Casual

I lead a pretty casual life.  Whilst this next project is not especially interesting, it does get plenty of wear. 

Denim shorts.

Pattern:  Marfy 0293 from the Spring-Summer 2007 catalogue.  I had to grade the pattern up, as the free pattern that came with the catalogue was not large enough for me.  The lovely thing about Marfy patterns is that they use a metric grade, so it is easy to grade up using any ruler that I can get my hands on in this house.

I added extra length.  This is an unusual length for me.  I have taken inspiration from the J.Crew's 5" chinos.  I did scoop out the front waist a little (which I don't think that I have marked on the pattern...note for next time!). 

Fabric:  Frankie B.  stretch denim from EmmaOneSock.  I am not familiar with Frankie B.; however, the denim does seem to be good quality.  This one has an almost purplish tinge to it.  I made these shorts last year, but I wanted to see how the denim washed and wore before I showed you. 

I deliberately kept details to a minimum, as this seems to be the current fashion.  The only decoration is silver rivets on the pockets. 

I have stitched a simple design onto the back pockets.  It is hard to see in this photo...it doesn't especially stand out in real life either, but that is what I wanted.

Missoni Many Ways

Have you met Passiona over at Le Coutureve?   She makes some pretty groovy stuff, and not even just for herself.  One of my favourite projects of hers was the outfit she made for her Nanna.  One of my daydreams has been to sew something fabulous for someone that the fashion world may have overlooked...she didn't just dream it, she got on and did it.  Most inspirational. 

Well, Passiona had a super-generous give-away and I ended up with a piece of Missoni.  Gorgeous fabric, but being a gift, I felt a little pressure to do something worthwhile with the fabric.  This pressure meant that it took me a long time to decide what to make.

My first thought, as with almost any knit print, was to make a boxy sort of boat neck top.

Then I remembered some cute looking summery missoni tank styles I had seen. 

However, I couldn't walk away from the idea of a V-neck; it would be pretty groovy with all those zig-zags.

One of my most favourite Missoni garments is the dress captured by the sartorialist.  I could make a dress, albeit a very short one.  Could be cute, poolside, over a bikini.

Passiona made a dress  I could channel her grown-up look with a simple skirt.

By then, it became a challenge too see how many looks I could create from one garment.  A simple shrug turned out to be very useful when I headed south for the silly season.

A plain scarf. (An aside: my white pants, that I love, keep shrinking, every wash.  Now they are too small and too short.  Grrrrrr.  I have worn them for this photo shoot, as I have not had the chance to sew a replacement.)

More of a jabot.

I was pretty stoked the day I realised that I could also wear it as pants.  Not that I am likely to, but I could, if I had some sort of hippie event to attend.

A short cardigan is a possibility.

A poncho perhaps?  The zig-zags go down on this one, for a little variety.

A one shoulder top, with or without a strap.

That was all that I remembered to photograph today, but I found some earlier photos that I took when I was making it, so I could remember some possibilities.  Top with folded neckline.

A cowly sort of scarf.

A head scarf.

A vest.

An overskirt.

So how is all this possible in a single garment?  Two rectangles.  I cut the fabric into two equal pieces.

Across the top I sewed interfaced bias strips and hand stitched large snaps to the strips.

Along the sides I attached hand-made snap tape.  The top strips and the snap tape were sewn down by hand, so as not to create a line on the other side of the garment.  It was a tad tricky working out where to put the male and female snaps, for the best looking garments.

The snap tape was made using this press (although yesterday I saw that Lincraft sells snap tape in white and black).

The straps were quilted layers of linen, with hand sewn snaps at the ends.

I have kept one strap long.  It sits inside the garment when worn as a dress.  I have kept it long as I have not given up the idea of creating new looks with a long strap.

These outfits have all been snapped symmetrically.  Imagine the possibilities when I start mis-matching snaps!

 As you can see, I've had a lot of fun with this project.  Whilst none of the looks may be as perfect as a single garment may have been, they are mostly very wearable.  I wore this garment at least 4 different ways during my Christmas down south...as a shrug, a skirt, the cowl necked tank and the V-neck top (my favourite look).

Doorstops

Sewing clothes is my passion, but every now and then a bit of home dec is necessary.  I have just moved house, so this year I might have to do a bit more housey stuff and a bit less garment sewing.  Not to mention the fact that the wardrobe in my new house is too small for the clothes I already own. 

The first completed sewing project for the new year, in my new house, is a set of owl doorstops.  Pretty cute, hey?  Though, their resemblence to owls is a little tenuous.

I copied the owls from Hammer & Thread.  I didn't use her downloadable pattern, because I was out of printer paper, I just hand-drew a copy, so my version may not be an accurate rendition of the original.  I chose this pattern because it had the tail piece, which I thought would be useful because I wanted the owl to stand up and stop doors.  I used sand rather than rice or beans to fill the doorstops, because they will be used on French doors that open onto a verandah and may sometimes get wet.  Only the sand is pretty heavy, which I think distorts the tail somewhat, and maybe the tail piece is a little too wide, because the side-on view shows them to look more like chooks than owls.

