By Hand London - Elisalex Dress

2014 is the year of weddings - I have 3 friends getting married this year and I really can't afford that many new dresses and I find it very hard to get a good fitting dress, plus they are all friends from school so I can not wear the same dress twice as I have had to point out to my husband!!

So I decided that I was going to make a dress for the wedding, the theme was garden glamour.

I really wanted to make the Elisalex dress and already had the pattern so off I went to the Fabric Store in Sydney earlier this year when they have 50% off sale and purchase some beautiful cream and gold fabric! It had just the right weight to hold the tulip skirt shape.

I made a muslin, I had some fitting issues I cut out a size 14 and graded down to a 12 around the bust and shoulders.

I really didn't like the look of the sleeves once I put it on

So I decided to make it without sleeves, I lined it with a cotton Voile. It was lovely and soft.

I had to overlock all the edges and seams as this fabric frayed very badly

I made the tulip skirt in with the muslin and didnt like the shape it gave me at all so unpicked it and re-cut the Charlotte Skirt and just moved the darts so that they aligned with the princess seams

Sorry about the terrible photos but I was trying to get this all done for the Mad Men Challenge but got lazy with posting.

And Finally this is a photo my friend took for me in Berry all ready to go to the Wedding. I was so pleased with this dress that I have already cut another in a red wool for work. I got so many compliments!

If I had to make any changes they would be insert a kick pleat as it was very snug getting that skirt over my hips to go to the bathroom.. sorry too much detail :)

Louise

xx

I WON

A BIG THANKYOU to Linda from Greenhaven blog!!

I was the lucky winner of her giveaway of the PIP Australian Permaculture Magazine

I loved reading all the articles in this magazine and am looking forward to the next edition. It really inspired me to do more in my garden and find out more about permaculture so much so that I have just applied for a 1 day course at my local community college on permaculture. I'm really looking forward to it.

Next weekend is May 4 is International Permaculture day so look for your local groups on facebook and see what they are doing!!

Here are some photos of whats happening around my garden

Rouge Pumpkin self seeded from the worm farm castings

My bed of greens

Seedlings sprouting

My no dig bed which I am currently filling with leaf litter and chook poo

 

Best season I have had with eggplants

and last of all my newest addition to my garden my chooks, we got these chickens on the 27th Dec they hatched on xmas day. They love getting out and about but I keep them contained as I don't want them getting into everything.

I hope that they will improve my terrible sandy soil in my garden beds and soon we will have eggs.

The other bonus is that my 21 month old daughter just loves them and I love that she will know where eggs come from!!

Enjoy
Louise xx

Gabby Dress

Off for my Wedding Anniversary Dinner and pulled out my trusty Gabby Dress.

This is actually my second Gabby dress, I love that it can be dressed down for the beach or wear out for dinner and is perfect for our summer weather.

I cut out the medium for this one and it gave it a nicer fit around the chest than my last one.
Fabric is Rayon from Spotlight and they only had a small amount left and not enough to do the back so I colour blocked and I really like it.
Pattern matching the sleeves was a bit of luck - I wasn't even trying but very happy with the finish.

Trust me it gets a lot of wear!!

There will be more Gabby Dresses in my wardrobe before the summer is over that I'm sure

Yarn delivery

My yarn delivery from Webs arrived.

I have 5 Skeins of Cascade Yarn Sierra in Moth to make myself a Miette Cargidan

Now I have to learn how to wind it by hand... I have never bought a Skein before

I also bought some Plymouth Baby Alpaca Grande (It is so beautiful and soft!!) to make a couple of Salt Cowls

I thought they might make great presents and maybe one for myself 

Better get knitting!!

A new year a new dress

Now that I am back at work full-time I am finding that my old work clothes are now in desperate need of updating. So I am trying to eat into my fabric stash and sew me some clothes.

I recently stumbled across a new blog - If I spent less time reading blogs I might have more time to actually post on this little blog.

So when Lincraft were having a sale on patterns I purchased one that I saw on Bobbin's blog that I thought would suit my body type.

Simplicity 2588

Being time poor I didn't sew a muslin - I just graded the pattern, I am a 16 around the bust and an 18 around the waist line.

Because this dress is not lined I knew that I would be able to adjust any fitting issues as I went along.

I used a cotton sateen that I had purchased from Spotlight last year.

I had to get my darling husband to help with some fitting at the back zipper. I pinned he zipped with pins then I adjusted and re-pinned until I got the fit I wanted.

I probably ended taking it in about an inch around the zipper all the way down the back seam.

This patterns gets you to hem before you put the zipper in which I thought was a bit weird as I have never come across this.

I know for next time to skip this step till after the zip as I had to unpick the back seam of the hem to take it in then re-hem around the back.

I used a invisible zipper instead of a lapped zipper as that was what I had in my stash. I don't think I have ever done a lapped zipper so that is one I would like to master.

I finished off all my seams with pinking scissors and bound the back zipper seams with some black bias tape I had on hand. 

I am so happy with this dress, style on me is very flattering and when I wore it to work everyone thought it looked amazing and couldn't believe that I had actually made it.

They said that is looked like something from Cue or Review

This is just the type of complements that give you the urge to go and sew another.

For some other reviews on this pattern check these out

Sew Tessuti, Sew Hopefully

Sorry for my terrible 7am photos!!

Another Lola and Anita Ponte pants

After a very successful trip to the remnant warehouse on Thursday i am cutting out another victory patterns Lola dress and Anita ponte pants from tessuti. I am squeezing this all out of 2.5m flame ponte purchased for $ 25

Pattern Review - Lola Dress Victory patterns

I have been sewing again... and quite a lot.

After having baby M I was keen to sew up all the baby clothes but after reading everyone blogs of there Me-Made-May creations I decided that I really needed to start sewing for myself... totally selfish I know.

Returning to work and the onset of winter has inspired my wardrobe funny how last year whilst pregnant I didn't feel the cold too much

After seeing Nikki-Shelll's version & Leisl version of the Lola I thought it would be perfect, we are off to the Hunter Valley in 3 weeks and its going to be cold up there.

I will make this pattern again - possibly lengthen the sleeves so they are more 3/4 or full length.

This would also look lovely in a nice ponti or merino

I cut out a straight 16 but should have probably graded it around the chest to a 14, best thing about this pattern is it looks good baggy too!! Win Win

More Pattern reviews and sewing I promise - my sewing machine has become a permanent fixture on the dining room table.

Cost:

Pattern: Victory Patterns Lola PDF $12.89

Fabric: 2.5m Husky Plain Fleece $32 approx (lost receipt)

Thread $2.68

Total: $47.57