Category Archives: Sewing

Creating and Crafty

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We have been away for a few days at the beach with our guests. The weather was not great – cool and rainy. Unfortunately, you cannot plan on good weather but we had a relaxing time and a change of scenery.

Yesterday evening I was inspired to create a Christmas table centrepiece using a hard plastic cone which had contained Ferrero Rocher chocolates. I did not buy them but it had been brought by a guest at a function we hosted a couple of weeks ago and it seemed too good to throw out. I filled it with a few baubles and Christmas decorations. Then I reattached the base with sticky tape and added some gold ribbon trim before placing it on a stand made from part of the insert which held the chocolates.

It has been hot today so I have stayed indoors and done some sewing. I made these bags from some fabric gifted from a friend.

Then I finished refashioning the sundress for Miss14. I cut a small amount from the hem to create straps to tie over the shoulders. These replace the rather flimsy adjustable shoestring straps that were on it originally. She is happy with the result.

A few other alterations for Miss16. I shortened a newish pair of cargo pants which were just a bit too long and dragging on the ground as well as turning a pair of older black leggings with holes in the lower leg into a functional pair of bike shorts. These are always in high demand in their household for wearing under netball uniforms.

Finally, I am working on some minor alterations to this dress. It is for Miss16 and we found it in an op shop while we were away. She is notoriously fussy and difficult to please but fell in love with this one. I have unpicked the side seams of the bodice to take it in slightly under the arms. I also intend to redo the hem so that it has an overall better finish. I think it was $7.50 well spent as she is planning to wear it to her semi-formal in the middle of next year.

Deconstructed and Reconstructed

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I knew that the collar of my rugby top was wearing out but when I was folding the washing I noticed that it was really in need of some repairs. The top is 24 years old but still in surprisingly good condition apart from the collar. It has faded but is excellent quality so I decided to replace the collar.

Past generations would have simply unpicked the collar from the collar stand before turning and reapplying it. Because it was so worn I chose to make a new collar using some remnants of a hotel-quality bed sheet which is a super strong cotton fabric.

As I was unpicking the collar it became obvious that the collar stand was also worn-out as it began to disintegrate. The job became a little more extensive. I had the collar made and decided I could go no further until I had bought some heavy cotton tape to replace that which had been used for the collar stand. Then I realised that it was just two narrow strips of strong cotton fabric so I could make my own by using strips of the same fabric as I was using for the collar.

I carefully pinned the collar stand to the neckline of the top and then attached the collar. I ended up with a functional garment sporting a brand new collar and I expect that I will get plenty more wear from it yet.

Meanwhile, I have been doing some other deconstruction. Apart from my stash of new fabric pieces, I also have numerous garments, which I have acquired from various sources, that I am planning to reuse the fabric. Here are 3 that I have unpicked, washed and ironed in preparation for making into new garments.

The blue piece was a wrap skirt which I rescued from an op shop discard destined for landfill. It is 100% rayon and I hope to make a pair of loose, lightweight trousers. The green is quite a heavy cotton brocade which was a skirt that belonged to my mother. I plan to make a top with it. Finally, the black and white spotted fabric is also a 100% rayon op shop discard. It was a fairly short shift dress which I am going to refashion into a top.

There are many ways to step away from fast fashion. Invest in quality items where possible, buy secondhand items, take care of the clothes you have to make them last longer, mend/repair existing clothes to extend their life and repurpose existing fabric to create new items. Not all of of us can do all of these things but everyone can do at least some of them. Together we can honour the time and resources required to create fabric and garments by making a stand against fast fashion and the disastrous contribution it makes to landfill and pollution.

Shopping for Summer

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We went into an op shop when we were out and about on Thursday as GMan was looking for a Pyrex casserole dish. He found this one which was marked as $5 but as a bonus there was 50% off all glass and kitchenware so $2.50 was an absolute bargain.

Meanwhile I thought I would cast a quick look over the clothes to see if anything caught my eye. I was in luck as I found three pieces – a top, a dress and a scarf.

The top is perfect in every respect. It fits perfectly, a pretty colour and 100% linen fabric. Additionally, I love the scoop neckline and interesting bias-cut rolled collar.

The dress is crinkle cotton and will be perfect for hot summer days. The bias-cut and frill on the lining add interest to an otherwise very simple dress. I lifted it at the shoulders as I almost always have to do with dresses and it now is ready to wear.

The final item is not for summer but I could not resist this pretty ombre blue scarf. I am sure it will get plenty of wear but I think it will go perfectly with my navy winter dress.

Wedding Outfit

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I have been meandering along with sewing an outfit for a family wedding on Saturday but in the past few days I have put my head down and it is now finished and ready to wear.

The dress and jacket are both made from existing patterns which I modified. In the case of the dress, the pattern was originally for a button up shirt.

It went from this.

To this.

The jacket looks pretty much as per the pattern apart from being shortened to a more cropped style, 3/4 sleeves instead of full length and some discreet shaping in the back and side seams to create a slightly less boxy silhouette.

Here are the 2 pieces together.

The dress fabric had been given to me some months ago and I had added it to my stash with no real idea of how I would use it. I did buy the linen for the jacket and by using the dress fabric for the bands on the jacket I think I have created a cohesive look. I am happy with the overall result. The best part is that I am not hemming it on the morning of the wedding!

Easily Distracted

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Today was one of those days where one thing led to another.

After putting a load of washing in the machine I decided to put the recently delivered carton of wine away in the wardrobe in the third bedroom. Yes, that is our wine cellar at the moment.

One thing led to another and I put away the deflated air mattress from when we had houseguests several weeks ago. I put the folded blankets away in the drawers in the base of the guest bed and discovered some curtains I had stashed in there. They are the semi-sheer ones which were previously in the family room. I replaced them when we first arrived as provide neither privacy nor thermal comfort.

There are 8 narrow drops and I decided that I should probably give them away rather than hoarding them, however, GMan suggested that they could possibly be used in the 2 guest bedrooms. They are really a decorative addition as there are already honeycomb blinds. The rods were already in place as the previous owners had taken their curtains with them and just left the blinds.

So, I unpicked the hems and one side seam of each drop, sewed two drops together and rehemmed them to the correct length. I have finished the set for one spare room and am working on the ones for the other room. By sewing two drops together they are wide enough to draw across if desired but in the meantime they definitely create a more finished look to the room.

Daily Stuff

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After writing this blog for over 12 years I sometimes wonder whether it has become a little stale or repetitive. However, I am reminded that there are new people popping in all the time so I will continue to share my activities here.

Since it is winter and I am struggling with a cold it is not a great time to be outdoors. There is plenty to do inside the house and most of it can be distilled down to cooking and sewing.

Cooking is essential for feeding ourselves and I try to build up a bit of a supply of meals as well as condiments. In the past few days I have made grapefruit marmalade (recipe here) from fruit which was in a giveaway box in the next block, a new batch of gluten-free pizza bases (recipe here), sourdough bread (GMan’s handiwork) as well as Eggplant Rolls and Pumpkin, Eggplant and Chickpea Curry. You can check our my vegetable curry recipe here.

The next blog post will be the full recipe for the Eggplant Rolls.

On the sewing front, I have completed a couple of mending jobs.

New elastic (salvaged from worn-out undies) to replace the elastic and drawstring in this pair of pyjama bottoms which were originally purchased 2 years ago from the $1 rack at the op shop.

This jacket is 11 years old and still in excellent condition but the zip had broken so I bought a new zip and replaced it.

I think that is the mending out of the way for the moment so I do need to set my mind to making a dress to wear to a family wedding in 7 weeks time. Watch this space as the saying goes.

A Zippy Day

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One of the op shop buys I mentioned in my last post was a vest which had a broken front zip.

Yesterday I bought a new zip and my project for today was to replace the broken zip.

Replacing zips can be a bit of a challenge as they are generally inserted fairly early in the garment construction, therefore, it is a bit of a balancing act to deconstruct enough of the garment to allow the removal and replacement of the zip.

I have managed to achieve my goal reasonably successfully.

Is it perfect? No.

Is it good? Yes.

Am I happy with the result? Absolutely.

New zip inserted

Zipped up.

Wearing the finished garment.

The zip cost me $8.50 which was more than double what I paid for the vest but I still regard it as $12.50 well spent to have this addition to my wardrobe.

Monday – Mending and Making

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Today I tackled the growing pile of mending.

This pair of GMan’s work jeans already had one patch – I added another two.

I had managed to put a rip in the knee of a pair of my lightweight travel pants so they got the same treatment.

I us double-sided iron-on interfacing to fuse the patch to the inside of the garment before reinforcing it with a zigzag stitch.

I darned a hole in the cuff of a woollen jumper. Once again, this is some of GMan’s workwear as evidenced by the touches of paint.

I also mended holes in the toes of two pairs of socks but no photos.

Finally, I moved on to actually making something. This is not terribly exciting but I used part of an old sheet to make a cover for GMan’s Drizabone coat.

It has hung in the shed for many years with minimal wear but I imagine it will get much more use in the colder climate. Since it is oilskin, it is not ideal to have it hanging against other clothes so I made a slipcover for it.

Now that I feel I have pretty well cleared the decks, I can make a start on some ‘real’ sewing. The first project I have planned is to make some trackpants for GMan.

Sewing Stuff Sorted

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It is over 2 weeks since I posted this photo of some shelving I repurposed from our walk-in wardrobe to my sewing room.

I knew that there some new IKEA flat packs which had been left by the previous owners but I had not investigated exactly what they were until yesterday. In what I would describe as a massive win, I discovered that there were 4 cupboards, a set of 2 drawers and 2 glass shelves – all designed for the above-mentioned shelving units.

So, I set to work and this is the result.

While there is still some fine-tuning to be done, I am pretty happy with the set-up and mostly know where everything is.

Now to get on with some sewing before too long……………