A couple of Linen Makes from Stash

 People I have four cupboards of fabric. I am not proud of this triumph of dopamining over common sense.

At least they are well organised, with 95% of them on a card, all lined up on shelves like books so I can quickly spot what I have.

Anyway between Christmas and New Year, I always make a few garments. I love being able to just focus on sewing! It's heaven! And this past summer (Southern Hemisphere remember!) was no different.

Many moons ago I fell hard for this linen at M Rosenberg and Sons in London, online. It's so mad! I bought it for Constance, but when it arrived it was so loosely woven and drapy, I couldn't use it. That means I get it! The dress I based loosely on one I bought, with some adjustments.

I mean, what's not to love about this fabric? It is a gingham but printed, and it swirls and gathers up ni the print like a disrupted table cloth, which is I think the point. Everything from baked goods, lobsters and playing cards are depicted.

It is a little see through and I bought some white linen to make an undershift for it, but I've just been wearing it as is in the heat of summer. It has washed and worn really well. I frenched and flat fell the seams to manage the loose weave. A keeper.

The other dress I mostly made in summer but only finished it in April in time to wear it to Emcee a wedding. I bought the deep grape purple linen on sale, and paired it with a Kaffe Fassett printed cotton from my stash. I felt it needed this little pop of colour. I love this style a lot - it's the Hanbok Dress, but with several changes including a horizontal bust dart to ensure the waist stays level. 

Please excuse the derpy photos, this one being in the Wharepaku (loos) which at least had the big mirror needed for full length selfies. Worn here over a burgundy top as it's a bit parky here.

I adore linen!!! It's cool and comfortable and ages so gracefully. I hope I am ageing gracefully, albeit being rarely cool, or comfortable.

Under my cutting table is a box of fabrics that I have concrete ideas for, and these came out of it. In it is still two lengths of plain linen, one a glorious lipstick red, and the other a beautiful fuchsia pink. I know what I like! I hope very much to be making them up over next Christmas break, if not before.

Up to my old costuming tricks!!

 People, my new costuming tricks are all about dressing my alter ego. But my old ones were costuming for theatre shows. 

So, recently I've done a tiny bit of costuming. Basically I am a sort of shadowy resource who has tried, and sadly failed, to remain anonymous at a local community theatre. 

My contributions are generally millinery, but a couple times I've busted out something more. Here's a breakdown:

Pride and Prejudice:

This is how it all began. I got wind of a production and offered to insert headgear, as it always gets overlooked but I think it is more important than dresses for setting the scene and tone. (grr, looking at you, Bridgerton)

All of these hats are made from a range of cheap hat types - bowling fedoras, bowlers, molded plastic "top hats" you name it. I now keep a supply on hand just in case. They are useful as they have the crown to brim join already made.

Full bonnets are no good in the Gryphon theatre which has steep lighting lines so they'd cast shadows on faces. So these are all back of head types.

Lady Catherine de Burgh's extravagant tall hat. She was wearing purple and orange so I figured, get in there and lean in on the crazy! It won an award for the best showstopper of the year!

A wee ruched velvet hat, and a shallow bonnet. That was the only straw hat I could find, hence the other solutions I found to the hat making process.

I think this is my favourite. No idea what I based it on! It has a lovely pleated lining though.

Another ruched hat with turban vibes and ostrich feathers.

A little cutie based on a very cheap white top hat. Silk taffeta with organza and fake flowers. It also has a gorgeous pleated lining.

Gabriel

Set in the Channel Islands during WW2 occupation, Gabriel the play needed a period credible brassiere. Trouble is, the wearer would have worn a binder style bra, not the dainty peach and lace ones we love to think of, so I decided stuff it, and built a pretty one on top of a modern skin tone bra.

For the 4 seconds it is on display, I think it would have gotten the idea across. Lightweight silk I overdyed with food colouring as it was a bit wishy washy, and chantilly lace from my stash also dyed with food gels.

 Persuasion

Persuasion just closed after a sell out season. A mammoth effort that was costumed from scratch. I was asked to make a bicorne,and  also ended up making a second, not shown.

This is made from a black $12 sombrero - I reduced the crown down, steamed it into shape, covered it in felt using Steamaseam, bound it with black bias then glued on authentic metallic trims. The metallic trim is too heavy for a machine and I knew the stitches would be super obvious from the back row. And no way was I sewing this on through all that nasty synthetic.

