11 Independent Patterns I'd Like To Sew Right Now!

Having the world's messiest sewing room, the busiest little son and no spare time in my week (before I return to work, but more on that later!), I've been daydreaming about what I would make if I lived in a parallel universe where sewing rooms cleaned themselves.

1. Anna By Hand London: I have bought this - YES! And it's on my desk right now. I'm stroking the purple diamond & dot packaging right at this moment. That doesn't get it made. There's a sew a long for this too, and luckily (unless they've posted more steps) we're just up to tracing and altering the pattern... with a Full Bust Adjustment (yay, or as Julia Bobbin - also a breastfeeder right now - calls it: A Full Breastfeeding Adjustment) as well! Hopefully I'll catch up! Not that I trace patterns anyways, should I?

2. A Very Gathered Skirt - This is a FREE pattern if you sign up for the newsletter at Pattern Runway, and I'd like to be flipping around in this for summer.

3. The Frida Skirt - Another flippy & flicky skirt for summer, this one by the Makers Journal, and I haven't done gathered frill/hem like this for ages, so why not!? I haven't followed the Makers Journal blog before, so will add their shop to my faves on etsy.

4. Belladone Dress - I've seen a few versions of this online and it's just TO DIE FOR. I'm extremely interested in the silhouette as I'm after that streamline look rather than the accentuate the positives of my FBA, if you know what I mean. I also love the Sureau Dress too, but as I haven't bought anything from Deer & Doe pattern makers yet, I might even add a couple more in. That's going to wait for pay day I think!

5. Tiny Pocket Tank - I've love Grainline Studio's patterns for a while, & this tank might be a little old but it'll be new to me, when I buy it to make! I am thinking of replacing a lot of my op shopped tanks/singlets this summer so this is a good one to make a bunch?! I haven't seen it on a fuller bust figure yet, so hoping it could be ok? I made Grainline's dress from the Burda Style Book in 2011!

6. La Sylphide Dress, Blouse & Skirt - UM THREE garments in one pattern? Has anyone sewn this (about to google to find out - oh see Cirque Du Bebe's version on Kollabora!) and can give it a review? I especially love the tiny floral skirt, I didn't really like the look of all the short shorts of Paper Cut patterns previously but I love some of their other things! 

7. The Dress Shirt Pattern - these are good looking patterns, I've heard! They are Merchant & Mills, and by "I've heard" I mean, I've seen one of you sewing bloggers post about their patterns arriving in a tube and I'd love that whole ye olde experience. I love the style of this dress shirt, and especially in time for summer here in Melbs. Again, another pay day purchase!

8. Cocoon Coat - I've NEVER seen these patterns before and there's so many I'd like to make! They're Ralph Pink and just crazy and amazing! Balconette Bras too!

9. All Seasons Coat - by Melbourne based pattern company You Sew Girl! I bought this at G&J's Discount Fabrics and they said the creater Nicole is super lovely and pops into the shop from time to time. They have LOTS more of her stuff and her book too! I thought I'd start a 2014 winter hoodie for my Baby Darling!

10. Billie Jean Dress - I love it all, the neckline, the two skirt options. I'd make a zillion of these, once I get my hands on it! I do like the blouse by Blue Ginger Doll but with my FBA right now, I just don't think it'll suit me & my little body. I'm excited what else Blue Ginger Doll designs though! EXCITED!

11. Cascade Skirt - I'd love the Virginia leggings, but have a selfmade pattern for some already, so back with the flippy summer skirts, please! I love Megan Nielson and have followed her blog since she began online (pretty much!) so again, once pay day comes around I'd love to get this one!

PHEW!

And the very gorgeous A Good Wardrobe has a full list of independent pattern makers if you love to browse the non commercial world of patterns!

Please let me know if you've made any of these patterns, I'd love to daydream about them some more! xoxo

Resting On Your Laurels

Hi there!

