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  1. A Wardrobe Full of Gingham Keeps the Land of Oz away

    December 15, 2011 by ginghamgirl

    Pattern: Bodice from Colette Pattern’s Macaron, altered to be strapless, self drafted half circle skirt
    Fabric: Red and white cotton gingham, from stash, white poly-blend lining, from stash, white polyester boning

    I don’t think I’m the only one who finds the term ‘gingham’ synonymous with Dorothy and her adventures in the Land of Oz (for anyone deprived of a childhood I am referring to the Wizard of Oz). Personally I actually prefer the darker ‘Return to Oz’ with the crazy Wheelers, which gave me nightmares for years and caused an unfortunate aversion to rollerblades. Uh anyway, gingham fabric connotations aside, I made this dress several months ago, but due to living at the bottom of the world, summer has only just reached us.

    I altered the bodice from the Colette Macaron pattern to be strapless, probably not my best move as, without the front and back yokes the dress was still a little low on the sides. I used boning for the first time, not nearly as scary as I had presumed plus I got bragging rights among my non-sewing friends who don’t know how easy it actually is. I drafted a skirt similar to this one but made it longer and err actually my waist size rather than my imaginary size. The bodice is lined in white poly-blend fabric and trimmed with gingham ruffled elastic trim, which I enclosed some self-made bias-tape. I plaited some scrap fabric to make the straps. Which would look great is I wanted it to look super scrappy. I did not.

    But look, loveheart shaped pockets with bows. Much nicer/ridiculously girly. And now I’m off to finish the rather ambitious list of Christmas presents I’ve decided that I *have* to make this year. Plus a dress for Christmas, cos clearly I don’t have enough ; ).

    Have a lovely day, happy sewing, Bry xo

    Category Dresses, Sewing | Tags: ,,,, | 1 Comment

  2. To awkwardly pout or not to, there is no question

    December 1, 2011 by ginghamgirl

    Pattern: Style 2240 (1978), View 2
    Fabric: About 2 metres of cream coloured curtain fabric

    I really do not know what people are supposed to do in photos. It seems I just grab my hemline and hang on for dear life. I also either look down so all you can see is hair or contort my face in ways that can only be described as ‘pouting’. Its not like I mean to, really. I just honestly don’t know what to do with it other than smile or snarl. And a photographer literally had to teach me to smile when I was 10 (apparently twitching my lips and baring my teeth didn’t count, who knew?). Anyway, I digress, who cares about my issues with appropriate photo behaviour, this dress is where this post is at yo.

    You know what the best thing about vintage patterns is? You don’t need to trace off the multiple sizing’s line. God how I LOATHE to trace sizing lines, which I inevitably confuse and instead I end up with a mish mash of shapes that only slightly resemble their intended sizing’s shape. However they are rather good if you’re making something for someone else. Not that I’d ever be that selfless ; ).


    Yes, I am falling off the tree

    This pattern was my Nan’s, as was the fabric. Yay for stash busting. The buttons I bought from an op shop last year. These buttons are so pretty! I have one left which is a bit annoying, not enough to do matching cuffs, and in an attempt to at least look like a grownup, I’m giving the miss-matched buttons look a miss. So it will probably live in my stash lonely and forlorn until I eventually attach it to a brooch or something. The aim here is to feel as guilty as possible about the button until I use it. I would go so far as to ban myself from buying more buttons but COME ON LETS BE REALISTIC.

    I made up view 2, which has pintucks on the front, flared sleeves and button loop closures. This was my first time doing pintucks and I actually pinned the damn things on the wrong side the first time I started doing them. rrRRRrr. This was also my first time at (correctly) installing a ‘pointed open collar’. This pattern called for quite a bit of handsewing, which I found unnecessary. I think that maybe the sleeve would have looked nicer if it had been frenched (done with French seams) instead of machine stitching, then hand turning the raw edge and sewing down. It did however make this a very transportable project, and I was able to finish the sleeves whilst having coffee with my Grandparents. My maternal Grandparents both don’t sew and are always delighted and interested whenever I show them a new project. Secretly I think they’re wondering why I don’t just buy a new dress, but they do always oh and ah over appropriate details so that’s no big deal.

    I omitted the ruffled piece on the bottom of this dress, and had to take in the waist seam slightly. I did that by sewing a pleat on the back, and attaching a button on top to make it less noticeable, and sewing some of the gathers down on the front waist. I also had to add in a tiny pleat at the neckline in order to make the collar fit perfectly. The dress is still a bit gapey, I’m instead going to call it ‘whimsical’, which explains why these photos were taken whilst frolicking in a park with a daisy chain in my hair. I did like this pattern, however if I made it again I would probably make the bodice longer and the waist seam smaller.

