Subscribe

Echino Giveaway :)

Mon March 15, 2010 - 10:23 PM

I’ve wanted to make an apron out of the Echino Birdsong fabric since I first saw it last year. Once it arrived however I had a bit of stage fright. What if I messed it up? How could I ever forgive myself for wasting such precious cloth? And anyway – which pattern would I use? After volunteering to get a craft stall up and running at the kids’ school I pulled out some fabric from my stash, drafted a pattern, and sewed up a couple of aprons. After two successes I decided it was time to start on the real thing:

Let me tell you I was on such a high after sewing this apron. It only took an hour, I didn’t have to unpick a single seam, and it came out looking exactly as I’d hoped it would. Sewing can be so crushing when it goes wrong – but when it works it feels so great!!

If you’d like to sew yourself something out of a metre of this beautiful fabric (or if you’d just like to hoard it in your stash) then leave a comment and I’ll randomly pick a winner this coming Friday after 8pm Melbourne time. The winner chooses which colour. Don’t forget that to leave a comment you need to click on the title of this blog post (Echino Giveaway), fill in the form, and then wait patiently whilst I come along and approve it.

Good luck!!

Echino Versatile Wrap

Fri March 12, 2010 - 07:51 PM

Meet our new family members! Zoe is very excited about their arrival. She’s had to accept that there are no new babies and no pets making their way into this household – but by the smile on her face it seems that dressable dummies are a good subsitute. Check out the great curves on the mummy dummy (is it wrong to be jealous of a dummy?). Her brother tells me that it’s a bit freaky having life size dummies standing on the stair well – and he could be right. We’ll leave them there for now though.

You can see that the mummy dummy is sporting a Versatile Wrap made from denim with an Echino Peacock trim. I make changes to this pattern every time I make it (this is number 3).

I have replaced the elastic I put in the first version with darts across the back which look more stylish but don’t hold the skirt on quite as well.

This time I added a much larger trim to show of the Echino fabric but realised onced I tried to sew it together that the physics of sewing a large straight strip onto the bottom of a skirt made of trapeziums doesn’t really work. Next time I use a wide trim I will add it before I sew the skirt panels together (it works fine with the narrow trim written into the pattern).

I also add snaps to the front waistband of my skirt because I like my skirts to stay put as I climb in and out of the car all day. I put the snaps into the waistband before I sew it onto the skirt so that you can’t see them, but as I never wear anything tucked in it works just as well to add them at the end. And yes the ties are at the back…the first time this was by accident but I prefer them there as they don’t create bulk at the front under my t-shirt (they may create a little bulk at the back under my t-shirt but since I can’t see it this is only an issue for those who walk behind me).

If you’ve got keen eyes you may also notice that the girlie dummy is sporting some Anna Maria Horner voile. Oooooh ahhhhhhh…..stay tuned!!!

Around about 3pm...

Sat March 06, 2010 - 10:44 PM

We had a little bit of hail!

Guess who sewed something?

Wed March 03, 2010 - 09:46 PM

Yes I know – it’s shocking, but I actually sewed something. Much more significantly than that – I actually finished something! I was waiting for the special redhead in my life to model it for me but I figure it could be weeks before I finish something again so I better get on with it and get a photo onto this blog.

This is the Mamu Design Katrin pattern sewn with Alexander Henry Storybrook Floral.

And this is Zoe’s Build a Bear ‘Bunny’ modeling the doll’s size dress that is included in the pattern:

This is the first time I’ve sewn a Mamu Design pattern and I was really happy with the shape and fit of this dress – except that it was too short for my very petite little girl (hence the frill). The instructions are very brief – so these patterns probably aren’t ideal for beginner sewers, but the construction is not complicated, and step by step illustrations are available online to help. Believe it or not the doll’s dress comes in several sizes so I could in theory make a matching dress to fit Emma (except that the dressing the doll novelty seems to have already worn off and I foresee Emma making her way back to Zoe’s shelf shortly).

Feeling flushed with success I decided to whip Zoe up a red dress to wear to school to celebrate the end of Chinese New Year. Somewhere around midnight I put the snaps in this winter version of the same pattern:

These are the best action shots I could get….Zoe on the equipment:

And Zoe hiding behind a tree:

Ahh well – I tried!

New Farbenmix patterns!

Tue March 02, 2010 - 11:55 AM

I have just added five new Farbenmix patterns to the store. This time there is Valeska, a women’s skirt pattern which I am itching to try (now that my 5 year old is in school uniform 5 days a week I’ve finally started sewing some more things for me!).

If you’re into the matchy matchy thing there Uljana which is a child’s version of this skirt too:

The only catch with this set of Farbenmix patterns is that they are in German – not English – so if you’re a beginner sewer they’re probably not for you. But with full colour step by step photos available online these patterns are perfectly manageable for anyone who has a basic understanding of garment construction.

And really with patterns as great as this Eva cape don’t you think it’s worth giving it a shot?

I do!!

See more Eva, Valeska, and Uljana design inspirations!

P.S. If you like European patterns be sure to keep a look out for Ottobre magazines arriving soon!

Bird and Berry is back :)

Sat February 27, 2010 - 12:30 PM

I made no secret of this double gauze Echino fabric being one of my favourite fabrics ever when it first arrived in store.

Sometimes my love for a fabric fades after a while, but not this one. Nope – I sit on a Bird and Berry cushion and dress my daughter in a Bird and Berry skirt and still I would list this fabric as a favourite. So I was thrilled when a new bolt of the purple arrived with my latest Echino order. I would have been extra super duper thrilled if the red had arrived with it – but fingers crossed it will come with the next delivery.

I am still offering a free pdf skirt pattern with every metre of this fabric sold and have both the purple and the blue in stock (I will report back when the red arrives!).

Bettsy Kingston patterns

Thu February 25, 2010 - 05:03 PM

Looking for a fabulous gift for a baby girl you know? How about running up some of these:

The pattern for these gorgeous little ruffle pants is one of several Bettsy Kingston patterns for both adults and children (yes she does ruffle pants patterns for women!) which are now available from the store.

Super cute huh?

New Echino Fabric has arrived!

Wed February 24, 2010 - 09:53 AM

Have a look at what my friendly postman delivered to me:

Birds!!

Also some giraffes and elephants :) The 2010 Echino collection is printed on cotton/linen which is extremely versatile and makes great clothing, furnishing and bags. I have all those things on my list of things to make from this fabric(actually the skirt is already made!) but I’ll need to be quick because I’m expecting some other delicious deliveries any day now…