Craft and Quilt Fair 2013

Purchased from Dairing and Suzy Hausfrau

Yesterday I ventured into the Sydney craft and quilt fair for the second time in 20 years.  I was only 11 the first time I visited the show and remember thinking how naff the whole fair was… filled with old people who made things I dreaded getting for my birthday.  HOW TIMES HAVE CHANGED! Crafting has evolved – or I’ve evolved into a nana!

Now Craft is Cool and yesterday I found myself falling in love with knitting, crocheting and quilting. There are a number of artisans who are bringing these handcrafts into modern times and inspiring people like me to take up crafts I would normally avoid. Considering myself a sewer I’m more comfortable with the sewing machine dressmaking but the ladies at BeBe Bold, Teresa Dair and Bernadette from the Knitters' Guild NSW have converted me to pick up needles and hooks.

I went a bit nuts with the Sashiko kits from BeBeBold as I have this vision of Sashiko napkins at my next dinner party.  I also fell in love with Teresa Dairings modern take on knitted garments and accessories and loved the unique fibers that Dairing use in their creations. My credit card also got a work out at Can Do Books (every craft book ever written) and I missed out on some beautiful double gauze Japanese fabric (perfect for a blouse) from Kelani fabric.

Wish me luck with my newfound crafts and if anyone knows how to accrue some extra time in the day for me to complete these projects please contact me and let me know!

 Book and Elathong and Conchiglia necklace by Teresa Dair

 Sashiko kits and Japanese linens from BeBe Bold

Lace Shorts - Inspired by Sincerely Jules (Blogger)

I’ve been inspired by the styles of blogger Jules from http://www.sincerelyjules.com/. I fell in love with an olive green and black lace skirt outfit that she had on and decided I needed to whip up something similar (see above image).

Using some non-stretch lace I had at home, I bought a gold zip and some stretch poplin for the lining. I’m so used to putting in invisible zips that I had a lot of trouble putting in this standard zipper (a bit of unpicking involved and a couple of you tube videos got me through).

I cut out size 6 but it was a little too small around the hips so I just reduced the 1.5cm seem allowance to 1cm.

The pattern didn’t have lining but due to the sheerness of the lace I had to put some in. I used cotton because I find that standard lining in summer is too hot and sweaty in Australia and cotton is much more comfortable.

It’s a really simple pattern and if made without the lining would only take 4 hours to make.

Simplicity "Project Runway" Mini Dress

I fell in love with the cotton Brocade before I decided what I could make with it. It's been sitting a home for a while so thought I'd pair it with some black linen to make a mini dress.

This mini dress was made from Simplicity pattern 3507 from the "inspired by Project Runway" collection. I used a black linen for the bodice and facing and then used cotton brocade? style fabric for the main section of the dress. I used the brocade scalloped edge as the hem. To do this:
1) I measured the exact length I wanted the dress before cutting
2) Lined up the paper pattern for the skirt part of the dress so that the hem would be sitting on the scallops.

This dress does not have lining.

I cut out size 7/8, but it ended up being a bit big. I’d recommend tissue fitting the pattern first before cutting to ensure a good fit.

I’m planning on wearing the dress as a tunic in winter over the top of a turtle neck and as a dress in summer.

Handmade Leather Jacket... by me!

the finished product!

My leather jacket is finally finished after months of pattern making, adjusting, cutting, sewing and finishing.

It’s been a great adventure. Leather is beautiful to work with… a nice change from the slippery slide sewing of silk or nylon. Leather stays put and doesn’t require the finer finishes of softer or sheer fabrics.

I used a combination of patterns for this design. Starting with inspiration from this Muubaa waterfall jacket mink. I then used McCall’s pattern M5937 to give me a basic shape. I incorporated a block pattern I’ve made previously to give me a close fitting sleeve and made many adjustments on the dummy to get the lines I wanted. It’s lined in a matching colour and facing was done in the same leather as the front.

Leather was sourced from NSW leather Co. and I needed about 5 skins to complete the jacket, costing about $120 AUD.

I think I’d change the collar if I re-made it, but for the moment I’m content with wearing it the way that it’s turned out.

Ox

jacket in detail

Launch of STUDIO2103

Design Detective Diary has now launched a sister blog to house a collection of projects for the craft minx. I wanted to have a location that would catelogue a range of inspiring and contemporary creative projects in video and step-by-step format for people who like to create. Whether you have 1 hour, 1 day or 1 weekend I hope that STUDIO2103 will have a project to satisfy your creative hunger.

19 days ‘til Christmas!

