Sewing Spring Jackets

Ive been busy sewing two amazing jacket patterns the past two weeks, amongst other things but today I will tell you about those jackets.
The first is a classic bomber jacket, a pdf pattern I downloaded from Wardrobe By Me called the Amelia Bomber Jacket.
I just love bomber style jackets to wear. I really prefer them over sweaters/pullovers as in Australia the weather can warm up quite quickly and you may need to strip off mid-day and they are so much easier.
I really wanted this jacket to be for spring and even summer nights at the river or beach, so I decided to make mine without a lining.
I chose a great nautical themed polyester jacquard fabric for a bargain sale price of $2 a metre from Darn Cheap Fabrics and they still have it in stock at the moment if your so inclined, get in quick!

The white ribbing came from a lovely old lady at the local thrift store who saw me digging in the fabric remnants box and asked what I was looking for. She was quick to tell me she has a whole heap of ribbing at home and what colour did I want? A few days later when I arranged to pick it up, she refused to accept payment, so I told her to donate my money to the store, in which she did.
Now, as for the pattern.
It was fairly easy to understand, although I missed half the instructions as I didn't do the lining, so I cant comment on that aspect. The parts I did do was easy to construct.
Yes I will definitely be making more of these, especially in the winter with the lining.
And now for the pictures.....

 

 

Now as for the second jacket I made. Its Simplicity 8093 a Mimi G Style pattern. This is my first time trying a MimiG pattern and I have to say, I really like it. The great thing is the step by step instructional video on youtube she provides to each pattern. After watching the video I didn't even need to read the instructions at all, which is great because I am more of a look and do kind of learner rather than a reader.

 

I made this in the usual size 14 that I am in most patterns and didn't need to alter it in anyway. This jacket comes lined and this time I did do the lining! The only thing I would change is make it slightly longer in the body and maybe taper the sleeves in slightly nearing the wrist.

Again I went for a nautical theme, as my favourite colours to wear are you guessed it... 

Navy and white!

 

 

 

 

Well Happy sewing, until next time. I hope I've inspired someone today to get out their sewing machine.

Hugs

Sonya

xx

 

 

 

Marsha Brady 1970s Op Shop Find

I have lived in the same town for 19 years and all this time I never new there was a treasure trove thrift store in the very next town. Breaming with an entire room of vintage clothing, hats, shoes, bags, and gloves.
Of course I was in paradise and managed to pick myself up some great finds, however what I want to show you today is this adorable 1970s two piece outfit I found that just screams Marsha Brady from The Brady Bunch.. its just so pretty I had to have it and the cost $5 WOW!

and those cute pointy red patent flats, only $2.50.

I also love wearing this outfit without the jacket for a more mod 60s look. two decades covered in one outfit. Who could ask for more?

 

 

Please excuse my cheesy grin........ You can tell I was truly delighted in my find.

I  will try to keep you up to date with all my vintage finds and hopefully it inspires someone else to follow their dream and dress how they truly want to.

One day I woke up and realised I was being a sheep following all the current clothing trends, and who has the right to say that we should all dress in the same style? Fashion Designers and retail stores dictate to us everyday when a fashion has expired and what' the next big this' is.

I am sick of looking like everyone else, because I am not like everyone else, I am me!

Be yourself, because no one else can.

 

Hugs

Sonya

xxx

 

The Bombshell Swimsuit for a Hot Aussie Summer

Believe it or not on this wet and dreary spring day, summer is coming, my fellow Aussie seamstresses.
I am fortunate to own my own outdoor spa bath and its running constantly in the summer time. Its a great place for the family to get together, relax and cool off after a days work or school.
Unfortunetely the chlorine in most spa baths is quite high and needless to say I go through swimsuits pretty fast, usually the elastic and then fabric goes by the time summer is over.

This is where sewing my own swimsuit came into play. I am sick of spending all the money on swimsuit after swimsuit, so a cheaper way was to buy my own pattern and resew each time I need a new suit. You can pick up swimsuit lycra quite cheap from Ebay, however this time round I had left over lycra from my girls ballet dancing days, so I was set!


Introducing my version of Closet Case Files pdf pattern of The Bombshell Swimsuit... what a better way to start my vintage style wardrobe then sewing this bombshell beauty.

 

 

I promise to add some more outdoor photos as summer comes.

 

What I liked about the pattern:
It came with a sew-along online, which is always great if you get stuck!
I didn't actually have to use the sew-along, as the instructions were very clear and easy to follow.
The fit turned out great, I didn't have to alter anything for my size.

What I didn't like about the pattern:
It uses a quite a bit of fabric, which is something to take into consideration next time I sew a swimsuit, however I really do love the ruffled affect.
It took a lot longer to organise the pieces and sew them up, then I envisioned.

Overall thoughts:
Im really pleased with the final result, Im not sure if it was the pattern or if I didn't do something quite right, but I thought I would have a little more bust coverage as seen in the pattern photos. Since its only for home, its not a deal breaker though. Next time I would probably sew this up as a two piece and use the bottom and do a separate bikin top.

Hugs Sonya
XXX

Walking the Wild Side like Oonaballoona !

So like many, many others I have become an avid reader and drawler of the wonderfully creative and dazzling Oonaballoona. Reading her blog inspires me to be creative and step out of my comfort zone of classically boring black, navy and white safe zone, even if it is just for a few times.
So off shopping for fabric I went with Oona in my mind and come home with the goods I did....

Okay so I still wore my grey and white with it.....