    Happy sewing, have a good day Bry xo

    Category Dresses, Sewing | Tags: ,, | No Comments

  3. Re -fashion- ating

    November 29, 2011 by ginghamgirl

    The original creator of this top clearly knew that women LOVE their arms and shoulders to look 5-10times larger than their actual size. I mean who doesn’t like to look like they could smuggle a cat in their sleeves? (actually I would love that, can you imagine how cute it would be if you trained the cat to pop it’s head out every now and then?)

    Regardless of the storage possibilities, I chose to remove the sleeves in order to actually wear this top. I got it from an Op shop, un-worn with the tags still attached (apparently the original owner felt similarly about looking like their shoulders had wings attached). I also only had to pay $2 for it, which already makes me extremely happy with myself. I removed the sleeves and shoulder pads, and simply turned the sleeve over twice (to enclose the raw edge) and sewed it with my sewing machine. I also took the sides in about 2cms on either side, as it was a bit gapey.

    This project took a total of 10 minutes, the majority of that spent unpicked the mass amount of fabric on the sleeve seam. The top is a bit sheer, and in polyester, what feels like lining fabric, but as it was so cheap I’m not complaining. Plus the collar is amazing so hopefully that will distract from the loud ‘swishy swish’ sound that accompanies any movement. This is such an easy project, and a wonderful way to make use of the pile of 80s shirts people seem to accumulate for ‘all those costume parties I go to’. Go forth, hack into your clothes!

    The title of this post is a bit misleading, it should instead maybe be called ‘making things re-wearable’. I’ve decided to tackle the massive amount of thrifted clothing in my ‘to edit’ pile and hope to capture this here for you. Oh also- I can attach bows to the centre of this top, which, regardless of what my face is doing in this photo, makes me very happy.

    Have a good day, happy sewing. Bry xo

    Category Sewing, Tutorials | Tags: ,,, | 3 Comments

  4. Muu- Muu- Licious

    November 23, 2011 by ginghamgirl

    Patten: Simplicity 8889 (Printed in 1970)
    Fabric: Black cotton with flowers running down it

    What, a dress that ISN’T too tight? One that allows me to eat as well as breath? Can it be so? Apparently it can, if Simplicity 8889 has anything to do with it.

    I actually made this dress as a wearable muslin to try out this pattern that I found in my Nan’s horde. I want to make a dress in cream and navy silk (finally giving in to the colour block trend) and just wanted to test out the proportions of the princess seams. This is completely different to what I normally wear, it would appear I have an obsession with defining my waist, but I actually rather enjoy the floaty-ness of it. Plus this pattern has my Nan’s handwriting and notes all over it, which is adorable. I love that I’m the same size as all of her patterns and clothes. The best part of that being I don’t have to share with my sisters who aren’t!

    I chopped off quite a bit of the length so I didn’t feel too much like I was wearing a muu-muu, and deepened the neckline slightly. I also omitted the facings and the zipper after doing a ‘Mena Test’ to make sure I could get the thing over my head.

    Clearly I’m going to have to move the bust darts down a bit (sob). Seriously, I’d like to meet the woman in 1970 whose breasts sat this high, obviously she never run for the bus (or even walked fast). Or maybe I’m just ‘low bust challenged’. Despite this, I really like the detailing at the bust, which is visible if you squint really hard.

    The best part of this dress is that everything came from my stash (which qualifies me to do some fabric shopping right ; )? ), it was super dooper quick, and really easy –that is unless you accidently sew the princess seam wrong three times. That’s what I get for deciding to make a dress at 11:30pm apparently. Regardless, horrah, new dress!

    Oh P.S. Please ignore Grug hair in last photo, I really, REALLY need to trim my fringe. It is taking overrrrrrrr! Happy sewing : ) Bry xo

    Category Dresses, Sewing | Tags: ,, | 3 Comments

  5. Sencha Been GoooooOOonnee

    November 20, 2011 by ginghamgirl

    Patten: Sencha from Colette Pattens
    Fabric: 1m of Mystery Green polyblend fabric

    Yes I am quoting Kelly Clarkson (SINCE you been gone. Check THAT English out). I have been gone for quite a while. But do not fret, look, a top.

    My second Sencha from Colette Patterns, I made version 1 again, but this time drafted a peter pan collar with lace trim and used 5 buttons instead of four (more back aerobics for me hurruah). Seriously sometimes I completely understand women who had dressers ‘back in the day’. My back can only contort so much before I realize I may actually have to go out in public with some of my bits on display. Oh the horror.

    I really love this pattern. I think it is so versatile and looks so varied with different fabric and button combinations. This top looks both dressy and more relaxed, depending on whether I wear it untucked or tucked in. This time I chose to use this very odd green fabric I found at an op shop, it looks like cord on one side and is really silky on the other (the side I used). I think it’s a synthetic blend of some sort, I’ve had no issues with washing it so far so it is a champ in my mind. The lace was from my MASSIVE stash my Nan gave me, and the buttons are from a pile I brought from my local op shop last year. So that’s kind of stash busting…right?

