Simplicity 2654, Alma, Sorbetto, Ottobre....

Another great weekend was had by the girls and myself at the wonderful Sewjourn last month. And wow, so many amazing garments were made by everyone!

Here are some of the pieces that I completed.....

Simplicity 2654 High waisted Sailor style pants made with a really lovely light weight garberdine. It's hard getting used to the wide leg after living in skinny leg jeans for ages, but I must say I really love them. I've also made the shorts, but you'll have to wait for warmer weather for those!

with Ottobre long sleeve top (blue and white polka dot stretch,bow added). I love these tops and have made a few now; they're a great staple for the wardrobe.

 From left to right:

Sewaholic ALMA Blouse - cotton, butter yellow and white polka dots. I'm still not sure about this top yet, the darts are a bit weird on me. Also, the upper and under collar was a real pain to fit and sit properly. I think I prefer Simplicity 2599 for fit. I don't think I'll make this one again.

 

Colette Sorbetto top, Linen, not a big fan of this one - it's a free download from the Colette website and I used fabric from the stash so not really bothered. HUGE armholes. It was VERY short even for me.

It'll be good for summer though I guess. I won't make this again.

 

Butterick 3524 blouse made with cotton Darla fabric. This one I do like, I know come spring/summer that it will be worn a lot.

 I came home from the Spotlight sale this morning with a nice stash of new sewing patterns. All New Look patterns were only $3 and Simplicity $5 - you can't go wrong!

And this is one of the buttons I chose to finish off my Cynthia Rowley shirt dress I started at Sewjourn.

Actually, I finished it but decided when I came home that I did not like a lot of it so, I have chopped, taken in and re-hemmed too! I'll show you that one another day...

Kathryn. xx



Leave it to the Professionals.....

Recently, I bought this for an upcoming holiday.

Now that I've hit 40, I feel like I want to be a bit 'modest' when it comes to swimwear.

I'm sure a lot of you still have the confidence of youth and just bare it all, but as for me I just don't want everyone and sundry spying my orange peel......Plus, that whole pinup 1950's vibe is so up my alley.

 

Image courtesy of Red Dolly Swimwear on Etsy

The swimsuit I purchased is just amazing; Heather makes everything to order and it fits like a glove.

She even made the costumes for a Glee Episode, how cool is that! (see the second pic in the listing)

I was so in love with it that I wanted another, but the budget only stretches so far, so, I made a swimskirt to go with a tankini that I already have in black.

It is made from a scuba stretch from Lincraft.

But, there was no way I was going to model this for blogland!!! Ha ha.

 



I'll leave the swimsuit modelling to the pro's.

Kathryn. xx

Autumnal Dress...

  What do you all think of my Autumnal Dress?

I actually made this last year from my stash of 'Trees' fabric (remember this post?)

It has been the perfect dress to wear today, (it is actually a little warm) so it's a good opportunity to get it blogged!

It's the same pattern as the watercolour dress I made a few weeks ago.

 

 

I really like this style because it is so comfortable to wear and it covers all the lumps and bumps too.

 

 

And it's the simple things in life that make it easier.......a full length mirror in my sewing room!

Can you believe that I have been making clothes for years and have been trying them on and running back and forth between our Bedroom and the Sewing room! CRAZY! 

 

Kathryn. xx

Collared.....

I love a good fancy collar, it just adds 'something' to an outfit.

So I made a few; here are two that I finished yesterday.

 This one is a structured collar made from tracing a shirt collar in my wardrobe.....

This was by far the easier of the two, hard to believe but true.

And  a Peter Pan collar, this took me ages to get it to fit and sit just right.

This was the fourth attempt! It looks so easy but it was a real pain to get right.

Now that it fits just right I will be making a few more.

Kathryn. xx 

Well, what do you know.....

I actually did some sewing for the shop!

Kathryn xx

Watercolour Dress.....

Last week I walked into Spotlight wanting some wool blend suiting fabric for a cape I've had in mind for a while.

I didn't buy the wool fabric (not a very good range - unlike the vast range in the catalogue) but I did come out with the most amazing fabric I've seen in ages. It was stacked with the blue/beige end on show and when I pulled it out I was gobsmacked!!

So, 2 metres of fabric and a few hours of sewing I have a wonderful new dress to show for it.

The pattern is a vintage 'STYLE' pattern, I'm not even sure you can still buy this brand?

 It will be perfect for our Autumnal weather.

Very happy.

Kathryn. XX

Collars....and a wardobe

I am loving the trend towards collars at the moment, I find they finish off this Simplicity 2599 top so nicely.

It is a pity the pattern doesn't come with a collared version.

I had to make this one up myself, by using the facings as a guide.

And, I have added the sleeves this time too; which I love as they seem to sit better than adding binding around the armholes to finish off (and they cover up the chunky arms). 

 I have made this top so many times the pattern has well and truly paid for itself. You can see the other versions here, here and here.

 Master 12 chose this fabric when he was with me at Spotlight. He said "This is really cool, buy this". So I did and it has been one of my favourite tops lately. Good job Master 12!

 I mentioned in my last post that we were having our wardrobes finally fitted after 3 years and here they are!

I'm only showing my side which has a lot more hanging space than Mr OSC's side and a lot more room for shoes!

Voila! I keep pinching myself every time I walk in!

Kathryn. xx

Clearing out and Up-cycling.....

I'm having a HUGE clearout of my wardrobe (GASP!) because tomorrow we are finally having our fitted wardrobes installed in our Walk in Robe! I have been living out of those red, blue and white stripey bags for 3 years and am well and truly over it. I'm sure I won't know myself by tomorrow night, being able to see everything and put it in its place.

Anyway, whilst clearing out I came across my Burberry scarf that I bought on ebay years ago. When I bought it I thought it was an absolute bargain at 11 pounds, then when I opened the package I realised why......it had little moth holes through the middle which the seller neglected to disclose in the listing. Poop.

 I have been reluctant to wear it because of this so decided to do something a bit radical.......

I turned it into a cushion!!!  I cut out the middle, sewed it, stuffed it, et voila!

It will be a nice addition to our bedroom which is this shade of blue, how perfect is that!

What have you up-cycled lately?

Kathryn. xx

40's

 I need to change the profile on my sidebar .....I am no longer a 30's something gal.

Kathryn. xx

Fabric silhouette portraits DIY

Recently I was asked to do a set of fabric silhouette portraits for a wedding gift.

They are really easy to make yourself and I've made plenty for friends and family.

Here is a step by step 'HOW TO'

You will need:

black fabric, a contrasting backing fabric, canvas frame, vliesofix -applique paper, scissors, pencil, iron, staple gun, felt, glue and ribbon to hang

1. Take a close up photo of your subject, fully side on.

2.Print out your image at your desired size - this will depend on the size of your canvas.

3. tape your image to a window REVERSE side facing you.

4. Trace your image with the sticky side of the vliesofix facing the image.

5. Iron your image onto the wrong side of your black fabric.

6. Cut out your image; TIP: add little wisps of hair to add interest.

7. Iron your backing fabric then iron your image onto the backing fabric.

8. Hold your silhouette in place and staple to the reverse of the frame.

9. Cut a piece of felt to fit the back of your canvas, glue it on around the edges.

10. Add a hanger to the back; I stapled a length across the frame, tucking under the edges to prevent fraying.

So, there you are, easy peasy. What a great gift idea- perfect for Christmas too!

Kathryn. XX