Black and Threads

My first attempt to make a jacket turns out fairly, but i wont be making anymore jackets in the near future because the time spent on it is too tedious for the working me.

Instead of having this jacket entirely machine-sewn, I chose to hand-sew the collar and hem of the jacket with purple wool thread. Take it as an additional spice to the bland dish.

A closer-up.

This baby costs me an entire week on production. Though no more jackets, Im starting on the pattern for my pinafore and french dress. Dividends from the government came at the right time when I need to restock my fabric stash.

Till next time again.

P.s. I hope this blog wont be entirely just on sewing projects. Hope to share more of (my) lifestyles and beauty addicts soon :)

Inspirations with Modcloth and Sewdaily.com

Inspirations are important to us seamstress and sewists, not just for designers and creators. There are tons of shapes and patterns of clothings out there, and often we include minimal details to add the special effects and individuality to the clothes we sew. Sourcing through fashion websites is what I do. Was looking through Modcloth for inspiration ideas for my next sewing projects, and Im determined to sew a dress after my tee-top and polka-dots.

I had a nautical striped fabric among my stash, and upon seeing this new arrival I was struck with the idea of doing the same pattern. Had initially forgo the idea of adding sleeve, but it looks just great otherwise.

Here comes another version with a big bow in front. Will it look sweeter with a polka-dotted bow?

Bow-tie obsession I have.

Spring is not yet over.

Visit them at http://www.modcloth.com

And next I was searching for FREE sewing patterns online. I have been drawing them hand-by-hand (tracing them out from pattern sheets), cutting out and trace-and-cut on the fabric. By printing out ready-made patterns I can save a step. Im a lazy fellow!

And I stumbled upon this website: http://www.sewdaily.com

Look for a section tab entirely on free downloadable sewing patterns in pdf format. Great for novice and starters as they are easy to sew and most important, looks fabulous.

(memo: Looking forward to add more fabric stash to my wardrobe, cost me a bomb!)

Stripey!

Often we do not want to look like a Christmas tree or walking lampost, thus we pick one items on our attire for stand-out purposes. It can be your skirt, your blouse, your accessories, or a dress itself. Been wanting to make more matches with these stand-out items, as well as accumulate for my working-attire wardrobe. A simple top with little details will do the trick. The fabric I chose was one black-and-white horizontal stripes which I bought at Spotlight for $14 per yard (very expensive, but its stretchy-cotton). Afterwards I spent almost 6 hours by copying out the pattern from the spreadsheets into copier paper (copier paper are A4 size, so I have to scotch-taped few pieces togetherz), cutting the pattern out, placed it on the fabric and cut along it, and sew the pieces together. Normally horizontal stripes will make the bodice of the wearer "fatter", but for this project of mine, it turn out to be airy as I had inserted triangular additional content by the sides, thus it focus less on the body shape actually.

Instead of a stitched-in collar, I made a stitched-out. This was actually a mistake :s

Im not a fan lover of tight fit clothings as my weight and size tends to yo-yo over the weeks, thus Im loving airy baggy clothes!

Will be venturing to make a knee-length dress soon, suitable for work!

(p.s. Im shy, to have the photos take in my face as well. But I will try to take it in next time XD)

Yellow and Polka-Dots

I bought a whole chunk of fabric for my future sewing projects, mainly sourced from Spotlight, Ikea and fabric shops in Chinatown. Overall, the best is Chinatown. You can bargain for prices to as low as $3 per metre. Varieties are the main attraction. Im so delighted at the choices I have there, and Im thrilled as I will be working in an office in Chinatown 2 weeks later as Accounts Associate. Imagine my favorite shopping place will be :) I wouldn't recommend Spotlight, unless you want to stock on some sewing patterns along the way and have cool air-con breeze while shopping. Another thrifted project of mine for this week:

The yellow based dress was thrifted from a off-shoulder dress which I bought 5 years ago, and sadly I did not wore it even once because it was hidden very deep in my closet. The polka-dot cotton was thrifted from a retro polka-dotted dress which is, well, too small for my size to wear it again.

Overall this baby doll is ranked as Novice level, you dont even need a serger. As I thought that the yellow based will be too bland, I added a pocket. I should have made the pocket bigger =x

Next project of mine will be a reversible cloth bag, and I have chosen black linen X flowery printed fabric as the materials. It will be a belated birthday present for my best friend.

Coming up: Flowery X Black reversible cloth bag!

(P.S. Im supposed to made a high-waisted skirt from the polka-dotted fabric, but sadly, not enough area to draw)