I Made It Monday: Green & White Midi Skirt

In honour of Spring starting tomorrow I wanted to make a new midi skirt. (any excuse, right?!) 

When I saw this gorgeous green and white stripe online from The Remnant Warehouse I knew it was just what I had been looking for.  I've wanted a striped midi for a while and I simply can't resist green.

As you have come to realise, I have a thing for midi skirts (see here, here and here).  I just love them, they are flattering, girly and easy to make (see here).

It won't really warm up here for a few weeks so I've teamed it here with a cable knit jumper (sweater for those who don't speak Australian) from Tommy Hilfiger that I've owned for many years.

I see myself wearing this skirt with a simple white tee and sandals for summer and am looking forward to it!

Photos c/o my talented 3 year old daughter!



Forgive the selfie, my photographer quit on me!
At least you can see the outfit details!

 

I Made It Monday: 1963 Shirt Dress

If you follow me on IG you would have seen this dress in the making!

I used a 1963 vintage dress pattern which had belonged to my Great Grandma Mabel, with some modifications.  I altered the sleeves slightly, added side seam pockets and modified the collar a little too. 

If you haven't worked with a vintage pattern before, let me tell you they are tricky!  They are unmarked and have a cryptic series of holes punched in them to denote different things.  Made slightly harder was the fact that this pattern had some pieces missing and my Great Grandma's bust measurement was about 33 cm (approx13 inches) larger than mine (I missed out on those genes!).

I wanted to make this dress because I love shirt dresses and my Great Grandma would have worn ones just like this.  I used vintage glass buttons handed down from Nona (my Husbands Grandma) and the belt loop comes from her too.  However, and I hate to say it, I don't love it on me.  I love the dress and the gorgeous Japanese cotton from The Remnant Warehouse, but on me I feel it's... meh.

I hope it grows on me, because I want to love it!  I just think the loose fitting shirt does strange things for my shape.  Is it just me??  Maybe.  I'm sure once it warms up (the east coast of Australia is forecast to have the hottest, or one of the hottest, summers on record) a loose fitting dress will be appreciated!

 

 

Having a bad face day!

 

I added pockets, I just love pockets!

Styling Boyfriend Pants 4 Ways

These pants were a happy mistake! 

I ordered them online from Old Navy for my husband, he's had previous pairs, but these were way too tight in the legs for his muscular thighs... like jeggings too tight, and that's not a good look for a man!

No free shipping or returns when you live in Australia!  So I kept them. 

I love the relaxed boyfriend style, the slight drop crotch (they are for a man!), the 36" inseam and the colour is perfection! 

For reasons unknown a woman can get away with wearing men's clothing but eyebrows sometimes raise if a man is wearing something made for a woman.  Obviously cut and fit is different for the genders, but if you find something you love & it fits you well it really doesn't matter if it's "male" or "female".

Enough about my thoughts on gender specific clothing... this post is about my new pants!

Just a proud Mama note: all of these shots were taken by my 3 year old daughter!  Forgive some of the creative angles!



I've offset the pants with a lace tee (from Big W, on sale for $1), leopard belt (made by me)
& some red heels (old Steve Madden)



She went for a bit of an action shot here, but you can see the detail of the lace &
leopard belt.
Still can't believe I got this top for $1!!!



More of a casual look with flats from Target and a tee from Mix Apparel
(on clearance at Coles) for $2! 
I've been on a roll with the bargain tops!

Being repeatedly told "Mama, you look so BOOOOtiful" does not get old.  Ever.



Another action shot!  My daughter was standing on a milk crate!

I'm trying out the half tuck.  Don't know how I feel about it. 
My head got cut off here, but hey, she's 3!

This pink gingham shirt (made by me) is the softest crinkly cotton, it's FAB! 



Then my photographer got distracted by a bird...



Wishing I'd cleaned my sneakers before photographing them... oh well, this is real life!

If you follow me on IG you'll have seen me wear this Lee Cooper shirt a LOT. 
I love it, it's old & really soft.  Paired it here with canvas sneakers from Target for an everyday casual look.

