Self- Drafted Skirt and Refashioned Shirt

This is a bit of a belated post, as I've already worn this outfit, but didn't really get many pictures of it.

I wore it to a gig a few weeks ago, some hip new band 'Wild Sun'. (okay, its my boyfriend and my friends, but they are really good! I'm not even biased)

The skirt is a little mini that I self drafted from another skirt I really like the fit of. It was really quick and easy to make. I had about half a metre of this lovely lace/broderie anglaise that my neighbour kindly gave me and I was inspired by Geneva's lace Romper from apairandasparediy

 

http://apairandasparediy.com/



 



On a completely different note, the fabric and zip are from a huge bag full of fabric, trim, ribbon and thread that my neighbour gave me recently. I was having the time of my life sorting through everything she sent me (thug- life) and it was so lovely of her.

For the lining I used some white poly-cotton type fabric which, at first seemed fine, but inside a sweaty gig turned out to be the hottest thing ever. Ah well you live and learn. This will be reserved for colder times I think.

 

 

Construction- wise there are a few darts, and a little pink zip at the back. The waistband is just a line of topstitch, which is pretty well hidden in the lacy texture. I left the bottom of the lace raw without a hem like Geneva's which works fine. As long as you don't look at the inside this skirt seems fairly good, the inside seams however... I'd rather not go there.

I wore the skirt with this little cropped shirt I refashioned out of a long, bigger shirt of my moms. She kindly donated it to me and I shortened it, took it in by adding darts to the back, and added some embellishment to the collar.

The gems were from a necklace I used to own which had broken, and I also stuck some diamante stoned on the buttons. I have some plain collars that are from some of my dads old shirts, so I am definitely going to be adding some gems and jewellery parts to them and wear them with t- shirts and jumpers in the winter.

Besides being mega warm, this outfit made me feel pretty good on the night.

I promised my friend Becky we were gonna make a few simple skirts like this, with a waistband, so expect to see them here soon!

Graduation Dress

This dress has been sitting in my wardrobe for a long time for a certain special occasion.

I think it must been about 2 months ago I made this, but I finally wore it a few days ago at my graduation from University.

The pattern is Simplicity 2884 and I loved it! It was nice and easy to put together, way easier than I expected, and I was surprised how flattering it was too. I was worried it wouldn't fit properly around the bust, but with a few alterations to the gathers on the bodice, it fit really well!

I did make a muslin first, and I was very glad I did. (I'm normally too impatient and always skip this step) It meant that my final dress came together in hours and I could learn from my shoddy mistakes. I do really like the practice muslin though, I made it out of an old blue gingham duvet I found in a charity shop for £2. I need to take some pictures of it at some point, its nice and summery.

The fabric is a lovely green heavy-ish, floral cotton that I brought from Honeysuckle At Home from a craft fair. I had no idea at the time if it would be enough to make this image I had of a 50's style halter dress...........

 

Who can compete with this!

 

Haha, can't say I looked anything like this on my graduation day, sure it would have livened the place up a bit though.

 

 

 

Overall I loved this dress. It was really comfy (besides the bit of boning I didn't encase properly so it stuck in my back a bit) And I cant wait to wear it again, definitely without the furry robes though!

 



 

It was a scorchio day, and the fabric was very warm but looked nice anyway so ah well! I would recommend the pattern to anyone, it was very straight forward, but I missed out the lining as the fabric was substantial enough not to need one.

 

I think I'm going to use the bodice and waistband bit of the dress pattern to make a halter-neck top in the future. hopefully it will come together before all the hot weather goes and I have to go back to jumpers.

 

So here are some more photos of me with my Mom, Dad, Milo and Nan, (in case any of them felt left out)

 

 

 

 

  

 



MOOD!

Back from an amazing trip to the US!

I was staying with some friends of the family and we visited so many great places...... including Mood in LA! Haha.

 

 

I was so shocked at just how massive it was, it seriously had everything I think you could ever want fabric wise. I could have spent all day there.

I finally came up with four fabrics I love that I took home to Birmingham with me.

I especially love this bright blue and white patterned Oscar De La Renta cotton and the cotton mix which looks like flames.
I have no idea yet what I want to do with them though. They are currently draped over my dress form and I go and stroke them occasionally.

