Strexcellent!

If previously to reading this you’ve cast your eye toward the side bar to the right, you will already have noticed that the Wardrobe Refashion ‘Life’ icon is announcing my eternal pledge. If you haven’t, take the opportunity now. Ok, so we’re all up to speed. In short, I couldn’t imagine going back to buying mass manufactured clothes, my feelings and thoughts on such matters have altered way too much, so I’ve taken the metaphorical plunge.

Becoming a ‘Lifer’ has raised new questions about how this pledge is to be sustained. There are certain wardrobe requirements and desirables that my sewing spheres don’t yet cover, and I’m not sure I can rely on charity shops and hand-me-downs to solely provide them from here on out. Nor would I want them to. One of the best things about sewing is the freedom and control you have over the fabric/colour/print/fastening/details/fit of a creation, and I’ve got used to that. So I’ve come to accept that I’ve got some sewing bullets to bite, starting with STRETCH FABRIC.

I could make all the amazing dresses and blouses I like, but realistically when it comes to throwing something on to go to work, 7 out of 10 times I reach for a comfy T-shirt or stretch top. But I hadn’t touched stretch since university. During my time there I dabbled a bit with reworking existing T-shirts, but also had fear of stretch instilled in me by my pattern cutting teacher talking about stretchability ratios and two/three/four way stretch and the alleged effects on the pattern. Hmm, really? There are thousands of successful stretch creations on Burdastyle, and I doubt the vast majority of the creators concerned themselves with stretchability ratios. With this in mind, I got amongst.


University provided me with access to lots of proper industrial machinery like a cover-stitch and binding machine which are specifically for using with stretch fabric. I had to work out how best to utilise my overlocker and normal flatstitch machines to produce similar, if not so professional effects. The acquisition of the Built by Wendy ‘Sew U: Home Stretch’ book helped iron out (nice pun, eh?) my concerns by providing lots of advice on techniques and finishes. Next I had to find a good pattern. First I tried the Lydia basic T-shirt pattern from Burdastyle, but hated the fit and trying to figure out how to alter it was beyond me. So instead I used the basic T-shirt pattern included in ‘Sew U: Home Stretch’ as a starting point, and then laid an existing nicely fitting T-shirt on it as a guideto reshape the side seams to accommodate curves, as the original pattern had no shaping at all. After some fiddling around (AKA, pattern alteration) I produced a ¾ sleeved, boat neck pattern that resulted in this:

The most observant will have noticed this top paired with the red shorts from my last post. The super nice stripey fabric was bought in the summer sale of a fairly high end fabric shop, it was reduced from €16.95 a metre, to €2.95! After the sale, the price went right back up. Jeez, talk about mark up! Well, fresh from the triumph of this well fitting top, I cranked out a puff sleeved scoop-neck item from another striped fabric from the same source:
Now seeing as these are essentially day time items, and I’m not much of a day drinker, I cannot pass them through the previously prescribed field test of applying large quantities of booze to the scenario. Instead, you’ll have to take my word that the latter top fared very well during it’s initial outing to the supermarket, and has continued to do so since. In fact I’m wearing it now. I've still got some experimenting to do and improvements to make, but Stretch Fabric, I fear you no longer!

Red Hot Sewin'

My goodness! My sewing machine has hardly had a minutes rest since I got back from UK. I've been massively making the most of my free time before I start back at work next week by getting amongst some creating whilst I've got the chance. Since both these two creations were deploying red fabric, it made sense to make them at the same time, whilst my machine and overlocker were both threaded up with red thread. Also, it cut down on the annoying switching between the two machines, which I don't have the space to have set up in unison. One of these styles was a virtual straight up repeat of a garment I'd just made, and the other was a new pattern, so it was nice to alleviate the respective monotony and confusion that both situations can, at times, bring!

Despite my protestations of self-restraint from immediately repeating these shorts but in red, that's pretty much exactly what I did once the chicken dress was a wrap. I reasoned that there were a few weeks of hot weather remaining to enjoy in another pair of smokin' hot shorts. The red ones are created in virtually identical stretch twill, with buttons lifted from a charity shopped dress. As I reported, the success of the navy version was somewhat of a revelation in terms of what I found to look good on me, and what I felt comfortable in. So much so, that I decided to make this pair a little more 'pin-up girl', by making them tighter and shorter. From fearing the exposure, to downright flauting my booty, it's been somewhat of a turnaround!

In a similarly vein, I set about the creation of another figure fitting garment, the Beignet skirt from Collette Patterns. I love the vintage inspired styles produced by this new pattern company, but most of all I love that this is a new independent company, that is seemingly a success. I'm very excited to be able to support such an endeavour, whilst enjoying such a beautiful product.

Anyway, I decided to eliminate the side-seam pockets to create a more stream-lined fit, and I omitted the lining as it's still very hot here. Next time I make it, I'll add a lining to make the finished skirt smoother and viable for colder weather. I also did my usual of cutting out the size too big, and had to refit, re-stitch and re-overlock the whole damn thing! However, this style provided me with the perfect canvas to show off these amazing vintage buttons which I'm assuming are from the 1960's.

