Denim Kelly Skirt N Megaphones Renfrew

After reading all the pretty blog posts on Megan Nielsen's Kelly skirt, I also jumped on the Kelly Skirt bandwagon. I had 2 metres of denim in my stash and decided to use it for my first trial. Megan Nielsen paper pattern is so different from the usual tissue paper styles and they comes in pretty envelopes with velcro closure and instructions booklet. Cute!



Big Brother Aidan with his hammerhead shark which we brought last wkend during our trip to SEA LIFE AZ. He loves sharks!

Sewing Pattern Used: Megan Nielsen Kelly Skirt size XS (was hesitanting between size xs and s as my waist measurement is in between the 2... Lucky I can still 'squeeze in the size xs... LOL. Next time I shall add 1 inch to the waist n skirting for more comfort)

Materials Used: 1 metre of medium weight denim, Mint colored thread for sewing and topstitching and white plastic buttons from Walmart

Changes Made: Shortened the skirt a lot (forgotten how much) and I did not follow the buttons placement from the pattern. I just estimated and draw out my own buttons placement.

Will I wear it? I love this skirt... The roomy pockets are great for walks around the neighbourhood with the kids. 

Overall this is a really great skirt with flattering cutting. And it works with a great variety of fabrics too. I will be making another skirt using linen from my fabric stash.

 

Next up is another comfy and cute Renfrew tee using Girl Charlee megaphones knit fabric. They are still available in their clearance section o! At a mere 3usd per yard, what a steal! I only got 1 yard of it and after this Renfrew I still got plenty left to make a matching tee for my boys:) 

 

 

Sewing Pattern Used: Sewaholic Renfrew Tee Size 4

Materials Used: Less than 1 yard of Megaphones knit fabric and remnant black knit from stash

Changes Made: I did not add the lower hem band as I ran out of the black knit. I just turned up the hem by 5/8 inch and zigzag the hem. (Lazy to change to twin needles:P) End up the shorter length of this tee suits my height better.

Will I wear it? Of course, I have been wearing my other 2 Renfrew tees at least once a week. Cos they are so comfy and I am a stay home mum, tees are what I needed. I had cut out another Renfrew tee in black and white knit. Should be able to finish it by next wk amidst other projects.

PS: I couldn't find my ball point machine needles and just went ahead using the normal standard needles for the construction, lucky everything went well... I keep misplacing stuff, should really tidy up and organize my sewing place before  my husband goes berserk!

 

Signature side pose...

The boys just woke up from their afternoon naps while I was taking the pictures. Smile!

 

Thanks for reading my blog! Feel free to leave any comment:)

Ashley

A Gingham Shift Dress n LA road trip snaps

 Sorry for the poor quality pic, too busy to take a nicer pic during our road trip as it is only a 2 day 1 night trip, we are practically rushing here and there.

Sewing pattern used: Butterick 4386 size 8
Materials used: Cotton red gingham, pink cotton broadcloth for lining, white rick rack trimmings, invisible zipper all from stash.
Changes made: Made a full lining instead of facings for the collar n armhole. Shortened the dress by 6" and it turns out a bit too short... Need to wear a shorts inside. I can still unpick my hand blind hemming stitches and lengthen the dress by at least 1" in future...
Worn on: Day 2 of LA road trip
Will I wear it again?: Yes! the materials I used are super comfy:) But need to lengthen the dress first.

The sizing is still quite loose though as u can see from the pics, especially the bust areas. If I ever gonna use this pattern again, I really got to do a lot of fitting changes to it...

 

 

Next is some of the pics during our LA trip.

We drove to LA from phoenix on sat morning and back on Sunday evening.

 

 This is a snap of the scenery on the way to LA. Rocks hills and desert...

 

And the thousands of windmills! A very pretty sight!

 

Happy Aidan got a new Jake and the neverland pirate lego set added to his collection:)

Beautiful houses OTW to Griffith Park. There's even castle like houses there! If only we are that rich...

Can't really see the Hollywood sign clearly because of the beautiful sun set.

Really high up here and freaking COLD! Only baby Allen is in jacket. The rest of us are shivering, and Aidan got super grumpy because of the coldness.

 

Baby Allen walking around like a big boss.

 

Family snapshot. Thanks to Christopher for helping us take the family pics!

 

We also went to Hollywood and Santa Monica Pier (Really beautiful night scenery) and outlets for shopping sprees... But the pics are taken using phones as our hands are full with the boys. Had a great time and a lot of headache moments when the boys got super grumpy and kicked out a fuss. Looking forward to our next road trip :)

 

Thanks for viewing my blog...

