Introducing my machine, Betty.

I'm always really interested to see other people's sewing machines and the space where they sew so I thought it was about time I introduced everyone to my machine, Betty.

I inherited Betty from my mother-in-law, also Betty (although I always called the MiL Elizabeth as I she told me once that's what she prefers). Betty (the machine) is an Elna 6003 and I'm pretty sure she is a quilting machine, which makes sense as Betty (the mother-in-law) was a quilter. There are SO many stitches on this machine, lord only knows what they all do. So far I've used the straight stitch and the zigzag stitch. That's it...

As a newbie sewist my FAVOURITE feature of this machine is the tortoise vs the hare function. Often my stitching goes all skewiff and I'm 100% sure that is because I'm going too fast. Lately I've been slowing things down (A LOT) and have been making a whole lot less mistakes which means less time on the quick-unpicker.

And this is where I sew...at the dining room table. Luckily we usually eat on the sofa in front of the TV (yeah I know, naughty) so it's not very often I have to clean off the space. My machine has a prime view of the TV so I often sew with the TV as background "entertainment". Probably not good sewing practice but it keeps the husband happy and drowns out the sound of the machine for him. Win:win!

Where do you sew? Do you have a dedicated sewing room (my dream) or do you have to hijack space within your house too?

2014 in review

I wasn't going to do a 2014 retrospective post but then I got to reading those of everyone else and felt left out. Not wanting to be left behind I am jumping on the bandwagon...read on if you can stand it!

When I starting looking through my photos I was pretty surprised to see that I've made 32 garments this year (one Mabel skirt not yet blogged as I only completed it yesterday and I kinda hate it). There were also quite a few toiles started but never finished as it was clear they were going to fall into the "epic fail" category.

Whilst I find the sewing of the garments fairly easy (machine "issues" aside) as I don't sew anything technically difficult  I don't actually wear a lot of my me-made stuff. I love my Ginger Skirt for example (my one and only zipper for 2014) but I've never worn it. I'm not sure why...perhaps I do prefer a stretchy waistband. I feel like my sewing isn't good enough yet to take my makes from looking homey to "proper clothes" so they never see the light of day.

I started the year off with a successful garment (my daisy Party Peplum dress) and finished it on a good note too (with my flowery Myrtle dress). Although my first Party Peplum dress fit it seems every one I made after that was too big...and the final onebeing too small. I like this dress pattern so I plan to go back to it this in anticipation of the arrival of my #pineapplesAreSoHotRightNow fabric.

I made three Gainline Tiny Pocket Tanks though I've only kept one of them, though I've never worn it.  I plan to give this pattern another crack soon as I have some fabric from Malaysia that I think would work well with it...and the pattern fits, sort of.

Speaking of fit, my main sewing woes continue to be sewing garments only to find the pattern is too small for me. It was nevertheless a momentous occasion when I attended a class as Tessuti and walked away with a Mandy Boat Tee that fit (thanks to some pattern adjustments by teacher, Silva). I promptly went home and sewed another one...lowering the neckline to make it more comfy.  Whilst I don't have the first Mandy Boat Tee anymore (too long and the neckline too high) I still have the yellow + white version in my cupboard. It needs to be restiched in some places but I do love it so!

The Coco Dress turned out to be a winner for me, despite to fuglier than fugly toiles. I have made up two winter versions (that I love) and a summer version too (that I am on the fence about as I think the hem band takes it into Nana territory). I have plans to make two more of these for winter 2015.

Another winner (despite a sewing disaster yesterday thanks to my machine) is the Mabel Skirt. Super easy to make and easy to wear. I feel like I could bust out a million of these but need to reign it in as I already have many many RTW skirts just like this in the cupboard that don't get a lot of wear (as I tend to favour dresses...A LOT)! I love my first one the most...

My first pair of Anita Ponti Pants had me nearly in tears. Three broken needles, a broken spirit and a pair of pants that didn't fit is enough to nearly break anyone. I felt like giving up sewing after this...especially as EVERYONE seemed to rave about how great these pants were...how easy they were to sew, and how well they fit. Yeah, right - that only works if you don't have an arse bigger than Kim Kardashians! Six months later I enrolled in a pants pattern alteration class at Tessuti and walked about with a BIZARRE looking paper pattern but a pair of pants that fit...huzzah!

Although I'm yet to make a "great" Casual Lady Dress I'm well on my way (here and here). I'm thinking my next version will be out of Ponti, emulating the version made by Emma from Ernest Flagg.

