A practical skirt

The best thing about a new sewing machine is that even the most practical sewing project is exciting! I'm not saying that a useful skirt is not exciting but it does not have the great fabric and flounce I am used to in my endless array of dresses. Having said that, this practical, everyday skirt has been fun for other reasons.

Firstly I have enjoyed my new machine's endless array of presser feet but especially this one - presser foot number 5!

This foot is awesome at sewing super close to the edge for that beautiful edge stitch.... I love it! Not to get all sewing machine nerdy on you but there was nothing worse than trying to execute edge stitching and ending up with a wonky, wavering sewing line - nothing says "HANDMADE!" (and not in the good way) like a line of wonky sewing. Check out the results - the bottom line of stitching, not the top ones, I will talk about them in a bit.

This picture actually brings me to the next thing I am loving about my new machine - the different stitches. I am making a jean skirt so, what better than to use the jean stitch (yep, there is one)

And those, top two rows of stitching in the photo above - yep, jean stitching or stitch #6.

After all that, how's the skirt going? Well almost done. Just a few more adjustments before the final taadaa and reveal of project #1. I've already got my head around the next project... Why have one skirt, when you can have two!

Too many dresses

I guess the first place to start when I am thinking about what to sew this year is to look at what I like to sew and therefore sew a lot of - dresses! I love a floral dress, a backless dress, a formal dress, a throw on after a swim dress - there is something satisfying about creating a whole outfit in one item, of using fun fabrics and sewing something that suits my figure (cinches around the waist and full around the hips). However, if I am going to take this challenge seriously I cannot spend my time sewing dress, after dress, after dress. I need something that is a little less showy, that will be a workhorse for a number of different outfits. I need a skirt.

Rummaging through my box of previously drafted patterns I found this one. A knee length, denim style skirt - perfect.

I love it when I open a pattern I drafted a while back and find little notes to myself on where to add to the pattern and what to change - so thoughtful of me I think.

I have chosen some fabric too - a dark cotton khaki and some fun fabric for the pocket inserts. I find something slightly amusing about having my pockets lined with mini moustaches!

So to begin my first project of the year - nothing too flashy and possibly a piece that no one will really notice but a good foundation piece for my new handmade wardrobe.

A New Year's Resolution...

It began as it always does on New Year's Day after 2, maybe 3 (surely not 4, definitely not 5) glasses of champagne and a discussion about New Year's resolutions. In fact it probably started a week earlier when I unwrapped a massive box under the tree and revealed this... taaadaaa....

Yep a beautiful Bernina sewing machine, the one I have been coveting for a long, long while appeared under our Christmas tree - yay!

Fast forward to New Year's Day and a conversation around new gym memberships and diets, I quietly wondered aloud whether or not I could go a whole year without buying any new clothes, using my new machine to sew anything I needed. Did I say that out loud? It appears I did and loud enough for others to hear and repeat to more people! "A great idea!" "You should do it!" Yikes, what have I done. Can I do it? A whole year relying on my sewing and pattern making skills to create my wardrobe? Maybe.... Am I going to give it a go? I sure am!

Begin Again

It has been over a year sine I last posted on this blog and my absence was not one that I anticipated or particularly welcomed. I got sick, very sick, and 2014 was a year of hospital treatments and surgery. That's not to say I didn't sew. I did and it was my one chance to grab a little moment of calm amongst a tremendous storm. 2015 doesn't bring a fully clean bill of health but it does bring a change of mindset. A determination - not to let illness define me but to carve out opportunities to do more and more of what I love to do, spend more time with people I love and to deal with whatever comes my way only when it happens. So be prepared for a recap of 2014's projects and some new projects for 2015 starting with the Watson Sewalong and this amazing Powernet...

Stay tuned...

