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‘Crafts’ Category

  1. 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

  2. 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

  3. The Big Bad Wolf is coming to get you

    June 17, 2011 by ginghamgirl

     

    I made this dress and red cloak to dress as – wait for it- Little Red Riding Hood (tres original, no?). I was making it for a ‘nursery rhymes and fairytales’ themed 21st and I can now say it was a mistake. If you find yourself invited to a themed party along those lines, don’t dress as Little Red Riding Hood. You’ll thank me when you avoid the scene that greeted me when I walked into the bar the party was being held at.

    Katy Perry or something similarly inane playing in the background. People moving about, hugging, kissing etc. The crowd parts, I look up to see…

    A table full of girls wearing Little Red Riding Hood costumes. A. Full. Table.

    Now, I am not saying that one should always dress differently, but really, who wants to arrive at a party wearing the exact same thing as a dozen other girls (none of which you know)? It is far better to dress as the mother at the start of the fable (obscurity points are always a bonus) then to be referred to as ‘one of the Little Red Riding Hoods’.

    Ahem. Anyway.I made this dress using a basic bodice pattern that I drafted using the Dirndl Bodice pattern from Wendy Mullin, the prolific sewer/designer/writer/all round  good time gal’s book Built By You: Dresses. I ended up extending the shoulder length (because I am a giant), and making it lower in the front, and a deep ‘V’ in the back. The bodice is lined, in lieu of facings, which I really detest, in blue gingham (not a design feature, I just didn’t buy enough fabric but shooosh don’t tell). The skirt is a dirndl- just a rectangle that I pleated (5 in the middle, 2 on either side at the back). I then added a scalloped hem to the front that extends to two points in the back.

    The jacket/cloak was another project that I used Kwik Sew Pattern 1978 for (this time that was slightly less strange). I used this very cheap red poly-cotton that i got for 2 dollars (!) in an op shop. I was going to use some heavier wool but I decided to make this costume at the last minute and this was cheap. TWO DOLLERS I TELL YA. I edited the pattern in the following ways: I extended the front and back lengths again, slashed the bodice in half and made a GIANT hood, which is lined in black and white stripped knit. When in doubt, make something large to cover your face is my motto.

    The worst thing about the party was I wasn’t even cool enough to be in Little Red Riding Hood gang.

    Have a good day, thankyou for reading. Bry xo

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

  4. Backless Betty

    June 15, 2011 by ginghamgirl

    I made this dress for last year’s Adelaide Fringe Festival Opening Party. This was one of the first dresses that I have made, and is really simple. That in part is due to my choosing to use Kwik Sew’s Pattern1978- a men’s ‘jogging top’ pattern which I decided to turn into a dress. I’m not sure what exactly my reasoning for choosing this- bragging rights perhaps? Although I’m not sure who I thought would be impressed by my using a men’s top pattern.

     

    Hanging onto dress for dear life

     

    Obviously the jealousy was being reserved for my posing ability. Look at that awkwardness. Breathtaking.

     

    Natural Leg Flick

     

    I edited the pattern by making it longer, shortening the sleeves to elbow length, taking out the ribbing and hood, adding a tie and by making it backless. Er actually that was supposed to be lowcut on the front….but after trying on I realized the ‘oh look here is my bra, I was wondering which one I had worn today, good thing I can see you ENTIRELY’ look was not for me.

     

     

     

    Ok to be honest I actually did wear it that way the first time I made it- albeit with a lace top- on of my first *dates* with my now boyfriend. It was very awkward to say the least. Neither of us knew where to look and I ended up sweating in my denim jacket in attempt to keep my modesty.

     

    Pensive Ground Pose

     

    However that *little* issue has been resolved through choosing to wear the dress backless. Class on the front, party round the back. Thanks to the aforementioned boyfriend, firstly for not judging or laughing at the dress in its original state and secondly for taking these photos (I know you tried to stop the awkwardness, but really, it’s beyond our control).

     

    Have a lovely day, Bry xo

     

     

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

  5. Cupcakes, Masks, Dancing, Oh My

    June 9, 2011 by ginghamgirl

    My friend had a Saints ‘n’ Sinners masquerade birthday party last night (very Gossip Girl- velvet drapes, lots of cushions, dimmed lighting, places to canoodle, someone actually dressed as Chuck Bass with the creepy patchwork scarf…).  To celebrate the occasion I made myself a Kitty Cat Mask –part of my ongoing denial about not having a cat is dressing and acting like a Cat Lady. My friend was woefully out of a mask, and refused to wear a Venetian one from the local 2 dollar shop as they “aren’t manly enough”, So I made him a ‘Zorro’ one (Note boys: Real Men Accessorize).

     

     

    Making these masks taught me one thing. I love ‘Stiffy’. A craft product for the whole family *wink wink*. You can use this sucker on the lightest of fabrics and it will stiffen right up, allowing masks of your wildest fantasy to become a possibility. What, you don’t dream of lace masks? Fool.

     

     

    The process is quite simple.

    1. Cut out a vaguely mask shape from your fabric (Hint it should be able to fit over some of your face).
    2. Slap some Stiffy on it (outside unless you wish for your house to smell like a Preschool) and leave it to dry, hanging over a plastic wrap-covered mask shape that of course you have *lying* around.
    3. Trim, cut eyes if you can’t see (if the material is not lace, tulle or chiffon you probably wont be able to see and in order to limit the amount of chairs/people/glassware you knock over, you might want to cut peppin’ holes)
    4. Attach ribbon/elastic to attach to face. Or a stick so you can hold it next to your face without smearing your gorgeous makeup darrrrling
    5. Decorate (optional). I attached ribbon for whiskers, felt for a nose/middle ear bits and drew eye shapes with my gold eyeliner (resourceful, no?)
    6. Use mask (preferably at a party and not in a criminal way)

     

     

    For my friends birthday I made her a Hedgehog plushie, which she has named Hershey (Erm she likes chocolate. I don’t see the connection either), and a bow headband.

     

     

    Her party was lovely, I ate far too many cupcakes and my feet got sore from dancing all night. That really is the sign of a good party to me, music, and enough food to make your guests feel sick from overeating!

     

    Have a lovely day, thankyou for reading :)

    Bry x

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