Such indecision.............

It has been quite a while since I sat down to sew anything and I miss it badly. With the high hopes of getting stuck into some sewing this weekend, I was looking for inspiration. I finally dragged my failed knit dress out of the Big W bag it's been residing in for the past month and this will be first on my list to finish off. It's now going to be a basic knit top, here's how it's looking after I hacked off the bottom.

Safe to say it's a bit of a mess right now, I need to finish the neckline, take in the baggy sleeves and finish off the bottom.I was happy with the actual design process, it has drop shoulder seams and some draping detail in the front. Turns out as a dress the draping detail made me look like Mrs Saggy Guts on steroids so it's new incarnation should be much better. Here's a close up of the shoulder seam and front panel detail, I kinda like it

This is the draping detail on the front. I think I will add a band to them bottom to finish it off.

Do you ever get a pattern and fabric and you're so in love with it, then totally change your mind about it? I was enamoured with the Darling Ranges pattern by Megan Neilsen and got some lovely black & white fabric to make it up in. Now the thought of it makes me cringe, I don't know what it is. Maybe I might shelf it for the warmer weather. 


I'm seriously thinking of using the fabric to make a tunic/shirt, after seeing this this version on Cirque Du Bebe's blog, this pattern is a strong contender. 


I also dove into my pattern stash and found a vintage lovely that may also fit the bill

Whaddya reckon? The vintage pattern has no buttons which is what I'm after, but I do like the Pussy Bow on the Pattern Runway blouse. Obviously more thought is required.


Then I spotted this gem from Kwik Sew

Aint she pretty! This is ideal for the Faux Leather sleeved top I was talking about in a previous post, might even use the version with the pockets to be super fancy.


Hope you're all being much more productive than I am.


Till next time!

I have mail!!!

I signed up for the "One cool thing/One Strange thing" swap over on The Perfect Nose and my little goodie parcels arrived last week much to my utter delight. 


The first package was kindly sent to me by my swap partner Kat from Modern Vintage Cupcakes. Check out the awesomeness!

A vintage Butterick pattern for a skirt and a jacket. I'm particularly digging on the jacket, I think I will use the long sleeve version. It is unlined so could be perfect for my first adventure in jacket making.

Kat also sent me a cute little polka dot belt buckle and some quilted blue fabric. My first thought was for making a clutch bag with the buckle as a feature, just need to find the right pattern. I might also try dyeing a bit of the fabric, I think it would look stunning in black.


Then a total surprise package came from TJ who organised the whole swap. Count them all, 3 freakin patterns! She kindly included a Kwik Sew pattern, after my last rant about my sewing with knits fail. There is also a cool top in Butterick 5429, a top with a twist at the front. Found an inspiration photo using the upper portion in leather, putting that on the list.

I also got this fabric and wow I love it. I would have brought this fabric myself if I spotted it in a store, TJ you read my mind.

I am thinking about making this into a panelled top of some sort, I have to put my thinking cap on to make it into something extra special.


Till next time!

Some Lovely Links

Wow time goes so fast and you feel like you've done nothing. Last week I madly started drafting and then sewing a dress using a stripe merino knit from my last post, it was a disaster which really bummed me out. I got so frustrated with it that I bundled the lot into a plastic bag and threw it in my sewing wardrobe so I didn't have to look at it anymore. Perhaps when I have a free weekend I might try to salvage it, or maybe not. 


So to lift my spirits I went on the hunt for some other people's creativity and inspiration. It's Mercedes Benz Fashion Week in Sydney at the moment and I spotted the runway show and collection by Project Runway Season 3 Winner Dylan Copper. I love his use of colors and prints, so gorgeous!

I'm totally digging on Little Betty's version on the Darling Ranges dress by Megan Neilsen patterns. My first pattern from her got lost in the mail, now I've happily got a replacement so I think this is going to be next on the list.


One of my new fav blogs is She's Sonic. She's put up a post talking about Leopard print as a neutral. I'm a sucker for leopard print, especially as accents such as scarves or shoes.


Cotton and Curls never fails to impress with DIY ideas and tutorials. She's posted up a tutorial about making a Knit dress with a Peter Pan collar. Looks pretty simple, though I think I would ditch the hi-lo hem going on, my legs are not made for showing that much skin!


I was so excited to see a new blog post from Pattern Runway. She is a Brissie pattern designer selling her pattern through her Etsy shop (just quietly I am seriously considering her Pussy Bow blouse). Her latest blog post was all about a Tailored Jacket she has just finished. Absolute perfection! I might get to that skill level in about 10 years more of sewing.


I finally succumbed and joined Pinterest, I could easily loose hours on there. You can check out my boards here.


Till next time!

Ahhh....finally some new clothes

I didnt realise how long it's been since I posted last. In between being trying not to annoy the crap out of everybody with the persistent cough I picked up from somewhere (not Woolies), I've been sewing up a mini hurricane. 


I took advantage of the Easter Break to make up top no. 4 from Drape Drape 2 book (available here from Tessuti Fabrics).

Tracing the pattern and cutting the fabric took the longest. This top literally has 2 seams and then the rest is hemming. Super super easy and super super comfy, made from a white & grey stripe Marc Jacobs knit which I spoke about in my last post. 

I love how it sits at the back and how the stripes twist around.

This is how it looks sitting on the hanger. The Drape Drape patterns are truly works of art, dont think they are all as easy as this one though.


Next up is a self drafted top. I wanted something that was fairly boxy, perfect to go with skinny jeans whenever the Brissy weather decides to get cool enough for me to wear them. 