I think the De La Renta might be made up into a little something for my friend as a surprise. More news on that later!

Project Pinafore

I got this pattern a few weeks ago from Cloth magazine, my lovely Nan brought it for me.
I brought a really nice black pinafore from River Island recently, which I love, but it is a little big for me. So this pattern came just at the right time.

I love the look of pinafores, I love how you can wear them with a crop top or something on a night out, but then they can be really smart with a shirt. I'm ignoring the fact that they remind me of my nursery school uniform.

I have brought some light blue cotton for the main parts of the pattern and some navy floral cotton for the pocket tops and bias binding. Both were from Hole in the Wall in Walsall, near my home town of Birmingham. I love Hole in the Wall, the staff are so friendly, and there is so much choice! my mom would say too much, I end up spending so long choosing!

The dress looks so fun to wear but there are a few construction bits that I have not really attempted before. Its going to be my first go at making my own bias binding, and also first go at doing proper button holes, not just practice attempts.
Lets hope my sewing machine is feeling up the challenge! (sometimes she definitely doesn't)

Here is me pinning and cutting on the carpet, which is a challenge in itself.

Also sneaking in the photo is my pin cushion, which I made in the form of a peacock a while ago, but my housemate says looks like a fancy duck. (I'll accept any bird shaped analogy to be honest)

I wish that I could spend all weekend happily sewing this up, but it will have to be saved until next week as I have an exam on Monday :( therefore instead of my dining table looking like a tranquil haven of sewing it looks like this-

(the beer is purely medicinal)

 

Love For Celia Foote

I think I'm very late on the bandwagon, but I finally watched the film The Help today. Great film. But I am now slightly obsessed with the character Celia, and more specifically her CLOTHES!

Played by beautiful Jessica Chastain, Celia, a crazy 'white trash' blonde ditzy woman who has, in my opinion, one of the best wardrobes ever.

There are two outfits that are especially beautiful, one is this gorgeous yellow playsuit.

How lovely is this! Its definitely made me want to make a summery playsuit with a fitted bodice. I haven't attempted anything like this before, so that will deffo be a challenge, I had better get looking for a pattern! I always find that fitted bodices never fit me properly on the high street, I guess that's one of the joys of making your on clothes, you can actually get them to fit the way you want them too ha.

Another outfit of Celia's has got to be the pink dress.

I know she gets talked about and criticised for it in the film, but its so beautiful!
The fact that I would have nowhere at all to wear a dress like this has not stopped me wishing for one.

With my exams around the corner :( I haven't had much time to sew lately, but I'm itching to do something a bit creative. Not long to go now though until I have finished Uni forever and look forward to a bit more sewing.

 







First Shorts

Here are my first pair of shorts, semi-successful!

They were from a Burda magazine pattern, and although I am really pleased with the outcome, I definitely didn't follow the pattern instructions. (I would like to think that this is because I followed my own creative impulses, but its really just because most of the time, I couldn't understand the instructions. )

I have actually never done a Burda pattern before, and I'm not gonna lie, adding my own seam allowances and learning how to construct pockets for the first time was a challenge! But I'm very happy with the outcome, and actually have a great pair of shorts I will wear if the weather allows me.

The fabric is a sort of 70s style stretchy knit, love the pattern (there isn't enough purple and green combinations haha). I got it from a craft fair in Sheffield for about £2, and had just about enough to finish the shorts.

Now that I know how to make pockets and how shorts are actually put together, I do think that this is a very easy style to make, the waistband is just thick elastic, and the hem is a big turn up. Maybe I'd better wait for signs of nice weather first though!

Love to hear anyone's thoughts!

A bit about me

Hello!

As my first ever post I should probably introduce myself. My name is Lauren and I love sewing and doing anything creative. Making stuff is usually a way I relax, which is probably why it has increased at the same rate as my history degree! I am really here to record what I make, get some inspiration and make sure I finish every project I start!

I am deff going to need all the help I can get, both in the blogging technological aspect and sewing. As while I am quite ambitious with my projects, things rarely go the way I intend! So any help and guidance anyone can offer will be gratefully snapped up.

Hopefully by the end of the week I will post up some pictures and info of my latest sewing adventure and see what everyone thinks. x