So, it turns out my lovely friend Janet was also cast in it and so I undertook to make her overcostume too. She doubled as Lady Russell and Mrs Musgrove. The show wasn't trying to be super authentic, but it definitely captured the vibe, I feel. Sadly my pleas to incorporate shawls and bonnets weren't taken up due to the seamless style of it all, no time for transitions - but I DID get headwear onto my friend.

The only thing I made in this image is the cap Janet is wearing (second from right) but don't you love the puppets for the annoying Musgrove Children! The rest were made by a local lady who is incredibly clever, and had a month to do nothing else. The things people do for community theatre...Anyway cap made from self stripe silk organza and a couple of other laces. The Dreamstress donated some lacy offcuts for this, thank you as always!

Funny, Janet is in the same position in this pic as the last, but this time as Lady Russell. I made her red overdress and turban. The fabrics are velvet and a heavy Indian cotton with metallic crewel embroidery. Everything Janet wore has come back to me and that dress is going to become a jacket at some stage!

And that's my foray into theatre costuming! I did assist with another professional production but I'm not spilling the beans on that one!

Sewing small projects

 I'm working on a couple of garments that need slow sewing, so to give myself satisfaction, I'm also doing some quick win projects too.

OK so with NZ in semi lockdown and mandatory mask wearing, the shop is selling them almost as fast as four of us can make them. I've made at least 25 for the shop, but I'm also making some for me and for friends who have specific tastes.

My friend who shares a love of Frida and Mary is getting three masks, these are just cut out so far but I love the so much!

As for me, I've made a couple with plastic stays going across and up/down, to try and create space to breathe. They are a bit beaky but I don't care. I LOVE this rose fabric

This one is a gorgeous ombre of fizzy bubbles and I love how it reads different colours on either side.

As well as masks, I've been feeling the cold footwise and find that socks bite into my ankles and slippers are all so synthetic they feel yicky.

So, I made some! Using the Twig and Tale Wayfarer Shoe pattern, I made these cuties. Outer is a pair of old jeans, lined with some Liberty cord, and the sole is suede. All out of what was in the house. They're just enough warm for the house in this early spring weather. They were so easy, I think I'll make some warmer ones for winter.

So there you go, small wins. 

I went back to the office on Monday, quite eerie with only about 20% of our team coming in. But it really has helped me to get my head back in the game. Swapping slipper for masks.

Sewing is happening chez iRon!

 iRonically, without using an iRon! This blog started out as a sewing one but meh, I don't get much chance. 

So, today I tagged out of work for the rest of the week and I'm sewing. This is the Adrienne Blouse by Friday Pattern Company. It's so utterly ridiculously ME, it's almost a parody. Red with black lace with red roses. Red red red.

 I am so in love. The red bit is fine merino and the sleeves are black net embroidered with red roses with a merino lining. VERY on brand. And that is just the beginning.

This current situation is sick making. Looking at what has happened in NSW with rampant Delta in the community only weeks after being Covid free, we may be in lockdown for at least another week.

Lockdown Level 4 here is no going out except for a walk in a mask, only supermarkets, pharmacies, petrol stations and dairies (corner shops) are allowed to open.

I am really missing my twice daily oat flat white.

The Watercolour Grecian Maxi Dress

I wanted to show you my newest make - from what I now call my Grecian Maxi Dress pattern, because it seems that patterns need names these days. and I can totally go with that! :)

I bought this fabric a couple of seasons ago at Arthur Toyes, which is sadly closing down soon. It is a soft, drapey cotton/rayon mix and it is a dream to wear. I lined it with cotton voile from Global-That-Was (must start calling it the Fabric Store) which was a hefty $16m. I did gasp, but Brooke the manager pointed out it is really good quality and you know what? She is SOOO right. Not all voiles are created equal at all, and this stuff is delicious. I can see it wearing really well, not pilling or getting out of shape, and helping my impossibly buttery rayon hold some shape too. But because it was pricey, I only lined it to the calf length and added a really wide lace trim to the bottom from my stash. Best decision ever as the fabric itself is so lovely against the legs...:) Funny though as the watercolour fabric was 50% off so it cost a lot less than the lining.
I am calling it my watercolour dress, even though it is about as watercoloury as the previous one, as used to illustrate the envelope I made for the pattern:

Left: Grecian Maxi pattern envelope, with original "As seen on TV" watercolour dress, now worn so thin I am reluctant to wear it!
This pattern I draped/drafted ages ago, and I made three dresses. The first was a mess, and I am remaking the bodice - more on that later. The second was the original watercolour dress as shown above. The third I have been living in, and never photographed. I will rectify this soon.

