Kittys Drawings

Hello!
On Friday I finished this pattern:

I’ve had this one for a while but wasn’t sure what to make it up from – I didn’t have anything in my stash that would fit the bill – the bill being a lightweight fabric with a lot of drape….Rayon? Yes. I don’t have a lot of it and what I do have is already earmarked for other things.
But then I saw that Sew Retro Rose had recently been to Spotlight and found RAYON there – tropical print rayon at that. WITH BIRDS ON IT.
Omg!!
She was so kind as to purchase me some and send it my way, and this is what I made – also a wrap dress but from the 40s instead of 50s.

This pattern came together really easily – complete in two and a bit sessions – probably about three hours all up. There’s really not much to it – I can’t even say what was the hardest part. Even the hand sewing is quite minimal, just tacking down facings. I finished the seams with rayon Hug Snug binding – though there are two French seams on the back gores of the skirt. I did a narrow hem as I think this looks neater on wrap skirts where the sections can flip up more than in a regular skirt. It also makes this a very economical dress – I used about 2m of quite wide fabric.

You can’t see the details too well in these pics – it’s the curse of prints I guess – but it’s more apparent in real life The gathers at the front are awesome – there’s five rows there and also some at the shoulders.

The closures are just two sets of hook & eyes and a tiny snap at the bust to keep it from gaping open (learnt this the hard way *cough*).
It’s a very breezy, casual and comfortable dress that is perfect for any more 38°C+  days that may be thrust upon us this summer. Plus this amazing fabric works with a LOT of colours, most notably red which always makes me very happy.

The shoes are Miss L Fire of course – I just had these re-soled so they get to be worn again. They’re a smidgen big though so can be annoying to walk in for long distances. I’ve put little heel stickies in them which has helped a bit. They’re my standard EU size 37 – does anyone else have Miss L Fire’s that *dont* have straps and can tell me if they ALL run large? In case I want to buy another pair of pumps…(likeliness of this happening: 100%). This is why I usually buy shoes with straps because then, a tiny difference in size isn’t going to have your shoe falling off your foot every fifth step.

Any-whooo….I don’t know what to start next! How bad is that! I’ve got some odds and ends that need doing – patterns to trace and things to mend. Not sure if I should get stuck into those?
My green coat is still on my mind too – I’ve found a place on eBay that sells heavier weight silk charmeuse for either $20p/yard for 100% silk or $10p/yard for 60% silk, 40% rayon. I need at least 7 yards just to be safe. Thoughts on what I should get? Both are an investment and this coat already isn’t cheap so cost, while it is a factor, I know I just need to suck it up.

Ugh – and my pics are pretty grainy and out of focus today – the camera wasn’t behaving….

Well that ought to be it for today. Till soon…

Hiya!

Jumping right on back into this blogging thing. Thanks so much for all the comments on my last post It’s good to have support!

This is not a very seasonally appropriate dress for the Melbourne summer. But then again it IS – because this is Melbourne, and hail and gale-force winds can come any time. It was cool enough to wear this today actually. It hasn’t even been washed since I finished it and if you look closely you might see a chalk line or two

Made out of an awesome drapey linen blend my Mum found in an op-shop in Tassie. She rang me quite urgently and sent photos asking if I wanted this and a blue shade of the same material. As if I was gonna say no!

Perfect for this pattern which I bought in winter but hadn’t made up yet because I didn’t have the right fabric.

The buttons are vintage – plastic flowers.
Hand stitched lines along the closure and the sleeves. It’s not as tidy as I would have liked as this cotton embroidery thread was the closest match to the green satin interior of the hood, and kept catching on the weave of the fabric as I was stitching it.

You know what I really love about so many 40′s patterns? So much emphasis on the shoulders, which draws attention away from the hips and so balances out my figure. Yay! This isn’t the case of ALL 40′s patterns (you know how much I love those hip swag type dresses too), but they’re always expertly crafted to flatter.

Ciao for now!

Hullo Everyone!
Why look, I have a sewing post – at last! It’s not the one I intended to write about today…that didn’t happen because yesterday the batteries for the camera went flat as I was about to take pics. And then I found a lipstick stain on my dress. Bummer! So now it’s in the wash and I’m showing you Butterick 6740 (view A) instead.

This pattern isn’t mine – I borrowed it off my epically stylish best friend > Brand New Armour so I could make it for her. And then I made myself one. And then I will make her another – cos it’s such a neat pattern.

