Shopping (sorta) Fail

I've just come back from four weeks in the USA (California, Arizona, New Mexico) and did very minimal stuff shopping - even though I did visit the LA Fabric district (huge!) a JoAnn's or two (99c patterns! But only Simplicity!).

I bought three pairs of the same shoes from Re-Mix (in red, olive green and black):


3 yards of fabric from Michael Levine in the fabric district:

One 99c pattern from JoAnn's (pretty similar to the Vogue fauxlero, but nice cowly bit):


and... an iPad fell in my bag. Oops.

I did also eat lots of tasty foods and drove up Route 66 and went on 360 degree roller coasters and saw lovely rocks and the Grand Canyon and mid-century houses in Palm Springs and general silliness in Las Vegas and lovely Santa Fe and Albuquerque and Ham the Space Monkey's suit and capsule and a Sputnik and the site of the atomic bomb testing and Smokey the Bear museum and Zion National Park and Monument Valley and lava and White Sands and and and....

Pattern purchases at the Vintage Show

I went to the Sydney Vintage Clothing, Jewellery and Textiles Show last weekend. I managed to go on the opening Friday night, which I have always wanted to do.
It was good as usual, but I didn't find any have-to-have fabrics or accessories. I did try on a pair of vintage 40s shoes which were gorgeous and fit me perfectly, but they were well out of my price range.

These patterns were in my price range though.
I'm going through a 60s shift/sheath phase, in my mind.
In my mind because after 3 and a half weeks of house guests, there has been no sewing here.

No sewing on this public holiday either. Too many sheets and towels to wash, and I still have to set up my sewing room again.









I had to buy Style 2323 (below), because it is the same as the dress I copied in this post. It will be fun to compare my drafted pattern to this one. Once the washing is done.

A pittance of sewing

A pittance is all I have to show you after all this time.

A couple of weeks ago I started to make vintage Simplicity 6672 (sometimes called the Goddess dress). I started sewing a muslin out of polyester jersey, but we are in week 2 of having a houseguest for 3 weeks (eeeee! 3 weeks!) and I just can't sew when I have guests, unless they are sewing friends of course.

I am going a bit crazy with the not sewing.

I am going to show you the frock, with the hem awkwardly pinned, the armholes unfinished, and the seams all puckery because this is stoopid poly jersey and despite a walking foot and jersey needle and stretch stitch it's the best I could do.

I don't know whether I'll finish it looking at that photo. I think it looks better in real life. If I do finish it I'll have to wear it to places where I won't be photographed! Or just ditch this one and make it in a nicer fabric.

I don't usually do muslins, but this is a very different style for me. As it is I took heaps of volume out of the skirt because I only had 2 metres of fabric. I don't think I'd like it with a very heavy skirt. What do you think? Worth finishing, make it in a nicer knit, or give up?

Igor, frock and hat

Last week I did a practice pack for next week's trip and thought I had everything. But then I read the weather for Los Angeles and apparently it is around 25-27 Celcius - so I though I'd better pack a sundress!

Notwithstanding the fact I have about one billion sundresses, I thought I should make another. This is a combo of the vintage Butterick 8149, the skirt from New Look 6699, and a band made up on the spot...

It's not actually a halter, I just haven't finished attaching the straps to the back. I also thought I should make a little bolero to pop over the top if it is even sunnier. This is a frankenpattern of Simplicity 3748 and McCalls 5006. I shall call her Igor:

I also decided to make a hat (why the hell not!) It is the baddana fabric on one side, and some leftover hawaiian print barkcloth on the other:

This is made from the Wild Ginger software called 'Wild Things!' which is a free download of fashion accessories patternmaking software.

Maxi refashion

It occurred to me the other day that all those maxi dresses you see around - on sale of course! - would be the ideal candidate for refashioning. I've been finding leopard knit rather hard to find for a while, so when I saw this I thought it would be a good candidate at a mere $20 on sale up the road:

The neckline is way too blingy - it looks even worse in person I think.

So I cut the bling off (interestingly, it came off as one piece which might actually make quite a nice necklace - as you can see in the Afters).

I cut it fairly straight (the back was slightly elasticated and straight so I left it as is), put some pleats at the centre front to dip the neckline, and made the Butterick 8149 gathered straps.

Here is the after. This might even end up being a tripfit, since it packs up small and doesn't wrinkle.

I might need to sauce it up a bit, but I will wear it a few times first.

Random stuff

I am in the midst of knitting a baby blanket for a colleague:
It's the 'Old Shale Baby Blanket'. It's an easy knit, but looks far more complicated than it is. You can find the pattern here.

I also recently made toadstool rattle for a friend's new bub. It's cute, but my version came out more like a toadstool ice-cream cone. Mmm, poisony. (Pattern here)

Finally I have a couple of weddings to attend, so I am on the lookout for fancy fabrics to make up some of the vintage patterns I love but haven't made because I haven't had occasions to wear them. I went looking at Remnant Warehouse today. I came home with two sweater knits instead of glam silks. Oh dear, looks like I will have to do more fabric shopping. Sigh.
I'm thinking the McCalls 5245 jacket from the dark chocolate rib which the label says is a poly/viscose, and maybe another Vogue 2925 top from the teal, which is a wool/acrylic blend.

