First Photos - Shoes! Fabric Dress

So I was up until 1:30am the day before, but I managed to finish the Shoes! Dress in time for my friends' wedding!

Some photos are up on Facebook and I took one on my phone, but I don't have many photos through yet.  I can't wait for more photos, so here are some photos of me in the dress and fascinator.

As usual, I made things harder for myself because I decided it was a good idea to put a shirring panel beneath each arm, move the zip to the back and insert a waist stay.  Why follow pattern instructions, when you can make it up as you go, right?!  Errr, yeah ... maybe not the best idea.  The bodice doesn't fit as well as it did on the toile because of the changes, so I chucked on a belt and I love the fabric so much, I kinda don't care!

Look at me not caring:

I've decided that all weddings should have oversized swings - they're way too much fun!

If I made this again, I'd flatline instead of bag lining the bodice because that would have allowed me to adjust the fit more easily.  I might rip out the bodice lining and instead finish the neck and armholes with bias tape.  But that's for another day - for now, I like this dress a lot!

In fact, I probably will use this pattern again, after faffing about with indecision about it (thank you so much everyone who commented on that post of fabric fear - it really helped me have the confidence to actually do this!) - the bodice fits perfectly (if I don't faff).  I particularly love that the back sits just above the back of my bra.  I can't go bra-less, so low-backed dresses are usually a no-no for me, but not this one!  Isn't that one of the joys of making your own clothes?

Even better, I have about 2 metres left of this fabric, so I think I'm going to make a skirt with the remainder.  Yay for more Shoes! fabric fun!

Stationery/Sewing Bag of Love

So I'm a teacher, as you might already know.  I have to lug lots of stuff around different classrooms - my pens, pens for students to use, scissors, board markers, board eraser, diary, glue, rulers, photocopied handouts, books, blank paper ... and so on.  My colleagues often use toolboxes for all this equipment; I've been using a tote bag, where everything floats around in the bottom so I can't find it!

For ages I've been on the lookout for a bag with different sections, with no luck, so for my final project on the oilcloth course, I decided I'd make one ...

I've mentioned Norfolk Textiles before and as I was pouring through their many pages of oilcloth, struggle to make a decision, I spotted this toile de jouy and instantly knew it would be an 18th century inspired, grey on grey fabric combination.  I played with the directions of the stripes, pieced the bottom of the bag (very 18th c!) and, as patchworkers would say, 'fussy cut' the side pockets to have the main toile motifs at the centre.

I also wanted a pop of colour to avoid getting stuck in 'Greysville', so I went for the dusky rose polka dot lining (yes, another colourway of the tote bag fabric), which I tied in with a grey inside pocket:

I was really lucky to find matching grey grossgrain ribbon to reinforce the top of the bag and side pockets at the local market.  This stuff looks gorgeous in real life - it has a lovely silvery sheen.  (Plus, it helped avoid the oilcloth sticking too much!  Though the stripe and toile are matt oilcloth, so that is less sticky.)

I also made sure it was big enough to fit A4 folders in the main body, as I have those for each of my classes.  (Unfortunately, the bag doesn't photograph so well as a whole - it's a bit floppy!)

The end pockets aren't quite so pretty, but I only had half a metre of the toile fabric.

I'm really pleased with how this came out - it's really pretty and everyone who's seen it has loved it and asked where I bought it!  Even better, it's practical and fits all my stationery bits inside, yay!

Usually there's something about one of my makes that I'm not 100% in love with, but I think this is probably my most successful make so far - love it!

Oilcloth Tote Detail

Here's the promised detail shot from my oilcloth tote bag (and, as promised, without any shots of the horrible top-stitching!):

This was fun and simple to do; I particularly liked following the leaf motif around the edge of the large applique.

You see, oilcloth is evil to topstitch on, but free machine embroidery avoids all those problems ... and it's not so bad to sew normal seams on (though the fabric does stick to itself when right sides together, so it can be a pain to align your fabric pieces).

Oilcloth is fun and cute, just beware that you'll want to curse it if you have to topstitch the stuff!  I didn't get round to trying stitching with tissue paper, which is another tip for sewing with the stuff.

