The Kitchen Tea/Coffee Date Dress

Why must we always do this to ourselves? We have an important event coming up, which of course justifies a new outfit. So we drag out our sewing machines, blow the dust off and away we go. With the lofty aspirations of the innocent we trawl the net for patterns, select that 'oh so perfect' fabric, lay it out and introduce it to our scissors. We bask in our own cleverness, imagining the complements we will receive when we spin the line 'Oh thanks I made it myself'.  Then we sew for our lives, right up until... that insurmountable snag!

     It could be a sizing issue, a pattern piece missing or a zipper that just won't zip. But low and behold 'that' moment happens, when you reach for the quick-unpick (yet again) and your arm spasms! You think it's just a cramp until you look down at the rest of your body and it to is convulsing, in the manner of a small petulant child, when it doesn't get it's way. 

Am I speaking to you? Or is this just me in a crumpled heap on the floor?

I don't know why (okay maybe i do) but every time I set out on a project I seem to overlook:

a) my skill set

b) my available free time

c) my sewing machine's capacity

d) every past project I've ever made

  I made this dress (featured above) for my kitchen tea, from the famous Burda Coffee Date Dress pattern. I was still sewing it as the first guests arrived bearing cellophane-clad goodies.  But it's okay, everything turned out alright in the end, except for the zipper, which no-one notices anyway right? 

Two Shoes

I bet you thought I'd died or something right...?

Well between work, study and planning a wedding I think I almost did!

But I'm back in business and can't wait to show you all what I've been up to.

First up are these too cute shoes I have embellished for my flower girl. That's right, not only am I going to sew, swap & salvage my way through this wedding but I'm taking the bridal party down with me! 

I had some left over crystals from the bridesmaids shoes and knew the extra bling would go down nicely with the little 3 year old princess. The only problem now is I have to stop myself from eating them, they're so darn cute! I have put a tin of French mints next to them, just in case.

much love,

Amelia 

I'm Engaged!

 Hi friends, remember me? I know, I know its been a while! There are many reasons but no excuses for my absence from the blog-world. I have sooo many unfinished projects to show you but this little announcement seemed a little more urgent ;)

I'M ENGAGED!!!!!!!!

And getting married very, very soon! Did someone say winter wedding?

As I sit here writing this the temperature is literally dropping and I can't quite fathom how or where I'm going to find/make winter knits, leather boots or some non-stinky, vintage fur. But then it dawns on me...

I have to find a wedding dress!

Do I have time to make one? Will I go secondhand? Does anyone have a spare dress they would swap?

Ohh heck...

I was selected!

Well I did it! My skirt was selected to go on the catwalk at the Melbourne Stitches and Craft Show! 

I'm going to ignore the fact that only 17 people entered and hold my head up high while I post off my creation to be judged by the sewing world. Thanks to everyone who voted for me, I know it wasn't a straight forward process ;)

Now I just have to wait till May for the results...arghhh.

xx

The Formal Alligator Skirt

Well it's FINALLY here! The skirt I made for the BurdaStyle/ Tessuti Fabric competition. I did make it in time for the 2nd of April deadline (barely) and with the help of my usual peeps (mum, boyfriend, even my dad tried to help me take photos) it's up online for all of the Burda-world to see. I have already received nice comments (the sewing community are so lovely). 

I was aiming to create a quirky twist on the classic marie skirt, making it  out of Tessuti’s textural ‘Formal Alligator’ fabric. The pleats have been reversed to create a triangle shape and to move the bulk of the fabric away from the middle. Then two ‘bow-tie’ pieces were pattern-made to fit into the front waistband, continuing the line of the pleats. The shape of the bow-tie mimics the raised texture of the fabric whilst steering clear of the overused, classic bow shape.

Have a look at http://www.burdastyle.com/projects/the-formal-alligator-skirt

I hope I vwin!

Well, I've certainly never blogged about a project I haven't started before. But I was so excited I had to tell you all. I am making a ridiculously fabulous pencil skirt for the Tessuti / BurdaStyle competition to win fame, glory and perhaps a truckload of fabric. In my world fabric is a HUGE deal. I know I'm leaving it a little late as always (the deadline is April 2nd), but I needed to con my boyfriend into taking me to Surry Hills to get the fabric before I could get going on it. Did I mention I also have two assessment tasks due for uni and a few public holiday hours worth of pay to earn? Oh boy...stand by!

Nudie is better than Nude...

As a long time fan of Swedish denim giant Nudie Jeans, I have religiously and rigorously conformed to their 'code of denim', all in a bid for the perfectly kept pair. Yes, under their strict instructions I have; gone without washing them for six months, kept various shaped instruments in my pockets in order to create the perfect 'wear marks' and of course patched them within an inch of their life. I have collected 5 pairs over the years which have served me well and are still in high rotation in my wardrobe. As they age they mold perfectly to the body and start to feel like soft felt. There really isn't any other piece of clothing like a pair of jeans. Nor any other piece I would spend so much money on, or get so much wear out of. Nudie even have a blog devoted to the the 'living denim'.

These days I have become somewhat of an expert at repairing them thanks to my boyfriend, who quite frequently waltzes through my front door swinging a plastic shopping bag, containing one or two pairs and calls out 'Baby I've had another blowout!'
Now I'm not going to go into physics behind why guys wear through the crotch of their jeans quicker than girls, but suffice to say that 'someone' sat me down one day and very carefully explained why. So now I have no qualms about repairing his jeans whenever they need it.
If you would rather repair than replace, here is how to fix (and hopefully prevent) jean blowouts:

1) Using a good quality denim (an old pair of jeans is perfect) cut a suitable sized patch for the hole and surrounding area (that might have weakened).

2) On the inside of the crotch sew the perimeter of the patch while holding the hole closed. Then sew up and down the patch over and over again in the same direction until the hole is covered.
3) If any of the other quadrants are weak, reinforce them the same way you did the one with the hole (believe me eventually it will need it anyway).

Happy Sewing
P.s - Yes if you look at the photo carefully you can see that this is the 2nd time I've repaired this particular pair!