Part of the journey in 2014 for me has been searching for patterns that fit and I feel like I'm starting to get some success with that (Myrtle, Mable, Coco, Casual Lady, Anita, Party Peplum, Tiny Pocket Tank, Mandy Boat Tee). It's a challenge though not to be sucked in by garments that I think will work but don't due to my figure (cue the Lady Skater, the Gabby Dress and the Suzy Pants - sad about both of these).

Lets get introspective:  Whilst many sewists seem to struggle with the balance of sewing icing vs cake I clearly do NOT have this problem. Everything I sew is basic basic basic. This is partly as it's how I dress in real life - I am not one for excess frou frou. Whilst I like to look nice, pretty and modern I like clean silhouettes and VERY comfortable clothes. My whole wardrobe revolves around the concept of "secret pyjamas".

I think my basic sewing is also party due to the fact that I have NO faith in my sewing abilities...I don't think I can sew anything other than basic stuff so I don't go there. Anything with zippers, knit neckbands, buttons, collars or cuffs and I'm SO not going there.  I am also put off by anything that seems to require fit adjustment...or just fit in general (why I love knits so much perhaps)?

I think the above paragraph highlights that a) I need to have more guts to get in there and try some more complicated things b) I should have some faith in my intelligence and ability (I made it to 40 after all without any major self-inflicted injuries) and c) I should do a class (or ten) about pattern alterations and fitting.

I think another challenge for me is to be mindful of not just sewing tonnes of "stuff". I already have a pretty good RTW wardrobe filled with things that (mostly) fit and that I (mostly) like. I don't actually "need" anything and of the things that I do need I cannot (or don't want to) sew them myself (bras, shoes, undies, swimmers, winter coats and jeans).

I also want to be more mindful about fabric and pattern buying. I have already stopped buying patterns just because they are new or everyone has it. When I buy something a pattern now I give it some (semi) serious thought before clicking "add to cart". I also want to get to a stage where I am fabric shopping for a particular project. I don't really want to have a stash...I hate clutter and "stuff" and having a cupboard full of fabric actually makes me really anxious.

Yeah, so there you have it. Good riddance 2014...let's see what sewing 2015 brings to me.

Everyone Deserves Pretty Knickers – knicker making class

Yesterday saw the beginning of #EveryoneDeservesPrettyKnickers week which is being run by Susan from Measure Twice Cut Once patterns.

Photo borrowed from Measure Twice Cut Once blog

I've met Susan a few times at Sydney Spoolettes meet ups and we also chat a bit on social media. She's always been SO helpful to me with my sewing woes so when she announced she was collaborating with Sew Make Create to run knicker making workshops I signed up ASAP! Susan is a professionally trained fashion designer and has years of experience in the industry. She really knows her stuff...and what's even better (for me that is) is that she's SO willing to share her knowledge.

Susan in action - adjusting my knickers into a pair of "bigger gal undies"

For the class we were working on the Charlotte Knickers - a pattern released by Susan earlier in the year (she's designed and released a range of six knickers -- so hop over to the shop and see if there's a style that takes your fancy). I decided to use some cotton voile fabric for my pair that I bought from...you guessed it, The Fabric Cave.

Yes, these knickers are made from a woven fabric rather than the stretch fabric so common in store bought lingerie. The knickers are cut on the bias which makes gives them the necessary stretch needed across your caboose. We all had a bit of a giggle at the difference between the un-elasticated pair and elasticated pair of knickers.

I've not yet finished my knickers...too much talking and not enough sewing (though the photo below does prove we all sat the machines...even me)! I just need to stitch the elastic to the legs and then top stitch all the elastic down to encase it in the fabric. Before that I just need to get over my fear of sewing elastic using my overlocker at home!

Oh, and it's not a sewing class at Sew Make Create without the ever watchful Pepper supervising the class!

Susan has a knicker sew-a-long starting on her blog tomorrow - so there's still time to whip up your own pair of knickers during #EveryoneDeservesPrettyKnickers week using one of her patterns. There is also another class coming up at Sew Make Create very soon - I highly recommend it!

Getting my "L plates" with the overlocker!

A few weeks I decided to drop off some unwanted fabric scraps to the Fabric Cave. I totally can't be held responsible for the fact that they were having a BIG FAT SALE at the same time. Coincidence? Totally!

I had every intention of dropping my stuff off and making a mad dash for the door before the fabric could lure me in. What can I say...I'm weak. I fondled a A LOT of fabric but in the end only came home with three meters of this knit jersey jumper type material. Guess how much? Go on....yes, $5! For THREE METERS of fabric. MINE!

I new exactly what I was going to make with this fabric - another Mandy Boat Tee.

