*Peeks around corner; waves sheepishly*

Hi!  Coming out of winter hibernation, finally!

My sewing room is cold, ok?  And how many boat neck, three-quarter sleeved ponte frocks do you want to see anyway?  It's almost all I made for a year.

The weather has warmed up, and I made this frock last weekend out of some polyester border print I bought at Remnant Warehouse a while ago.  It's woven, no stretch, sort of a cross between a charmeuse and challis in feel, maybe?  I don't know,  it's silky, but still a bit crisp.  Twill?  Anyway, it feels nice for a poly.

It's a border print, but I needed a waist seam because I wanted to use the sparser diamond pattern in the bodice.  I couldn't just cut the dress out in the middle of the print because I wanted the sweet black hem border to remain.  Needs a press too, that hem, oops.

I have many patterns.  I don't want to seem boastful, but I'm a pattern thousandaire.

I didn't, however, have a pattern in the massive stash which was suitable for my (admittedly simple) needs.

So I made up a pattern, making a wide-ish bodice it so I didn't need a zip.  I didn't put darts in, but did slash and add pleats to the neckline to add a bit of interest.  The skirt is just two trapezoid shapes, and I zigzagged elastic onto the seam allowance at the waist.  I made a quick muslin out of an old bedsheet, to check I didn't need a zip (I didn't, yay!)

Hands on hips pose:

Belted:

Neckline pleats, with sweet 1960s horse pendant:

On the roll, showing reason a waist seam was needed, unless I wanted a mid calf length or maxi dress, which I didn't:

So, what have you all been up to?  *Whistles, tries to distract from own slackness*

More travel wardrobe

 How is it that it has been so long between postings? It's not like we haven't been sewing, just not posting - how remiss!

I'm off to Europe at the end of March so of course I've been tripfit sewing. You'd think that by now I'd have the perfect combo of clothes but making / sourcing a new wardrobe just seems to be part of the planning.

I'm going for all of April. The trip includes Bangkok, London, Reykjavik in Iceland, Edinburgh, Germany (Berlin, Cologne and other bits to be determined) and Paris, with average temperature in Bangkok 35c (95F) and Iceland 0-5c (32-41F). So it's an interesting challenge to keep it to carry on - under 10kg (22lb) so there will be lots of layering going on, with various silk and merino underlayers going in the case and a cardigan and wrap or two.

I'm finding Pinterest very handy for planning - you can add and subtract outfits and bits and pieces (although still no ability to move the pics around which is a little frustrating). I'm taking a couple of existing pieces (leopardskin frock - either this one, or this) and some assorted plain tops.

I've been looking at Metalicus clothing because The Fabric Store has a roll of their standard black knit. I did try some of their clothes on but lets just say 'one size fits all' is never true... so I thought I'd try making my own so I don't get mistaken for a sausage in Germany.

Anyway, the knit is opaque but not too thick, and no need for ironing of course. So I've made a dress, a wrap cardigan, and a black pencil skirt (not shown because, well, it's a pencil skirt...). I used New Look 6735 to make the long cardigan as well, but I don't have a picture of that. Not that these pics are that detaily, black will do that of course. The t-shirt top in the pattern is great with a really nice banded neckline - I just did a simple lengthening to make it into a dress.

knit dress - New Look 6735 top
extended into dress

New Look 6149 - Knit Top

I also made a version of McCalls 6163 - I left the collar off and put a 2.5cm band on the neckline.
I made this out of a lovely silk jersey I got at Rathdowne Fabrics a month or so ago. Very soft and drapey and folds up nice and small, and silk jersey feels so luxurious to travel in.

McCalls knit dresses 6163  

As usual I'm struggling with sewing for cool weather when it is hot - that glow you see on my head up there is the sun, it's been a record run of hot days here - over 30c (86F) for over a week, which is unusual for March as we are meant to be moving into Autumn. It's too hot in my sewing room after 11am so I've just been doing morning sewing.

Roll on Reykjavik!

Catch up post

I made this frock a while ago from my now TNT ponte frock pattern, which is a plain boat neck, cut-on sleeve, waist-darts-folded-out version of a vintage sheath pattern. I scooped out the neckline a bit for this one.

The fab herringbone print ponte fabric was found by Moggy, yay for fabric finder friends in other cities!

The bust darts sit too high because the neckline stretched out and I had to take it up and in at the shoulders, but I wear it all the time anyway.

Marillyn's slim fit peasant dress.

I made this for a 5 year old friend's birthday from this free pattern and a new old-stock bedsheet.

I used one of my featherweights to make it, and used the ruffler attachment to gather the flounce.  It gathered beautifully, but the settings were either too gathered, or not gathery enough for this project, so I gathered on the tighter setting and then pulled some out.  It's a bit uneven, but Miss 5 doesn't seem to mind.

I'll stop now

Another gifty.

I really wanted to keep this one. Luckily I can get two purses and lining out of two fat quarters.

Recent fabric purchases

Rosey mesh - I'm not a fan of mesh as a rule, but I liked the print on this. I'm in wardrobe planning mode, so I'm thinking might make a nice overdress or cardie of some description.

It's from the Alannah Hill fabric section at IT INC in Brunswick St Fitzroy.

I also got this cute cat fabric - it's voile-y, and the burn test tells me it's cotton.

 :

Cotton decorating fabric from fabric.com

Some recent purchases from Spotlight (South Melbourne store):

cotton drill

ITY knit

crepe and chiffon - destined for a reversible skirt

 Cute-as-a-bug fabric from Darn Cheap Fabrics (I think it's from Milly)  - another reversible skirt + scarf with the leftovers.

Polyester chiffon

Gift sewing

This is a makeup purse made from Nicole Mallalieu's downloadable pattern: http://www.nicolemdesign.com.au/shop/digital-downloads/2349-make-up-purse-kit.html

A gift for a colleague. It's a great pattern, very quick and detailed instructions to get a neat finish.

I used a metal trouser zip which I think looks extra swish.

New Look 6123

This is New Look 6123 in a stretch cotton sateen from Spotlight.  I bound the neckline and armholes in purchased bias binding, but didn't cut off the seam allowance first, so the neckline sits a bit 'proud' and the shoulders appear a little extended, if you know what I mean.  This is view D, without the little cap sleeves.  

It might have been a bit of a waste doing the flounce in the busy fabric; it blends in, which defeats the purpose of a flounce, really.  I shall have to hold it up and show everyone, and tell them "I have a flounce!"  People who know me will not be at all surprised at such an exclamation.  

Shamed... into posting

It's true, we've both been sewing plenty but no postie! I've done cambies, fauxleros, two reversible skirts... but for the moment I shall post yesterday's l'étole transformable - 'transformable stole' (you can translate that page into English, or the tutorial Deptitsriens kindly supplies has English in it).

I've had my eye on that for a while, and as I'm in the planning stages for a European trip in late March / April, when the weather will probably be quite changeable, and I aim to do carryon only for the fourishfiveish week trip., I thought why not a nice little convertible stole / scarf / bolero / wrap / blanky?

The fabric is a pea green wool-nylon that I picked up at the Fabric-a-brac that Kitty and I went to last year (? or was it the year before?) and the buttons are some cute plastic ones from an ebay stash bought yonks ago.

It's basically a rectangle - long enough to reach from wrist to wrist, doubled over and sewn (with a little gap for turning), turned, topstitched and then put on eight buttons and buttonholes (four each side each end, on opposite sides)

Here is is 1) buttoned into a bolero (folded along the longest side, buttoned together to make sleeves) and 2) folded the opposite way (so short side to short side) and buttoned so it's a bit like a poncho.

Oh, and I've also made a raincoat and a lace print dress and and... to be posted.

Still here, still sewing.

Oops, it doesn't take long to get out of the habit of blogging!

I have sewn many frocks in the unintentional blogging hiatus, now I need to get back to photographing and posting them, instead of just making and wearing them.

To ease back into it, here's the finished cambie which I wore to the fifties fair.  The bodice looks crooked, but it isn't really, it just seems to get all pulled up after I set the self timer and run into position. As The Fashion Police say:  modelling is hard.

Starting a new frock

I bought this fabric at Fabric-a-brac.  It was marked as silk, but I think it may be rayon.  I did the burn test but it had characteristics of rayon and maybe acetate according to this chart.  It really doesn't matter to me as it was reasonably priced and I love the colours and painterly smudginess.

I'm making it into Sewaholic's Cambie frock.

I've made the lining already, as a sort of muslin (thanks for that suggestion Moggy) and apart from pinching a little bit out of the back neckline (I always get the gapes there), all systems are go.  

Also, the lining is already made now, yay!  I only have 2 metres of this narrow fabric, so I am not doing the pockets, just a regular A line skirt.

I've cut into the vintage fabric, which I always find easier to do if it hasn't sat in the stash too long.  (If I don't use it fairly quickly after purchase it seems to become part of "the collection", sigh)

I'm stitching this on one of the featherweights, and pinking the edges. Even though they'll be hidden in the lining, I still don't like the idea of edges fraying in there.  Hopefully I'll have some time to sew this up this weekend.

I have a couple more TNT frocks to show too, I just have to take the photos. 

TNT

Well, that was a long unintentional break from blogging!

I've been sewing a lot, even taking photos of frocks!  Just not posting, possibly because I have been making the same frock over and over and over. Vintage Butterick 8056:

The rut goes on! This one is in a green and cream houndstooth double knit I bought at fabric-a-brac in May:

 It's view C, but I extended the shoulders about 10cm to make cut-on cap sleeves.

The next one is View B with 3/4 length sleeves like this one again.  The fabric is a grey and black ponte I got from Spotlight last year, it looks a bit like houndstooth too.

 This is the same as the above, in a ponte I bought in Melbourne last year, in one of the Brunswick fabric shops.

As all these are knit fabrics, I omitted the zip and turned and topstitched the neckline and hems.

So quick and easy.  I did undo the hem on the green and cream frock because I didn't like how the stitching looked, so that one now has a machine blind hem.

So that's what I've been up to.  I've got more sewing to show, but will save that for another post.