Sleeves all set in :-)

I told you about this dress before. I have made this design together with my friend Jiska. I did change it a bit after seeing it on her. I shortened the sleeves and the hemline to give it a bit 'younger' look. I was thinking of adding some lace or ruffles around the neckline, but I'm not completely sure. Maybe I'll ponder on it for a while longer...

Coming up: this same dress in a gorgeous sequinned white linnen. Perhaps I'll leave that one sleeveless....hmmmm.

Finally something finished!

It has been a while since I was able to post. Too busy, you ask? Well, yes and no. I just did not seem to get anything finished lately, but I do have a lot of projects *nearly* finished :-)

This dress was made for an irish dance recital. It is not really a re-fashion, but it is all handmade. We have several of these red dresses for our group. The girls of this group are in their teens and have been growing a lot since we first made these. So, we had to make some new ones and re-fit some older ones. This made me try out a new concept: a two piece ensemble. The skirt and top are separate, so that with future growthspurts, we can more easily adjust skirts that are too short and tops that need more room. It will also be possible to swap skirts and tops more easily within the group.
The sleeves were cut from an older dress that was too small. They are not perfect, but they did the job.
The underskirt is also separate and simply lining fabric with a ruffle of tulle attached. I think it enhances the "fairy-like" quality these dresses have. It also helps hide the fact that some skirts are too short :-D.

I also have 2 wrap dresses that I need to finish off. They only need...sleeves. (I do hate setting in sleeves....)

Sewing together is so much more fun!

My friend Jiska and I decided we needed to start sewing together. This was quite a lot of fun as Jiska had almost never sewn before. We had bought this flowery fabric at the latest fabric market and really wanted to make a wrap dress from it. After searching a few pattern magazines we found the right (simple enough) model and went for it! It was really nice going step by step and explaining why you do something a certain way. I had almost forgotten how much I have already learnt in all those sewing years!
We started in the afternoon and after much talking, chatting, some tea, more chatting and finally some sewing we got the dress finished 'round eleven at night. And doesn't it look cute!
My boyfriend commented it looked like a "granny dress" (don't you just love guys?) and we think it might be the effect of the color of the flowery fabric. We're thinking about spicing it up a bit by adding some colorful ribbon around the collar/neckline and around the hemline and/or shortening the sleeves into cap-sleeves to make it look 'younger'. Please leave your thoughts about these ideas!

Oh, and I will make myself an exact copy of this one, as we bought 6 meters of the fabric! :-D

Lovely lilac top

I had a yard of fabric left from the pants and really wanted to do something with it. I have been wanting a wrap shirt for ages. I have been looking at all the women wearing them and they always look so nice, romantic and cute! I don't know why I never made one...(ow yeah, that is right...I did make one a while ago but it kinda sucked...that's why). I guess practice makes perfect :-)
I might make something like this again, but then a real full wrap. Perhaps also with a blouse collar on it. But that is a whole new project...

Pants!

Well, the title says it all...I made pants! I am really happy with the way they turned out. I made, or to be more precise, *tried* to make pants before and they never quite worked for me. I needed more pants for summer and I chose a lilac linnen for this model. It closes at the side with a zip. No pockets, just darts in front and back. So, a really, really easy model to try out the pattern. I did have to change the crotch a bit. Apparently I have no bum, or not the size of bum that comes with this size of pattern. I have finally figured out how to adapt for that and I think I will now try another pattern soon. I still have loads of jeans and other fabrics left....

The knitting bug bit me

Every knitter has to start with something simple like a scarf...and so I did. The first one in the previous post was easy enough and I thought I might want to try my hand at a more difficult yarn. I chose a really soft and fluffly yarn in blues, that is quite popular for scarves these days. I really love the way it turned out and it gave me a good idea on how to work this type of yarn. It is short, as I wanted it to be (I already have enough "winter" scarves) and this is perfect to keep the neckline warm in and around the house whilst not getting long, loose ends in the way when working.
I love the yarn so much I might try and make a sweater from it, but I am not sure if I am brave enough to try! :-D

Off the wagon...

Okayokay, I fell off the wagon:



I just had to buy some stuff at penneys in ireland. I mean, it doesn't get any cheaper than that!
To make up for it, I started knitting a nice shawl: