TwoPieceSetacular - Spring Racing Carnival

"(two piece) Setacular, (two piece) Setacular 

No words in the vernacular 

Can't describe this great event 

You'll be dumb with wonderment 

Returns are fixed at ten percent 

You must agree, that's excellent 

And on top of your fee" - Mouline Rouge. 

I feel this song is definitely about Ada Spragg (Sophie) two piece setacular challenge!

Show tunes aside. I am ridiculously happy with this make. Pause for a moment to appreciate that I am over a year late to the party, but to be fair I have been planning this two piece set since March this year. But as I didn't have a real reason to sew it, the pretty fabric just sat there waiting for it's time to shine. Enter Melbourne Spring Racing Carnival 2015. I am not going to touch on the debate here about horse racing. But I definitely understand why it is a big no no for some people. I thoroughly enjoy the fashions, and watching what others are wearing on the day - also a special mention to the cup day fashions on the field winner in her home made dress. Her fabric was a Tessuti purchase!

The set was ridiculously easy to sew, and CHEAP. It was actually one of those sews that turned out EXACTLY AS I PLANNED IN MY HEAD. That shit never happens. I am appreciating the marvel of this sew. I knew I wanted some kind of boxy crop with a more fitted skirt. initially I had been thinking of cropping the scout and having little sleeves, potentially a ruffled hem... but then I remembered the lovely cropped version on Workroom Socials page and knew that was what I wanted. I missed out on nabbing a copy of the Charlotte Skirt before production of BHL paper patterns stopped, luckily she is available in PDF. I wasn't sure if this pattern was going to be one that would work for me, so my lovely friend allowed me to try hers and I traced it quickly a few months back.

The Charlotte skirt is a beautiful pattern, very easy to sew and very easy to fit! It has 8 darts around the top of the skirt to create shaping, and then is pegged in towards the knee's. This pattern is drafted for those ladies like me who are sporting a badoonkadoonk. Yep. Junk in the trunk. Hello hippy heaven! Previously I have avoided pencil skirts like the plague, BHL ladies you have opened up a new world for me. Am planning a leather look version right now!

Back to the set. After completing the darts, I popped in an invisible zipper (with my new invisible zipper foot. LIFE CHANGED). This happened twice. The first time my brain malfunctioned and I put the zipper in at the legs end... this was naturally the most perfectly inserted beautiful invisible zipper of my life. Seam ripper action, swearing, zip inserted into correct end, then it was fitting time. I put the skirt on inside out, and then had some lovely friends to assist me by pinning the excess down the side seams of the skirt, playing with the amount of peg at the knee's until we were all happy with the effect. I roughly transfered these markings to my traced paper pattern, but I feel with a pencil skirt, it will always take some fitting to get the right fit for each type of fabric I use. I made a little kick pleat at the back of the skirt and am cursing myself for not getting a photo of the pretty topstitching I did there. After that it was simply sewing down my new seam line, finishing my seams and popping on the waistband. I hand sewed down the waistband for a clean and professional finish and closed the skirt waist band with a bar closure. I really like the overlapped tab drafted for the charlotte. It meant I didn't have to be as pedantic about fitting the waistband.

The top was a cropped version of the Workroom Social Tate Top. I have made this number before - see. This time I went for the cropped version. I also added a little detail of a back cut out instead of using a zipper. It wasn't a particularly professional process. I decided I wanted a cut out. So I cut one out, and then I used bias tape to close it up. The inside of the top looks very clean as I used the bias tape on the cutout, arm holes, neck line and hemline keeping the insides streamlined and uniform. The bias tape is a vintage liberty bias tape I found on etsy a few months ago. I only have a little left of this navy, but I also have a yellow and white gingham vintage one sitting there I am planning on using on my Adler dress I cut out yesterday.

The fabric is a pretty little find I stumbled across at Eliza's fabric warehouse in Sunshine. This shop was located around the corner from my old work, so half my stash is made up with fabric I have stumbled across in my lunch break. It is a cotton sateen with enough stretch to work with the charlotte pattern. I didn't line the skirt, due to time.

The important bits:

Patterns: BHL Charlotte Skirt, Workroom Social's Tate Top (borrowed and free pattern = $0-)

Fabric: Eliza's Fabric Warehouse - floral cotton sateen $7pm. $14-. (It is ridiculously wide this fabric)

Notions: Zip & Bar closure ($1.50) Also from Eliza's. Thread from stash.