I decided this was a low risk way to see if my new (30 year old) overlocker and I would get along! I was given this overlocker by my father-in-law a little while ago - it had belonged to his wife who was an avid quilter. Confession: I was terrified of it so it sat in a corner in our flat for...ages. I just felt a bit overwhelmed by something that had the potential to slice my finger off if I got too near the blade...or slice a hole in my garment...or that requires a PhD to thread...or is so old it looks like it should be hand-cranked to work.

I really had no confidence in ever being able to use an overlocker...until my Mandy Boat Tee class over at Tessuti! Neurosis aside I was still wary as they just look so dang complicated to thread. I mean LOOK at this thing. WHAT is going on in there?  I was told by one of the sewing teachers over at Sew Make Create that she NEVER re-threads her machine...she simple ties on the new thread to the old thread and feeds it through the loops/needles until the new colour is there. Apparently Singer agrees with this method as that's what their instruction book says too.

OK. No more excuses!

I'm pleased to say that everything went pretty well with me and the overlocker...no dramas to report. I'm not sure that the tension is quite right but the tee I made is still in one piece, so hooray. The tension dials are pretty tough to adjust - they're quite stiff and to dial the tension up (or down) a notch you need to turn the dial for a full 360o rotation. My thumb muscles are too weak for that nonsense!

Now that I've used the overlocker I really love it. Despite my initial gut feel about this "old thing" I actually really like the look and feel of it. I hope she's got a lot more life in her yet.

Oh...and watch this space for my new Mandy Boat Tee. Coming right up!

Sydney Sewing Meetup

On the weekend twenty lovely Sydney sewists met up for a lunch, gossip, fabric swapping and a little bit of fabric shopping. I've been to A LOT of food blogging meet-ups but this was my first foray into meeting "real life sewing Bloggers/Tweeters/Instagramers" and it was a blast.

A small group of us met up early and scooted out to The Remnant Warehouse in Alexandria for a look around. Massive thanks to both Catherine and Maria who really helped me out with fabric hunting for my upcoming attempt at Tilly's new Coco pattern. As I'm basically learning to sew on my own it's been so wonderful to have the help of the online sewing community when I do get stuck...which is fairly often actually.

I walked away from The Remnant Warehouse with this "mystery fabric" that I think will be good for my first test of Coco.

Because I'd organised this meetup, and cannot organise anything that does not involve food, I'd booked a table for lunch at Parma Cuccina in Surry Hills. Pizza and salads all round. We were a pretty big group so special thanks to the restaurant for letting us take over half of their downstairs area...including sequestering a table for our fabric/pattern swap...

I walked away from the fabric swap with a nice piece of cotton that I think I'll make into my third attempt of the April Rhodes Party Peplum Dress (wish me luck). I also picked up some cotton drill which will become a skirt once I work up the guts to go down that road...a road of zippers, waistbands, interfacing, darts...and tears. 

After lunch we mozied on down to Tessuti and then The Fabric Store. I was very restrained and managed to look but not buy...that must be a first for me!

Thanks to everyone who came along...I hope we get to meet at another sewing meet up soon.

Grainline "tiny pocket tank" sans pocket!

On my inaugural visit to The Fabric Cave I found barely a meter of this lovely lavender and cream "mystery fabric"...that's it in the middle there. A better sewist than me will be able to identify this - but all I know is that it is NOT cotton and it's NOT stretchy. It's quite slinky and there's nothing "natural" feeling about it - polyester perhaps?

I bought a PDF copy of Grainline Studios Tiny Pocket Tank when there was as a sale right before X-mas and when I saw this fabric I thought they'd go well together. I do love PDF patterns. I find them less intimating than the old school type of patterns, mainly as I can reprint them easily if I make an error on sizing.

I was actually REALLY worried about sewing with this fabric as it quite slippery. Ergo, I made good use of the slowing speed function on my machine - I LOVE this. I dialed things right down to tortoise speed and slow and steady she went! I am pleased to say that the actual sewing of the fabric went super smoothly....even the darts.

Funnily enough the hardest part about the whole process was ironing the fabric, laying it out and cutting. I am SURE that the fabric slinked around so much that the top is lopsided.

The fabric frayed WAY more than I was thought it would. I'm not quite sure what I was expecting actually but at one stage I thought the whole top was going to end up as a frayed ball of fluff on the floor. I've zigzagged all the seam edges - not the prettiest but it does the job. I also got to practice more bust darts AND bias binding finishes. I'm getting pretty good at these two things now.

