Outfit Number 15 - birthday prez

Hey,

My Outfit #15 is a shirt for my friend's birthday! I made it from a doona cover, which was fabulous 60s-70s looking bamboo shoots. Very cool! I used the same man shirt pattern I'd used for my Husbie, but as my friend is a little bit littler, I used the smaller size and brought it in just a little too. When the shirt was finished and sat on Diana, I was worried it looked a little weird the sleeves looked too long and the print made it look almost like 70s pjs - BUT I gave my friend his prez and it fitted perfectly!

He's worn it a few times since and all the other boys at work are after one the same! Hilarious! I'll have to find more 'boyish' vintage materials!!!


(pics coming soon - forgot to take photos on Diana!)

My floral fabric collection by Veronica Darling

A new etsy friend took fancy to my Obi Wan Belts and was curious about my other floral materials, so here's a roll call for my florals - most are vintage and collected over the past year or so, some would be perfect for obi sashes as there's only slivers of material left, but some are quite large pieces of fabric still - waiting for an outfit to become a butterfly! (Gushy!)
















I make more things than I buy, so I don't really spend that much time on etsy, browsing etc. So sometimes I forget about it, since I'm making so many things for my friends these days! My friend Fridays Child is so worth checking out, she's been an artist all her life, and is slowly ridding herself of luddite tendencies - she's a webpage whizz kid! She only signed up to etsy in December, and is already selling like crazy! Yay!

xoxo And here's my flickr photostream for you too!

Just got a SALE email and some copyright news

Hey guys,

I got a cute email from the Remnant Warehouse saying on Saturday 15th March from 9am.... they've got a massive 50 per cent off sale - that's 50% GUYS!

Apparently they are relocating, sad news as they are close by, but they don't say where they're relocating to! I know Red Swirl says she's popped by there, so not sure if any of you other chappies know the place in Marrickville, but SALE SALE SALE!

Also my friend at work loved the red tablecloth dress so it has gone to a new home! Nikki Shell pointed out that even vintage pattern pieces are commercial patterns and therefore have copyright on the designs, and I hadn't really thought about it. So, I called McCalls here in Syds and they've said if I'm making clothes for my friends, or only doing a few runs of their patterns, they don't have a problem with me using their patterns and selling them. They are more concerned with mass production, and I asked them if 5-10 garments were considered mass production, and they told me not at all.

So that's kinda good news for small time sewing folk like myself, but I would call the company and check, if you are worried. I did notice online that Style (available from the 1960s - 80s) isn't a company any more, and their patterns are discontinued. The McCalls people said that once a pattern is discontinued, they call the pattern shops and get them to destroy the old ones. But I forgot to ask if this means they've not got copyright on them.

It is a reminder to anyone who posts tutorials etc, if you are concerned about people making money from your design, you may like to rethink publishing it, because once it's in the public space it's much harder to control your copyright. I like people's tutorials so much, and will only try things out for gifts for friends and handmade items for myself. My goal is to learn pattern making someday (my head is slowly getting there I reckon!) so hopefully I'll get onto that and have my own designs out there someday!

I'm currently making a boy shirt for one of the guys at work, it's gonna be pretty cool, but not sure if it's cool in a '70s pjs' kinda way or 'Hot Hot Hot' kinda way. I'm leaning towards the 70s pj's at the moment!

Yay!!!!!!

Hello Little Pals!

Some little friends appeared tonight before dinner!

Thanks to My Little Mochi and her toy pattern, I've just learnt how to make toys! What cute little rabbits!





The little chappie on the left will be for a little baby that's not yet born, but the little bubs on the right is for my friend's new boy (I'll send down the box from the previous post with the little toy inside!)! Can you see it's little record? The parents are big music fans, and I thought I'd make a little record for the little rabbit!

Thanks again My Little Mochi! You are a gem!

Getting into the teens for my 100 Outfits & pledge update

Here's a little reminder 'flag' of what I'm up to at the moment, it's the 'Veronica Darling 100 Outfit Challenge' of course. I'm sewing 100 Outfits for myself and my friends and who ever fancies an outfit!

