Have you ever saved a special fabric for a special project only to have it not go especially as planned? Frustration stations. This was not meant to be a skirt. Not it was not. It was supposed to be a lovely multi-seasonal Darling Ranges dress in one of my absolute favourite thrifted cottons and it was supposed to come together without a hitch. Only I cut a size too small in the bodice. Why? I don’t know!  If anything I go up a size in the bodice due to amazon woman shoulders but this time I threw common sense to the wind and cut the same size all over…hmmm.  I was pretty close to finishing the whole thing when I realized she was going to be a little snug and a little low in front. Not good low either, freeze the gals off in winter low. But fret not, this tale had a happy ending…

…after I hacked off the bodice,  folded the rest back down and under, added elastic at the back, buttons down the front and suddenly it turned it into a very wearable Darling Ranges skirt. Arguably the best feature of this pattern are the cute- as-pie little pockets which I figured made it worth selvedging. And you know what? I’m glad I did, I’ve hardly taken it off! The wardrobe is crying out for separates.

Rather conveniently, the lovely Megan  is holding a Darling Ranges Dress sew-a-long very shortly. I think I’ll be concentrating extra hard in the lesson on ‘choosing your size’. Who knows… at the end of it I might even have a whole dress! Golly!

I have been dying forever to make a PBB. Okay maybe only a few months, but well worth the wait because now I have a PPPBB! And it’s part one of the grand plan to start dressing like a lady and sew a wardrobe full of beautiful, wearable clothes. Last year’s no-new-clothes experiment opened my eyes up to the world of adult sewing and I am never leaving. Blouses, skirts, dresses and shorts excite me but my concession is pants. I just don’t want to muck around them. It would be easier for all involved if I bought some that just do what they’re supposed to, and fit.

Which begs the question…how do you begin to plan a very wearable hand-made wardrobe? Time for a deep and meaningful with the closet. As suspected, it is full and I have nothing to wear. Sound familiar? There is some force that propels me towards statement dresses, pyjamas, gym clothes and swimwear and away from sensible basics and practical separates. It’d be nice to find a happy style medium between statement dresses and my everyday uniform of a little too comfy, slouchy tops ( the kind you’d happily wear to bed). A wardrobe that is comfortable, easy wearing and feminine. Chock full of skirts, casual dresses and blouses like this one.

So how does item numero uno hold up in the wearable wardrobe stakes? With flying colours it does. And galloping ponies. This lovely is Pattern Runway’s pussy bow blouse in a Japanese cotton from an etsy seller. Can’t say I’m especially pro-ponies but I couldn’t resist the print. As for the blouse it’s as easy wearing as I hoped, unbelievably feminine and has the added bonus of protecting skin from harsh Australian rays.

I wasn’t sure how the collar would look since a lot of the PBB’s around seem to be collar-less but the structured look of the collar seems to balance out nicely with the flouncy bow. Yes, I know I sound like an art critic but at least I didn’t use the word juxtaposition. As an afterthought, looking at the photos, the bow can get a bit lost…maybe it could have worked nicely in a contrasting colour? Something to think about for next time…

Hola Chicas. Believe it or not the background you see here is the behind of a cafe in urban Australia, not Guadalajara. Shame! As usually happens around this time of year, I start to pine for exotic places just out of reach. This summer’s fantasy destination: Mexico. I don’t think we’ll be popping off there next week, so for now I will be content living out my wanderlust through sewing. Don’t be alarmed if you start seeing posts like ‘turn this fantasy destination into an outfit’.

This little number is the Tiny Pocket Tank pattern by Grainline Studio and its my new go-to summer top. I was pining for tropical fiestas anyway when I grabbed this fabric remnant in a country town thrift store. It’s not something I would normally go for but it spoke to me. In Spanish. And said, ‘Hola Chica’, turn me into a tiny pocket tank’. I couldn’t resist the print that’s a bit floral, a bit geometric with a dash of aztec. The palette is interesting too; inky purple, bright red and pink.

Since this post was very nearly titled ‘Violet’s Violent End’, I thought I’d take her to the market for some sunshine and dumplings to celebrate our sewing triumph. We had a lovely time, V and I, while my bro crept behind the stalls, stalker-style and papped us…

I almost gave up on Colette pattern Violet. Let me see… this was meant to be a muslin for something a bit more exciting, but I hoped it might be a wearable one. I found this great 90’s dress at the thrift store with something like New Woman on the tag, and paired it with chambray for a contrasting collar. It all came together beautifully, as you can expect of a Colette pattern. I even combatted the high-ish neckline by taking it in at the waist and sides so it’s a slim fit instead of a relaxed (boxy) style. Everything was looking pretty peachy from the front. But when I turned to the side…

…there were giant ripples pooling at the lower back. There’s no doubt I have a sway back but so far I’ve never come face to face with it sewing. Of course I did what any rookie sewer would do and tried to gather the problem area in with elastic. Not only did it do nothing for said ripples, it created more of them, now at the sides. Gah! I turned to my trusty Colette Sewing Handbook for guidance and committed the unmentionable post-finished-garment-sway-back-adjustment! Basically, I pinched two inches of fabric out, sewed a curved line across and by some miracle my crime against sewing is camouflaged by the pink stripe in the center back. YES!! Another lucky sewing break.

The pattern is now fitted with a proper sway back adjustment ready for V no.2. It was just so fun and cutesy to wear that I think I wouldn’t mind a few of these gals in my hand-made wardrobe.