Wednesday 26 November 2014

Got my big girl pants on

I absolutely love, love, love lingerie. I love looking at it, trying it on, buying it, jumping around the house in it, although not necessarily in that order.

One thing that often irks me is the lack of variety in briefs styles when matching them to a bra. More often than not, bras in my size come with teeny tiny matching undies which are so low cut in the waist, I feel like my stomach is going to just hang out over them.

Porcelain bra by Panache
 Because we all have bodies like this. Not.

I much prefer full briefs. Luckily these days you don't have to buy granny pants to be comfortable. There are lots of styles and pretty colours. The catch is that I can usually only buy them separately, because ironically, they only match teeny tiny bra sizes.

Image 1 of Monki Stay Soft Set 
I have these undies. I would need both halves of the bra for one boob. And even that wouldn't fit.

Come ON, lingerie designers. Girls with substantial bosoms like substantial bum coverage too, you know.

Anyway, rant over, I decided to try making some to see how easy it was.

First attempt was a disaster and I am not even going to show them to you. The gusset didn't match the front and back seams, the side seams were all over the place.

I went back to my pattern, which I had traced from a favourite pair of undies, and refined it, this time making sure the seams were all the same lengths (kind of helps).

 

Ta-da.

Of course, I had to make them in purple velvet. Duh.


Don't they go splendidly with my zombie pony tshirt?


The waistband is a little baggy still but that is easily fixed by using a shorter piece of elastic for the waist.

For the legs, I just turned up a hem. The material is stretchy and comfy enough.


It's really not easy trying to take photographs of yourself in your underwear without getting a serious case of camel-toe. I can only assume lingerie models wear massive incontinence pads when they're jumping around in front of the camera.



Anyway, pants ahoy. Maybe I'll just make my own to match my bras from now on and save myself some money.

Thursday 20 November 2014

Sew buttons?


This is the sister dress to the Peonies Dress, made using the same Simplicity pattern 1873.


I love the print of this fabric! Because the print is so tiny I wanted to use a very simple pattern and let the fabric speak for itself. 
The dress, for some reason, came out very tight at the waist. The peonies dress fits pretty well so I have no idea why this one was different. It fits, but it's best if I don't eat a lot while I'm wearing it. Maybe I should call it the Diet Dress.


This was made back in June... I can't believe my hair was that long! Sadly it is quite a few inches shorter now. Two years of hair dye and bleach, bleach and more bleach have taken their toll and I had to give it a chop *sob*


Thank you for the kind comments on my blog re-launch! I'm still getting the hang of things again and will endeavour to reply and comment as much as possible.

xx

Thursday 13 November 2014

The show must go on

The blog is back!

It seems longer than 6 months since I last posted anything. A few months ago my enthusiasm in blogging waned simply due to life taking over. 



New relationship, new house, new job.


All within 6 months.

Or less.

I'll have some catch-up blog posts to write for a while, as I've been busily sewing even whilst maintaining a life.


For now, here is my latest creation. I've become obsessed with this 1950 McCall's pencil dress pattern.

 

I've missed the written aspect of blogging. I miss writing about my creations and how they came about, the failed attempts and the successful victories. I am looking forward to writing about these again.


Successfully yours,

GD

xx

Thursday 15 May 2014

Peonies dress



 I wouldn't have known these little flowers were peonies if it wasn't helpfully printed on the fabric for me.



I made this dress using Simplicity 1873, View A.
Absolutely no alterations required. I have never made a dress with this type of pleated skirt before. It was not terribly difficult and I think I may have found a gathered yet flattering skirt style I can finally wear without getting the old pregnant-stomach look.


I ran out of fabric for the lining but I figured leopard print would be acceptable!




I made this specifically to wear to the Love Vintage Fair in Melbourne this weekend! Very exciting... just need to remember to keep my wallet tucked firmly in my bag at all times....


Thursday 24 April 2014

The Helgastock2014 dress

I received this fabric from the lovely Helga von Trollop at Helgastock2014 a few weeks ago! It is just fabulous and exactly the right fabric for a new frock. Thank you Helga, I LOVE it!


As the fabric is so bright and busy I kept the pattern very simple. 
This is the slip dress from McCalls 6646.


I added in a second should strap as one on each side looked a bit insubstantial. No other alterations.




 
Here are some of my photos from Helgastock2014 - other installments from saucy wenches Sarah and Helga can be seen here and here








I have not been commenting on blogs for the last couple of weeks as I am still getting my bearings with my recently revamped life. I feel bad for this but I am still responding to comments at least! I start part-time work next week and have been industriously buying home wares in purple to decorate my house... when I'm not sitting on the couch watching all the Harry Potter films for the billionth time.


xx

Saturday 5 April 2014

China blue

Damn and blast all washed out photos! 
 
 

This fabric - a bed sheet I picked up in an op-shop - was originally white, which looked far too stark for a dress and since when do I wear white anyway? So I took to it with a packet of China Blue dye.


The pattern is New Look 6587, view D.


Alterations: I took the bodice waaaaaay in. It looks loose on the model on the pattern envelope but fitted in the design drawings. Considering it has princess seams I don't really understand why it would be so loose-fitting. So I took mine in.

The other alteration is I used a zip instead of buttons. I really just don't enjoy the fiddlyness of buttons and matching them up with button holes, blah blah blah... and I just happened to have a zip which matched perfectly.



Brief life update: 
I have quite my job of 10 years, and my final week is next week. This is rather scary but I am looking forward to a change. 
 
Jay and I have split up. We had a wonderful time together and I am glad I can still call her a friend.

And, and! I have a new tattoo! You can see half of it here and in the third photo above. It is two swallows, one on each shoulder. I only had it done on Wednesday so it's still quite bruised and tender.


AND in a few short hours I'll be attending the debauchery that is Helgastock2014! There may or may not be photos, depending on how incriminating they are...

So yes. New dress, new tattoo, new life. Loving it.

(final gratuitous photo just because I like it)

Sunday 23 March 2014

Wide leg jeans


Jeans or trousers are something I don't make very often. I don't wear them often and/or I prefer skinny leg styles. 


Saying that, I do love high waisted, wide leg styles but I find they're not so easy to come by or terribly flattering. 


This pattern is Vogue 8751. I've been wanting to make some good quality denim trousers and this is a great simple pattern to start with. I'll get to things like studs and pockets when I'm more familiar with such a heavy fabric.
V8751
I used a mid weight denim with no stretch for these in size 12. No alterations required. I used a narrow hem at the lower leg edge so I can turn these up into nice cuffs (although they'll hover above my ankles if I do so that option probably won't be taken).


I only have two issues with these. One is my fault; I placed the lower hook and eye closure too far out and you can see it. No big deal but annoying enough for me.


The other issue is that these make my backside look really flat! I mean I'm no Coco Austin but this is not a good look! I don't like this photo much but you can see what I mean here. Possibly I could take in the seam a little around the back but I'm not going to touch these now that they're done. I'll experiment with another pair.


Also, how cute is my top!? It's a Rock Steady top from Mod Cloth but I got it a while ago so I think it will be sold out now.


Anyway, there you go. Jeans. Now I just have to wear them.


The end.