Some recent Fabric Scores

I like fabric shopping.  That's no lie.  I have enough quilting fabric to sink a battle ship but dressmaking fabric not so much.  In fact up until about 12 months ago I had no interest in sewing clothes.  They scared me.  They had curves and zips and scary terms like notches and you had to cut out patterns and actually use scissors to cut the fabric.  Being a quilter all those things scared me.  But somehow I got over it.  Something made me want to sew clothes.  And wearable ones at that. So that was what I did.

I started with a few simple things, a skirt or two, and then a top.  Then I found those indie pattern designers we all love Colette, April Rhodes, Sew Over It, By Hand London, and spent hours trawling through patterns finding ones I loved and wanted to make and buying the ones I could afford.  I'd also hit up Spotlights pattern sales when they were 3 for $10 and make the most of it.

Now I do profess to being a dedicated Spotlight shopper (I blame the nearly 5 years of working there.  I'm thinking of ideas for a post for my hints and tips for finding bargins at Spotlight. Let me know).  However I was down near Lincraft and thought I would go in and see what they had.  I was impressed.  Bargins garlore on their clearance table!  Some lycra type lining at $5/m and some navy ribbed knit down to $1.25.  Now I didn't take photos of these two partly because they are pretty boring, partly because they are in a box somewhere :).

The rest were a bit prettier.

There was this maroon knitted fabric with a metallic gold thread at $8/m.  I got 2m to turn into a knitwear jumper for those cooler Autumn days around the corner.  Just to decide on a pattern.  I'm leaning towards using the free Easy Tee pattern by It's Always Autumn.  It's a good pattern, pretty much my size plus its free!  Nothing to complain about there.

 

 

I also fell in love with this other fabric and plan on using the same pattern with it.  I'm just too scared to sew it because it is so open with the weave.  Any hints or tips would be appreciated.  It's really a black/brown colour and the sequins just make it in real life. 

 

 

 

 

I've also purchased this tribal like rayon from Spotlight with unknown plans at the moment, maybe a simple shift dress.

 

 

I also grabbed this pirouette dot tulle during the recent 30% off sale.  I have plans for a cocktail dress using this to make a Carrie Bradshaw (Sex and the City) style skirt and a black satin bodice.

 

I also discovered Ohhh Lulu the other day and fell in love. Romantic, Feminine, Stylish.  I plan on making up a few of their patterns (funds permitting).

I grabbed this combination of stretch lace and cotton below for the Ohhh Lulu Grace Knickers and the lyrca (2 remanent pieces at $2/m) for the Abigail Swimsuit.  One day anyway :).

 

 

 

Anyway I hope to get some more sewing done over the weekend.  Or at least finish off some other things to show you.  Things should settle down after I actually move in after Easter and that should mean more sewing time :)

 

Until then,

 

Emma

$5 Myrtle Dress

I'm attending an Olave Program conference next weekend and on Saturday night we're having an Op Shop themed dinner.  Some of the girls are planning trashy 80's prom themed dresses, however I don't like spending money on things I'm not going to wear again.  Especially as I'm trying to save for a house.

So I made myself a challenge of getting something wearable for this dinner, despite what my friends might be saying.

I got three metres of a grey suiting (Gabardine maybe?) and set myself a challenge of turning it into a dress, easy enough right?  Well I hadn't thought about lining. Rookie mistake.  Thankfully I remembered about the Colette Myrtle Pattern I had purchased at the end of the last year.  Did you know it's possible to get a fully lined Myrtle dress out of three metres of 150 wide fabric?  Well it is!  It takes a little careful cutting but you can do it!

I really love the cowl neck of this dress, it looks especially good in a drapey fabric.  This one is a little stiff but you've got t work with what you've got ;)

It still needs hemming in these photos but you get the idea  :)

 

 

 

 

 

Overall I really love this pattern!  The front of the bodice is self lined which makes it super neat, plus it can be made from stretch or woven so it is a pattern worth adding to your collection.

One of my friends thinks it need to look worse for this dinner, however I'm all for actually getting something from the op shop you'd actually wear!

 

Emma :)