New dress pattern, and new fabric, a pretty printed cotton, from a friend’s de-stash…  enough for a full skirt, maybe long sleeves, can’t decide!

I’m really enjoying full skirts in a way I never thought I would… and what with planning ahead for winter, I am inclined to go for long sleeves, will mull it over…

So, summer is just around the corner.. I had all these great plans to whip up a swimsuit, a couple of beach set dresses, you know the ones that convert into a pair of shorts and a wee halter top when you cleverly undo the skirt?  Well, I guess I was going to get all this done instead of sleeping…

I’ve also become a bit excited as I’ve picked up some good fabric finds at the local Hospice shop, fabric remnants, at 2-3 meter lengths, for between $2-$4 per meter… good prices, some vintage fabrics, polyester and blended woven fabrics, and other older feeling (and smelling!) fabrics… can’t just leave the stuff there can I?!  Then there was the day I was fossicking in the fabric section at the opshop when a woman working there, brought out THRE BOXES OF FABRIC, saying I ought to look in them, I mentioned I was a sewer, and she goes on to say that there are boxes and boxes of fabric out the back…  I was all nonchalant, “Oh cool” and thinking, “Jeezus, don’t tell me that..”

When I pick new fabric and patterns, I tend to pull everything out, and do a bit of match making, this is a long and fluid process, I have found that sometimes the delay I experience between having what I need and making the time to sew gives me the chance to reconsider, test out the fabrics and make changes.  I also find this really exciting, so far, I’ve had enough zippers, etc. from nana and mums stash, AND when I was last at my mums place, I was saying how “All I’ve need to buy so far is thread!”  Mum said, “Oh why didn’t you say?  I have tins of thread you could use”.  “Aaah, yes, of course you do..” I thought, why on Earth didn’t I think of that?

So this is what I have lined up… and I’ll tell you where I’m at if you want to know.

This was a cool 3 meter piece of a slightly stretchy fabric, like the texture and the brown looked like a good beach/park outfit.  Fabric was $8, and the thread, zipper and facing was from the stash.
I also thought if I had enough, I could whip up a pair of pants or shorts.. using this:

The dress is all but done, and deserves another post entirely, and I deserve some kind of medal for effort.  I have enough fabric for a pair of shorts (wohoo!).

This is beautiful crepe de chine, and at 2 and a half meters, there’s enough for a frock!  Wohoo.  So, the dress on the left, (black and sleeveless) is the one I’m keen on, and I have it all cut out and ready to sew from a piece of purple, lightweight softly woven fabric (I know, I know, do a burn test..).  I don’t think I have enough for a full skirt, so might make (again) the white version on the left.

This is another piece of crepe, and another option for this dress, though, this is a smaller piece of fabric, just 2 meters.. so might allocate it to another project.  Nice fabric though huh.  And just look at that perfectly matching thread?

Now, onto some of the lovely woven fabric’s I found, this is I think a wool blend, it rubs slightly and when I did a burn test it didn’t go as black and form the kind of hard drop I expected, also it smelt like burning hair.  This pattern I picked up from the Vintage Textile Fair, and is complete and I love the unusual side panels.  And the collar.

I also found some nice woven pieces, black, dark blue AND pink.

These are some ideas, I’m yet to make a suit, it feels like a huge undertaking, but these are my options.  At the moment I’m loving the shape of the top pattern, I think the fit would be flattering.

Here is this other pattern I’ve been sitting on for ages, I love love love it.  And am more scared to start because I think it might be so lovely.  I know that doesn’t make sense, but I suppose it’s all extra pressure..  It will have to be perfect, absolutely.

So, it truns out that the wovens are all synthetics, no wrickles, easy care.. and here’s the pink, and doesn’t it just whisper, politely, Jacquie O?  I’m thinking a straight dress, with a clean cut jacket, will probably combine two patterns, I have some dress patterns that may work and I could try one of the jackets, above or perhaps a bolero, from this pattern.

Fabric a Brac came to Auckland yesterday, it was so much fun… I bumped into many sewing craftsy friends, some had tables, and some, like me were there to shop, it went like this, quick hug, “Sogladtoseeyou.Can’tstopandtalkmustkeeplooking.Coffeeafterwards” and this is what I brought home:

Three vintage patterns, $2 each, what a find!  And some really lovely cotton printed fabric, was at $25 for the 6.5m, but the lovely women gave it to me for $20, this will make at least two summer frocks, maybe even a sweet out fit for Luna !  I also picked up a couple of embroidery hoops, here’s a close up of the fabric:

Pretty huh, floral, but not TOO floral, if you know what I mean, understated I suppose.  I’ve been thinking of making a Dior floral inspired dress for some time, this will surely be enough fabric, while not pushing my ‘completely covered in flowers’ boundaries.

Time for a bit of a sewing book review.. I’ve been reading through a solid stack of sewing history and technique books.

