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For the first time in my life I’m flying to the other half of the world. I’m going on holiday to Miami! And boy, do I look forward to that! I’ll be arriving there June 3rd and am staying for almost 2 weeks. Now, ofcourse, I must be checking out some cool vintage stores and markets. And what about great fabric stores? Recommendations anyone?

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A few weeks ago I was asked to be a pattern tester for a new indie pattern company that Abby was starting called Blue Ginger Doll. I received a lovely big package in the post a few weeks later that turned out to be the pattern for Abby’s first dress, the Billie Jean.

It was a truly lovely pattern to work with. I made version 2 of the dress but made the skirt less full. My version is made from a light cotton black and white polka dot fabric and is lined in the same fabric.

If you would like to read a little more about the dress and the pattern I’ve written a bit more on my blog

xx

Jen

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This past weekend our friends got married in a gorgeous little ceremony on the Gold Coast.  When the wedding invitation first arrived I decided I would make myself a dress to wear.  I spent a while searching for inspiration and after getting some advice on twitter about where to get some nice red lace I picked up some gorgeous lace with a scalloped design from Darn Cheap Fabrics.  Now before I go on I must say the ladies from Darn Cheap were a massive help.  I had multiple emails with two lovely ladies and they sent me swatches of all the laces they had in stock.  Once I had decided I ordered via email and my fabric arrived the very next day.  Now I am not getting paid to say this I just love finding a great shop with affordable fabric and great service!  Now onto the dress….

The dress is a hybrid of two patterns.  The bodice is from vintage Simplicity 5343 and the skirt and sleeves came from New Look 6723.  I had used this bodice before when making my sewing dare dress and I knew that it fit well so I decided to use it again rather than having to fit the bodice from the New Look pattern.  Also, the new look bodice has princess seams and I didn’t feel like trying to match the lace on those seams.  As the skirt was partially gathered it was really easy to match it up to the alternate bodice.  I also lengthened the skirt pattern a little bit.

The dress is lined in a red cotton poplin.  After cutting all the pattern pieces I hand basted the lining and lace together and worked through construction as if they were one piece of fabric.  I took a lot of time on this one to make sure the insides were just as neat as the outside.  I’m pretty happy with how it all turned out!  I used bias binding the hem the lining and for the neckline.  The perfect finishing touch was the hand picked zipper which I finished sewing in at 9pm Friday night.  I am so happy with how this dress turned out and that I managed to get it finished in time.  For my first time working with lace I think I did pretty well!

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 A little over a year ago, I posted here about some fabric and patterns I found thrifting. A few days ago, upon receipt of the final part I needed to get my lovely 221-1 Centennial Featherweight actually sewing, I decided to put that fabric to some good use. (Why can’t I un-bold this? Aw, that’s ok! It looks important this way!)

This is the pic I posted here in January of 2012, when I found three yards of this fab vintage Fun-Shus athletic themed cotton.

I chose to mate it with this pattern, thrifted within the last few months.

And, I made it up on this pretty, thrifted long distance, which hums like a bee. I acquired it last month, and I spent several hours bringing it back to life, as it was all but seized and missing a few parts.

And I came up with this…

Don’t fear the shoulder pad, my dears. And can I just say it? I love a wing-y collar. I do!

Innards. Collar and button placket interfaced with an old cotton bed sheet. Edges serged. A fair amount of hand-stitching. Me-made shoulder pads using Casey’s tutorial.

I have a few more pics over at my blog, and the usual rambling that only sounds drunken. Stop by any time.

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After my favorite pair of store-bought cigarette-style pants had too many mends to be functional anymore, I decided I needed to bite the bullet and sew my very first pair of pants. When Gertie released a pattern for high-waisted capris through Butterick, I knew I had found what I was looking for!

How I Knew Fit Would Be… Interesting

Following the method outlined in Fit for Real People, I had created a “body graph” that helped me map my body and compare it to the big pattern companies. Much to my surprise, I discovered my left leg was chubbier than my right!

My body graph.

Once I did my muslin, I immediately could see excess fabric on my right leg. Thanks to the body graph, I knew why so I could fix it!

Learn more about the body graph method and how it impacts how I fit. I also have written a limerick in ode to Chubs, my left leg that’s a 1/4 of an inch bigger!

The Finished Product 

Here’s my pants, in all their glory!

Butterick 5895

I also sewed a 1950s blouse, Simpicity 2195, with some reproduction feedback cotton. I think it looks pretty smashing with the pants.

Simplicity 2195

Take a gander at the full outfit together.

Now I can say I have conquered pants! I liked the pattern so much I went out and bought fabric in denim for summer and a plaid wool for winter, so I’ll be making these lovelies again soon. Happy sewing!

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Hello Happy Sewers! I’m here today with my Chardon skirt, a contemporary pattern, made using vintage fabric and trim. I estimate both the fabric and the trim to date from the late 1960′s/early 1970′s.

This was my first experiment with attaching a trimmed border to fabric. I stitched inside the perimeter of the bottom and used a straight line of stitching towards the top. I have no idea whether this is an acceptable means of securing trim, but it gets the job done. Do you have experience with trims? What is your preferred method for applying it? I’d love to hear your suggestions. There are more pictures and details on my blog. See you soon!

XOXO,

Michelle

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