(sew)everyday notions

Finally it's cooling down around here!  This is the Hero Vest by Toni from Make-It-Perfect . A vest can get daily wear around here in our fairly mild cooler season. I picked up this pattern on sale recently through Indiesew , and waited for the right fabric :) About a month ago I joined the Brisbane Spoolettes for a High Tea in the city. It was my first sewing meet-up and it didn't disappoint! What a lovely afternoon it was. Of course there was the imperative fabric & pattern swap and before you knew it I had some Nani Iro double gauze in my hot little hands! (THANK YOU! to the kind person who brought it along!). This fabric is from the " water windows" s eries in  Odayakayo colour way. It has large squares of watercolour print in beige, purple, taupe & grey. To be honest the  taupe/grey wasn't really my scene, but I loved the purple and beige so thought long and hard about what to make from it! Cushions crossed my mind, but the double gauze...

My latest make! It's the new & shiny Colfax Dress by Kelli at True Bias. I think she has an absolute effortless style and I love everything she makes and the patterns she drafts. I have made 5 (!!) versions of her Southport Dress alone. Her patterns fit me with minimal changes needed, so we are definitely talking TNT AND #fangirl territory.  Her latest dress pattern is a lovely summer dress- cutaway/racer back style in a slightly A-line shape. The pattern has a lovely front yoke (which I then proceeded to omit... More on that soon.) I think this style is quite timeless so I used a dark Tencel for my version (Spotlight). I loved some of the inspiration ideas Kelli linked to- there are also lots of denim/chambray swing dresses to be seen on Pinterest and I don't think there's one I didn't look at! In the end I got an idea for an exposed zip in my head and I had to go down that route. This style reminds me a bit of the Tessuti Ruby dress, but I like tha...

Dressing gown, robe, kimono, cover-up, wrapper.  Call it what you will but I am a total sucker for them. I get so much use out of my Nani Iro kimono robe (it is total double-gauzy-dreaminess) but was instantly taken with the lastest Almada Robe from the February Seamwork magazine. I made two in two nights, both gifts sadly. Sadly because I want to keep them for myself. I have dreams of a liberty version... Wouldn't that be perfect?  Some notes I made up the XS as both my recipients are quite petite. It fits me pretty well so I think I will stick to that size. As this style is a fairly generous fit it makes sewing for a gift pretty easy! This pattern is drafted so beautifully. The gorgeous curves of the seams and cut-on sleeve means using French seams is a breeze. (I always get caught on how-to French seam the right-angle corner of the sleeve/body in a traditional kimono pattern. This pattern negates that with a beautiful curved seam. )  Fa...

Summer sewing is in full swing! I couldn't resist one of the newer patterns by Tessuti Fabrics - the Kate Top . Tank tops are daily wear around here so I knew I couldn't go wrong. And also, they're running a competition if you sew it up! Run don't walk, friends! The Kate top is a boxy-cropped tank (on trend!). I found some delicious chambray at The Fabric Store (Brisbane). All the cool kids are wearing chambray but I've never been able to find the right fabric. This one is a lovely weight and colour. I do like breezy tops and worried the chambray would be too hot for summer, but made up this top has a lovely structure while still keeping me cool. Some notes I made view A - scoop neck. After a muslin in size Small, I decided to cut an X-Small. I added seam allowances and made a CF and CB seam for detail/decoration. The fit is great on me!  I used the exposed binding (self bias) and loved the idea of contrasting topstitching so went a bit crazy ...

Summer has hit in the southern hemisphere, which means I need summer dresses for every day! The Southport Dress by True Bias was released just as things started to cool down for us in Australia (back in April), but I still snapped it up on release day, knowing it would be the perfect summer dress. There was a lot of love for the Southport during the Northern Hemisphere summer, and I have no doubt there will be the same "down under". Here is my wearable muslin and really, it's as perfect as I thought it would be! this pose - trying to hide the remote behind my back... so dorky! Some notes I cut a 10 bust, and 8 waist/hips. Next time, I'll cut a straight 8 as I took in the bodice side seams about 1cm. Fabric is some *crazy print* rayon from Spotlight, it's nice to wear and the crazy print hides the wrinkles that rayon tends to get. While I decided I don't love the print after I bought it - it really is great for hiding all matter of kid-related-...

Hemlock, Mandy, Sorbetto, Plantain, Polly. There are some fab free sewing patterns available from some amazing indie pattern designers, aren't there? This is another one, the Tate Top by Workroom Social . I put this little beauty together pretty quickly for a recent wedding where I wanted something cute (check), nursing friendly (check) and dressy/casual enough for a country farm wedding (I wore it with black skinny jeans- so check check!!). Thanks Jennifer for a great pattern!  Some notes... The download is only for the pattern (no instructions) but the construction is pretty easy to figure out. I made a size 14, after checking the finished measurements and allowing for the ease I wanted.  I made the back of the top less "racer back" by eyeballing the armholes when cutting, to allow me to wear a nursing tank underneath without the straps peaking out. Fabric is a neon printed poly from Spotlight.  This is my first time using self bias! (True story!!) Not a...

When a close friend has a baby, I like to make up a baby quilt for the new arrival. In the planning I like to make sure I give them a design that fits in with the parents aesthetic. This quilt for Baby A turned out just how I envisioned it- cool, modern and not too "babyish". I used this pin (and it's subsequent blog post) as my inspiration. I debated which colour and sort of thread I would use (yellow, black or grey? Upholstery weight?) but in the end just used normal (Gutermann) thead in black. There's so many quilting lines it that I think this was the best outcome. testing the thread & pattern First I quilted the long lines that run vertical, then measured the first few horizontal chevrons from the centre of the quilt, and just eyeballed the distance as I sewed - changing the distance up to make for a more "organic" style (that is, it didn't matter if I got a bit lazy wonky).  Aren't chevrons pretty? ...