It’s SO easy to make – even though it came with no instructions, you don’t really need them. The envelope tells you enough – the neckline gathers into a band which ties to make a bow. The sleeves I faced with bias tape (blue satin in this instance) and they are all cut in one with the bodice.

My fabric is a poly cotton blend found at Savers. It’s nice and lightweight and has just the right amount of body. That said, you could make this shirt in a lot of different weights. The one I made for my friend is much lighter and slightly sheer.

I made a few teeny changes….brought the bust in a bit because this one is big for me and even then it has TONS of ease. The neck band needs to be twice as long!! YES. I don’t know what kind of skinny necks chicks in the 5o’s had but if you followed the pattern, you’d be strangling yourself and not even have enough to make a nice looking bow.

The buttons are amazing blue cut glass – possibly from the 30′s. These came from Etsy and I just love them. The colour is such a vivid and deep blue.

Comes together in a couple of hours…And so flattering. I do need to make more for others – share the love….The variations are endless for this. You could even do a contrast neck band. Or make it out of something quite slinky.

Yays!

Check out my shoes too. I am so in love with these. They are Miss L Fire (of course), with little raffia flowers on them and a carved wooden heel. I also tried to do something with my hair – only just passed as a moderate success….maybe. I suck at hair! Must keep practising. I saw a girl at a cafe yesterday with an amazing green coat and a fluffy grey fox around her neck – she had long black hair and bangs….I think I want a fringe…Maybe. But it’s one of those things that if it doesn’t work out, you have to live with the blah for months til it grows out. Anyways – the length is getting better….It needs a trim but I will wait a bit longer.

Other news: I have a drawing to post but I’m a bit blah about that too. Might put it up during the week with the final Drawing Salon class results.
The green coat is coming along nicely (check Facebook for a preview). I’m at a standstill now…next week is payday so I will buy some more green wool for the facings and sleeve (I am thinking of re-cutting so they aren’t tapered like in the pattern)…shame about all the wastage of the amazing fabric *sad face*. I’ve put all the seams together apart from the side ones. Which is a good thing because I’ve decided it definitely needs pockets – what kind of coat doesn’t have pockets? – so I will use Tasia’s Cambie Dress pockets and insert them in my side seams. This should be pretty easy. Except I need to make them out of the lining fabric. Which I don’t have yet. I’ve been looking for an interesting rayon stripe but not had much luck. I might just go with a solid colour.
Do you think a rayon lining is a good idea or should I go with silk?
I don’t want anything too thin – my current winter jacket (RTW) has got the crappiest lining that is literally falling apart and it’s only in it’s second season. I know a lot of clothes are ‘throw-away’ these days but is it too much to expect all the components of one garment to at least have the same life span? The outside is fine and holding up beautifully, but each mend I make on the lining, the next day there is another tear. GRR!
So yeh, I want something that’s going to last as long as my coat will. Ideas?

Erm – I probably have more to ramble about but it’s time to hit the sewing machine…

Ciao!

Hi Guys!

We’re back from WA! What a whirlwind trip that was. Totally forgot how FAR everything is from everything else there. It’s a good 3.5 hour drive to Margaret River from Perth and we did the trip 4 times in as many days. Crazy! We didn’t actually spend that much time in Perth – mostly hanging around Freemantle and then off down to Marg River to sleep. The weather was beautiful and HOT the whole time we were there – so hot that it was perfectly reasonable to go swimming at the lovely and secluded Redgate beach at 8am.

The wedding of course was awesome. The bride wore the most amazing lace dress with little attached bolero thingamabob and elegant fishtail skirt. Dinner consisted of scallops for entree, steak for main and some sort of parfait thing for dessert. All was delicious as to be expected from the winery it was held at. And the wine was great – goes without saying really (even though I just said it) .

As for what I wore…You’ll see that soon enough….

Anyways – Onto what this post is supposed to be about….My “Summer Collection” (haha that’s intentionally wanky sounding)….Of which there is only a couple of pieces so far….Isn’t “piece” a wanky word too? Heh. Oh dear. Carry on. Um. So yeh – I whipped this up using my Butterick 2633 pattern and made view B this time round. I used a purple floral cotton I bought off Etsy (from the same seller as I got the pattern off). It’s “vintage” I suppose – I’ve no idea what era its actually from – it’s fairly thin and I’m vaguely guessing 70′s but I could be totally wrong.

