Vogue 7755

I am making the large tote on the upper left hand corner. I got this pattern at a closing down sale (Remnant Warehouse in Prahran) for 50 cents. This is my first attempt at making a bag and it was the fabric in the last post that motivated me to "'ave a go".

I lined the bag from some poly cotton I found lurking in the stash and decided to make some pockets from some old sheeting. I had a bit left over from some other project - actually I don't remember why I have it at all but it was there so I used it...

I decided to keep the top of the sheet as the top of my pockets (saves on stitching ) and did a decorative stitch to pretty it up a bit.

I made two pockets for one side - a phone pocket and a keys pocket. I put tucks into the pockets to give them some depth. On the other side I just did one pocket to keep my PDA in.

For the straps I used some green grosgrain ribbon which I stitched on top as seen in this picture:

Here is a photo with the ribbon sewn on.

So, everything was going along nicely. Had a bit of trouble getting the sides stitched to the bottom but with lots of clipping I managed to get it attached without any ripples. Mmmmm, I think something is wrong.........

Lucky I have enough fabric to recut - oh darn!!!!!!!!!!!

Red Jacket on me

I wore my new red jacket to Shepparton on Thursday and found it very comfy! Here is a picture of me in it before we left...

I found that making the jacket in a knit brought about a few problems. It stretches! I had to take the sides in a good inch each. Also the shoulders are a bit sloppy and would benefit from a small shoulder pad. And the empire line is a bit lower, but that is ok. On the very plus side...it is sooo comfy. The pink jacket I made in this pattern is very restricting but the red one is just like a cardie! While in Shepp, I bought a long sleeve black top for $9.95 on special, which will look great with the jacket. The top I have on in the photo is just a sleeveless knit.

Also while in Shepparton I just happened to drop into the local Spotlight and found some cute canvas fabric in the remnant bin - it cost all of $1.96! Obviously it wants to be a handbag!

So that is the plan for today. My first handbag/tote. My Marfy can continue to wait.....

Red Jacket

I still needed something to wear with my red shoes so went in search of red fabric in the stash. I don't have a lot of red...well actually just this one piece - a wool double knit purchased from Lincraft so long ago I don't remember. It may have been before children which would be.....16 + years. So you are probably not surprised to hear that it had acquired some mysterious holes?! Oh dear, well into the washing machine (it didn't matter much if it recked it) and out to dry. It came up ok, however the holes were still there.......



I decided to use Simplicity 4182 as I had used it before with success and wanted this "holy" jacket for tomorrow to go visit mum. I did manage to cut around the holes (I hope anyway) and came up with this:

As you can see, I haven't done a button hole. I plan on using snaps to keep it closed but I don't have any at the moment. So for tomorrow the trusty safety pin will be put to use! I also need a long sleeve t-shirt to wear underneath...........

Where did you get that T-Shirt

As mentioned yesterday, I have the Marcy Tilton video book "Where Did You Get That T-Shirt". This is a new acquisition - I didn't really need it as I have made tops and t-shirts before with pretty good success. But you know, that is no reason not to get something, now is it? I used

Kwik Sew 3338. This is a good pattern to use as it has a longer back shoulder armscye to the front and the shoulder dot on the sleeve is that little bit more forward to match that. It also has a bust "dart" of sorts - that is the front is a bit longer than the back and you ease the difference at bust level giving you that little bit more fabric in the bust area. More than enough for moi! These are things that Marcy suggests you need for a better fit.

This pattern has negative ease which is not a recommendation by Marcy, but I like my t-shirts to be fitted.

The video book has:

8 videos that cover tissue fitting, cutting out, stabilising, binding, sleeves etc.

Text pages that give the same information as the videos

Pages of inspirational t-shirts (her website has even more)

The good thing is you don't need an overlocker/serger/coverstitch machine - and the results are pretty darn good! One thing you need to do which can make a really big impact on the final look is to pin fit the t-shirt before you stitch the side and sleeve seams. You get a really good feel for how the t-shirt is going to look before it is TOO LATE! You can tailor the fit with this one step to see how you want the t-shirt to look.