So thought I'd just motivate myself with a little post here, and I made a little tag as well:



ExTREEMly dorky from photoshop, but I might even stick it on my side panel to show off that I've got something goin' OHNNNN! Yes, and it's mostly just to motive myself to sew stuff, and blog at the same time, and I'm pretty happy that I'm heading into the teenage figures.

I'm also going pretty well at the wardrobe refash pledge, nothing new at the shops. And hardly any second hand gear. I KNOW WHAT I FORGOT TO MENTION! The girls from work all did a 'Ladies Who Lunch' clothes swap - and we all chucked clothes around like crazy! It's been a bit of a tradition at my work, started way before I got there, to swap your unwanted clothes with colleagues before taking them to the op shop. So pretty much what happens is:

- One person nominates themselves as the host of the event, and the rest of the peeps who are invited get their unwanted clothes together (and finger food and champers)

- You each draw a card from a deck of cards to get the order of the day (ie who shows their clothes first will have the highest card), this way there's a bit of order and also you'll need the cards for scrag-fight pile (explained in a jiffy) later on

- The highest card person shows their clothes (you gotta sell them, not "Ohh, I don't really like this, I don't know why I bought it, it's itchy", more like "It's cut on the bias, it's really swishy, and warm for winter too" find the positive things in the clothes!

- If you like it you scream 'Yep!' but if more than one girl wants it, it goes to the scrag-pile (explained in a jiffy). If you're the only person who wants it, you get to keep it!

- OK the scrag-pile is fought over at the end of everyone's show and tell, so grab the cards again, and there's got to be a mediator here to stop the pulling of hair. If there's 1 item and 4 girls like it, the mediator shuffles the cards and all 4 peeps take a card, and frankly, the highest card wins the scrag-pile item.

- The End - everyone has new clothes, and the leftover clothes that the Ladies Who Lunch didn't want ends up as a big donation to the op shop.

I got heaps of dresses at the last swap, and a really great hot pink halterneck dress that I'll be able to wear to my friend's B-Grade Hollywood Party next month! Woo! I kinda look like Pammy Anderson cross Marilyn Monroe cross Barbie - eek!

Crafty Container for a little Kiddo

Hey pals,

I'm so glad it's Thursday! Got my glass of wine, got my crime channel on (and Dexter starting soon) and finished this box:





Thanks to the most gorgeous Waste Bin Tutorial by Marmadaisy. I was just clicking along people's links to find stuff I liked and thought I'd give her tutorial a go! Thanks Marmadaisy, it was easy to follow and now I've got a present for my friend and her new baby! I did change the dimensions, and it's more shallow than Marmadaisy's original one, but it's more kiddie like now I reckon. I was actually thinking (cause they've got a little boy-o) to make a few toys to pop inside for the new bub, AND now I'll be on the lookout for little soft toys for boys!

Oh, Dexter's just started - gotta go check him out! xoxo

Outfit Number 14

Well, we all went to Adelaide for workie, and run a total muck in the Op Shop on North East Road, I believe it's the Salvos there - and it's a HUGE warehouse kinda thing near Bunnings. The vollies were all sooooo nice and laughed a lot at all of us running around!

I mostly got 70s patterns and tablecloths, and there were a few scraps of material as well floating around. So back in Syds on the weekend, I started one of the 70s dresses (you're always hoping all the pieces of the pattern are in the envelope, I never check as I love the pictures, but when it gets to the sewing I get a bit nervous about all the pieces!) using one of the check tableclothes, check it out:



And there was JUST enough material (apart from the contrast bands) to make the dress. What do you think?






It's a thick cotton tablecloth, and I used the edge of the tablecloth as the hem, so you don't need to run a hemline, just use the existing hem!

It's strange because so far all my 100 Outfits have been FOR someone, and I was so itching to try the pattern and the tablecloth that I just started sewing. It's a little big for me, so I reckon it's a size 10! So I've been thinking of adding dresses to my etsy site for ages, and we got a great new camera, so I reckon this will have to be my first dress online! I'll see if cute Mr V can get a photo shoot together for me on the weekend!

Has anyone sold dresses online, any tips? Is it better having a model wear the dress (ie me) or Diana the bustlady (modelled here), I've seen both on etsy, and not sure!