    I’m between a Colette Size 2 and 4 and I think I made this shirt a smidge too tight, but that hasn’t stopped me from wearing 5 times since I made it (OUTFIT REPEATER OUTFIT REPEATER). I had originally made it a size four but when I was fitting it, it was quite big so I pulled it in a bit. A bit too much but shhhh, and at least it makes me think twice before I have that second serving of cake.

    I have actually already made ANOTHER sencha, a knit one, without closures (hello two hour top). If you are reading this and you don’t have a Sencha pattern, I think you should get one IMMEDIETELY, its one that you’ll want to make over and over again.

    These photos were brought to you by my camera’s self timer. Be not afraid of pressing the button, running to approximately where its pointed and posing for the obligatory 10secs before you run back and realize you counted wrong and have instead caught yourself in flight. With a very odd face. This is what the delete button is for.

    Have a good day, Bry xo

    Category Sewing | Tags: ,,, | No Comments

  6. Wrap Me Up Buttercup

    September 21, 2011 by ginghamgirl

    This dress a) doesn’t need nimble fingers to do up all 8 teeny tiny buttons which of course require ninja moves to reach my hands to and b) has pockets. Viva la wrap dress!

    I made this using another pattern from Colette Pattern, the Crepe, a wrap dress that I made up using some synthetic/polyester/artificial/alien material that was my Nan’s. My father kindly remarked that I look like an advertisement for the Olympics. If this confuses you, you’re not alone.

    This was the first time I’ve used this pattern, and it was more of wearable muslin than anything else. First thing I noticed was that is uses A LOT OF FABRIC. Luckily my Nan always over bought fabric so there was enough to make it, plus I rewarded myself for stash busting with a plate of cookies. Mmm. Next time I think I’d make it a smidge tighter, lower neckline, shorter and a tad cut out from the back pieces to make it lower there too. Oh dear- COVER UP WOMAN.

    It was fun making a dress without any notions or closures (and less swearing at the sewing machine when I run out of thread halfway through making my last buttonhole), and I could see myself making up many a Crepe come summer. Maybe I could try for an Olympic Torch dress.

    Have a good day. Bry xo

    Category Dresses, Sewing | Tags: ,,, | 1 Comment

  7. Dress Dress Dress SKIRT

    September 15, 2011 by ginghamgirl

    Dresses in my wardrobe everywhere and not a separate to see.

    I love dresses, I really do. But sometimes I want more. I demand MOARR. More chocolate (another family block please), more rings (every finger deserves a lil something something), MORE pretty clothes to stroke and coo at and call pet names. Ahem.

    This skirt was made on a particularly boring Friday night. I had actually done all my assignments, New Zealand’s Next Top Model had finished and it was raining outside, leaving me trapped inside lest my frizzy hair be touched with rain.

    It’s a self-drafted half-circle skirt and my favourite type of waistband- one where it dips in at the middle. I have convinced myself it gives the illusion of me being smaller than I am. I’m not sure if it works or not but I am happy with the delusion. I had been itching to add a placket with buttons and trims for yonks and yonks and with such a simple skirt it seemed like the perfect time.

    This skirt was super quick to make, the buttons, trim and zip were from my stash and the black cotton was leftover from a dress I made (and are still yet to take photos off oops). So this project was free. Yippee.

    I accidently made this a smidge too small and short (the perils of stash busting with limited fabric) but I have decided with tights I can kinda get away with it. Kinda <.<. I should probably avoid windy drafts or bending over ever though. Unless that’s the way I roll ; ). Excuse the awkward poses. I was sucking my tummy in and it did something to my face. I’m a model daaaarrrling.

    This top was my Nan’s when she was younger and I utterly adore it. Embroidered crop top? Oh my!

    Thanks for reading, Bry xo

    Category Crafts, Sewing | Tags: ,, | 2 Comments

  8. The Art of Disappearing

    September 5, 2011 by ginghamgirl

    Ah life. Or something like it. Always interrupting me when I have plans to sew. Or when I actually do manage to finish something, disturbing me before I get time to take photos. So, because of life I have many, many things that have been left unfinished (ahh hemming, my old enemy) or not captured on camera (ahem boyfriend, it is very hard for me to try and take photos of myself. The self timer beat me. The self timer ALWAYS WINS), or not blogged (because sadly I do actually have to hand up assignments in order to get a degree).

    This dress was made as part of The Sew Weekly challenge a few (?) weeks ago, ‘Peer Reviewed’ where you take a look from someone else and reinterpret it for yourself. This idea suits me perfectly. I often drag photos from each week’s challenge to my desktop for inspiration so I thought this would be a good opportunity to actually use them. I, of course, forgot my tendency to make things too small for me and set about trying to interpret Sarah’s Colette Parfait jumper from the ‘Kidding Around’ challenge. I somehow missed the point about it having shorts and merrily set about hacking into this blue linen I found in my stash, which I’m fairly sure was a tablecloth in a former life.

