Nelson Mandela

A true HERO! Hamba Kahle Baba.

Grainline Archer

Hello. I am back. I had lost my sewing mojo for a while but finally got down to making the popular indie pattern- Grainline archer. Whoa, I didn’t know so much work goes into making a shirt but the sew-along made it so much easier. I don’t think I would have been able to do it without the pictures to guide me along.

We shall call this one a muslin. Oooh, those pockets :/. I have some great chambray that I will try out next with this pattern. How hard is it to find affordable chambray in Melbourne. Golly! As this is just a practice run, I didn’t bother with buttons.  I still don’t have a tripod so I could take pics of myself in it so Betty Mannequin will have to do.

Quick Review

Fabric : Poly Cotton

Notions: 10 buttons

Instructions: Grainline Archer

Level: Intermediate-Advanced

Time to complete: 1 day

Wear it? : Muslin

Sew again: Yes in a chambray

Simplicity 2226!

I managed to find some time to whip this one up using some wax print fabric I recently got. Mmm, I don’t like the way it hangs on me. It looks ok on the mannequin but not so good on me. It has that “homesewn ” look. I’ll try it again though with a different fabric. It may also just be because I’m not much of a skirt wearer so maybe its all in my head.

Quick Review

Fabric : Wax Print

Notions: Zipper

Instructions: From the Simplicity learn to sew series, so it was pretty easy

Level: Beginner

Time to complete: 3 hours

Wear it? : Mmmm, don’t think so. I just don’t like the way it hangs on me :(

Sew again: I’ll try it one more time maybe with a more drapey fabric and hopefully it hangs better.

Japanese Sewing Book – Girls Style book – “L”

I’ve done a lot of selfish sewing lately so I decided to make something for my munchkin. Using the Girls style book I made the tunic top “L. I didn’t include the frilly part of the sleeve to make it more of a tunic top ans i also added contrasting pockets. The right pocket is a bit wonky but it not noticeable when worn.

Quick Review

Fabric : “Drapey” Cotton and Checkered cotton

Notions: None

Instructions: I got the English version.Good diagrams but the instructions didn’t have much detail.Being a novice sewer, I  spent a lot of time reading the instructions and trying to figure them out. Ouch. My brain hurt after a while. With that being said eventually it all clicked and the clothes aren’t that hard to make.

Level: Adventurous beginner

Time to complete:

Wear it? : Yes

Sew again: Yes

Now, back to tackle that Simplicity 2444 again….

Simplicity 2444 UFO?

We got our first UFO folks! I finally finished  my Simplicity 2444 and when i excitedly went on to try it ….it was too small. I could only pull the zip up halfway! Whaaa! I’m sure I measured myself right (one too many cookies?).

Besides , it being a little too small the dress is fine. Nearly perfect zip too. It wasn’t too hard to sew and there is also a good YouTube video by Professor Pincushion that helps a lot.

Quick Review

Fabric :Ikea’s Malin Cirkel. I think it is a cotton.

Notions: 22inch zip

Instructions: Pretty easy except on how to install a zip.

Level: Adventurous beginner

Time to complete: took maybe 5 hours in total

Wear it? : No, made it too small but hopefully!

Sew again: YES!(I sort of have to haha!)

Ah well, I did say it is a beginners sewing blog…on to the next!

What’s on my sewing table?

Been pretty busy lately doing a little bit of everything and a little bit of nothing! I managed to get over to the Lincraft stocktake sale which was a really huge disappointment. They  didn’t really have much good stuff there but I got myself  the Simplicity 2444 which I’ve wanted for a long time (50% off-nice). I’ve seen it all over blogland and I’m pretty excited to get started on this one this week.

Also my “Girls style Book” by Yoshiko Tsukiori  arrived in the mail so finally I can get started on some funky threads for my munchkin.

Hopefully I will have some finished projects to show this week. Better get cracking, Have a great week!

Washi, Washi, Washi

This week I took on the very popular Washi dress by Made by Rae. It is a great pattern and I would definitely recommend it for beginner sewers. I used some colourful cotton that I got from the Spotlight sale. Its a great fit though I think next time I will make it one size smaller. The darts are so easy to do (thanks Rae!) and give a gorgeous fit for the bust area. This pattern gets a 10/10 in my book. I will be getting the geranium dress pattern for my muchkin next.

Quick Review

Fabric : Mid-weight Cotton

Notions: Shirring Elastic

Instructions: Great with lots of pics and suggestions. Perfect for a beginner

Level: Beginner

Time to complete: 3 hours.

Wear it? : Yes

Sew again: Yes! Cant get enough! Infact, I liked it so much I made two!

Its been pretty gloomy weather here so the pics are pretty ordinary :).

Mathilde Blouse-June Indie Pattern Month

Here she is! My first attempt at the Mathilde Blouse and contribution to the June Indie Pattern Month Sew-along. I manged to tackle those tucks and darts relatively well that’s to awesome instructions on Tilly’s blog. It was a lot of fun to make this and  I’ll definitely be making another one. 

Quick Review

Fabric : not too sure but its a cotton with a lot of drape.

Notions: 7 buttons (I used 8 as mine were small)

Instructions: Tilly has a great tutorial on her blog with loads of pics. Perfect for a beginner

Level: Beginner/Adventurous Beginner

Time to complete: 5 hours. (took me a while to get the tucks right!)

Wear it? : Yes

Sew again: Yes in a Chambray fabric! Next time though I will have to make it longer as I am quite tall. I felt it is a bit short (for me anyway!). I will also try the version with the gathers instead of tucks.

Kitenge Wax Print Fabric

One of the things I love about sewing is being able to experiment with different types of fabric and using them in whatever way you want. I love color and bold prints. Kitenge or Chitenge fabric is the beautiful and colorful fabric you often see African women wearing. The printing and bold color is done by traditional methods using wax. Its used in many different ways such as clothing, upholstery , carrying babies on your back, given as wedding gifts and can even be put up on walls as decoration.

At the moment there is a big trend of using this fabric with contemporary modern fashions. There are some great examples on Sika Boutique’s website.

I would love one of these babies. Too pricey for my pocket though! Luckily for me, my mommy dearest is currently in Africa and I’ve asked her to get some for me. I can hardly wait. Now I just have to find some patterns that would go well with the fabric. It seems to work well as a peplum top or something with a flared skirt as above. I’m thinking something like this:

I think it will be easier to decide once I see the actual fabric. Have you used this type of fabric before. Any suggestions?

June Sew Along – Indie Pattern Month

June is Indie Pattern Month. This is a great sew-along supporting the independent  patterns out there. Drop over to the Curious Kiwi’s  or Modern Vintage Cupcakes blog for more information.

I’ve decided to tackle the Mathilde Blouse by one of my favourite sewing bloggers (and one of my inspirations) Tilly and the Buttons.

It’s a bit of a scary one, with tucks and darts (my arch nemesis) but I’m going to take it slow. That’s going to be hard for me. I get so excited when I’m sewing and all I want to do is see the finished product, so I tend to rush things a bit and make silly mistakes. Patience is a virtue.