Selling and Sewing

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Posted on January 13, 2023

One of the challenges of having our home for sale and regularly open for inspection is that I cannot leave my sewing room as it is when I am in the middle of a project.

Before we went on holidays I cut out a blouse. I had pinned the darts in place and then had to pack everything away as there were going to be an inspection while we were away.

When I retrieved the project it took me a while to work out where I was up to. Then it was full steam ahead and I finished the blouse. The fabric and buttons were all sourced from my stash.

Here is the work in progress.

The finished blouse.

A close-up showing the wooden buttons and a glimpse of the self-patterned fabric.

While making the blouse, I realised that I needed an appropriate outfit that I would be comfortable wearing to a funeral. I did not want or need the outfit to be black. So, once again I dived into the stash of fabric I had on hand a found a piece of linen/cotton that had been given to me. It is not a colour I would generally wear but I rather liked it so decided that I could make a skirt to go with the blouse.

Unlike some of the more complex details on the shirt such as the one piece collar and the split turnback on the sleeves, the skirt is a very simple pull-on skirt with an elasticised waist.

I was happy with how the entire finished outfit looked.

The sewing room is now looking pristine once again as we have another open inspection tomorrow.

Sewing Successes

3 Comments

Posted on February 3, 2022

While I was laid low with Covid I spent a couple of weeks gradually working on sorting, tidying and generally organising my workroom and sewing supplies. It is much easier to sew when you some clear priorities in mind.

The last week has seen some real action and progress in terms of completed garments.

Making clothes for tweens and teens is fraught with danger but luckily my two granddaughters are still happy with what I can produce. Of course, they have plenty of input into the fabric and style choices and have to be involved in the sizing and fitting.

This first outfit would definitely not be Miss 12’s usual choice of style or colour, however, I created it for Valentine’s Day free dress day at school in a couple of weeks. The shirt is made from an ‘indoor teepee’ she had as a young child and the skirt was refashioned from an op shop find which had been lurking in my stash for several years. Everything has been salvaged, even the shirt buttons and elastic for the skirt.

This was a maxidress from opshop discards which was destined for landfill. It had a couple of small stains plus a piece had been randomly chopped off it. The pretty rayon fabric was too good to throw out and when I showed it to Miss 14 she asked for a long skirt. Length was a slight challenge with the fabric available but she was very happy with the end result. I did have to buy new buttons for this one.

A piece of fabric given to me for Boomerang bags was not entirely suitable for that purpose but the colour and pattern caught the eye of Miss 12 so I made this shirt in an identical style to the one in the first photo. I was pleased to have buttons which matched it perfectly.

Finally, the sewing was not all about my granddaughters nor salvaged fabric. I made this pretty top for myself from a piece of lightweight cotton which I bought in Singapore in 2015. Although I loved the fabric I had been a little unsure of how best to use it but I am definitely really happy with the result.

It has been a productive week with several more garments in the planning stages.

Recycled Outfit?

Sew My Stash Sunday – 4

4 Comments

Posted on February 1, 2015

Just a short post tonight but I can show you the completed skirt. This afternoon I inserted the zip, finished the hem and facing on the yoke. It is now ready to wear.

The fit is absolutely perfect so I am very pleased with the pattern making which is based entirely on the hip measurement for this skirt. I will definitely be making other patterns from the system. I will share more of the details with you next week.

The yoke on the skirt sits nicely and means that it can be worn with a fitted top like the one in the photo. The skirt is lightweight and will be perfect for our Singapore trip but in the meantime I will probably wear it to work as our weather is hot and humid at the moment. I will probably team it with this blouse.

I am pleased to have been able to create an entire summer outfit using fabric from my stash. The total cost was $2.70 for the buttons and $1.15 for the zip.