Aside from perhaps being a tad short, overall I'm really happy with the outcome. It's a fun and sexy skirt that I débuted, as seen in these pictures, on an evening out to celebrate me and my boys first anniversary. The top I am wearing it with was a charity shop score from the UK last April. Moths had sadly got to it and made a couple of little holes at the bottom, but which are cunningly disguised in this outfit as the Beignet skirt require a tucked in top! I refashioned the top to make this possible by removing the back tie detail and stitching down the closing instead. Win/win!

Anda Made Some More Dresses!

Now, I have chatted on at length about the virtues of Burdastyle's Anda dress before (here), but to summarise: it is a very easy dress to make and wear that shows off printed fabric very well. But just HOW well does it show off print, I wonder? Just how ridiculous can the print be, and still the Anda dress pattern will just soak it up and display it as perfectly wearable? I think these are questions of potentially global importance. I set about seeking answers:

First up is a version I made from a charity shopped childrens' bedsheet. The above picture is when I wore the final garment to the Fiesta de Gracia, and got my bottom pinched by one of the many street decorations, cheeky devil! Making this turned out to be a bit of a pain in the arse, as the fabric was too thin to use in a single layer, so I had to alter the manufacture method to self-line the bugger. I made a couple of fitting changes to the original Anda pattern, I raised the elastic casing to make it more empire-line (my African dress is a bit ambiguous, neither empire nor waisted) plus I made the top section a bit tighter by taking it in at the side seams. At first it evidently wasn't taken in enough, as when I tried it on my boy declared that I looked like a special patient. I took it in some more and the comment seemed to have been withdrawn. Here's a close up of the self-bound neckline, don't mind Wizardface:

Over all, the dress is a bit too thick, I probably should have used something finer to line it with, rather than simply using the other half of the sheet. Also, argueably it's a little 'maternity', but I think that is somewhat unavoidable with gathering such as this. Neither of these things prevent me from wearing it, and so you see this dress pattern is able to carry off print as strange as this:

Second up, is another African printed fabric version. Before you get all 'Zo, you've tried and tested it in African fabric before, what's the dealio?', well Homes, THIS is the frikkin dealio!:

This fabric was a gift that had been sitting in my stash for some time waiting for the right project. Well, my best mate Vic is heading off soon for a year long Oz adventure, and thus requires some hella-hot weather wear. With the chicken fabric in one hand and altered Anda pattern in the other, I stepped up. Initailly the fabric was really stiff, but after a wash it changed to a soft, almost silky texture. Despite that, this fabric still scared me. The eternal chicken-or-the-egg debate, objectified into fabric, might be enough to drive the sanest person crazy. Was it simply too much for the Anda pattern to tame? I always knew this dress would fall somewhere between ridiculous and amazing, but I feel the outcome has fallen firmly towards the latter.

So, in conclusion, the Anda dress pattern is apparently capable of turning the most fruitloop of fabric prints into a wearable garment. I feel that my Anda work is done, but I really hope someone takes this quest further and deploys even more insane prints. Let's see how far we can take this people!

A-Team Skirts Live Again

I've got a couple of things to show you, if you'll permit me. Remember the skirt above (the creation of which I documented here)? Well, in the excitement of planning, fabric and fabulousness, I pushed to the back of my mind the niggling feeling that the lace panels wouldn't hold up too well to laundering. I tried to convince myself everything would be fine if I handwashed it when laundering time came. It didn't get that far. The lace sections started to rip just through WEARING the damn thing. But still I continued to wear it until they got so raggedly that my boy basically suggested I shouldn't go out the house looking like that! THAT'S how much I loved that skirt.

Well, I eventually unpicked the lace, recustomised it and it lives again!:

This reincarnation features leather bird silhouettes hand-appliquéd on a ribbon 'wire'. I developed this decorative effect when my obsession with bird images was still in it's infancy. I made a grey and red version, both of which have miraculously ended up in my best friend's wardrobe. Strangely enough I never had a version myself until now.


Here's another cheeky twill A-line skirt I whipped up a month or so ago:

Last Spring we went on the miniest of breaks to Girona and chanced upon a Marimekko shop. I sated my desire for their squillion-euros-a-metre fabrics by buying a few little sample pieces that were €1 each. I decided to utilise one of them by creating these 'bubbles' which I machine-appliquéd on the front and back panels. Rare 'work in progress' pap:

I'm trying to come up with interesting ways to add contrast pattern to otherwise plain garments. I think this technique would work well for refashioning and enlivening existing garments, as well as for new creations. I'm going to leave skirts alone for a while now and focus my attentions elsewhere. Keep posted....

Celebrate Good Shorts, Come on!

