Skirts Loaded to 50%

Well I haven't been as studious as I could have been but the skirt project is now sitting at 50% done - as illustrated by the photo below.

As you can tell in the end I didn't cut and sew all in one big process line and instead heeded the word of my husband who told me to make one first to be sure the size is correct.  You won't hear this very often but he was right.  The skirt on the right (white) is about 8cm to small.  An anomaly I can not fathom given that I am using the exact same tracings as I used for another skirt that fits perfectly.

In any case due to my generally lazy nature I didn't resize the pattern (I had already gone through that to get the original 28 inch waist to a more reasonable size to fit me and I didn't want to do that all over) instead I did the only sensible thing.... I took half a cm off the seams on the second one... with 8 seams and 2 pattern pieces per seam that netted me the 8cm I required to get the thing to fit somewhere not under my bust.

On that note whist I did the only SENSIBLE thing, there was a point in the trying on phase that another solution came to mind.  That being to add suspenders and pretend it was always supposed to sit that high, alas it was not meant to be.  The fact it is too small is not to much of an issue given that at the moment I am on a diet and trying really hard to lose weight.... about 30kg would be nice but I'll take whatever I can get for now.  If I can lose about 10-15 I should be able to fit into all my old dresses which will be most exciting.

The second skirt (orange) fits fine, so I will be continuing with the sewing them with 1cm seam allowance and not resizing.  I have cut out the strawberry one which shouldn't take more than a couple of hours to complete and then I have two more to go.  I can't get them done quickly enough to be honest there is a massive heat wave in Sydney.

And now for a moment of parental pride, I am adding a picture of my sewing buddy who dutifully kept me company for the frustrations of these skirts.  My Baby Odin the best dog in the whole world.... anyone else have a sewing buddy to vent at when unpicking is called on?

Projects for the Upcoming Stash Blitzkrieg

Officially the Blitzkrieg will not start until Saturday night - because it looks like that will be the first chance I will get to sit down at a machine and sew anything.  With friends visiting from around the world, annaverysorry's and movies to see I have been hardly able to breath.  But I did take some time tonight to quickly put together some pictorials of the projects I will be working on.

8 Gored Skirts

I have 5 meters of rayon (1m each type) and I am going to make 5 of these 8 gored skirts from a 1940's advance pattern 3287.

I have made this skirt 3 times before and am close to perfecting the fit but the pattern is just lovely - especially in the soft floaty fall of this rayon ($4/m).  I used a lot of rayon to make skirts to travel around Italy with due to the not needing to iron and fell in love.  Actually I already have one in the same pattern as the orange floral but red.

Hopefully I will be able to process line these and will therefore have all of them done saturday night.  Which reminds me I had better call into spotlight for zips and buttons.

Skull Dress

Sorry the pic for this is a little smaller but the square allowed a better view of the fabric that I picked up of Ebay.  total cost was about $50 for 3m including all postage.  To be honest the fabric photographs better than it looks in person but I still really like it.  I don't have anything else like it that's for sure.

Whether I manage this as part of this Blitzkrieg or not is questionable because I am unsure if I have enough material to do it, and because I need to find a green to accent it with if I don't.  It may also be put in the when I have lost a little weight pile.  Dropping a size could cut .5m off what I need by this pattern, now there is weight loss incentive.

Childs Play Clothes

All around me friends are having babies, recently some are even having girls which means I can make cool things for them.  This one has been on the to do list ever since we got back from Italy and being so small I doubt it will take too much time so I am including it in this blitz.

Pattern is an old one, 1960's by my mothers guess and of a mail order variety so I am not certain of the company but I think its really cute (size 2 but kids do grow right)

The material is quilters cotton picked up on sale probably about $6 for the pattern and $5 for the plain.  I will do the top patterned and the pants plain.


So there it is 3 projects (well 7 really) and more to come.  I figure if I put the info up here I will remember what material goes with what pattern which should be useful in clearing things out.

Is Organisation the key to success?

I have cleaned my sewing room - it isn't entirely perfect yet, but it is much better.  I finally bit the bullet so to speak and accepted that my mess was prohibitive to my creative flow.  I didn't take any before photos but this is basically where I am at now.

I have put my girl dress on Mavis as a goal reminder that i need to get my lard butt up and shrink back into it.  I really do love it.

Patterns are in boxes, and material is all away and now I can start planing my next stash bash.  In that vein I have started to create photo files on my computer in an effort to try and recall when needed all the different fabric packets that I have.  So in my next post I will put up a few matches that I have already made.  More as a reminder to myself of the projects I have to get round too.

My husband is now on my back about how long I think the material I have will last, given that some of the stuff I have is stuff I got at least 5 years ago, I think that I can safely say that his guess of 1 year is rose tinted at best.

To start however I will be making very uninspired but much needed skirts and tops with the multitude of small meterage fabrics I have.  I know it won't burn a lot of meters in my 50m goal but it will get rid of some packages very quickly and truth be told I could use them.

I am still trying to pick a bigger project - I am thinking the double breasted jacket (1960's style) in blue velveteen though it seems like the wrong season.  Perhaps I should look into that this year too - is sewing like gardening - when do you make your winter/summer stuff?

Well it is now late so I will head to bed and catch up later.

The New Years Update

Here I am again checking in for the new year, seems to be the time that I remember this blog exists. The time I swear again and again that I will keep this more updated and post my projects. It is as unlikely this time as any other but I do set out in earnest to do so. Who knows now that I have a laptop and can do so from the comfort of my own bed it may be more likely to happen.

