Latest sewing projects

A couple of months ago I decided to tackle the Miss  Marlo dress in Pip Lincolne's Sew La Tea Do book. I'd been wanting to make it for a while, but hadn't bothered to print out the updated pattern from her website. (Note to people with the first imprint of the book: there was a printing error on the Miss Marlo pattern, so you'll need to get a new one here.) I also decided I wanted to scale the pattern down a little bit, as the smallest size was S to M.

It's a really simple dress to construct. Pip's method of doing facing is really easy, so if you've never sewn anything with facing before it's a good place to start. It also tucks in neatly with very little fuss (I can't say the same for facing on many other patterns). In scaling down the pattern I must have done something weird, because the front ended up 6 centimetres longer than the back. I was able to easily fix the problem by adding a feature strip of red fabric to the bottom. The pocket is made from some Robert Kaufmann fabric I had in my stash.

I later decided to try my hand at turning the dress into a top. I scaled the pattern down further, and used a larger seam allowance for the facings to get a more fitted look (using a black fabric that has a little stretch).

The buttons are just some of the many I bought from Skull Buttonry. The Skull Buttonry Etsy store is run by Cate, who many of you many know as the brilliant woman behind the Foundation 18 orphanage in Indonesia. In addition to her other Etsy stores raising money for the orphanage (see Foundation 18 and The Giving Bowl), Cate now sells buttons to raise much-needed funds (with ALL of the profits going to the cause).

New art in the house

This is Bingo, by Erk.

This is Sexy black hamburger, by Maya Hayuk.

And if you're wondering where the Hawaiian postcards went to, they're now in the bedroom.

Finished striped tulle skirt

Remember my planned birthday skirt? After consulting with a few people about how to tackle it, I made a start a few weeks ago. I've been chipping away at it a little bit at a time since then, and finally finished it today.

In the end, I decided to use a cotton voile for the lining, and attached the gathered tulle about a quarter of the way up from the bottom of the lining (so that there would be something between the tulle and my legs). The lining was then hemmed half a centimetre shorter than the outer skirt so that it wouldn't be seen under the exposed part of the tulle.

I ended up using a metal jean zipper as I realised at the last minute that it was the only one I had here that was long enough. That worked out ok, as I it exposed and didn't sew across the metal teeth like I normally do. It seems popular to sew the zipper tape for these to the outside of garments at the moment.I have no idea why, because it makes it look like someone's made a stuff-up.

I wanted to sew a feature bow as well, but for the time-being I'm just using this ribbon I had lying around. I think it works well in any case.

I might make a few more tulle skirts. It takes twice as long (as you're effectively sewing two skirts together), but I think the result is worth it.

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.

Declaring my intentions

I've debated over the last few weeks whether I should say something about my lack of blogging activity over the last few months. This morning I've decided that I will 'declare my intentions'.

I started this blog a couple of years ago. It was intended to serve as a record of the changes my husband and I made to our apartment, and also provide some sort of 'creative release' for me. I had been breaking my balls in the same job for almost a decade, and, although it was in a creative industry, I was getting very little back from it (besides a mediocre pay cheque to pay the bills). Having Flying Ducks helped me to feel that I was 'taking control' in some small way. I didn't expect anyone to read, but many of you did (for which I am very grateful).

Eventually, I was blogging several times a week. It was a few months ago that I realised that I didn't understand why I was doing this. It seemed to be mostly just to show off that I'd bought some new kitchen utensil, and not that I'd done something creative in the form of renovating or making. This, it dawned on me, was quite shallow. As many of you know, I also started a new job in the middle of 2011. I have felt much happier as a result, and have no longer felt compelled to force myself to write blog posts in order to feel like I am doing something (however shallow) to fulfil myself.

[I must also point out that I have no problem with those who DO choose to blog on a regular basis, and I am in no way calling your activities shallow. Many of you have a lot of great things to say or show, and many of you blog as an important part of your business promotion. That is something I respect.]

So, what's my plan? Well, I don't plan on closing this blog down. I'll still be using it whenever I feel that I have done something that I am proud of and that I'd like to show off. That might be something we've done to the apartment, or something I've made. What I won't be doing is blogging to show you a new tea towel or fruit bowl or ornament. There will be no giveaways. Ever. I can't say if I'll be blogging on a regular basis or not. That will depend on whether I've done something that I feel is worthy of a post. I may also start to again post on my other blog (which is intended to be largely political in nature), but I won't be forcing that either.

I realise that some of you like regular posts on blogs in order to justify following them, and that's cool. I don't expect everyone to be into it, so I understand if you unfollow. I've already had a couple do this, and that's fine. I'm not going to be paying any attention to my follower numbers or stats in the future. I've never made a cent from this blog and never intend to, so those things are irrelevant. As long as the people who ARE visiting my blog enjoy it, that's what I care about.

Thanks to everyone who's supported Flying Ducks over the last couple of years. I've met so many people (online and in person), and many of you I count as real friends. This has been the best part of it all.

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!