From Ikea throw to another Newlook 6471 top

You might see an IKEA VALKRASSING throw. I see 2 meters of 150 cm wide cotton double gauze. The throw was reduced to $20 – that’s $10 per meter. Bargain. Perfect way to tip my toe inexpensively into sewing and wearing double gauze. And what better way to do it than with Newlook 6471, the

Navy border print top: Newlook 6471

If you’ve been reading my blog posts recently you’ll be detecting a theme – stash busting and dated patterns. Here’s another example. I’ve had the pattern for at least five years and the fabric for ten. This pattern was a freebie in a sewing magazine I purchased whilst travelling. I rediscovered it recently whilst organizing

Turquoise, teal and blue floral top: BurdaStyle 08/2012 #147

Yes that was a new top under my coat in my last blog post! Well spotted M of Nonsuch. I had originally pulled out the fabric to use as lining for this coat. It’a been in my stash from before children (my eldest ‘child’, Felicity, is 24). The colours work well with my coat fabric

Striped teal and mustard coat: Burdastyle 09/2008 #133

After the success of the ‘Valentino red’ jacket I was ready to try the other version that Burda offered – full length sleeves, longer length and a stand collar. Burda made their version in a fake fur. I had a knit boucle from emmaonesock waiting in my stash to be used. Same same but different.

Mustard yellow skirt: Burdastyle 09/2008 #136

This skirt is from the same collection as the Valentino red jacket in the last blog post I like the details. And I like the way the jacket pockets are echoed in the skirt. So I made a skirt to coordinate with the jacket. This is a size 48 hip grading back to a size

‘Valentino red’ jacket: BurdaStyle 09/2008 #134

I seem to be drawn to Burda’s plus size designs from a decade or more ago. This jacket is no exception. I really like its simple lines I made it in a RPL bottom weight stretch gabardine from emmaonesock in ‘Valentino red’. Gorgeous colour. It has drape and medium body I lined it with a

Lemon Sherbet dress for Felicity: BurdaStyle 07/2021 #119

The other wedding guest dress. This one was sewn in a delightful rayon nylon blend from The Fabric Store. This is what The Fabric Store say about it (and it still seems to be available – this is not a sponsored post – I just love the fabric!) A deadstock rayon blend in a lemon

Eucalypt Merino wool knit dress for Felicity: BurdaStyle 11/2021 #115

In March, Felicity and I started planning what she was going to wear to a wedding at the end of April. We ended up with a shortlist of these three Burda dress patterns: After shopping the stash, no appropriate fabrics were found. I know. Amazing… Off we went to The Fabric Store, and found many

Red and olive colour blocked dress: Style Arc Mila

Another experimental dress! How did this happen? Well, I had intended to add olive cuffs to my last red Bella dress but the fit issues dampened my enthusiasm. But you know how it is – I still had the olive fabric out and there was a sizeable remnant of the red fabric left. Plus a

Sizing up Bella

Tessuti’s Bella dress pattern is an old favourite. Search through my blog – you’ll see I’ve made several Bella’s for myself and Felicity. But I am no longer the same size thanks to having so many birthdays that I’ve hit menopause. So it was time to test another size. Version one was in a red

Should’ve made a shirt

I’ve had this small floral woven cotton in my stash for a while. It’s always been earmarked for a shirt. Shirting weight, small floral. Makes sense doesn’t it? Light grey and white. Perfect as corporate wear. But I had an idea in my head that I wanted to use the Closet Core Cielo dress pattern

Patrones: one out of three ain’t bad

Why Patrones? Good question. The answer is a lot to do with feeling dissatisfied with Burda itself and how I could subscribe in Australia. And liking the idea of an online magazine. And liking the concept of a smallish pdf that you then trace off your pattern from. Sounds odd? This is what Doctor T

Sequins

You know those conversations when people find out you sew? Those conversations almost always include the question – where do you get your fabrics from? My answer has been “all sorts of places – local shops, online (at this point their eyes glaze over), gifted from other sewists, a tiny bit from secondhand shops (they

Retro Hope dress

Piping and a large print on a donkey grey background seems to have taken my third Hope dress into retro style. And I like it! This is Style Arc’s Hope woven dress at knee length. With a thin waist tie attached to the side seams. The pattern description says the dress is in two lengths

Liz Haywood’s zero/low waste scrubs

In a surprise to everyone but mostly myself I’ve done some self-less sewing for strangers and I liked it! Belinda of @pinpoint_textiles called out for Adelaide sewists to make scrubs for the staff at the coronary care unit at one of our excellent hospitals, Flinders Medical Centre, for Fun Scrubs Friday. What a great way