I also have another two dresses cut out, one in each style.

Tell me, is this a weird thing I do, falling for a couple of styles and just making them over and over? I find it difficult to come up with styles that suit my shape and lifestyle, and maxi dresses are so perfect for summer here, and for me, but a couple of people have pointed out they can't tell them apart hehe. At least I will now have a BLUE dress, and another one coming up not in red or purple or green too. (and yes, another one in red and green, I confess. At least I know what I like ;-))

Fabric Inspiration

Darling readers, I want to show you this fabric from my stash. I adore it - it has so many qualities that I love - floral, border patter, embroidery, black and white done subtly, cotton, crispy and cool - I LOVE it. Did you get that I love it yet? hehe
Recently a woman came into our shop - wearing the most stunning smock top I felt a physical twinge of clothing envy. It was a kurta/smock/tunic/salwa kamiz style, but made in a not very Indian border print fabric. The plastron yoke front was made of the border facing outward on each side of centre front, and it was just SO pretty.
I went into the shop where she bought it the other day and they no longer sell them. I've searched Pinterest and Google for a similar top but I cannot find an image. WAAAH!!!

Source J Peterman Catalogue

This is the closest thing I could find, in my all time favourite catalogue, J Peterman. I cannot buy their stuff as it is too teeny for me, but I adore the illustrations, the stories that go with the garments, and that sense of timeless glamour and international chic J Peterman captures. This is called their English Tunic, which is exactly what I am aiming for. Although this one is perfectly plain, it is very close to the sihouette/construction.

Source J Peterman Catalogue

This Tamerlane Coat is a bit of a red herring really as it's not much like my top idea, but I love it. Honestly, if you've never checked out J Peterman, I do suggest you take a look. It's like stepping back into Casablanca.
ANYWAY, I want to make a top like the one I saw out of my fab border fabric. If you can imagine it, I hope it will riff a bit of English country farmer, a hint of Vita Sackville West, a smackerel of Raj, and even a touch of Regency. 
I don't have a pattern, and though normally I would just wing it, I am concerned because the fabric only has one border, and as I am built on grand lines, I need every last centimetre of it to get around the bottom and along the yoke. So, I may toile a bit of it. I'd also like to look at adding maybe a little solid black, maybe a coloured print - I just don't know until I try really. This is going to be a bit of an adventure, and I thought you might enjoy coming along for the ride.
On a different note, I haven't sent out all my giveaways yet - I've been really unwell and have been doing the barest minimum - but never fear they will get posted this week. AND I received one that I will post about soon, promise! But if you ever get that feeling where the world is moving a bit fast to keep up with, I'm in that space right now. Still, the coughing is calming down, no more temperatures and I don't have to have a lie down after walking up the stairs so I must be on the mend! :)

Fabric-a-brac

What a morning! Today was the biannual Fabric-a-brac, Wellington's own stash rehash market. Sewists of all kinds take a table and onsell their bits and bobs - patterns, fabric, wool, trims, beads, haberdashery, leather, the lot. I reckon it is my fifth Fabric-a-brac, and the first time since my very first where I was only selling my own stuff. Even I cannot generate a whole table of unwanted stash by myself in six months!

My stall at 9am, before the public were let in. I'd already bought and sold fabric by then! Note the Elvis Christmas stocking draped on the piano behind my stall. More about Elvis later.

My stall at 12. I've let my neighbour encroach because I didn't have enough stuff left to even cover the table! and Elvis has left the building!
Elvis was a huge hit. My neighbour and friend Sue, bought him, but word had got out and someone turned up at my table to ask if she could buy him. I explained that I'd sold him to Sue, and we got him out to show her. The lady ended up convincing Sue to onsell him!
Anyway, I indulged myself just a little bit:

Gorgeous quality trims and wee rosettes from famous and fabulous Wellington designer Alison Blain whose table is my first port of call every time! The piece of poppy canvas was from my non-Elvis fancying side neighbour's stand. Enough to make a nice bag.

