Kittys Drawings

Hi!!

Yay a new post! It’s been fairly quiet around these parts here. On the blog anyways – cos I’ve been all over the place at home! The two drawings I’ve got going on are pottering away very slowly. Doing 30mins here and there which isn’t a lot of progress really. I don’t want to rush to finish because every time I do a little bit I keep seeing how much is left to do and I don’t want to leave any sections behind.
Last night I also started trialling the new Corel Painter 12 which was released just the other day. It’s pretty flash so far – looks quite different and is quite a bit more intuitive to use. However I did notice a couple of glitchy bits and I’m not sure if it’s because I still have the older version on my computer or I just need some more RAM. I really should take advantage of the potential 16GB I could fit into it (GEEK ALERT! I should have forewarned you ) Moar Powah!!

*ahem*

Moving along.

Sewing…

I’ve finished this totally cool wrap dress using Mccall’s 5585 – from the 50′s or early 60′s I’d say.

… ta daa (why so serious?)

It was very easy to make, but also quite time consuming because there is a lot of hand-sewing to do. The construction is quite simple and awfully clever- it just fits over your head and there are two buttons each on the front and back where you can attach it at the waist. You only button one side and then the waist tie passes through the other set of buttonholes to tie it up. The buttonholes are simply gaps you leave in the waist seam. Very very clever! So since there are no side seams that attach, there’s 4 sets of facings down each side. Hence all the hand-sewing. Don’t forget the hem – which is almost a full circle but split in two.

It’s absolutely one of my favourites so far and there’s actually nothing I’m unhappy about for a change! It gapes a little under the arms and there’s plenty of room in the bust which isn’t all that necessary but it makes for a very comfortable dress. THESE are my “track pants” (from now on….yes I do actually wear trackies – but they never see the outside of my house). I made this from a bed sheet too by the way – if you remember my stash post from a little while ago.
So perfect for Fiji! I think I could make a couple of these!

Check out Puss going for a wander. She doesn’t like to sit still very long.

And the back – it’s meant to be reversible but I don’t really like high, square necks so I’ll just stick to wearing it with the V in front. Because of this I’m also considering putting the two buttons that are meant to be on the inside, on the front and outside so I can attach the skirt without the ties. At the moment it has a bit of a habit of sliding back – and two buttons would look cute at the waist don’t you think?

Please excuse the terrible quality of the photos – winter in Melbourne leaves only the most measly skerrick of light to work with at the end of the working day. And it may still technically be autumn but it sure as hell don’t feel like it – Winter’s blown in with full force.
Also – my posing really sucks! I still need some major practice. Boo.

Umm – what else….
I’m about to go finish the hem for a black cotton skirt that will go with my Miss L Fire shoes. I found a really heavy cotton and thought that gathering/pleating almost 2 metres of fabric into my 63cm waist would be a good idea. It works fine, but the result is a rather puffy skirt which is kind of cool but a bit different to what I’m used to. The outfit I imagined in my head has turned out like Where’s Wally meets Alice in Wonderland. Interesting! Photos soon I promise!

AND – A very busy few weeks coming up ahead. Actually, I think I’ll be pretty flat out right til Fiji (which is tail end of June) – I’ll be in Tassie next weekend visiting the folks and friends down that way. I’ll be stuffing my face with lots of food (what’s new!) and trying not to freeze my ass off.  Then the following week I will be partaking in the Love Vintage Fashion Fair as a model for the lovely Nicole at Circa. Tomorrow I have my fitting so I’ll find out what I get to wear! Yay! I really ought to save some dosh for any treasures I might find there.
Somewhere amongst all that I need to get a haircut (see how long it is! hehe). BUSY! Argh!

I think that’s it for now! I better tidy up all these odds and ends because I’m feeling rather restless with all these half finished projects. Ciao!

Hi!

Mini stash post!
Found this cool-as orange-y floral rayon (??) at Savers today. I think it’s rayon. I really have no idea. But it drapes beautifully and would be perfect for a killer 40′s dress with nice tucks and details. Yeh!

Kind of like one of these amazing Trashy Diva dresses. I would just die to have this. But it’s not high on the list of shopping priorities. So I’m happy I found what I did today because I’m sure there’s plenty of patterns kicking around on Etsy which will help me fulfill my dream Even if I can’t have the exact thing.