Have you tried out oilcloth before?  Any tips on sewing with it?  Any fabrics you love, but are a pain in the arse to sew with?

Busy with Oilcloth

Hello, hello!  Yes, I have been quite neglectful of my blog recently - the truth is, I've been busy doing, rather than blogging about it.  I don't want to apologise, because I consider that to be A Good Thing!

Plenty of photos to come soon, but for now, here's a quick phone photo of a tote bag I made during a 10 week class at the Textile Workshop - Vintage Inspired Summer Sewing with the lovely Natalie Smith.  It was all about sewing with oil cloth.

You can get some fabulous oil cloth fabrics around, but one of the main things I learnt was that with oil cloth, you do get what you pay for.  Very cheap oilcloths tend to be a flimsy plastic with a non-woven backing, whereas the slightly more expensive ones (around £12/m) will be cotton fabric with a PVC or similar coating.    I got mine at Norfolk Textiles and particularly loved the matt finish oilcloths.

The other main thing I learnt was that oil cloth is a *£&%$&^ to top stitch.  Really.  Even with a teflon foot, it sticks to your machine and itself in an attempt to stop you ever getting any sort of stitch regularity.  So, no close up shots of the straps or top of the bag, hahaha!  I am, however, quite pleased with my free-machined applique, so there will be close-up shots of that, soon, as well as the other bits and pieces I made.

Oh, and the shingle beach ... The other thing I've been doing is spending a week away in Portsmouth with Mr Magpie!  It was such a lovely, chilled out week - I didn't want to come home!

Finished Object: Fascinator

I have been busy a-making, though I've not had much time for blogging about it.

Yesterday, I spent a lovely day at a class run by the Living Threads Group, taught by the fabulous Hannah Wroe of Hannah and Bella fame (who blogs here and is soon to have a new website, which looks like it's going to be rather lush!  [I am very much drooling over the collection of books on that entry page.]).  She showed us some excellent techniques for making wired fascinator bases and flowers from cotton organdy/organdie (whichever takes your fancy!).*

I made the base and most of my petals in the day-long class ... I probably would have finished ALL the petals, but I was having too much fun chatting with the fabulous ladies there (oops!)!!  I finished the petals at home in the evening and made a bow while watching box sets in bed, then today I sewed them to the base and attached the clip and set to modelling the fascinator!

* By the way, I've now decided that making fascinators should be referred to as 'fascinating' - how brilliant would it be to have this conversation:

Friend:   What are you up to tomorrow?

Stitcher: I'm fascinating, daaaarrling!

Cherished Collections Blog Tour - Vintage Jewellery

This shell box was my Nan's.  I remember when I was little, I would go to her house with my Mum and often one or two of my Aunts would be there.  They'd sit in the kitchen drinking tea and talking grown-up talk, which, of course, I found terribly dull.  So I'd go to Nan's room and play dress-up, which generally involved me putting on her jewellery and some heels.  And by putting on her jewellery, I mean all of it.  At once.  Then I'd appear in the kitchen in all my regalia and Nanny would say "Ooh, here comes Lady Godiva!" or "Look at Fanny Adams here!"  (She often called people Fanny Adams, though I only recently found out where that came from.  Slightly macabre when you find out the origin!)  This box was always on her dresser along with other trinket boxes and pots and perfume sprays and powder puffs and all those other obligatory old lady things.  In it, I keep a few pieces of my most special jewellery, those things with the greatest sentimental value.


By no means do I have a massive collection of vintage costume jewellery, but because of those childhood memories and because I'm lucky enough to be left with a few items that were my Nan's, the pieces I do have include some that are very special to me.  I'd like to share them with you as part of Casey's Cherished Collections 2011 Blog Tour.  If you don't know anything about this fun venture: dozens of bloggers have been photographing and posting about their own collections, whatever they may be (and there are some amazing ones out there) and Casey has organised us into daily roundups.  Check them out and be prepared to drool and squee!

Here is my little offering (not all of which fit in that box, of course - it's sadly not of Tardis proportions!) ...

I originally took lots of individual photos of the pieces, then took a couple of shots of them all jumbled together, but I decided the 'group shot' looked much better - it's like a jewellery party!