When I tried the top on for the first time it was pretty obvious that it was going to be "too rude" to wear out of the house.  The front was cut so low that you could see my bra and ALL my cleavage. I know this is "the look" for "young people" these days but not for me.

So I did the logical thing and took it up at the shoulders until the front covered my girls. Pity I didn't think that raising the shoulder seams would mean that the bust darts now sit under my armpits. The top is also not that comfortable under my arms either. Derp.

Whilst sewing this top I also came to the realization that I REALLY need to learn how to hem garments without bias tape. I was afraid if I attempted a regular hem on this top I'd total botch it as it was hard to iron the hem into place. Bias binding is great but not for this as it's made the hem SUPER stiff and it sticks out like I've threaded a hula hoop through the hem. Double Derp.

So all in all a good practice effort but a waste of some pretty fabric. It only cost me $6 so I'm not too sad BUT I would LOVE for someone to teach me how to hem. Anyone?

Tie-dyed denim Peplum Party Dress #2

After what I considered a pretty successful effort with my first #partyPeplumDress I was as keen as mustard to get going with my second version of this dress.

During our recent trip to Melbourne I found this great Tie Dyed "denim" with floral from Lincraft of all places. I could immediately picture this as a #partyPeplumDress so I snapped it up. I had a $10 voucher so that eased the pain of the $20/meter price tag (WHY is Lincraft so expensive I ask you when most of their stores are a total schmozzle)?

The first thing I did to the pattern, with the help (again) of The Boy, was to make sure the skirt was the same length the whole way around (23 inches) rather than dipping "up" at the sides into the peplum (19 inches). Dave measured and I marked it out on the pattern (I find I need three hands with most sewing tasks so he comes in helpful).

I also then traced a second skirt pattern so I could cut the front and back at the same time (and I'm making the front and back skirt are the same length the whole way around as I'm not into the "high-low look"). And, for the record cutting on our tiled floor = NOT fun!

Things started off pretty smoothly with my sewing. I'm getting fairly good at French Seams, but I always really have to think about what goes together first...wrong sides or right sides? At this stage of the game I was feeling pretty darn confident in my ability to punch at this dress toot sweet! Pride becomes before a fall as they say...

And then I tried the dress on. Oh dear!

Despite finding the arms a bit tight in my Daisy #partyPeplumDress I did nothing to fix the problem for my second go around with this pattern. I think I kinda forgot about it to be honest. I wouldn't say the arm openings are "restrictive" but they seem to be wider than they need to be so they cut into the front of my arms.

So I did what any clueless beginner would do....I hacked into the dress with scissors until I thought it felt...OK. I also hacked into the dress until the arms were no longer even on both sides. Whoops! I actually think my shoulders are uneven...so whilst things looked OK whilst I was cutting it became clear when I put them on that the bodice was now wonky.

But look how nice my pink bias binding looks on the arm holes...so pretty!

Another problem I noticed with the Daisy Dress was that the bodice was a tad too long at the back for me. I have quite a large caboose and my big butt stopped the bodice from hanging nicely into the skirt. Ergo the fabric all bunched up and was quite "puffy" at the back.  This "big butt bunching" seemed to be more of a problem on this version of the dress...I've got NO idea what going on here (has my bum grown)?

Anyway...I knew I had to shorten the back piece of the bodice so it no longer hit me on the derrière.  Because I'm lazy I tried to do this whilst the skirt was still attached to the bodice...as you'll see by my THREE rows of stitching. In theory I know what needs to happen to fix this but I just cannot be bothered to unpick the whole dress to fix its bunchy back.

And that my friends is the end of this story about what was to be a lovely floral tie-dyed denim dress - the answer to all my summer dress woes.  Now it's just hanging on my bedroom door...accusing me of being a terrible seamstress and it's right. But I'm just a beginner so it's all a learning experience.

I'm not sure what to do with this dress now? Throw it out?

In case you're wondering I AM going to make this dress again. I raced up to Lincraft right after this fiasco to see if they had more of this fabric and they did. I bought 2.5 meters and once I make up a 'muslin' of this dress I'll be ready (I hope) to chop into this fabric. I LOVE this fabric and I was SO sad when I knew I botched the dress and now I feel like there's hope again.

On my next attempt I will be:

• Reducing the length of the front + back bodice from an XXL to a S - which may seem drastic but it's only 2cms and I think that's a good start. I'm not sure what to do with the vertical darts though - do I use the Size S now?
• Reducing the arm hole from an XXL to an XL - which makes it 1cm smaller on the side.
• Praying to the sewing Gods that everything goes according to plan.

Wish me luck!

