CHOCOLATE GINGER FINISHED WITH A LATTE

Yes, I was hungry when I wrote this post;)

Firstly, Chocolate Ginger sounds more appetizing than Brown Skirt!
And secondly, Latte is so much more tastier than Light Brown Bias!!

So, here we have my third Colette Ginger Skirt - certainly not my last, but for now it will take a back seat to some other projects.

I just love this skirt with its simple lines, not to mention how easy it was to whip up.


This was a total stash busting project.
I have about a gazillion zippers, so finding one to match was not a hard task.
Plenty of interfacing for the waistband - check!
The fabric was leftover from some trousers I made a few years back.
Oh, and the latte! I finished the hem in this pale brown bias which I hope lasts as long as the skirt - I have no idea how long I've had it (I've been sewing for over 30 years, you know!) and it felt a bit cardboard-y when I was slip stitching it..eek, it may disintegrate on me!



The innards...
The pattern doesn't call for lining, but I do like to line most of my garments though as I feel they hang a lot nicer.


My invisible zipper (which doesn't look so invisible when done up - darn it! - might work on that a bit more).



And the waistband top stitching - I like it when the innards look as nice as the outside!


Off to Busselton and Margaret River for a few days, so enjoy the rest of the week.

ANOTHER GINGER...

Well, I have been sewing a LOT lately, just not for myself!

At the moment, I'm pretty much holding down three jobs....
Some days I have my Secretary's hat on, some days I have my Retail Assistant's hat on and for the rest of the time, I have my Alteration & Mending Seamstress' hat on!

I have started up an Alteration & Mending business (again) and I have been overwhelmed with the jobs coming my way, it has been really good and this time I've been enjoying it, mainly because I have put my prices up to reflect the real time and effort I put into it.

I even had enough work coming my way to justify buying my new friend, Diana.

Anyhoo...since it is school holidays, I've grabbed the opportunity to make myself something.



Another Ginger skirt....made from Panama Suiting from Spotlight and lined with Bemsilk.
I was going to lengthen it this time but totally forgot about it when I cut it out, so I put a false hem on with bias binding to eek out a little length.
I made some self covered buttons and inserted an invisible zip. Nice!




The top is one I've made several times. Simplicity 3835, which appears to be out of production now.
I scored this remnant fabric (polyester crepe or something) for $3 from Potter Textiles
(Sorry Tracy...Impulse visit!)

I tried a couple of techniques on the blouse which I haven't done for a while, French Seams (which I forgot to photograph) and Rolled Hems on my over locker.
Both gave a nice finish.

I bought another remnant while I was at Potter Textiles, so I will probably make another one of these blouses.

Happy Sewing!

COLETTE GINGER SKIRT

I've been wanting a denim skirt for a while now,
but not one of those that you wear with thongs and a mullet!

I have seen plenty of Colette Ginger Skirts on the 'www' and thought that this pattern would be perfect.

I made View 3 and its a super easy pattern to make up in less than a day!

I decided to line it as the denim appeared to be quite a loose weave and I hate it when your skirt 'seats' in the behind!
Thanks Tracy for the lining - it handles really well.

I have absolutely no idea where the denim came from:/

The 'innards'...

I did a mock flat fell seam in thread that is matchy-matchy with the lining.

The pattern called for an invisible zipper - which I LOVE doing, but chose not to in this case as they don't really work well with denim waistbands.

Love the skirt!

Will definitely be making more and I thoroughly recommend the pattern.

WIGGLE SKIRT

I made myself a wiggle skirt for work....unintentionally!

I've used the McCall's 5523 pattern (View C) and lengthened it by about 15cm as I prefer the longer line. I also made it on the more fitted side (that's the intentional part), but because I lengthened it, I should have actually made the frilled section a little fuller to accommodate walking. I can walk in it, but with a wiggle (that's the unintentional part!)....ha! Hence the term "Wiggle Skirt".

I love this pattern because of the different effects you can have on the back panel. I'll probably make this again with the View B as it was so easy

Made from Prestaline which wears really well. The pattern didn't call for lining, but I chose to line it anyway as I believe that skirts/dresses just hang a whole lot nicer when lined, and helps with 'seating' in the rear as my job calls for sitting pretty much all day (not fond of the pouchy bum look in skirts and pants!).

I also put in an invisible zipper instead of a lapped one because I'm getting really quick at these and they look better.

And for the back view...

MUST SEW #9...CHERRY RED

Just a quick post to show another of the New Look 6594 in a cherry red corduroy.

I thought I'd make a nice bright colour just so these stormy days we've been having lately don't seem so glum. Wore it this morning out to coffee with a friend and I felt really girly in it.

I can just about make this skirt with my eyes shut now! Once again I didn't have to make any alterations, instead of a lapped zipper, I put in an invisible zipper (I'm getting quite good at doing these now!) I've now made 3 of these, time to move on.

And Susan... NO BOOTS!

MUST SEW #9.....again

Here is another skirt I made from New Look 6594. I was going to make this up in a corduroy, but I couldn't find a nice chocolate colour, and I wanted another skirt in a hurry, so instead I bought this fabric from Textile Traders . It has a teeny bit of stretch to it (I don't think it matters in this skirt that the fabric is stretch as it's not a firm fit anyway). No alterations again, which is way cool!

Oh, and I had to buy some chocolate coloured boots to match......just don't tell my husband (shhhhhhh)

I can see myself making a whole pile of these skirts. They are so easy to make and comfortable to wear.

I do think I'm starting to have a bit of a boot fetish though......

MUST SEW #9

Here's my latest project that I made this week. It's New Look 6594 View E. I like border prints, but never really liked one enough to make a dress or skirt out of. Last week I spotted this cotton fabric at Textile Traders and had to buy it! I then had to get a cute little skirt pattern to make it up in (and don't even go near that horrid skirt on on the left! I didn't like those puff skirts in the 80's and can't believe they made a come-back!). The only alteration I did to the pattern was to insert an invisible zipper instead of a lapped one. Everything else was as per the pattern, and it was quite easy to put together. It looks super cute with my favourite boots! I'd like to make another one out of corduroy...nice for the cooler weather that's upon us.

A close-up of the fabric.

Anyway, so I can tick off number 9 on my Must Sew list (See side-bar..I think I've neglected this list for a while and must get right back on track with it).

PS. Have a look-see at Linda's blog and wish her a Happy birthday for Saturday!

Have a great week!

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.