Total Cost: $15.50

Other bits: Shoes - wittner. Fascinator: target. 

And some more candid shots from race day. 

..xx..

Screw cake - i'm sewing frosting!

After spending most of my winter making cake - aka basics - lots of knit dresses, jumpers and tops, it is time to sew FROSTING.

Now - I am sewing frosting for a purpose - 1. everyone needs a red skirt in their wardrobe. Preferably eyelet. 2. Midi's are definitely in at the moment. And 3. I had to use Megan Nielsens brumby pattern that has been giving me the evil eye from the front of the pattern stash for a while.

IT WAS SUCH AN EASY SEW. But I took my time and sewed the shit out of this skirt. The fabric is a dreamy red cotton eyelet that I picked up in the fabric store in September, with this specific project in mind. I took my time, and used a lovely light red silk as a lining fabric - which is where things got a bit tricky. I wanted to use horse hair braid in the hem, but also wanted to have the eyelet raw at the bottom for the scalloped edge. I decided to stitch the horsehair braid to the silk lining instead of the eyelet fabric.

I used an invisible zip, which was a bit tricky with the eyelet fabric, but it works. I then stitched in the ditch to enclose the waistband tidying up the insides of the skirt. All raw edges are hidden behind the gorgeous silk which makes it look gorgeous on the inside as well as the outside.

Wanting the raw scalloped edge meant I wouldn't be able to baste the silk to the eyelet and treat them as one fabric. But I also didn't want yucky seams poking through the eyelet holes.  I was scratching my head about the best ways to go about this, and eventually had no choice but to go with the french seams as I didn't have enough of the silk to make bias binding either. So it was decided: french seams on both the eyelet and the silk, which turned out beautifully in the end.

The only changes I made to the pattern was to omit the pockets. Again, it was an eyelet pokey outy seams issue. When tracing I just continued the edge lines until they met. It was a gathered skirt so i wasn't too worried about losing size, as it would be hidden in the gathers. I also took the L size in about 2cm on the waistband. It is a bit droopy at the top and might need to be taken in again a bit further.

All up, it was lovely to sew up. I have more plans for bumby skirts. Definitely with the gorgeous pockets on my next one, potentially in a chambray... Definitely a pattern that can become at TNT stash pattern, and easily versatile for more casual wear, or made in frosting fabric like this!

More frosting is planned for my sewing table with a floral two piece set-acular planned for Melbourne Spring Racing carnival! I am not a fan of horse racing in the slightest, but I am a huge fan of the fashions, fascinators and styles it produces! So much sewing inspiration!

This number got it's first spin out for wear last night to celebrate a lovely friends engagement party. Congratulations Gaz & Rhi! A wonderful evening for a wonderful occasion. 

The deets!

Pattern: Megan Neilsen - Brumby pattern

Size: Between a M-L.

Fabric: 2m of red cotton eyelet - the fabric store & 2m of silk from Eliza's Fabrics.

Notions: Invisible Zip & horsehair braid

Other Bits: Shoes - wittner & top - portmans.

Cost: pattern: $18, fabric & notions $55. Total: $63-

Is anyone else playing along for BPsewvember!

..xx..

Minty Elephants - The story of a Nursery set..

During winter, my sister and I decided we would make up a baby gift for our cousin who is expecting her first baby any day now! (Come on baby - we are very excited to meet you!). Earlier on in her pregnancy she was looking for inspiration and stumbled across this little set, and decided they would be her nursery colours - seeing as the sex will be a surprise, it was a gorgeous neutral palate and looks perfect in her nursery space!

  

After seeing her inspiration pieces, we decided it would be fairly easy to replicate something similar, with her colour scheme. So - a few shopping trips later we were ready to get stuck in. And then a few more shopping trips by my sister (as she didn't approve of some of my fabric choices). Megs is the quilter, not me.. she did all the heavy lifting for the quilt, I just provided the machine & man power and did what I was told, and obviously attended with my charming personality. We decided on the quilt and a pillow, and I decided on the bunting. Megs did not want TACKY bunting, but I knew better and made it anyway - and look how sweet it looks tied up in the nursery! If you know Megs, you know it is risky business to deviate from her original plan, but it was a risk I took it, and I am glad I did.. 

