Autumn Zebra

I got some fabric from my favourite seller on TradeMe, with the intention mostly of using it for crafty things like bags, because sometimes it just doesn't work making clothes out of "fun" fabrics. I asked Mum which she liked, so that when I got round to making bags, I could whip one up for her too. Then, it was a couple of days before her birthday so I thought I'd make it to put her presents in. I started out trying to make a pattern from what I remembered of a bag I saw on the internet, but it wasn't working, and it didn't really seem actually possible. I booted up my computer and went and actually looked at her bag, and it was in fact different from what I had been trying to make. So the pattern for THAT bag, was obvious, and what I was trying to do had in fact been impossible after all. I try to make a lot of impossible things. It's annoying. I need a different type of material to make stuff out of. Anyway, the site in question is this one . I basicall...

Since Christmas was about 6 months ago now, I thought maybe I should get round to posting something about it. I made lots of presents for people. I made my brother a hoodie, but like everything I make it turned out way too big; it was supposed to be over-sized, but it ended up huge. I haven't seen him wear it :( I pretty much copied the pattern from one of G's hoodies, just took the measurements and made the pattern. We made a zip-front hoodie in the industrial sewing class I made, so I know the general idea how to make one, and I copied the little triangle of ribbing from the commercial one - I quite like that feature, it adds stretch at the neck so you don't damage that section messing with the hood etc. I'm pretty sure I used tape on the shoulder seams, and maybe the hood-neck seam, to stop stretching . How to use tape on shoulder seams: get some non-stretchy woven tape and cut to correct shoulder seam length. Pin it to/lay it on (as per your normal sewing practise) ...

Part 1 of this skirt is here . I actually finished this ages ago but didn't post it. This is the kind of skirt that strangers comment on. Since it doesn't look that awesome in the photos, I assume it looks a lot better when it's on, probably when moving. The orange fabric is quite thin and light, so it doesn't end up weighing too much. People, adults and children, seem to find it worrying that it drags on the ground when I go down stairs or slopes, but I mainly only mind when I'm trying to go up and I keep stepping on it, and it's hard to hold up because even if you hold it up in one or two places, there is still enough skirt to get in the way down by one's feet. Finished skirt, with one side tucked into waist-band: Both sides held up: Small details - the skirt is hemmed by sewing a strip of fabric onto the hem-edge, folding it to the back and sewing it down and then sewing a wiggly line around too, for decoration and to hold the strip in place and...

3 little sewing machines, all in a row. The centre one is my good sewing machine, the Bernina 840 which was unfortunately not going properly so the sewing machine man is coming tomorrow, and hopefully he only needs to clean it or something... :( It's good. I hope it gets better. The one on the left is Mum's Globe which I am using instead of the Bernina, and which I borrowed before I got the Bernina. It's pretty good. It's quite heavy - that's how you can tell it's good. If I've got my companies right, then it is actually a copy of a Bernina. The one on the right is my first one and is the worst sewing machine ever, which is why I eventually borrowed Mum's. Not only is it terrible, but you actually feel insulted when you use it. It was the cheapest one available though, but I wouldn't really recommend it to anyone as unless they are very enthusiastic it will not help them to enjoy or improve at sewing. I use it to do button holes as I don't know h...

I have spent a MILLION YEARS in the last day trying to work out how this works and finally, with the help of this almost identical picture and set of instructions, I have it. Simple really. If only they'd put a single word on their diagram indicating which side of the fabric we are looking at, it would have been a lot simpler. We're looking at it from the back/inside, ok people? In the second picture on the second link we've turned it around and we're now looking at it from the outside of the garment. With this enormous revelation, I can now go on and learn about the other types of plackets and methods of attaching fastenings, which were equally incomprehensible before. The links both go to pages on VintageSewing.info which has reproductions of sewing books from 1890 to the 1950s, including stuff on millinery and glove-making, so should be very useful - providing one can work out what it's trying to say.

A friend of mine was crazy enough to decide that I should make her her formal dress. ;) It used this Butterick pattern . In many ways it was a pain - it uses annoying slippery satin material (crepe-back satin), the instructions do not necessarily tell you the best way to do it (I followed them because I thought they might be right, but I had to make some adjustments afterwards), I used plastic boning stuff as recommened. I thought the plastic boning - although not suitable for corsets as everyone knows - might be ok for the purpose for which it is intended and recommended - close-fitting strapless tops. It is not, it is pretty terrible. I wouldn't recommend it. Anyway, in the end she liked it, and it was not too awful, but there are many things that I wish were different or better, if only I had known. At some point I may have pictures of her in it, but for now I have pictures on the mannequin. Not all were taken when it was actually finished and aren't in order in that respec...

People often ask this question, and I don't really have any idea. I'm hoping to remember to keep track of the time it takes to make the next one. The current one took 6 weeks of almost all of my free time however, which is most of the time not used up by working, making and eating dinner, going out for lunch on Saturday and visiting my parents for Sunday lunch. The corset took half of the 6 weeks. After I finished that I spent 1 day of a weekend playing computer games instead :) The chemise and the bustle pad took one evening each (3-4 hours). Stuff to do with hats took one weekend I suppose, because most of it didn't work out and there was a lot of mucking about. So not that long. But I didn't do much else. Theoretically without having to make the underwear again, it would only take 2-3 weeks to make another outfit, but for some reason that doesn't seem very likely. You can get a lot done in an evening of about 3 hours though.

Today I talk about how I made the fastenings for the zupan coat. I wanted to make the fastenings and trim decoration in the style of couching and cord and frogging. So that is how this came about. It is somewhat Polish-ish. Here is the finished picture of the pair so you know what we are talking about. I can't remember what they are called, so they are now the loop and the bobble. First, choose some cord. If you live round here, there are not many choices, and all the choices are cheap and nasty and only have the (gold) coloured thread on the surface and underneath is white. This means that any threads that get pushed aside and any fraying that happens will reveal ugly white which makes mistakes really a lot more obvious. Step 1 Measure your cord. First you'll actually want to play around with it and work out how much you need for the size you want. Bobbles need 2-3 cm (~1") more than loops, depending on the thickness of the cord, how many knots you tie, etc. I think mine...

Someone I know who just started reading my blog said that it was really interesting, although she had only browsed it so far. I think that second comment is probably the explanation for the first ;) Some other friends read it regularly. I find that amazing. Who would have thought? Of course, I read theirs regularly too so I suppose it makes sense. Anyway, the person who said it was really interesting just made their first skirt (awwww) so that is pretty awesome and congratulations to them. I haven't seen it yet, but they are going to wear it on Friday so it can't be too bad. If you can, and would, wear it, it is a success I feel. So anyone else who is too afraid to sew, you should just give it a go . The patterns tend to provide a few instructions, and there are some good general sewing books around, even on Trademe or Ebay and in second-hand shops (cos it doesn't really matter how old it is). The books won't help much though until you give it a go and discover what yo...