Doesn't Scotty scrub up well after a shower. Here he is in his new wiggles PJs. I traced the shirt from Otto 2/03 (just a basic collared shirt) and the pants are just some elastic waisted ones in his size.
I can't believe I spent $6 on a zipper. The zipper is a non-chunky, open ended zipper. Oh course, I only found out the price after I had paid for it. There was no prices on the stand. And the hoodie looks like I sewed the zipper in the dark. It kept sliding on the velour, and despite unpicking both sides twice, looks just as bad as my first application

Hoodie pattern is Kwik Sew 2993. Pants are from Burda. I morphed the wide curved waistband I like onto a straight leg pattern (#113 from 8/2003). I can't say good enough things about Burda pants. They rock. They are true to size - I have overlayed all my Burda pants patterns and while they have different with legs and waistband, they are all the same crotch curve and seams over the hips.

I have always steered clear of straight leg pants patterns. No sure why since I wear straight legged, thrifted jeans. Time to step out of my comfort zone and try some tighter clothing. I used up some black pinwale cord that I had in the stash. Usually I don't add back pockets, but I wanted to avoide the Long Butt look. I did have to take the sides seams in by 3cm on each side, so the pockets are not where I thought they would be (got moved in the process).

They are really comfy - perfect for me.

Now for some Mum photos. DH took the tyres off his project (yep, we still have the truck in our yard. Yes, I think we are percieved as bogans in our area). Anyway, Scotty declared he had put the tyre back on...how cute.

And one of the girl, just because she is adorable.

Goodies for the kids

Firstly, some simple tees for the boy. The fabric is french terry, dyed by moi. I used a raglan and a regular long sleeved tee pattern from Ottobre. I made these three plus another blue one the other week.

I cut out this tee as part of an outfit for Jalisa. However, I am not totally happy with it so I may end up finding some other fabric to use to match the skirt (which I haven't sewn yet). The body is an Ottobre basic tee pattern. For the sleeves I used a puff sleeve pattern but cut it at full length. It looked terrible so I used some shirring elastic to tighten things up. Here is a good outfit that I have made for Jalisa. The pleasted skirt is # 14 from Ottobre 4/07 and the knit top is "Kaisa" from Ottobre 1/09. I always seem to chose the simplest styles from Ottobre. This is probably no accident. I am too lazy to sew complicated outfits and I prefer simple colours and patterns over Euro for my kids (although I love to see Euro outfits made up).
The boucle in the skirt was picked up in the remnant bin for $2 a metre and with a red bolero already purchased in the January sales, the only suitable colour for a top was black. I had a small remnant of some rayon elastane left over from a skirt a few years ago. Perfect.

I love basics

I do prefer simple styles, particularly in Winter when I need a bazillion layers. I am on a mission to sew stuff that I can wear under all the winter woolies that I have already, that can also be worn on their own when it gets warm (during the same day, gotta love the weather here).

So I present, the off white tee
Hmm, a little see through. Very comfy and totally me.

Next up, more Fly Zipper pants, in a grey pinstripe. My assistant insisted on being there.

This is the pants with the tee that I made today. I just used my TNT tee patterns and added a row of shirring elastic to create a ruching effect like some It worked okay. The sleeve on a hanger looks like a longer version of the Anthro tee but on me the ruching is lost because it is a little tight. I think I need a teeny bit more ease for it to look better on me.
I also made this jumper for me today. The fabric is acrylic and I was expecting a struggle but it was really nice to sew with. I used Kwik Sew 2874, basically a raglan with flared sleeves. I have decided I don't like raglans on me, I get this pleat of fabric happening under the arms but I like the sleeve shape so that was enough for me to give it a go.

Jumping for joy

I did a fly zipper! I have been sewing for a long time but, being lazy, I rarely try new things or new patterns. This year I challenged myself to sew 12 new patterns for myself. I think this is about 6 or 7 (the pleated blouse was a dud and I never quite completed it). Carolyn's challenge for this month is zippers, but I am pretty good at zippers, well the invisible ones. Having read Debbie Cook's fly tutorial, I was less scared of the scary fly. I even found a pattern like my go-to pants pattern but with a fly zipper. The pattern is # 107A from Burda 1/2006. The pattern even had front pockets, which I avoided in the past.

I found that with the fabric I was using, the pattern was much to wide. I had to take it in 1cm on each seam. Debbie's tute was amazing and i had a great looking zipper done in a flash. However, I was a little stumped with how to apply the facing. Burda's directions read like gobbledeeguck, my sewing reference books only seemed to address fly fronts with waistbands and so my first attempt was extremely slapdash. After a quicck search (online of course) I found a fantastic tutorial. I had to unpick the edgestitching and topstiching, as well the some of the seam and understitching but the results are much, much better than before. Still room for improvement on the inside, but there are not horrible threads sticking out.

See how nice the inside can be. My version had a wedge shaped out and the threads showing. Ick.

Look out for some more versions soon.

Cardigans

The other day I was in the mood to sew, but wanted something simple that wouldn’t require me to change colours on my overlocker. I was feeling lazy, nothing new. Anyway, I found this glittery silver grey knit and thought it would make a really cute cardigan. Now, I have had Kwik Sew 2759 in my pattern collection for a long time, I have even traced it in different sizes as I grew older and fatter. But I can’t recall having actually made it up. I love wearing cardigans with the SE QLD weather – autumn days means freezing in the morning and really warm during the day. Anyway, I chose view C, which as a binding around the neck and front edges. There are no buttons on my version, simply because of the laze factor and I usually don’t use the buttons anyhow.