I'm in love with the way it turned out, was super easy to draft and sew. This one will be a repeat performance for sure.

The fabric was another knit by Marc Jacobs from the Fabric Store (how do they get all this designer stuff?). Lovely and soft, the stripe is a very light pink. I also used my all new favourite binding for knits, I've tried the foldover technique with pretty poor outcome so I'm now going for the t-shirt band style. Comes out much better. I'm thinking about doing a mini tutorial for creating this top as I took heaps of photos along the way.


I paid another visit to the Fabric Store (can you tell by now I kinda love that place). Spotted some silk panels of this DKNY fabric, kind of a leopard print with pink a black stripes. Dont know what it's going to be yet.

What I really went to the Fabric Store for was to get some merino knits to make up some more tops or possibly a dress. First one is a gorgeous dark orange, it has a blend of lyrca and is so soft and drapey. I've never sewn with Merino before, I figure it's just another knit and I'm game to try anything once.

This one is a black & white stripe a blend of merino, tencel and lyrca. I think this is going to transform itself into a tunic dress, I have an old top from Country Road that is begging to be copied. Starting work on it this arvo super excitment!

Phew that was quite a catch up! I'm also participating in The Perfect Nose's One Cool Thing/One Strange Thing swap so I need to get my goodies packaged up and on their way to my swap partner. Time for a stash raid.


Till next time!

Oops I binged on Fabric

I did a deal with my boss, let me work on Sunday so I can take Easter Thursday off. Happily he said yes leaving me to take myself on a shopping trip to the lovely Fabric Store. What a heavenly place that is, I could just wander around in there just oohing and aahing at their wares. Makes it terribly hard to decide on anything though, but here is what I allowed to come home with me. 


First up is a Black & White leopard print in a lovely soft Rayon. This is going to be a Darling Ranges dress , Megan has a sew-along happening on her blog  at the moment which I was hoping to join in but I've been waiting a month for the pattern so I guess Mr Postman wanted it more than I did. Fingers crossed it gets here soon.

Next up is a stunning hot pink cotton which is from DKNY. It has a lovely soft drape to it. It's going to be combined with the taupe colored rayon for a self drafted color block type top. The rayon was picked up in the remnant bin for $9, has a lovely sheen to it and so soft and drapey you would swear it has silk in it. 

Next up is a cream & grey stripe knit which is from Marc Jacobs. 

This is going to be Top no. 4 from Drape Drape 2. I do love me some Japanese patterns, cant read most of what is in the books but the diagrams are clear enough. Here's what the pattern looks like, complete with my chicken scratch notes on it. I've traced it out on Swedish Tracing Paper.

I also brought a plain black rayon, no picture of it as black doesn't photograph that well and I figure that everyone knows what plain black fabric looks like. It's going to be transformed into the Rachel Comey top from Vogue 1247. I've already done a test run of it, just need to make a few small alterations.


To finish off my fabric shopping extravaganza, Spotlight sends me a message tempting me to spend there with a 40% discount on all fabric. Who I am to say no? So I picked up this lovely light polyester with a little birdy print on it, this is going to be some kind of blouse, not sure of the pattern yet but I'll probably Macgyver one up like I usually do. 

Last but not least, I spied some black faux leather sitting in the bottom of a rack. 

It has a cool almost ponti type knit on the reverse side so I'm hoping it should be easy enough to sew. I have this image saved as my inspiration, plain wool tee with leather sleeves.

Source: Ellison the Label

So now I have no excuse to have "nothing to sew" so I best get cracking on it.

Till next time!

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Some Lovely Links

Here's some links that have caught my eye this week, probably when I was supposed to be doing something more productive. Hope you enjoy them.




I am so in love with this Thread Wrapped Necklace tutorial from Studs & Pearls. Isn't it cute!

Here a great tutorial for Bleach Painting on Fabric from A Beautiful Mess, I think this would be a great idea to personalise a tote bag for a pressie.


I love playing around with different colors for my nails, spotted this idea for a DIY mani on Drop Dead Gorgeous. What a cool way to spice up an outfit.


Fellow Aussie Blogger - Scared Stitchless - has many great things on her blog. She posted a few weeks back about Fabric Sharpies to decorate fabric. I love what's she's doing to decorate the tank. I think I need some of these now.


I've seen this getting around Pinterest for a while so I just has to share it on here. What a great idea to graffiti a wall with moss!

Till next time!

The Tulip Top

So finally I got to finish my top that I previewed in my very first post. Seems like it took forever, in all reality it was finished over 3 weekends but when you get to sew for only a few hours a week everything seems to take forever. 

I have to admit that the fabric was a bit of a bitch to work with but I'm totally thrilled with how it turned out. It's based on the lovely Tiny Pocket Tank available here from Grainline. I wanted something with sleeves, saw this sleeve pattern which is for the Sorbetto Top and thought I'd give it a whirl. Turns out the sleeve is a tiny bit bigger for the tank pattern but I just put a pleat in the top of the sleeve and happy days! 


I put in an exposed zipper in the back, my first ever.

In another first, I didn't know what to do about french seams on the curve of the armsyce so I just zig-zagged over the raw edge of the seam. I've since learned that I can in fact french seam this area, booooo!

I'd love to make this up next in a silk, just to challenge myself even more. 


Now I have no more sewing projects on the go. I've been putting alot of thought about what to sew for the cooler weather, well as cool as it gets in Brisvegas in Winter. I really like this Cropped Blazer Pattern from Salme Patterns on Etsy but cant find anyone who has made up this pattern. Maybe I should quit being a wuss and just give it a bash, what do you think?


Till next time!