SCHOOL PREPARATIONS

So I was feeling a bit restless this evening and couldn't sleep... I did some sewing instead.

Bec's old music bag was looking a bit 'tired'. I bought this fabric from Spotlight what seems a gazillion years ago with the intent on making such a bag...finally it is done. No pattern for this, I just copied the dimensions from her old music tote and lined this one in a plain cream fabric.

I'm taking Tom to Spotlight tomorrow, Oh yes indeed! He will choose some fabric and a pattern for #4 on my Must Sew List. I may have to buy some for myself too.....

I haven't forgotten to post some more costumes. I just didn't want to overload you with them all. I will post some more in a few days.

HAPPY "AUSTRALIA DAY"

Monday 26th January

MULTICULTURAL DAY

Like most schools, Multicultural Day is held each year. I made these costumes in 2006. I use poplin most times with costumes because 1: it is cheap and 2: there are so many colours available.



Spanish Dancer: I used Simplicity 5042 (View C minus the hip drapes) which I don't think is available any more. I shortened the skirt slightly and added 3 rows of lace to give the tiered appearance. I made a simple ribbon choker (length of satin ribbon and used bather clips to attached around neck and glued a fabric rose to it). Add pair of fish-net stockings and you have a Spanish Dancer!


Tom's Beefeater costume was a real hit!

Loosely based on the above pattern (View B but no cape....obviously),
it was actually a jumpsuit, but I just made the bottom 1/2 into the pants and the top 1/2 I lengthened, and made into a jacket by using Velcro down the front. I added epaulets to the shoulders with some fancy silver buttons and made a Mandarin style collar. I used a silver piping around the sleeve edges and jacket edge to finish. The hat was made from polar fleece (no pattern so I just fooled around a bit until I got it right.), giving it that furry appearance. I stuffed it full of wadding so that it would keep it's shape and used black elastic for the chin strap.

Tom had just finished studying England at school, and his class had made little paper Beefeaters. So this was just the perfect thing for him to dress as.

MUST SEW #1

Well, I can certainly tick off #1 from my Must Sew List.

Do I like it? No, not on me anyway.

Will I ever wear it? Not likely.

Why don't I like it? It just looks like a sack on me! I really think that if I was a stick insect, this dress would look fabulous, but because my frame is on the curvy side (ie: I have boobies and a bottom), it did nothing for me. I didn't even put it on for the photo. It made me look and feel like I'd gained a couple of kilos! The lack of bust darts and basic shaping really should have rung a few alarm bells with me. Although I did use the correct size according to my bust measurements, the dress felt too big around my top half, I may resize it and make it smaller because I really do like the style.

First I have to say that this was such an easy pattern to sew. It took less than 2 hours to complete. Instead of using bias around the edges, I just lined the whole thing and "bagged it out" and sealed it up,so if I wanted to, it could be reversible. I love the fabric I found at Spotlight, and will probably restyle it somehow or cut it up and make something completely different. I will show you when that gets done.

I think I'm more disappointed in the fact that I didn't get to wear a new dress to the bbq, than losing 2 hours out of my life that I will never get back! So, I will put that disaster behind me, and move forward!

''P" and a "V"

Let me introduce you to 'Po' (for those uninitiated, Po is a member of the Teletubbies series which viewed on the ABC). I made this one for Glen to wear to the the 40th Birthday party I spoke about last post. This was so easy to make. I used McCall's 8953 (View D)and used polar fleece. The spats were way cool, and really made the costume complete. I had to copy the antenna and ears from a child's costume though, that took the longest part getting the proportions right. I just attached the "TV" section to the front with Velcro so that the zipper could be done up easily.

And I was obviously (I hope) a Viking. I used Simplicity 9891 (View B) for the bodice section. The sleeves had to be altered to suit, and also had to shorten the skirt section. Fabric used was a faux suede which made up really well. The helmet was bought from Lombards, but I think that most party hire/supply places sell these and are quite cheap (about $10). My fake plaits and shell necklace were from a $2 shop which finished off the ensemble quite nicely I think.

