Tape Measures Cambie-Hack

This is one of the projects I finished during my "blog-goes-dark" months.

As soon as I saw this fabric I just HAD to have it.

Full Price? Not a problem.
Weird Heavy Drill Fabric? Don't Care.
Probably not the best colours on me? Still don't care.
IT.
HAS.
TAPE.
MEASURES.

Seriously!!! TAPE MEASURES!!

I'm slowly learning that I in fact have a love of kitchy, novelty prints. I'm also slowly learning that I am in fact a hipster and really what is more hipster than a self-employed artisan dressmaker in a tape measure dress made from an independent pattern company design...

I should also point out that I f*cking love this dress. Literally so much love it has to come with swearing because this is awesome! Also there is a LOT of goober face in these pics as they were taken on timer after a long night out but sorrynotsorry I'm not taking more so this is the best you get.

The bodice is the Sewaholic Cambie Dress in a size 6. I add about 1.5cm to this size in the side/back seams since the Cambie is really designed for pear shapes and I'm definitely not one of those! I could probably do a Full Bust Adjustment but I'm lazy and on me this simple add makes all the difference I need so why get fancy if I don't need to?

Goober Face but Pockets = :)

I changed out the gathered Cambie skirt for the semi-circular one from Vogue 8615 including pockets! Now all my ready-to-wear dresses feel like they lack pockets cos I just love having them in everything I wear sooooo much.

The fabric is from Spotlight of all places and seems to be some kind of novelty cotton drill. It's quite heavy and has a lot of body so I thought the sleeker circle skirt would be more flattering than all those gathers in the original Cambie. Bonus side effect? The heavier fabric means the interfaced waistband holds its shape beautifully, whereas past versions in cotton lawn have tended to roll in at the waist even with interfacing. The downside is there isn't a heap of stretch in the fabric so no big meals in this dress. Plus I've already had to repair the sleeves after ripping them bowling at my work christmas do. But how could I not wear this dress bowling? Such a cute 50's vibe right?

Doing the "Dior New Look" Pose lol

The bodice is lined in pale pink cotton lawn and the skirt portion is unlined to save on weight since this fabric is quite heavy. Construction wise there isn't much more to add - I just love how fun and ridiculous this dress is! 

Bought even more fabric today - I seriously have a problem, maybe someone runs a fabric rehab somewhere I can go to? Will just have to get sewing again I guess... Good thing the sewing room has aircon in this heat!

Happy Sewing!

Stacey

OXOX

The Cuddliest Trousers - Thurlows the Second

After such a success with my first pair of Thurlows from Sewaholic I definitely wanted to make more of this fabulous pattern.

Slight Goober Face

I also wanted to try a newly discovered fabric spot at Ferriers Fashion Fabric in Adelaide. After being exposed to so many gorgeous fabric stores in Sydney and Melbourne I really wanted to look for smaller stores here in Adelaide that retail different/better quality fabrics. Ferriers came up on this search and since it was only round the corner from work I decided to check it out. If you've read my last post you'll know this was a successful visit since I've been back 3 times since!

On my first visit I really fell in love with this soft grey herringbone pure wool flannel - I saw a brown version of this fabric at The Fabric Store in Sydney but I wear more grey than brown  so I am glad I waited and purchased the grey version instead.

Let me say first off - This Fabric ROCKS my world!! It looks very tailored but due to the soft brushed insides it feels like I'm wearing my PJ's :-D

What's that? You like my pants???

The combination of excellent pattern and beautiful fabric was an almost guaranteed success and I am certain that these are going to become a favourite pair of trousers! I top-stitched the back welt pockets this time and I love the finish so will do this again from now on.

Welt Topstitch Detail - Oooooh!

I lined these pants using the left over cotton lawn lining I cut out for my last pair of Thurlows but couldn't use due to the sheerness of the fabric I was using. Having fun linings and funky buttons always make me happy and isn't that the point of sewing for yourself?

Crazy Fun Linings of Joy

One word of warning - I cut my usual size 4 and sewed a normal back seam allowance which actually produced a pair of pants slightly too big for me. However, I'm extreeeeeemely slack about pre-washing fabric and after the first cold-water wash I found these shrank up quite a lot so they are now the perfect fit. Just something to keep in mind since I've rarely worked with 100% wool fabric in the past but I will certainly continue to use it in the future.

I was really excited to find an actual 4" metal teeth 'trouser zip'

I once again used the Lladybird tutorial and these came together in just over a day. I think this pattern is fast moving to become my TNT pants design - they are constructed beautifully and are easy to fit and wear so wins all around!!
And yes - I do have more fabric to make another pair, this time in pin stripe velveteen once again from Ferriers so more Thurlows shall grace my future blog!

Sunshine! Lollipops! And Rainbows! Pot-of-gold Thurlows

This is one of those completely irrational projects. There were easier pant patterns available after all. And more sensible coloured fabric. But for some irrational reason I had to have golden yellow wool trousers. With welt pockets. And a fly front. It was time for my first Thurlows!

The role of fabric in Sydney that started it all!

