One of my hobbies is buying fabric for my stash.

“Well, of course!” you may say. “Everyone who sews needs a stash, otherwise you can’t actually sew anything.”

Here’s the thing, though: the fabric in my stash isn’t fabric I want in my wardrobe.

My ideal wardrobe is packed full of dresses and skirts in strong, jewel tones with bold prints. Up until recently, my wardrobe was full of dresses and skirts in pastel tones with fun but small prints.

I wanted to open up my wardrobe and spend a good few minutes or so deciding which of my fabulous dresses I wanted to wear that day; instead, I’d open up that door and just settle for something.

After a couple of years of this behaviour, I had to face facts: I was buying fabric because I thought it was pretty.

We’ve all seen the meme that goes around every now and then, haven’t we? The one that goes a little like this:

I’ve decided that buying crafting supplies and using them are two separate hobbies.

It was funny the first couple of times I saw it… until I realised that was exactly what I was doing. Instead of building up a stash of fabrics that I could turn into beloved dresses, I was just building a stash of pretty fabrics that I really liked. Perhaps it was time to take some lessons from a past Katie who used to spend hours in shops looking for just the right dress…

Fabric shopping vs. clothes shopping

Once upon a time, I used to buy my clothes. When I walked into a shop, I’d look for the dresses that were a little bit different. A bit retro. I was drawn to the dresses that were covered in silly prints. Magnetically attracted to items that were just a little bit bold.

Let’s take a look at the very first dress I made.

I loved this dress and it was a sad day when I decided to donate it to the local op shop. It was the dress that taught me how badly all of my store-bought dresses fitted me. The dress that taught me a waistband should actually sit on your waist, not an inch or two above it.

And yet, it’s a dress I wouldn’t have bought if I’d seen it in a shop.

The print would have called to me – it’s little cars and caravans, so how could I resist? – and I might even have tried it on (because it’s covered in little cars and caravans, so how could I not?) but I wouldn’t have bought it. The print’s a bit too small and the background colour’s a bit too plain… Perhaps if there was a version with a navy blue or scarlet background… Perhaps then, I’d buy it.

As fabric, however, it was irresistible. Never mind that I don’t tend to wear beigey colours, this is the dialogue that went through my mind at the time.

“It has cars and caravans on it! I have to buy this.”

(Which I did.)

“I shall make a dress from it and call it my Roadtripping Dress!”

(Which I did.)

“I shall wear it on every roadtrip with my friends and it will be amazing!

(Which I did.)

Once I’d started, this fabric buying behaviour became a habit. Time after time, I’d come home with fabrics on pale backgrounds with simple prints when I’d previously been buying dresses in strong colours with bold prints. And I ended up with a wardrobe full of dresses that fitted nicely but were doing a rubbish job of expressing my personality.

Of the first four dresses I sewed, only one remains in my wardrobe. It’s a simple dress with a fitted bodice and a gathered skirt – just like the others – but it has one point of difference: with its retro pink rose print on a faded black background, I would have made a bee-line for in a shop.

Putting a stop to the nonsense

The good news is that I get to talk about this habit in past tense because now that I’m aware of it, I can take steps to avoid making these same mistakes.

My first order of business was to work out what I wanted to wear. I love strong, darker colours and jewel tones are my absolute favourite. Deep navy, teal, purples and magentas are top of the list. I’ve never really liked pastels: they’re nice enough, but they just feel like colours that can’t commit.

Big prints.

Florals.

Colours that go together.

This was the easy part. I already knew what I liked to wear – the trick was to keep that uppermost in my mind when I was shopping for fabric.

Whenever I’m out and accidentally find myself in a fabric shop (this is a well-known phenomenon that occurs to all crafters on a regular basis), I still find myself gravitating towards pale fabrics with pastelly prints. Just the other day, I picked one up, declared it to be lovely, and would have taken it to the counter if I hadn’t taken a firm hold of myself.

If it’s not one of my favourite colours, I’m not buying it.

If it’s a bit on the pale side or features pastels, I’m not buying it.

If it won’t go with anything else in my wardrobe, I’m not buying it.

I’d rather do more with a piece of fabric than just pull it out of my stash and talk about how lovely it is!

Success!

So far this year, I’ve made four dresses. Two of them feature fun prints on navy backgrounds. Another is a riot of deep purples and blues. The fourth one is a fun print on a beige background, but it was meant to be a toile anyway and the print is so colourful it goes with almost anything, so I forgive it.

I have another navy skirt in the works that definitely fits the bold theme: it has a crazy seaside print on it and I’m taking steps to make it extra poufy. Once that’s done, I have a purple leafy/floral print and a matching purple knit that will go perfectly together once they’re a skirt and a top.

These days, I open up my wardrobe and smile like a loon at the sight that greets me. So many dresses and skirts in styles that I want to wear!

Yes, all of that self-discipline is definitely worth it.

Do you suffer from this problem, too?

Tell me I’m not alone in this! Do you buy fabric for your stash that you would never actually wear? Have you developed any techniques to make sure you end up wearing what you buy? Let me know in the comments!

The post Sewing and Stashing: A Tale of Two Hobbies appeared first on Sew Old Fashioned.

You need some new knit tops for Winter, but you haven’t even pre-washed your fabric yet.

You have so many things you want to sew but nothing ever seems to make it to your wardrobe.

I know. I hear you. This used to be me until I worked out how to fix the problem. Read on to find out exactly what I did…

The problem: projects drag on and never get finished

It feels like you started your latest sewing project last week, but six months have passed and it’s still not quite what you’d call “wearable”. It’s so frustrating! You want this new dress now. It’s cold enough to wear those Winter tops as of yesterday.

But they’re still not finished.

Believe me: I know. I was there. I’d start projects, certain they’d be finished in no time at all, only to find myself ignoring them as they taunted from the dressmaker’s dummy where I’d flung them weeks ago.

Eventually, I worked out what I really needed to get these clothes off my dummy and onto me instead.

The solution: set yourself a deadline!