For the Embroidenator, a pile of dupion scraps in native NZ bird greens. She is making exquisite free motion machine embroidered birds for Christmas tree decorations. Not shown is a length of red/green shot organza and a whole roll of waistband lining tape for a mere $4!
Other highlights? I saw a young (early 20's) lass wearing a skirt in a fabric I remember buying in the early 90's, a strong and vibrant red and purple fabric reminiscent of Kaffe Fassett and Phillip Jacobs. It was very exciting to see it and it turned out that she had made it from a piece of fabric in her mother's stash. THEN, when I saw her with her sister and realised that her mother was a long lost friend I had bequeathed a huge pile of fabric to when I left Wellington, we realised it really WAS made from the same piece of fabric! Now isn't that just a little bit hilarious?!
A great morning was had by many - fabrics and bits found new homes and no doubt some will turn up again at future Fabric-a-bracs - such is the way of these things. As for me, as well as my small crop of treasures bought, I have a nice nest egg of funds to reinvest in long arm quilting, must haves and haberdashery needs, so I can keep to my zero budget :)

Zero budget for the Crazy hoarding lady

Last week after some number crunchin', soul searchin' type stuff, I was confronted with the enormity of the amount I spend on fabric. It is a lot. Two and a half times more than the figure I had generously guestimated.
So, before I turn into a crazy hoarding lady (yes well, some may say it is too late), I have gone zero budget. This means that I can only invest money I have earned from the supplies I buy into more supplies. So, income from crafting, stash rehashing and dressmaking is reinvestable. Income from real job is not.
I am cheating ever so slightly. Income from cupcakes is included, although cost of making cupcakes and buying cupcake supplies also has to come from the income.
It's been a week so far - an unusually profitable week as it turns out, and I am $90 up. Woohoo! And with Fabricabrac on Saturday, I should be even more in the black.
This is how I have justified buying three x one metre lengths of craft cotton and one x three metre length of silk chiffon today. Ahem. :)
Has anyone else ever tried any of this? I feel a little like I am abseiling here and some war stories would be comforting!

The Trophy Wife - unplugged

In my last post I described my quilting stash as a trophy wife. Well, here she is, all scrubbed and made up!

 MrC supplying his 6' 3" self as a point of reference. I've had a quick count and multiply and estimate there is 300 yards of fabric in these cupboards *gulp*. But all folded nicely and arranged by colour or theme, SO much easier to find things!

Half of my fat quarters packed into an enormous boot box I was given. It is straining a little, I hope it doesn't bust apart as it is so pretty! the rest are in other shoe boxes and baskets...

Here's the slatternly mistress. Unlike the prissy trophy wife, this stash (only partially shown here) actually delivers! It's a mess as these fabrics don't fold up and stack as crisply as the cottons. But I know what I have in here and the bottom shelf is all marked for stash rehashing.

Snow and trophy wives...

It's snowing here in Wellington. I am 46 and it has never snowed in my lifetime before. So many people are posting Christmas card photos on Facebook and on their blogs of back yards covered in white, snowmen of varying sizes and quality, trees crystalised, all that stuff.
This is a time when living in the city is boring! Our walkways are slippery and icy and the street seems to have missed the white out. So, I am at home, and after making a nice merino hat for a friend, I have been through my stash cupboards, refolding and reorganising my quilting stash into a pleasing sight again.
I have way too much fabric, but unlike dress and costuming stash, I find it really difficult to cull the quilting cottons. When I go through them I love each and every one, even the 'uglies,' but in very few cases do they whisper in my ear what they want to become. I have at least four projects auditioned and packed into baskets ready for I'm not sure what - possibly for the right inspiration of matching person to quilt? A few are definitely for tea cozies or other craft projects, and some I would wear in an instant except I only have a fat quarter or half yard.
No, I reckon my quilting stash is like a trophy wife. Pretty to have and admire, not terribly useful and quite expensive to keep up. But somehow it is compelling and I can't bear to part with it! ;-)

Something more girlie

Enough of kitchens! Just after Christmas I bumped into a member of my quilting guild who offered me a whole pile of bridal offcuts. I was up at her place before you could say "Alençon or Chantilly?" Frances doesn't know what pogey bait means but she knows all about the concept!
Anyway I came away with several plastic bags of laces and fabrics, some 40 years old, some as young as 20. I'll take some pictures to show yiz all soon... :)