Simplicity 4118 Red Linen

I guess this has become a bit of a TAT (tried and true) pattern for me. I made it first time over a year ago and have become more comfortable with using this dress as a jumper style which I feel suits my body shape much better.

Anyway a while ago I was in a smaller independent fabric shop, they are rare here on the Gold Coast and had to buy so fabric. One of the thing in their sale bin was this red linen with lycra. I have a weakness for linen, I love it , love the look, love the feel and even though I hate ironing I will iron linen. Unfortunately they only had about 1.4 metres of it so thats all I got.

This red linen has sat in my stash for a while before I decided what it should become. There wasn't enough for a pair of trousers, I thought about a skirt but felt I would be wasting it, then after coming home from dinner one night and having had a bit to drink decided that it would look great as a red shift style dress. I pulled out this pattern and the fabric, fit the pattern on it somehow and thankfully left it there and slept on it.

I had originally thought I would do a real quickie job and simply use bias around the neck and armholes and skip the lining altogether. Thankfully after sleeping on it I saw sense and made it up with facings and fully lined it.


Front view:

The lining fabric was some weird cotton that I found in my stash which must have survived from the 80's. I knew I would not be using it for any thing else so it became my lining fabric.

Please excuse the weird stance. It can be challenging to get a good photo when the camera is balanced on a stack of books and you are using the timer.

This is I guess how I would wear this in spring and autumn. I have found that I really like the look of the shirt underneath, it hides my chubby upper arms and seems to show off the dress better. I find that if I wear a belt a bit above my natural waist it help to disguise just how short my legs really are.

This is probably how I will wear it at work over the winter months here. I thing the tan of the belt and boots help tone down the redness of the dress and make it a little more suitable for work.

Simplicity 4041

I read a review for this pattern a while ago and thought I should give it a go. After checking my measurements I decided that I needed to make a size 18 view F. I modified it by adding piping between the waistband and skirt and adding inseam side pockets. I used a grey suiting fabric and lined it with poly lining fabric.

Overall I am please with my construction, even though I unpicked it before adding the waist band because I thought it was too big, changed my mind and resewed it back the way it was. I forgot I was going to add piping and had to unpick and redo the waist as well.


Front View:

Back View: I did a centered zipper application and was happy to see my piping lined up neatly.

In Seam Side Pockets:


Unfortunately I don't think this is a flattering style for me. It is a little too big in the waist and simply makes me look quite dumpy. But it moves beautifully when I walk, is super comfortable and the side pockets are really practical so I wear it to work regardless. I really must have a go at view B from this pattern, I do like how the bias pockets on the check fabric.

First Attempt at Quilting

Front View:

Detail:
More Detail:

This was my first attempt at patchwork and quilting. It was made from some pieces I had picked up from spotlight. There were 10 green tone and 10 brown tone pieces, I trimmed them to be the same size as the smallest piece, then stitched the scraps together along their long edges, cut them in strips and sewed them together to form 2 long patchwork strips. These formed the slim columns down the quilt.

After I put the patchwork top together I put different coloured bias binding over it to see what looked best. I really liked how the dark red picked up the small flecks of red in the prints.

In hindsight I don't think I have the best arrangement of the fabrics looking at the scale, detail and depth of colour. It is a bit wonky in places and the border is not quite even, but I think it is ok for a first attempt which happened in a very unplanned manner. The finished size is 88x108cm (35"x42"), really only big enough for a baby

The quilting stitching was done on my machine and seems to be ok, I got better at staying in the ditch as I went along. It is bound by bringing the back over the front and slip stitching.

I plan to give it to any member of my family who actually likes it.

Smock Top for Mum

Mum struggles with the heat of summer where she lives in central Queensland and needs very light weight cotton clothing for wearing around the house.

This was something that I drafted and made out of left over fabric in my stash. I was a fairly quick and easy project.

Jelly Beans for the Jelly Bean

The Jelly Bean with her Great-Grandma.





While my brothers wife was pregnant he would send out updates about the progress of "The Jelly Bean", so of course when she was born I HAD to make a jelly bean dress for the jelly bean!

It was a really simple pattern, but because I tried to make it after my week of night shift on no sleep I managed to make so many mistakes it was rather crazy. It all worked out when I put it down and had a few days sleep and finished it.

Little Chambray Bear

My nephew was born 6 weeks early so I thought a little soft chambray bear for a special little boy was necessary.

Camo Ballerina Bear

What else should I make when the Daddy is a commando?

I made the bear before my niece was born and decided on the tutu when we found out the baby was a girl.

The leotard and tutu are entirely self drafted and if you look very closely I embroidered tiny eyelashes as well.