The $5 Rug skirt

After being inspired by this post by Geneva from A pair and a Spare I was brimming with excitement when I found some colourful rugs/door mats/whatever you'd like to call them made from weaved jersey fabrics at my local Dollars and Sense store. Snapping two rugs up at the crazy price of $2.50 each I took them home and got my DIY/sewing on.

I basically followed the exact process Geneva laid out. I pinned the two rugs together using the outline of another fitted skirt (I use my Gorman Pencil skirt). Then I sewed down the sides, cut of the excess and zigzag stiched the raw edges to prevent fraying. Due to the nature of the rug I had to be careful when cutting the edges off as there was real potential for the 'wire knit' that holds the fabric together to unravel. I will say that the thickness of the fabric was not loved by my sewing machine but we got there in the end!

Pinned, sewn and hacked off

I also added to darts in the front of my skirt to prevent it from stretching out and losing it's shape/falling down.

I am delighted with the result. The stretchy fabric hides all manner of sins, it's super comfy and flattering and the multitude of colours in the fabric make it lots of fun to mix and match. I may just make another...look out Dollars and Sense.

Rug skirt in action - Let's call this Sunday summer casual

I know I look like a dick but trust me - you too can have a but like Kim K thanks to this sin-hiding fabric!

Where else but the Whitsundays

Ok so I know it's been a looooooooooong time between posts but what can I say? Life got in the way. Thankfully I'm back now and as I'm at home on my potential deathbed today I figured what better time to reminisce (and post) about my recent holiday to the Whitsunday's with The Boy. It was amazing. Here is a sample of our holiday pictures (warning, it's photo heavy).

This is my much adored Gorman skirt - a gift from The Boy

Here we are on Daydream Island

Cheesy Mermaids

About to go Ocean Rafting - so much fun!

Beautiful Whitehaven Beach

We went snorkelling/scuba diving at Reef World then caught a helicopter over the Reef to Hamilton Island on Hamilton Island Air

Heart Reef

The Great Barrier Reef from the air

Snorkelling with the fishies

Hill Inlet

Windblown on Whitehaven

Got a feel for Teal

Gorman Cardigan, Cotton On T-shirt, Handmade skirt, H&M Scarf, Senzi shoes, vintage Bally Belt.

This is the second pencil skirt I made with my 1980-something New Look pattern. As you can see I ditched the waistband and conjured up a facing instead.

I'm pretty sure it works because I got asked where it was from on my lunch break today. Oh yeah I did!

Trying to throw my cardigan away...unfortunately it still made it into the (awkward) shot!

P.S. Sorry about the weird creases, and the strange angle of my belt and my not quite prepared/awkward poses. The Boy was not really in the mood to take outfit photos and I didn't realise what the pics looked like until it was too late. I promise the skirt really doesn't bunch up like that in real life! I swear to God it fit's better than the photos demonstrate!

Colour POP!

What do you get when you mix McCall's 5460 and See and Sew's 6243S100 with pink and coral cotton?

Ta-da! My very first dress, sewn by Moi from start to finish. What do you think? Bright no?

I am not one to shy away from colour, especially if it's the combination of pink and coral - what could be more summery?

Anyway, you can (hopefully) see how I used the neckline and paneling of the McCall's pattern to get the right proportions for the top (pink) half of the dress. And how the rest of the dress took on the See and Sew shape with a little extra darting. Can you see it? Can you? I also made my sleeves a little longer, the hem a little shorter and the shape just a tiny more streamline.

Thanks also to my lovely friend K who gave me sewing encouragement and advice the day I made this. That's right this took me just a day! I can not wait for my next project!!

Coco Cobalt

Ok so technically this isn’t my first sewing project. It is actually the third pencil skirt I have whipped up in as many weeks - we’re on a roll people! - but I forgot to take pictures of the other ones so for now, my pink  and teal pencil skirts will remain in my closet until I remember to photograph them. That is if you really care about see slightly different colours and variations of essentially the same skirt….Wait what am I talking about? Of course you want to see them!

