Floaty Flower Power Banksia

I think this is my fifth Banksia top!!  Previous versions here, here, here and here. So sorry for another of the same pattern, but on the plus side you all get to see how easy it is to change this pattern up for different looks!

Can you just tell I love this pattern?  It is such a great basic for making those wardrobe staples that we all need.  Just to let you in on a bit of a secret, I have about three more currently planned so look out for those in the coming weeks.

This time I had an inspiration to draw from, this lovely top from Ruche. If you haven't seen their site, go check it out, they have some gorgeous stuff, but I think the postage to Australia would be a killer, besides I can copy/mimic right??

So as I said, I used the Megan Nielsen Banksia pattern as my base and made the following alterations:
- placed five pintucks around the neckline.  I didn't compensate by adding any extra width to the neckline as I find the top to be roomy in that area on me anyway and I normally pinch some of this out of the pattern
- sewed mini ric rack over the pintucks and around the collar
- omitted the placket (obviously)
- raised the shoulders by ½"
- reduced width of collar (I have always found this collar to be too large and flappy)
- I didn't need to alter the collar length to make it meet in the middle as the pintucks already took out enough fabric out of the neck opening

The fabric is a viscose from my favourite clothing store, Alannah Hill who make fabulous (but expensive) pretty, girly clothes, but also have a clearance store in Melbourne that sell the fabrics.  Whenever I am in Melbourne I make sure I go there.  This fabric is from last year's haul purchases.

I love getting good value out of a pattern - sort of makes up for the duds doesn't it?

PS - the offer is still there if anyone wants V1247 - free going to a good home?? Let me know in the comments.

MMM - the final days and a couple of new things

Well MMM has now wrapped up, and whilst I like wearing me-made each day, it turns out for the most part I wear at least one me-made item each day, taking a picture of myself everyday is a little tedious.  I apologize in advance for the pics that all have the same backdrop.  I am now back in Brisbane and it turns out winter is well on the way and it is now dark at 5.30pm so I can't go outside to take pics.

Day 20
A bonus for you - two outfits today! One a new one, still not sure how I feel about it though. The top is a Sorbetto (free download don't ya know!), and the skirt a simple dirndl.

That evening I met up with Erin of MissCrayolaCreepy for ice cream in Arroyo Grande.  I had emailed her for some fabric shopping tips and she suggested we meet up. "Hell Yeah" I thought, what a fun opportunity.  Of course we talked sewing patterns, adjustments and blogging all over the most delicious ice cream!  I had Strawberry with a chocolate fudgy ribbon and Erin had one called Motoroil, a super chocolate-y one!  Yum-o!  If you haven't checked out Erin's blog, go do it, she has some lovely makes and is currently hosting a Gatsby Challenge.

It was a little cooler and I wanted to wear a cardi, so I wore my Spring has Sprung Hazel.

 photo courtesy of MissCrayolaCreepy

 

Day 21

Off to LA in my I Feel Pretty Hazel.  Here I am rummaging through fabric at The Loft where they sell fabric offcuts by the pound, and when I say offcuts they were mostly 5-10 yards a piece! I bought 9lb of fabric - go me!!

Day 22
Guess where we went today (in Colette Sorbetto blogged here):

Day 23
Lunch at the Cheesecake Factory, wearing Tiramisu (appropriate perhaps??).

 

Day 24

We had a super long day as our flight was not until 11.45pm. We filled most of the time in an Outlet Mall for some last minute shopping. This is a new top, a variation on the Banksia by Megan Nielsen.

Day 25 - Ha - we totally missed this day on our flight home!

Day 26 - No pics sorry, I was feeling super average after our long overnight flight. I can't even remember what I wore!!

Day 27
My Buttons are Expensive Dress

Day 28
Hmmm, black photographs so badly, I have tried lightening the photo, but now it looks like my top is see-thru!! It's not, but it is printed with little charcoal polka dots that reflect the flash. The skirt is my basic black made last year and blogged here.

Day 29
Breakfast meeting today so I had to look presentable, wearing Vintage Vogue 9463.

Day 30
More black - what can I say, it feels like winter today and the colour seems appropriate. Merino ruffle top and BurdaStyle skirt.

 

Day 31
Working at home today, yay, in my Hollyburn skirt, look out for two more soon!

 

MMM Summary

So I really learnt about my wardrobe shortfalls this month, although perhaps it wasn't super indicative as I was away for most of the month and my travelling wardrobe is always different from what I wear day to day.  Not sure why this is, I guess the majority of my time is spent at work so I need work appropriate attire.  But being away made me really notice how many casual clothes I need to make. Tops and skirts will be the go before my next trip away, whenever that might be!! This week I have also noticed a desperate shortage of work appropriate winter wear. I have started on some of these items already and hope to blog them soon. 

