A New Camera Bag for a New Camera!

After recently using my now sister-in-law's DSLR at her wedding about 2 weeks ago, I thought it really was about time I got myself a better camera for my blog, as my phone camera just doesn't quite cut it. Luckily, my dad gave my husband and I a $500 gift voucher for Christmas, so it seemed like the perfect thing to buy with it, as it is something we will both use.

While my sister-in-law has a Canon 1100, we decided to go for the entry level Nikon 3400, as it was slightly more affordable, and had much better specifications than the current entry level Canon. I know there are plenty of people who are very adamant about which brand is better, but for now, the Nikon is more in our price range, meaning we will be able to afford extra lenses and accessories at a later date.

My husband had a go taking a few shots as soon as we got home and charged the battery, and we are both petty impressed with it. Plus the Bluetooth capabilities means it is super easy for me to send a photo to my phone to upload to instagram. The below photo was taken while I was crocheting quite quickly, and I love how clear it is. Definitely not something a phone camera can achieve! We are also looking at taking a class with Wild Learning, to learn to use more of the manual settings on our camera.

When we purchased our camera, the only bag options were ugly backpack styles, or a Canon branded bag. So naturally I decided to make a bag to better suit our needs. Luckily I have quite a few pieces of leather, one of which was quite large, and far too shiny to use for historical re-enactment purposes, so was perfect for this project.

I started by making the padded insert, using some firm foam pieces, wadding and cotton fabric. I just measured roughly what size I needed (by measuring my camera and lens) then sewing sections of fabric and inserting the foam and wadding inside and hand stitching the pieces together. Once I had made the padded insert section, I measured it and made a simple leather bag to fit it into. I did sew a long shoulder strap for the bag, but the leather was so stiff, it kinda looked odd, so I didn't end up attaching it. The bag isn't perfect, but for a $2 piece of leather, a 50c zip from an op shop and fabric, foam and wadding scraps, it's pretty awesome.

The main thing is that it does it's job, which is to protect and carry my camera and accessories. Plus the cute kitty print fabric inside make me happy, and has space for other bits and pieces like the manual and extra SD cards.

Here's another shot of the progress of my crocheted blanket from earlier. I'm following a pattern that was made to recreate one from the "Call the Midwife" TV show, from the 2012 Christmas Special to be exact. It's super easy and very sweet, I want to make one in every colour! It's about half way done so far.

So that's a little of what I've been doing lately.
Does anyone else use a Nikon Camera?

Dixie

Christmas Kitty Dress and matching Bowling shirt

As part of one of my secret Santa gifts I received last year, I was lucky enough to get some of  this adorable Christmas Kitty fabric (it's called Cats and Ornaments on the selvedge) Which I swear I had not seen for sale at Spotlight prior (and you all know I look for anything with kitties on it) but after I received my gift, I did manage to find it at my local Spotlight, so I purchased a bit more so I would have enough for a dress, Hooray! It has sat in my stash all year, but now it is almost silly season which means it's time to sew all the Christmas dresses!

Spotlight Fabric and Simplicity 1459

I decided to use Simplicity 1459 for this dress, opting for the sleeveless version. I am making some design changes to it, by extending the button front all the way down, and using bias tape instead of armhole facings (which I find annoying). I am also grading it up slightly, shortening the bodice, using a basic gathered skirt instead of the pattern pieces and of course, adding pockets!

Once I had all the bodice pieces cut out (I used a plain red for the under collar and front facing to save kitty fabric) I began the construction. It goes together quite easily, much like any other pattern. Darts first, press, overlock, shoulder and side seams, press, collar pieces together, seams clipped, turned right way out, press. I top stitched along the outer edge of the collar to give it a clean finish, then stitched the collar along the neckline.

Partially sewed bodice

I went through my button stash and found heaps of possibilities, so I posted on instagram and Facebook, to see what my friends thought. I had a lot of votes for both the green ones and the red ones, but ended up deciding on the red ones on the left hand side, as there are 12, so enough to make it button all the way down the front. If I had used the green ones, they would have only gone partway down.

Button choices....

When it got time to cut out the skirt pieces, I measured what I had left and found that I had enough fabric to make the skirt from 3 widths of fabric (instead of my usual 2) However, as I was deliberating cutting it, my husband asks me "Can you save me some of that fabric?" I asked him what he wanted made from it, but he had no idea, and while I don't mind stashing fabric for him, I already have quite a few kitty fabrics in my wardrobe, and would rather use all the fabric in my dress than stash it away for innumerable years.

So instead, I measured my husband and ordered the Free Men's shirt pattern from Lekala. I had to make a few changes to the design, like shortening the sleeves, I also extended the back yoke, and cut the front pieces to have a yoke, as the panel of Christmas kitty fabric was only 26" long, and the shirt was 35" long. The back of the shirt, a panel of the front and the pocket have all been made with the christmas kitty fabric (and pretty much used up the whole width) with the rest being made from the same red cotton sheet I used for the facings and pockets in my dress.