Now I have to go and make that 3 armhole dress. I want to wear it tomorrow night and still haven't started it! Wish me luck.....

MORE COSTUMES....

We had a 40th Birthday Party to go to a couple of years ago, and each guest had to dress as something beginning with 'P' or 'V'. So here we have a Vampire and Violet from the Incredibles.

Tom's costume was made from poplin fabric (because it's cheap!) using McCall's 3746 (View D). It consisted of elasticised pants, vest and cape. His cape was lined in red fabric - I don't think you can tell from the photo, and I just sewed Velcro down the front of his vest and attached some fancy gold buttons (only because I couldn't be bothered spending time doing button holes on a costume!) He did have some huge fangs to wear but they annoyed him, so I just painted some on him instead!

Rebecca's costume was made from Lycra fabric. I used Kwik Sew pattern number 3104 (view A) for the unitard in red, and placed the zip down the back instead of the front, so that I could applique the "incredibles" logo on the front (I bought a cheapie costume and cut out the logo from the bib). I made some knickers (I can't remember what pattern I used ,but any would do) and added the orange band to them, and made a matching headband. I LOVE this costume! The boots and gloves were purchased. We tried to dye her hair black for the occasion, but didn't quite work out. We painted her mask on so she didn't have to wear one all night.

I'll post what Glen and I wore tomorrow.

Thanks for popping in.

YABBA DABBA DOO!!!

Thanks Linda from http://texmorg.blogspot.com/ for the lovely post today about my costumes and sewing! And seems you asked so nicely, here is the photo of the Fred and Wilma costumes I made back in 2005 for a 40th Birthday party. We had to dress as either a Superhero or TV character. McCall's 2895 was used for both, and I made them out of polar fleece (Fred's black spots were individually sewn on!) and I found some great flocked animal print fabric for Fred's tie, and my necklace was made from those foam balls you get from the craft section. I think we made a pretty swanky couple that night!


I tried my hardest to get Bec and Tom to dress as Pebbles and Bam Bam but with no success. Here they are....

Here we have Spiderman (I can't take any credit for that costume, it was just a shop bought one!), and Tinkerbell, I had no pattern for this so I just copied the bodice part from an old dress of Bec's and attached a full skirt.

Thanks for stopping by.

A PEEK INTO MY COSTUME CUPBOARD

OK, I have been asked to show some of the costumes I have made over the years. I won't torture you with them all at once....there are way too many, way too many! They won't be in any particular order, I'll just have to rummage around my digital photos and post one or two at a time. Here is one of my favourites from a few years ago......

I made this one for Bec's Year 2 Christmas Concert back in 2004. She was Frosty The Snowman. I didn't have a pattern for this costume, so I had to make it up as I went along. As the words in the song go, he had corncob pipe and a button nose / with a broomstick in his hand. The corncob pipe was made out of a bell shaped craft foam painted mustard, and transparent elastic held her button nose in place. I made an underskirt with a few rows of boning attached to it to give her that round look for the bottom, and used wadding to fill out her top half and hood. Felt was used for the top hat and I drizzled some fabric paint on it with some glitter for the snow. I think that this would have to be one of my most favourite costumes, it's been used for several school productions, and even her petite Year 2 teacher got to wear it!

I will have another look around my photo stash, and post another costume in the next day or so. Stay tuned....

WE'RE BAAAACK...

We're back and refreshed from our beautiful holiday at Busselton. This was the view from the beach one evening. Lots of fishing and fun was had that night! It was so hot down there, but it only took us a minute to walk to the beach......bliss!




Anyhoo, an exciting package was waiting for me when we arrived home. It was this vintage pattern I ordered from http://www.oldpatterns.com/.

I'm thinking that I might sew this up in either a white or black broderie anglaise or linen, or even a Pucci print. I feel the need to go fabric shopping real soon! We have a bbq to go to on Saturday, and I would love to wear this. Oh dear, so many outings and not enough frocks!

I've made a list of 10 Must Sew items. If I publish them, then I have to sew them or I'll look like a right git! So here they are....

