Shop: Holiday Fabric

 

First up, thanks for all your lovely comments on my recent posts! Especially to all the love I got for my red Bombshell Swimsuit. I'm glad I've inspired a few of you to reconsider the pattern by omitting the back ruching. It really is a fun and easy pattern to sew.

As promised, I'm going to show you my holiday fabric purchases. I was lucky enough to visit two very "famous" fabric stores. I've always read about Britex Fabrics and Mood Fabrics on sewing blogs and thought they were the gods of the fabric store world. Britex was several floors of fabric and Mood was of warehouse proportions. Unfortunately I had very limited time to peruse as I had three impatient males waiting for me outside.

Never fear! I still came home with a good bounty of beautiful fabrics. Lets take a look!

The blue floral is a rayon challis from Britex Fabrics. It is beautiful and soft with a wonderful drape. I was always curious when American bloggers talked about rayon challis. We don't seem to get much of it in Australia, so I was keen to get a piece to give it a try. I'm not sure about the print as it was an impulse buy under intense time pressure but I'm thinking Vogue 8810 view C for a classy retro summer dress.

The other two are silk prints. The yellow is from Britex and the navy from Mood. Both will become dresses for work. Pattern suggestions are welcome! I'm thinking something with a gathered elastic waist for the navy.

These three are for the boys. The Dr Seuss cotton (from Britex) is for summer pyjamas and the check fabrics (Mood) are for simple shorts. Mr N chose the checks in Mood as "I was buying too much fabric for yourself. What about us boys?". Point taken. He certainly does have good taste in fabric.

 

I don't know what it is about this ikat print from Mood but I really like it. The photo does it no justice. The blue is brighter in real life (see the last photo) and the fabric is a denim weight with a touch of stretch and texture. I originally thought a sheath dress but am now thinking a Moss Mini skirt and a pair of Iris shorts. I am torn. What do you think??

This is my fabulous haul of Mood knits. I love them. I could have bought more but they're heavy and I was running out of room. The colourful zig zag is destined to be a simple singlet style dress. I'm thinking of getting the Mission Maxi pattern but shortening it to just below the knee. It will be perfect with an orange cardi and silver sandals. The brown zig zag is for Vogue 8871. I'm pretty sure it is even the fabric used on the Vogue website. I'm going to make a teal polymer clay bead necklace to go with it.

My favourite knit is the animal print. The print is ok but the quality of this fabric is amazing. I bought 3.5 metres of this viscose spandex knit as it is beautiful and thick with a lovely drape. I'm planning another Vogue 1250 (surprise!!) for work and a shortened Mission Maxi for casual wear.

The blue and pink print almost has an Australian botanical look to it. Mr N thinks it is more of a coral print. The quality isn't anything special as it's quite a thin cotton knit with limited recovery. I'm thinking the Lady Skater dress and possibly a loose tee if I have enough left. If you have any ideas, let me know!

Although I didn't get them on holidays, I got two pieces of linen from Tessuti just before we left. I spotted the Giganta Red floral print linen on the website and since I thought it was all sold out from last year I quickly grabbed a few metres. I have Burda 7379 marked for this pattern. I think the pairing is perfect for a breezy floral summer dress! The last piece to show you is a textured denim blue linen (Santorini Look linen) that I've already cut Vogue 8810 out of. I bought it to make another pair of Colette Juniper pants (must show you the first pair) but once it arrived I realised it was way too sheer for a pair of pants. I was considering the Colette Hawthorn pattern but decided to use a pattern I already had instead of adding another pattern to my ever growing stash. I'm a bit excited about this dress. It's all ready to go.

So there you have it. Some beautiful fabric to remember our trip by. I always think of our holiday in Japan whenever I wear my Japanese floral Simplicity 2360. Fabric makes the best souvenir!!

And if you're wondering how I get all this fabric home when we only travel with backpacks, rollable space bags of course!

Do you buy fabric when you travel? Where's your favourite fabric holiday destination?

L x

Travel: Western USA

 

 

 

I don't think words can adequately describe the truly amazing holiday we had in the States. I will let the happy snaps speak for themselves.

We started in Salt Lake City and Yellowstone National Park, spending a few days with Mr Sew Brunswick's family. We then parted ways and headed to Yosemite National Park and San Francisco. My two favourite places. Between San Francisco and Los Angeles we had a brief mini beach break at Pismo Beach, where I ate the most delicious fish tacos! We finished in Los Angeles with a few days at Disneyland and a visit to Mood and the Endeavour space shuttle. As you all know, I truly love travelling and am very grateful that we can share this passion with our boys.

L x

Sew: Liberty Knit Nightie (McCalls 6559)

I like to wear nighties that can double as a dress. Not that I usually wear it as a dress but it is very handy when travelling or hanging around at home to have a nightie that doesn't scream "Oh my, she's still in her nightie!!" if you happen to answer the door or pop out of the hotel room to check the laundry. Just throw on a cardigan and a pair of ballet flats and you're somewhat respectable.

I bought this fabric to make a dress for work but when it arrived it was too pale and quite lightweight. I tried to give it to my mum but she said it would make a great nightie. So being the good daughter that I am, I followed her advice. I used my trusty McCalls 6559 maxi dress pattern ignoring the instructions and used 5cm bands to finish the neck and arm holes. I overlocked and topstitched them like a t-shirt, rather than turning to the inside (like my stripe dress), to provide more coverage.

Project Details
Pattern: McCalls 6559 maxi dress
Fabric: Liberty knit from Shaukat (similar to this one)

The combination of this light and drapey Liberty knit with a simple dress pattern creates a beautiful and super comfortable nightie.

