Showing posts with label Buying fabric. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Buying fabric. Show all posts

Tuesday 26 March 2019

Not enough fabric for my pattern - what now??


Last year a new, and rather lovely, fabric shop opened up in Myaree, Perth. It is called Woven Stories Textiles and stocks a stunning array of ethically sourced hand woven, hand dyed and hand printed fabrics for sewing and quilting. Being a bit short of money of late I was very restrained and chose just 1 metre of one fabric - this indigo dyed, hand printed cotton.



As we were in the middle of summer, I was hoping to make a simple dress to wear on the hottest days. I needed a pattern that didn't use much fabric and decided on the Eucalypt Dress by Megan Nielsen. I can't remember the width of the indigo fabric, but it was just not quite wide enough to fit the pattern pieces on. Hmmm....


I hunted through my scrap drawers and my stash for a fabric that I could use as a contrasting panel and all I could find was a tiny amount of cotton that I had dyed with indigo a couple of years ago. The cotton had a pattern cut into the fabric and was a good match in colour and rustic-ness (!) for my main fabric. However, there was too little contrasting fabric to use as a panel, so I cut it into uneven rectangles and made a panel with offcuts of my main fabric. I hand stitched around each piece with embroidery thread as an extra little detail.


I had just enough to make contrasting bias binding for the neck and armholes and for a strip around the hem of the dress.



I decided to lengthen the dress slightly more than the original pattern and have a straight hemline.


So there we are - the print doesn't match down the centre due to fabric restrictions, the contrasting fabric is fraying where it was pre-cut and the dress is very rustic and imperfect - but I love it. I adore indigo-dyed fabric and this is so floaty and comfortable to wear. I'm so pleased I was able to think of a way to squeeze this lovely, simple pattern on to my special fabric.

Tuesday 29 January 2019

Xerea Dress - Pauline Alice


A while back, a lovely sewing friend gave me a gift voucher for Tessuti Fabrics. One of the things I bought was this Italian designer, stretch denim, panel print called 'Water Wheels' (now sold out). It was $49 for the 1 metre panel, which is rather more than I usually splurge on fabric, so I just got the one panel with no idea of what I would make with it.


I eventually settled on an old favourite pattern - the Xerea Dress by Pauline Alice. When adding this link, I wasn't able to find the pattern in the online shop. I hope it is still available as it's a winner. I have made this pattern a couple of times before and I still wear the dresses a lot. I chose the View A shift dress, but left it sleeveless.


I had to think carefully about cutting this dress. I only had one metre of fabric and the bold print could not be ignored for matching purposes. The large size of the 'wheels' added another cutting challenge as they needed to be centred. In the end I cut front and back pieces with the skirt section slightly narrower than the pattern piece so I could fit them on the fabric with the wheels in the right place. The side panel and internal pocket pieces were cut from a very dark grey ponte. I just squeezed the yoke pieces on and I added black piping between the yoke and main dress pieces for interest. I hemmed the dress with black bias binding as it seemed to need a line of black to balance the colours.


I didn't get an exact print match at the sides, but it's acceptable and seriously, this fabric is so stunning who's going to be looking at the side seams except other sewing people?!


I adore the colours and print of this fabric and the stretch denim was perfect for this style of dress. I do realise I have a target on my stomach, but I give not one hoot.

I was so pleased with this that I wore it on Christmas Day and will certainly be wearing it much, much more.



Tuesday 18 August 2015

Two remnant tops - a Nettie and a vintage raglan


For me, no visit to Potter's Textiles, in North Perth, is complete without a good rummage through the remnant bins and the scrap bags. I especially love the $5 scrap bags, which contain a lucky dip of fabrics, from small rectangles, to pieces big enough to cut one side of a t-shirt from. The array of colours, fabric types and patterns is very inspiring for piecing together and creating a unique look. There are some lovely knits in the bags and sometimes even a lucky piece of silk. You might remember the blouse I made with cotton scraps, mostly from Potter's, a while back.

My scrappy blouse (She has a Mannish Style)
Anyway, I had some fabric that needed using so I got cracking and made some winter tops. Side note: I was watching 'The Bletchley Circle' drama recently and they said "Let's get cracking". It made me wonder if that phrase originated with the codebreakers. I must look that up sometime.