Ashley

 

 

 

 

 

 

A peter pan collar top, a failed shorts and a pretty quilt

As mentioned in the previous post, I had finished working on a peter pan collar top using New Look 6193 sewing pattern. I made version C using black polyester as base and white poly poplin for the contrast collar. All of them have been in my stash since dunno when... (Another great stash busting project) At first, I wanted to add the short sleeves to it, but I only have 1 yard of the black poly blend, so end up have to make do with the sleeveless version. This pattern asks for self made bias tape, which I am super lazy to follow, so I used white ready made bias tape that I had in my stash as well.  I cut a straight size 6 and the only alterations I made is to shorten the bodice length. And after I am done with version c, I find it a wee bit boring in the placket area, so I added 3 buttons to it. Tadaa! It looks so much cuter with the buttons. This top is quite easy and it only took me about 2-3 hrs from cutting to finishing. One more thing great about this top is that: No ironing is needed! Yay! Will be churning out more of this tops in other colors and sleeved versions.

I am so in love with my new lip colour. Cover Girl Lip Perfection Jumbo Gloss Balm in Haute Pink. Thinking of getting more other shades to try out:)

 

 

 

And this green shorts I am wearing, is actually a wearable muslin I completed last week. The pattern for the shorts is from Japanese sewing magazine FEMALE that I brought years back. They are something like burdastyle magazine but their pattern sizes only comes in s, m, l and xl only. And their designs are those loose kinds so less dealing with fitting issues. Luckily I made a muslin for the shorts, cos this pattern is really too baggy and loose for me, as I am a 'buttless' person. I will cry if I had used my precious expensive stretch twill fabrics that I brought in sg to make into bottoms. This green twill fabric is a free gift from the Chinatown fabric store auntie. Only 1 yard of it, but since it's a free item, I dun mind cutting into it for this trial shorts. I used pink zipper for it as it is the only correct length zipper I had in my stash. In order to avoid exposing my pink zipper, I can only wear long tops with this shorts and most probably only at home ba .

Fake pocket flaps in green polka dots cotton:)

 

 

 Lastly, I finally finished a small hexagon table topper quilt for my friendly neighbor. It's my official first try with hand piecing hexagon quilts, and the fabrics I used are a moda quilt bundle I brought back in Singapore and a blender bundle brought at walmart. Sorry for the poor pic quality. It was taken using my iphone and I already gave away this darling. Next quilting project: A hexagon piecing queen size quilt and a round table topper. When will I ever finish them?

 

 

Thanks for viewing my blog:)

Ashley

 

Sewing Inspirations

I Love this red polka dotty shirt dress worn by Taylor Swift. The copycat in me is screaming for mi to make one since I already had 3 meters of red polka dots cotton fabric in my stash for a long long time waiting to be turned into a beautiful dress:) I went to dig through my sewing patterns n found a simplicity pattern just for it. And use some remnant red broadcloth for the waist sash and placket.

 

 

Simplicity 1880

 

And this cute peter pan collar top with black lace trimmings at front, back n sleeves. I haven work with chiffon before and dun think will try it any sooner, so I think I will use back cotton or polyester blend fabric. I got this new look pattern and had already made a sleeveless black French maid alike top. (Will take nicer pics and blog about it at a later date)

 

 

So many projects... But so little time... I still got to start on my remaining 3 sets of cosplay costumes tailoring jobs. 2 dresses and 1 gown... should be able to get them done in time if I dun keep coming up with new projects to sew for my wardrobe:P

Oophs, my noodles gonna overcook le, BYE!

 

Cambie V2

I like this pose the best... Think will keep repeating this post in future photos. And I finally bothered to put on some make up for this dress.

 

Yup, I finished my second cambie dress, and this is a super duper sweet version. I still cut a straight size 4 but shorten the front n back bodice by 1 cm. For the fit wise, it is still a wee bit loose, I can't really bend forward without exposing myself. Think gonna wear the safety tape if I wanna wear this dress. I got this lovely flower motif gingham cotton from fabric.com at around 5usd per yard. Its' really sweet n a bit to the stiff side. Maybe after a wash the fabric will soften? Yes, I know I should prewash the fabric before I start but my laziness got to me instead...

As it's my second time sewing this dress, it took me only around 3 hrs to get everything done. But I forgot to add interfacing to the waistband this time round, blur me, luckily the fabric is still a bit on the stiff side so.... let's hope this dress will survive her first wash then... I really love this cambie dress pattern, maybe I should make another in black with gathered skirt and laced straps? And I will try cutting a size 2 instead for the bodice and taper to a size 4 for the waist. Confession: I got a fat waist, it runs in my family... N the worse thing is: almost zero bum.... Sobs... Even after delivering 2 boys, it makes no difference to my bum...

I got dry eyes, so very seldom I will wear my contacts... Love my Red specs and sorry for the blurriness.

Trying to pull my big boy to take pics with mi. Snap!

C the flora motifs? They are really sweet. Maybe I should get more of this fabric but in different colour for other blouses or dresses in future.