 

Whew, so glad to not have to photograph myself everyday - that is hard work!!  How did you all go?

MMM - Days 6-10

So far Me Made May is going well but I am definitely learning my wardrobe shortcomings and where I need to focus going forward.

MMM is also really good for getting me to blog some of the items I haven't previously blogged as I didn't feel they deserved their own posts.

So, onto what I wore and some things I have learnt so far:

Day 6

Skirt - Kelly skirt 

Top - Coppelia Cardi by Papercut, to be blogged soon 

From prolonged wear, I have realised this skirt is still too big around the waist and I really should have used a stiffer interfacing to stop the waistband stretching further. I have already altered this once and am not super keen to pick it apart again...hmmm hot wash perhaps?? BTW - the picture is taken at our gorgeous B&B we stayed at in Kentucky, a historical mansion. 

Day 7

 

My Lorna Suzanne cardi blogged here.
I love this cardi, although the collar means I can't wear it with any of my Banksia tops as collar on collar looks weird. The three quarter sleeve also limits wearability. I still love the pattern though.
Psst...check out the brekky, yum-o, this is what we got served in the morning at the B&B!
Day 8

Top - Colette pattern Sorbetto Skirt - BurdaStyle Denim skirt
I love this skirt and wear it loads, it seems to go with everything and makes a nice change from jeans.
Day 9
 

Skirt - Kelly skirt again from above Top - Hole-y moly Banksia
Day 10
Ok, so this day I kinda cheated! We went to Mammoth Cave on this day and the caves are really cold, so I wore long cargo pants and a thick jumper, not made by me at all, but practical and warm. I didn't pack for super cold weather and so didn't really have any much warm with me, besides what if I got my nice me-made things dirty? So we walked a lot and exhausted when I got to the hotel I changed into my Pjs which I remembered I did make! Not previously blogged as I didn't fancy posing on the internets in my jammies, but you get the idea!

MMM - Days 2-5

So rather than do a weekly roundup as I don't know where I will be or if I will have Internet access I thought I would just post whenever I can.

Day 2

Colette Sencha blouse with jeans

Day 3

So this is how I look after 20 or so hours of travelling from Brisbane to Chicago - terrible! The top is my oversize top previously blogged here, it is super comfy for travelling.

Day 4

Sightseeing in Chicago in yet another previously unblogged Banksia.  This MMM is really getting through my unblogged items, yay!

Day 5

The "bean" sculpture in Millennium Park - very cool. Me in the same Banksia as yesterday and Burdastyle denim skirt.

Beige, bland...never!

My latest outfit is a vision of beige! This is not a bad thing I feel as it makes for two super versatile pieces.  I'm not too sure about wearing them together all the time, but for a classic summer look I think it works.

For the top I used the Megan Nielsen Banksia pattern, my TNT top pattern of late.  I really like the fit and it is easily modified.  As usual (for me) the armholes and neck are faced with bias binding.  I also modified the collar to reduce the depth, I ended up taking about 1.5" off the total depth, which with my narrow shoulders I feel works better, it's not so overwhelming on me.



The skirt is the Kelly skirt also by Megan Nielsen but with the button placket omitted. To do this I simply used the buttonhole markings as my centre seam and cut on the fold. I did not cut the back on the fold as instructed, instead I cut it with an extra seam allowance on the "fold" side so I would have room to put in a lapped zipper.  I am pleased with the end result although my fabric is stiffer than I expected and it creases like a mofo!  I will eventually make this in a gabardine or something that doesn't mind being sat on. 

I have noticed the weather starting to change so I have to start thinking about my autumn/winter wardrobe.  What are you working on for the new season? Do share, I am super nosy!!

Top 5 of 2012 - The Hits

Gillian of Crafting a Rainbow had this great idea to post up a bit of a summary of 2012.  What a great idea to review how my sewing has evolved over the past 12 months.

I only started blogging at the end of April this year, the blogging originally started as a way for me to document what I was doing and how I was progressing, but as a result I have met (virtually of course) an amazing bunch of bloggers and readers that are so supportive and friendly - so thank you all!

I have been sewing for many, many years although with many a break too as life got in the way at various times. This time around I seem to be taking it more seriously and making more of an effort with each garment.  Previously I didn't take much time to alter the pattern, I used to cut the pattern larger than needed and then took in various seams as required.  Now, I make the effort to cut smaller shoulders, do an FBA and anything else required to get a better fit. Of course this has resulted in garments I am much happier with and that I wear!

So starting with my favourite garments of the year in no particular order and not including a couple still to be photographed and blogged (these will possibly feature in next year's round up) .

