January Plans and Resolutions

I am enjoying being on Holiday at me Sister's house right now. Very relaxing hanging out and shopping. Had a great time spending up big at Myer the other day. I used to travel a lot for work and so I had a lot of Frequent Flyer points. Having no inclination to travel anywhere, I decided to trade them in for gift vouchers. Much better value in my opinion!

I did get some Barbie clothes finished, but I just wasn't happy enough with the quality to give them to Ava for Christmas (silly, I know). She got a few Barbie's for Christmas and has become obsessed with them. I guess I will have to get stuck back into the sewing when I get home.

I have a couple of big sewing goals for January. I want to enter the refashioning contest on Pattern Review. I also want to enter the UFO contest. No time like the present to get the pile down. Mainly because I really have nowhere to keep it all! I'm not exactly sure what is in the pile, but I know than qualifying items include:

• Two dresses for Ava
• A dress for me (might need to loose a few Christmas kilos for that one!)
• A winter coat for Ava (which I am hoping she will still fit)
• Can't think of any more, but they are definitely there!

I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Barbie Pants

I made the first Barbie outfit yesterday, a pair of pants. I used offcuts of a fabric that I had cut for a dress, but not sewn yet. Its nice to learn a fabric's bad points before you sew a proper outfit.

For instance, this fabric burns really easily, which is why one leg is now shorter than the other. Good thing they only took 30mins to make.

Now I know that Barbie is quite old now, but elasticized pants? Surely not! So today I am making her a pair from Simplicity 4702 with a proper waist band and even tiny little patch pockets.

The mailman came

Is it shameful to admit that I ran out to the letterbox as soon as I the postman's motorbike this morning? Well I did and I am so glad, all my patterns arrived!



Two new patterns from Simplicity. The second one is a reissue of an old pattern. I was just finishing up the bodice sloper for Barbie when they came, but it will be nice to do some straight forward patterns.

This pattern I got off Ebay. I couldn't resist. I have no immediate plans to sew it. But hopefully one day will.

Okay, I'm off to get busy on the Barbie clothes. Not long until Christmas now!

UFO's, Barbie and a growing obsession

My darling sister has been pressuring me to write a blog post. Trouble is she wants me to post because she wants to see what I have sewn. Well, I'm too ashamed to take a picture of my pile of Unfinished Objects, suffice to say its nearing the 10 item mark and there is no good reason why any of them aren't completed! :o(

So onto item two, Barbie. I love Barbie, I pressure Ava to love Barbie and finally she is coming around. So now I want to make Barbie clothes. But nice ones, not the dartless tent dresses we made when we were ten. Ohhh, I thought, what a great way to practice drafting, I'll make my own patterns! Well at some point I realised that I may get the slopers done by Christmas, but certainly not a whole wardrobe, so I ordered two Simplicity patterns. While waiting for said patterns, I did manage to get Barbie's skirt sloper done. Drafting instructions are from vintagesewing.info

I did start by using the instructions from Helen Armstrong's book, but I soon discovered 4 darts at the front and 4 at the back was just too fiddly for Barbie. These instructions from the 40's suit Barbie's tiny waisted figure a lot better too.

The uneven hip seams are due to my questionable sewing rather than the pattern. My machine just didn't want to behave this morning, might be time for a service. This skirt has just two darts at the back which give it a lovely shape.

And there is a picture of the pattern with enormous seam allowance (just to be safe). I have tried and tried, but I cannot draft on paper, I must use a computer! The best bit is when I want to test a pattern. I just tack some polytrace onto a sheet of A4 paper and print straight onto it. Its great for making sure what I am sewing is exactly what the pattern says.

Lastly, my growing obsession, patterns. I realise I might never sew the patterns I am accumulating, but I love them all the same. We went down to the local Op Shop yesterday and these ones are my favourites out of the ones I came home with.








I think they are all from the 70's, except the last one, which is from 1951. Now I know the 70's aren't very exciting for most people, but I was born in 1984, so I consider them quite cool. Plus at 10c each, sometimes I wonder why I don't just bring the entire basket home from the shop!

In the mail I am waiting for a pattern off ebay and my Barbie patterns. But the mailman doesn't love me today...

Patterns - Old and New

I have been busy accumulating patterns this week. I am getting ready for a big Spring/Summer of sewing. In another 8 weeks or so I will be at my goal weight (I hope) and an entirely new wardrobe will be in order! We'll start with the new patterns






The first dress will be made with this fabric (mail order from spotlight)


And here are some patterns I picked up op-shopping.


I am making the cape and pleated skirt for Ava as we speak. I will put up some photos when I am finished. Resisting the urge to maker a matching vest!

Do I need a Steam Press?

I was browsing through the junk mail on the weekend when I noticed that Aldi have a steam press that starts selling this Thursday. For $179 (Australian, which is practically the same as American now anyway) this can be mine. But questions remain;

• Do I need it?
• Where would I put it?
• Would the money be better spent on something else? (like fabric)

I would love to hear from anyone who has one and uses it regularly. Personally, I hate ironing. I meticulously press everything when sewing, but whether my Husband gets an ironed work shirt depends entirely on the day! He does know where the iron lives...

The strawberry jacket is coming along well. I am setting in the sleeves right now, which I hate. Its not like I've never done it before, I just don't enjoy it. I know the more I do it, the better they will get. Its a shame really. Ava was wearing an adorable navy and red outfit today and the jacket would have looked perfect with it.

New Look 6239 - Bah!

I am annoyed with this pattern. It is an easy pattern, the construction is easy, but the pattern is atrocious. (Harsh words I know, but I'm in a bad mood) I wanted to get this pattern done before Mixie got here, but I have now I have to wait to fit it on her. As you can see in the photo the band of the top is meant to sit snuggly under the arms. But like the last New Look pattern the ease is way too much, so that when I try it on (and I am bigger than her) It gapes under the arm. On top of that, if you follow the guide for where to place the strap you would end up with them falling off your shoulders every two seconds. Basically I am having the same problems as the two people who have reviewed this over at Pattern Review. Once I have finished this, I am done with New Look patterns. No wonder they were on a two-for-one sale at Spotlight!

**End Rant