I am sewing in my freaking sewing room today! (Photos of the space coming soon!) Yippee! But I wanted to pop up and show you a COOL WEIRD FABRIC choice I found today as I started TWO Laurels! (Colette Patterns' latest pattern, and there's a competition closing in a coupla days - hope I can get my Laurels finished in time!)

What fabric is it? Crochet? Wool?

Doris Day has no idea! It's really big?!

Well, you know how I like refashioning stuff? Finding a new lease of life and form, from one thing to another (la la la!), like how I usually find old bedsheets and tablecloths and make them into skirts and dresses and everything else... well, this my friends, is a freaking boring hospital blanket:

All washed & cleaned well of course, and very run of the mill white... but it kinda has a look of crochet or a wooly ladder effect through it, so I'm trying to be clever and cut it nicely in lovely ways to suit the Laurel pattern.  I thought it'd be an interesting look, especially with the bell sleeves I'm going to add to this version... it might make the winter category for the comp! Who knows!? 

I am SO happy to be sewing again, it's almost like I've won this week anyways! WINNING AT LIFE, right guys?

Happy weekend to you all xoxo

Christmas Dress Planning!

It's taken since Tuesday to get this far, and this photo is from late on Friday night, and now I'm blogging on Sunday! Babyland is dreamy but space and time are nothing I've ever known! Every glimpse of 'Me Time' I get, while Baby Darling is asleep is spent kinda doing 'Mama Time' things, like washing, hanging out laundry, prepping food for all of us, or paying bills and doing life admin shizz!

BUT, this week, Baby Darling is growing up a little and playing by himself for a 20 minutes here and there... so I'm going CRAZY and splashing out and making a dress to wear (hopefully!) on Christmas Day! There's no back up time for sewing, so fingers crossed this dress fits divinely.

Because I'm using stretch knit, I've used the kitchen table (with it's nifty smooth glass top) to lay out this Spotlight special fabric and used a 'good fitting' skirt or my old minty dress instead of the pattern piece (which was loosely gathered, and I don't want a gathered skirt with knit fabric). FINGERS CROSSED.

Are you making any special holiday outfits? I wish I could make another one for a BBQ I'm heading to tonight, but oh well!

xoxo

Spring Break: Knitting

Did I post this already?

My friend made me a monkey teddy, and he/she is my couch companion (when I can stand to sit for longer than 30 minutes with this large uterus pressing everywhere) as I knit. I never knit these days, so it's kinda fun doing it again!

I'm taking a little Spring Break with my blogging chit chat, as there's a high chance I'm having a baby this week... so you'll see a few photographs instead! xoxo

My Sweet Room

I never want to start my posts with 'Hey, I'm busy at the moment' but I'm so that Busy Bee at the moment! (When am I not!?) Here's a series of In the Sewing Room photos I took last week as I was prepping for the wonderful Alfred Hitchcock film theme for the Sew Weekly! If you're dying to see my dress (and haven't already), my post is on Sew Weekly, and I'm getting the photos ready for you at the moment, which I'll hope to post tomorrow! What a big catch up post that'll be!

The fabric I used is vintage, and kind of upholstery type material, called Cassandra! Cute! I listened to This American Life while I sewed. And had heaps of tea in my Spiderman Tea Cup (or Husbie's teacup, I should say!) while resizing the skirt pattern pieces. As I mention over in the Sew Weekly post, the material I had was about 1 metre too short, and with three skirt pieces that had to be cut 2 times each, it was a little bit of maths and accordion skirt pieces. Accordion because I had to fold and re-fold a lot of horizontal edges to make the skirt pieces fit the fabric. Yay for remnant fabric pieces from the op shop! Yay for sewing in general!

This week I'm going CRAZY because once again I'm working at Splendour in the Grass where our radio station will be broadcasting shitloads of live music and interviews and I'll be running around NOT wearing this Hitchcock dress!

Talk soon, and hope you're well xoxo

Sew Weekly: Sneaky Peek of Red!

Happy Friday guys!