I have had this knit top since I was pregnant with Scott. I actually used a Kwik Sew outerwear pattern but I used a lightweight wool-type jersey. This is a terrific green colour and I used a matching thread on my sewing machine, but I must have run out of ideas for a hem finish because I just left it as is. While I had my cardi pattern out, I thought I might as well reconstruct it into something that I can wear now. There was plenty of fabric to use, but not enough for a band. Not that I needed a band, as the pattern gives an option to finish with lingerie elastic, but I just like the look of the band more.
I left the sleeves a little fuller than the pattern, as it was already sewn up anyway. I did not have enough for long sleeves but I think the shorter sleeves suit the weight of the fabric anyway. I knew straight away that I would be using black picot elastic – that was the colour I had in my overlocker. I even found the elastic in my picot elastic stash. I haven’t used this colour before because I have only really used it for Jalisa (and therefore not in need of black yet).
I chose not to interface/add buttons. I rarely button my cardigans up and I just wanted a quick project. If I did it again, I would cut the sleeves with the right width. It is a little full and my coverstitch machine hates sewing picot edged hems in the round.

Yes, we do have a pink truck parked in our yard. I hate having it there - it makes up the bogans of the street. DH won't even park it behind the shed anymore because it got bogged. Anyway, I thought it might make a nice backdrop.

Pink boucle coat for Jalisa

Jalisa chose a pink boucle fabric for her Winter Coat this year. Since it is not exactly a warm fabric, I interlined it with a cream flannelette. It is lined with a white and silver cotton. Pattern is from Ottobre
The fit is is okay - it will fit all her layers under it so that is the main thing.

This is a close up of the fabric and the buttons. These are the most expensive buttons I have ever used.

Rainbow dress

This is my entry for a wearable art category at the local show. I had so much fun making quilts last year that I thought it would be equally fun to make a crazy patchwork outfit.
Fabrics are hand dyed using various techniques (swirl dyed, low water immersion, dye bath). I cut the fabric into strips and sewed them together onto calico.

The pattern is Burda - a princess, A-line strapless dress. The ribbon is actually some stripped that I pinned together. It was windy and it was floating around. I think I want to sew a few of the left over together to make some type of scarf/drape as part of the entry.

I forgot to get a photo of the lining - it is hand dyed as well, a lovely shade of green.

Purple dress with applique

Okay, jumping the gun again because I still have 20cm or so of the lining to hand sew, but I don't care.

This dress started off as Burda WOF #107 from 12/04 - a princess-line, raglan sleeved evening gown that I thought would work for the creative piece that I had in mind As I sewed up the purple sateen (gorgeous fabric to work with BTW) I hit a snag. The dress looked terrible on me. It did not sit right and it was these wing things happening from the dart at the top of the sleeve (did not make how much I blended, and shaped and coaxed, the apex kept jutting off my arm and it looked terrible.

After having a big sulk about my wadder, and having a big whinge at DH who was just tryinng to enjoy the Easter weekend, I began to compare the pattern pieces with other Burda dresses that i have have traced. I discovered another dress was almost identical in the skirt, and I had enough fabric to recut another bodice.

This dress is going to be entered into a creative dressmaking category for the local show. It was a little ambitious seeing that I am not particularly arty or creative and I wasn't sure if dyeing was what they had in mind (exammples given include smocking and embroidery). I would have like to try reverse applique a la Alabama Chanin but that is better suited to stretch knits. I appliqued the flower with satin stitching.

Sewing ADD

I had a mini tracing/cutting frenzy on Sunday. I had been meaning to trace some hoodies for Scott but always found something else to do. Anyway, here are some of the results.

This one is Kwik Sew for Toddlers (the newer version). I thought the grey marle needed a little jazzing up, so appliqued his name on the front in the same fabric.
This is an Ottobre hoodie ( #9 from 4/09). Has my fave curved raglan sleeves and is reversible. The pattern is meant as a top but I have used Polar fleece on one side so it is more of a jumper.

This is KSFT again, the jacket option. I lined the body but did not have enough fabric to do the hood. I still have to add the snaps and sew the hems shut, but I felt like snapping a picture anyway.

Here is Jalisa's coat. So far I have finished sewing the outer shell. I have to buy the lining fabric before I can progress. It has come along beautifully, as most Otto patterns do.

This is an inner shot, to see the flannelette interlining. The pattern has you press the seams to the centre and topstitch, but I have pressed them open to reduce bulk and topstitched on both sides of the seam. Hard for me to capture but the seams are nicely highlighted with doing it this way.

This is Jalisa trying it on. Good thing her face is not clear - she has jam all around her mouth. The sleeves are a little long but some of the length will be taken up with turning the sleeves in with the lining.

Here is another work in progress. This is my wearable art dress for the show. I only have to understitch the top seam and hem it. All the fabric is hand dyed. I am not sure how I feel about the results. It was supposed to be random and crazy but I am still not sure I got it close to right. I will still enter it at any rate - a lot of hours went into this baby. When it is completely finished, I will do a modelling shot. This is my first strapless dress and I actually don't mind wearing it.

Whoops, I traced the pattern incorrectly and it is missing a zipper. Yay, it still fits (even if it is a tight squeeze to get on)

Whoops, there is a huge smudge on the camera lens. Yay, this is my own draft of a peasant to so that I don't need a zipper.

The only thing I have left on this blouse is the buttonholes and buttons. But the top is so unflattering. The sleeves are supposed to be puffy and they are, slightly. And the pleats make it look maternity. I am not happy with the collar style on me. The pattern itself looks fab. Maybe I can save it. I need help.

Yay - some undies that fit DD. Traced off a RTW pair, I added more height and the waist and bound the seams. They fits wonderfully well.

There is not picture of the whoops vintage style undies that could be mistaken for a parachute.