Some of these pieces used to be my Mum's and some were my Nan's (her Mum), others I got on Ebay or at charity shops (for a couple of quid here and there).

To the right you can see two small fake pearl necklaces - I love the clasps they used to put on jewellery, they're so pretty:

These were my Nan's and are probably from the 40s or 50s. 

We always thought Nan's pearls were all fake, since our family is working class and was never exactly well-off (I remember whenever I moaned about not having this or that, my Mum would always tell me about how she and her brothers and sisters had to share a bed when she was a child, so I was bloody lucky.  Fair point, Mum!).  However, for my BA graduation, my Mum re-strung a particularly pretty set of pearls that used to be Nan's and discovered that they were, in fact, real!  I should imagine they're cultured, but I don't care, they're lovely and I can remember these from my forays into Nan's jewellery boxes:

It was wonderful being able to wear these for my graduation, like Nan was there in some way.

They can be worn with the clasp at the back ...

... or at the front ...

(I look so pissed off, don't I?!  Hahah!  I don't mean to, I had just finished work and I was trying to get the photos while I still had some daylight and I was concentrating on getting the camera at the right angle into the mirror!)

My Mum's Dad used to buy her marcasite jewellery and I have a couple of pieces of that, my favourite of which is the matching snake brooch and necklace you can see in the jewellery party picture.  My favourite bits are their green eyes:

My Nan and I shared the same initial, so another favourite for me is one of her brooches:

And it's got a bow - what's not to love?  Despite missing a couple of rhinestones, this one looks great on a jacket lapel.  The diamante necklace was also Nan's, though I worry about losing it, so I picked up another one at a charity shop that I can wear more often, though it's a bit more glitzy (it's at the bottom centre of the jewellery party pic).

Well, I think I've taken you through the key pieces - I don't want to bore you by going through each item, but I hope that's given you a taster of my little collection and I hope you enjoyed this one and the others on the tour. Do you have a collection, yourself?  (Or maybe even a few!)  I'd love to hear about your collections or jewellery-related memories - I think it's the stories that make objects special, not the carat of the diamond or the maker's mark.

Happy collecting!

Pretty Things 1

Good morning all!  I've been working on a couple of bits to share with you, but last week was a bit hectic, so none of them are quite ready.  I'm also visiting my Mum this week (and I'm going to try to steal her kittens ... or at least take some photos of them to share with you!), so I might not be able to get them finished until the weekend.

I am working on the aprons, so I hope to have those ready around the end of next week - they're looking rather pretty, if I do say so myself!

But in the meantime, I've got some pretty things to show you ...

I recently started working part-time in a jewellery shop.  Which is a dangerous occupation when you love jewellery as much as I do!  I've been really loving Lola Rose lately and treated myself to a couple of bargains in the sale (half price - yay!).  Anyway, I just wanted to share some of my favourite bits with you (I'm not trying to be a salesperson, just a jewellery fan - Lola Rose doesn't pay me, and I'm deliberately not mentioning the name of the shop where I work!).

If you've not heard of Lola Rose, they make really fun, fresh jewellery that's carved from semi-precious stone - it's not moulded from plastic or resin, this stuff is real jade, agate, quartzite, etc.  And because it's stone, it's actually cold when you first put it on, which is strange, but a very Good Thing in this hot weather we're having at the moment.

Isn't this ring a pretty colour?

I'm also loving coral colours at the moment, as I've just discovered they suit me quite well (who'd've thought I'd be wearing what is effectively orange lipstick?!  Not me!) and it's a great spring/summer shade.  It's no surprise, then, that I'm a fan of the coral quartzite in the range at the moment:

I got a necklace that goes with that flower bracelet and this ring:

Which is great because it's elasticated, so it fits a wide range of people - huzzah! - and I can wear it on most of my fingers - double huzzah!!

Even cuter, apparently Lola Rose refer to their pretty velvet packaging as 'sleeping bags':

How fun!  And practical: these semi-precious pieces need looking after as they can chip or even shatter if dropped onto a hard surface, so their 'sleeping bags' keep them safe and look pretty in my jewellery box!

I hope you've all had a great weekend (it's been sunny in the UK - wewt!) - I'll be bringing you more pretty things in the future, little visual treats of all kinds  :)