I wish my face expression was a little more 'YAY' but I mean 'Yay' on the inside here! In real life, I just sneezed, like, about 12 times really big so I feel a little woozy instead of Yay!

But here's my new fandangled back wrap body jumper tunic thing! Just a sneak peak though, as the post will go up later today on the Sew Weekly! Husbie helped me style the photos (he said WHITE SHIRT WHITE SHIRT!) so they're very cute!

Last night I had a work meeting, and it seems I will be seeing a lot of COMEDY shows again this year, for the Melbourne International Comedy Festival. Seeing shows for work and all sorts of opinion things, so I'm pretty excited, but also a little 'Uh Oh' because I'm kinda busy right now with work, and seeing 2-3 comedy shows a night can get really really really busy. Send me that Hermione (from Harry Potter) time travel device (where you can be in two places at once) and I'll be fine.

Hope you have a great Friday peeps! xoxo

Works in Progress

Do you have those feelings in the opshop/charity shop/thrift store where you just GRAB something and you're not sure why but you know you'll need it one day? I am like that a bit like that all the time, and so have to limit my visits, but I grabbed a bagful of shoulder pads one day just like that.

I didn't know any pattern I owned had shoulder pads, and didn't really think I'd ever wear something with shoulder pads, but now I've made 2 things this year with shoulder pads! That's my current project above, based on these gorgeous instructions:

Happy Valentines Day (or two weeks in our household, everything is celebrated in 2 weeks at LEAST, but considering we've had our wedding anniversary AND my parents came to stay and we went on a fancy dinner, I think we're lying low for this next two weeks!) to you!


*** Update! ***

Mena's announced this week theme, which is SEEING RED for Val Day and so the above is a little sneaky peak of what I'm making! You should see Mena's fabulous red floral number right now!

The Curvy French and other things

That looks slightly 'professional' doesn't it!?? Whilst choosing fabric (cheap cotton stuff!) for my friend's Wedding Bunting, there was one of these 'French Curve' things on the Spotlight counter. I was like 'What's that?' and the shop assistant was like 'A French Curve' and I'm like 'But what does it do?' and she was like 'You make your own patterns and you'll never have to buy patterns again'.

People of the internetz: IS THIS TRUE? I got it straight away (but as you can see I finished the bunting - no it's not underpants, as my friend thought! - and the French Cruve is still in its packaging) but am skeptical!

The bunting turned out lovely though!

Now for this week's theme of Sew Weekly, I found an OLD "Quick! Butterick" pattern in my stash! As it's a Stash Busting Theme, I have NOT tried this one, and I'm getting fonder each week of the shirt dress, so perhaps will give this a whirl!

Sew Weekly: Imitation & Flattery WIP

I've got so many practical photos this week, loads of works in progress reports! I promise some glam shots soon!

This week the theme from the Sew Weekly group is 'Imitation is the Sincerest Form of Flattery' and I've been trawling the internerds for something that I like to see if I can pull it off! Have you guys looked at 'Pinterest' before? I've started using it, to 'pin' my inspiration to its virtual pinboards for the Sew Weekly and you can browse what I pin on my Sew Weekly board! I'll show you the inspirational dresses (and where I found them!) when I post my completed garment!

I started off wanting to use this cotten sateen stretch green fabric! But it was too little!

It was a remnant from Sydney's The Fabric Store, that will have to be something else instead! Another remnant I've had for a while is this blue floral stretch sateen... my Mother in Law had sent it to me, as she's an opshopper around Brisbane, and spies some nice things from time to time.

Luckily, the pattern pieces fitted PERFECTLY on this remnant!

PHEW! JUST FITS! So I'll for this week, I'll also revisit some of the Blue & Floral theme from the other day! Thanks to you if you said it's my new colour! I'll give it another whirl!

Also, my sewing work room was featured in Franca's Oranges & Apples 'Workspace Roundup' so pop along there if you'd like to see more of my room!!

And here's a sneaky peak of the bodice. Oo La La!