Photos c/o my wonderful & fabulously talented 3 year old daughter 
(typical overly proud Mama here!). 
Hubs may be out of a job!

Raid your husbands closet or when next shopping check out the men's department - you may just be surprised!

I Made It Monday: Mum Bum Fix

Mum Bum, Long Bum, Flat Bum... whatever you call it there seems to be an interesting phenomenon plaguing women after a certain age.

Or so I thought.

I had long observed that "older"(... ahem, probably the age I am now!) women seemed to have grown much longer backsides.  Why?  How did that happen? 

Then last year my mother in law gave me a pair of her old jeans, I tried them on and OH NO! I had Mum Bum!  Whereas I am sadly lacking in the curvy derriere department (curvy anything really) I didn't wake up like that, I swear! 

Then it dawned on my.  It had nothing to do with the backside in the jeans, but everything to do with the placement of the pockets.  The pockets were so high that they gave me Mum Bum!  Well that just wouldn't do. 

The jeans were so old, soft, faded and worn that I wanted to turn them into distressed jeans (see here) and thought I'd just wear long tops.  However, as I'm unable to leave anything alone I was determined to rid these jeans of Mum Bum... and it was really easy!

I simply unpicked the pockets (there were no rivets) and moved them down.  After studying my favourite jeans, I noticed that the pockets sat just above the curve of the bottom drawing the eye to your actual bottom, not some random lower back/top of buttocks region.

When sewing the pockets back on I simply followed
the original lines of stitching

These jeans were really faded, as you can see, leaving a shadow of the Mum Bum pockets but as these were distressed jeans I didn't mind & thought it added some interest.

A really simple fix!  Goodbye Mum Bum! 

I never dreamed I would be posting a pic of my rear on the internet.
These are the lengths I'll go to for a DIY explanation!

Just make sure you sew the pockets back on at the same level or you'll look all sorts of wonky!

Have you noticed the Mum Bum phenomenon?  It's not just me, right??

I Made It Monday: Adding Lace Detail

I'm a girly girl who loves lace, floral and all things pretty!

I had been seeing tops with different lace details in the shops and thought "I can do that!".

I took an old knit top and decided to add the lace to the front; I simply sewed it over the existing shirt!

Here's how I did it:

1.  Take an existing top and make sure it is laid flat.  (I don't suggest using a tight fitting top unless your lace has the same amount of stretch as your top.)

2. Pin a piece of lace to the top following the side, bottom, neck & should seams.  Cut lace close to the line of pins.

3. Sew lace along line of pins; ensuring you don't sew the back of the top to the front!

4. Trim any excess lace to give a neat finish.

 

 

Apologies for the bad mirror selfie;
 life & bad weather got in the way of proper photos!

 Ta da!  From boring to fabulous!

I liked the look of the raw edge of the lace, however if you want a more polished look I suggest making a narrow hem around your lace before attaching to your top.

You could (and I probably will!) make variations by adding lace only to the shoulders, or giving your top a lace yoke, or sleeves, or back. The possibilities are endless!

I Made It Monday - 50's Inspired Pants, self drafted

This week I made pants!

I have made a number of skirts, dresses and tops from self drafted patterns (for my non-sewist readers: self drafted means you make the pattern, it's not a purchased commercial pattern) however I have never attempted fitted pants.  I thought pants would be too tricky.

A lovely lady from my knitting group gifted me her 20+ year old Sure Fit Designs kits (they are still available, and I'd recommend them!) so I thought I'd give pants a go.

I love the 50's style high waisted cigarette style pants (sort of a jegging with a back zip!).  However, being tall it's hard to find them with a long enough rise (crotch length) - the tall girls know what I'm talking about!!

I used an inexpensive stretch denim to make a wearable muslin (sewing code for: wearable but okay to make many alterations on & junk if it all goes horribly wrong!).  After 4 fittings and rounds of alterations I was happy with the end result.

I was unsure about the high waist but they are so comfortable!  No muffin top to be found! 

Wool top: Country Road (old) / Pants: Made By Me / Shoes: Old

Photos c/o my wonderful Husband

What have you made with a self drafted pattern?