Ok, so I’m starting to get a little obsessive with my studio space and I’m burring myself in lots of projects. On the weekend :

- I padded out my dressmaking dummy to the correct size (to ensure perfect pattern fit every time!)
- finished my first “block” pattern to create a template for my own designs
- started this simplicity pattern (using white lace)
- Finished another Christmas garland for the house.

The paper garland only took me about 1 hour to make. The paper is from spotlight (currently on sale for VIP members) and I used a Lincraft hole punch.
To make:
- punch out 3 circles of contrasting paper (I did 31 x 3 circles for my garland)
- stack 3 circles on top of each other
- pull 10 cm’s of thread through the machine before you start to sew
- sew a straight stitch right through the centre of the 3 stacked circles then keep machine sewing with no paper for a couple of stitches, then feed another 3 circles through and stitch again down the centre. Repeat until all circles are sewn.
- Leave another 10cm’s of thread at the end for tying.

Great Christmas project for those of us running short on time!

P.s. This is a pic from the weekend of myself with our sewing teacher Letty and some of the lovely ladies from our class - I'll miss them over the Christmas break!

One organised studio = one super quick DIY skirt!

I love the floral skirts that are gracing the pages of fashion mags this season so I thought I’d make my own!

This skirt was made in 3 hours. I found the fabric at Lindcraft for $14 per metre and I only needed about 80cm. Essentially, it’s just a rectangle with shirring for the waistband with a tie!

Supplies:
Material (my fabric was 145cm wide so I only needed just under a metre)
Shirring elastic
Lightweight interfacing
Cotton

Simple steps

1) Measure the size of your waist and double it to get the fabric width you are going to use (I used an existing skirt to figure out my size)
2) I wanted a waist band that would sit up so I interfaced 10cm for the waist band
3) Wind the shirring elastic onto the bobbin
4) Shirr 4 rows of elastic where you want the waist to pull in
5) Sew up the back seam which should give you a circle and let your skirt take shape
6) Make a tie – mine was 6 cm wide. I gave the tie ends mitered edges and I finished with a top stitch.
7) Hem to desired length
FINITO!

P.s. On Saturday I found a perfect storage unit for all my crafting supplies at Bunnings ($190) – for more info check out my facebook fan page…..

How to combat post-holiday blues - make a dress!

I'm back from holidays and reality has certainly kicked into gear. The memories of our 6 week adventure have already given way to the mundane tasks of everyday life!

To combat my post-holiday blues I've thrown myself into sewing and anything crafty. This weekend I finished my first fashion project that didn't involve following a pattern!

I drafted the pattern (with the help of my sewing teacher Letty) from a picture I found of a Sportmax dress using a simple t-shirt template as the base. I had the silk and cotton lying around (fantastic to finally find a use from them!) and after a few mistakes and amendments... here it is! I think it turned out ok for a first attempt? What do you think? Here's the orignal sportmax dress

Sew Exciting !!!

My life has changed. No longer do I need to struggle to cut, sew and press handmade outfits in the living room of our one bedroom unit, I now have a studio space 100% dedicated to my creative explorations!


Project numero uno – plaid trench coat

Stay tuned for progress report...

A Stitch in Time

I find craft activities very therapeutic… Channeling creativity through your hands and out of your fingers tips in the hope that the end result will be a master piece.

I’ve been taking sewing lessons for 2 years with Letty La Rosa, a larger than life character who calls a spade a spade (watch out if you don’t do your home work!).

A couple of my weekend projects are pictured below. These simple projects only took a day to put together, just in time for a night out on the town!

Missoni style knit skirt

Black wool soft jacket

I’m planning to enter the Tessuti awards “Vintage Little Black Dress competition” with the following pattern used for inspiration. If anyone else is a keen sewer, details of the Tessuti Awards and categories can be found at http://www.tessutiawards.com.au/

A great place to start your sewing inspiration is a fabric store, so listed below are my favourites

1) The Fabric Store, Surry Hills http://thefabricstore.com.au/ Sourcing fabrics from both local and international designers this place is a fantastic destination for quality fabrics.

2) Tessuti Fabrics, Bondi/Surry Hills/Chatswood/Sydney http://www.tessuti.com.au/Beautiful fabrics from all other the globe. They buy from over 30 leading European, Australian and NZ designers including Chanel, Prada, Miu Miu, Akira etc. You can always finding something unique and the Sales Bin is a treasure box of goodies!

Image courtesy of http://www.tessutiawards.com.au/

Letty La Rosa teaches sewing one Saturday a month from her house in Forestville. There are 2 spaces available this semester so if you are interested in attending lessons drop me an email kellymcort@yahoo.com.au