cut out my pieces, and over the course of a few hours on Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning my project came to fruition (in between essay writing, driving lessons and a hen's night!). I had a few issues with this one, mainly because I was not paying enough attention to what I was doing (I had to unpick all the facing, the zip and one of the sleeves, but only because of silly little mistakes that could have easily been avoided).

As I was home alone today for study purposes, I had to take my own photos again. Note the intense concentration on my face in the first one (not to mention my new hair!).

The white owl brooch is from the Little Shop of Handmade.

On Sunday afternoon, Shilo came over to work on her own sewing project - a skirt inspired by a dress she owns. Keep an eye on Yikes Machine, as I'm sure photos will be posted in the coming days. And pretty soon we'll be adjusting the pattern for me too - yay!