Other news:

• I sold some drawings to the lovely Domestic Divinity which I’m very thankful for. My first Etsy sale! Yay! If anyone wants anything else just let me know and I can set up a listing for you.
• I’m currently almost finished on one wrap dress. The one out of the blue and white floral sheet. Its proving to be quite comfy and will be perfect for Fiji. It gapes a little in the bust despite the measurements saying it will fit a 30″ bust. That’s pretty tiny and there’s still LOTS of room. Oh wells, it doesn’t look bad. Pics soon.
• I found the most amazing emerald green wool crepe (almost certain this one is wool crepe) at the Salvos which matches my Miss L Fire shoes exactly. It was fate I tell you. I’m going to make a 40′s dress out of it since the shoes are very 40′s in style. I steamed the heck out of it yesterday to pre-shrink it and I’ve begun the cutting too. It only just squeezes out of the amount of fabric I have.
• Also scored from my Savers trip today…a white and green Zara v-neck knit – also perfect for the shoes! The thrifting gods are smiling on me I think It will go really great with my sage green knee high socks and a black mini skirt. Or as mini as I’m okay with wearing. Mind you I don’t have this skirt yet. And I haven’t tried the remainder of this outfit to make sure it’s not too leprechaun…so…It might be FAIL.
• aaaand finally….I have a drawing almost finished, of a gorgeous young Swedish blogger….once I get over my current hurdles with it. That’s on the plan for tonight

That’s about it. Gee – another longish post when I though I was gonna be quick.

Seeyas!!

Hiiii!

I’ve  been busy. As per usual.

These are the things I’ve been talking about in my last posts. I made a simple tank top and a gathered skirt.

(Boof is smiling too!)

The top I used a vintage pattern for. It’s made of very thin purple slub cotton. Not the best quality but this was my “test” go. The size was pretty small – so I ended up removing the darts from the front. It still only just fits in the front. The next time I make this I will give myself a bit more room around the bust and it doesn’t really need to be so fitted as I like my tops a bit looser.
The back of it is nice and I like how low it goes (you can’t see sorry – pics were taken in a hurry today!). I’m thinking I might want to add some kind of embellishments to not make it so boring. Maybe some embroidered daisies around the neckline.
Next time – I will also be lining it. Facings are annoying! I followed the instructions on attaching them which left some hand sewing a the shoulders which was kind of shitty. I’ll do it the other way I know how to line sleeveless garments when I make this next.

The skirt didn’t need a pattern. I just cut a long rectangle of fabric and gathered it into a waistband. Since this was a sheet it didn’t even need hemming. Yay! I only sort of like this – lesson learnt: gathers look better with more at the back then at the front.

So this is one outfit down for Fiji! And I even found a belt and shoes to match.

Also – Check out my new shoes! SO AWESOME! And mega comfy. I don’t have much to wear with them though (shhhh) – But I couldn’t resist the bargain – $50 from Asos for Miss L Fire – that’s pretty cheap!

I can make things to match though can’t I? I do need your help though – I’m not sure if I should make another skirt like this one but in white….or a pencil skirt in white? I have some white cotton drill similar to the khaki skirt fabric. I also have enough of the purple cotton from the top to make a skirt – then I could put the two together and it would be like a dress. All I’d need is some green accessories. Does anyone have any other ideas? I’m a bit thrown off by the white. Help!

Anyways – that’s all for now! Til later…

Lightning fast posting today….

Look what I scored today – from the Salvos and Savers.

Okay so I buy something new almost every week. My stash is getting immense! I’m using it though! I just need storage. Shelves. Not the giant pile spilling out of shopping bags on the floor of my ‘sewing room’ :shifty:
But these were super pretty so I had to show you. I have PLANS for them. Mostly for my ‘resort wear’ collection mwahahahaa – ie. What I Will Wear on My Island Holiday. I have a pattern in mind already for the two on the right. Would you believe they are BED SHEETS? Yes. Yes they are. There’s so much crazy-awesome stuff at Savers and its mostly in the bedding section. I had to restrain myself!

