I made P a skirt skirt in just one afternoon. The only thing I'd do differently next time is use a lighter weight fabric (instead of denim) as the lining. My machine struggled with sewing the layers of denim.
I was inspired by a friends' post on Pinterest - on 'gathered' stitch. I've never done gathered stitch before (she was right -it's simple!) or made a skirt! I am pretty pleased with the result. The fabric is the one I used to sew my yoga mat bag from, from My Patch Fabrics.
While I was at it I thought I'd whip up a hair clip to match.
I remember my Mum's 'mending pile' as a child. It was a cane basket overflowing with clothes needing anything from a button to a patch to a new hem. Urgent jobs were done quickly but that mending pile was a vortex. You'd sooner outgrow the garment than have it fixed. I understand why. It just wasn't a priority because there were too many other things to be done!
The zipper on this skirt broke last summer and I hadn't got around to mending it until a few weeks ago.
I unstitched around the old zipper, paying articulated attention to the seams so I could be certain that I inserted the new zipper exactly as the old had been.
Repairing a piece of clothing is a treat, adding a new outfit to your wardrobe.
Thanks to hand-me-downs and op-shops our daughter doesn't really need more clothes. Who does?!
BUT over the weekend I had the urge to sew, so, sew I did! I have made a pillow case dress in the past but it turned out too small (I don't like following patterns... but I need to before I become more proficient).
It's a simple, 'airy' dress with lots of room for growth and perfect for summer.
There are so many patterns online for the pillow case dress but I used this one. The key is to have beautiful matching fabric. These fat quarters came from My Patch Fabrics.
Once I worked out how to make these I couldn't stop. I guarantee that once you've made one of your own (and realise how easy it is you'll be wanting to make more: small ones, large ones, pencil cases, toiletry bags, sewing tools, etc,.
After making one I realised I had a distinct shortage of zippers. None, to be exact. The local Salvo's volunteer pointed me in the direction of a sewing basket. I was somewhat disappointed until, after twenty minutes hunting through the fabric section, I came across a tidy box in a lonely corner full-to-the-brim with zippers: long, short, in-betweeny. They were all plastic too and the sort you'd find on tents or more heavy duty items.
These are the ideal gift for my children's friends. After all many of them have plenty of toys and I usually give them books. This year I filled them with pencils or textas. For fun I made a few from calico so the child could decorate his own pencil case!