Anyway, let me introduce to Coco, you my new cobalt blue pencil skirt. She took me roughly 3-4 hours to make last Sunday and I’m so proud of it J The fit and finish are by far the best of all three skirts which just proves that practice makes perfect.

The pattern I used is this four piece New Look pattern circa 1988 (Thanks mum!). I have to say that this is a GREAT pattern for a novice sewer because it really is easy as.  

Cut out your four pieces of fabric, pin them together, sew away, wack in a zip, do some ‘ditch stitching’ and you’re done! I did have to cut the waist down a little to fit me better, but really the most challenging parts of this project for me were sewing even darts (a problem I fixed with a white fabric pencil) and putting in a zip (not nearly as hard as I thought it would be).

Overall, I am really happy with the finished product and will most certainly go on to make myself a wardrobe full of rainbow pencil skirts – if my office can handle it that is. 

On Tuesday I colour blocked the s**t out of Level 3 by channelling/copying Kendi Everyday and wearing Coco with a coral blouse (and I even took pictures for my first proper outfit photo which is scary!!). The verdict was positive and Coco went down much better than when I wore pink tights. Let’s just say Level 3 wasn’t quite ready for pink tights.  They sure as hell love Coco though.

Say it ain’t Sew

Image courtesy of edelweisspatterns.com 

Since The Boy got a new job he has been working almost every weekend. Whilst I disliked this very much at first (and may have developed an addiction to The Only Way is Essex) I thankfully, decided to stop wallowing/watching poorly scripted reality TV and put my spare time to good use. So I’m learning to sew.

Why sewing? There are umpteen reasons but now I’ve written that I can really only think of five.

1.       I can save money but still have a killer wardrobe.

2.       It’s always good to learn a new skill.

3.       Unlike baking, sewing can’t make me any chubbier.

4.       I ran out of poorly scripted reality television to watch (until I am able to download Geordie Shore…) and let’s not forget….

5.       The Gloat factor. It’s that feeling when someone comments on your outfit/asks where you got it and you tell them you made it and then take a minute to feel nice and smug…oh yeah. 

As I’m a novice sewer and really learning everything from scratch, you can follow my ups and downs, the things I found difficult and hopefully the successes.

My first task is to make some simple work skirts and as my skills improve, I’m hoping to move on to a couple of dresses and then some more ambitious projects.

Wish me luck - it’s time to get sewing!

Postcards from paradise

I was reading my friend B’s blogpost on her love for snail mail and it made me think of my own not-so-secret adulation for postcards, of which there seems to be an actual definition.

Apparently, deltiology - the study and collection of postcards –is one of the world’s most popular hobbies…and here I was thinking I was the only one!

Now, I wouldn’t say I’m a super hardcore deltiologist (?!) but I have quite the collection of postcards hoarded away in my room. They adorne my walls, act as bookmarks or decorations and I often flick through stacks of them at a time to remind myself of my travels, the people I met and the things I experienced. Honestly, whetehr a postcard is tacky and tasteless, a beautiful artwork or illustration, a photograph, or text, I. Just. Can’t. Help. Myself.

Why? Because well – who doesn’t love getting a postcard?!

The delight you feel when you open your mail box and there’s a postcard scrawled with your name on it…how can you not feel a bit spesh?! Someone is thinking of you while they are gallivanting around the world and having loads of fun and they’re sharing a little piece of their experiences with you.

As a chronic sender of postcards (I estimate I sent close to 200 postcards in 15 months during my most recent travels and time away) , my motivation to buy, write and post them is purely for the surprise I know it will give my friend or family member.

Sending a postcard is my way of letting someone know that I’m thinking of them while we’re apart. I might be watching the sunset on a beach on Barcelona or lying in a Berlin hostel bed recovering from a revolting hungover, but by writing to them, I feel like I am sending a part of me back to them.

Anyway, here are some of my favourite postcards. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do (again sorry for the dodgy photography!).