I stitch my knit tops with a very small zig zag - length 2mm and width 1.5mm. This gives enough stretch. I then do a second row on seams with more stress. I could overlock, but that would require me to set up another machine...lol...and it really is not necessary. Marcy has a spray glue method of setting the hems before stitching. I didn't try this as I left my hem raw. I will let you know how this goes on my next one!

As promised, here is a picture of me last night with the latest t-shirt and the 10 minute skirt. For the skirt I just sewed up the rectangle of left over fabric and added lingerie elastic to the waist. I used the selvage of the fabric for the hem.

For Aussie readers - it looks a bit "Motto" doesn't it? Definitely unintentional!

Sewing again

Thank you all again for the hugs and kind wishes. It is much appreciated!!:)

About a month ago I purchased the Marcy Tilton DVD/book Where Did you get That T-Shirt. This week I sat down in front of the computer and watched the demonstrations and read the text. I think it is fantastic that you can make something so unique from a basic pattern. Yesterday I went through the stash and boy do I have a lot of knits...it is about time I made a few of them up!! Lots of teals and lots of pinks, and quite a few browns. But as I couldn't decide which ones to use (I wanted to use more than one, a al Marcy Tilton) I didn't do anything!

Come Saturday I went straight for something completely different - this interesting fabric I got from Frou Frou in Glen Waverly as a remnant - maybe 1.5 metres? It is a brown and orange mesh with flowers, sequins, rouching etc. I draped in on Eames with other fabrics that I thought may match - a brown mesh and a coral mesh. I ditched the coral as it looked too pink with the orange. I decided the brown looked good and I would use that as the sleeves.


I cut a row of the shirring as binding for the neckline and the sleeve hems. I cut the body of the top with a row of shirring at the bottom (to be the hem), but alas it just made the mesh poof out - not a good look on the hips, so I cut the the shirring off. It made the top shorter but the effect overall was much better. I have left the bottom unhemed.




For the neck binding, after cutting it about 5cms shorter than the neck edge and dividing it into quarters, I just zig zagged the binding onto the neck edge. Very easy and the effect is pretty good, if I do say so myself! With the sleeve hems I sewed the binding on before attaching the sleeves to the body.



I am not 100% happy with the final result as there is a bit of pouching in the bust area - not sure if it is because the pattern is too long between shoulder and underarm or if it is just the fabric. I used Kwik Sew 3338 ( I will post more on that tomorrow) size XS. The fabric does have a lot of give.......so now for the unveiling (on Eames).......

I had heaps of fabric over, so I quickly whipped up a one seam skirt to match! The top and skirt are about to go out for Chinese, so I will get a photo of me in it to post tomorrow.

I can feel a few more T-Shirts in my future......

Thank you!

Thank you to those who sent me cyber hugs. It was much appreciated!



I have sad news....my dad passed away only a few hours after my last post. Unfortunately we did not get to see him again, but I am happy that I spent the prior weekend with him. It was quick and peaceful in the end.


My mum is still very unwell and will probably require a fair amount of my time. She is in hospital under the care of the mental health unit. There is really nothing I can do to reduce her anxiety and distress, other than to pray. It really is so difficult when someone suffers from mental problems as no amount of logical conversation can make a difference. Hopefully her new medication can bring some relief and we can bring her to Melbourne to be closer to us.


On a more positive note, my sister is back from her cruise around the Caribbean for the cricket world cup. She stopped into New York on her way back and bought me some trims...



I am not sure how much sewing I will get done...still trying to catch up on the washing, shopping, blog reading (a lot can happen in blog land in a week and a bit) and off to work tomorrow.

Away for a few days

Last night after my last post I tucked out vertical strips from shoulder to hem on both the front and back and that helped enormously. I now need to undo from waist down on the side seam as I will need more room there. The problem is basically the size is too big for my narrow upper chest and back. ( I bought the smallest size). The style is very fitted so this compounds the problems. But it is all a learning experience and after re reading FFRP, I am ready to tackle it again. In fact I would feel enthusiastic if it wasn't for my dad. He is nearing the end and I need to go urgently to Shepparton to help mum (who also is unfortunately unwell).