On some level, we’re usually sewing clothes for a particular reason. You might be running out of wearable undies, for example. Or perhaps you’re going to a wedding and you want to swan around in something new and fabulous. You have two ready-made deadlines right there.

(Please note that any resident felines will not care about your deadline and may, in fact, do everything in their power to hinder your efforts.)

You get to make the rules with your own sewing projects, so you can set a deadline that suits you. It can be as simple as “I want to finish this by the weekend”; alternatively, you could use upcoming events in your life. For example:

• Any type of event (wedding, party, dinner, coffee date, etc.)
• A birthday or anniversary (you can consider the garment to be a gift to yourself!)
• A holiday with friends or family

Recently, I used Easter as a deadline to help me finish sewing a dress. Technically, it still needs belt loops before I can officially say it’s 100% finished, but I’m still taking that as a win. After all, it has a zip, a hem and all the necessary seams required to hold it together; belt loops are just the icing on the cake, really.

Why does a deadline help your sewing?

Some people are super disciplined and able to get on to things without deadlines.

I am not one of those people.

Over the years, I’ve learnt to love a good deadline. It gives me something to race against – a burst of adrenaline as the time grows nearer and I still haven’t finished my seams. But there are some actual reasons that are even better than this.

It helps you plan for events/occasions

Special events do double duty: not only are they a handy deadline, you can use them to ensure you have something lovely to wear at them.

It gives you a goal to aim for (and satisfaction when you meet it!)

Your house is a mess and you don’t know why half of your socks are missing, but you’ve finished your dress in time for coffee with friends and that is a win. A sense of achievement is a fabulous thing to have. You’ll be swanning around looking fabulous in your new dress and no-one will know why you’re looking so damn smug about it all.

But you will.

Unless you’re like me, desperately trying to hide your lack of belt loops while swanning.

It allows you to prioritise your sewing

It’s easy to let your sewing slip when you don’t have a deadline in mind. But when that finish date is looming, it’s amazing how much time you can scrounge for sewing that hem and putting your pockets in your skirt.

I like to plan what I want to achieve each day as I approach my deadline. For example, I might set myself the goal of basting pleats and attaching the skirt to the bodice one day, followed by reinforcing the waist seam and doing my zip the next day. It makes it easy for me to stay on track and make sure everything will be done on time.

Sometimes, I have to say “no” to my knitting when there’s a zip I need to hand-pick if I want to wear my brand-new dress on a coal mine tour.

(I’m not even kidding about the coal mine tour. Check out my Katie Writes Stuff blog for the proof of that coming soon.)

Over to You

So far this year, I’ve used the deadline technique to sew four dresses and one top. It definitely works! You don’t even have to be too tough on yourself, either; once or twice, I may have missed an initial deadline, so I simply switched to a different one. It’s important to remember to have fun, even when you have a deadline looming ahead of you!

Have you ever set yourself a deadline for a sewing project? Is it something you would like to try? Let me know in the comments – I’d love to hear from you.

The post How Sewing to a Deadline can Increase your Productivity appeared first on Sew Old Fashioned.

And because the challenge was all about matching pairs, I have a matching pair of links for you! Read on to see what’s on offer.

The Vlog

Watch the video for my thoughts on the dresses and why I chose them. I also have a little update on my plans for my channel at the end.

The Blog

You can also read all about my dresses! My post on Elizbeth’s blog includes some of the close-up shots, so be sure to check it out if you’d like to have a closer look at some of the details.

The Day and Night Dress Challenge 2018: Sew Old Fashioned

You Can Enter, Too!

Remember, the Day and Night Dress Challenge is open to everyone who sews! You have until the 5th of March to post your dresses to go into the running for amazing prizes. Check out Elizabeth’s introductory post for all of the information you need.

The post Day & Night Dress Challenge Reveal! appeared first on Sew Old Fashioned.

Even though I really wanted to.

In fact, even though I really needed to, given the rate at which my underwear was falling apart on me. (Not literally on me, although it was only a matter of time.)

The situation worsened early last year when I bought myself a handful of new undies and found them to be almost unwearable. Too small there. Too big here. Too everything wrong everywhere. There seemed to be only one solution: I had to start making my own undies using a pattern that would fit me and satisfy my own requirements.

Read on to find out what happened next!

I did the only logical thing in the circumstances, which was to record a video about the situation and upload it to YouTube. Because showing your underwear to strangers on the internet is the classy thing to do.

Can I Show You My Underwear?

The best thing about this is that several of my friends from my concert band watch my videos, which meant that the first question they asked me upon seeing me at rehearsal each week was, “Have you made undies yet?”

Unfortunately, for quite a few months, the answer was a sheepish “no.” Why? Because I was engaged in the sort-of-relevant busy work of the first step to sewing underwear.

Step 1: Source Some Patterns; Buy Some Fabric; Panic

As a dedicated op shop fanatic, this was my obvious source of patterns. Any time I saw anything that looked even remotely like an underwear pattern, I snaffled it up with glee.

Bikini bottoms? Great!

Ruffled bloomers to match a tennis dress? Why not!

An actual pattern for actual underwear? Score!

(The pattern in question was Bevknits 7007. I’d never heard of Bevknits before finding this particular gem, which meant I needed to engage in some research about the history of the company, so I am now full of facts that are mostly irrelevant to everyday life but probably quite interesting to anyone who sews.)

Then I bought some fabric online from Spotlight. This was fifty percent successful. On the up side, I learned a vital lesson about jersey and its relative lack of stretch.

Now, armed with both a pattern and one suitable piece of fabric, I did the obvious thing: I panicked and sewed everything else instead.

Step 2: Run Out Of Underwear

By this stage, I was down to three usable pairs of undies, provided you ignored the almost stretchless elastic and the fact that the fabric had become see-through. It was time. I had to step up and ask myself the question: What’s the worst thing that could happen?

Answer: I could ruin a small amount of fabric.

On the other hand, I could end up with a pair of undies that actually fitted me. It was definitely worth the risk.