These are the things I changed/added:

• Lined it with a white cotton sheet. It’s super soft and great to wear when it’s hot
• The side zipper I carried all the way up to the armpit cos I hate struggling into dresses and smooshing my shoulders through a narrow gap.
• Took a V shaped wedge vertically, out of the middle of the bodice since the last dress I made gaped a bit at the bust.
• Also narrowed it on the side seams.
• Somehow had to fit the extra skirt into the smaller bodice so added another ‘tuck’ or pleat or whatever.
• Drafted my own kick-pleat for the back as the original pattern has NO vent in the wiggle skirt. I don’t want to wiggle that much – just not practical for a day dress
• Brought the side seams of the skirt in quite a bit to account for smaller hips than the pattern.
• And shortened the skirt of course….

I’ve decided I don’t really like pleats and/or tucks instead of darts in a skirt. Why would I want to make my hips look bigger? They bunch up when you sit down too. I know they offer more freedom of movement but I like to keep things slimmer around that area to try and balance out my relatively narrow shoulders. Despite that little design flaw I’m rather happy with this dress. It’s proved excellent for the hot weather. AND it matches my peppermint lolly Miss L Fire wedges perfectly. I didn’t plan this but realised they would go well together about halfway through making the dress. Add the little white belt I made and my new green bag and YAY, new outfit!

The green bag by the way, is the same brand as the yellow hexagonal one – how’s that for vintage karma?? After my years of trawling the internet, it’s not often you find such things…For clothes yes, but accessories like this are harder to come by.

Other news: I should be able to get back on this blogging bandwagon a bit more regularly now. There’s quite a few things I’ve got in mind for the next few weeks. Including a giveaway – IF I reach 100 followers So when that happens I’ll host something. Not sure what yet. I don’t have the resources to get my art printed at the moment though I could supply something digitally. Even though that’s kind of lame. Is it? Or some sewing bits and bobs – or something else? Clearly I have to think about this a little more….

Also – I’ve decided to become mobile, and get my scooter license. Yup that’s right – I don’t have a license. Any license. At almost 28 years old I think it’s about time I got myself some wheels. The BF has had his bike for a few months now and has been encouraging me to get a scooter. What finally pushed me over the edge from procrastination into action was the news that our People’s Chariot (Trains, trams and buses) are increasing their fares by an average of 8.6% on New Years Day! The scoundrels! That’s more than double the current rate of inflation. In the 8 years I’ve lived in Melbourne, there has been no significant improvement in public transport services, certainly not enough to warrant the guaranteed price hikes every year. It has now become more economical for me to purchase a scooter and drive to work. So I’m off to do my license test at the very end of this year and by 2012 I’ll be joining the ranks of petrol guzzlers (albeit daintily sipping not guzzling – heh) on the roads every day.

Pictures of my new ride when it arrives from Adelaide…For those that aren’t Facebook friends, you can take a potshot at exactly the kind of scooter I will be getting and I’ll bet you’ll be right

(aaand – look it’s Puss)

Till soon!

Hi All,

Short and sweet post today. I’m still struggling with the blog thing…and I promised photos of some of my other clothing that I haven’t made myself. This dress I bought at the Williamstown Vintage Fair a couple of years ago. It’s made of linen which I love, and it’s the nicest shade of green.

Shoes are my new Miss L Fire wedges. Major love for these, they are SO comfortable.

Photos are back downstairs again, since the house rearrange..I like it better here

That’s about it. Drawing is progressing very slowly. Still have no idea about how I want my portfolio website to look. Need to make a new blog header too….I really need to clear a weekend for this stuff.

Ciao!

Hi Everyone

Another day, another sewing post. And more crappy lighting for photos. What’s with all these CLOUDS – anyone would think it was winter or summin’

The story behind this dress goes like this….You all remember when I got my Miss L Fire shoes and I was all in a scramble to find something that matched? One day I decided to just have a peek in the local Salvation Army. They usually don’t have a lot of fabric but I’ve been lucky on occasion finding that nice charcoal wool etc. Well, my luck was really working for me that day because not only did I find a piece of fabric that matched the green of my shoes exactly, it also happened to be wool crepe!! This one wasn’t hard to identify – you can’t mistake the smell when you steam it.
And steam it I did! Fortunately, I had the sense of mind to look it up on the web and one of the first hits on Google was about pre-treating your fabric (HERE is the handy link if you’re interested). So I pressed away and I think I did an okay job of pre-shrinking the wool.