 

We measured a cot sized quilt and then just did some rough calculations for how big each square should be and worked from there - it turned out to be 100cm x 130cm which is a standard cot size blanket.

The fabrics are from Spotlight, Joys Fabric Warehouse in Geelong, and the Millrose quilting shop in Ballan. The felt elephants were particularly fun to make - we used a silohette and traced the elephants out onto the felt, then quilted them down onto the quilt and pillow. If we had enough time I would have liked to put some on the bunting as well! For the bunting I cut out the pieces from the left over fabrics using a simple self drafted triangle shape. I then zipped up the two outside edges with right sides together on the machine and then turned it in, giving it a quick press. I used Bias tape for the connecting cord which also hid all my raw edges. Simple!

There are loads of posts about on making your own baby quilts so I won't go into it too much, mainly because I was a simply a slave to Megs and her quilt making sweat shop... But all in all, it was quicker than anticipated, and a lovely personal gift for a first baby.. Megs quilted the blanket by hand, which was time consuming. She was able to do it on the train on the way to work which made it easier.

Congratulations Mel on the pending arrival of your first addition! I cannot wait to meet baby Irving.

Spring is for ICE CREAM - S1801.

Oh hello there corner of the internet that I call my own... I seem to have forgotten about you. Sorry. But life happens.

But I did not forget about sewing, I have some new bits to post over the next few weeks! Stay tuned..

First off the rank is a dress I cut out over a year ago which has sat in the to sew pile since then! But the beautiful weather Melbourne has had recently quickly pushed it to the top of the list.

Paddle Pops - because.

It's Cynthia Rowley 1801 - A simplicity pattern. Now - I know these pattern companies have a terrible wrap for being off in sizing etc... But Simplicity. I'm saying it - I LOVE YOU. You fit me out of the packet (going by the finished measurements) - including lady lumps, and waist and hippies. Yay! I made view A if your interested and made 0 alterations to the pattern, I just cut it at the finished garment size rather than recommended size - which was two sizes smaller for the record.

The dress came together in tiny increments of 30-45 minute sewing at a time. My new job has a lot of new learning for me to do, which unfortunately has eaten into my sewing time, so I am far slower at whipping makes up at the moment. I am trying to get in a few nights a week of small time sewing to improve my output, and so far it seems to be working.

The fabric is a cheap cotton poplin I purchased from the sales rack in spotlight about 2 years ago. BUT. It is bright, has ice creams all over it, and makes me ridiculously happy with the tweeness of it all. I think it may have too much body for this pattern (check those sleeves yo!), and I am definitely going to make her up again in a fabric with a bit more drape.

I went to Instagram to vote on the sleeves - everybody reported back a resounded CHOP 'EM OFF! But the rebel in me is kind of attached now that they are all sewn in with pretty little hems... I wore it to a baby shower today with the sleeves on, in person, all reports indicate to keep the sleeves.. Now I'm stuck!

Keep or chop people!? Help me sort this tragedy out!

The waistband is faced, and closes the inside of the dress up nicely. It was my first time inserting a side seam invisible zipper - I tried inserting the pocket with the side seam, and my brain actually failed to comprehend how that was supposed to happen - on two consecutive days. So I ripped it out, and just inserted the zipper, sans pocket, and it probably needs to be redone, but I had already sworn
and worked myself up about that seam enough... that it can stay for the time being..

The front and back pieces are slightly gathered into the yokes, giving a nice fullness at all the seams. Again, I think this would look gorgeous in a drapier fabric, but I still like the effect. The front bodice is definitely lower than I would normally wear, but I think the fullness of the sleeves balances out the frontal cleave display.. The front bodice is finished with a facing, which makes for a clean finish. The only topstitching I did was on the sleeve and bottom hems. I was going to slip stitch them, but after stitching down the wasitband facing I couldnt bring myself to sit up another night doing it.. So under the machines it went.

Please excuse the wrinkles - Photo's were following a day of wear!

I zipped all the exposed seams through the overlocker, choosing a white thread as I don't have any blue thread. All in all I am counting this dress as a win. It will get some serious wear this summer, and I really like it paired with my watermelon shoes.

All the details:

Pattern: Simplicity - by Cynthia Rowley 1801

Size: 12

Alterations: ZERO!

Fabric: cotton poplin - ice cream print from spotlight
Shoes: Modcloth - watermelon heels.