Out + about with my Daisy Print "Party Peplum Dress"

So even though I am pretty happy with my Daisy Print "Party Peplum Dress I was a bit apprehensive about wearing it out of the house. I am so proud of this make (I finished something and it kinda fits!) but wearing it scares the bejesus out of me!

SO. MANY. ANXIETIES: 

• Would it be comfortable? 
• Would it simply fall apart when I was out in public because of my novice sewing skills?  
• Should I pack a spare dress in my handbag in case of a wardrobe malfunction (yes, I really thought this)?
• Would people think I was wearing something tacked together by a 5 year old? 

I'm pleased to report I wore this on my second last day of Christmas holidays for a day of shopping and eating. Nothing bad happened and I even got a compliment from the lovely ladies at The Fabric Cave who loved my dress and thought it looked pretty well made! Win.

I've also worn it for a second time out to brunch...nothing bad happened!

Wearing it all day though did highlight some issues - namely I find it a bit tight around the arm holes/bust. I also think as the bodice is too long and as my butt is quite big it makes the back bodice "bunch up" a bit. My butt is stopping the bodice hanging to its full length. And the skirt is not an even length the whole way around - going "up" at the sides (which makes sense given that's the way the peplum-ness of it should happen).

So maybe this is a semi-win after all?

Daisy Print "Party Peplum Dress"

As soon as I saw the newly released Party Peplum Dress by April Rhodes I KNEW this was a pattern for me. I love the style of this dress! LOVE it! I wear a lot of sleeveless dresses and I like the "skater" type silhouette though this is a style I find difficult to buy in-store as the fit is never quite right for me.  Lucky for me the sizing on this pattern went up to my size *happy dance*!

I'm super proud of this make and I LOVE it! It's hanging on a hook in my room and I go in all the time to look at it and feel the fabric. Is that weird? After having so many sewing misses it really feels great to make something entirely on my own, that a) fits OK b) was fairly easy to sew and c) that I'd wear out of the house! I cannot recommend this pattern more highly for new sewists.

And, possibly the best thing about this dress is that it gives good twirl as it has a half circle skirt. See...

It wasn't all sunshine and lollipops though. Once I'd stitched the dress together enough to try on I popped it on and the underarms were WAY too big. It's becoming obvious that my bust is a size smaller than my waist/hips.  I'm really chuffed that my husband was able to pin the dress whilst it was on me and we took in the underarms by 2.5cm on each side. I tapered it down so that the dress was still the original size at the waist.

The dress fits much better under the arms now, but it's not perfect. I always seem to find armholes really tight (especially under my right arm as I have shoulder 'issues') even when the armhole isn't tight at all.

If I knew how I'd also put a couple of darts in the back of the bodice as it's a bit...bunchy, but sadly that is beyond my skill level.  The bodice is also quite "roomy" at the side, but if I took it in anymore I'd probably not be able to wriggle into it (it has no zipper or other opening, so you just slip it in over your head).  I've also made this dress out of quilting cotton and I can see what people people when the say this type of fabric is quite stiff. The skirt does stick out quite a lot, but I can live with it as I think it looks cute.

The neck and arm holes are finished with bias binding. I love this - it's so easy and looks so tidy. I have bought myself a bias binding maker and at some stage I'll make my own bias binding...though it does look really REALLY labour intensive!

As well as the bias binding the pattern called for a french seam for the shoulders. I'm pleased to say that I accomplished this will no drama at all *fist pump*!  I'm pretty pleased with how the inside of this dress looks. Everything is very neat and tidy, and although I don't yet have an overlocker I think the zigzag on the seams looks pretty tidy and it certainly does the job to stop the edges fraying.

Now onto the hem...talk about STRESSFUL! The pattern called for a hem that was folded over twice and then stitched. I tried this, but could not get the hem the same width the whole way round so I had to think of something else (I had the same trouble with my Laurel). My machine has a rolled-hem foot so I decided to give that a whirl. I thought it would be super quick and easy. FAIL! I don't even want to talk about how messy and awkward this was for me (and how much unpicking I had to do).

In the end I decided just to use bias binding to finish the hem and I have to say that, although it took 4 meters of binding, it was super easy and so tidy. I LOVE bias binding. I'm not sure why I'd ever not use this method for a hem?

Something I do need to fix next time around is the hem length. Because I didn't want the skirt to be "high-low" and reveal my pudgy knees too much I just sewed together two of the back pattern pieces. This is fine BUT the dress still scoops up at the sides made it look a bit wonky. The dress is 23" in the middle and then only 19" at the sides....something I didn't even think about as being an issue until I put it on. Derp.