The Bridal Shower

A few weeks ago, I help put together a Bridal Shower for my friend. Because her wedding theme was Dusty Pink & Black, I wanted to tie in the Bridal Shower by using the Dusty Pink color. 

I DIY'd the Cake Stands, Spoons, Paper Pom Poms and the cake was made with some help of the Bride to Be's daughter. The DIY elements help to provide that little personal touch. 

Loving: Alias Mae shoes

Thanks to Erin at Love Shop Share for introducing me to Alias Mae Shoes. I love to support Australian brands and these guys have some beautiful shoes. Here are my favorites

Agnes in Orange/Natural $99.95

Cicily in Aqua/Tomato $139.95

Yeva in White $119.95

Get in my stash!

Brisbane girls, if you have not visited The Fabric Store recently, you need to get yourself there tout suite! They have got some lovely summer silks in plains & prints in all colors of the rainbow. I also spotted some beautiful linens and they even have leather, I don't know how I restrained myself from not buying any of that.

This is what I did buy and also some inspiration for their final destination. 

A lovely black silk twill, very lightweight and super drapey. Inspiration is this skirt from Country Road, basically a straight skirt with a fluted hem. 

Green silk, this reminds me of cheesecloth texture. Inspiration is from this draped shirt from Topshop, I have a pattern drafted and ready to go.

A lovely sandwashed silk in stone, a little thicker weight so would be great for something with a little more structure. Inspiration is this tank from Country Road which has panelling detail on the side seam and shoulders.

Silk twill print (yes more silk!) this has a lovely sheen and beautiful drape. Inspiration is Tessuti's Suzy Pants Pattern.

It's funny how quick my mind changes though, I will probably look back at this in a months time and wonder what the hell I was thinking. Women's prerogative I guess.

Sewn: Tan Silk Top

Meet my new wardrobe favourite.

This top is based off Simplicity 5092 which is courtesy of the Op-Shop. I used the pattern for a shirt previously and it's proving to be a versatile pattern. 

I shortened the sleeves considerably to make it suitable for Spring/Summer, I also did a slash and spread on the back to add some fullness and swing so it's a nice fluid shape. In the process of doing this, I decided to make it a hi-lo hem shape which I quite like. 

The pattern has forward shoulder seams with gathering. Once I did this and tried it on, I decided the gathering was a little too formal looking so my "design feature" came along in the form of epaulettes.

The fabric is some kind of silk mix that I cant recall, it has a small amount of stretch to it but I've treated it as a woven. It has a lovely fluid drape to it so has lots of movement when it's on.  Another great buy from the Fabric Store in Brisbane.

Because the hem has both convex and concave curves to it, I had to be careful with hemming. I used this tutorial from Grainline for the hem and went super slow and it turned out a treat. 

I used the same technique on the neckline so I didn't have to worry about any fiddly bias facing. 

Welcome to my wardrobe, I'm sure we'll have a great time together!

Leatherwork

I love working with leather. As unforgiving as it can be, I adore watching a transformation from a flat piece to something gorgeous with character and texture. Here is a collection of images from my Pinterest page

1. Commes des Garcons

2. Keecie Mini Me

3. Wooten I-Phone Pouch (via I Am The Lab)

4. Lorayn Leather Card Holder

5. Unknown (via Silver Blonde tumblr)

In Progress - Leather Panel Top

Here's a little sneaky peak of a top I'm working on.

The material is devine, it was purchased from the Fabric Store in Brisbane last year. I wish I could remember the mix of it, it does have a silk content to it which gives it lovely drape. 

I am trying to sneak in at least 10 minutes of sewing every day, this goes a long way to keeping me sane during a hectic working week. Do you have a plan for your sewing time?

Inspiration for Spring/Summer

Have you seen any of the new season pieces from Country Road? They are one of my favourite go-to brands, something of theirs always catches my eye either through a gorgeous print or a modern take on a classic silhouette. Another one of my favourite shops is Seed Heritage, their design aesthetic seems to be evolving into something a little sporty but classic all at the same time.

I am using them as some inspiration to kick off my Spring/Summer sewing and I think Brisbane is going to have a long hot summer so there is no better time to start planning.

1.  Country Road Kimono Sleeve Tee

2. Country Road Silk Splice Shirt

3. Top Shop Casual Drape Top

4. Seed Heritage Minimal Pleat Soft Pant

5. Top Shop Drape Sleeveless Top

 

The tops from Country Road are fairly similar.It should be a fairly easy style to execute, I am thinking of a basic loose fitting tee pattern with wider sleeves.

The drape tops have me a bit stumped. I have the Drape Drape books (available at Tessuti)which I am going to use as a basis for drafting my own pattern. 

The pants are a challenge, I have sewn the one pair and they need some more fit adjusting before they become something that I could work off. There just might be something in the op-shop pattern stash, knew they would come in handy one day.

I'd love to see what you have planned for the upcoming season!

A Good Read - Sewing & Body Confidence

I read an awesome article today on Brisbane Times website, it is all about how sewing your own clothes can improve your body confidence (go read it here).

I think this is the first time I've seen an article about sewing on a newspaper website! It is an interesting read, and great to hear some opinions from some fellow sewing bloggers.

