Busy Busy Busy

I found this old hem marker at Rozelle Markets last weekend. When I went to hand over the money, the stall holders asked me what it was. They thought it was something used for chemistry apparently. Maybe I'm wrong, but that little dish looks made for pins and the little metal thing fits my 20+ year old piece of tailor's chalk perfectly. (Seriously, does that chalk ever run out?)

I haven't been making frocks, but I have been sewing and knitting. It's gift-makin' season.
The hoodie is from this 'Get Creative' pattern from Spotlight, and it turns out it's a very well drafted pattern. I will give them a second look for basics now. The fabric is a flannel from Spotlight as well. It has a 'kangaroo pocket' on the front which is fairly hard to make out because of the busy car print, you can just see it in the closeup shot. That's for a 5 year old nephew. 5 year olds need pockets for stones and balloons and lollies.



The jumper below is the child's placket jumper from Last Minute Knitted Gifts. It's in Filatura di Crosa's Zara merino, so lovely and sproingy to knit with. I love this book and have made many things from it, mainly gifts as it happens. This one is for 3 year old niece. These children live in Europe, hence the winter clothing gifts. Click to embiggen so you can see the little lady bugs climbing up the placket.
So too busy to make frocks. I still have one gift left to make, another western shirt for Mr M in a lovely wine-coloured poplin. I'd really like to get wine or burgundy coloured pearl snap closures. Snap source don't have them.

Frockaversary frocks.

I promised Kitty I would make frocks as penance for missing our blogaversary. In a rare fit of over achievement, I made three (well, two and a half since one still needs straps)

1) Cherryspot - I cut this one out last week and sewed it on Saturday:
- another version of the 1970's Style 6388, with the straight skirt from Vogue 9668 frankensteined onto it.

2) New Look 6557 View D with straight skirt from New Look 6699 instead of the full skirt.
This is in honour of my recent visit to Assisi - it is St Francis in all sorts of poses with his friendly sheep, wolves, goats etc. When I got it Kitty reckoned it looked like he was standing on clouds of algae, which is quite true if you look.

3) (or 2 1/2) - Style 6388 View 3 (without the band) out of some lovely black cotton broderie anglaise with a lovely border that I used for the top and the skirt hems. I haven't decided if I am going to line it or just wear different coloured slips underneath (it is seethrough without one, being broderie anglaise).
The material isn't really suitable for straps, so I will have to find some lace or grosgrain ribbon or something else suitable.

New Look 6515

Another work top for summer, if summer ever gets here. It's been windy, rainy and cool today.
Hence the indoor, fuzzy pics.

This is New Look 6515, in cotton voile I bought at Spotlight.
I used bias binding instead of facings, and raised the neckline about 2cm so I don't have to wear a camisole under it if it's really hot. But silly me found out too late that raising the neckline meant I should extend the cross over a bit, hence the vertical piece of bias binding near the bustline there.
It's only for work. It's ok.

Lulu

This is a modified New Look 6699, made from Michael Miller's Honolulu fabric. I bought the fabric almost exactly 2 years ago when I was going through a 50s sarong dress obsession. I love the black velvet painting look of this fabric, so exotic!

I made the view D bodice, but rounded off the top of the bodice pieces and didn't put on the centre-cinching loop, not because I didn't like it, but with the Hawaiian print fabric it looked a little too swimsuity. I widened the straps to 'fettucini' rather than 'spaghetti' for better bra strap coverage. I didn't use the skirt pattern, I just bunged on my usual straight skirt pattern. From tracing and modifying the pattern pieces to finishing the frock took me 3 hours, tops! Love the New Look sunfrock patterns. They're so easy and well drafted, for me anyway.

( Moggy, we missed our blog-iversary! I wanna frock and roll all night was 2 years old on the 8th November! The 2 year gift is traditionally fabric. The 3rd year is patterns. Then the 4th is haberdashery. 5th is fabric again. 6th is patterns again. And so on...)