Cost: I can't even estimate on this make I'm sorry - it was all purchased and cut too long ago!

See also: Tilly, from T&TB, Dolly Clackett (the darling Roisin) & thread carefully.

Sooo... Keep those sleeves of give them the chop!?

..xx..

Also - can you believe this cat? What a creep.

 

MonStoriaDen: My Astoria/Linden/Moneta mash up...

After a trip down to Geelong in early July - I came back with a stash full of fabulous fabrics from Joy's Fabric Warehouse (FYI - I have also had some pretties delivered following a phone order).. All of which have now been sewn up - excluding some gorgeous white, navy and red light wool coating. My purse is still recovering after I nabbed the delicious wools, stretch cottons, rayon knits and other bits... But I did grab some grey and black softer than butter ponti. 

bottom L-R: Stretch bottom weight cotton (now a chardon skirt), navy/purple rayon knit (now a copelia cardigan), The offending striped ponti, Top L-R: quilting cotton, checked coating.

top: rayong knits (now copelia's and mandy boat tee's). Bottom: french terries Yellow is now an Astoria and the blue is a Linden - Stay tuned for posts on these babies!

Full disclosure. This dress is slightly more than inspired by the gorgeous Renay - over at The Long Winding Bobbin - she posted a shot on instragram of her own Astoria dress mash up  in this same striped ponti- and my poor fabric never had a chance to become anything else... 

feat. Zoidberg.

The mash-up comes about by popping in my favourite features of my current favourite sews. I have been loving the Astoria and Linden jumpers to death recently, and have been merging a few of my favourite features. This dress takes the mash up cake. The bodice and skirt are the Moneta. The sleeves and neckband are a feature from the Astoria, which smoosh in together perfectly with zero adjustments, and finally the cuffs from the Linden by Grainline. 

Windy As F.

The fabric is really soft under hand, and handled very easily. The whole make took me about 2 hours (or two episodes of misfits, netflixs why you ruin my life!?!?!) and this was including cutting time. I have knocked up a few of each of these patterns now (at last count, five moneta's, three lindens, and another five Asotria's). So I sometimes need to stop and make sure I am not rushing a quick make like this, BUT I JUST WANT TO WEAR IT THIS VERY SECOND - despite half finished hems.....

My most recent versions of the Astoria have the added cuffs. I was originally using the cuffs from papercut patterns copelia cardigan, however, have found them slightly too long and the Lindens a much smoother fit for the cropped sweater look. The ponti had just enough 4 way stretch to cut the cuffs off grain for contrasting stripes. That said, it took some muscle to pin and sew them down. I do like how they have finished up though. The cuff finish is also a bit nicer than just a turn of edge seam.

Cuffs from the Linden pattern.

The Astoria neckband piece stretched easily into place into the Moneta bodice pattern, which makes sense as I have a sneaking suspicion the Astoria is drafted from the same block. Colette had a tutorial on how to turn Moneta into a sweater which I pinned on pinterest before the pattern came out. And as i had never gotten around to actually following the tutorial, as is the way with anything that comes from pinterest, I was very happy to see the pattern released in Seamwork!

Neckband from the Astoria pattern.

After a wear out and about, the fabric has dipped a bit on the bias, so will need a bit of a trim and tidy up along the hemline, which I am hoping won't make my stripe matching look awkward....

spot the ginger fur ball...

For the first time ever I am LOVING winter sewing. I think this may have something to do with all the soft cosy knits being snug as fuck when they come out of the dryer after a pre wash and I just want to roll about in them. Cosy. Toasty. Warm. Melbourne Winter. Go Away. But seriously. Wintery snug sewing for the win.

It's business time...

Fabric: 2m of striped Ponti from Joys Fabric Warehouse in Geelong.

Pattern: Colette - Astoria & Moneta, Grainline Linden

Size: mash up between a L & M.

Alterations: Toooo many. Basically just stretching all the bits to smoosh them all to fit. I think I may have trimmed my sleeves to short in hindsight, they sit just on my wrist and I usually prefer them a bit longer.

Other bits: Belt, C/O Heli (thanks mum) and boots are Merchant and Mills.

See Also: Rach (also check out her awesome Astoria cropped cardi tutorial), Melissa, Cut Cut Sew.

Is anyone else relishing in wintery sewing or are we all ready to move into the spring frocks and light weight cottons and linens? xx