(This photo demonstrates one of the best things about sewing underwear: When your amazing, fabric-saving technique for cutting out results in one pair of underwear having upside dinosaurs, no-one needs to know.)

Step 3: Trial Your Patterns (While Recording Yourself, Of Course…)

I tried two patterns: the Bevknits pattern and a pattern from Kwik Sew’s Beautiful Lingerie by Kerstin Martensson. There was nothing alarming about it at all! It turns out that sewing with knits is much like sewing with wovens, except there’s a lot more zig-zagging involved.

You can follow this particular stage of the journey in the video below.

The Bevknits pattern turned out to the winner, although it didn’t sit quite high enough on the hip for me (this has always been my problem with ready-to-wear underwear and I now know it’s all because I have a relatively long torso). The Kwik Sew pattern, however, sat a little too high. I needed to reach a happy compromise between the two.

Armed with my new knowledge, I heightened the Bevknits pattern and ended up with a pair of undies that fitted me perfectly. Fabulous! I even unpicked the elastic on the Kwik Sew pair and re-cut them using the modified Bevknits pattern. Tthat’s two lots of zig-zagging, in case you didn’t know. It was a lot of effort, but worth it because I now had two pairs of undies I could wear in comfort! And one pair that wasn’t quite perfect, but was equally wearable.

Step 4: Try Them On

It was time to see how my undies fit…

…on my head.

I really couldn’t think of a better way to celebrate my underwear success than by popping a pair on my head and sharing it on instagram.

Step 5: Sew All Of The Underwear

Now that I’d started, it was impossible to stop! I’d gone from wary to excited in the course of one afternoon. The question was no longer Am I actually capable of sewing underwear? It was now Where am I going to store all of this underwear I’m making?

I may have gone out and bought a selection of printed knits especially for underwear. The great thing about sewing such small items is that you can buy a half metre of a fabric and reasonably expect to get three pairs of undies out of it.

Tim insisted that one of these fabrics be minions. Well, who am I to say no to such a reasonable request?

Fortunately, I don’t have to worry about coordinating my underwear with my outerwear, so I can make them in all the crazy prints I want.

Sewing Underwear Is Easier Than You Think

It’s also much quicker. You could easily make yourself a new pair of undies in half an hour. It takes no time at all to go from cutting out the pieces to taking a photo of your new undies in their origami animal print.

Or, if you prefer, you could just wear them instead.

What about you – are you tempted to give underwear a go? Do you already make your own? Let me know in the comments below – I’d love to hear from you.

The post How I Learnt To Sew My Own Underwear appeared first on Sew Old Fashioned.

I have some exciting news! I’m a member of the blogging and vlogging team for this year’s Day and Night Dress Challenge run by Elizabeth Made This. It’s an absolute honour to be part of this team – I’m in the company of so many talented dressmakers.

The good news is that the challenge isn’t just for the #dayandnightdresschallenge team: you can take part, too! In fact, you’re encouraged to get involved and put yourself in the running for a whole host of incredible prizes.

But what’s it all about? What am I planning to make? Read on to find out more…

What is the Day and Night Dress Challenge?

The theme of this year’s challenge is “Coffee and Cocktails” and the idea is that you make yourself two lovely new dresses: one for a coffee date with your favourite people and another for a slightly more formal, night-time event.

Elizabeth explains it in more detail in her official announcement here: The Day and Night Dress Challenge 2018.

Watch the Video!

As promised in my video, I’m sharing close-up details of the fabrics and patterns here on the blog. I love to see those sorts of details and I hope you do, too.

My Coffee Dress

I love going out for a coffee with friends! The introvert inside me is actually a little surprised at the truth of this statement, but it’s true. Whenever I’m roadtripping, I love to stop at interesting little cafés and sample their wares. If you’ve been watching my vlogs for a while, you’ll know one of my favourite cafés of all time is The Giddy Goat and here is what I’d love to be wearing next time I drop by.

That is some gorgeous Cloud 9 fabric that I have been longing to sew up for ages now. I love everything about it: the background colour, the bright colours in the print, the fabulous swans (even if they’re the wrong colour to be Australian swans).

But what sort of dress will it be? I am aiming to make a simple dress with a fitted bodice and a gathered skirt (and pockets, of course) using Gertie’s Ultimate Dress Book. As we speak, I am well into the process of sewing up my toile and I am excited about how it is all coming together. I’ll be doing a review of the toile once it’s finished, so make sure you stayed tuned for that.

My Cocktail Dress

It took me a while to work out what I wanted to sew for this dress. I don’t go to many cocktail parties, but I do love a good wine tour with my friends, so I was trying to imagine what I’d like to wear on one of those. Inspiration struck quite by surprise when I was going through a pile of thrifted goodies in search of some fair isle knititng patterns. Instead, I found this vintage Butterick 5869 and knew instantly that it was just the ticket.

I’m planning to sew up View A with a shorter hem and I think it will be perfect. You may be able to spot that it claims to be ‘super quick’. This is mostly due to the fact that there are three entire pieces for the dress: the dress piece, the sleeve and the belt.

Have a look at the size of the piece for the long sleeve – it’s almost as big as the dress piece! There’s no doubt about it: designers in the 1970s knew how to do sleeves.

The pattern and its epic sleeves may not pose too much of a challenge, but my fabric might. It’s a lovely, flowy piece of floral fabric I purchased from an op shop towards the end of last year and it looks pleasant and innocuous at first glance.

On the plus side, it dries super quickly and is completely averse to wrinkling, so I’ll have no trouble squeezing it into a suitcase when I’m packing for my next wine tour. On the down side, I fear it is going to be a little contrary when I come to sew it, so I may be back to tacking, french seaming and endless complaining… much like the process of sewing my Lottie blouse during Vlogmas!

Those are my plans for the Day and Night Dress Challenge. I’m excited to get them sewn up so I can share them with you towards the end of February. Until then, I have an easy way for you to stay up to date on how it’s all going – just head on over to my brand new facebook page.