I’m working on my fabrics, most of the fabric I find or acquire doesn’t come with labels.  So I feel as though I’m taking risks at times… So where to start?  Well this book had come up on my radar as worth a read.

Simplicity Fabric Guide, The ultimate Fiber Resource:

While I enjoyed the book and found the alphabetised section with names, suggestions for use and sewing tips good, and the section on fabric identification (burn test results, wohoo!) I would have LOVED a more thorough exploration of the history and processes in fabric manufacture.  The history of fabric was really just touched on in the introduction.  So I’d put this one in the good to have a browse, say for an intro, but hold out for more indepth reading..

Also, it’s a bit fussy, probably, but I really don’t like spiral bound books, unless they are visual diaries, it might seem practical, but I don’t like the way the pages turn and kind of scrunch/squeak.  I know it leans a certain ‘technical’ look and feel to the book, it’s also not that functional as the cover extends around the spiral binding.

Do you have a best ‘go to’ book for your fabric ?  Or a best sewing book ever?  I have a couple more gooduns to write about, and I’d love to hear other sewers recommendations.

I left a dress out while pinning and ironing darts recently, Luna and Blake came across it grabbed a pin cushion and started ‘pinning’…  I was happy as I could quickly get a bit of seams sewn while they were happily working in their thing behind me…

I was impressed to see Luna (Blake was assisting by passing pins – that’s the thing he loves, the pins…) was creating her own darts in the dress, and adding more to the ones I had made.

And if you’re wondering about the dress, it’s my next sheet dress, just to get the feel for the pattern, and because I love the  look and feel or vintage sheets…

Simplicity 7031…

Were was my iron!!  The fabric is lovely, though slightly worn, its a shame, it makes it just a little light on, so am going to decide soon if it needs a bit of lining, which would be good practice.

I’ve paneled it so the center panel is a nice crisp section, near the edge of the sheet, and the side panels are the slightly faded ones, hopefully it will look good!  I’m making the right hand version, with the longer sleeves.  I’ve also cut the belt, so I can have a play around with that too.

A lovely woman posted me this pattern to try out, and it’s SO pretty and unused, it’s a style I’ve not tried before, Butterick 8977.

Not sure when I’ll attempt it, I will be doing my first trace and sew with this pattern as that will hopefully preserve it or at least save it from being overly handled.

I found this huge roll of lightweight upholstery fabric at my mums place, and was imediately inspired.. though I’m uncertain how it will feel on, the back (should have taken a photo of the reverse damn!) you see the weave of the fabric, and it actually feels soft… so may be quite good !  I also thought as the fabric is fairly thick it might hold the shape and hang well.. so it’s here for me to look at and think about for a time…

Take a look at this fabric!  One was an old cushion cover and the other was a square of curtain fabric I picked up ages ago.

These babies are lined with gingham.

Nice finishing huh, holds the zips in well, and is all neat and tidy, just how I like them!

These are a couple of glasses cases, or tall pencil cases I suppose.  I have BIG  sunglasses and they fit well, with room to spare.

Nicely lined too of course…

Good colours in those retro fabrics, just love them.

This fabric is weird, I just hope to have enough for a skirt…

because the more I see it the more it gets to me!

This one is mine!  When starting a new project I always have a few to giveaway to friends and of course something for myself.

I rally enjoyed working these out, a raided my fabric stash, which includes some beautiful vintage and retro fabrics, especially some sweet soft gingham.

Nice huh?

This gingham was from my nana’s stash, she made clothes for some ragdolls I still have out of it.

These are extra special, I have used some vintage duotone embroidery thread, also from a family stash…  Do you remember this post about raiding some of my tins?  There is only a limited range using this good stuff, can’t bear to use it all up…

This is my vintage rose fabric, soft and SO lovely.  Perfect for spring, and more embroidery.

I’ll be at Kraftbomb at the end of the month, come and grab yourself one there!

I’ve been busy…  pulling out some cool fabric samples and vintage material I have had stashed away for years and turning them into Mermaid’s Purses.. just for you!

I’ve made some smallish/medium size purses, and some more squareish ones.

Nice lining huh!  This one would make a snuggly sleeping bag.

This one is perfect for (my) sunglasses, I’ll whip up a few more incase you need one too..

Nice on the inside, some pretty cotton I’ve had for a wee while.

I’ve been working on these vintage fabric cuffs, all new and pressed for spring and summer markets.  I’ve been dying to get into more accessories and apparel for some time now, and with things settling down for us I have been getting a little more space to try out some ideas.

I have some fabric which is just too small to sew into clothing, but just too lovely not be worn, you may have seen a seahorse in this…  Just sussing out some sizing thoughts and using some of the fancy embroidery stitches on my machine and using some of my beautiful multi colour vintage thread stash.

Plush vintage rose fabric, so soft and summery!

Oooh and here are some of my other colour combinations, ready and waiting for a quiet moment while the kids sleep.

I have been cracking into the gingham stash.

Nice golds, oranges and browns in this one…