1. My cotton shirt-dress, this is so comfortable and I wear it all the time.  It is great to wear to the office with some nice wedges, or to the mall with ballet flats.

2.  Then we have my vintage pattern blue dress made to wear to a wedding earlier this year.  I got loads of great comments like "Really, you made it? That's amazing. I wish I could sew." Funny isn't it, I am pretty sure most people could sew if they really wanted to learn.

 

 3. Kelly Skirt - I love this skirt, it is so versatile, dressy and casual depending on what I wear it with. Just a great wardrobe basic. Nuff said!

  

4. This photograph does not do this Banksia top or fabric nearly as much justice as it deserves, however this is a great top, it gets so much wear.  Made out of Marc Jacobs fabric from Mood in NYC, it is cool, comfortable and pretty. LOVE!



 

 

5. My Got the Blues jacket.  Of course made to wear with the dress above, however it goes with jeans as well, in fact it goes with lots of things.  I don't probably wear it as much as I would like, but I love the fit, the construction and the cute polka dot lining

 

 

Aside from these made for me items, I recently made these aprons as Christmas presents and the joy I got from giving these was fabulous.  I made these for a friend of mine and her two daughters aged 4 and 2. They love to bake together and they went down a treat.  I made the children's aprons with elastic around the neck and a velcro closure around the waist with the intent that they should be able to dress themselves.  On opening their presents, the kids put them on and started chanting "we match, we match!"  Yay - this is the kind of me-made present I like, one that is really appreciated!!
 

 

In the next couple of day I will post up the misses and my goals for 2013, but in the meantime, Happy Holidays!

Hole-y Moly Banksia

First of all, let me apologise for the quality of the photos, the weather was dreary and this fabric is sooo difficult to photograph properly.

Aside from that, check out my pretty new top!!

I used Megan Nielsen's Banksia pattern again (version 1 here) as it was such a great fit and easy pattern to use.  I cut a size 8 in the shoulders, graduating to a 12 in the hips and I shortened it through the waist since I am a little deficient in the height department!

The fabric is the Marc Jacobs cotton eyelet that I purchased at Mood in NYC recently.  The fabric is so pretty and I really wanted to show it off to its best.  I first sewed it up with an interlining because I was worried the eyelet holes were too big and possibly revealing, but this made all the eyelet detail disappear so I removed it all and the top isn't as hole-y (see the blog title makes sense now) as I had feared!

I altered the back pattern piece by adding a horizontal seam about 4" from the top and cutting the lower piece with an allowance to gather it. 

I inserted a faux placket and outlined it with two different trims, a light blue which picks up the light blue leaves on the fabric and a beige. The buttons are shell buttons.

I edged the neck and armholes with a narrow hem folded over twice.

Of course during these pics the rain started - I still don't understand Brisbane weather, 30 degrees and raining - crazy!

Again, this Banksia pattern was a dream to work with and I love how versatile it is for summer, winter, long sleeve, sleeveless, whatever!! I think this has become my new TNT pattern. Do any of you have a tried and true pattern and if so, what is it?

Springtime Banksia

Still on the Spring/Summer wardrobe and I am making good progress so far with this addition.

This is my first top for the Banksia Sewalong, I have another two planned but have no idea when I might finish them as my head and sewing table are overflowing with sewing idea and plans right now!

This is my first dip into the Megan Nielsen pool and I loved it! Okay I know I am a bit slow as everyone seems to have made this top as well as many other Megan Nielsen patterns, but I am a relative newbie to the independent designers.

I loved the cute packaging the pattern came in, from the little Velcro dot to the sturdy paper the pattern is printed on.  This is one well thought out pattern company!

 

The pattern was so easy to use and the instructions were super clear. I am not normally so good with reading and following instructions, I tend to just sew things together the way I know things normally go together.

 

 

I had one small issue with the placket, but suspect this may have been a "user issue". When I first sewed it up and folded it in half, it was too wide for the opening. Easy fix, I just folded the seam allowance in a little more to take up the difference! I used Method 2 from the instructions for the placket as I wanted that perfect clean look.  (this method involves fully enclosing all the raw seams so results in a super tidy finish)

Sorry, this is my only picture of the back, it was such a windy day I had a job getting any good pics at all!

I used a light cotton which was a dream to work with. I didn't have to make any adjustments to the pattern, not even an FBA! This is very unusual for me. I cut an 8 at the shoulders and graded to a 12 at the hips and I am very happy with the fit. I shortened the sleeves and the length.

 

It is already a billion degrees here so I think a sleeveless version will be next!

 

 

I love how versatile the pattern is and have plans for lots of other versions, I can see this becoming my "go to" pattern for tops as I can just sew it without loads of alterations.