Just a catch up

The Leprecaurn outfit for my 28th Birthday party was a success, a rushed success, but a success none the less. The pattern is really simple and flattering and I totally suggest it to anyone who wants to make a fun/funky costume. The skirt is even a decent length. I actually like the jacket so much I am thinking of making one for wearing not as a costume, it really is cute with a semi victorian feel to it. I will get photos up here eventually but it may take a while for my dear hubbie to get them onto a computer where I can then steal them and reproduce them onto this blog.


I did clean up on my birthday it appears, besides the over budget bike that I was allowed to buy, I got a load of harry potter stuff (because yes I am a sad HP freak - last year I had a harry party, where we watched the Half Blood Prince from a booked out gold class movie theatre) I have attached a photo just so you can see how much of a freak I am for HP, this is me, Ange and the wonderful Stacey representing 3 houses in thier 1950's uniform.


The Pattern we used was one that is free to download off the internet (ask ange, I have no idea where) but unfortunatly needed loads of grading for myself and Stacey, but I think we go there in the end, though the lord knows I could do with about 2 inches more space in the belly area.... oh well dress isn't going to grow so I will have to shrink.


Now where was I - oh yes my birthday haul, and most specifically how does it relate to sewing at all. Well the wonderful, fantastic Ange has taken the hat round and gathered enough $$$ from my almost as awesome as ange friends to be able to get me a new sewing machine.


I have decided on the NS10 which is seemingly a low end computerised machine put out by Brother. I have a brother overlocker and it has been fairly reliable so thats a plus and it does one step buttonholes which is well absolutely positivley necessary for me. I can't have Ange doing my button holes for the rest of my life.


Which also brings me to why I need a new machine. Well I think my work could really benefit from it. The machine have is really basic, I picked it up new (on sale) for about $120AUD 7 or so years ago when I decided I wanted to give this sewing thing a go. It has been very faithful to me as it is the machine I learnt on by trial and error and still goes strong. But about 2 years ago it got into a fight with my heater - the heater won, the tray at the front that holds the bits and bobs of the machine warped and will no longer slide on. As such for 2 years I have been sewing everything on the space you use to sew a sleeve hem. Rather annoying really.


Also no longer creeping up on us is our stash busting challange - to come soon, images of cloth mountain as it stands today before the mining begins.

Good V Evil - My Birthday Party costume

So all the vintage sewing needs to be put on hold for a bit whilst I return to my roots and create a costume for my Good v Evil themed birthday party at the end of the month.

I toyed with buying, rehashing and renting a costume but as always I return to the place of I want to make it to save a buck. It really is a horrible indication of society when I can make a costume cheaper than I can rent one, or even buy one of those cheap 3 strips of cloth legs avenue slutty costumes. You know the ones that barely cover the butt cheeks, look great on the leggy model in the advertisement but somehow make every normal person look like a sausage dressed for some raunchy bedroom roleplay.

Simply put I love those naughty but nice costumes, I want them all, but I don't have that lean svelt figure, and haven't done for about 5 years, so I am going to make a costume similar but more on the modest line, you know drop the skirt a couple of inches, and make sure that it fits my odd dimentions.

So I have decided that I will be going as a leprecaurn, thats right a slutty one. Simplicty has regailed me with two choices of pattern and to be honest I am leaning towards the this one.

I like the vest bit, and I have a green velveteen at home that I have had for AGES that I can make the coat out of, get some gold glittery/sequiney stuff for the vest, and the White cotton I have for the dress and then maybe I could do a black or green overskirt (so the dress worked kind of like a petticoat) and a bow tie, plus of cause the hat - I think small top hat.

I should be done in a week so I will let you know how it goes.

Hef.

One Fabric - Two Patterns

Long time back, Spotlight had a sale on lots of fabric. I managed to pick up this brilliant blue Micro crepe and I think it cost $3/m which is a huge bargin.

I bought it because it was cheap and it went into the stash for a short time - then I purchased this repro vogue pattern and decided that they were a pair.

The blue looks a lot darker in this picture than it is in actuality.

As with so many of my projects this one got shelved for more fun stuff, less work ready and more interesting in details. Also this dress looked HARD, since then a friend of mine has made it and assures me it is not too hard at all and for a wrap dress does an excellent job of staying shut.

Anyway then I bought a huge batch of actual vintage patterns off Etsy, one of which was this one. I love the soft femininity of this, and thought I could see it with a pretty red belt and my red and white shoes.

The problem is that I only have about 5m of this fabric and I doubt I can do both.

The colour is closer to the second picture but not as bright, kind of between the two I guess. The lighting in my lounge where they were taken is kind of yellow so all fabrics come out funny coloured in my pictures.

So what do you think, which pattern should win the right to my awesome crepe?