 

I for one am pretty happy with my body shape, we've been together for a while now and it serves me well. Sure I do have my moments of "oh my god how did that end up there" but when you sew for yourself you do learn to know these things and embrace them because you sure cant change them.

 

Sewing has also made me appreciate what exactly goes into making garments. I can identify cheap fabric, poor construction or a bad silhouette now so I am alot more picky about what I buy or what I make. I now analyse every little thing about a garment if I am buying something, I have developed a set of guidelines for myself about the standards I expect. It can be so deflating so spend your hard earned cash on some beautiful fabric, then use it on an untried tricky pattern only to have turn out to be ill-fitting, not the right color or just not the right style.

I love the quote in the article from "Get My Stitch On" "The more I sew, the more I realise that size is just a line to cut out on a pattern. Without fit and flattery, size is meaningly." We sewing folk sure do share a wonderful tool in being able to create something that is personalised just the way you want it, no matter what shape or size you are. 

Sewn: Grey Pants

Finally I was able to get some photos to show off the item that I have been most proud of so far on my sewing journey.

The pattern is Burda Magazine 11/2012 no. 107C. After making 2 muslins, I was pretty sure that the fit on these would be ok. I've read so much about how trouser fitting and sewing can be scary, I honestly didnt have too much of a hard time with these. I could probably still make some adjustment to them, the back waistband is a little too low and I guess that's an easy fix by adding in a wedge to the pattern at centre back seam.

Looking at the pictures now, I would probably also like to take some width out of the legs so they are more slim fitting. I think a combo of losing a little weight and the fabric has made them stretch out a bit. The fabric is a lovely cotton sateen which was courtesy of Spotlight. It comes in a lovely range of colors, I spied a lovely green in there but I would love to do these in a printed version.

I added a few more sewing skills in construction of these. I tackled faux welt pockets and zip fly, I think next time I would also like to add some belt loops.

This was supposed to be for the Burda Sew Along which ran for the month of May, better late than never I guess. Here's a sneaky close up of the scarf I wore, it's got little butterflies all over it.

Wearing: Neutrals for the weekend

On the weekend we went to the Rocklea Markets to stock up on the essentials, also just happened on the Bagel Boys.

Pic courtesy of Bagel Boys website

I had a B.R.A.T. (Bacon, Rocket, Avacado & Tomato), I ate it so fast I didn't have time to take a picture. Suffice to say it was delicious! Go visit them if you're in the area, you wont be disappointed. 

If you havent already guessed, I do love my neutrals. I wore my new Black Country Road Coated Jeggings, Grey Mix Apparel Jumper, Witchery Black Studded Flats with a leopard print scarf.

The jumper was a lucky find hidden in the mens wear department at Mix Apparel, 100% wool as well so it  is nice and snuggly. 

Love these flats, they remind me of a starry night.

Sewing: Burda Sew Along Pants and Blouse

I would love to tell you that I have sewed up a storm for the Sew Along, truth is that I have had the last 3 weekends in May away from home so I have done almost nothing.

I did start a pair of pants in April which were from Burda Magazine 11/2012 107C. Thankfully these are now finished but the weather has been crappy this weekend so I have no good photos to show just yet. Anyway here is a sneak peak of my faux welt pocket which I am super proud for conquering. 

 I did also manage to start cutting out Burda 7188 which is a paper pattern, this one was on my planned list which you can see here. One of my wardrobe holes are tunics or shirts (who knows what the correct name is!), something that is of a nice enough fabric that can be worn during the day or dressed up for something more fancy. 

The fabric I am using is some poly rayon mystery fabric which came from Spotlight ages ago. It is sort of a zebra stripe with a border print on it, I am hoping it will be a wearable muslin. Here's hoping!

My sewing these days is all about getting maximum wear out of everything, it may not be as flashy or challenging as a cute little cocktail frock but the reality is that I don't have the occasion to wear these things. I want to be able to show things off that I have made and if that's by making the everyday kind of knit tops, shirts and casual pants then that's the way it has to be.

Burda Sew Along - Planning

It sometimes seems like an eternity that I have been learning to sew, the good part is that I am learning all the time by challenging myself which helps advance my skills. But there's nothing like a bit of group support to spur you along and to learn even more techniques, so I've joined up for my first ever Sew Along which is being hosted over here.

 

Lucky for me my local libraries have a fairly good stash of Burda Magazines. Some of them have never even been touched so I have the lucky honor of removing the lovely pattern sheets at the back and trying to re-fold them to fit back into their little envelope, oh the joys.

 

 

I haven't really settled on what I want to make yet, being a typical Gemini I change my mind every 5 minutes so maybe having too much to choose from isn't such a great idea. Burda patterns seem to have either pretty basic to more flamboyant and difficult pattern with little in between. I want to be able to make items that I am going to wear. These are some ideas that I have come up with so far

Cascade Jacket from 08/2011 No. 117

Simple Blouse from 12/2012 No. 119

Two Tone Tunic from 12/2012 No. 150

Collarless Jacket from  04/2012 No. 121

Paper Pattern 7188

I can see all of them taking a hard earned place in my wardrobe, it's so hard to decide! Watch this space for updates (or additions!)