Pirate costumes

From Couture to Pirates - can it be done? Well in this little corner of the internet, I say Yes!
This weekend we had a pirate themed 2nd birthday party. I was a little dubious about dressing the girls up as pirates, mainly because Miss S is Miss Independence and HAS to choose what she wears. I thought I might run into a little trouble convincing her to put on a pirate costume, especially as going to a party means a party dress and sparkly shoes. I can't help it - I have a mother and a mother-in-law who loving shopping for pretty dresses! For this reason I steered well clear of the pirate cliches of skulls and crossbones. I even avoided the nautical ones of anchors and sailing ships and instead chose fluro orange whales - not necessarily what jumps into mind when you think pirates, but stick with me...

I started with an easy elastic waisted skirts with a ruffle.

To make this, you will need:

* about 0.5 cm fabric

* 1/4" elastic (waist measurement + 2cm)

Measure your child's waist. The length of the rectangle is 1.5 x the waist measurement and the height is however long you would like the first layer + 5cm for elastic casing. For Miss S (2 1/2 year old) my rectangle was 70cm x 25cm

Cut a rectangle for the ruffle - approx 1.5 x the length of the above rectangle; height - however long you want the ruffle + 2cm. For Miss S, my ruffle was 100cm x 17cm

Finally, thread the elastic through the elastic casing - a safety pin is always good to do this step.

I made a mini one for Miss E and teamed them with a stripy sash and spotty bandana. 

More pirate like? I think so...

I love this photo - on tippy toes to get a better look at the cake!

Backless dress - behind the seams

My latest fashion geeky bedtime read has been this book:

This is an amazing insight into the world of Couture sewing and how to recreate some of those techniques. I was fascinated to learn that much of the sewing in a Couture workroom is hand sewing and I especially love this photo - it looks like a team of fashion elves weaving their magic!

image source

I can promise you, that my dress was not wholly hand sewn but this book did inspire me to think more about the construction of my dress and some of those hidden details. So, today I thought I would share some of my favourite behind the seams details.

1. French seams

I have written of the virtues of French seams before and even construction a diy tutorial for them. They are incredibly easy and perfect for the fabric for my dress which frays really easily. They did become a challenge when I decided to do French seams with side seam pockets - can it be done? Yes, check out this easy tutorial on Sew Mamma Sew by Deborah Moebes to work out how. Easy!

2. Bound seams

This was more from necessity - the fabric I chose frayed if you looked at it the wrong way! I created bias binding from my lining fabric and used that to bind the edges of the seams in the centre back. It stopped the endless fraying and they look great - perfect!

3. Faced hem

For the hem, I wanted a crisp clean finish so I decided on created a faced hem. I used the strip of fabric I cut off from the dress when I adjusted the length. As well as providing a clean edge to the finished dress I think it creates an extra weight at the hem, which helps to give the dress its shape.

4. Machine stitched blind hem

I am undecided on this technique. I followed this super easy tutorial to work out how to create this on my machine - it turns out I had the stitch and the foot already, who knew! I did a few practice rounds on some scrap to get the hang of it but found when I sewed the hem, some of the blind stitches were quite large. Because the fabric is such a busy fabric I don't think you notice, but this is a technique I definitely need to practice.

The dress is almost complete - I just need to sew the hem of the lining! All am I waiting for now is a sunny day so I can don the dress (and the heels of course) for some pics of the finished dress!

Pattern testers

Anyone out there interested in pattern testing for me? I have a pattern ready to go for a baby sleeping bag - one with a zip up the middle. A great cosy and safe way for your baby to sleep. It comes in the 3 sizes (0-6 months; 6 - 12 months and; 12 - 18 months). My girls love them. In fact, I made one for my lovely friend Ems and her new baby Huey and I have one in the pipeline for my dear friend Mich and her new little baby girl... They are definitely my go to baby pressie!

So, how does the pattern testing work?

1. Send me an email at petitepatterns@mail.com saying - yes please, I would LOVE to pattern test!

2. I send you a copy of the pattern in PDF form as well as a questionnaire about the pattern. You need to print it out and put the pattern together following my instructions. Then, buy some fabric and make yourself a baby sleeping bag

3. Complete the questionnaire and send this back to me along with some clear photos of your new baby sleeping bag

This pattern should be good for a beginner sewer...

Win, win! Let's get pattern testing!