 

 What are you working on this week? If I have time, I'd like to whip up some festival outfit options as it's LANEWAY this weekend and it's within WALKING distance from my house! Amazing!

Sew Weekly Theme: Unrequited Love WIP

So it's another WIP moment at my house, with Theme #2 of The Sew Weekly challenge, where I'm making alongside four other darling peeps a garment a week and if you have a look at Mena's website you'll find that you can too!

This week's theme is Unrequited Love in Films, and since I'm not a huge lovey dovey fan, but I love films, I looked quickly through some films that have that as a theme and simply chose one based on the look and style of the film. It's set in the 1970s, but was released in 1999...

Any ideas? It's kinda obscure, so I may have to reveal tomorrow! Here's my 'drawings' and I'm undecided how I'll use the pattern pieces. I want to try the more modern McCalls, because I've made the other one a few times now, and it's kinda annoying to do all those pleatings. I do want to have puffy or half cap sleeves to give it a 1970s flouncey look... but I don't know.

The fabric is thrifted, has a synthetic feel that's almost but not quite flannel... it's really soft, but the right side is slightly bubbled... Again, apols about my explanation, I'm not so good with terminology and I certainly don't know my fabric. It's not cotton, that's for sure. It's an op shop purchase, I think it's quite cheap and here's a rather expensive zipper from the op shop too! I love old zippers still in the packaging (I also save it for something 'useful' later on, but still don't know what!) but longer ones often pop out with hard to iron out creases from being wrapped up for 40 years!

What's happening with your week? I keep feeling it's Thursday because I've got a lot of planning ahead at work, and it's making me mixed up! At this stage it's our biggest and funnest work day of the year on Wednesday, so we're all thinking about that!

xoxo

My first Sew Weekly Theme!

Yay! Remember how I am a new contributor to the Sew Weekly? The first weekly theme has been announced on the blog, and it's a fashion icon (or so I have found out!): Coco Chanel. One of the things that attracted me to the Sew Weekly blog in the first place is the idea that I need to extend my sewing skills, and whilst I can put in a zipper easy peasy these days, I actually don't know much about fashion or design or how a lot of our modern clothing came about.

So yay for themes and ideas, I wouldn't have thought of myself... it really makes you think outside of your comfort zone. Cliched, but so true!

So, I was thrilled about the first theme, as I'd heard of Chanel (dur!) but didn't really know anything about the woman, or the clothes she designed! And what a first theme to extend my sewing skills but swotting up on google images and reading about the style she created.

So, not only did the Little Black Dress idea stem from Chanel, a lot of black and white horizontal stripes (that I'm SURE some of you will see as a hipster/scenster staple) is her signature as well, AND the tailored women's suit is part of her design too. So kinda modern women's clothing has a lot to do with Coco! One day I'll get around to see the film with Audrey Tautou in it, but I feel like I've had a little history lesson this week!

Can you see where I'm going with my garment already?

I had so many initial ideas, but browsing through heaps of google images, I began to sense the ordinary Chanel silhouette wasn't really going to suit a fully curvy figure. There was a lot of high necklines (not good for bosoms like mine) and drapey loose bows around the neck and chest. Also not good for the bosoms. So I've started something that will hopefully be a bit me, and a bit Chanel!

Also, Mena's Chanel creation has been blogged too... she looks cute to boot!

Talk soon!

Joining the Dots! (AKA Squares!)

Hooray! Another crochet breakthrough!

I made my first Granny Square back in April of this year, and then quickly scooted up more. But hit a massive snag when trying to join them together. So I put the little granny squares aside, and found out how to do massive granny square blankets instead. Perfect for babies!

But after I saw Pip's Meet Me At Mikes blog, she had a video of how she'd join the squares, which looked ok, but I didn't like the ribbed 'back' to it. Pip linked to Carina's Craft Blog who had a made 'How To' and I followed her tutorial to join them together in a way that looked good for me!