Join my facebook page for regular updates

That’s right – I have started a proper facebook page for Sew Old Fashioned! I’d be delighted if you’d check it out and give it a like. I’m planning to post a lot of informal things over there: behind-the-scenes images or links to blog posts and videos, as well as regular live videos where I share things I’ve found in op shops or tell you what I’ve been creating lately. And I will be sharing updates on my Day and Night Challenge dresses there, too.

Click here to visit the Sew Old Fashioned Facebook Page.

Are you going to take part in the Day and Night Dress Challenge? What do you think of my plans? Let me know what you’re planning in the comments below.

The post Day and Night Dress Challenge appeared first on Sew Old Fashioned.

There’s something so enticing about the start of a new year. We make resolutions. (Or resewlutions…) We get excited about the potential of this unknown collection of 365 days.

We make crazy sewing plans that conveniently ignore the fact that we need to sleep every now and then.

But who needs sleep when there are so many fun things to sew? I have a stash of fabrics and patterns and it’s high time I put them all to good use. Read on to find out what I’m planning to sew this Summer.

Watch The Video!

Let’s Start With Shorts

As I write this, the rain is pouring down and I am involved in an internal debate about whether I should give in to the desire to wear slippers or simply ignore my cold feet in defiance of the waft of Winter that has snuck into my Summer. However, when the weather is behaving itself and being appropriately sunny and warm, I tend to live in a t-shirt and shorts while I’m at home.

There’s just one problem with this: I no longer have any shorts.

Rather than wantonly gallivanting around in a t-shirt alone, I’ve decided to fix this problem by making a pair of shorts using the leftovers of this floral light denim I bought for my 70s wrap skirt.

Fabric: Daisy Lightweight Dark Denim (Spotlight)

Pattern: Vintage McCall’s 4069 (1974)

Generally, I make dresses, skirts and the occasional top – the closest I’ve come to making shorts is the pyjama shorts I made for my capsule holiday wardrobe – so I’m quite excited to get started on these. They look like quite a simple construction and they feature a side zip, which I am expecting will be lapped. If it’s not, I will be lapping it regardless, because I love a good lapped zip. Next, I would love to try the slightly more challenging Vogue 9008 pattern because it looks fabulous and would hopefully be a good introduction to sewing a fly zip.

Filling A Wardrobe Gap With Tops

Although I may be lacking in shorts, the good news is that my wardrobe is well-stuffed with pretty dresses and skirts.

The bad news? I have kind of failed to make tops. I barely even consider them when I’m looking at patterns. It’s not that I don’t like them; they just don’t feature in my list of Useful Things To Sew.

But they are useful and I am making a concerted effort to sew them. (I’m also planning to knit one once I’ve finished my current project, so Operation Don’t Go Topless is definitely on a roll so far.)

Here are the tops I’ve included in my sewing plans:

Patterns: Vintage Kwik Sew 348, New Look 6451 and Butterick 4685

I’ve made the Butterick pattern and I love it, so I clearly need to make sixty more of them. The other patterns are un-tested as yet, but I’ve chosen them because they are either similar to tops I’ve owned and loved in the past (New Look 6451), or feature a style I like (Kwik Sew 348).

Here are the fabrics I’m planning to use:

The grey knit fabric is destined for the Kwik Sew pattern and the other two floaty delights will become a pair of New Look 6451. I don’t have anything picked out for the Butterick pattern, but there are plenty of options in my stash!

The Problem With Skirts

There’s a common theme you might have spotted with the fabrics for my tops: they’re all prints. I am the worst at buying plain fabrics; I try, but it just doesn’t happen. As a result, I have a wardrobe full of nothing but prints, which certainly makes for an interesting challenge when it comes to getting dressed. Although I like to believe I’ve mastered the art of wearing prints with prints, I’d much prefer to make life easier for myself in the outfit department.

What does this mean?

Plain skirts only.

There’s no photo of the fabrics for my skirts because I literally do not have a single plain fabric in my stash. Every last one is a print. Therefore, I have formulated a plan involving one of the patterns below.

Patterns: Vintage Simplicity 5776 (1974) and Vintage Butterick 3929

Can you see how gorgeous Butterick 3929 is? I seriously want to make it right now, although I kind of have three patterns already cut out and ready to go, so it will have to wait. It. Is. Adorable. I’m planning to make a toile of it in my most plain fabric, which is some sort of small houndstooth. This should mean I have something to wear with some of my printed tops – particularly the floral ones – while I move on to a plain version. Ideally, I’d like to make the second version from a pinwale cord in a stunning colour. (A gorgeous deep red is my current favourite.) This way, I can easily pair many of my printed tops with a skirt in a rather fun colour.

Doesn’t that sound like a fun way to fix a problem with my handmade wardrobe?

Dresses With A Custom Fit

My final plan is one I’ve been wanting to work on for ages: dresses that fit. I want to learn how to sew up lovely dresses in beautiful printed fabrics (of course) that fit me perfectly. It would be lovely if dresses fitted straight out of the pattern packet, but we know that rarely happens. So I’m putting in a bit of effort and I’m going to make myself up a bodice block that works for me.

How? With the help of Gertie! I bought Gertie’s Ultimate Dress Book last year and I’m currently in the process of sewing up a toile that I’ll fit to my shape. This is probably going to take a while, but I think it will be worth it. If I keep dreaming of how I’ll feel when I’m wearing those perfectly tailored dresses then I’ll have enough inspiration to persevere!

Plus, I have these lovely fabrics just begging to be turned into dresses:

Fabrics: Cloud 9 Royal Swans Poplin, a cloud print in cotton linen and a house print in some heavy cotton fabric (I am the worst in the world at remembering what my fabrics are)

The swan and cloud print fabrics will become simple fit-and-flare style dresses with gathered skirts. The black and white house print is a slightly heavier weight fabric that I think will take perfectly to some pleats. They will all have pockets because that is not even an option with me; it’s a necessity.