More Sunday spots

I never seem to get around to changing my clothes after work, so I like aprons for all that cook-y splatter-y messy stuff.

I decided that I need another one so I whipped up this number (no pattern, just a bunch of rectangles and straps - after all, it doesn't have to 'fit' per se).

I was going to make one out of some Last Supper material I have, but I think I might make an actual dress out of that.

Spotondot

This is Simplicity 6388, a 70s sunfrock pattern, with a slim skirt instead of the swishy full skirt. Thank you Moggy, for giving me the pattern and I hope you are continuing to buy patterns in my size at opshops, so I can rifle through your drawers again this Christmas. (ooo er!)

I didn't do the crossed straps at the back. I prefer to wear a plain old regular bra, not a convertible or strapless.
I also made another top, the cowly sleeveless New Look 6470, in a rayon knit.

This week in fashion...

Beans are out

Tomatoes are in



(Yeah, I know it isn't sewing, but it is what I did instead of sewing. And I was wearing a dress I made while I did it, so that's gotta count for something huh?)

Back in the sewing saddle

Apart from de-jet-lagging this week (hoorah for time off after a holiday!) I have made a start on the Dresstember wardrobe extension.

First is another version of Simplicity 3774 , this time without sleeves. After I was half way through, I realised how similar it is to one Kitty made earlier - weirdly, almost exactly one year ago! This has a fuller skirt though (it's a windy day, so you can't really see it). I've taken to frankensteining the 4 gore skirt from New Look 6557 on any frock that needs a nice full-but-not-circle skirt.

.

The other dress is another old favourite, a Style pattern from the seventies. I haven't decided if I going to have it as a halter or plain straps.... or I could be tricky and put buttons on the inside of the back, and buttonholes on the straps, and make it convertible...



In an uncharacterisic fit of efficiency, I also cut another out of this material:



I haven't cut the skirt out yet, I might make it with a straight skirt.

Crossing over

Another work top. This is Simplicity 4076. I made the mock wrap, view B with view D sleeves. The fabric is a jersey (poly? I guess, but it's light and soft, not shiny and slippery) I bought at Remnants Warehouse a while ago.

Pink pinny

More gift sewing, this time for my little friend Fern, who turns one later this month. I've made this pinafore three times before. It's a winner, New Look 6578.

I bought the fabric in Melbourne, I think late last year, at Rathdowne Fabrics and Remnants. It was $1.50 per metre as I remember. I'm hoping I have enough left over to one day use as a yoke and cuffs on a western shirt for me.

Reversible pursible

I made this reversible purse (from Martha Stewart) as a last minute gift for a friend's birthday. Quick, easy and cute. It's a good project to use up the offcuts of fabrics after frock making too; yay for matching purses! (this one is not offcut fabric though, I bought some fabric especially)

Sewing for work

A great irony of my life is that I can't wear frocks to work. Imagine, me with a frock obsession and innumerable frocks! (for the curious, I work in healthcare, mainly with babies and kids. Involves being dribbled on frequently, and worse on rare occasions, as well as a lot of squatting and sitting on floors and grass, in sandpits etc)

So my frock-wearing self is a bit of a secret identity. I always think I'd like to swan about in my frocks at work, but I also like that putting on a frock signals 'me' time.

So I don't usually make work clothes. I don't want to make trousers (although I have) because I don't really like wearing them that much and I need to be a bit excited about what I sew.

The other day I was looking around the shops for new shirts for work, but the ones I liked were all $80 to $120. I have to be IN LOVE with something to spend that amount of money. So even though I'm not too excited about sewing them, I needed shirts, so a stash dive was in order.

The striped shirt is Butterick 4985, which I've made previously. (I might only wear this one on days I have no babies scheduled. The tie is a bit too... tuggable)

For the green patterned shirt I used a pattern I've also made before, a few times, including lengthened frock versions. One of Moggy's and my favourite patterns, I think it's safe to say. It's New Look 6513, but with cap sleeves instead of puffy sleeves this time, and I made it with the pointed collar instead of the rounded one for a change.