There wasn’t all that much of it, but with a bit of juggling I managed to cut out Mccall 6573, one of the patterns I bought in a lot off eBay some months back.

As with many 40′s patterns, this one was deceptively complicated….for a beginner like me anyway! It took a little while to get my head around the treatment of the neckline. After that I just took my time and made sure I basted everything first and tried it on before doing any machine sewing.

Some notes:

• It has bound buttonholes. Which aren’t the tidiest but one of my better efforts.
• Wool crepe is awesome to sew – but it gets a bit bulky.
• I thought I did an okay job of setting the sleeves but since then I’ve washed it and I think the wool shrunk a bit more so they don’t look so tidy anymore.
• You’ll notice a reappearance of the glass buttons
• I used a piece of georgette for the tie which I bought from a little fabric shop on Sydney Rd, for $2 a metre!
• Despite all my best efforts, I tried to do a machine lapped side zipper and I botched it. It’s not too bad, maybe if I have the patience I’ll fix it one day.
• After all that basting, when I got to the waistline I forgot to check THAT for fit – so it’s about an inch too big.
• The blouse type back is kinda cool.
• The skirt is a very “interesting” shape. I’m not 100% convinced about it yet.

Overall, I’m kind of in love with 40′s patterns. They’re strangely flattering despite the features I’d usually avoid, like the pleats around my hips. This style would work with an even slinkier fabric in a solid colour. I had plans on making the belt to go with out of the georgette but I need the white belt to match the shoes.

Next up I have a top to show you and the 70′s halter dress I made for Fiji. I really hope I find a sunny day for that and more light!

I’ve also picked up the black denim(y) sheath dress again. It was threatening to become a UFO (Un-Finished Object) but I’m happy with it again. I’ve fixed the fit and it looks pretty awesome so far .

And guess what! I’ve signed up to this Craftsy lesson: The Perfect Fit Bombshell Dress brought to you by the wonderful Gertie. She actually listened to her readers and created a tutorial and pattern on how to make one of those amazing Alfred Shaheen style sarong dresses! The sarong dress has been an obsession of mine from before I started sewing. Getting your hands on one of those beauties can set you back well over $200. Patterns are also few and far between and they are incredibly expensive. Until now that is! Thanks to Gertie, I now have a pattern AND instructions on how to make myself one that fits perfectly. I’m so excited!! I’m not sure I’ll start this one straight away but now that I’ve bought the lessons, they are there forever and I can watch them whenever I want.
I haven’t been propositioned by anyone to mention this either – Its not advertising! Haha! I am just super stoked and had to share the news. If you’re any way interested in sewing at all, I highly suggest buying these lessons!

Anyways better go – seeyas then!

Hiiii!
So this is the outfit that I envisioned to go with my Miss L Fire shoes….and luck was on my side when I found the exact top I wanted in Savers some time ago. All I had to do then was make a black skirt.

I scored some heavy black cotton from one of those little fabric stores on Sydney Rd and set to work. These kinds of skirts don’t really need a pattern – just cut a rectangle and gather it into a waistband. I got a bit overzealous with the size of my rectangle and ended up with way too much fabric in there. It turned out rather puffy and I had to pleat it to fit it all in. Now it’s an absolute nightmare to iron and I also made the mistake of sitting on the couch to do my hand-sewing so it got covered in cat fur. Oh Boofy! It doesn’t wash out that well either – maybe a few more rounds in the machine and some vigorous application of the sticky paper fur remover thingy and it should be right. Haha.

Well the outfit turned out rather – crazy – don’t you think? Not sure if I’m quite game enough to wear the stripy top out and the skirt makes me feel all frivolous and cutesy.

I may have just enough fabric left to make a pencil skirt, albeit a shorter one than usual.

Now I really must get back to drawing – The portrait I’m doing needs to be finished TODAY. So glad it’s a long weekend so I have the time to finish it. Even though it means chaining myself to the computer. Saturday though was spent shopping for the required things for Fiji. The BF was surprised that I actually invested in practical shoes…..I can be practical when I need to be ;-P I just don’t want to look fugly at the same time. Is that too much to ask? ;-P

Must run then!