Pinup girl dress

So you may remember a while back I started making the Cynthia Rowley  1873 Simplicity pattern? Well I may have hit a slight stumbling block in that I may have accidentally run out of material! I know, I know rookie error! But I loved the pattern and was desperate to get it made soooo in stepped some fantastic PinUp Girl sheets which I bought from Asda! 

Aren't they fabulous? I also lovethe  other 2 sets in this pic so they may end up being turned into pretties too.

I started off by taking all the seams apart on the bedding and washing it.  I always prewash my fabric and then I started creating my bodice.  I used the lovely ladies for the main fabric and the fantastic pin dots for the lining.  

The bodice came together really well and I am particularly proud of the lining up on my darts on the back.  Check out that shoe!!! At first glance it looks like one shoe but it's actually a 'cut n shut' of two! *insert proudface* 

The bottom of Simplicity 1873 is made with a pleated skirt which I had intended to create however the material proved to be a bit too soft to hold the pleats so I went with gathers and I really loved the end effect round my waist.

Once I attached the skirt and bodice I decided to add the 22" concealed by hand rather than by machine for 2 reasons. 1) Sadie was being a complete pest (my machine) and I didn't quite trust her not ruin my dress) and 2) I have recently become obsessed by Homeland season 1 and I kinda wanted to watch it in peace while I hand stitched without the noise of a machine. Oh actually there's a 3 aswell! 3) Handsewing is soooooo calming for me and I really enjoy it so it was a win/win. . . win!

So the last thing to do is hem this baby, buy shoes and get her photographed to show all you lovely people :)

Thanks for stopping by Gem xxx

Me Made May 2014

I'm still in full swing with th challenege in that 23 days in and I have worn handmade every single day, however there's been little point in me taking pictures as it's been repeats galore.  I knew that this would happen as I don't have many me made outfits yet so I had planned on making as I went along.  Unfortunately the whole household has been ill over the last 2 weeks and I've gotten hardly anything done *insert sadface*

I am super happy though to hate our new addition with you!

His name is Dexter and he comes home to be with us on June 1st yay!!

The longest to do list ever!

Please, please tell me I am not the only one who has about a million billion projects on the go at one time??

This is the PinUp dress that I am working on and hoping to wear out to a meal with the hubster and our friends on the 25th.  I really, really need to pull by finger out and get it done!  See, I've got the bodice all cut out and ready to sew BUT the skirt  I have put off repeatedly because I know it's gonna need to go on the floor to be cut out and it always hurts my back doing that. *sigh* I may just have to bite the bullet and get on with it!

I also have a quilt that has been in production for, ahem, 2 years, that I NEED to finish because it has owls and it just know they will look awesome in the end.  I'll photo it when I've done a wee but more.

I'm also planning on making my very first garment from a Burda Magazine (from 10/2013 if you're interested).

I'd like to make a girls and boys version of this for each of the kidlets.

And these are only the start of my list.  Sheesh, do you guys plan loads too? 

Thanks guys xxx

Me Made May 2014 I'm in!

This is the first year I have actively taken part in Me Made May and it's making me super busy as I don't have all that many clothes that I have made just for me!  It tends to be Bug that gets the spoils from my time at the machine.

Without further ado I bring you my Week 1 Roundup!

Day 1:  Ok so I may have forgotten all about #memademay14 until I was actually getting dressed and had already picked my outfit so I ended up wearin me made knickers that I blogged about here I didn't take an action photo of them so don't even ask, but it was the red if you're interested. 

Day 2: Scout version 1

I hand on heart LOVE the Scout Woven Tshirt from Grainline Studio You'll see just how much I love it during this month because they are so quick to whip up I can't actually stop making them! I'm pretty sure I bought this fabric from eBay but it was a while ago so I can't remember who from.  The only change I made to the pattern on this Scout was to increase the length of it by 2".  I'm pretty tall (5ft10) and my length is in my torso so I lengthen all tops.  No one needs to see my post baby tummy hanging out under tops hahaha.

Day 3:  Last year I blogged here about my proudest make til that point which was my Maxi Dress When I made it putting it on made me feel beautiful, proud, graceful (you get the drift) until I started wearing it when I was pregnant, like a lot!  It totally kept it's shape (the knit fabric is amazing) but after having Squish, the couple of times I put it on I just felt clumpy and dowdy so I finally took the decision to chop it.  I used the skirt to make my second Scout and that became Day 3s choice.

Usually if I make a pattern meant for woven garments out of a knit I do the right thing and go down a size however on this occasion I wanted a relaxed, slouchy top so I stayed true to the pattern (except for the extra 2") and I love this top! The pic above isn't great but you know how I said 'I don't have much made for me'? Well you'll likely see this top in another roundup post anyway so I've not retaken it. 

Day 4:  Not entirely made by me, day 4s top was a refashion of a dress I was gifted for just that reason.  I also made a skirt but it wa rubbish lol so no point sharing. 

I began by cutting the dress in 2 which created it's own peplum as the waist is elasticated.  I hemmed the peplum and swapped out the buttons for cute heart ones and voila! I was done!

I have to show off the shoes here too as I picked them up in Asda for £6!!!! 

Day 5:  A slight copout today I wore a dress I drafted myself using a dress I liked that was already in my closet.  I used a tubular, thick knit for it and then popped a top over and wore it as a skirt. 

The bottom hem needs to be redone I think.  This was one of the first things I think I ever made for me so it's not fantastic but it is wearable! 

Day 6: Another Scout BUT . . . It's hand painted and I just love it! It's my favourite outfit for week 1.  

(I don't know what that facial expression is all about)

I made this version up with a thick yellow knit from eBay.  I cut the pieces and then used regular acrylic paint mixed with a fabric medium to paint simple hearts on it.  The placement of the hearts is fairly random which is one of the things I love about it.  I then blow dryed it with a hair dryer and took it to my neighbours house to lie on we table flat for 24hours.  Why? Because my children would never manage to leave it alone long enough to set so she was awesome enough to agree to it being there.  When the fabric was ready I got it all sewn up and wore it Day 6.  It has obviously been washed since which was nerve wracking incase it all ran but guess what? It didn't yay! I can't wait to wear this again and equally I can't wait to create more clothing painted by moi!

Finally, if you're still with me. .  .

Day 7: The Simple Tshirt from the Great British Sewing Bee book written to accompany season 2 which I made out of a crepe fabric and bias binding. 

This is my first attempt and as you can see the fit isn't exactly great but I'm showing you it anyway in the interest of full disclosure.  I will make this pattern again but with some alterations, including  adding darts and making a bust adjustment. 

So how's this for a first week and a return to posting?  Thank you so much to anyone who managed to read it all the way through and also thank you for sticking with me. 

See you again very soon, Gem xx

Hiatus

Many apologies for my recent blog break.   I am in the process of setting up an at home sewing business and as you can imagine it is taking up ALOT of my time!  I really do hope to be back soon.  

I've not been totally idle though, here are a few recent makes for my Bug.

Thank you for your continued patience, Gem xxx