Yippee! I just wanted a way to make it all lie flat, and mum reckons once I've done the edging here I should give it a wash, and then steam it, and it'll be straight and flat. Yay! I will totally get all these videos and instructions into a 'How Veronica Darling learned crochet' post for you, because I know it seems really daunting. And if I saw that blanket this time last year, I'd have gone how the fracko do you make that!?!! Now, after shitloads of patience (and reading online), I can make it really really really quickly!

Here's what my Dad thinks of my blanket:

 

Dad LOL!

I'm googling up scalloped edging now, because I've made a red border for the blankie, and will do scalloped in purple. And then it'll be finished!

xoxo

Tablecloth dress progress report

Thought I'd show you where I'm at with the tablecloth dress, as part of my 'Amanda's Vintage Pattern Challenge' (where I make up some of Amanda's pattern collection):

The thrifted tablecloth was handmade, and after cutting it up, I realised it was kinda handmade unevenly into a circle. So as I cut the skirt bits using the existing hem of the tablecloth (a clever trick I came up with) there may be a little unevenness to that hem. Not so clever now, hey?

And as it's an older tablecloth (not quite barkcloth, kinda a heavy linen), I cut around some of the old stains, but found this on the bodice:

A threaded thing in the fabric. It's not a tear, but at least it makes this dress even more original now!

The front 'V' is just darling and wasn't as hard to sew up as I thought! Just fold under the edges and sew onto the bodice, topstitch style.

Pieces of the puzzle

My old challenge 'Amanda's Vintage Pattern Challenge' has been so disrupted this year, and I'd like to finally kick it along because I have heaps of vintage patterns that belong to Amanda of Adelaide that need to be sent back eventually!

The premise for this challenge, was that Amanda sent through some vintage patterns from her collection (she's a keen reader of my blog and will hopefully get a blog of her own, as she's VERY good at sewing herself!) and I was going to sew them up as a test run, and offer my critique on the pattern etc. She's got some really lovely rare patterns, as Adelaide is a gold mine for op shopping goods! Every time I've visited there's been such awesome things!

Nevertheless, I've sewn up a bunch earlier this year, and after a small lapse, I'm gearing to get back into it! This Marian Martin pattern (unfortunately with the bolero jacket piece from the back missing) is now cut up all over my table:

I've used a round tablecloth, that I got at an op shop, it had several food stains here and there, that I've been able to avoid in the cut, and because of the white base of the fabric, I'm going to line every bodice piece with another salvaged op shop white fabric.

Those orange flowers are pretty lovely! I used the rounded hemmed parts of the tablecloth as the hem (I love cutting corners, using a hem that someone else has made) so I hope it all matches up ok!

Patchwork anyone?

Hi, my name is Veronica Darling and I'm addicted to starting things I know nothing about.

Sound familiar? Maybe you're a bit ambitious. Maybe you like things you see online on the old craft blogs out there. Maybe you cut up heaps of material that 'kinda' looks similar in colour tone, but you're not sure, and you think you're making a quilt for your baby friends.

Here's a few sewn up pieces of a PATCHWORK quilt I've started. It's going to be about a metre wide, and maybe a bit more than that long, and for a baby I love and haven't met yet, but she'll be visiting Australia soon. I thought first up, I'd cut long sections of fabric and sew them up (as you can see here)... with the idea I'd press them with the iron along the way.

Sound right?

I thought after I'd sewn and ironed them all up, I'd get some quilting or padding stuff and freeform stitch it to this sewn up patchwork. That sounds right, right? Right?

Hee hee!

MORE QUESTIONS (plus going green)

I love all these questions! I don't know who started it, but I like that you get different questions all the time and that you learn about bloggers you love! Today's 8 Questions come from Zoe, of 'So, Zo...' fame and are accompanied with what I've been doing today: 'A Sunday - photo essay by Veronica Darling....