L x

Sew: The Bombshell Swimsuit

After seeing all the beautiful versions of the Bombshell swimsuits all over the internet I had to give it a go for myself. I bought this vibrant red swimsuit lycra at Tessuti in Sydney at the meet up earlier in the year. My intention was to make a swimsuit with ruching through the body and a halter top. And then, as if she had read my mind, Heather Lou released the Bombshell swimsuit pattern! My only concern was the back ruching. No matter how many versions I saw, all with the back ruching, I just couldn't get my head around it. I didn't like it on me. I wanted a modern take on the Bombshell swimsuit so I simply used the lining pieces to cut the back fabric. Perfect!

I cut the top a size smaller than my waist and hips. The fit is good but I probably need an extra inch or more in the body length.

The bra cups, from Lincraft, are quite padded. They looked good at first but they've creased and marked with wear and storage and now are a bit lumpy. I'm going to unpick the bra cups and the top stitching as it is wobbly and the bra cups are too big. They are purely decorative and create more trouble than they're worth when diving under the water. I bought some slim bra cups from Clegs this week to replace these.

Project Details
Pattern: Closet Case Files Bombshell Swimsuit, size 14-16
Fabric: Red swimsuit lycra and beige swimsuit lycra (for the lining) from Tessuti Surry Hills
Notions: Swimsuit elastic and bra cups from Lincraft

These photos were taken at Pismo Beach, half way between San Francisco and Los Angeles. We stopped for a weekend to relax and enjoy some quiet time in the sun. Unfortunately there was a dense coast fog for most of the weekend and it was too cold to enjoy the pool. The boys still went in but we sat on the side with jumpers and scarves to keep warm. The fog finally lifted on Sunday afternoon so I spent the afternoon in the pool with the boys.

The colours in this photo are a bit weird but you can see the gathering and the top. Next time, yes there will be a next time, I'm planning a polka dot version and a plain black version with the alternative top.

So, what do you think? Have you succumbed to the bombshell craze?

L x

Sew: McCalls 6559 Maxi Dress

I'm back. Again. After being home for three days, I went to Cairns for a work conference. I had a fabulous time with interstate colleagues. But after 4 days of sitting in lectures, networking and partying, I am absolutely shattered. Inspired and enthused but exhausted.

On to my next sewing project! You may remember I made an Alexa T-top out of this knit and absolutely loved the fabric. So when Lisa from Tessuti said they had just 2.8m left, I quickly bought it all. It is nice and thick and washes beautifully. But don't despair, Lisa informed me today that they have more in stock. Hop to it! Actually don't, I want it all for myself.

Back to the dress! Before we left for the States I was very keen to make a midi dress out of this fabric. There was much internal debate about what pattern to use. I was tempted to make a fitted dress with a scooped neck and half sleeves but I kept coming back to a singlet based dress. I thought a singlet dress would be more versatile. Cool in hot weather but easily layered with a cardigan and scarf. It was a perfect travel dress. Great for the plane, exploring San Francisco and playing at Disneyland. 

I did my standard sway back adjustment and removed 3cm from centre back neckline. The length is halfway between the short and long length. I like this length better than a maxi length for practicality reasons. I don't trip on it!  

I finished the neck and arms by using a 5cm wide strip of fabric. I turned it in and top stitched down. The top is fitted and I left the waist and hips loose. 

 

 

Mater!! 

 

Excellent stripe matching. 

There's still a bit of fabric pooling in my lower back but I can live with that.

Project Details
Pattern: McCalls 6559, view D, size 16
Fabric: Yin and Yang Ebony (viscose spandex blend) from Tessuti
Alterations: Graded in to size 14 at bust, shortened to a midi length, used bands to finish neck and armholes.

I still have a bit of this fabric left. I'm thinking a loose, boxy tee.

I really love this dress. Simple and classic. 

L x

Sew: Lady Skater Dress FIXED

Hello! We got home yesterday from the States after an amazing 3 week holiday. I'll post some photos soon. Before we left I sewed quite a few garments that I haven't blogged. I'll post them slowly over the next few weeks. You may remember my failed Lady Skater Dress that I was hoping to take with me. I was about to hack it apart but decided to attempt to fix it instead. I'm so glad I did because it is a fabulous travel dress! I took it in another 5cm on each side seam all the way from the sleeve hem all the way to the skirt hem. This fixed it beautifully. It still dips a bit at the back waist hem but it is so comfortable to wear. The fabric is delicious!

Project Details
Pattern: Lady Skater Dress
Fabric: Black bamboo knit from Clegs
Alterations: Shortened bodice by 5cm, shortened shoulder seam by 2.5cm, took an extra 5cm from each side seam

It is certainly not perfect but it is fine for long car trips and hanging around the house. The fabric is very lightweight and drapey making every seam very noticeable. I didn't bother hemming it.

The first photo is of me in the middle of Nevada. We drove from Yellowstone to Yosemite in two days. The second day was supposed to be more leisurely but we had to circumnavigate the massive fire in Yosemite instead of drive through the park from the eastern side. This added an extra half a day and about 400 extra miles. When we finally got to Yosemite we couldn't see anything for all the smoke! Thankfully it cleared up after a day or so. It is such an amazing place.

This next photo was taken looking out towards the Grand Tetons from our cabin at Flagg Ranch near Yellowstone. We spent a few days here exploring and catching up with Mr Sew Brunswick's brother and his family. They're based in Salt Lake City so it was lovely to spend some time with them. This was our view for our evening drinks. We even sat in wooden rocking chairs! It was perfect.




L x