I just cut the card to this Marmadaisy Tutorial Scrap Bin, I'm making it 8 inches by 6 inches tall (so a nice shallow fabric bin, only because the 'Only Roses' Box was that tall!!! Ha ha ha!) and think I'll send it down to my friend as a pressie!

Outfit Number Thirteen

Here's yet another Holly Hobby Dress, It's the Built by Wendy Pattern I ALWAYS use, but this time I didn't use the curved sleeves, I made it with an idea that I'd give it to my preggers friends, and thought she wouldn't want to look wider because of her belly, so thought the sleeves looked better for her cropped.

What do you reckon?




The thing is, now that I've made it, I'm not sure of the colour and the material, it's kinda cotton, but creases really easily and if I was pregs I wouldn't want to do ANY ironing! I do like the colour, but wish it was a thicker synthetic material.

I'd like to be a bit more daring in my sewing, and think I'm playing it safe by using the same pattern over and over. Plus I guess people really like the Holly Hobby Style. So perhaps I'll keep making them for the fans, and churn out a few different ones as well. I have SO much material at the moment!

BUTTTTT speaking of material - I'm headed to Adelaide this week with hours of opshopping on Thursday - where to go? Is there a massive op shop out there ????

See ya guys!

Let's get cooking for Outfit Number 12

Hey pals, well, it should really be a table cloth, or a few handy tea towels, but this material headed straight to my machine and became a dinky little yee-har dress!

I think the material came from a Victorian opshop on my summer road trip just gone, and now it's a simplicity pattern form, which was from lincraft (I don't like buying new patterns, but I thought this was sweet and modern, and had time to kill in the shops pre-Christmas). So here are the pics:



The front! Doesn't Diana look posh (in a Dolly Parton kinda way)???



Diana from the back, with the zipper ! I had to try 3 times to get the zipper in the right place, it gaped a lot at the back.



Me wearing the dress! Woo!

I must admit, it's not really the most flattering style of patterns I've made. I was a little disappointed to find 'petite' sizes here meant I'm the largest size (size 12) and as I like making other sizes for my friends (as I did with my Holly Hobby style dress below in previous posts) I might not be able to do that for this pattern (unless I'm making for tweenies). AND the bodice kind cuts your boobs into a weird shape, so it's not really for mad canned girls like myself. Hence the tweenie idea again, or if you're flat chested, and super skinny.

Anyways! It's still pretty cute, and entirely thrifted and opshopped (although not sure of the thread & definitely not the interfacing), the zipper, the lining (white old bed valance) and the material. So what does that make it? 70 percent thrifted?

Here's another pin cushion for my friend as well, I made one for my mum too, and she liked it!

Outfit Number Eleven - Heaps Belated B'day Gift

Yay, here's a total reconstructed outfit for Number Eleven. My pal Neens gave me a huge mu-mu type dress is the best fabric!



It's blue cotton with puffy (but not total puff paint) paint screened over with Australiana pictures. Now, pretty revolting in a baglike state, but check out the recon here:




I'd totally wear it! Luckily it just fits her, and even though it was her material, I gave it back to her as a B'day present because I was going to make her something in Dec (and bring pasta salad to her party) but I felt too sickie with a flash illness.

I'm getting used to the early starts now, and finally leaving work at a decent hour, there's so much happening at the moment, but I think I'm getting a handle on it!

And Hi to my new sewing friend (I gave her the green pincushion below!) and good luck in starting out!!!!! Yay!

Outfit Number TEN!

Here's a 60s maternity dress, from a second hand sheet! I got the pattern at an Orbost in country Victoria, and am into a bit of big billowing dresses (no I'm not preggers - just fashionable in my own way) at the moment, so hence the 'swing' style. I also watched Edward Scissorhands recently and you'll know if you've seen it that a lot of the women wear bright bold colours in swing style tops or dresses.

Check it out:




I wore it over black half leggings to work the other day, with black thongs, and I think it was pretty alright! Got a few comments, but I think people have given up commenting on my clothes as most things are hand made and new.

SO, my friend mailed me this and I think we'll have to go be part of the clothes swap as I have way too many clothes and perhaps I can swap them away (But not take any in return!)

xoxo

Yay for Outfit Number 10 - that's 10/100 so 1/10 of a way through my goal!