These are for my daughter's room.  My son has requested a turtle doorstop.  I may have to sew a few garments first.

False Eyelashes II

So, these ones may have been just a little over-the-top!  I wore them to a really, big Christmas party.  The theme of the party was "The Greatest Show on Earth" with Burlesque entertainers wandering around, a freak show (which I didn't watch) and cabaret shows, so I think it was the right occasion to try them out.

I did have a 15 minute walk to the party.  It was windy, so I had to walk with my hands shielding my eyes to protect the eyelashes.  Which is perhaps why one fell off during the evening.  Next time I'll have to keep the eyelash glue in my handbag.

The dress was first blogged here.

False Eyelashes

My friends are often surprised when I don't sew a new dress for special occasions.  New dresses are fun, but it does seem a bit consumeristic to only wear them once or twice.   This year, I decided to add some sparkle to my Christmas outfits with my new, favourite accessory instead...false eyelashes. 

My local chemist has just started stocking the Napoleon Perdis range.  I thought that these green eyelashes were very Christmas-y.

Gotta love the self-portrait taken by holding the camera with outstretched arms and clicking.

This dress was first blogged about here.

You will want to sew this for summer because...

Is it summer where you are?  I was woken this morning by a tropical downpour.  I love to stand on my verandah, at the edge of the rain, looking out, feeling the cooled air.  It will get hot very early.  This time of year I am in and out of my swimmers several times a day.  I used to be a one-piece girl, but the practicality of a bikini has won me over.   

Over at my other blog - The Strawberry Milk Run - I have published a pattern and tutorials for a colour block bikini.  The pattern is free.  The links are at the bottom of this post.

Sewing a bikini is probably easier than you think.  You don't need a fancy machine, just one that does a zig-zag stitch.  You may need to change your needle to a stretch needle, but that is all. And think of the positives - once you can sew your own bikini, you will never need to go swimwear shopping again!

The hardest part will be choosing your colour combinations.  Turquoise, watermelon & sunshine yellow would be very summery.  If you are more of a bronzed beach goddess, you could combine different metallics together.  Prefer something more classic?  How about black, white & black?  I have gone with peach, copper and jade.

Get all the posts

• The pattern #12011
• The pattern instructions
• Tutorial to assemble the pieces
• Tutorial to make straps
• Tutorial to make the halter top
• Tutorial to make the bottoms
  

So go on, sew your own bikini!  And if you do,I would love to hear how it went.

Screamin' Summer Spearmint Shorts

Don'tcha just love the colour of these shorts?  Don't they just scream out SUMMER.  I purchased this fabric with view to make a Spring pencil skirt, but I am forever ducking out to the washing to fetch my Marfy linen shorts, so I thought a repeat pair was in order.  In magazine speak, they would say that these shorts were "on high rotation".

This is a new colour for me, so I have been pairing it with all sorts from my wardrobe.  Which is your favourite look?  Early opinions will be heeded as I love these shorts so much that I am thinking of wearing them to the kid's Christmas concert tonight instead of a dress.

Starting with Christmas colours, just because that is the top I was wearing today. 

Next in jewel tones.  This Vogue blouse does not seem to have featured on my blog previously.  I made it before I started blogging from a stretch silk georgette. 

Perhaps with neutrals.  I did not make this top; it was a gift from hubby.  It has a lovely neckline edge.

More casual with a t-shirt.

A beachy look with my Tessuti fave top and a tote.  I did make this tote out of Japanese cottons but have never got around to blogging about it.  I actually made 2 of them and donated one to the school to be raffled off.  I am moving house soon and my new neighbour was the recipient of the raffle prize.  I wonder if she thinks it was a unique one-off.  Do you think I will be able to keep using my bag.  Ah, the dilemmas of living in a small town.  Incidentally, the necklace in this photo is the first piece of jewelry that I ever bought myself.  I never dressed up much as a teenage, never wore make-up, never wore jewelry.  This frog caught my heart though.

Perhaps less colour?

Looking back at those photos, I think that the longer length tops are more flattering than the waist length ones.

Anyway, some sewing details.

The fabric is a linen from EmmaOneSock, still available.   The description calls it a tie dye.  It was more uneven in colouring than I realised until I sewed it up.  Look at the photo below.  I am considering this "charm" rather than a defect.

The pattern is Marfy 1668, reviewed previously here.  I did modify the waistband to be a contoured band this time around.

I worked hard on not getting the inside of the front waistband to peek out (which is a problem that has been annoying me for years), using a method described on fashion incubator (method is for collars, but I adapted it to waistbands).  I may have exaggerated the effect a little, but it has worked.  The underlap still peeks out over the top, so I will have to work out how to prevent that in future.

Notice how neatly I have sewn the hook and eye?  I have had plenty of practice lately, on a very exciting project that I will reveal shortly.

And finally, a photo to remind me how I blind stitched the cuff up.  In all the times that I have sewn cuffs, I could never work this out.  Now that I have, I want to remember.