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

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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.

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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!)

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Sitting in the sunshine, listening to the Triple J Hottest 100 of all time and hand stitching my latest creation for the Wiggle Dress Dance Off. Very relaxing and definitely great to get some Vitamin D. Ahhhh

What's everyone else doing today? Enjoying a holiday or back to work?

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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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