Project Sewn Results + Mood Fabrics Voucher GIVE AWAY!!

Oh my gawd you guys! I came second in Project Sewn! Release the doves!!

Check out the dresses: Top Left - Top Right - Bottom Left - Bottom Right

Thank you SO (sew) much to all of you who followed along and voted!

As a special thank you I am giving away two $50 vouchers to Mood Fabrics. If you don't know already, Mood is the fabric store for Project Runway in the U.S. and they now ship internationally too.

To WIN 1 of 2 e-vouchers for Mood Fabrics

Simply comment on this blog post

Two lucky peeps will be randomly selected and each will win one $50 e-voucher.

Entries are open to everyone from anywhere in the world. 

Entries close on Sunday, December 1st, 2013

The winners will be announced in a blog post on Monday, December 2nd, 2013

Something random for you:

Remember my 'A rose is a rose, is a rose, is a rose' dress? Well there's a movie out at the moment called 'About Time' and the dress in the promo reminds me a lot of my dress! You can learn how to make these rose sleeves with my tutorial here.

Click on the photo to follow me on Instagram

What I've been up to this week:

Saw the amazing how-can-one-person-be-this-talented Jill Scott at the Palais Theatre and almost hyperventilated it was THAT GOOD.

Oh and guess what I did this weekend? Oh ... you know, just had brunch with the talented Leisl from Jorth and the inspiring Kristiann from Victory Patterns and her wonderful partner Simon. Nothing much! Needless to say I had an amazing time and my face is still sore from all the epic smiling and talking!

Thanks again to everyone for your support through Project Sewn. Your words of support made me feel all sorts of warm and fuzzies and I feel very lucky to be part of such an encouraging and positive community.

Spring Dress - Project Sewn FINAL Week

It's the final week of Project Sewn! Wah!

I feel so honoured to have made it to the final round. Thank you guys so much for following along and voting for me. Please accept one million dollars* as a token of my appreciation.
*invisible money and not actual money.

Project Sewn has gotten me back into the thick of my sewing passion and for that I am so grateful. It has also taken me away from housework. Lets just say that my son Harry is not the only thing growing in my house at the moment. At least now I can take a breather and restore order to our abode. I'm sure my husband would be happy to hear this, if I hadn't lost him a few weeks ago in one of the laundry piles. I'm going to miss that guy.

So for the last time this season, click here to check out the fabulous creations and VOTE for your favourite!

This week the theme was to create something of our own style.
When it comes to looks that define us, I have a bit of a split personality. The great part about being able to sew is that you get to experiment with all different types of looks, and I love many! I lean towards vintage, the 60's in particular with it's feminine silhouettes, but I'm also drawn to modern fashion with architectural shapes and lines. So which one do I choose?

I decided on this little number which is feminine, soft and vintage but yet wouldn't be out of place at a spring event today . The moment I put this dress on I feel like me.

Details

The dress is made using beautiful ivory lace and underlined with satin. Underlining gives the lace structure and stops it from being see through! I took extra time to make sure that the lace patterns lined up and matched on all the pieces. Check out my tutorial here on underlining lace.

I featured the scalloped edge on the skirt hem of the dress and by making little cap sleeves for the bodice.

I made a scoop neck on the front and back of the bodice,  and added soft pleats on the bodice front neckline. The dress is closed down the centre back with an invisible zipper.

I wanted a big full skirt to go with the fitted bodice. I shaped the skirt waist by making small even knife pleats along the waist. This takes longer than gathering the skirt, but it creates an even shape and makes the skirt sit a bit flatter to the stomach instead of foofing out where you don't need foofing.

This dress would be perfect for an afternoon tea party, a garden wedding or the Melbourne Spring Races which is in a few weeks time!

Styling

Earrings: Swarovski (I wore these on my wedding day!)

Brooch: Myers

Belt: Alannah Hill

Shoes: Burgundy sandals from Zara

Thank you again to everyone for your kind words of encouragement and support throughout this competition! It has kept me going on those days when I never thought I would finish in time!