The other two will be tops. I need more top patterns. I only have a simple round neck vintage one (which I am about to start tracing today). I’ve not been that enthused by any modern patterns. I think I need to look at some different eras – maybe the 70′s for the floaty blouses I tend to favour. Like the one in my last sewing post. Anyone that can point me towards something along those lines? The polka dot sheer fabric would be perfect for one of those.

Anyways I promised this would be quick. I’ve been very busy this week….not only is work completely and utterly MAD at the moment, I’ve been doing both drawing and sewing most afternoons. I have a drawing that is about 80% done right now which I am really very pleased with at the moment. The majority of the hard stuff I usually hate doing is complete and now I’m just tidying up details and doing the hair (yay!). Hopefully that should be ready by the weekend.
I also have two dresses that are finished and ready to show you. Wow!

Sooo – all that’s left for YOU to do today is enter my competition - Get a wriggle on peeps! Two more days to enter.

Scratcha later!

Hi Guys!
So I’ve finally got some piccies of the latest project. I used Butterick 2633 which is from the late 50′s/early 60′s. Here’s a pic of the pattern:

I’m much happier with this dress than anything I’ve made so far. There’s still a few niggling things I need to get the hang of, but overall everything worked out. The whole thing is lined and I actually tried it all on properly before sewing everything. I still needed to take a lot out of the bust area to make it fit. Also, I pinched a whole section out of the centre back as it was gaping. I must have narrow shoulders if all these dresses are gaping up there. Not sure how I will transfer that to the pattern when I trace it onto plastic.

The pleats are mega nifty and used a LOT of fabric! Woo! You wouldn’t believe how much is stuffed in that waistline

The biggest issue I had was the closures. I had originally planned to use all snap fasteners but the pattern instructions ended up being right in saying a zipper for the top half of the side opening would be best. It doesn’t bunch at all since the zip only goes to the waistline, and from the waist down it’s 4 snap fasteners. My issues are that I just can’t get them to look that tidy! The zip actually looks fine and is probably one of the neatest ones I’ve done – but the gap between the zip and the snaps where I’ve put a hook and eye thingy just looks blah. Lucky I can cover it with a belt.

It’s such a fun summer dress! Very comfy. Oh and the lining…. I didn’t want to use normal silky lining material (what is that stuff called?) cos I thought it would defeat the purpose of a breezy dress. Solution? A trip to the Salvos and a purchase of a queen size white bed sheet for $4! Perfect! It’s soft and cool and just what I wanted. Not to mention I’ve got tons left for other projects. The lining of the skirt is a really shoddy looking petticoat sorta thing. It doesn’t look that flash but it’s only there so my skirt isn’t see-through. I’m thinking of getting some tulle and stitching it to the bottom for a bit of extra puff.

The other day I popped into Savers just to have a look and found these few little things…since I’m missing a bit of green in my stash. The two on the left will become tops I think – there’s not too much of those but I could probably squeeze a dress out of the yellow one if I found the right pattern. It would work nicer as a top though don’t you think? They’re both amazingly soft.
The two green ones are bigger lengths, with quite a lot of the paler green one. I’m thinking quite a way into the future and considering possibly a crazy 50′s suit out of that one. How cool would that be!? All wasp-waisted with sharp angles and a slim fit skirt with killer kick-pleats up the back. Yeh!
The far right green one I just LOVE. Oh wow it’s so pretty. What a colour! Only enough to make a skirt out of that one I think. It’s a really heavy material too.

All this for $12.95. I love Savers.

Wow I’ve sure rambled! I’m almost finished my red button up dress. Should be done by the end of the weekend provided I can get my buttonholer making neat buttonholes.
Then what next!?

• A 40′s dress in the navy & white polka dot crepe

or

• 40′s shirt/blouse in cream?

Decisions decisions.

Til then!
Seeyas

(and yes I’m still workin on that drawing)

Hi!
So the zip is fixed and I can wear my new dress. Yay!
Here’s some gratuitous ME shots – with Puss getting in the way as usual.

Scuse my dumb head

Look at that regrowth! Arrrgh – gettin it FIXED on the 22nd – still way too far away!

Yay scallops

So there ya go. Overall I’m pretty pleased. It’s a bit shonky but hey it didn’t fall apart on me when I wore it today.

Bya!