1. Abovementioned dress.


2. A Funky shirt for Glen.


3. Animal print shift dress (to go with the fabulous bag I bought in Busselton. It was on special.....really it was).


4. A funky shirt for Tom (or anything else he desires!).


5. An apron for myself (I'm sick of wearing my daggy old one!) Oh, I have to make one for Linda at http://texmorg.blogspot.com/ (she liked the cup cake one).


6. A jacket or coat.


7. A couple of tops to replace the many Tshirts I get around in.


8. An outfit for Bec (although she could probably make it herself! maybe I'll just help her make one instead)


9. A skirt.


10. A pair of pants or jeans.

11. Make God Daughter a ball gown

Yeah, I know there's only supposed to be 10, but I forgot the Ball Gown and was swiftly reminded by my God Daughter's mother, so I added this a couple of days later!

There! I said it and now I have to do it!

DRUM ROLL.......

Rebecca's VERY first fashion item that she has sewn is now complete and ready to frolic in along the Busselton Beaches! I think it's a little longer than she would have liked, but hey, the way she's growing, it'll be mid-thigh by the time school resumes next month!

I'm so proud of her. Not only was she enthusiastic, she did everything herself, and did a pretty darn good job of it as well. To be honest, I thought she'd get half way through and give up. We gave her a sewing machine when she turned 10, and since then, she's only sewn a hair scrunchie and a blanket for her favourite teddy bear. Now, that's not her fault, she's been keen to sew for a long time, I just didn't have the time to spend with her (I'm a bad, bad mother!)

Hey S.P. (you know who you are), I guess we have a new recruit for costume sewing for the next JRock! I'm sure Bec will be an expert by the time we do another one.

Off to Busselton now, so see you in a couple of days!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

BEC'S SEWING LESSON

Today Bec has started her denim skirt. I've shown her the do's and don'ts with cutting out, and that's it for now as I don't want to overload her (and make it confusing and boring!) She wants to make this skirt all herself, so we chose a rather easy pattern that I already had, and used some denim that was in my stash. We will continue tomorrow with the 'fun stuff'.

She will be sewing view E for the yoke, but have the bottom section of the skirt view F, which is slightly more flared.

It was nice to watch her do her thing. I recall sewing my very first halter neck dress at the age of 10, and was pretty well 'hooked' from then. It was such a lovely fabric, Mum was a demonstrator for a sewing machine company, and took me to a fabric store around the corner from her shop. I remember sewing the dress where she worked....with one onlooker saying to his wife "If she can sew, so can you!" Mum sold a machine that day.

We are off to Busselton next week, so hopefully she can finish this in time to wear it on our holiday.

HAPPY 12th BIRTHDAY, GORGEOUS!

It was Bec's 12th birthday the other day, and she was showered with all things fine! This is 'the little something' I made Bec as a surprise. She is really into cooking cupcakes at the moment, and I couldn't resist when I found these fabrics in Spotlight.

It's reversable, so here's a peek at the other side.

I've used an old Butterick 5823 apron pattern, but the child size was too small and the adult's was too big, so I had to do a bit of adjusting (not sure if you can still get this pattern, I didn't bother to check, but there's plenty of apron patterns available).

Here's a close-up of the fabrics.

I will be making myself one as well...probably in a leopard print, I think! Kinda cool I reckon.

Bec's next project for the holidays is a denim skirt. Will start today and post some pics when done.

Have a great week!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!

Hoping the first day of your 2009 was as relaxing as ours. Swimming in Mum's pool and generally "pigging out" on my family! I only made one resolution for 2009, and that is to sew a lot more for me and my family...a LOT more!

Anyhoo, I ordered this pattern the other day from http://oldpatterns.com/ and am looking forward to it arriving in my letterbox. It's a Butterick 4699 from c. 1967. A groovy wrap-around dress, and with the hot weather that's been around lately, I'm looking forward to making this up and wearing it EVERYWHERE! Maybe a navy with lime green trim? Any suggestions? Hmmm...... let me think on this for a while.

Bye for now.