Kittys Drawings

Hello All!
First of all – HELLO to all new visitors who I met yesterday at Truly Vintage. My apologies for not having a card and not having a voice!

Being terrible me, I didn’t take a lot of photos of the event so I’ll point you towards Esme & The Laneway, Razzle Dazzle Rose, Miss Fairchild, Super Kawaii Mama and Trish Hunter Finds for more info on what I was up to yesterday in Preston. The gist of what my little stall was to get the info out there that I can make clothes for you! I’ve added a page here on this blog on the top right called Made for You where you can browse my patterns available for custom orders.
If you have any questions just email me on kittysdrawings at gmail dot com

I can’t toot my own horn without mentioning my best buddy Kirsty who is the ideas lady when it comes to all things marketing and PR Without her I wouldn’t have even thought to bring along some patterns as well as the clothes for sale.
She also helped by translating my croaky and then non-existent voice with interpretive dance. Hehee!
So THANKS KIRSTY!

Til soooooon

Hi All

Just a quickie to say a big THANKS to all the folks now adding me on Bloglovin (link over there ——->>)

I am so sad to see Google Reader going and have already imported my feeds into The Old Reader.

Other ways to keep in touch are of course Facebook, Twitter and Instagram

And since I’m way more active on Instagram…here are some latest pics

Ciao for now!

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!!

So today I have for you a whole bunch of separates I’ve made since I had my little (big) blog break.

The skirts are both from the same 40′s Hollywood pattern (red is further down!) – it’s a ten gore and very flattering, though time consuming to make with all those seams. It’s easy to fit though! The seafoam green one is a linen blend or something – it’s got a nice drape to it. The red is a fairly coarse linen that will take some time to soften up. It goes super soft when it’s wet! I wish it would stay that way dry too I’ve added a lapped side zipper and zig-zagged the seams.

Next is a chou neck blouse – a 40′s Vogue pattern most kindly traced for me by the ever so lovely Tamara of A New Ball of String. Made from some leftover poly stuff I originally bought for backing a photobooth for my friends wedding (hehee!)…the fabric is pretty blah to sew and to wear but this was really a wearable muslin. I botched the sleeves but you can’t really tell. Yay for prints! The buttons on the back are my winnings here from Vintage Neccessities on Etsy.

Then comes this little polkadot number that Tamara also traced for me. It also has a button back (this time it’s tiny shell buttons from the same winnings) and a purple polkadot cotton. There are pleats on the front under the collar if you can’t tell

And finally, my favourite top and my favourite outfit right now….This AMAZING Vogue blouse pattern I recently bought off eBay. Has all those exceptional 40′s details like gathering and 5 tiny darts to give each sleeve shape. There back is yoked and the shoulder seam is slightly offset so it sits about an inch forward of the very top of my shoulders. The collar is cut in one and folds down into a very deep V neck fastened with one feature button and a smaller one below that hides under the skirt. Pretty risque actually!

This is the first time I’ve done a sleeve set into a band for the cuff so it’s pretty dodgy! I found the smaller red buttons at an op-shop in Huonville, Tasmania. I suspect they might be quite old and possibly made of celluloid or even bakelite? They are plastic but make a clinky sound when knocked together, unlike other plastic buttons which I have. Hmmm….
Very keen to make some more of this pattern, even though this is quite time consuming too with all the attaching collars, top-stitching and a million darts.

Lots more to catch up on still! I’ve finished a stunning 40′s dress out of navy rayon. A total PITA to work with but it’s turned out good. And today I went fabric hunting and found quite a few goodies – have a look on my Facebook or Instagram for some sneak peeks!

Next – a 40′s wrap dress made of amazing parrot printed rayon – purchased from one of my favourite Melbourne sewists, Sew Retro Rose – seriously she is amazing! The gorgeous stuff she makes is out of this world! She is making a 50′s wrap dress out of the same fabric so I thought it would be great to do a compare and contrast of the decades! Stay tuned peeps!!

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!

I’m still here – but have been hiding for a long time. Apologies for the unexplained absence!

I’d been struggling with the time it was taking to blog for a while, and decided to focus just on sewing. Does anyone else struggle with how long it takes to get good photos?

The best way to keep track of all the things I have made is via Instagram

I’ve made quite a lot of garments since my last post. Not all I have pics of…

There was even a new sewing machine purchase amongst it all – My old Singer died quite catastrophically – the man I took it to to get fixed said he hadn’t seen a machine so out of whack and it wasn’t worth fixing. Tells you a lot about how well I use my machines I did look after it as best I could but I guess it never really liked me much. The new Janome Sewist 509 is a dream to work with. It’s nothing flash but does everything I want it to.

I’ve been really busy! To make room for all these new things, I sold quite a lot at a vintage market too.

I’ve also got plans to make a small collection of 40′s styles for others to buy.

How does that sound?

Also – does anyone have tips on how to make the blogging thing fit into their lives better? How long do you spend editing and taking pics each week?  Would love to know.

