Enough pouff for the WOW dress?

After attaching the crinoline to the hem of the Vogue 2962 dress, I still thought it needed extra fullness, so I made a tulle petticoat. Sugardale makes super cute petticoats and she has a great tutorial, but I wanted something a bit quicker and preferred to use my Ruffler foot than gathering the conventional way. The memories of gathering big bits of tulle remain after making my wedding dress about 21 years ago! So here she is all pouffed out .......

 I did the petticoat in four tiers - each one 20cm wide. I added a soft cotton fabric as a header to the top tier to reduce the amount of harsh tulle at the waist. The top tier was a strip of 5 metres, the 2nd tier was 7.5 m, the third tier was 8.75 metres and the bottom tier was 10metres. Now there is nothing particularly clever about those lengths - really just a stab in the dark. I did a few test pieces of the ruffler foot to work out the gathering ratio - so that I didn't have to pin each piece to it's connecting tier.

Ruffler foot in action

Testing the gathering rate - there are a few settings on the foot, plus you can vary the amount of gather with the stitch length - so in this example, the rate was 1.27.

Basic straight interfaced waistband to finish the top.

I added an underskirt of lightweight soft cotton to reduce the itchiness of the tulle.

The back has a placket opening and one hook with several eyes so that it can be adjusted to suit the petite 40's waistline or ......

So she's all ready for her big night out at Blacksmiths Primary School's Market night this Friday Night (21st Oct) - where I will have a stall -  ... and .....  will I be wearing it? No, she's a pert Size 10 - my daughter may be able to wear it - but alas, she looks so good on the lovely lady mannequin, I'll leave it at that!

Sally and Smith and the Crocadile Dundee Needle

I'm often on the look out for projects suitable for Beginners - something that is easy, uses minimal fabric and other bits and has high impact ........ Introducing Sally and Smith from Jodie's new range of Beginner Sewing Patterns.

I really enjoyed sewing these little guys - it's not often your sewing project actually comes to life - with those teeny weeny button eyes and that coy smile - how can you resist? They are a beautiful shape to hold, and Smith's little legs can be moved to various poses. If you're not familiar with Jodie Ric Rac - you'd be in the minority - she's a Celebrity of the Softie world - and I must boast that I met her in real life earlier this year.

I've never used a Doll Needle before - and man! You call that a needle????

Sorry if these 2 photos cause distress - it is only polyester filling inside after all .. and she can't squeal with pain cause she hasn't got her mouth yet!

Great little pattern with super easy step by step clear sensible instructions!

I'll be cutting out some more of these and sewing them LIVE - this Friday Night (21st Oct) at Blacksmiths Primary School's first ever Night Market - I'd love to see you there! I'll also have some Ric Rac patterns available for sale.

And I just noticed that I have 101 Followers!!! WOW! Nice to meet you all .......

Pattern Review Sydney Weekend

Just returned from a quick trip to Sydney to join the Pattern Review (PR) girls for a weekend of   ......

Fabric Shopping

 I was most impressed with The Remnant Warehouse, 494 Botany Rd, Alexandria. Lovely selection of fabrics, presented well, good prices, super friendly and knowledgeable staff - what more could you want?

Standard Knits  52 Pemberton Street,
Botany

 5 metre minimum cuts on a very very big range of Australian made and dyed knit fabrics.

 Metro Fabrics - 1/ 619 Princes Hwy, Tempe - The sheer quantity and range of goodies at this place was truly overwhelming!! And there's a gigantic IKEA store being built right across the road - so future trips should prove most beneficial!

Boning - every possible variation!

Then, lunch at Newtown and this little gem .....

 All Buttons Great and Small -419a King Street, Newtown

 Leather, leather, leather, snake skins - unbelievable!!!  707 Elizabeth Street, Waterloo

 Then just enough energy for these 2 lovely lovely shops:

 The Fabric Store, 21 Cooper Street, Surry Hills

Tessuti's, 110 Commonwealth Street, Surry Hills

Dinner after our BIG DAY OUT was enjoyed on Crown St .... after spending most of our money on fabric we struggled to scrape together enough for the bill ......

Next day - a workshop.....

It was lovely to meet Lena, I did her workshop about adapting patterns for knits considering the stretch factor - very interesting!

So I must apologise if you're sitting there experiencing a severe gut wrenching attack of envy .....it was all Sharon's fault!  Thanks Sharon it was fabulous and fun!!!! And always good to meet new sewing folk from across the land and Tasman Sea!

Vogue 2962 - using Crinoline / Horsehair Braid

Our local Public school is having a fundraiser market night and I've decided to have a stall to advertise my classes and maybe sell a few patterns and bits and pieces. I thought it would be good to have a special "wow" type garment on one of my dressmaker's mannequins to attract attention. So I decided on Vogue 2962 in navy stretch sateen with a spot or two - fabric from Spotlight (get it??). Anyway, I wanted a really full dramatic skirt and I've been reading about using horsehair braid (Crinoline Tape / Stabiliser) in the hem.

Before Crinoline in Hem

After crinoline in hem

Don't you love those waistlines???

Sewing Crin to the hem on the right side - this tape is 54mm wide

Turn the hem under - pull the little threads at the top of the tape to ease in fullness.

Pin on the right side to stitch

See the little loop pulling the braid tight?

While I was quite impressed with the fullness and definition the tape gave the hem, I think I will have to make a tulle petticoat to add extra fluff. This is an easy straight forward pattern - it's just BIG - heavy - bulky - the hem circumference was 5.35 metres - phew!!

 Check out Gertie explaining this technique here.

Kwik Sew 3854 Shorts View B

The weather round these parts has been somewhat fickle - it's taken until today for me to get these shorts out into the open ... I've made Kwik Sew 3854 View B in all 5 sizes so that I can run this as a workshop. Here is the Small (Left) and the Medium (Right).

Kwik Sew 3854

 

I used these snaps on the Denim shorts (above) quite easy to apply.

  

Extra Small

 I used these Anorak Snaps for the red shorts - totally painful - maybe you need much thicker fabric, but I struggled and damaged every 2nd Snap with these ...

Fabric Covered Buttons on the Large Shorts

Jean Buttons on these Extra Large Shorts

 These are very cute shorts for youthful legs .... I've cut out a slightly longer pair for myself which you may or may not ever see!!! Would you like to learn how to make these shorts? You'll learn lots and lots of great skills and finish with cute shorts for summer (when summer actually decides to arrive ) - contact me to join a class!