I followed this blog post for instructions on how to sew the collar stand and collar, as that was the only part of the construction I didn't already know how to put together, and Lekala patterns are notorious for their crappy instructions. As I was finishing the collar, I decided to embroider a surprise message on the collar stand before I sewed it in.

After getting my husband's shirt done (all but the buttons and button holes) I turned my attention back to my own dress. I cut and overlocked all my pocket and skirt pieces, then sewed them together, gathered the top edge and sewed it to the bodice. The facings and armhole bindings were then sewn, and finally, the button holes and buttons.

After finishing the buttons, I tried the dress on to check the fit, and I loved it!

Still not hemmed though...

Selfie!!

After it was hemmed, I paired it with a red belt and shoes and wore it out shopping with my mum. I felt pretty adorable wearing this, maybe because it was a slightly shorter skirt length than I usually wear.

And here is a shot of his shirt, with better day time lighting.

I will eventually get the buttons on my husbands shirt done, but it is still wearable (over a singlet) without them, so this actually makes it the first garment I have completed for him (not including ties) and he is looking forward to wearing matching outfits on Christmas day.

Does anyone else make matching outfits for their spouse?

Dixie

Marilyn's red jacket from Niagara

In the next instalment of Dixie's mad sewing frenzy at she prepares to go away on a cruise for 10 days during Me-Made-May and needs to make sure she has enough suitable me-made clothes, I have for you my version of the red jacket that Marilyn Monroe wore during the 1953 movie, Niagara.

To make this jacket very simple in its construction, I simply used the bodice pieces from Butterick B5824 and reshaped the lapels. To make it nice and snuggly (and also use up some stash fabric) I made it from a lovely soft polar fleece that I have had for quite some time. My version is not going to be quite as fitted/tailored, but still have a very similar shape and look

It came together super quick, I cut the pieces out before work on the Thursday, and got most of the construction, except the pressing and hems, done that evening. As I had made this pattern before, I already knew how it went together, so that helped a bit. I also left it unlined, as the fabric was soft, so this saved on fabric and time

Before I sewed the collar facing pieces on, I put the jacket on my mannequin and used pins to outline the shape I wanted the collar lapels to be. I used this as a guide to trim all the collar pieces.

Pinned lapel shape

Adapted collar facing

The collar facing piece was the sewed onto the main part of the jacket, curves clipped and turned right side out and arranged on my mannequin. At this point I hadn't pressed or hemmed it, but it was about 10pm so I decided to call it a night.

And then, when I was heading to bed, I spotted another kitty in my basket. This time it was Mabel. I guess she figured that if her sister was allowed to sleep in it last night, then surely she was allowed to as well?

The next morning, before work, I gave the jacket a quick press along the collar, side seams and darts (not bothering to wrangle with the sleeve seams) then chucked it in a bag along with a needle and thread so I could hand stitch the facing down during my lunch break at work.

I also used some of the time before work to pick out a nice button for my jacket, but some reason I had it in my head that this jacket had a black button, but when I checked the photos, it was actually white! Ooops! But at least I realised before I had done the button hole and attached the button. When I got home that evening I picked out a white button instead and and hand sewed the hem.

I still have to work out how I want to do the sleeve cuffs, and I also still need to attach the button and make the button hole, but I am leaving that til later so I can work on other outfits at the moment, and if I run out of time, I can hand sew those things while on the cruise. The jacket has turned out a little larger around the waist than I would have liked, but I think it still resembles Marilyn's jacket. I will probably make another, more tailored, version of this jacket at a later date.

I also made another blouse from Butterick B5859, this time using a piece of the cat print polyester from the Gertie Fabric line. I've had about 1.5m of it, that I picked up from the remnants at spotlight for ages, and I never knew what I was going to use it for. I am glad I kept it til now, as I think it was perfect for this pattern, and I also think I am going to really enjoy wearing it.

I still have to hand sew the down the inside of the neckband, but I'm leaving that for later also.

Anyone else been doing any last minute sewing?

Dixie

A Quick outfit of basics

With Me-Made-May upon us, I realised (like many people) I was a bit short of a few basics. As I am going away for 10 days next week, I decided it was really quite vital that I fill some of those gaps before I left. So while I was also working on a much more complex evening gown project which I will share with you later, I also squeezed out some time for a simple pair of pants and loose fitting top.

As it happens, this was perfect to fit in with this month's Social Sew, hosted by Allie from Allie J

For the pants I used my graded up version of Vintage McCalls 9708 (so I'm counting this towards my Vintage Pattern Pledge count) lengthened to full length with a bit of added flair, from just over 2m of some soft grey suiting type fabric that I purchased from an op-shop, and a vintage grey metal zip and little grey button from my stash. Nothing particularly exciting happened with the construction, and I am very happy with the fit, even if the waistband is maybe a tiny bit too snug, and the front a little bit baggy. It is still a pretty big improvement over the fit of pants I have made in the past.