Don't forget to check out the entries and VOTE for the winner! 

The Hay Fever Dress - Project Sewn Week 3

Thanks a gah-zillion to everyone who voted for me last week on Project Sewn. I made it through to the next round!! Wah-to the-hoo!

For Week 3 the theme is 'Graphic Print' and here's my bright florally entry. Makes my nose itchy just looking at it! It's Spring in Australia and that means hay fever time. Goodbye jumpers and cardigans, hello tissues.

Once again, check out the fabulous entries and VOTE for your favourite!

I learnt something about myself with this challenge. I realised that even though I love prints and they are well represented in my gigantic fabric stash(es), I rarely actually sew with a print! Turns out when I go into a fabric store without a project in mind I buy up on prints, but when I go in with a pattern or a design in my head first, I lean towards solid colours. Curious-er and curious-er.

In fact, three quarters of my garments in my past projects are with solid colours. I need an intervention.

I loved this challenge for breaking me out of my design cycle and letting the design be inspired by the fabric first.

So here's the nitty gritty:

Pattern

I used the bodice of Vogue 8280 for this dress with some heavy modifications. You can check my original review of this pattern here to see the changes I made.

I drafted my own skirt and sleeves.

Fabric and Construction

For the shell of the dress I used a beautiful cotton sateen that I bought on sale from Spotlight for $4 a metre. This.never.happens.to.me. Cue high-five-ing strangers.

The dress is fully lined, and closed with an invisible zipper down the centre back.

The feature of this dress is a row of pleats along the hem of the skirt and the sleeves.

This took foooorreeeevvvveeerrrrr! Each pleat was individually sewn down and took a total of 4 metres of fabric and four hours to complete. I love the effect though so it was worth it.

I cut the pleats on the straight grain to make them more rigid and less stretchy. This gives the pleats a nice little kick out at the edges which I love.

I love the heart shape of the bodice and the galaxy dress shape of the shoulders. It just feels so freaking feminine!

Styling

Flower crown from Sportsgirl
Red leather bow belt from JigSaw
Patchuli Floc shoes from Melissa Shoes
Chanel lipstick #98 - This is my new absolute favourite red. Not too dark, not too bright, not too shiny, not too matt. Just perfection!

Special Mentions

Today, the 15th of October is mine and my husbands second wedding anniversary and the first with our baby boy. Don't want to gross you guys out too much but I really love this guy. More than sewing. And fabric. That's a lot.

Don't forget to check out the other entries and VOTE for your favourite! Voting closes Thursday at 8pm MDT.

Thanks again for all your support! :))

Project Sewn Week 2 - The Era Challenge - Butterick 5747

Thank you so so much to everyone who voted for me last week on Project Sewn. I made it through the first round (hooray!!) and now here is my entry for week two's 'Fashion Era Challenge'.

Once again 50% of the vote is up to the public. So check out the other gorgeous outfits and if mine is your favourite I would be TICKLED PINK if you voted for me. Voting closes Thursday 8pm MDT.

For this weeks challenge we had to make a dress from an era of our choice and I chose the 60s. Surprised much?

The 60s is one of my favourite eras for fashion. The range of styles that were introduced in one decade it incredible. In particular I love the fashion at the beginning of this decade. It still had influences from the 50s but with the attitude and boldness of the new time.

The Pattern

To create my look I used Butterick Pattern B5747 which was originally released in the year 1960.

Image on far right from the Butterick Patterns website

I made version A of the pattern and cut it in a straight size 14.

The instructions were pretty straight forward, though they did jump around a bit.

There is a step missing in the instructions! Watch out when you're about to attach the skirt to the bodice/waist band. It skips the step that has you turn in the waist band at the centre front. This will make sense to you if you are making this dress.

Features of the dress

The dress is closed down the centre front with four buttons.

Like a lot of vintage patterns, the dress isn't lined but uses facings.