"Doggie Darling"

1. If you had to choose a famous person to be your new best friend, who would it be and why?

I'd choose Karen O from the Yeah Yeah Yeahs and then Lucille Ball, around the start of I Love Lucy. I'd hang with Karen O in NYC and generally be cool. We'd probably make clothes together and get our photos taken by Nick Zinner from the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. On the other hand Lucille and I would make 'funny faces' in the mirror and practice our comedic timing. I'd choose them because they'd be quite different and are thoroughly amazing personalities and inspiring women.

2. What proportion of your wardrobe is handmade?

Considering I've been sewing my own clothes rather vigorously for over 5 years I would say (not including undies, bras and stockings) that 80 per cent of my wardrobe is handmade. I would wear my own clothes 6 days a week, and probably 1 day a week vintage/thrifted stuff. I am sitting here today wearing a purple knit dress I made last year, and tights my friend gave me, and an orange cardigan I got when I was 16 before I went to see my favourite band, Custard. So pretty much 95 percent of my entire wardrobe is handmade OR thrifted, and the other things are clothes I've had for ages, and a couple of store bought tshirts from my mum.

"Green Bag in the Hallway"

3. Where would you live, if money, jobs and responsibilities were taken out of the equation?

I would live in New York with Karen O and Lucille Ball, and my Husbie and Doggie Darling too. I would probably still work in radio, and have no money, but it would be fun and there would be bagels. (My mum used to buy us bagels when we were little, FROM AMERICA children! This is what they eat in America!)


4. Describe the weirdest or most horrendous place you’ve worked.

I've worked at McDonalds, that actually wasn't that horrendous apart from a few bullying/harassment things from a fellow employee. Of course I couldn't just take being called a dumb blonde, or shortarse, or bigtits, so reported him continuously. I can't remember what happened to him actually, but I recall feeling so in control as my workers rights at the time. Yay, that was before I even was a member of the union. LOLZ. The most horrendous place might have been a temp job that I wasn't there long. The lowest of the low tasks I had as a boarding mistress, in Oxford in the UK, was when I had to top up all the toilet paper in the girls dorms' bathrooms. All the toilets were freezing cold, and there was so much yuk High School girl rubbish, that I remember thinking 'This is the worst job you'll ever have, just get on with it and then it'll be over'. And it's true, I've never had to do anything as disgusting since.

"Green Bag Cut Offs"

5. What is your favourite sewing technique or part of a garment to sew (eg, collars, piping, etc.)?

I love zippers, it's completely daggy/square but they're the easiest part. I feel bad, becaue I know it can be agonising stuff putting a zip in, but you just have to do heaps of them and then you'll get them right. I get bored by button holes and sewing buttons because zips are just so quick!

6. Which sewer out there do you envy the most?

I love Gertie (because she sews so much - or so it seems!), Oonaballoona (because she's adventurous with her fabrics), Kat (she's so positive with her blogging and has great sewing skills), New Dress A Day (SO thrifty and such great stories and poses!) and of course Zoe because I feel kinda the same as her! I'm not into envy as such, just loving/crushing/gushing towards people!

7. Do you collect anything?

Apart from material and vintage patterns, I used to collect lots of metcards (from the trams in Melbourne) and my Husbie thinks I collect scarves and shoes.

8. What’s your personal motto? (I stole that one from the Burdastyle featured members questions because it’s my favourite) 

'Be positive', and maybe 'you can do anything, so long as you put your mind to it' (says my mum, and now it's my saying) and Husbie says I say 'turn that frown upside down' a lot, but I can't remember when I've ever said that. I go through phazes, at the moment I say 'Big Smiles' a LOT at work, to help my radio friends. I change around, but generally it's all about being positive, because everything always works out for me, and falls into place, because I'm positive. But I think when I was younger, I decided that by lowering your expectations/anticipations you were always surprised and delighted (because you weren't expecting anything), so I like that too.

And speaking of my radio friends, here's what I'm working on for them! It's a long running joke, and it's almost finished!

 More updates on this soon!

Hope you had a great weekend!