When the going gets tough, the tough get sewing

So it’s always the way, you get some momentum on actually maintaining a blog and then something happens and it all falls in a heap! I somehow managed to get myself pneumonia, so I’ve been sick as a dog for the last few weeks, but I gathered up my strength to complete my new dress over the weekend….

…and I’m really happy with it! I kinda liked both of the dresses I posted earlier so the one I made is sort of a combination of the two.I must admit that I did cheat a little, the top part is actually a Big W tank that I picked up for $10, you can’t make one for that! The skirt was based on the fabulous tutorial by Gertie which you can find on her blog here, I highly recommend you give it a go it’s so easy.

After my previous dress disaster I’m really happy that I don’t totally fail and it’s restored my confidence. Let me know what you think.

 

Moving On

I’ve decided that there’s no point in dwelling over my last project, and to start planning another! I’m thinking a cute little dress like this:

or this

I think it should be fairly easy to make, but what is really frustrating is that I’m too bottom heavy to make a full circle skirt out of regular 150cm wide fabric, unless I want it to be quite short.

I’m completely loving some of the dresses on this site, and they recommend making a full skirt out of a rectangle gathered on one edge, which is basically how I made the skirt I posted earlier, except it is pleated, not gathered. I’m a bit worried about having too much bulk around my hips with the rectangle method, so I think my best option is to make it out of 4 pieces, a little extra work, but I should get a better result.

 

SewFat Fail?

So things aren’t going so well with my new dress project I have become besties with my quick unpick and the final straw was when I cut it to hem and somehow managed to make it too short.

Here’s a pic of it so far, I’m not entirely happy with it and haven’t decided what I’m going to do about sleeves yet. Do you think I can get away with the length? Or should I commit it to the SewFat attic and use it as a learning exercise?

 

Uh, yeah that’s not gonna work!

So just a quick update, I’m currently in the process of making a new dress and thinking I’m so hot right now, and then realised that I’ve sewed up my arm holes!

I guess there’s nothing like learning from your mistakes, but I probably wont jump into applying for Project Runway just yet.

Hopefully I’ll have it done by the weekend so I can show you all.

In the mean time I thought I’d share my new handbag with you. I bought it from the Olga Berg factory outlet last Friday and I think it’s adorable! It might not go with an awful lot but I intend to carry it around everywhere regardless.

 

A bit of flair

And here is my second project, I fell in love with this fabric but I’m not sure that it translates well to photo’s. It’s actually got a lovely sheen to it and I like that I can wear black, cream and brown with this skirt and it looks great.

I made this skirt without a pattern, following this tutorial on BurdaStyle, but didn’t feel brave enough to attempt a zip so I just put it on over my head! It fits great and I feel really special it it because I know that no-one else has one.

On a side note, I’m also completely in love with my shoes which I bought from the Diana Ferrari outlet for half price. They are amazingly comfortable and I think they go really well with this 40′/50’s style.

 

Easy does it

For my first project I decided to make a simple dress. I had to remind myself that the last time I really sewed anything was in my home ec class in highschool and as such I should probably take it slowly. What was really great is that it all came back to me really quickly and with the help of Himehood’s great tutorial, this was the finished product. I’m really happy with it, the fabric is really pretty and seems to work okay for both summer and winter and I get heaps of comments when I wear it. Not bad for my first go hey?

 

If not so fat, then maybe sew fat?

Despite the fact that I am certain that this happened overnight and not over years of overeating as my mother kindly points out, it has come to my attention that I am fat. But the question I am asking myself is, am I really so fat?

So fat that I don’t deserve to wear the latest trends without creating my own PFC (Personal Financial Crisis)? So fat that I can’t look fab and fashionable? So fat that I should hide behind ill fitting clothes that my grandma could borrow and probably look better than me?

I decided the answer was a resounding NO! And then I asked myself, if I’m not so fat, then maybe I could sew fat?

And so for my birthday this year I picked up myself a sewing machine and started stitching. I’ve made a few things so far, which will feature in upcoming posts, and I’m getting more confident by the day so I look forward to showing them off!

I also have a serious cosmetics addiction so I’ll post some of my favourite looks and products. And a slightly less serious addiction with shoes, teamed up with being completely cashless, means I’ll share some internet finds with you all so that I can live vicariously through you!