When Australia’s biggest supplier of Liberty of London fabric has a sale you can bet I jumped in to grab a bargain, see what I got Fabric purchased The Strawberry Thief https://thestrawberrythief.com.au/
I see the ads for this place all the time on Facebook and get asked a tonne about it in the classes I teach at Bobbin and Ink so I thought I’d buy and review it.
Second make from the stash and it’s this gorgeous embroidered cotton lawn. At first I didn’t know where I had got this one from but I consulted my Cora fabric stash app and it has it recorded as being from Pitt Trading.
I kind of didn’t know what I wanted to make with this one but I had it with me while I was away dog sitting along with my standard block and thought I’d have a little play with making the neckline a little more square, narrow the shoulder straps, drop the back neck to be a scoop back, eliminate the centre back zip and of course change it to a more empire line bodice. I know it reads like a lot of changes but it actually wasn’t too big an ordeal mostly just drawing lines and adjusting.
The skirt was determined by the amount of leftover fabric which I cut in half across the width of the fabric to make the skirt length (being short is such a win for using up less fabrics!). Then it was gathered tightly onto the bodice which had been bagged out with some white cotton lawn (also from the stash). I added a lining to the skirt of white cotton lawn (also gathered) but because I did the gathering separately it makes the skirt seem extra floofy so the whole thing feels like a cloud.
I had to wait till I got home from dog sitting to do some overlocking as I did attempt to zig zag the fabric but the zig zag did not play well with the embroidery so I thought I’ll just wait and overlock it at home.
Pattern: self drafted block
Fabric: embroidered cotton lawn and plain cotton lawn both from the stash originally from Pitt Trading
I’ve been doing some fabric shopping at Pitt Trading so I’ve combined a few orders into one haul video so you can see what I got and hear my plans for them.
Join me, Susan from Measure Twice Cut Once, as I take you through how to sew a closed seam, a good way to finish the edges of your seams that allow it to go through the washing machine and last longer.
More videos on a variety of seams will be coming soon. If you have any questions please add them down below.
Join me as I open up my fabric haul from The Selvedge Society a Sydney independent fabric store based in Stanmore. It carries both garment and quilt making fabrics and when these popped up for sale I couldn’t resist!
Join me, Susan from Measure Twice Cut Once, as I take you through how to sew a Tote Bag.
A Tote Bag is a great way for beginner sewers to learn straight sewing and the joy of making something incredibly useful. We will be learning how to sew straight lines and finish the edges to prevent fraying, creating a dimensional corner and attaching straps.
It’s a nice way to start building up your skills and end up with a useful tote.
For experienced sewers they are a great way to use up leftover scraps of fabrics and they make great presents for young and old.
ah my much neglected blog, with 2021 being the year of lockdowns and endless days of staying at home in our tiny apartment I wasn’t much in the mood for taking photos of what I was wearing. However New Year new way of trying things out and I’m going to be back documenting my makes as I was so surprised how often I referred to the blog to figure out what if any changes I needed to make to patterns and garments.
This dress is a modified version of my standard block. I added sleeves, raised the neck and adjusted the waist to be slightly boxier to account for weight and also comfort as this fabric is quite thick and hefty feeling so I knew if I made it too tight it would feel hot and uncomfortable.
The fabric is an Outback Wife printed barkcloth that I ordered when a load of fabric was dumped into the market at either $5 or $8 a metre. I basically rang the place in Melbourne that had them and said I’ll take meterage of whatever was left in pink or purples. You can see my other make from this fabric here.
I figured if a global pandemic wasn’t enough to convince me to make the good fabric up while you can, then I should just get on with the cutting. Apart from making sure I didn’t end up with flower boob by cutting a more central flower I basically just went for it with the cutting. The skirt is the width of the fabric x 2 just pleated to meet the bodice circumference.
A simple make but I’ve worn it so much and am so glad it’s made up and not just a fabric in the stash.
Fabric: Outback Wife barkcloth bought on sale from Melbourne and then stashed till now
Pattern: standard block with sleeves
Alterations: raised back squared sides to add more room at waist
This year I’m taking on my stash, I’m using things up to make useful things. I have no interest in making things that are wasteful or making them with the aim to giving them to charity so it’s using with a purpose in order to get the stash down.
First up is a remnant of athletic Lycra from Pitt Trading, I think I had got it to make a swimsuit or maybe a rashie but then realised I could make a pair of 3/4 tights. I grabbed my self drafted tights pattern and got cutting.
I didn’t have enough fabric to cut the waistband with the greatest stretch going around(I use the waistband from the Jalie Clara tights as I love how high it is) so I did some calculations and cut it on the opposite stretch. It makes it feel very firm so you have to be careful with your calculations or you feel very sausagey. Due to a scar on my torso I wear my waistbands very high to avoid irritating the area with the scar.
Using the 4 thread on the over locker I threw it all together with some swim elastic in the top waistband join. At this point I had to stop working as I was off to go dog sit for some friends so I threw the tights in to finish while I was there.
Working with what I had with me I used black thread to top stitch the top of the waistband (where I inserted some swim elastic). I used a 3 step zig zag so it sat as flat as possible. Hems we’re done with a regular zig zag.
While the yellow colour feels very uh yellow! I know these are going to get a tonne of wear for doing workouts on the roof and this week they’ve been great for dog walking.
Pattern: self drafted tights with Jalie Clara waistband (modified as I adjusted the size based on stretch and I changed the construction).
Fabric: from the stash, originally from athletic Lycra from Pitt Trading
Alterations: cut shorter leg to make allowances for the fact it was a remnant, cut waistband on the cross grain due to fabric useage.
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Hello!
Hi, I'm Susan. A designer and sewing teacher living in Sydney, Australia.
Here I share tales of my sewing, my pattern collection and insights into what it's like to work in the fashion Industry.
Other recurring themes include cat photos, an ever changing hair style and knitting.
