Oh dear, I have to confess the stash/shop is growing. Remember just a few months ago I posted pics of my fabric cupboard? Well, I’m happy/sad to say that there is no free space anymore. Totally chock-a-block full. I really need to start sewing more and buying less!
Which is really difficult when there are so many lovely ranges coming out over the next month or so. My favourite at the moment is Joel Dewberry’s “Aviary 2”. I love everything about Joel Dewberry and his cute wife, Laurie. To make matters worse, he has just previewed his new range “Heirloom” at Quilt Market in Salt Lake City and it is really pretty…
I’ve just finished making a Versatile Wrap out of the mustard bird fabric…beautiful for winter.
I’m not much of a purple lover, but it seems to be growing on me and I love it mixed with aqua below.
Also made a Wrap out of the black damask below:
When I was in Melbourne last week I popped into Textile Offcuts in Lilydale while I was waiting for Jaron to finish some work (thanks for the referral Karen!) I wish I had some specific projects in mind as I find it hard to purchase apparel fabric without a cause, but I did spot a bolt of houndstooth print fabric so bought a couple of meters for the stash 🙂
I love Carolyn Gavin’s range, Spring Street and stocked up on a few of my favourite prints.
And then there’s Sherbet Pips…I have to be honest, this range doesn’t grab me like it does other people. It’s cute, but I’m just not sure what I’d do with it. Didn’t stop me though! I know that in about 12 months when it is hard to buy I’ll be wanting a bit, so got it while I could now!
On a side note…I’m working out my Cool Shop schedule for July/August – if you are interested in becoming a Cool Shop and advertising on my blog for free, read here for more information and send me an email! toni (at) makeitperfect . com.au
Wow – I didn’t think my simple yoga skirt would get such a great response! You guys asked a few questions, so I thought I’d answer them here as I’m sure that more than one of you were wondering the same thing…
I’ll definitley do my best to write up a pattern and combine with a pair of yoga pants – can’t promise when, but it will be in the near future.
A few people requested the pattern as a free tutorial – while I do love online tutorials, you’ve probably noticed that I don’t offer them that often on my blog. The main reason being that a tutorial takes a loong time to put together. (Well, for me anyway!) My life at the moment is fairly busy and pretty much every spare sewing session is devoted to my patterns. I would love to share more tutorials with you, maybe in the future when I have some extra sewing time to come up with some new things 🙂
Yep, the yoga skirt is VERY beginner-friendly. I would strongly recommend it for a beginner sewer (or someone beginning to sew with knit fabrics.)
Haha – “do you think knit fabric is only for the thin?” – this one cracked me up! I don’t think I fit into the “thin” category – have you heard of control/shaping underwear and tights? Get some, they work wonders 😉
YES! They are TOMS wedges! I can’t believe I didn’t ever blog about them – I have had them for ages now and loooove them. Highly recommend them, they took a few wears to break in but are super comfy now. I think I need a grey pair of flats…
The skirt has elastic hidden around the entire waistband. Just tight enough so that you can be sure is isn’t going to fall down, not so that it creates gathers.
It does have a roll-top waist – although I think I’d make it a bit longer next time…I remember Oprah once said (and she would know!) that if you wear skirts or pants (she was talking about track pants at the time) with a horizontal line across the top of your butt, it makes your butt appear smaller. Smart woman Oprah, maybe that’s why I like wearing roll-top skirts and pants!!
Love the track pants idea too, I reckon I could offer an alternate finish to the roll-top waistband too. I agree, it is very hard to find a pair of trackies that don’t make you look like a Westie Mum!
You really don’t need an overlocker (serger) to sew with knits. It does make the job easier, but if you don’t have one, check your sewing machine manual and you’ll probably find that your machine has an overlocker-type stitch in it. If not, it will definitley do a stretch stitch or at last resort, a zig-zag. All of these options work fine and with good results.
Okay, that’s it for skirt talk for now. Be back soon to share some new fabric purchases!
I cut into the Black Organic Jersey Knit from Bloom last night. I own a few stretchy skirts that I love to wear. They don’t need ironing, are really comfortable and easy to dress up or down. I’ve been tempted to go shopping for more, but know that I can easily make one for less than a quarter of the price I’ll pay in a shop.
So last night, it took me 1 1/2 hours to draft the pattern, cut and sew this stretchy skirt. I added a yoga-style waistband to the top, but also included a row of hidden elastic to ensure that it doesn’t slip down. (Nothing worse than a skirt that won’t stay up!!)
I thought it needed a bit of extra detail, so popped a ruffle trim on the bottom.
I’m really pleased with the results and know that I’ll get a lot of wear out of it. I’m leaning towards sewing lots more “basics” at the moment – everyday wear like this skirt. Next up is a pair of yoga pants. If all goes well, would you like to see a pattern incorporating both the skirt and pants? They sew up quickly and easily and are great for someone who is experimenting with sewing with knit fabric for the first time.
Do you have any other “basics” pattern ideas that you have been looking for?
One of the things I love about my Cool Shops, is that I get to discover a whole heap of new shops that I’m not sure I would have otherwise found out about. I was especially excited when I was contacted by Kerrie from Bloom…
Bloom fabrics is different from your usual fabric shops. At Bloom, their aim is to bring you beautiful, top quality fabrics which are aimed at apparel sewing from around the world. As I delve deeper into the world of clothing sewing, I realise that although quilting cottons are lovely and offer a lot of great designs, there is a limit to what you can sew with them in terms of clothing. Bloom fabrics offers a wonderful range of fabrics to suit all of your clothing sewing needs.
When I’m being offered fabric or other crafty material for my Cool Shops review, I always like to make sure that I get something I am actually going to use. No point it sitting on the shelf and gathering dust. If I am really organised, I’ll even manage to sew something up, which wasn’t the case this time, but I’ll be sure to show and tell as soon as I’ve got something share! I’m really looking forward to cutting into these fabrics and have great plans for both of them.
The Black Organic Jersey Knit is destined to become a comfy, stretchy skirt for winter. I’m wanting to make a whole heap of these with different variations that are easy to wear with tights or stockings and my boots. The lovely Mid-Grey Hilco Velour is going to become a pair of track pants. Seriously, my kids have way too many clothes…time for more sewing for myself!! Both of these fabrics are of superior quality. I especially love the thickness of the velour and know that I’ll get a lot of wear out of the track pants.
Bloom proudly stocks a large range of certified organic fabrics in both Australian-Made Combed Cotton Jersey:
and Printed Woven Cottons:
I love the selection of gorgeous Stenzo Pinwhale Corduroy and can see some cute little girl dresses, little boy pants and perhaps a lovely jacket for Mum out of these:
If you’re looking for great Knits, you’ll find a range of different types such as jerseys, velours and viscose:
You won’t want to miss Bloom’s great Make It Perfect offer – for the next month, Bloom is giving Make It Perfect readers a massive 20% off all products!! Now is the time to stock up for all of that winter sewing! (Offer valid from 25th May-24th June, use code “perfect7” during checkout.)