The first item is not exactly a top, but a bodysuit. A Nettie bodysuit. I wasn't sure if this would be a useful item, but it turns out that it is. I like to wear it under winter dresses to keep extra cosy. This is made from a Potter's remnant, a very stretchy and slightly transparent wool blend. I went up a size after reading several reviews and made a size 12. I think this would have been wise with a less stretchy fabric, but unnecessary in this case. The crotch is a bit loose. Not my crotch, Nettie's crotch. No, I'm not going to show you. 


I had almost, but not quite, enough fabric for the Nettie. Undeterred, I rummaged in my Potter's scrap shoeboxes (perfectly sorted by fabric type, of course) and emerged with this small, striped bit of knit. I cut the lower ends of the sleeves from the striped piece and sewed them to the main sleeves before constructing them.


I quite like the stripy effect. It goes well with my Vogue 1313 dress. I have tried this Nettie with pants and my close-fitting Jade skirt, but the panty line shows, so I'm keeping it for wearing under dresses.


My second remnant top is this one, a raglan sleeved jumper from a vintage pattern. I was all ready to leap on to the Linden bandwagon when I decided to have a quick look in my pattern drawer. I found Style 3253 that I had bought in an op shop and forgotten about. Perfect!


The sleeves were a bit billowy so I just trimmed them down.


This was super easy to make. I used two matching pieces of stretch velvet from two different scrap bags for the front and back and cut the rest from some black ponte from the stash.


This has been such a useful top since I made it. It's not too heavy, so is comfortable under a jacket, or great on its own on warmer winter days.


I love those $5 scrap bags!


Wednesday 22 July 2015

Fabric shopping in Singapore

Last week, we had a family holiday in Singapore. It was mostly all about sightseeing and family fun, but I did manage to drag the boys along for a spot of fabric shopping.

I had done a bit of research before the trip, but my best resource was a blog post by Sue from Fadanista.


Finding ourselves in Little India early in the holiday, we passed the odd fabric shop and alterations guy sewing on the street in between shops selling phones, fruit, flowers and more phones. It was very lively.


However, Mustafa's on Syed Alwi Road was where I was headed. This shop was an experience in itself. To say that you could buy anything there would not be an understatement. There were floors and floors, packed with people buying everything from pills and potions to designer sneakers. I wouldn't say it's cheap, but probably the prices are slightly lower than elsewhere in Singapore. The lower basement (B2) houses a huge fabric store. One side is filled with rolls of fabric, mostly polyester (below).


Then another section has lovely cotton shirting ($8-26/m) and Valentino suit fabric (didn't see prices)! At the time of writing, Aussie and Singapore dollars are worth about the same. One Singapore dollar is worth about US$0.73.




I didn't buy anything there, but it was fascinating to look around.

Following Sue's recommendation, we spent a morning on Arab Street. This road is lined with little shops selling silk, cotton and lots of dazzly sequinned fabric. At first glance the shops all look similar, but each does sell a different selection.


I poked about in a few shops, while owners looked rather desperate for me to buy. The best shop I found, although I didn't go in them all, was the Mahaco Silk Shop. The man in there was very friendly and helpful. The silks were beautiful but, at $48/m I didn't buy any.


This wall was covered with folded pieces of handprinted cotton. "All handstamped, not machine", the owner assured me. They were beautiful and I bought some for $15/m.



Arab Street is not just for fabrics. There are some lovely Turkish lamps, rugs and ornaments to tempt you, as well as a few cafes for the boys to wait in. One street back from Arab Street, on Victoria Lane, we found a lovely pedestrian-only road with a little market and fabulous Turkish restaurants along it. We had the most delicious lunch there at outside tables covered with blue and white Turkish tiles.





My last stop, also recommended by Sue, was Chinatown. The fabric place took quite some finding, but was worth it. The textile shops are housed on the first floor of this building, People's Park, above the food hall. Confusingly there are People's Park buildings all along the road and this one is set back away from the road.

I'm 90% sure it's here (below) where is says 'People's Park Complex Food Centre'. Mind you, I'd walked up and down the road so many times by that point I wasn't quite sure where I was!


Here's an idea of what it's like inside, lots of little open shops with different selections of fabrics. There was a huge range here and the fabrics appealed to me a lot more than at Mustafa's. The prices were reasonable. I bought some lovely Irish linen for $13/m. I could have gone mad, but restrained myself. It's also worth checking out the haberdashery shops on this level.


Again, there are plenty of eating places for weary boys!



Phew, that was one big day. The whole family enjoyed it though as there was plenty to see other than fabric. After Chinatown, we walked the short distance to Clarke Quay and relaxed with a Singapore sling! Note that these are around $9 each during happy hour at the Clarke Quay waterside restaurants. Better than $36 each at the Raffles!