The dress has a full pleated skirt, a waist band and a gorgeous boxy collar. I made my dress using a thick quilting cotton and added white trim for contrast. I love how it gives the dress a bit more playfulness.

The dress also features a detachable dickey. I've seen some other bloggers wear this dress without the dickey and it looks gorgeous. Unfortunately my dress doesn't look very 'family friendly' when I wear it without!

The beautiful Anna Neah made a similar dress recently but with a different pattern. I'm bananas about her version. It's like we're sewing twins. It freaks me out how much I love everything she makes. If you don't follow her yet you are CRAY CRAY! Check her out!

Changes I made

I'm actually wearing the dickey slightly lower than the pattern design as it overwhelmed my short torso when I was wearing it the original height. It sort of looked like it was choking me!

I also omitted the belt and used one that I already had. I raised the hem slightly to a length that flattered my shape and height better. No other alterations were made to the pattern which is such a nice change!

Styling

I teamed my dress with red lipstick (of course) a beautiful vintage brooch curtesy of the Ruemiraldi store, a red belt and a big bouncy petticoat that I'm a little bit in love with. I love the fullness it adds! I also tucked my hair under to create a sort of faux bob. My hair is a bit long for this era!

Conclusion

That's it, I'm wearing full skirts every day. Just try and change my mind.

Ok so maybe I'm prone to the obsessive, but I feel like a freaking princess in this dress. And the skirt has excellent twirling capabilities. I'm actually a little bit nervous to go out past midnight incase my dress turns to rags and I lose a shoe. It happens.

A special thanks to my parents Beverley and Michelangelo (who totally has The Kinks stuck in his head now) and my sister Angeline who looked after Harry while I sewed like a maniac to get this finished for the deadline. And of course to my wonderful husband/photographer who patiently photographs me even though I inevitably turn into a diva during the process.

Thanks again for all your support! You can vote for me and my dress here.

Project Sewn Week 1 - Little Black Dress

Ladies and Gentleman I'd like to introduce you to my entry for Project Sewn's Week 1 Challenge: The little black dress.

Project Sewn is a wonderful online blogger competition with six contestants. Each week there is a different theme and one contestant is eliminated until there are only three people left. I've loved putting my dresses together so even if I get eliminated in week one I'll still be sharing them with you guys here!

Voting
Who stays on in the competition is decided by public vote. So if you like my dress, I'd love it if you'd show your support by voting!

CLICK HERE TO VOTE :) (Scroll to the bottom of the post for the voting)

And make sure you check out the other contestants fabulous outfits. They are simply amazing!

When I think little black dress I think, classy, sexy, alluring and timeless. I feel like I could fight crime in this dress. On another note, how awesome would a couture super hero be?

My dress was inspired by my recent trip to Italy. Everywhere you looked you were surrounded by beauty; it was almost overwhelming. I purchased this stunning black lace while staying in Florence, and I knew it would be perfect for this challenge.

I wanted the lace to be the focus of the dress as it is so beautiful. I made a low back featuring the scalloped edging of the lace.

I underlined the front bodice with a cotton lawn and added a detachable lace dickey for extra modesty. Check out my tutorial here on how to underline fabric.

The skirt is a silk that has been blended with polyester for extra strength. It is such a forgiving and structured fabric and beautiful to sew with.

The dress is closed with an invisible zipper down the centre back, and the armholes are finished with bias binding. 

 

I styled the dress with a belt that I bought when I was in Italy. I've always been a sucker for bling and I like the little something extra it adds to the outfit. Below is a picture without the belt. I think it works both ways.

This is the first evening dress that I have made since giving birth to my son eight months ago and wearing it is like a breath of fresh air. It's so nice to feel a bit fancy-pantsy and put on a frock that makes you look less like a mum and more like a minx. It sure is a nice change from my pyjamas. Now I just need somewhere to wear it!

If you like my dress you can vote for me here! Voting closes this Thursday.

Thank you Project Sewn for asking me to be part of this fabulous competition. I am honoured and excited to be included amongst such talent!