Yesterday played host to two very exciting occurences which require documentation:

Number one:

I received a copy of the Aussie-based and produced Mixtape zine (issue 10) which, incidentally, includes a little piece written by ME! Woo hoooooo! That's right, I'm published in Mixtape which makes me extremely happy. Not only is it a beautifully designed and thoroughly interesting little zine, it's manifesto to proliferate, indulge and encourage DIY culture, making stuff and eco-mindedness makes it EXACTLY the type of thing I want to get behind. Or in, in this case. The piece they included was this little piece entitled 'The Return of the Blouse' I shared here back in May. And as if I needed another reason to smile my face off, they included a super-cute little badge that says 'I write for Mixtape', much like the virtual button on the side panel here.

Number two:

I finished making a pair of Burdastyle's Ruby shorts. As a rule, I don't wear shorts and wasn't fully convinced that my curvy frame would carry them off. But hot damn! They look good:

Apologies for the rubbish self-portraits-in-the-bathroom, my official photographer is away on family visiting duties and I got too excited to wait until I found someone else to pap me. Plus, I know what your thinking: 'Umm, road test Zoe! Jeez!'. Sorry but times is just too heady round here at the mo, I will give them a thorough testing tomorrow, promise.

I used a nice navy twill with a good stretch content, which I deployed to help off-set any potential fit/sizing issues, but I'm really pleased with the final fit and would risk making these in a non-stretch. All in all, I found the pattern very good, though I omitted the time consuming front jet pocket, avoided the strange add-on belt thingy, and replaced their back pocket scenerio with my preferred patch pocket shape with rounded corners. I constructed the side button fastening sections with as much patience as I could muster, and I'm really pleased with the outcome. For the life of me I couldn't figure out their turn-ups instructions, so I re-enacted a turn-up construction method a sample machinist I used to work with once showed me. It's a fantastic method, it traps in the bottom edge into the faux-turn, making a really clean and professional finish. Remind me to show you some time...

The buttons are some fabric covered ones found in my stash. They were just the right size and shape, as well as the correct quantity. I think they look just right, cute but not too kiddy, for these sailor style closures.

I'm pretty much having to physically retrain myself from immediately making another pair, (they would be red, FYI), but I definately have plans to extend the leg and make a couple of different versions as capris, trousers and/or jeans. Aside from a sweet, retro-y feel, these closures have to inmeasurable benefit of allowing the makery of shorts, trousers and jeans without having to construct a fly-front, something I would cross continents barefoot to avoid. I just don't think fly-fronts are worth it, as in my experience, they take up equal construction time as the whole of the rest of the processes and cutting out put together. I just don't have that kind of time! I'm already nearly 30! But nearly 30 with some greats shorts in which to enjoy my inclusion in Mixtape!

Two is the Magic Number

If you're in the UK at the moment and thinking about hitting the charity shops sometime soon, I wouldn't bother. My recent visit has left the charity shops of the southern counties a little light on stock. Here's a sampler of my acquisions, all purchased for £2 a pop! Apologies for the night shots, I've gone nocturnal until further notice (too hot).

BIG BAG.

Very nice sandals (technically bought from a vendor on Brick Lane, rather than a charity shop, but second-hand nevertheless. Actually I think she was Spanish, selling her stash before leaving London.) A thoroughly amazing day was had around the Spitalfields/Brick Lane stomping ground with my home-lady Michelle.

Primark retro-print cotton top, which is excellent for the frankly excessive Barcelona summer heat. Now, Primark are pretty much at the top of my list of Most Hated Mass-Manufacturers, however, as a former addict, I do at times feel the pull towards their often quite nice designs. So it's good to be able to peruse their wares later down the foodchain in the charity shops, with the guilt of direct purchase eliminated.

I did replace the missing decorative button with this beautiful vintage one from my stash.

Let's just check how it works in a bar (accessorised out of shot with a caipirinha):

I would just like to take this opportunity to thank my folks, for their encouragement in the development of my charity shopping skills from a young age, and whom have always believed in my abilities.

Dressing for Dinner

Back in Victorian times, it was common for peops of the middle and upper class persuasion to change their garms a bunch of times throughout the day, particularly for having dinner. The middle classes largely knocked this custom on the head after the onset of the First World War, what with there being far more important things going on. *

These days, I am very thankful to report, our menfolk seem to be relatively safe. So maybe we should once again think about introducing a bit more celebration and ritual into our lives and wardrobes. I'm a big fan of 'getting done up' for going out for a meal, but what I'm proposing is REALLY getting dressed to go for a meal, eg:

This woman is SO going out for some sushi! Hell yes she is, and I want to join her, she looks like a right laugh. But what if you just fancy a takeaway? It's ok, I've thought about this!:

I think that garments are a great way to add some fun to your day to day, so if you're planning on spending a day whipping up some magic in the kitchen, maybe you should get sewing first. Those crazy 50's fabric designers were all over this tip back in the day:

And:

Of course, cocktail o'clock may also require it's own dress:

So that's home cooking, takeaways, sushi and drinks covered (and this site can provide you with fabric of pretty much every ingredient you can think of). But what if you're just heading out to eat with no specific food genre in mind? Or your heading over to a friends for dinner and don't want to make any assumptions? It's ok! Fashion yourself an all-angles-covered garm from this!

I reckon an Anda dress would be your best bet (plenty of room round the belly!)

* Historical 'facts' interpretted by Zoe