Sew: New Look 6000

Remember my WIP? Well, it is finally complete and I am in LOVE!

New Look 6000 has been around for a while. There are many versions on the web, mostly with the pleats, collar and cuffs. I was originally planning a blue ponte 3/4 sleeve version but thought I'd better test the pattern out first due to a sway back and the fact I've never made a shift dress before. This fabric was another impulse buy from Spotlight while I was waiting in line. While I was testing things out with the pattern, I spied the cute pleated sleeves and thought I'd give them a go too. This all resulted in a fabulous dress!

I think this is my favourite work dress to date. That is a HUGE call! I have a lot of dresses. But, how cool is this dress?! I am loving the short pleated sleeves and think they will be perfect for work in both winter and summer.
Project Details
Pattern: New Look 6000 View A (without the flower)
Fabric: Printed stretch cotton sateen from Spotlight plus black lining from Tessuti
Alterations:

• Graded pattern up to a size 18 by adding 1.5cm to the side seams only (pattern only goes to a size 16)
• Used 3cm seam at armhole grading to 1.5cm seam from waist down
• Cut the lining using dress pattern and used a 6mm seam for lining fabric to allow for ease of movement
• Sway back adjustment - removed 2cm from centre (will do 4cm next time) and straightened the grainline by removing excess fabric from centre back from adjustment up to back neckline
• Added 10cm to length.

The pattern does not call for lining but I knew it would wear better, especially with stockings, if it was fully lined. I simply cut the dress from the fabric and the lining fabric but used a smaller seam allowance for the lining (sideseams and centreback).

I wore this dress all day at work and it was a delight to wear. Super comfortable and stylish. Perfect!

So, what do you think? Have you made New Look 6000 before?

L x

Snap: My week

My week has been HUGE!! Mr Sew Brunswick has been in South Africa for a week, so after wrangling the kids and work I've been collapsing on the couch in a state of stupor every night. I so nearly lost my sanity in those 7 days... I've also been hit with a bit of house decorating fever so I've been stretching fabric, hanging frames and navigating Ikea. We've been for a drive in the country and packing our bags for a tropical holiday. To finish it all off, today I went for a long run for some much needed peace and quiet. 

Not much sewing, I have finished a dress which I think may be my favourite work dress to date (big call!) and I have a black ponti knit blazer with polkadot binding in progress.

It's all happening over here at Sew Brunswick!!

L x

     

Make: Masala Chai Powder

Many years ago, we went to India on our honeymoon. Not the typical honeymoon destination but we're backpacking people, not resort people, so India it was. A truly amazing country. I fell in love with the masala chai (spiced tea) that is served everywhere and brought some masala chai powder home. That soon ran out so I started making my own, which is super easy to do.

Recipe:
1/4 cup cinnamon sticks
1/8 cup cloves
1/4 cup black peppercorns
1/4 cup green cardamon pods
6 black cardamon
1/4 cup whole all spice
1 whole nutmeg
1/2 cup dried ginger powder

Dry roast all ingredients, except ginger, for a few minutes in a fry pan. Grind all ingredients in a spice grinder, food processor or mortar & pestle. I use a mortar & pestle as it is close to my heart. Store in an airtight container.

To serve, add 1/4 tsp of masala chai powder to 2 tsp of black tea and bring to boil in 1 cup of water. Add 1 cup of milk and 2 tsp of sugar and bring to boil again. Strain into serving cup and enjoy!

This batch is on its way to Queensland for a very special masala chai fan.

L x

Fix: Gaping Jeans

Ever had a pair of jeans that gaped at the back waistband? This gaping and indecent knicker showing was driving me slowly insane. I recently solved this problem by using bias binding (2.5cm wide) to sew a casing to the back waistband before inserting 2cm wide elastic and securing at each end with stitching. I used red thread on top and navy thread in the bobbin so the stitching blends in.

Simple! Now, why hadn't I thought of this sooner...

L x

Giveaway: Pattern Pyramid Winner!!

Congratulations to Seersucker Sally for winning the Pattern Pyramid giveaway!! Email me at ohsewbrunswick@gmail.com with your postal address and I'll send it on.

And a big well done to kbenco's projects for correctly guessing that the black & white pleats are part of a New Look 6000 dress. I love the WIP Pitch!

Thanks to Karen for including me in the wonderful world of sewing blogging. So many lovely people who love to sew like me!!

After finishing my bathers, I've had a week of failures and mending so I'm off to cut the lining for my New Look 6000 dress and hopefully will find some inspiration.

L x

Home: Kitchen & Dining

Today I cleaned the kitchen & dining area. Once again, from the very top to the very bottom. My arms hurt from scrubbing but it is good to have a clean kitchen. Not just tidy but clean, super clean. I now only have my sewing room and lounge to go. The sewing room is going to be a BIG job...

As you can see, I have a thing for vintage tea towels. There is something about them. Pure linen. Quirky. They just don't make them like they used to...

L x

Sew: Kwik Sew 3609 Bathers

What do you call them? Bathers, togs, swimmers, swimsuits, bathing suit? As I grew up in Queensland, I'm inclined to call them togs. But whenever I sew them, I call them bathers.

We're off on a tropical island holiday soon, so it was time for a new set of bathers. I made the Alison Swimsuit by Burda Style last year for our beach holiday in Japan. It was ok if I stood straight up but was hopeless with two kids hanging off me. It was one step away from a wardrobe malfunction resulting in the ladies popping out!