I cannot wait to have these dresses hanging in my wardrobe!

A Summer Wardrobe That Works For Me

So that’s it: my sewing plans for some lovely new additions to my Summer wardrobe. I’m so excited to fill all of these sartorial gaps that I literally want to start making everything at the same time. But seriously, where do I begin? With the dresses I desperately want to wear? The tops I urgently need? The skirts that will instantly make it easier to style the clothes I already have?

There are almost too many choices!

What do you think of my plans? What are your plans for the start of a new year of sewing? Let me know in the comments – I’d love to hear from you.

The post Summer Sewing Plans appeared first on Sew Old Fashioned.

Have you made any crafty plans for 2018? Set some stash-busting goals? Written down your sewing resolutions? I always try my best at this sort of stuff – I even set a tiny set of goals for myself in 2016 in the not-entirely-successful aftermath of the more ambitious plans I made in 2015 – but I end up completely forgetting about it all some time around March. What can I say: I am easily distracted, although I do enjoy throwing together a list or two, preferably with tick boxes.

So when Boz approached me to see if I was interested in taking part in a tag about sewing resolutions, you might have thought my answer would be a polite no, thanks, given my past experience. In fact, it was a resounding yes, please because these were actually reSEWlutions and they come with absolutely no pressure whatsoever.

Read on to find out more…

#NewYearsResewlutions

The #NewYearsResewlutions tag was started by A Girl Called Boz and Cotton by Candy, both of whose channels I love. Please check them out: you won’t be disappointed.

Boz and Candy came up with a list of five questions that allow us to focus on what we’ve achieved, what didn’t work for us, and what we’d like to do in 2018. It’s a fabulous way to set some clear goals and an equally fabulous excuse to trawl through photos of your 2017 makes all over again.

Watch The Video!

Here are the questions for #NewYearsResewlutions.

1. What is your favourite make of 2017 and why?

This was such a difficult question to answer, although I wouldn’t have believed that to be the case way back at the beginning of the year. So many projects went terribly wrong at the start of 2017, but it definitely picked up and my sewing went from strength to strength. This left me with the rather delightful problem of choosing a favourite from multiple contenders.

Do I pick Simplicity 9579 (1971), one of my favourite vintage sews ever? I loved the heck out of this dress in 2017. It has an amazing collar detail, it fits rather well, and the whole thing probably cost about $10, including the pattern.

What about my favourite skirt pattern ever? I need to write a letter thanking Vogue for V9090, because they seem to have designed it specifically for me. The waistband sits perfectly on me; the pockets are divine; the pleats give it the shape I’m always looking for in a skirt. There’s a lot to love in that pattern.

Of course, I can’t forget the endless parade of McCall’s 6964 t-shirts… Well, I had to test each of the sleeve lengths, right? This pattern introduced me to the delights of sewing ordinary clothes that you end up wearing all of the time. It certainly didn’t hurt that they were all made in ridiculous prints, either.

(You can find photos of the Vogue skirt and one of the McCall’s t-shirts here.)

Despite all of those worthy contenders, nothing beats the underwear I made. It was so satisfying, albeit a little disappointing because I love being able to show off my handmade clothes and showing relative strangers your underwear is somewhat frowned upon. That didn’t stop me from making a drawerful of the stuff, though!

But why does underwear earn the title of favourite? It wins on so many levels. Firstly, it was vital and filled a desperate wardrobe gap, given that my existing underwear was literally falling apart. Secondly, it was my first time sewing with knits (and I have to confess: it took me a few months to summon up the courage to start). Thirdly, it is easily the most-worn stuff in my handmade wardrobe.

I really need to make some more, now I think of it.

2. What did you attempt in 2017 that you won’t be doing in 2018? Why not?

Another tricky question! Actually, this is why I love the questions in this tag: they rarely came with a quick answer, which means you need to engage in some quality thinking time.

Fortunately, after engaging in said thinking, I came up with an answer: I will not be buying stuff in 2018.

Unless it’s necessary, of course. (In the interests of transparency, I must admit that I have already bought stuff, but it really was necessary. I’ll be posting what I bought on my instagram this week, so let me know if you agree with me there.)

Shockingly, my plan not to buy things encompasses op shopped or thrifted items, too. The fact is, I frequently buy things because they’re gorgeous or I simply can’t bear for them to be left behind. This year, I’ll only be buying things if I know I’m going to use them.

3. What are you going to continue doing?

OK, this one was actually easy to answer. I’m going to continue being a Sustainable Seamstress. I want to learn new practices and techniques that make the most of my sewing resources and share them all with you in my videos (and blog posts).

It’s so easy to forget that we’re still consuming when we sew, even if we’re doing good work by avoiding the fast fashion trap. I’m definitely still learning myself, but it’s important to me to be more sustainable with my sewing and I really want to encourage others to be more mindful by setting a good example myself. Stay tuned for more on this in 2018!

4. What are you going to try in 2018?

Firstly, I would like to sew bras. Now that I have mastered undies, it’s clearly time to move upwards in my ambitions!

Secondly, I want to make more use of my vintage pattern collection. I love using vintage patterns and I have a lot of them in my collection – without exaggeration, at least ninety percent of my patterns would be vintage. With so many to choose from, my plan is to turn to my vintage patterns before I look to my more modern ones for projects this year.

This will be no hardship whatsoever! Every time I happen to go through a pile of patterns, I find a handful of clothes I desperately want to make. In fact, the tricky bit will be finding the time to make everything on my current list.

5. Where do you see your handmade wardrobe by the end of 2018? What about in five years?

By the end of this year, I would like to have a wardrobe that fits me well, goes together nicely and represents my style. I think I’m making progress on this already: many of my recent sewing and knitting plans have been chosen to fill gaps in my wardrobe and I’m in the process of making a bodice toile so I can strut about in dresses that fit me perfectly.

