Plaid Peek-a-Boo Party

The December challenge over at The Monthly Stitch was "The Party Dress" (I know we are just about half way through January and I'm just getting this to the blog!)

I did start a formal party dress, but I've got fit issues with the bodice that I have to fix, so instead I made a completely new dress, one that I could wear on Christmas Day ... because I always, always wear a new outfit on Christmas Day.  This was most definitely one of those sew like crazy projects that I started just two days before needing to travel.

Bring on a maxi summer!

Before the Christmas holiday season hit I'd been rabbiting on about the maxi dress being a must have this summer and I'd brought more than a little bit of fabric with a maxi dress in mind.  I'd been doing a lot of thinking and stashing and NO actual doie ... well that was until the Jamie Christina patterns went on sale.

I started by sewing up a muslin in some very cheap crinkle stretch cotton I picked up at the Fabric Warehouse summer sale for just $3 p/m.  I traced the pattern off starting with a size 8 in the bust and grading out to a size 12 at the waist and hips.  I made version A, adding 1.5" to the length.  The only change I made to the muslin was to pull the hips back to a size 10 so they weren't like wings!

RTW Fasting Firsts and Fails

I joined Goodbye Valentino this time last year for 12 months of ready to wear fasting.  This in itself has been amazing for my sewing.  It has made me push my boundaries and try new things and think about what is actually in my wardrobe instead of buying RTW on a whim.

So when Sarah put out the call for RWT Fasters for 2014 I didn't hesitate to take the commitment again.  Although I can't say that it has been any better for my bank balance - I would have spend more money on patterns and fabric in 2013 that I spent on RTW the year before, but hey I'm not complaining at all, I still get to indulge my shopping addiction!

Hello Chevron Ensis!

Did I tell you that I am in Love with Papercut Patterns - okay so moving right along then, let's talk about my Ensis Tee which I've made up in this fabulous cream and black chevron.

The top black pieces are NZ merino, a remnant piece from my stash and the bottom is a polyester knit, recently found on Trade Me (the NZ equivalent to EBay).  Yes, I did say polyester!  I've been looking for chevron knit fabric but NZ seem to be behind the rest of the world in realising that this is popular right now.  There are plenty of overseas online stores with great cotton knits but the shipping makes it really, really expensive for a knit fabric - so I've settled for a poly!

In saying that, the polyester hangs really nicely and just needed hemming with a double needle, which looks awesome btw!

I made a size xtra small and added 1" to the sleeve length, well actually to the cuff length.  I'm a bit of a fan of the deeper cuff :-)  Note to self for next time, add about 1/2" to the width of the cuff, which will still be a snug fit, but will be a little easier to attach to those pesky sleeve ends.

I like how the upper body and arms have a snug fit but through the body it's a little more free flowing.  I like how this pattern could also be sewn up in a double knit, perhaps a size bigger and be a great stylie sweater - version 1 with the bands lends itself that way, or you could add a bit of length and get a lovely tunic top.

My Papercut love includes:
Peter and the Wolf Pants
Circle Top 2 - Black
Circle Top 1 - Red

As always more photos on my Flickr -->

Hi Low Raglan

This was love at first sight!

This is the Hi Lo Raglan pattern from Jamie Christina.  The best part is that there was no waiting around to get this one made up:  download, tape together, fabric from stash and wolla a new top all in a day :-)

Two months, 38 hours and counting

Back in October I embarked on construction of My Little French Jacket and it has been a bit of a journey.  I started with a hiss and a roar and was ahead of the game, each week waiting anxiously for the next sew-along post to come out - but then came the sleeves and a pile of other sewing that I wanted to do.  So when I picked it up yesterday, determined to conquer the sleeves I realised that it had been three weeks since I did any work on it!  Just as well I was ahead of the game, because after successfully getting those sleeves in I'm back on track, yay!  So I thought I would share a bit about the journey so far ....

I chose this cotton boucle and silk lining - both purchased from The Fabric Store here in Wellington.

Muslin pieces all traced and thread traced.  I selected a pattern size according to my bust measurement and made the muslin without any adjustments.  The upper body of the muslin was a great fit, but I had to let out the princess seams in the front for my waist and hips.  Minor adjustments in the scheme of things.

Wolf in the Wardrobe

So, Papercut Patterns added this new feature to their website "Made by You" and all you have to do is add the hashtag #iheartpapercut to your instagram post and your pic appears on their website.  This is such a cool feature - especially for those of us who are in love with Papercut Patterns.   Anyways, getting to my point, my pic of my Circle Tops (red and black) got selected as a winner and I got to choose a free Papercut Pattern.

This was such a difficult decision, but in the end I chose the Peter & the Wolf Pants.

Floral - Summer - Wiggle

This cute little baby is my first ever full on floral dress (can you believe it!), and I am super in love with it.  Yay for the gorgeous summer days we've been having lately - no hanging around in the wardrobe for this dress.

As some of you might know I'm a little obsessed with Instagram atm and this wee obsession allowed me to be one of three lucky people to get a discounted 'end of stock' pattern from Blueginerdoll.  Abbey had rebranded all her pattern packaging and was looking to off-load the last of the 'old' Billie Jean patterns.

Oh to be like Jackie O!

This is the Brasilia Dress by House of Pinheiro.  A Jackie O inspired sheath dress that Rachel produced for the Fall for Cotton sew-along.

When I first saw Rachel's dress I thought it was to die for.  The inward darts at the bust are so unique - don't they just give the best shape to the dress.

Custom Made Bolero

I've made a few dresses lately and felt I was missing the one garment that would compliment them while keeping me warm as we transition through spring into summer.  Introducing the little black bolero!

This is a bit of a mis-mash of patterns.  First I started with the Sewaholic Renfrew which forms the base of the garment.  I reduced the length of the front and back pieces to 15.5" from base of neck to waist.  Then I took McCalls 5006 to shape the front,  which I had previously used to make THIS tie front cardie.  Lastly I used the band technique from the Papercut Patterns Circle Top I made HERE and HERE