Custom made summer blouse

This blouse was part of a two garment commission but unfortunately I don't have good enough photos of the other item (a sequin catsuit) to share so you'll have to make do with just this one!

This was a drop-shoulder blouse with gathered sleeves and slight bust gathering, made from a cotton cheesecloth-esque material that the customer brought to me.

And finished with cute heart and flower shell buttons that the customer chose after a trip to Duttons! 

Another dress for a wedding...

...this time for me to wear!

Thanks are due to my step-dad Ray for the pics of me in this post, as he kindly took proper pics of me wearing the dress before we headed out to the wedding rather than me taking them later on my dressmaker's dummy (I've not yet mastered taking photos of myself, although Ray has given me some tips to try out!)

The dress is made from 'Stoff' cotton, which is a lovely weight and drapes well. The bodice is boned and lined with black poplin, the skirt is a full circle (great fun in the wind, both me and my decency are grateful to my friends for their interventions on a couple of occasions!!) I also made a net petticoat to wear underneath in order to get the proper shape on the skirt.

This is a really fun dress to wear, but what was even more fun was getting to watch two good school-friends get married - they both looked so happy and it was an amazing day!

A second, very different, bridesmaid dress

At the end of May I blogged about the first of two of bridesmaid dresses with a difference that I had been commissioned to make, for a wedding in June (see here for that post).

The second dress is now done, and looking absolutely stunning, and it's this dress that I want to share with you today. It uses the same mushroom Italian lace with gold threads, this time in carefully placed gathered panels down the front and back of the dress. The main body of the dress is ivory polyester/cotton with tiny silver flecks woven in, and lined with poplin, and the whole dress is finished off with a 7mm chocolate ribbon under the bust:

I have to say that this does look gorgeous on the girl it's for, with the added bonus that when she twirls round the lace panels float up to horizontal (yes, this has been tested during fittings!) Apparently the two sisters are both convinced that their dress is better than the other one's, which I think is a sign that both dresses have been a success! (So long as they don't ask me to choose which I prefer!)

Repeating oneself...in a good way!

I suppose the best way to be sure that you're doing something right is to be asked to do exactly the same thing again. Back in January I made a smart red cotton dress for a customer who does quite a bit of public speaking. I knew she loved it and was getting quite a bit of wear out of it, but I was delighted when she came back to me earlier in the month and asked me to make her another one, this time in navy.

It's almost exactly the same as her previous one: a 'klona' cotton dress with a net underskirt to give the skirt structure...

The only difference is that this time the lining is navy with white spots (the previous was white with red spots that matched the outer layer)

And another delight - when she came for her final fitting and tried it on she ordered another dress. I'm clearly doing something right, must make sure I keep it up!!

A bit more de-stashing (finally!)

Something I've made for me this time, as part of my ongoing sewing-from-stash - a project which I started with enthusiasm at the start of the year but got a little bit side-tracked from in March and April!

Even though it's quite a simple pattern and was reasonably quick to make up (cut & sewn in a day) this dress is quite a big step as it's:
a) a pattern I made about 3 years ago,
b) fabric I've had in my stash for about the same length of time, bought for this pattern, complete with zip and thread which had been kept together.
c) a summer dress, that I've managed to make in time for our (theoretical) summer.

And, voila! One sleeveless summer dress...

It's made from cotton shirting and lined with polycotton poplin. There's a hip-length back zip (invisible of course) so it can just be stepped in to & done up (none of this 'over your head' malarkey) and the bottom of the lining is trimmed with cream lace edging that just peeks out to give it the look of a petticoat underneath.

Now I just have to hope for enough sunshine this year to get some wear out of it!!

Yet more fabric!

I may have a fabric problem. This won't come as a surprise to anyone who knows me, but I think I do have to finally admit that I may be addicted (in fact, it may just be a general fibre addiction, as although I have managed 5 months 'Cold Sheep' I don't think it's cured it, just reduced the stash a little bit).

Under the premise of looking for fabric to match to a dress I've been asked to alter, and in need of some white cotton (for a corset) and an invisible zip, I came back from delivering some clothes to a customer via Fletcher's Fabrics. I had said to myself that I was allowed to have a look at their new summer fabrics and buy a couple of fabric lengths to make up some sample tops & skirts, problem is...how do you choose when they're all lovely?! In the end I decided to come home with the following poly-cottons, some of which I have definite plans for in my head whilst others I have a small idea but not much more than that: 

The first was bought to be used in combination with some black cotton on a skirt, although it would make a great top too...

The second is one I couldn't resist (I do have a bit of a reputation for shoes as well after all!) and I think will probably be a skirt...

This next one will probably be a summer top of some sort, and is actually along the lines of what I was planning to get...

And finally, a length that I could hardly leave behind (yes I do also have a tendancy to collect handbags!) I think this might also end up in a skirt too...

Having said that they're planned for samples, if anyone wants something making up for them out of any of the above I'd be happy to oblige...then head back armed with another excuse to do a bit of shopping!