Once that’s sorted, the five year goal is to have worked my way through a decent portion of my fabric stash and to have developed sustainable practices in my sewing. That doesn’t sound quite as exciting as my one year goal, but I think it will be every bit as rewarding. After all, it means I’ll have a wardrobe full of gorgeous clothes that suit my personality and I’ll know they were made using an approach to sewing that is considerate of the world around me.

That’s not too much to ask, surely!

Time To Tag

Now that I’ve run through my sewing resolutions for 2018, I would love to encourage the following YouTubers to take part in the #NewYearsResewlutions tag:

• Jessica Lorraine // YouTube // Instagram
• Elizabeth Made This // YouTube // Blog
• Tanja from Don’t Dream It – Sew It! // YouTube // Instagram
• Abbey Morris Designs // YouTube // Ravelry

And I tag all of you…

That’s right: I challenge YOU to take part in the #NewYearsResewlutions tag, whether you’re a blogger, vlogger, instagrammer or whatever else there is now. Remember to let me know if you take up the challenge or if you’ve already taken part in the tag – I’d love to hear about it. Please share the link to your #NewYearsResewlutions tag in the comments below. Or simply answer them in the comments, if you like!

The post New Years Sewing Resolutions appeared first on Sew Old Fashioned.

When I got back into sewing a couple of years ago, my sewing space was the kitchen table. I kept my sewing machine on a fabric placemat so I could slide it out of the way whenever I sat down for breakfast. This wasn’t exactly ideal, but it was workable, so I was happy enough.

Then we moved house and I was suddenly able to have an entire room for my sewing space. I could put my table in the centre of the room and plonk my machine on top of it without ever having to move it for my plate of toast. It was bliss! Over the two years we’ve been here, I’ve moved things around and tweaked it to my liking and it’s finally at a point where I would like to share it with you.

Are you ready to see where I sew? Read on for the full tour.

Watch the Video!

The Ironing Station

‘Ironing station’ makes it sound much more grand than it actually is! To be fair, I do have two ironing boards if you include my sleeve board, as well as my tailor’s ham and sausage and various other ironing accessories. It’s reasonably impressive! Plus, it makes me sound as though I’m doing something important when I announce that I’m off to the ironing station.

The fact that I would only be saying that to the cats is neither here nor there…

Up until last year, my ironing board was stored in our spare bedroom, which happens to be almost the furthest room from my sewing space. It was such a bother to gather up my sewing, go to the spare room, wait for the iron to heat up, then press the seam I’d just sewn before heading back to sew something else. It almost put me off sewing entirely, so I’m glad I made the decision to shift it to a much more logical space.

I haven’t used the sleeve board much since I bought it for a couple of dollars at a market, but this is mostly because I keep forgetting I have it.

Lurking in the background, you can just see my mannequin under the load of clothes-in-progress piled on top of it. I’m planning to pad it properly this year so I can start using it as a fitting aid rather than a clothes horse.

The Sewing Table

My sewing table is actually a dining room table that used to belong to my grandparents and was passed on to me. It can be extended, but I haven’t needed the extra space so far. I won’t lie to you: it is frequently a mess of tools, patterns, fabric, op shop finds and cats. Thankfully, I bought a desktop caddy at an op shop for $2, which helps sort out the clutter somewhat.

It’s not the colour I would have chosen personally, but it works a treat! Everything is placed in its spot at the end of each sewing session and I hardly ever lose my scissors any more. When I do, I can almost guarantee I’ll find them underneath whichever cat happens to be napping on my table at the time.

The section with the wonder clips was meant to be a pin-cushion, but the foam was so lightweight it would have come out still attached to the pins, so I did away with it. One day, I’ll find a use for those cotton reel holders, but that day has not arrived thus far. If you have any ideas, please let me know in the comments!

Every sewing room needs a copy of the Reader’s Digest Complete Guide to Sewing. It has never failed me. I’ve used a little tab to mark the section for inserting a lapped zipper because I always need to jog my memory every time I come to do one. This treasure cost me a whole $2 at a market.

Fortunately, I’ve learnt it is quite normal to have many different types of pins. This isn’t something I realised when I started sewing again: I thought a pin was a pin. But no. Use the right pins for the right purpose and it makes things so much easier. How many types of pins do you have in your sewing arsenal?

Of course, the essential element of any dressmaker’s arsenal is a sewing machine.

My Vintage Sewing Machine

Mine is a Bernina 801 from 1982 that I purchased to replace my Singer Simple. I love sewing on this machine, although I wish it had a three-step zig-zag setting for attaching the elastic on my underwear. Despite this devastating omission, it’s an amazing machine and it has the distinction of being my youngest sewing machine at a mere 36 years of age.

The Corner Shelf

I recently acquired this corner shelf from my parents before they moved house. It’s a rather clever little piece of furniture as it folds completely flat for easy transportation. At the moment, it holds an assortment of items for display and current projects. In the photo above, you can see several garments that have been cut out and a handful of patterns that I want to sew this year. (Most of those garments are from my Handmade Holiday Wardrobe and are now all sewn up!)

This shelf features the small sewing caddy I use when I visit my parents, as well as the accessories for my Singer ‘Blue Magic’, a bag of novelty buttons and a ruffler I bought at an op shop purely because I loved the design on the box. There is actually a ruffler inside!

This isn’t my only set of shelves, of course. Every sewing room needs a reference library!

The Sewing and Knitting Library

I’m not sure how I coped before we bought this amazing piece of furniture. All of these books were stored in different places (and quite possibly in a couple of stacks on the floor) but now they take pride of place in their very own bookshelf. Almost every book you can see was bought second-hand for next to nothing.

My extra-special vintage books have a separate section on the top left.

Most of these books have cost me next to nothing and several were even given to me. I treasure them all!

The best part about this bookshelf is that the bottom half actually contains drawers. One is accessed via a flap in the bench section and is full of wadding and two cushions that need covers. The other one pulls out like a normal drawer.

This side contains a portion of my vintage knitting pattern collection. One day in the mystical future, I will put aside a full month of my life and sort out this collection because it is all over the place. It’s wonderful to have all these treasures in my possession but it’s less delightful to go searching for patterns in about six different places when I’m planning my next knitting project!

