A finished dress in Autumn tones.

I started this dress as a wearable muslin for my son's wedding last year. I abandoned the dress after I decided it would look like a sack in the fabric that I originally chose. However I have finished the muslin now and I'm pretty happy .

The pattern is Vogue 8786. The fabric was from Spotlight a few years ago. The fabric is stretch woven but it is quite thick but I loved the colours. The black fabric was a stretch cotton I had. As usual I am a bit nervous about sizing and I err on the side of too large but that's ok. If I make this again I would make a size smaller.

You can see here it is quite loose.

I like the front and back seams. It is a little difficult to see in this fabric but I think they give definition and interest but not much shaping. As others have found this pattern is on the generous side.

 For the top closure I made a self covered button . I haven't made one of these in years. Possibly the dress is a bit long so I may take it up.

This was very quick to sew up. I think it would be really nice in a ponti type fabric, that has substance to it. The dress would be nice with boots and a cardigan for  Autumn. I will try this pattern again.

Happy Sewing!

Moreish March been and gone.

Hello, I know most people say it but I can't believe how time goes. I haven't blogged for nearly a month. It is such a pain how work gets in the way of doing the things I love but I guess I need to be able to pay for my addictions.
My garment of the month in March was going to be T-Shirts, within the theme of moreish March. Previously I made New Look 6323 here and really liked how it fitted. So I decided I would make a short sleeve version for summer.

I especially love the back in this T-Shirt.

The fabric is a lovely stretch from Tessuti. I bought the fabric at the end of last year. It's beautiful to wear. I have worn this many times . It is like wearing times pj's to work. It is very pretty fabric, so soft to touch and easy to sew.

My idea for Moreish March was to make a pile of T shirts that will work for work and play but alas
work has been difficult  and all consuming. I have had some very difficult students and classes and this makes me exhausted, so sewing and blogging have definitely taken a back seat.. Luckily though I now have a 2 week break and not too much school work to do these holidays.
Here in Sydney the weather is still really warm so these holidays I am going to try and catch up with my sewing and T-shirts will definitely be a priority.
 Also I have gone back to painting this term, which I must admit, has been keeping me sane.

                                         Happy Sewing !

White out !

I have a lovely white summer top that has definitely seen better days so I decided to make a new top using View C from Vogue 9067.



This looks like a lovely top. I created mine , not so great.

I made the Xl and I think I could have made at least 2or 3 sizes smaller. This top is enormous and I like loose clothes.

In this picture you can see how large it is.

I could fit a whole family in this top, this top is huge.
 In the pattern you add this flounce on the sleeves so it is difficult to take in once they are on. I also had a bit of trouble adding the flounce on the sleeve.
I like the pom poms on the bottom though. Admittedly the pattern is designed for a woven fabric and I used a knit so maybe that was a contributing factor.

This top will probably never be worn but I hung it up and we'll see. I was a bit disappointed not to have a new white top. Oh well.
                                         Happy Sewing!

Finally pants

I had finished these pants quite a while ago but had no photos. In fact these were planned at the end of 2014. I'll admit it, I'm slow but they are done.

Pants number 1.  Black and White polka dots

These are  Style Arc Flat Bottom Flo pants.   
I quite like these and I thought they fitted quite well till I looked at the photos.

There are still some lines underneath my backside so I think that means I need to widen the leg.  They are very comfortable and I hate pants that are too large on my thighs, so they will do at the moment. They fit my flatbackside really well. The pattern was very easy to make and I really like how the front seam sits forward.

It's a little difficult to see in the photos. These are really comfortable. I will definitely make these pants again.

The fabric is a stretch cotton from Tessuti's and is quite stiff, so maybe that causes some of the fit issues. I like these pants and have worn them several times already.

Pants number 2  Floral Summer pants

These are Style Arc Tori Crop pants.
I am not a huge fan of these pants. I love the fabric though. I bought this at Tessuti's in 2014. It's a lovely stretch cotton and feels lovely to wear. I shortened these about 2 inches, I'm only 5'3" but I would have preferred them slightly longer. I also had trouble with the split at the side.

I really messed it up. The instructions were difficult to follow but they're fine for a casual summer pant. I probably won't make this pattern again.
 It's good to finally finish these and be wearing them.
                                                      Happy Sewing!

Birthday dress

Well I had planned to make linen pants but instead I decided I needed desperately, to make a maxi dress for my birthday lunch, I became obsessed. I hope I'm not the only one who does this. I have been wanting to try Butterick 5456 for ages, Fast and easy, no problems, well not many.

I had some lovely cotton jersey from Tessuti that was in my stash, so off I went. I thought it's stretch I won't make any adjustments plus I was in a hurry. I keep forgetting I'm not young and slim and patterns fit straight out of the envelope.

It was very easy to sew and turned out well except for the bust . It pulled forward, I should have done a FBA but I was too lazy and in too much of a hurry.

As you can see it pulls forward. I added a strip across the bottom of the arm opening which meant I could wear it comfortably. A new design feature, right! To be honest I'm not sure how to do a FBA on this type of bodice that has no darts or anything to gauge the adjustments by. If anyone can help I would really appreciate the help.  Its fine, not great but fine and comfortable. No one else would notice, I don't think, I just need to keep my arms down. Plus I love the look of a maxi dress.

The back is what I love about this pattern. A bit of skin but appropriate. I love the maxi dress cool , comfortable and covers my legs.
.

I'm not sure if I will make this pattern again but I will definitely be making more maxi dresses. A good summer dress though.

A beautiful place to have my birthday lunch.

                                       Happy Sewing!

Jumping into January or not.

My blogging has been a bit slow this January, usually I'm quite prolific in January. I have been sewing, I just haven't taken any photos to blog about yet. Although my sewing has been a little sparse. I have been trying to finish projects from last year.
 I don't know why my sewing mojo has been struggling, all I can think is that last year was a difficult year at work, plus I had a few quite serious health issues and all I needed to do this January was  rest and recovery.
Now I'm ready to jump into January, even though its nearly over. A  found a gap in my summer wardrobe, linen pants. Every summer I think this and I never get around to making linen pants, so this summer I'm going to do it.
I have loads of linen

this is just a few. So if I can find a pattern that suits I think I could whip these up quite quickly. I looked through my pattern and found these

plus the Tessa pant from Style Arc

I think I will try the Tessa pant first. Some of the other patterns are quite wide and I do have to be careful with width, because I can look a little swamped by fabric. I am quite excited to be sewing these. This is how I will spending Australia Day ( I hope ).

                             Happy Sewing and Happy Australia Day to all the Aussies out there.

A little Present

I hope everyone had a lovely Christmas and are enjoying the relaxing period post Christmas. It's lovely being able to take a breath and smell the roses. Personally I find this time of year a time to just relax, usually at the beach but the weather has decided to become wet and very cool for this time of year. This means  an ideal climate for sewing, reading and buying fabric on line.

I bought myself a little Christmas present, fabric of course. I was wandering through Etsy and looked at this japanese store MissMatatabi. I wanted some indigo fabric to make a quilt for my handsome man but I also had to buy myself some of their beautiful cotton fabrics.

The navy and orange spot and yellow spot are a seersucker fabric and they feel lovely, so soft. They will be lovely to wear in summer. I'm not quite sure what to make yet. The Blue rose fabric on top is beautiful . I could only buy about a metre, but I just love it. I think that may become the front of a top with a contrasting back. The fabrics are beautiful and they arrived so quickly. This shop has a sale at the moment , another incentive to go and have a browse.

                                                 Happy New Year!