psychadelic soul sister

So i have a guest model on this post (i was getting fed up dressing up...a model i am not!) This dress i simply pieced together without a pattern. It's just made up of a princess seamed sheath with the skirt part made of 2 large squares of material, one for the front and one for the back.
You just make a cut into each square, from the middle of one side to the centre of the square and cut out a circle with the circumference the same measurement as the front (and then the back) dropped waistline. When the material falls down after seaming you'll have made the spikey uneven hemline. A black silk ribbon is tied up top to keep the neckline from plunging too severely!!

button-up collar conversion

So to continue the July "dressmaking frenzy" i thought i'd post another JJ shirt conversion.
This time i didn't make sleeves and instead made a button up collar for wearing my ties to work.
Just standard medium-heavy interfacing inside the collar to keep it nice and stiff. I'm delighted to see that it worked out well, and can't wait to make a few statement shirts with clashing collar materials!!!

to infinity and beyond!

So i finally decided to give in and make one of the infinity dresses because i was thinking that it would be handy on holiday, you know packing one dress but having the option of loads of different styles...I went for a two colour one, especially because it is really expensive to buy that much of the stretch fabric in one piece!...because the skirt is all one giant circle, but if you buy a smaller circle and then add a long strip of another colour round the hem, it saves you a bit of money!
It is called the infinity dress because there are supposed to an infinite number of different ways to wear it. The dress is really just made up of a circle skirt with 2 long pieces of material to make the top. The long bits are sewn onto the waist band (slightly overlapping) in 1 single seam...thus making it the easiest dress in the world to make!! There are many places on the internet that show you the different ways to wear it, so i'll settle for this way, which is the one that suits me best!
There are lots of tutorials online (like this one) so have a go, it couldn't be easier!!

stamp it out!

To break up the dressmaking sequence i wanted to post another wee quick craft that i'm also doing at the minute. I make the little stamps out of normal rubbers (erasers for the US peeps!) and just draw the design (IN REVERSE!) on the rubber in normal pen and then cut away all the white areas with a normal craft knife, or sharp kitchen knife.

It's surprising how accurate you can be! The rubber is very soft so the finished stamps can be easily damaged,but if you look after them they will last indefinitely.
I use mine for making designs on fabric or for stamping personalised napkins for special parties. I've also made quite a few for giving away as wee pressies.

button back black dress

So this is the last of the coffee date dresses for the present. I wanted a plain one for work that i could wear with the shirts i've been making. I lowered the neckline again, to leave space for a shirt collar.
I bought a collection of invisible zips for making the dresses, only to realise that they are too short, hence the need for a low back. I had already cut the high back pattern pieces so decided to make a little window at the top, allowing me to drop the zip down further.
The top of the window is secured by a button tab...so it turned out ok in the end!! See? Mistakes drive creativity!!

kasia the kidney warmer

I see recently that i'm involved in a little dressmaking revival stage so that all the posts seem to revolve around clothing! That could get boring so i'll have to look out a couple of other projects to break it up a bit or i'll end up getting bored of the clothes and will give it up like i did the first time! I've mentioned Burdastyle before, and it was there that i got the free pattern for the kasia skirt. I look rather pained in this photo...yes i think i have mentioned that i hate being photographed.
Kasia is high-waisted so shirts stay neatly tucked in (which would be a novelty for me im afraid). And just the right height to ward off a chill on the kidneys..lol
The skirt zips up the front and then you button the front panel over the top. Super-easy and anyone could manage it im sure!
The yoke is gathered and pleated at the sides and at the back (so that is not the fabric being stretched to breaking point, it is the pleating!!)
And best of all it's got pockets!! I love it!! This will be the first of many i am sure!!

frilly pink JJ

So when i find a pattern that works, I usually can't wait to get down to customising it!! The same was true with the JJ shirt. I got this lovely pink sheeting for 99p/metre on sale in my new favourite shop here, so basically i stocked up!! With such girly material what could i do but make it super-frilly!!
I used circular ruffles for extra volume!! I have a pair of baby pink bubble high-heels with bows on the front that are going to go toooo well with this!! lol

BBQ birthday dress

Uh-oh! Yet another iteration of the coffee date dress pattern! This time i lowered the neckline a little and dropped the back to make the dress a little more relaxed for a BBQ party i had at the house for my birthday. I got this cool Tyrolean material in ikea!! With snowy mountain tops, flowers, climbers, log cabins and mountain goats it was the perfect collection of colourful silliness that birthdays are all about!!
I ♥ it!!

dotty coffee date

So still on the subject of fun dress-making, i've been rustling up a couple of dresses as per the coffee date dress that i posted before. This time i choose heavy weight material (actually an upholstery fabric!) so that the dress would have a tighter, more tailored feel.
I absolutely ♥ this pattern. It is so quick and easy and so comfortable to wear. Because of the heavy-weight fabric it also doesn't cling or blow in the wind...see?
It's great fun...now i can't wait to start fiddling with the pattern to get a few other variations!!

patriotic presine!

Ok so the title is cheating a bit to use two languages to get an alliteration...but it's permitted in the rules of this blog...believe me, i just checked.

SuperD has been complaining recently about burning his hands on hot pots and steaming casseroles...i keep telling him to use my oven gloves, but it seems that big pink gauntlet gloves are not compatible with male italian kitchen experience. He wanted "presine" (3 syllab) which he was used to having in italy. He even went so far as to push a stained, badly sewn, beige one in my face on a recent trip to italy saying "see this is what i want!" Beige, and badly sewn!!! The flesh rebels!!!!
So i decided to make them patriotic...just to remind him where he is now living!!! The back however was free rein for me!!...could you tell??