On the other side of the drawer…

…we have a portion of my vintage sewing pattern collection. This is also scattered throughout the house in multiple locations. On top of everything are some pattern pieces I’ve traced, although they mostly just get in the way. Instead of doing something about this, I just close the drawer and forget about them until the next time I need to go through the patterns underneath.

My Singer 201K

Finally, we have the Singer 201K treadle sewing machine in its lovely cabinet. This machine dates from 1950 and was given to me by my aunt-in-law. It doesn’t sew at the moment, although I do have a replacement treadle cord and a desire to clean it all up… one day. In the meantime, I enjoy its presence in my sewing room.

You can see the green case for my newer buttonholer attachment in front of the 201K. This will be getting some use soon – I’m eager to try it out and master lovely buttonholes.

Off to the right is the four-drawer trolley where I store a lot of my sewing patterns. One of my childhood toys, Piermont, has pride of place on top of the drawers. He’s wearing a monogrammed jumper I knitted him when I was a lot younger – it goes nicely with his monocle, I feel. (He was wearing glasses until I accidentally stepped on his head one day.)

And That’s My Sewing Room!

Thanks for taking a tour of my sewing room with me – I hope you enjoyed having a poke around my space. It’s not super tidy and I don’t have a single piece of Ikea furniture in it, but I love spending time there and everything just works.

What’s your favourite part of my sewing room? What’s the best part of your sewing room? Let me know in the comments below.

The post Take a tour of my sewing room! appeared first on Sew Old Fashioned.

You know how it is: you’ve booked in a holiday over the new year with your friends and the countdown has begun. Plans are made. Excitement grows.

Then you suddenly realise you have nothing to wear.

Well, no worries there! I’ll just dive into my fabric stash and pull out all of my patterns and spend a million years deciding what to make. Easy, right?

A wardrobe crisis isn’t too much of a problem when you can just hit the shops and wander around until your holiday suitcase is overflowing with outfit combinations. I just have a few problems with that:

1. It requires going to the shops, which happens to be an activity I place on a level with eating a bucketful of snails.
2. I can guarantee I will find nothing I do want and a whole bunch of things that I don’t.
3. It will do nothing to reduce the stash of fabric I’m trying to keep under control.

Plus, when you make your own clothes you can perfectly coordinate everything and get your hands on the exact items you have in your imagination. Sure, you might have to wait several weeks and work quite hard until you’ve made them all, but that’s a small price to pay for your ideal holiday wardrobe.

Luckily, I have almost two months before I’m due to go away and I’m hoping that will give me enough time to complete my brand-new holiday wardrobe. In fact, I’m even hoping I’ll finish everything before time and be able to make up some extra pieces to go with everything. There’s nothing like a bit of optimism at this time of year!

Planning my Capsule Wardrobe

But what am I making? Well, I brainstormed all of the things I’d be likely to wear and seem to have come up with an accidental capsule wardrobe. Here’s what it looks like in brief:

• Chambray skirt with contrast panels (Simplicity 1369)
• T-shirt with grey fabric and glasses fabric for sleeves (McCall’s 6964)
• Sheer polka dot pussy-bow blouse (Simple Sew ‘Lottie’)
• Floral top (Butterick 4685)
• 1970s dress in key print fabric (Vintage Simplicity)

Watch the video!

Chambray Skirt – Simplicity 1369

I gave up wearing jeans ages ago. They never really suited me and I just found them uncomfortable to wear. Plus, nothing says elegance like standing up and having to hoist your waistband up so it covers up things best left unseen.

The great thing about jeans, however, is that denim goes with almost anything. Hence my compromise: a chambray skirt. I originally bought these two chambrays to make a different skirt but I’ve decided it makes more sense to use them to test Simplicity 1369. The skirt has pockets and I’m planning to hack it a little so it has panels, which means I can use the different chambrays to great effect.

Eventually, I’m planning to use this pattern make a sparkly black skirt for when I’m performing with my concert band, so this will be a great way to test the pattern. That’s two wins in one!

T-shirt with Contrast Sleeves – McCall’s 6964

This is my favourite t-shirt pattern ever. Seriously. I love it. It has three sleeve length options and I’ve made all except the short-sleeve version, so that’s what I’m going to do for my capsule wardrobe. It’s going to be made from some grey knit fabric for the body and a glasses print fabric for the sleeves and probably the neckband. So it should go with many of my printed skirts while adding a little quirky pop from the sleeves.

Polka Dot Blouse – Simple Sew ‘Lottie’

Confession time: I’ve had this cut out for ages. I’ve even marked and pinned the darts, ready to be sewn. It’s time I got it done! The fabric I’m using is super sheer, so I’ll need to use French seams but that will be a great learning opportunity as I’ve never done enclosed seams before.

This should be a lovely, breezy top – perfect for Summer evenings.

But yes, I will be wearing a camisole or tank underneath, because this see-through fabric leaves absolutely nothing to the imagination.

Floral Top – Butterick 4685

This one has insinuated itself into the list, thanks to a photo book I was making. I happened to see a photo from a previous trip with my friends where I was wearing a cute little top in a floral print. And now I need one to replace it.

I have the perfect fabic for it: a lovely ditsy floral print that I intercepted from my mum as she was about to re-donate it to an op shop. It turns out there’s even a perfect pattern to go with my perfect fabric: Butterick 4685 is so close to the style of my original top… but patterns in Australia cost around $A20 when they’re not on sale! I was hoping I might be able to wait for a sale but in the end, I decided it was just too perfect and I paid full price for it. I know. But sometimes you just have to do these silly things.

1970s Dress – Vintage Simplicity

I made this dress earlier this year in a cheap brushed cotton and I love it to bits. (You can see it on my instagram here and here.) Why had I resisted sewing with princess seams for so long? They’re perfect for my shape!