I found this beautiful wool fabric in The Fabric Store in Sydney. It only came in this colour which I wouldn't normally wear (mustard yellow is sooooo NOT my colour, put it near my face and I look like I have jaundice). The longer I looked at it though the more I liked it! Plus this fabric feels amazing. I figured since it's not up against my face it's ok to wear and it does match back with a lot of my tops since I wear so much purple, blue and green.

This is seriously the best welt pocket I have ever constructed! 

I haven't sewed up the Thurlow pattern from Sewaholic before so a muslin was in order. I tried a size 2 but found it was a little tight across my hips so I made a size 4 up in my good fabric instead. Good thing too, since I ended up needing to open up the centre back seam by about 1cm to 1.5cm to get a good fit in the final pair. Fortunately the pattern is designed for this, and is shaped to fit in at the waist so you don't end up with pants that fit in the hip but fall down at the waist. I suspect every pair of these I make will need to be basted and fitted at the back seam each time to check the fit before the final sew. It is a small price to pay though, as these are seriously some of the nicest pants I have ever owned, let along made!

My first fly front finish - aaaww yeeeaaahh!

I used the tutorial for the Thurlow trousers from Lladybird to help me follow the pattern instructions and the extra pictures and notes definitely helped me get such a high quality finish. I think these might be the nicest finished and most complicated pants I've ever finished. And I looooove them!

Sunshiney pants for rainy days? Yes Please!

I originally meant to line them in this gorgeous printed lawn fabric which also had a yellow background but after sewing one pocket perfectly I discovered the wool was more sheer than I had thought and you could see the print completely through the fabric. So I'm saving the crazy lining for when I have a darker fabric to make these up in and I used some basic white poplin from my stash instead. 

It was great to make a pattern with so many little details that make them look "not-home-made". These are the sort of pants that people are surprised when you say "I made them" and I love that about this pattern.

Why helloooo perfectly constructed pockets :-)

I skipped adding belt loops -  I made them and they were pretty but as soon as I sewed them on they looked tacky and very home-made in the worst way. So I unpicked them and will consider adding them sewn into the waistband seam next time. This whole belt loops thing set me back about a week on hemming these babies but they are finally finished.

Excuse the VPL - I was standing in the rain for these pics so speed was of the essence! No time to adjust!!

I probably could have made a size 6 given I added another seam allowance to the back seam but I was worried they would be too baggy around the upper thigh and that would ruin the nice tailored look of this pattern. Given the design is made to be altered I'm happy with this fit and will probably use the same size again for future pairs. Oh yes there will be more Thurlow's in my life - I'm already planning a charcoal suiting pair, a grey herringbone wool pair and some cute green shorts come next Summer. Plus there is the possibility of changing the leg style to skinny and making these up in denim *gasp* could it be TIME FOR ME-MADE JEANS??.... Duh duh daaaaaa! I always swore I would never make jeans since you can buy them so cheap but having lost a little weight now none of my jeans fit and I soooo like the look and feel of these trousers. Hmmm thoughts for the future.

Finally, thanks to Dad for taking these great pics for me despite the rainy weather - I am really glad to have help with photos for this blog - photographer I am not :-D

It has been cold, wet and rainy all week here but every time I wear these pants I smile because they are so cheery and bright - Do you have any clothing reserved for rainy days just because it makes you so happy?

Stay Cheery and Warm!

Stace

OXOX

Me Made May '14 - Day 17 to 23

Aaand week 3 is here, only 1 more week to go!

Saturday, Day 17

Dress: Made by Me - pattern mash up of McCalls 6754 (bodice) and Vogue 8615 (skirt)

Yes - I literally didn't wear shoes most of the day :) This is my attempt at a skater dress - I preferred the vogue skirt length so I grafted it onto the McCalls top. Unfortunately the top is at least a size too big but this is a really comfy, well-finished make so it still gets wear on the weekends.

Sunday, Day 18

Top: Made by Me - Bluegingerdoll Mae blouse

Jeans: Forever New

Boots: Kmart

I love this blouse and need more!!

Monday, Day 19

Cape: Made by Me - McCalls 6446 blogged here

Leggings: Cotton On

Boots: Kmart

Home sick again today, went out for supplies so cuddly cape was the way to go!

Tuesday, Day 20

Top: Made by Me - New Look 6838

Cardigan: Big W

Pants: Made by Me - Sewaholic Thurlows (to be blogged soon)

Boots: Betts and Betts

Thanks Hannah for snapping this picture right before pole class!

Wednesday, Day 21

Dress: Made by Me - New Look 6429 (out of print - no online resources available)

Shoes: Wittner

Thursday, Day 22

Top: Thrifted for $1!

Cardigan: Jackie E

Pants: Made by Me - Sewaholic Thurlows again!

I wore this with the same boots as Tuesday.

Friday, Day 23

Top: Valleygirl

Jacket: Made by Me - New Look 6947 (listed as out-of-print online but probably still available in some stores)

Jeans: Forever New

Boots: Kmart

Wow, this week crept up on me but finally rounded up all the outfits. Looking forward to our sewing day Pendrell sewalong on Sunday so hopefully I will have a new top to add to the rotation soon!!

Entering the last complete week of MMM now, think I will kind of miss this challenge when it's over...

OXOX
Stace