Loving Life

Posted on April 14, 2016 by suebsewbyme

I was looking out the back this afternoon and thought I really love this time of year. Autumn is trying to arrive but today the afternoon was positively balmy.So I thought it would be fine to share something with you I made in Sumer but didn’t post.MT dress 1a.jpgMarcy Tilton pattern V9112 , I love this pattern I had looked at it and wanted it when it came out, picked it up as soon as I could and made my wearable muslin from this beautiful cotton voile.

MT dress white 1aIt is sheer and soft and beautiful to wear . This is a great dress for Summer I have worn it a lot I made a slip to wear under it as it is sheer.I realised when I started this post I don’t have a photo wearing it. I meant to take one but kept wearing it and forgot that I hadn’t. It is lovely and comfortable in summer the voile is great to wear.  This dress is roomy and works well . I will post photos in it soon.

Happy Sewing,

Sue 🙂

 

 

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A Dress for a Wedding

Posted on April 12, 2016 by suebsewbyme

I have recently attended a wedding .

It was for my husband’s niece.

It was absolutely beautiful as I knew it would be!One shoulder dress edit

My self imposed project leading up to the wedding was to make a dress to wear. I am sure that you have all been in this type of position and the quest for the perfect dress was challenging , none the least because I had really enjoyed myself over the christmas festive season and as such am not as fit as I would like to be at the moment.

The pattern I found was on Craftsy from Pattern Runway and a downloadable PDF pattern.

 

 

 

These are the pattern details. For the fabric I selected this gorgeous border fabric it felt like silk I had it in my stash without details, and I lined it fully with a bemsilk lining to give it a bit more body.

This was lovely to make I used some charcoal chiffon for the bow to soften it.

Attaching the hem facing
Detail of the pattern
Before turning through
Lining
Before the bow

The dress has a hem facing so it is very lovely and structured my only problem is I again wanted to use as much as possible of the fabric pattern and as such it is a little longer on me than the picture. This means I can’t stride out in it, small steps only which is ok in heels I guess but not if you are in a hurry.

 

This is a pattern I will definitely use again it was relatively quick ,is amazingly comfortable and feels divine on. A Winner in my book!!

I think you could make this as a summer day dress with a difference. It is fun and easy make. I think I may add pockets to my next one, I do love  pockets.

Do you have a go to evening pattern or style that is tried and true for you?

Hope you are enjoying whatever you do, the weather is turning colder here now, Autumn is trying to settle in but some days still have a touch of Summer.

I am sewing up a storm for Winter. I will fill you in as I get it done.

Happy Sewing ,

Sue 🙂

 

 

 

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Fabric Love

Posted on March 31, 2016 by suebsewbyme

 

Hi there,

Sorry I have been slow getting back to my blogging , the start of the University year is always busy for us. One going  back to interstate for his last year of study and another starting her first year of College and University life.

Our eldest moved house at this time as well so it was all hands on deck for a while.

Even so I have of course been sewing any chance I get.IMG_0467

I saw this image and had to share, I don’t know about you but I can honestly say I have been striving to be an artist my whole creative life. I am always keen to learn more and improve my skill set and love to find new and better ways to create.

One of the latest makes I have to show you was a couple of cotton voile tops. I fell in love, as usual ,with the fabric but couldn’t bare to cut up the pattern so I went for simplicity.

Voile Top 1

Love this print !!!

Top 2

The Other Top

I made 2 Tops ,one as a gift ,and one for          myself.

The pattern is a self drafted simple fold over , edges finished, selvedge was the hem. With a line of stitching at the sides a really comfortable top to wear.

My sister in law was the recipient of the other  top and she loves hers as well.

Here are more pics

side view
Side view
a bit windy
Back view

This top has been wonderful in our warm summer. I wore it a lot .

What is your most comfortable summer make?

Happy Sewing ,

Sue 🙂

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Pockets Please

Posted on January 17, 2016 by suebsewbyme

Marbled dressMarbled dresspI recently( well last year), purchased a copy of a pattern by Sandra Betzina V1297.dresspkts pattern

I was really drawn to the interesting pocket detail,and the variations as well .
dresspkts skjpg
This pattern uses heaps of fabric due to the size of the pockets they are huge. I really love a pocket and put them in most of the garments I make for myself.

I bought this gorgeous crinkle knit ,dresspktsit looks like shades of denim but is sheer. I thought I had enough for the version pictured in black and white but I couldn’t manage it . So I made the other pictured version. No worries though ,I love what I’ve done. This was a quick make, as most knit fabric sewing is.

Bias tape
interesting selvage detail
selvage
bias tape support
attaching selvage
sheer
neckline finish
edge detail

 

As you can see in the above pictures, there are a few construction details that are possibly of interest. I needed to stabilise some seams with bias tape , so I used grey as it was the best colour match, and cut it to the width I needed. As I was cutting the fabric I loved the effect of the selvage . It is crinkled and has more depth of compressed colour . I have used it to edge the armholes and the neck edge, it gives a really cool effect and works well with the dress.