Rather than attempting to catch up on projects – which is something I may do at some point I am thinking this year to just try and move forward and update as I go on each project I am completing. First up for 2014 is 5 skirts that are in all ways identical bar the pattern of the fabric. I made a couple mid last year for my trip to Italy and I loved them (iron free rayon is worth all the slippery slidey issues in the sewing stages). I also have a multitude of more major projects to get through – in fact stash mountain has been estimated now to hold over 400m of fabric.

I know this because last year I had the brainwave to clear it up a little. I got all my fabric and packed it into individual bags labeled with a type and size for easy reference. To be fair it took a long time to do but it saved me a lot of space and has made it easier to scroll through what I have in the draws…. Cupboard…. Boxs…. And shelving. The only material I did not bag was the stuff that was bought in a spotlight sell out on the bolt – they live in my cupboard. So whilst I know I have a LOT of velveteen in green and brown I am unsure how much in reality that is. I have decided that the next step is to photograph each bag so I can just scroll through the pics on my computer rather than in person but who knows when that will happen.

I still have to finish my pattern catalogue – which will require me to scan the front of every pattern and import the picture with all the details (already in a spreadsheet) for all 300+ patterns I own. I can then print out these pages and put them in a binder. I figured this would be helpful because a lot of my patterns are vintage (dating back to 1930’s) and therefore the paper is a little tender and the continual flicking through to try and find what pattern I want to use is taking its toll.

This brings me to a question – how do others store there patterns? Mine are currently (and painstakingly) placed in zip lock bags (I know its like an addiction to put everything I own into a its own little baggie). I order them simply as to their date of issue (either by finding it on the pattern, on vintage pattern wiki or by guessing based on style if neither of these work) and I have boxes for 30’s and 40’s, 50’s, 60’s, 70’s – modern. On top of that I also have boxes for costumes, fantasy costumes (yes I have enough that they warranted there own box), and historical costumes. Every one of the 7 boxes is bulging and I am thinking it may be the right time to find some other solution to my storage problem.

Last night I went about cleaning and tidying the hovel that is my sewing storage room (not really a sewing room since I sew in the lounge room and just use this room to pile all my sewing junk) and came to a sad but true conclusion. I won’t be able to make most of the patterns I own – not ever. Yet I can’t bare to part with them. Even the ones I don’t like that much anymore, have never made and are sized for a 10 year old. (apparently people used to be really really small). Still I hoard my precious patterns for Justin (just in case). Given the number and age I would say I have well over $1000 sitting in patterns that will never be used. Oh well it isn’t like this is not the way my mother raised me, hording of sewing stuff is in my blood.

In anycase I now hereby officially anounce the 2014 Stash Mountain Blitzkreig. It will be lasting for a full 2 months ending on Feb 2nd with a meterage goal of 50m. Wish me luck.

The Small Stuff Blitzkrieg and the Pheasant Plucker Skirt

I know I am horrible at keeping this updated, to be honest I have also been nigh on horrible at keeping up sewing. I have had job issues, personal issues and gotten in a rut. Now though I think I am out having several projects to bring you up to speed on and also this the newest of the Angelic Cow Challenges, which I am calling the “small stuff blitzkrieg”.

So first of all where it has come from. I went through some patterns that my mother had stored away whilst I was spending much quality time with her. To be honest this is because I was working in the same area but it was nice non the less. So I found in amongst the plethora of bad 80’s fashion and subdued yet dowdy 90’s horrors a few patterns worth maybe having a go at. Two of them were simple skirts which I grabbed owing to having the “Pheasant Plucker” fabric I had bought on a whim of ebay sitting at home.

The Pheasant Plucker fabric is indeed a weird lime tinged/brown/Gold mixture picturing pheasants. When I bought it I had no idea how big the pheasants were, apparently quite big would have been the answer to that question. This left me with no choice but a simple a-line skirt for which I had no patterns. That is until I raided mothers stash.

And so despite issues such as the majority of pattern pieces missing in both skirt patterns I managed to piece the two patterns together to come up with something highly reminiscent of one of the pictures on the pattern fronts. Hence within 2 hours of arsing around the Pheasant Plucker skirt was sewn into being.

(side note I call it the pheasant plucker material because it is funnier than just pheasant skirt. It’s an old tongue twister that makes you say naughty words)

In any case the point being that now I like skirts. The second thing that brought on this idea (remembering that small things can come together start to finish in around an hour) is that Stash mountain (which is again looking very unnervingly disorganised and has done since I moved in January) is getting a little out of hand. A lot of the stuff in stash mountain is unfortunately there due to it being off cuts to small to “use” and too big to throw. I figure with the right kind of vigour I could desecrate the peak of the mountain and make me some funky skirts, shorts, and tops.

So the answer came to me Angelic Cow will be doing their first ever Small Stuff Blitzkrieg the rules of which are.

1. Collect all fabric under 1.5m from stash mountain and stash molehill respectively
2. Collect any patterns for small things (shirts, shorts, skirts) that require less than 1.5m to make
3. Start at 7pm end whenever we feel like it on a Friday night and see how many items we can make between us.

The date is set for tonight and I think we will have an awesome pasta dish to put forth the energy needed to really tackle this head on. I will be sorting out my first two points as soon as I get home (oh and after I upload a pheasant plucker photo for you to enjoy.)