Le Peplum

Peplum ['pepplem] flared part at waist
a short flared ruffle attached to the waist of a jacket or blouse.

Some looks from the Spring 2012 Marc by Marc Jacobs show all featuring frilly peplums. 

Inspired I decided to do a little holiday refashioning.  Take one preloved Nicole Farhi t-shirt and combine with contrast woven fabric.

First I unpicked the hem of the t-shirt and pressed it flat.  

For the frill I cut 2 strips 20cm wide x width of the fabric and joined the short ends together to make a loop. I pressed the loop in half lengthwise and overlocked the raw edges together. 

Lastly I gathered the frill evenly and without stretching the jersey underneath stitched it on.....

Voilà! my newly revamped summery t-shirt.

The Cape Cod Bunnies

The lovely Jill sent me these adorable shots of the BUNNY BAGS she created for her little girls.  You can read more on her blog ELLIEMOON which chronicles all her craft and cooking adventures...just beautiful!

new pattern FLAPPER SHORT

Flapper [flapper] young unconventional woman of 1920's

A young woman in the 1920s who had short hair, wore short dresses, and had a lot of fun at parties.

Well maybe not a dress but you could still have a lot of fun at parties.  The pattern for the FLAPPER SHORT is now available from our Etsy shop. 

We made our sample in an embroidered Japanese cotton/viscose fabric found at Tessuti in Melbourne; the contrast waistband is in a textured stretch twill.  The FLAPPER SHORT is worn here with the PRETTY BLOUSE, pattern available soon.

Spoonflower Fabric8

The semifinalists for the Spoonflower Fabric8 – textile design competition have been announced and a print Jo has created called Medlar has been selected.  

The theme of the Fabric8 contest called for

'modern fabric designs that evoke the style of pen & ink drawings coloured with watercolour paints' and the results are truly inspiring. 

Jo has four Medlar trees growing in her garden up at Macedon and clearly the climate agrees with them because they fruit prolifically.   Toward the end of the summer the leaves begin to turn a rusty brown and the fruit softens inspiring not only the beautiful design below but a rather potent liqueur!

Voting now switches to the public who will select the 8 finalists so take a moment to view all of the selected designs and vote for your favourites. 

You can view more of Jo's creations right here.

Freddie Vest SEWING CLASS

Details for the FREDDIE VEST sewing class at Tessuti in Melbourne have now been confirmed and you can book your spot right here

Saturday July 7th

11am - 4pm

Total cost including pattern $100.00

(Fabric and notions are not included)

 The class is for intermediate to advanced sewers and we'll be on hand an hour before to assist with fabric and trim selection if required. 

The vest above combines a textured cotton canvas with an evening fabric and printed silk lining all from Tessuti.  I've also refashioned a girly denim version out of an old pair of jeans as well as this one in a printed Japanese seersucker. 

   

Details for the MINNIE MINI shown above can be found here.

HOW TO make a double rolled edge

Now some machines come with special feet that do the rolling and stitching all in one step but sadly my old clunker has no such fancy appendages. I do find that having long finger nails helps, especially when hemming around a curve.

Here's how you do it....

1. Give the fabric a good press.

2. With the wrong side of the fabric facing up carefully turn over 3mm and stitch close to the folded edge.  Make sure your stitching is straight and the same distance from the fold.

3. Trim any excess fabric taking care not to cut the fabric underneath.

4. Again with the wrong side facing up turn over another 3mm and stitch close to the folded edge.

5. One last press and you're all done.

I use this method a lot when I'm working with lightweight fabrics and it's especially good for the edge of frills like the one used for the SKIMPY below.  For the above examples I used a Liberty fabric called Ellie Ruth in pink found at Tessuti in Melbourne.