I overlocked the edges in grey which seemed the best colour match.

As it is sheer at the time I made it I realised I also needed to make a slip .

The grey stretch fabric worked really well with the dress so it was selected for the slip . All hems were stitched using twin needles in conjunction with a walking foot to give a good finish.

Capture mCapture m2

I really recommend this pattern , this is a  fun and comfortable dress to wear , I will definitely make it again. Actually I have already cut out my next. More later…

Happy Sewing,

Sue 🙂

 

 

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Merry Christmas 

Posted on December 25, 2015 by suebsewbyme

I hope you have a wonderful Christmas time  .

 Here in Australia the weather is warm and we have been swimming in the pool to cool off. 

 
I am laying on the lounge watching Christmas TV and wanted to wish everyone the best for the festive season. 

I will be back in a few days when I can move again . Why do I always have to taste it all. Oh well.

 It is a wonderful time of year ,I love seeing the images around the world of winter a white Christmas in other places,  and the wonderful variety of celebrations.

Tomorrow is Boxing Day the start of the Sydney to Hobart yacht race , the cricket test match in Melbourne and we have 

Christmas with the other side of the family .

I am feeling blessed, 

Take care stay safe, enjoy the festive season,

Talk soon,

Sue 🙂 

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Wow how time flies

Posted on December 18, 2015 by suebsewbyme

 

 

Hi there,

I have been so busy with all that  comes from our youngest child finishing high school. I have been sewing lots ,but have had no time to sit down and write about it. I am also trying to get into a course to do some study so preparing for that has taken a while. Anyway now I am back so I want to share with you a dress I made to wear to my daughters Valedictory dinner.

Cashmere, Mink fabric
Lynn Mizono dress V1312

On our trip earlier this year to take our son back to college for Uni, I will do the blog soon, promise. I did some fabric shopping, surprised?(I think not).

In Melbourne, I found this amazing cashmere mink fabric in black,wow it is gorgeous. It is soft and drapes really well , it is also light and feels amazing. I am so in love with this fabric, it sews beautifully as well, although it does fray so I handled it carefully.

I bought it to make this V1312 Lynn Mizono dress.I wanted to use it as much as possible and I decided to make the long sleeve version as I want to be able to wear this dress all year , it is wonderful on.

I apologise in advance for the lack of construction photos but as I said before it was insane here at that time.

My only change to the pattern is I left out the zipper I don’t need it and as usual I reduced the length as I am vertically challenged and didn’t want to drown in it.

Side View
Back View
Front
How cool is the skirt

I am in love with this pattern you will see it used again soon.

Here we are at the dinner :Mizoni dressV1

A great night was had and we are incredibly proud of our daughter .All of her hard work has paid off , she has the marks for the courses she is interested in.Job well done !!

Now all I have to do is get into a course myself, fingers crossed.

Happy Sewing,

Sue 🙂

 

 

 

 

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Inspired

Posted on October 29, 2015 by suebsewbyme

Hi there,

I recently visited the Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences , The Powerhouse Museum in Sydney. I love this museum but I came on this visit for just one collection the Collette Dinnigan exhibit titled “Unlaced”.The link to the website is here.

Here are my pictures an incredibly  wonderful experience :

If you ever get the chance I thoroughly recommend seeing this it is wonderful.

I have also been sewing up a storm but unfortunately not had time to blog.

I recently made a top that is a little transeasonal it is a Marcy Tilton again. I just love the shapes in her patterns. This V9057 has been on my UFO pile to make for a while and I love it .

V9057

V9057

Fabric for the body of the top was this patterned jersey.

Fabric for the body

Fabric for the body

The fabric for the sleeve and neck edge is this striped stretch slightly more of a cotton feel but works well.

V9057

V9057

Sleeve fabric

Sleeve fabric

The process of making this top is quite simple I made in this instance view D. However I didn’t follow the instructions in terms of fabric combinations I like to make my own choices part of the pleasure of making clothes for myself.

I found the most challenging aspect of this was matching stripes and zigzags. A lot of basting was used for accuracy and I am thrilled with the end result.

This will be a pattern I will use a lot it is not tricky has lots of scope for self expression and is easy to wear a definite winner in my opinion. I love wearing this garment.

Basting to ensure accuracyIt was a pleasure to make .MT top seam

View of basted seam

View of basted seam

Attaching the neck band.

Attaching the neck band.

Stitching the neckline

Stitching the neckline

MT top back

Mt top 3

This is really going to get loads of wear when it gets cooler but I will make some summer tops with this pattern soon.

Mt top frontMt top VMt top vest

These pictures feature the vest I made recently you can find it here

I hope you are having a great time with your sewing.

Talk soon,

Sue 🙂

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Skirt/Pants from Shape Shape 2

Posted on September 26, 2015 by suebsewbyme

As featured in this post here, I love the patterns in these books and I finally have my own copies of most of them. I was looking through Shape Shape 2 and I love this skirt featured in the book.  It has been made in linen but as it was winter when I was looking shape,shape 2 Hip band fabricI decided to make a winter pair.I found this great crushed wool at spotlight and teamed it with this wool that I picked up from the Achieve Australia Fabric shop.

