In action.....but not missing

Cropped jacket for the summer collection.

Cotton kaftan top.

OOOHHH - time has flown over the past two weeks and the blog has been neglected.  I have, however, been busy working on a new set of costumes for an African dance concert in early October.  Here are some of the other items made recently.

Summer skirts for a regular client.  The red is  a
Japanese fabric bought in Kyoto.

Linen tops for another regular client.

Tunic dress - coloured trim from an

Op shop in Port Macquarie.

Books and Ideas

This week I have selected some of my favourite books on fashion and sewing.

One of my ideas books - pictures, drawings,

From the 80s.

Jenny Kee page of Australian Fashion Design

Japanese book showing how to make
clothes from kimonos.  (Mostly in Japanese
but the illustrations are great)

Fabulous old drawings in this book

Sample of drawings from the Art of Fashion.

From a 90s book on wardrobe planning -
great ideas which I should follow.

My patternmaking bible.

Released in 2009 this has fabulous photos.

An entertaining look at fashion.

Sew.....

This week I finished the Indian dance costumes, made some linen mix pants for a friend and made these.

Retro skirt from op shop fabric.

Pieced evening skirt for summer collection.

Polycotton shirt for a client.

Pieced knit skirt for summer collection.

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Cropped jacket for summer collection.

Lovely Lace

The navy Table 8 lace on the left was 

purchased at a factory outlet in the early 1990s.  

The lace on the right was purchased from

Chic Fabrique for a dress.

I have never worn a lot of lace but I love collecting it.  Here are some of the pieces currently in the sewing room collection

This piece of vintage lace was given to me by a friend

This crocheted lace was made by my great
grandmother.  It has been stitched on and
taken off garments over a period of more than sixty years.

This spider web lace, purchased at Tessuti's in Sydney,
formed the outer layer of a wedding dress made
earlier this year.

These tatted sleeve pieces were purchased
at an op shop.

I made this crocheted lace collar in the
late 1960s.  It has been on and off several
garments.

This tatted lace collar was made by my
grandmother in the 1950s and has been
on several garments.

Lace pieces purchased from op shops.

This Week in the Sweat Shop

My husband, Bob, refers to my sewing room as the Sweat Shop, particularly when I am working over extended periods of the day.  This week has been a busy week as I have worked to complete a number of projects.  Here is what I finished this week. 

Black tailored pants
for a tall client who finds
it hard to find pants long
enough to fit.  A customised
pattern was made so now she
can have other pants made
in different fabrics.

6 gore skirt with kimono fabric
pieces for the summer collection.

Dance costume skirt from a sari.
Almost all of the sari (6 yards or 5.6 metres)
was used to make the 8 panels which
 are each one quarter of a circle.

Linen shirt for a client.

White stretch drill skirt with knit trim for the
summer collection.

Palazzo pants with godets inserted into
centre front and back and in to the lower
leg seams.

A Bulge of Buttons

Vintage buttons which have been given to me or have been purchased at craft fairs or markets.

Some of us are compelled to collect.  My collections include fabrics, patterns and buttons.  I had my own small collection and then in 1984 my mother gave me her collection which included buttons previously in the collections of my grandmother and great grandmother.  The collection has grown as I have purchased, made and been given additional buttons. 

Part of the collection which is organised by colour.

Buttons purchased overseas.  On the left are metal buttons from Notting Hill markets in London.  On the right are coconut shell buttons from Samoa.

Polymer clay buttons made at one of the fabulous workshops run by friend Wilma Simmons.  (www.empresswu.etsy.com)

   

Op shop finds.

 

Favourite Fabrics

In the early 1980s I discovered John Kaldor fabrics.  They are fabulous designs, beautiful quality fabrics and unfortunately, no longer available.  The picture on the left shows an early purchase which was a beautiful purple and pink combination pattern made into a drop waisted dress.   The picture on the right shows a top of a polyester print.  Both are from the mid 1980s.  Below are a jacket and skirt from my current wardrobe (both fabrics purchased from fabric stores) and some fabrics purchased in the past twelve months from Op Shops.

Favourite Patterns

When I find a style or pattern that I like I tend to replicate it in a range of fabrics.  Here is one of my current favourites - a Butterick jacket pattern.  In the photo on the left are some of the versions in my wardrobe.  From left to right - polished cotton John Kaldor Hawaiian print, red polyester twill, black wool, op shop black and pink check poly cotton (cost $4), pink Tissus Michel wool crepe lined with printed satin.

Knitted Clothes

This is my niece in 1973 wearing a dress I knitted for her.  Many crocheted and knitted clothes were made for my niece, nephew, the children of friends and myself.  While at Teachers College I made a bit of extra money knitting and crocheting clothes for fellow students.  So what happened to  knitting?  Once I got a designated sewing space and had my machine and overlocker set up all the time those small gaps between activities that used to be filled with crocheting or knitting became filled with sewing!    Mmmmm - there is that basket with an almost finished jumper that was started in 1994 when we moved to Newcastle!  Perhaps it might see the light of day some time in the future!!

The Applique Phase

AT various stages of my dressmaking journey I have experimented with different forms of embellishment.  In the early 1980s I had a bit of a fascination with applique.  The techniques and materials used at the time were fairly primitive but it was fun.  Better interfacings and better machines have contributed to a more sophisticated use of applique.  The black skirt, bought and worn by my neighbour Sally, is a 2011 effort.