    It’s my fault really, I should have taken my time instead of ploughing through to make time for the assignments I have due for uni (which *maybe * should have the priority over sewing…). So a quick whirl of my machine on a rainy Friday night later (missing out on watching True Blood in the lounge with my Boyfriend for the pleasure I might add) and BAM fitting issues. BAM unmatched lines. BAM crazy pockets. I’m not even going to show you what I look like in it. I look that strange. I should have made a muslin, I was going to, but I silenced the voices in my head with the promise of more time to eat chocolate and appreciate Bill Compton’s furrowed brow- uh I mean admire Sookie’s pretty dresses.

    Like Sarah I used a metal zipper. Unlike Sarah I made a potentially unwearable dress. Very annoying as I actually quite like some of the details, like little bows on the pockets and straps (instead of buttons). This fabric is really light too and would have been perfect for summer. Gah. Must. Not. Focus. On. The. Disappointment.

    I could see myself trying again with this pattern; I think the fault lies purely with myself. I, as per usual, went wackity wack with my scissors and rRRrrr rRRrr with my sewing machine without really thinking and as a result the dress is not entirely what I wanted. But that’s what sister’s are for, my eldest sister adores everything I make so I shall gift this on her, and in return earn brownie points which I can cash in to borrow her things ;)

    Have a good day ☺ Bry xo

    Category Dresses, Sewing | Tags: ,, | 1 Comment

  9. Cut a Piece of My Heart Out

    August 9, 2011 by ginghamgirl

    Sometimes I can’t help but admit that I’m a girl. A Girly Girl. One who likes lovehearts. A lot. One might even say I ‘love’ them ;) . So when I saw Chie of the blog Vivat Veritas’s tutorial on adding a heart cut out to a dress I couldn’t wait to try it.

    To really embrace the theme I also drafted a sweetheart neckline bodice with thick straps. It gapes a teensy bit at the armhole BUT JUST DON”T LOOK AND THEN IT DOESN’T EXIST. No really, that’s my logic when it comes to little mistakes (or to playing Hide and Seek). I pleated the centre front and the back two sides with an interesting technique I’d like to call ‘punching my fabric in folds till I think it looks nice’. V couture.

    I unearthed this fabric, which I think is Thai silk, when I was sorting through a box of fabric, and I literally have no idea when I bought this or where from. That is both awesome (yay nice fabric) and frightening (just how much fabric do I actually own?!). I lined the bodice and skirt because the silk was quite light and used a black zipper for the closure. Both were from my stash, so I didn’t have to buy anything for this project. Hoorah for hoarding.

    Thanks for reading Bry xo

    Category Dresses, Sewing | Tags: ,,, | No Comments

  10. The West meets Winter

    August 7, 2011 by ginghamgirl

    Every winter I face the same conundrum. Why don’t I own a gingham cropped shirt? And every winter I have to settle for cardigans and long sleeve shirts. This winter I say NO MORE. No more being warm, no more being sheltered from the rain. I say bring on the goosebumps.

    And so, when I saw that this week’s theme for the Sew Weekly was ‘Go West’ I knew what I was going to make. I used a Vogue Basic Design’s Pattern as a starting point, but altered the bottom of the shirt to make ties instead. I also changed the sleeve a little as my shoulders need no shoulder pads. I pleated the excess material and bound it with bias tape, then added some little bows. I tossed up using red buttons but they looked a little dress-up-ey (for once not in a good way) so I stuck with white ones instead.

    The instructions with this pattern were not the best, so I winged it (wung?) most of the time. There was no facing for the neck collar piece so there is a raw edge under the collar which is irking me, so I might have to bind it with some of the leftover bias tape. However this may have been because I gave up reading the instructions and went with *instinct* (ahem blindly sewed) but I will choose to blame Vogue anyway.

    The fabric, buttons, pattern and interfacing were all from my stash so this shirt was like a gift from the obsessively shopping and fabric hoarding gods. I do thank them and promise to do my very best and buying every piece of decent fabric I come across in my weekly op shop pilgrimages.

    I’m hoping I’ve managed to channel a vintage ‘glamour’ Western look instead of, as my boyfriend kindly put it “You look like a farmer checking on her chickens”. I distinctly remember chickens in The Wizard of Oz and that’s kind of Western……right?

    Insert photo-shopped lasso here

    It is 15°C today (or 59 in Farenheit for those of you playing along in America) and I am just a wee bit cold. Sadly I think my boot scootin’ days may be limited to the latter parts of the year.

    Thanks for reading. Bry xo

    Category Crafts, Sewing | Tags: ,,, | No Comments

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