Skirt fabric shape,shape 2 pant

I also used more of the black PVC that I have in my stash pictured here

The contrast The contrast

skirt2pan1t

This was an easy pattern to trace out and make . It goes together quickly.pantskirt pattern

This was an interesting skirt
design detailsto make.

Obviously with these pattern books you need to trace of the patterns and adjust them to your size. The skirt came together fairly well and was finished just in time for the change of weather so as yet I haven’t used it. It does however work really well with my vest that I wrote about here.

Lining Lining

This is a versatile item you can wear it as a skirt or button it up for pants. I enjoyed it so much that I am going to make a pair in linen .Below you  can see the front and back views of the skirt here and then the buttoned pant style below .

I am happy with it and as we are at the moment having some lingering cooler weather I may just get to wear this outfit before it gets to warm.
Front SkirtBack of skirt

Skirt/ pant buttoned Skirt/ pant buttoned

I hope you are getting some fun sewing done for whatever season you are in . I am working my way through my planned sewing for Spring, Summer, so I will get back to you with the details as soon as I am done.

Happy Sewing,

Sue 🙂

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Snoop September Sewing

Posted on September 21, 2015 by suebsewbyme

Hi there,

For this month in The Make A Garment A  Month group I am a part of the theme is snoop sewing. Finding something somewhere and copying it for yourself. Great huh?

I have been looking for a while to make another fur vest my first one is here.

I do love my red one but as someone who is vertically challenged, I Vest inspirationfind I am easily overwhelmed with bulky garments. I thought I needed something not as bold a little bit fun but not to bulky for me.

So I saw this vest :

I decided that I wanted  it to button up in the front and also to be shorter like the one pictured. I played with options and looked at lots of online variations then went shopping for fake fur to use.I love the color grey so I started with this panel of Fur fabric from Spotlight . I love the look of the  fake fur the stripes and tones it feels wonderful.

shape,shape 2 pant.jpg vestThen I got some black PVC from my stash to use with it.

The contrast

The contrast

The pattern is a self drafted one .

Preliminary sketch idea

I made a sketch of the idea I had.

This was an interesting make sewing PVC is very like sewing leather so I needed to use a walking foot and a leather needle . What made it challenging was the fur  it is thick and tricky to sew as well. I took it slowly and carefully to make it well. For the inside, I have lined it with an acetate .Lining The buttonholes were done very carefully and I used tissue paper to help keep the PVC from sticking to the foot.

Fur vest Inside front

Coming together

Coming together

Fur Vest

Back View Vest

The vest is a great addition to wear with my culottes from this post . I really like these together both have PVC used in them and it links them they are both incredibly easy to wear. I had hoped to get this finished while it was still cool but the weather is warming here.  I hope to get a bit of wear from this fun addition to my wardrobe before spring really arrives.

Happy Sewing,

Sue 🙂

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Burda Style Winter Culottes

Posted on August 5, 2015 by suebsewbyme

Burda Style pattern bookI picked up this 12/2014 edition of the Burda Style magazine a little while ago. As our Winter is upon us now, I felt I would do my take on the culottes featured. Here is how they suggested they be made ;Burda Style image of Culottes

Burda Style image of Culottes,

The suggested fabrics though beautiful didn’t work with the idea I had for my  Winter culottes. So instead of chiffon and a fabric with a soft drape characteristic I decided on these two.

Black Corduroy

Black Corduroy

Black PVC from Tessuti

Black PVC from Tessuti

I had his great black Corduroy from Spotlight in my stash and thought it would work well if I used PVC for a waist band to add interest. This is the pattern info,

Pattern and info

Pattern and info

The pattern allowed for pockets but for some reason I couldn’t work out how they went in the pattern so added them my way and I can’t show you as I haven’t blogged about that in this instance I really just made it up as I went along. They work so that’s all that matters.

Walking foot to sew PVC

Walking foot to sew PVC

The walking foot was needed to sew the PVC as it is like leather and sticks and it is hard to move through using a normal foot. The corduroy was easy to sew so I put it together first then added the waist band.

This is a very comfortable garment to wear and it works well with my Winter wardrobe.

Waist band

Waist band

Culottes side opening at hem

Culottes side opening at hem

This is a great pattern with lots of scope , it can be interpreted lots of ways and depending on the fabric used will determine where you wear it. I love these pants although I think I will be bringing in the waistband a bit as it is a little loose. I have worn them lots and will continue to do so , they are so comfortable.

Culottes Front View B
Back View B
Side View
Back View A

I just love it when a plan comes together, don’t you?

It is really cold today so I am sitting under a blanket as I write this planning what will be finished next. I have heaps on the go at the moment and I still need to tell about our little holiday. I promise the holiday is next.

I love seeing all the summer creations on the blogs I follow ,
they inspire me .
But right now Winter warmth and fun are my focus so back to work.

Happy Sewing,

Sue 🙂

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