Luaus and sewing rooms

I'm having a housewarming luau in a few weeks, and not surprisingly I have a few tropical frocks to choose from.

I think I have decided to wear flamingos (see the last link above), but as I'm thinking more of a 60s-Blue-Hawaii-Elvis-movie -theme-luau, a wiggle dress seemed appropriate, so I took her in, and up.

Here she is now, along with a sneak peek of my new sewing area, wooo! (I love the old telephone desk I got at auction, but I can't fit my sewing machine and overlocker on it together, so it may be replaced when I find just the right desk) Not as fab as Moggy's purpose built sewing studio, (no, I'm not envious AT ALL), but I am just so happy to have a place where I can keep my machine set up!
Is it bad form to leave your guests for frock changes? I'm having trouble deciding which frock. Help anyone?

Also, I think I have found just the right fabric in the stash for a machine cover, what do you think?

Simplicity 2614, again

In honour of Australia Day (day off, woo!), I organised my stash. Organising in my world doesn't mean colour coding, categorising by type of fabric, oh no no no. I went through my plastic storage bins of fabric and tossed all the post-project scraps of fabric I had shoved in there, many of which were not big enough to make a coin purse. Then I folded the fabrics up properly, which has made more room for more fabric. Yay!

One of the benefits of cleaning up the stash was finding bits of fabrics I had forgotten about. This is a cotton voile I bought from Spotlight years ago, pre-blog. I had made a wrap dress with it, but had never worn it due to the neckline stretching out (forgot to stay-stitch, whoops!). That dress was recently tossed, or donated, I don't remember which. Anyway, I found enough of a remnant of the fabric to make another Simplicity 2614 blouse, with the tie, but without the sleeves.

I made it this afternoon and wore it out to dinner this evening. I just hurriedly snapped a photo outside in the fading light, so it's a bit crumpled; please imagine it crisply ironed.

Which reminds me, I have some crispy M&Ms waiting. Mmmmm.

Florals for everybody!

I made another Vogue 3013 the other day, in some cherry blossom fabric I bought in Tokyo nearly 2 years ago. This pattern is like my fitting shell, it fits me so well. I must remember to trust the pattern though, and not panic and do small seam allowances before I put the zip in. I pulled it around my body prior to zip insertion, and convinced myself it was going to be too small. Of course as soon as I put the zip in it was all gape-a-rama up the top. I probably need to become one of those ladies who scribble all over my pattern envelopes. "Trust the pattern, Kitty!" Wouldn't that make a nice mystery for its next owner?

I also made Simplicity 2614 in cotton voile I bought at Pitt Trading. It was supposed to be the non-tie version, which it was for a while, until I noticed this:

Yes, the largest flowers over the bewbies. Not anatomically correct, but not a good look in any case. Sigh. And I was careful cutting out, or so I thought. The gathers might have pulled them in to that awkward position.
I consulted Moggy, nip-crisis counsellor, who suggested making the tie to distract the eye. She was right, and the blouse is saved, see:

I like it even more now, and I must remember that V-neck cotton tops always look a bit like scrubs to me. (I should scribble that on the pattern envelope. "Cotton + V-neck = Scrubby") The tie helps scrub out the scrubbiness.

Also, I had to re-cut the front facing on this pattern, due to it being a good 10cm too small on the size 8! I did the neck facings 3 times in all, what with them being too small, Then putting the corrected ones on, then ripping them out to put the collar/tie on, which meant cutting more facings... and cotton voile is no friend of the seam ripper. Under that neckline is ugly and holey my friends.

All this for a work top. This is why I don't like making clothes to wear to work. Frocks rarely give me this much trouble.

Wrongrose

As promised, here is the dress I cut out yesterday along with the shruglero. I have named her Wrongrose in honour of Livebird's comment yesterday.

The pattern is New Look 6789, which I have made twice before.

This is super quick to sew, the only thing that took time is the piping on the band (made much easier by the mighty piping foot!).

The stretch cotton sateen is lovely to sew and wear - if only all my floral cottons were lycra-ed!

Here she is with the shruglero from yesterday. Looks a bit mother of the bride, but I think I'll manage.

Shruglero

I think this is a bolero, however the pattern (McCalls 5006) says 'shrug' - so I shall compromise with Shruglero!

I have a dress cut out to match this (New Look 6789), but as I've made it a couple of times before I thought I'd make this first.

I made view D, with 3/4 sleeves. It is supposed to be lined, but since it has a front facing and raised back neck band, I took a chance and left it out - it worked just fine.

I need to decide what button to use to fasten the front - I have a squillion buttons, but none quite right!

More home dec sewing

A couple of simple cushions for the sofa, in green 'boomerang beat' fabric.
No fancy piping or anything, too lazy and the fabric is fancy enough, no?

I am trying to decide what frock to make while I am still on holidays. It's hot here, so a cotton sunfrock is high on the agenda. Hmm.
But I am having a bit of a knit affair. Mmm, knits.

I will have a rifle through the stash. I may be some time.