If you sew, you will know how expensive sewing materials can be especially when it comes to fabric. I've written about sewing on a budget before and one point I will continue to share is that bedsheets make amazing cheap fabric alternatives if you find them at op shops. Thrifted bedsheets are one of my … Continue reading Sewing a Dress Using 1970s Bedsheets and Blackmore 8673
Even though it's not quite autumn yet, I'm already thinking about my winter wardrobe. I suffer from seasonal depression no matter how much I try to convince myself I don't. I tend to become a true homebody in winter and barely leave the house so although I dream of a cute vintage winter wardrobe, I … Continue reading Vintage and Retro Style Sewing Patterns for A Dapper Wardrobe
Most people know the Easter bunny as a magical bunny that delivers chocolate eggs this time of year, but here in Australia, we have a magical marsupial known as the Easter Bilby. A bilby is a desert dwelling marsupial with long bunny-like ears that's nocturnal, adorable and very much loved by all Aussies. Come Easter … Continue reading Sewing an Aussie Easter Bilby Dress
I always like to dress up around Valentine's day as it gives me a chance to embrace all the red and pink clothing colour combinations in my wardrobe. For those of us to love to sew, Valentine's day is a wonderful excuse to sew up some garments a little more romantic or heart inspired. If … Continue reading Vintage Valentine’s Inspired Sewing Patterns
It's the start of a new year, which means new and exciting swing projects! I always have delusions of all the sewing projects I will complete in time for a holiday and then become grossly stressed when I can't complete them all. In early January, I was heading to Bali and before I knew it, … Continue reading Sewing Pattern Review: Simplicity 8654 (and Butterick 6354)
When you first start sewing with vintage sewing patterns, the pattern envelope may seem a little odd, confusing and pretty strange to read. Don't let vintage sewing envelopes put you off, once you learn the basics, they are informative and easy to understand. After sewing for a few years and learning how to read vintage … Continue reading How to Read a Vintage Sewing Pattern Envelope
Fashion comes and go and sure enough, if you bag up all the clothes you have in your wardrobe right now and put them away for a few years, they will eventually come back into fashion. When I was first learning to sew many years ago, I wanted to make a babydoll dress but make … Continue reading Sewing Pattern Review: Butterick 6682
Well here we are again, tackling pattern Butterick 5982 for the second time. Back in April, I made Butterick 5982 using an Indian embroidered cotton and although I loved the pattern and the fabric, the darts ruined it for me, they looked like sad, flat saggy nipples and I just can't stop being bothered by … Continue reading Sewing Pattern Redo Review: Butterick 5982
It's been a rough year and as much as I had plans to sew some epic Halloween projects, I honestly just want to crawl into bed and snuggle up with a cup of tea and a Ghibli movie. That's when I realised what the greatest sewing project for Halloween would be; pyjamas. Cute, comfortable pyjamas … Continue reading Sewing Vintage Halloween Pyjamas Using Vogue 5725 from 1962
Earlier in the year, I tested out a sewing pattern that produced one of my favourite dresses which I'm embarrassed to say I wear almost weekly. The pattern in question is Simplicity X Lisette 1419 and it contains two dresses with different collar and sleeve options as well as a jacket; on my first attempt, … Continue reading Sewing Pattern Review: Simplicity X Lisette 1419 but Make it Halloween
Tis the most wonderful time of the year when we can get cozy in our homes, use pumpkins and leaves as decorations, watch spooky movies and absolutely everything smells like vanilla and cinnamon. Ah, Halloween time; oh yeah, we need a costume! Unfortunately this year, my usual October of cosy crafting and sewing times has … Continue reading Sewing Patterns for Vintage Halloween Costumes
This year, I am attempting to curb my spending so I've been shopping my sewing stashes when it comes to new sewing projects. Until I saw some of the new re-releases of original retro patterns that Simplicity put out, mainly R11333/ S9464. It was in my shopping cart faster than I could say "oh my … Continue reading Sewing Pattern Review: Simplicity 9464 / R11333
So. Many. Gussets. As it's officially winter, I thought it's a great time to whip up a few warmer dresses and focus on patterns with long sleeves. I'm honestly not the greatest with sleeves and have no idea how people make them fit perfectly onto the bodice whereas I always end up having to put … Continue reading Sewing Pattern Review; Butterick 5605
As the year goes on, I am learning and getting more and more comfortable with true vintage sewing patterns wether they be digitised or the actual original envelope and pieces. We have only made two true vintage patterns which were vintage Simplicity 8398 and McCalls 5142 both of which come from what is known as … Continue reading Vintage Sewing Pattern Review: Style Print 1028 Pinafore
Whilst visiting my family in Europe a few years ago, I was chatting with my aunty who mentioned she had a box in storage full of ribbons collected by my grandmother. She asked if I wanted to see it and of course I said yes and the next day, there it was on the dining … Continue reading Vintage Sewing Pattern: Simplicity 4343 from 1962
Not all sewing project go smoothly. Have you ever started a project and you can tell from the get-go that it's just not going to work out? This is exactly how this project started. I was looking through my more modern sewing patterns that I was gifted when I first started sewing; some have been … Continue reading Sewing Pattern Review: Cynthia Rowley X Simplicity 1873
At the time of writing this review, it's currently May and I've had a huge Endo flare up that landed me in hospital and I've been recovering very slowly. To hit a snag in my sewing groove has thrown me for a loop and with so many creations made in the last two months, to … Continue reading Sewing Pattern Review: Retro Butterick 6318
Setting up a sewing room really gave me a chance to go through all my sewing related things and make space for them in a way that's logical and organised (my sewing space being a pile of storage boxes was a pain and I'll never go back to that). Going through my patterns, I came … Continue reading Sewing Pattern Review: Retro Butterick 6175