Sewing with Gorman

Way back in September or October (it’s so long ago I can’t actually remember which month it was) QueensPlaza did a promotion with Gorman where they ‘gave away’ a free Gorman dress pattern.

When I say ‘gave away’ I mean you signed up for a promo email and they sent you instructions on how to download the pattern and instructions.

Well I’ve finally got around to making this dress and let me tell you it was not easy. I am lucky I have a wonderful mother with superior sewing skills to mine who saved the day!

The first problemo?
The pattern was out of scale. Sure I can hear you ask ‘Maybe you printed it wrong?’ Rest assured my friends I did not. I followed the careful printing instructions laid out for my by Gorman (as did some friends of mine) and the pattern was still not right. Luckily I actually already owned the Backgammon tea dress of which the pattern was for (you can see it here) so I was able to use the cut out pattern and my actual dress to mark and cut out the fabric.

The second problemo?
Man those instructions are hard to understand! Trying to sew a dress without some printed ‘how to’ steps accompanied by instructions was a first for me – and my mum who’s been sewing for about 35 years.

It was like reading a foreign language to be honest.

"Join front and back fabric bodice side seams and join front"...join front what?? Can you be a little clearer?
It was about here that my mum took control of the situation, decoding the instructions, advising me what to do and basically taking over the whole project.

And thank god she did. If I had persevered any longer I may have fallen into the ‘danger zone’ *

The third problemo?

I was too god damn tired (and a little unwell) which is never a good time to start a new sewing project. Sewing when you’re not in the mood is pants.

But it was all worth it because look what I (ok so really my mum should have most of the credit) made.

I really wanted to buy this Gorman dress because I love the fabric so much but instead I used it for fabric inspiration and ended up with this.

Ain’t she a beauty? What do you think? I wore it for my birthday party this weekend and everyone loved it just as much as I do. Also please excuse the wrinkles in the pics - I was too tired to iron before outfit photos.

How are your sewing projects going? Have any of you tried sewing your own Gorman dress with the free pattern? How did you find it? And more importantly have you seen the latest collection? I LOVE Lisa Gorman for always giving us patterns and colour and I promise I'll do a post on the Winter Collection soon.

Until then, Happy sewing everyone!


*the point at which sewing makes me so crazy frustrated I resort to eating peanut butter from the jar and crying during the advertisements for the new series of ‘Biggest Loser’.

Flowers for my valentine

With Valentine ’s Day just around the corner I’ve taken it upon myself to belt a little more romance into my wardrobe.

Inspired by the beautiful and stylish Mez from Domestic Divinity and the GORGEOUS Alannah Hill Belt she wore with her wedding dress to her pre-ceremony (scroll down her beautiful wedding post and you'll spot it) I scoured my local Spotlight for some suitable ribbon, tulle – whatever I though could work. I found a lovely reel ribbon with red flowers (also available in black if you’re interested) of which I bought three to use.

This is such a simple and easy tutorial but I apologise for not taking photos along the way.

Step 1. Double over a length of red fabric (I used 100% cotton) making sure it’s wide enough to sew the flower ribbon on to it and long enough to fit around your waist. Cut the fabric but be sure to leave an extra centimetre on each side for when you stitch it up.

Step 2. Place the flowers on the centre of the fabric (where they will sit on the belt) and measure where you want to taper your belt off. Draw or mark fabric to guide you then cut.

.

Step 3. Sew around three sides leaving one end open.

Step 4. Turn the belt inside (rightside) out

Step 5. Hand stich on flowers. Following this hand stich the unsewn end of your belt and sew a button onto it.

Step 6. Mark a couple of button holes on other end of the belt and sew them in. If you don’t want to use a button you could always hand stitch a couple of hook and eyes on if you prefer. 

Step 7. Button up and Wear! I think it will look best with a white, black or cobalt blue dress but the choice is yours.

See easy…and oh se feminine. Granted it's not quite as beautiful as the inspiration for it but I personally love it and I hope you will too!

Oh and apologies for the awful photographs...not my best work!

Sewn roses

Today was an important day. Australia got a carbon tax, and I wore my latest creation. It is green with pink roses…kind of appropriate for a day marking an environmental landmark in Australian - and world - history don’t you think?

I have to say, this dress was a little tricky. I had difficulty with the darts and the bodice doesn’t quite fit as well as I would like but it’s not the end of the world. I think it has a very Mad Men feel to it. What do you think? 

The pattern is Very Easy Vogue V8630 if you want to make your own. Next project is a replica of my Gorman Backgammon teadress…stay tuned.

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!

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!