And thank you for sticking around if you are reading this

Ciao!

Hi All!
Ah so I didn’t post last week. And this week I have no new pics to show you – not of new creations. Just a few Instagram and Hipstamatic shots from the last few months. Instagram username is kittysdrawings if you want to follow I’ve been on for a while but only posting regularly there only recently.

Winning you say??
Wellllll Friday was a very lucky day for me! I got an email saying I’d won a $200 Witchery gift voucher thanks to Schweppes for my comment left on Esme & the Laneway’s blog competition I honestly didn’t expect to win since I’ve never been very good at those creative entry type contests – mostly because I’m terrible at those naff little rhymes. But thankfully it seems that wasn’t what was required here and I’m super happy to have won! I will spend the money on some nice accessories and I did take a peek in Witchery the other day and they had some cool rust coloured skinnies. ME in denim?? Yessir – on my scooter! Ha ;-P I did consider the FLURO YELLOW ones – harkening back to my old raving days and also, no one could claim they didn’t see me if I ride past wearing those. BUT, the Mr doesn’t approve and it is pretty mental to be wearing fluro yellow jeans I guess. Heh.
Anyways – accessories and maybe something for the boyfriend and whatever other nice things I find. Yay!

But that wasn’t all that I won! I woke up Saturday morning to another email from We Sew Retro informing me I now had $40 to spend on vintage buttons at Vintage Necessities! Now that might not seem like a huge sum – but $40 will get you a heap of buttons. 40′s vintage buttons at that! *excited* YAY again!
Here are a couple I selected: (Pics are from Vintage Necessities )

Onto other things….

Random shots of SHOES. Oh my god I LOVE THESE SHOES. Got them for a song off eBay. Melissa are apparently re-releasing this style in August. Do I want another pair in a different colour????

I’ve been working on my 1940 trench coat. More WIP pics can be found on Facebook.

The weave is gabardine I think – and the fibre content feels like a blend with some poly in it. Kinda sticks if my iron is up too high and doesn’t like to press that well. It’s not REALLY difficult but enough to be annoying. The rest is cotton I guess? It frays like a b**** as you can see in the photo! I’ve zigzagged all my seams so far and it will be lined too. I don’t currently have any lining for it but I’ve made the pockets out of the same black satin used as the contrast in my Cambie Dress. I might lay out my pieces for the lining and see if I have enough of the black to line the rest of the coat.

Progress on the green coat is slow – my purple silk & rayon lining arrived which looks great. It’s thin though which will require underlining if I want it to have the strength and longevity I expect. Which means another fabric purchase. Coats sure are a lot of work!

I also received a One Lovely Blog award from Purls and Pleats I’m notoriously slack at responding to these things but Marrie took the time to actually email me saying she’d passed it on so I think I should answer. I’m supposed to list 7 things about me. Sounds difficult. Umm…Okay lemme try:

1. I listen to audiobooks while I’m sewing. I “found” a Top 100 Sci-Fi audiobooks and have made my way through Neuromancer, which was excellent…The Mote in God’s Eye which was kinda lame and I didn’t finish it, and now onto To Your Scattered Bodies Go. This piqued my interest because of the curious title and the story is even more interesting. I wont tell you more about it but look it up if sci-fi is your bag. It’s not for everyone but I LOVE it.

2. I watch a LOT of movies. So many that I am now pretty indiscriminate with my choices. I’ll start watching almost anything (romantic comedies are usually on the no-go list because of their painful formulaic boringness!)….finishing is another matter entirely. And I don’t like to read reviews or know much about a flick before watching because I don’t want them to influence my opinion.

3. I almost never eat breakfast at home. Hehe. On weekdays I will have cereal or porridge at work (depending on the season) and on the weekends, we almost always go out. Even if it’s only for a ham and cheese croissant and a coffee. Does that sound decadent to you?  It’s not that I don’t enjoy making breakfast, but where we live there is such a wealth of options for eating out it’d be a shame to waste those opportunities. Heh!

4. I’m a crazy cat lady in training. Yep. Not surprised though are you?

5. I do zero exercise – except for a bit of walking here and there (sometimes the 2kms it is to walk into the city from home). I’m not proud of this fact – dedicating the time to be healthy should be important but when I dont get home til 7pm on a good day, the last thing I want to do is lift heavy things. However, I’m seriously considering going back to muay Thai and maybe boxing since my old gym is on the way home from work and it’s the one sport I actually enjoyed. Just need to stop procrastinating…..

6. And while I’m at it…I’m pretty darn good at procrastinating. Not everything gets the Master Procrastination treatment – but things like organising my tax return, calling people, some emails, design work (sorry Mum!!!!) and mending clothes gets put on the back-burner something chronic. Argh!

annnnnd 7. Just to be stupid. Last week I spent $8 on butter. And I don’t regret it one bit. So unbelievably delicious.

On that note, I think I shall leave it. Next week I should have some sewing posts for you. And I won’t tag anyone for this blog award cos – meh ;-P

Til soon!!