So that's it for the fabric shopping I managed to squeeze in. I will just mention Universal Studios for anyone planning to visit with their children as I found it difficult to find the information I needed for our visit there. You can buy tickets online but need to print them out. We bought tickets at one of the many tourist information centres dotted around the city. Tickets from there were a few dollars cheaper than at the gate and included $5 food and shopping vouchers. It also eliminated queueing at the gate on the day. Get there at opening time (10am) to beat the crowds a bit. We went on a summer Thursday when local children were at school (I think Friday is a holiday, so probably busier). We headed straight for the big rides where queueing times were 5-15 minutes. After less than an hour the queueing times were 40 minutes. You can buy an Express Pass at any retail store within the park for $50 (single use) or $70 (multiple use). We bought three of the $50 ones for the four of us as I don't like roller coasters. The rides are printed on the back and are crossed off by the operator as you use them. I would recommend these to avoid long waiting times although, by mid to late afternoon, even the express lines had a 40 minute wait. A couple of times I used my husband's pass to go on the gentler rides with the children. The best place to eat is the food court near Jurassic Park. We had delicious prawn laksa for $12 each there. Don't miss the Waterworld show. At mid-afternoon we walked over to the Hard Rock Hotel and had a sneaky swim in their pool. We just walked in as if we were guests. It was bliss to cool off and relax a bit. There's a bar and snacks for sale at the pool. We then returned to Universal Studios for a while. We left the park when it closed at 7pm then waited an hour in the taxi queue. Avoid that if you can! We had a great day there and the boys, aged 9 and 12, loved it. The big rides were a bit much for my nine year old and certainly for me. I brought my knitting!


Friday 24 October 2014

StyleArc Lola pants and Patrones top (329 #9)


Some time ago I went to a fabric sale. It was a moving sale at the crazy workshop of an eveningwear designer. I've mentioned this sale before, but I haven't shown you any of the silk I bought - until now!

I'm not usually one to spend heaps on fabric. When I began sewing a lot for myself I was a uni student and did it to save money. Then I never really got past that 'sewing to save' mentality. However, I have been conditioning and training myself at various textile establishments over the last few years and can happily say that the money I spend on fabric and associated accoutrements is increasing in an exponential fashion! 

But I still can't resist a sale. And I don't spend that much on fabric reeeeeally (just in case Mr M is reading).


So anyway, this sale had lots of silk and, although I resisted the more expensive rolls of fabric in favour of remnants, I bought a nice selection. The added bonus was that it was cheap enough that I didn't feel terrified to use it.

First I made these StyleArc Lola pants. I used navy silk charmeuse with the non-shiny side as the right side. I didn't have quite enough to fit the pattern pieces on properly, so I added a strip down the sides, shiny side out. I had to piece the strip but it's not terribly noticeable.


I used the shiny side for the waistband too. I left off the elastic at the hem.


I love these pants. The fit is great, I think they are on trend with the stripe, they are super-comfy and the silk is gorgeous.

My sister disagrees, but I'm ignoring her. Here's me practicing the look I will give her when I show her the whole outfit!


So then, getting a bit carried away and running the risk of producing pyjamas, I made a silk charmeuse blouse and wore it with the silk pants! Don't mess with me girlfriend.


The blouse is pattern 9 from Patrones magazine No. 329, which was a lovely gift a while back from Katherine of Bloom's Endless Summer. I must ask her how her move is going.

Patrones 329, pattern 9.
Before I began sewing, I helpfully spent some time typing the instructions into Google translate. This was the result:


I was at a bit of a loss as to where to begin, but I noticed the 'drinks between aplomas' part near the end so did quite a bit of that first, ignoring the aplomas as they didn't seem important. After that, the bit about 'two necks in front and one behind' started to make more sense and I went from there.  


The neckline was the trickiest part and mine isn't perfect. I blame the drinks and aplomas. Luckily the slight asymmetry and odd hand stitch are not noticeable when worn, partly due to the gorgeous idea of the decorative bead, which also helps to hold the neckline in place. I need to tighten the thread holding the bead so it can't be seen. I did not add elastic to the hem, preferring to leave it loose.


So there we are, I'm dressed head to toe in silk charmeuse and I'm loving it! I wore this out last night to the opening of an art awards and exhibition where my Mum had a painting. I was elegance itself!


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