This is a vintage pattern from the 1970s and it suggests you can sew it with almost any fabric, so I’m going to pull a gorgeous key print cotton from my stash as I know I pre-washed it months ago and I think it’s a bit of fun. It was also quite cheap as it came from the furnishing section at Spotlight.

I love making patterns I’ve made before – it’s great to feel that you know what’s going on and you can always see improvements on your previous effort. This time around, I’m thinking of making the collar that doesn’t cross over, just to try something different.

That’s the plan

And that’s it: my capsule holiday wardrobe. I will be adding in some existing pieces as well but I think these five pieces will complement each other and fit in with clothes I’ve already made. Here’s hoping I get them all made before it’s time to pack!

Are you making something special for the New Year or Christmas? Let me know in the comments!

The post Planning a Handmade Capsule Wardrobe appeared first on Sew Old Fashioned.

Are you ready for Christmas?

I know what you’re thinking. Of course not! It’s only October. We have at least two or three months until Christmas, depending on how creative we are with our maths.

Actually, it’s a good thing that we have two or possibly three months until Christmas, because when you make your own presents, it’s best not to leave things until the last minute. We all know last minute Christmas shopping generally involves battles and quests so grand they deserve a trailer voiced by a guy with an epic voice.

Last minute Christmas making, on the other hand, involves a lot of caffeine, some language that would push things past a family-friendly rating and a sleep-deprived crafter on Christmas morning who never wants to see a crochet hook again.

All things considered, it’d be best if we made a start now, right?

Why Choose Handmade?

Admittedly, even a fraught visit to a shopping centre on Christmas Eve might only take you a couple of hours, whereas making your own presents is going to take you a lot longer. A loooooot longer. So why bother?

Firstly, the reward. Nothing beats handing over a present you made yourself for a loved one. You know it’s going to be unique and they know it was made especially for them. Everybody wins!

Secondly, it removes stress. You get to sit in the comfort of your own home or a cosy café and craft something, an act that is actually beneficial to you in itself. Not only do you avoid busy places full of stressed-out people, you get to do some good stuff for your brain and wellbeing in the process.

Thirdly, it’s sustainable! All of my suggestions make use of scraps or leftovers and they’re useful. So you’re saving scraps from going into landfill and you’re making sure your giftees are going to put your present to use rather than reluctantly sending it to a secondhand shop after the fiftieth time they’ve dusted it.

Watch the Video!

1. Cotton Dishcloths

Now these are a fabulous way to make a little difference to the world while giving someone a handmade present. Not only are cotton dishcloths fabulous to use, you can re-use them. Unlike a sponge that ends up being thrown away, a dishcloth can be washed and brought back to new.

They can even be gifted as face washers: same pattern, different use.

These are a fantastic way to use up those ends of cotton yarn. And even if you need to buy cotton yarn to get started on this project, you know you’ll be using every last millimetre of it for good.

Try this dishcloth pattern on Ravery:

Grandmother’s Favourite Dishcloth

2. Pot holders

In the past, I’ve made crocheted pot holders as Easter presents for people who can’t eat chocolate and I personally think those non-chocolate eaters got the better presents. After all, chocolate only lasts until it’s eaten; pot holders last a loooot longer and are actually useful.

They are also a great way to use up some of your scraps. The important thing here is to make sure the fabrics are made from one hundred percent natural fibres, but I’ve still managed to come up with a selection of prints that makes me happy.

You’ll also need some insulation inside. For my pot-holders, I used Insul-Bright and a 100% cotton batting, just to be extra sure. I don’t want anyone’s hands getting burnt while they’re admiring the silly moustache print of their pot-holders!

Try my pot-holder pattern:

3. Project bag

I love making these little project bags. They are ideal for knitters or crocheters because even though they’re intended to be for sock knitting, they fit a surprising amount inside! I do believe they will be useful for non-crafters, since they’re such a handy size and the interfacing ensures they can stand up by themselves. They’d also make an ideal little pouch for storing special items when packing a suitcase or even protecting a camera or phone in your bag.

The possibilities are endless!

The best bit about this pattern is that you can make the two bag pieces in two parts, meaning you can use up those smaller scraps in your stash. And since it’s reversible, you could easily mix and match four different pieces of fabric.

Try this pattern by Very Shannon:

Reversible Sock Knitting Project Bag

4. Covered Coathangers

Everybody needs a bit of granny chic in their life! Once you have a covered coathanger in your wardrobe, you’ll want an entire rail of them. I have three covered coathangers and they are reserved for my favourite dresses. Until I can make myself some more covered beauties, that is!

My favourite coathanger covers are crocheted ones – they don’t need any extra padding and they look gorgeous. Plus, you can match colours to suit the person who’ll be on the receiving end. I use a pattern from an old Mollie Makes magazine for mine but you can use this slightly different online version: Mollie Makes Crochet Coathanger Cover.

Your other option is a fabric cover, which gives you another excuse to go ratting through your scraps and offcuts. You can even add those end bits of lace or ribbon for extra decoration. The best bit about this is that you make a gorgeous coathanger out of those horrible wire ones that seem to multiply when you’re not looking. Don’t throw them out – make them look fabulous instead!

Try this luxurious cover from Tilly and the Buttons:

How to Sew a Padded Coat Hanger

5. Re-usable Shopping bag

This is one of my favourites because it works on two levels. Firstly, you’re using scrap fabric or worn-out pillowcases to make something new… which is then going to be used in place of a plastic or single-use shopping bag. Winning!

I make my shopping bags from a fabulous book I found in an op shop but I have sourced a couple of online tutorials you can follow.

Try These Patterns:

Folding Grocery Tote by Yarngeek

Market Tote Tutorial by Bijou Lovely

Time to get Started!

The best thing about all of these patterns is that they don’t take forever to make. You could head to your scrap pile right now, pick out a project and have a lovely handmade gift finished before tea time.

Do you have a favourite handmade gift you like to give? Let us know about it in the comments!

The post Five Fabulous Handmade Present Ideas appeared first on Sew Old Fashioned.