There is not a huge range of swimsuit patterns available but Kwik Sew has a few. None really took my fancy but I liked the top of the Kwik Sew 3609 and thought I could merge it into a one-piece using my RTW and Alison bathers as guidance. I used the pants and top from Kwik Sew 3609, modifying the skirt section to merge it into the pants but retain the same shape to attach to the top. I added 20cm to the centre front and 14cm to the centre back of the pants pattern, shaping the top of the pattern piece to mimic the skirt pattern. I then just drew a curve extending the side of the pants up to meet the top of the skirt pattern. This all worked remarkably well.

Project Details
Pattern: Kwik Sew 3609 - modified
Fabric: 1m floral swimsuit material and 1m black swimsuit material (for lining) from Rathdowne Fabrics
Notions: 2m x 8mm wide swimsuit elastic & 2m x 12mm wide swimsuit elastic
Alterations: Modified to make one piece using Alison pattern as a guide

Excuse the excessive amount of photos, but I really found it helpful to study other people's pictures when sewing these up. I was zooming in on the stitching and trying to work out how they finish swimmers. So I thought I'd help my fellow sewists out and include lots of photos.

Previously, on my Alison bathers, I finished the leg seams with a double-stitch but this caused a bit of a ridge and they weren't very comfortable. The finish is nice but the comfort was not. This time I decided on a triple stitch zig-zag to do all the top stitching and securing the elastic.

If you haven't sewn a swimsuit before and are a bit hesitant I encourage you to give it a go. They are quite a quick project and really not as hard as you think!

Helpful Links

• Creative Chicks - Sew Your Own Swimsuits
• Sew Forth Now - Dive Into Swimsuits
• Sew Blooms - Chanel + Swimsuit

From woolen capes one week to bathers the next! Life's never boring around here. So this is my first photo from my WIP photos yesterday. Next up the black & beige pleats!

L x

Home: Kid's Room

I spent all day yesterday cleaning out our house. We don't have a particularly big house so it needs a clean out every so often to stop the accumulation of stuff. I haven't finished yet... I've still got the study/sewing room, kitchen and lounge to go. I am also only half way through our bedroom. I did however completely clean the boy's room. From head to toe, even the skirting boards!!

 

So I thought I would share the kid's room (before they mess it up again!!). I made the curtains years ago before I got really serious about sewing. The fabric is from Ikea. I also made the doona covers and cot sheets. The doonas are made using screen-printed fabric (and inspiration) from Sprout Designs and the denim is from Kelani.

It is a happy room.

L x

Giveaway: Pattern Pyramid

My Pattern Pyramid parcel from Karen over at Did You Make That?! arrived this morning. All beautifully wrapped and packaged.

I've chosen the Burda Style magazine as I've never had one and the other patterns are for more petite women and didn't really excite me enough to grade up. Also, more bang for your buck!!

So, ladies (and possibly gentlemen?? - hi lovely!) without further ado please welcome my first ever giveaway!!

The Rules: 

• Anyone, anywhere can enter by leaving a comment on this post by midnight EST (GMT +10 hours) on Monday 16 July but you must have an active blog.
• I will randomly select one winner, and post them the collection of 5 patterns along with hand woven labels to be sewn into anything made from one of these patterns.
• The winner will pick one pattern to keep for themselves, then host their own giveaway. They will randomly select a winner, post the remaining patterns to that Person D. Person D will pick a pattern for themselves, host their own giveaway and post the remaining patterns to the winner, Person E. Person E will…

For more information, including code for the Pattern Pyramid button and details of the charity supported by the very generous donor of the patterns, please see Karen’s post.

Karen has also recently launched a WIP (work in progress) photo round-up. For a bit of fun, simply email a photo of your WIP to Karen by midnight tonight (GMT) and she'll do a round-up post over the weekend.

I have two WIP photos to present. Can you guess what they are?!

The first one is in its final stages so stay tuned...

And don't forget to enter the give-away!!

L x

Mum: Vogue 1270

Sorry for the poor photo quality but I thought I would share a photo of my parents at a recent family friend's wedding. My mum is wearing a recently completed Kay Unger Vogue 1270 in a bright green silk. Isn't it stunning? She certainly stood out amongst the black and navy.



Source: Vogue Patterns

L x

Sew: New York Cape

 Meet my New York Cape! Isn't she beautiful? My lovely parents gave me the pattern as a Christmas present and I had been keeping my eye out for the perfect check wool coating. Finally I found the perfect fabric, a Marc Jacobs wool coating from the The Fabric Store, and I was on my merry way.

Cutting the fabric out took some time and mental strength, not to mention a stiff drink! It took me hours to get my head around matching the checks both vertically and horizontally. It's not perfect but I am very pleased with it. I used some handy tips from Pattern Scissors Cloth for working with checks and plaids.

All up, this project was a really enjoyable sew. I really like the finish that the binding gives and I love my new cape. Perfect for a girls night out at The Brunswick Green with my mothers group friends. 

Project Details
Pattern: Tessuti New York Cape
Fabric: Marc Jacobs Wool Coating from The Fabric Store
Notions: 8 x 23mm buttons from Rathdowne Fabrics, 5.1m navy Mokuba wool binding from Tessuti, 6m navy poly-cotton 12mm bias binding, thread & interfacing

L x