Thrifty finds: Vintage orange dress and fabric...

 

 I found this raw silk vintage dress in a second hand shop recently.  It's super-bright and so nicely made with all those pin tucks and details even the inside edges are nice - hand finished with invisible thread.  It's a little bit big, so I might take in the back darts a bit, but for now it works with a belt and, until the weather warms up, tights and a cardi.

I've also had some great op-shop fabric finds over the past few weeks:

A couple of meters of red, white and green  printed cotton/cotton blend that has a slight shine to it.  Might make another simplicity 2444 with this one.  About 2m of yellow synthetic crepey fabric - more yellow than it looks in the picture, and 1m of each of some really lovely medium weight wool - a soft grey and a plaid.  I can definitely squeeze a pencil skirt out of each piece but I might try to do something more creative and combine the two.  Not sure yet.

I also stumbled across some summer weight fabrics - a blue cotton with a gold/tan stripe running through it which might be good for a a tunic or simple, Japanese style dress, a neutral linen which is destined to be cushions for the school craft stall, some lightweight turquoise blue cotton and my favourite of the lot, 3m of beautiful iris printed silk.  Even though this last piece cost me the grand sum of $3.99 I'm kind of scared to cut into this and I want to use it for the right dress.  Maybe this one? Suggestions welcome!

Absent but not idle....

I've lost my bogging mojo a little over the last month.  Not sure why, there has been plenty going on:  getting the garden ready for spring; planting seeds; finding out new and awesome ways to bake bread; and lots and lots of sewing.  I even went to a sewing meet up in the city at the weekend which just about everyone else who went has already blogged about except me.

Maybe that's just it.  There's been a bit of everything so I haven't been sure what to blog about.  I guess I need to decide and just get on with it.  So, here goes.   Here are some of my recent sewing projects.  I'll get on to the garden and bread stuff next.

This is a Cynthia Rowley dress (Simplicity 2406 ) in some op-shopped man-made fabric, probably polyester. I just loved the print though and it seemed to be asking to be made into something with an Obi-type belt.  Without the belt this is just basically a big sack and looks terrible but with it is rather flattering and easy to wear (although due to the unbreathable fabric, probably not on a boiling hot day due unless I want to sit on my own at work)

It was very easy to make. I cut a size 10, eliminated the zip and used slightly thicker elastic in the arm casings.  I also avoided the peep-hole back - not a good look for a work dress- by shortening the back facing piece.


Front. Skirt is a bit creased from wearing it all day.

Back



Pleats and button on the side

Pockets!

I also finished the skirt that I started way back here, also from a Cynthia Rowley pattern (simplicity 2155) and made from an remnant donated by my cushion-making neighbour.  Free skirt = yay!  I got kind of stuck on the pocket/invisible zip combination and the pattern  instructions were extremely unhelpful "put right side of zip to wrong side of left skirt and sew the pocket shut" %#@&. Anyway, after Leith's very helpful comment "not to over think it"   I ignored the instructions and figured it out, adding a button instead of a hook and eye and some green lining for the pockets.   I love this skirt, even though MMSTL thinks that it is " a bit poufy".  Never mind, I got lots of nice comments when I wore it to work and it feels great on.  I might attempt the dress version next, maybe in a black linen.

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