Wednesday 25 January 2017

January dress plan: rocking the lobster print

The B-52s concert is only 2 weeks away, so I need to start the dress this weekend, as the following Saturday I have a baby shower to go to, and I don't want to be finishing this dress the day before I need it - I've done that far too many times and it's no longer an exciting buzz but a dread of not finishing.

Last year a mid 20th century vintage button stash was passed on to me by historical costume friends who thought I could use it. At least one of the buttons in these will be perfect for this fabric. As I can't remember pre-shrinking the lobster print - thinking I did isn't certain enough - I'll try to do that tomorrow, and hope the predicted showers don't interfere with it drying.

Hopefully I can squeak this dress in as finished before the month ends, but at least it's not going to add to my UFO list.


I'm fairly sure that I'm going to use this bodice, and the multi pleated skirt of my Strawberry Dress. I really like all that fabric in a skirt.


Monday 23 January 2017

More an increase in Unfinished Projects than a "year in review"

Technically I finished 3 items in 2016, the blue bustle dress squeaked over the line on the first day of the year, the 1920s dress made in July and my strawberry print dress was also made this year.

I also faced reality and threw out the unfinished Lilly Rose dress that had become an abomination. I also threw out a nightie I'd started back in 2014 and stalled on. It wasn't working so I quickly filed it in the bin as I was packing/unpacking from my move.

Otherwise, 2016 has added to my UFO pile of projects. In reverse order
 - the martini dress is half made
 - the 1740s bum pad is cut out, but unstitched
 - the red/black on white retro "March" dress still waits for me

I still have from before this:
 - the 1940s house dress I started sewing in 2015. I thought December but either I appear to have lost the post in my blog re-naming - OOPSIE - after doing the pattern work a year before that; or more likely I only imagined doing a post on the half sewn dress.
- the blue shirt from *cough* years ago.
- the pink on green 1806 short gown ensemble
- pink white stripe regency saque hat, half sewn
- blue (with tiny black diamond) open robe, half sewn
- regency stays: mantua maker pattern cut out for a friend
- regency stays: Missouri Historical Society, cut out
- striped pocket hoops, 80% sewn
- 1850s ruffled petticoat, needs levelling & waistband. therefore needs cage crinoline.
- cage crinoline, bag & vertical straps sewn, needs steels & waistband (may be discarded)
- Pink & white stripe lobster tail cage bustle, sewn, needs canes/steels inserted & waistband
- red bustle dress, part cut out (may be discarded)
- 1917 austerity corset, toile cut out
- insects-on-blue cage-bustle





Wednesday 18 January 2017

Oven like weather, also known as a heatwave

It hit 43.4C (110F) out west yesterday, and "only" got to around 34C or 93F in the city where I work, and the forecast  out west for today is 42C, so I've already bought a cheap movie ticket for in the city after work. Anything to delay travelling back out to the oven.

We've already had a 44.5C day - which was insane but bearable cos once it got over 40C the humidity went away.

Sadly, the humid days before I came back to work triggered an auto-immune flare that has been ridiculously painful. I'm grateful that I have some endone tablets (oxycodine!) left over from after being in hospital. I've not taken any yet, but knowing they're there has helped me cope mentally.

It took me longer than I expected to get back to feeling well, so I've not started sewing yet.  I'm definitely getting twitchy to do that, which helps me feel even closer to my normal.

I wanted to make a loose/light weight dress or two for wearing around the house, and got out of stash a 4m length of lawn that I was going to use for a caftan-like gown. Instead I decided it would be better as a 1920s day dress. Scratch than from this project.



I have a couple of other fabrics and will locate them, but suddenly realised that the babydoll woven cotton nightie with a built in bra (wire free) that I bought from Bravissimo a few years ago would be an ideal style, providing comfortable support but it's too short for this purpose.  I'll take a couple of photos to share of how they manage the back closure without the dress back being fixed to the bra band.

I scoped out wirefree bras in my size (giant boobs of doom) and found Ulla by makebra.com and it was and will be available as a PDF download, except they're updating their website so their shop is down at the moment. So hopefully it'll be up again by the end of the month.  They still have the page available for instructions on making Ulla style.
















At home, once everything is unpacked properly - or enough to be seen as a reliable tenant - and I have some $ saved I'll ask the real estate for permission to install ceiling fans in the bedrooms. It'll make sewing and sleeping easier in weather like this.  Heatwaves suck, it only got down to 29C/84F overnight and was already 34.5C/94F at 7am when I got up to get ready for work.