 

After finishing this 2 cambie dresses, I suddenly remembered I have no matching shoes for them. I only have a comfy black flip flops and a black sporty pumps. Thinking of getting a summery wedges to wear with them... Any suggestions? Feel free to leave your comments here:)

 

*Runs off to work on a shorts muslim*

Polka Dotty Cambie Dress Muslim

Yup, I have finished sewing my cambie dress and already starting on the full skirted version:) The dress is so pretty and lovely! I used a cotton polka dots fabric that I had in my stash for a long, long time. And for the lining, a lovely beige light weight poplin also in my stash.

I cut a straight size 4 and did no alterations to the pattern although I did hesitant and thinking of shortening the bodice initially. The fitting of the dress turns out still ok, although I had to remove a whole 2 inches off the straps...LOL. I am still a stranger towards pattern alterations for a better fit. Maybe I should go read out more on the fitting alterations:) And this is also the first time I did the blind hem stitching by hand in the correct way, all thanks the recent 'Threads' magazine. Overall I love this dress, especially the sweetheart neckline and the cutie cap gathered sleeves.  The pattern instructions are easy to follow and the construction process is also fast:) Took me about 5 hrs to finish this dress.

I am already starting on my next cambie dress, this time I try shortening the front and back bodice by 1 cm. Hope that will help with the fitting issue. Any suggestions on what alterations is needed for a better fit?

Pardon my sulky smile... LOL! And that's my little boy going crazy behind mi:)

I really like the pockets! C, my hands just can't get out from them...

I haven really ironed the back down properly... Sorry for the wrinkles. Yup I have a bit of hunchback problem as well. And the back bodice is a bit too long for me.

Got my hubby to help me snap this pic...

My first blind hem hand stitching! You can't c the stitches from the front at all.

And even blind hem stitching for the lining too! One question: Did I do the hemming of the lining correctly? Should it be turn inwards like the outer skirt or like this as shown in pic?

Perfect matching at the first try of invisible zipper insertion! So happy that no unpicking is needed. Yay:)

 

 

Online Shopping, Renfrew Tops & A Costume

After seeing the many pretty versions of Renfrew Tops and Cambie Dresses from sewaholic pattern, I couldn't resist getting one for myself. And of course some fabric shopping from fabric.com as well since it is just a click away. After 5 days of waiting, they finally arrived at my doorstep. That's what I loves about living here. Shopping for fabrics online! Back in Singapore, whenever I need to get some fabrics or trimmings, I need to travel 45mins to 1 hr on public transport to get to Chinatown or Spotlight Orchard. So far! And if I dun want to waste the precious time and took a 30 mins cab there, the taxi fare to n fro costs me around 40SGD. So expensive! LOL! So now, until I get my driving license here, I will make full use of the internet shopping!

Here are my loots. Black poplin-3 yards, white poplin-3 yards, floral poplin-3yards, daisy gingham-3 yards, yellow quilting cotton-3 yards and black lace- 2yards, 1 bundle of quilting cotton. 2 snug hug snug seam tapes and Sewholic sewing patterns. Renfrew tops, cambie dress and alma blouse. I always get my fabrics in 3 yards as to make sure that if I ever want to make a dress out of them, I will have enough of them. How about you? Normally where do you shop for your fabrics and how much yardage do you purchase?

On to my beloved tees, they are both made using leftover knits from cosplay costumes I made last time. Yes, finally stash busting! And I think I still can afford to squeeze out a few more Renfrew tops from them:)

 

 Version 1, round neck tee. I couldn't get a twill tape from Walmart for the shoulder seams, and I am too inpatient to wait for another round of delivery, so I used grosgrain ribbon for the seams. LOL! A bit too stiff, but nobody will notice it anyway. The instructions are very easy to understand and everything is clearly illustrated. Thumbs up to Tasia! After I am done with this tee, I straight away cut up my second version, the v neck version in a violet knit.

I like this v neck version more as it makes one looks slimmer... Both of this tees will definitely get a lot of wears. I am wearing this violet tee now:)

 

I used twin needles to do the topstitching, looks a lot more professional:)

Thinking of making it in stripes... Hmm any recommendations for online fabric shop selling nice knit prints?

 

Lastly, I also finished up on another tailoring commission by Amaya. It is quite simple actually, just a normal white shirt, OL style skirt and a striped tie. I made the shirt using light weight polyester fabric and the skirt from a heavy weight poly blend. I have made many shirts before but this is the first time I tried sewing sleeves plackets and open cuffs onto them. And for the tie I used cotton poplin and glued black ribbon strips on it before I start to sew up the tie.

 

so sorry for the wrinkles, I am just too busy (lazy) to press them properly before taking pics.

A message to Dear Amaya, I will be shipping them back to my sis place tml. Will take 2 wks to arrive in sg k? Thank you and hope you like them:)