What was suppose to be a shirt dress until I saw I made the hem a wee bit shorter than my modesty would allow, turned into wonderfully cool floating kimono to wear in Summer. I am going on a houseboat holiday in January next year and I can just see myself sipping cocktails on the top deck as I lounge in my new bright and fabulous kimono.

 

 

So I made this from my own drafted pattern from an op shop bought dress and apart from the too short a hem issue, it fits great. I highly recommend trying to make your own patterns some time.

Its really quite easy, just lay your piece of clothing down, fetch some tracing paper, pattern drafting paper, freezer paper, or baking paper whatever you can find that you can see through, lay your clothing flat with the paper over the top and pin in place. Use a tracing wheel to go over your paper where all the seams are. The tracing wheel should leave holes in your paper showing you exactly where to cut out your pattern pieces. Keep moving your piece of clothing so that you can get all the parts of it laying completely flat before you trace.

 

Have a great day

Sonya

XX

 

Bye Bye Grandpa

My latest thrift shop buy made me so happy. I forked out $3.00 at the local thrift store for what I thought was a mens shirt. However at a closer look I realised there was a matching pair of pants underneathe the shirt, OMG this was a pair of grandpa pyjamas.....
But I love the fabric, it's lightweight cotton and not that flannelette stuff or brushed cotton you see in Jammie's. It actually looks like a cotton denim with a great paisley print. you wouldn't believe how happy I was to get not only the shirt but the matching pants... OOOH the possibilities.

My first thought was to make an elastic off the shoulder blouse which are all the rage again, but with further thought I realised I just couldn't get myself to cut that collar off and I really don't know if I could bare the feeling of elastic holding my top up. I remember having one of those blouses back in the early 1990s when I was about 14 and it drove me crazy!

The next thing on my bucket list of refashions was an open shoulder top, loose fitting, slightly longer at the back, and just reaching the waistband at the front. I absolutely love crop tops but being a mummy and heading towards the big 4 0, I like them to cover my flesh and just hit that waistband.

So here we go, here is my BEFORE shot.

and my AFTER shot:

 

And here was my inspiration although I wanted it cropped at the front.

 

 

 

 

 

Cute isn't she! No Grandpa's gonna wear this gal!

 

Now would you like a tutorial?

 

 

First thing I did was cut those shoulder holes out. I started the cut about 2 3/4" from where the collar meets the shoulder, and made the hole about 13" long. I actually used another top as a guide but if you use these measurements and look at pictures you could easily cut them without a top as a guide.

 

Then it was time to cut some off the sleeves I wanted mine to rest just below the elbow. I then made little cuffs out of the left over scraps from the sleeves.

 

 



 

I placed the cuffs  right side together with the sleeves right side and carefully made gathers in the sleeve so it would fit the cuff.

 

 

Then it was just time to take in the sides a little and hem up the bottom to my desired length!

 

 

As soon as summer hits I'll come back and add some more shots of me modelling it for you.

Cheers for now and happy sewing

Hugs Sonya

xx

Refashioned dress made into a cute matching top and bottom set

Hi I'm Sonya, and I hope you enjoy my brand new blog all about thrift shopping and refashioning and sewing your own clothes.
I am one of those people who doesn't really enjoying reading long long blog posts and just really skip to the photos first to see if I like what the blogger is doing. If I do, then I'll go back and read any info that I'm looking for. If that's you too then feel right at home.  Plenty of pics here.

So with that said, I'm going to jump right in and show you the project I completed today.
I looked through my closet this morning and found this dress that I never wear, as it's a halter top dress and I can't stand those around my neck. By the way I found it at the thrift store 2 summers ago for only $5.00!
FROM THIS:

 

 

TO THIS:
Here it is.., a cute top and bottom matching set.... Which only took about 1/2 day to cut and sew..

And here was my inspiration:

 

Tutorial

Here we go:

 

First thing was to cut that small halter bodice off. Didn't need that strangling device anymore :)

I decided to make the box shape top first. To do this I used a top I already purchased ( yes for the tidy little sum of $1.00) that fits me well. Its a great super easy design as its basically a square with the sleeves incorporated.

I layed it out flat on my fabric and cut a front piece and a back piece. Making sure I adjusted where the neckline came to on each piece.(TIP : The front is normally lower than the back) Remebering to leave about a 1cm seam all around and a little extra at my sleeves as they have a folded back section, which I will show you soon.

 

 

 

Now I have my 2 pieces, front and back Yay... easy right!

 



 

 Now it was time to make those cute folded over cuffs on my sleeves and sewing over the hem on my neckline before sewing the two pieces together.

 

 

Don't forget to cut out your little 'V's in the seam allowance of the neckline so it curves nicely when you hem it over.



 

 

 

Don't forget to press, press, press those hems! Now its time to just sew this baby up at the side and shoulder seams, add some cool pockets if you want and she should come out looking something hopefully like a top...

 

 

I then made the cute shorts to match. Again I used a pair of my own shorts that fitted well, cut around, making sure I especially got the crouch area cut out right. (TIP: the back crouch seam is always bigger then the front to allow for your booty)

 

 

 

I added extra seam at the bottom of legs, so I could fold up a cuff on each leg.

I also reused the waist band of the dress as it fitted perfectly around my waist and sewed this onto the shorts stretching the elastic as I went.

 

 

 

AND HERE WE ARE

 

 

and my daughter modelling the finished product for me, but oh how embarrassing.... she didn't want to show her face.

 

 

 

well I hope you have enjoyed my first post of refashioning old clothing and I hope you have fun sewing your own. Please drop by again and follow my sewing adventure, turning old into new.

 

Hugs Sonya