After a flying start my "wiggle" dress had turned into a disaster. And as with all sewing disasters I thought if I hid it in a corner and didn't look at it for a few weeks it might just go away. Wellll... I was wrong. The disaster is still there AND I have only a few hours to fix it. I must get a wiggle on!

 

So far the fixing is going ok. But I have had to unpick A LOT of careful hand stitching, introduce some darts and reshape and draft some facings. Ugh! But if I'm going to make it to the party tomorrow then I have to focus.

 

So, will you be joining us for a night out of dancing and fun? Wiggle dress not required. So far we have op shop finds, retro inspired RTW bargains, and just fun dancing dresses! Please send me a message with your mobile number if you would like to come and I'll make sure we find you. Sewdebeaux@gmail.com

 

 

 


Such an old photo. It's at our old apartment and just after I cut my hair

I made this fun skirt ages ago!! But due to a dodgy zip and a little laziness in fixing it this skirt remained unblogged until now.

The culprit. Yeah it looks cool but a girl needs a little more staying power

I made the skirt using my skirt block established in pattern making class. I drafted the peplum myself and decided to include an exposed zip to show of the cool vintage zip I purchased from a local op shop. The zip looked great but I didn't realise that after just a short time of wearing the skirt the zip was coming undone a few centimetres. Zip fail!

Zip and ironing fail actually

 

Finally the other day I got my act together and installed an invisible zip. It was actually a really quick and easy job and now I have this fabulous skirt ready to go. Probably just in time for the peplum trend to be well and truly over.

 

Can't see a zip anymore. That's because it's invisible ;-)

 

Although I am happy with this skirt I realise there were still some issues with the fit. Luckily these issues are hidden by the peplum. I have since adjusted the basic block and I am much happier with the fit. If I make this skirt again I think there are some improvements to be made to the shape and flare of the peplum.

 

 

The skirt is royal blue cotton with white polka dots. I underlined the skirt with soft white cotton which gives it more body and structure. I also used the underlining and edge-stitched it under the peplum to get a nice finish. This was my first underlined garment and I loved the result. It was also the first time I used special waistband interfacing. It has such a great effect. And I just fused up the hem. Wow so quick and what a great finish. Lots of firsts for this skirt. I guess I better make sure it now gets lots of wear.

 

 

 


A million years ago in the early days of this blog I mentioned that I needed to make curtains for our apartment. I was all organised and I purchased the fabric and the hardware etc etc and then... Nothing.

 

Fast forward two years and in a new (to us) apartment and I have finally made some curtains! They aren't amazing but as we are only here for a short time I'm more concerned with function over fashion. They do a great job. They hide the UGLY cheapskate rental blinds, they keep the room really dark and they keep the cold out and the warm in. If I was investing in these for a longer time I would have added more fabric to the width as they don't drape/cover as nicely as I would like. Maybe in the next apartment...

 

Because the fabric was originally purchased for windows of a different size I had to be a little creative with making it fit and not wasting the fabric. So I ended up with a curtain like this

 

We are now using this curtain in the bedroom and I have made solid colour curtains for the lounge. I am not sure which style I like best. I think the "top deck" curtain is actually really cool and it adds interest in a bland ugh rental with blah beige paint. (Can you tell I HATE renting!)

 

 

 



Just a few weeks before our wedding my cousin and his wife had a little baby girl. With all the wedding chaos I was way behind with a gift but just last night I managed to finish this cute, cute little outfit. I hope the little lady likes it.

 

 

 
 
 

 

The floral fabric was originally destined for a Lonsdale dress but I had to accept the fact that it really isn't my colour. When I saw the dark hair on my little cousin I knew that this fabric would be perfect for her. I made her a little jacket for use this winter and a slightly larger pair of cotton overalls which should be the perfect size when summer comes around.

 

 

I made a jacket out of my stash of super soft minky dot fleece used on other baby gifts like this jacket made last year. The pattern calls for a button and loop but I went with ribbon ties instead.

 

 

 

The town my cousin lives in can get really hot in summer (lots of days of 40 degrees C). I think these light and soft cotton overalls will be perfect on a hot day.

 

I love the ruffles, they just take the overalls from boring to fancy. The pattern came together easily and I had fun hammering in the snaps on the inside leg. I'm certainly not a pro on the efficiency of baby clothes but I think that the fact that they open completely at the bottom with snaps and the top with ties will make them easy to get on and off a baby.

 

 

 

I would rate this pattern (Burda 9650) highly. There are some other pieces like a hat and a dress that look like fun to make too. There are certainly lots of babies arriving these days so this pattern will get a work out. I think it can be modified easily for the boys as well.

 

Hopefully I can get a photo of these garments on the little one to see how they fit in real life.

 

It's a long weekend in Melbourne. Perfect for getting underway with my dress for the wiggle dress dance off....

 


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Rediscovering sewing after nearly 10 years without touching a sewing machine. I am now sewing up a storm and have started to learn patternmaking and drafting.
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