Front view

Not yet hemmed

Back view

Once I had finished the pants, I realised that all my me-made tops are quite fitted and would not work with these pants. I decided I wanted a loose fitting blouse to wear with them. I didn't have to look far in my patterns to find a suitable one. I decided to use Butterick B5859 and sew up the size 22, based on the finished garment measurements, as I wanted it to be loose fitting. I chose a lightweight blue and white striped fabric with a nice drape from my stash, and cut out the pieces I needed. I decided to slightly shorten the bias cut ties, as I didn't want a huge bow on my already plus sized chest.

I followed the pattern instructions for the most part, except for setting in the sleeves, which I like to do before sewing the side seams. It was a very quick sew, and I will probably use the blouse pattern again.

half done, still needs hems and
the tie sewn on

Completed top

What do you think? Perfect to wear while on a cruise or what?

I can no longer take full length mirror selfies, as we have rented out that room, so this is the best I can do for you. I was so excited when I finished it last night I had to try the outfit on to see how it looked, and I tried my best to take a selfie, showing at least some of the pants.

Just before bed last night, I came out to the Dining room to find Tessa had helped herself to my Pink Lined Easter Basket (which I had used earlier in the day to carry some dishes to my grandmother's place) and I just couldn't bring myself to kick her out of it, she was too adorable! At least I can just untie the liner and throw it in the washing machine.

Dixie

Progress on my next Pink Gingham dress

After researching Pink Gingham Dresses for my Pink Gingham Shirtwaister, I just couldn't stop thinking about one of the dresses I came across. This one:

Which I found here on Pinterest. The photo is from an etsy listing that has already been sold. The Pin tells me it sold for $148 (no idea if that was USD or AUS) and the etsy listing has the measurements at a 34" bust and 24" waist.

Not long after finding this one on Pinterest, I was watching a video on one of my favourite blogs, Lavender and Twill, and noticed a very familar dress....

Find the post here

A closer look and I realised it wasn't actually the same dress, but gosh darn it is very similar!

Follow MissBJVear on Instagram

A week or so later, this photo appeared on her Instagram, showing the embroidered panel on the skirt in quite good detail. At this point I was 100% sure that the dress from Pinterest/Etsy and the dress from Lavender and twill were not one and the same.

Now that I have made one dress with a contrast skirt band, I am itching to make another! I initially thought it would be best to use either plain cotton or another colour gingham, but as I still had the original 2m of Pink Gigham that I was going to use for my shirtwaister, before deciding to go buy 3m of a different pink gingham for it on boxing day, I thought it made sense to just use it. I mean, really, can a girl own too many Pink Gingham dresses?

It is a slightly darker pink gingham than the one I ended up using for my Shirtwaister, so it won't look too same same I hope. For the pattern, I am going to use the waistband pieces from Butterick B6094 and draft the upper bodice pieces using the bodice pieces from the same pattern. The skirt is going to be 2 widths of fabric, each consisting of 3 panels, and the sleeves will be based on the sleeves from my 90's era McCalls 7625, taking some fullness out of the sleeve head and shortening the length. I will document the process of adapting each piece here for anyone wanting to try it themselves.

For the Front Waistband piece, I shortened it by an inch for my short-waistedness. Most people won't have to do that step. I then traced out my chosen size (for reference I have used Sz 20) I then lowered the top edge of the piece by about 3/4 of an inch on the centre fold side and smoothed the curve out to the other edge

For the Front Bodice Piece, I began by tracing the centre fold line, and the bottom edge from the centre front until the dart, then just one side of the dart.

Next, rotate your patter piece (or tracing paper, whichever is easiest) and line up the dart line you traced, over the other side of the dart on the original pattern piece, closing up the dart and opening up the neckline. Trace the rest of the bottom edge, the side seam, armhole and shoulder

Here how it should look when you take away the original pattern piece

extend the centre line down by approx 3/4 of an inch (or however much you shortened the waist band pieces) then draw a curve out from there, joining into the original bottom edge.

As I have made this Butterick pattern before, I know where the neckline sits on me, so I decided to lower it by 5 inches. you could lower it less if you wanted a higher neckline. mine will be a bit lower than the inspiration dress. I simply marked a point 5 inches from the top of the centre fold line, which I will use to draw the neckline.

The dress I am trying to recreate has a very wide neckline and so it doesn't have wide shoulder straps. I decided to halve the existing ones from this pattern down to 2 inches. Again, you can make them bigger or smaller depending on how you like yours.

I then drew a slightly curving line from the shoulder to the neckline

Here's the original pattern piece under the new one just to compare.

The back piece is much easier. Just trace most of it, drawing in a new scooped neckline at the shortened shoulder width and a few inches above where the original pattern piece starts to stick out along the centre back seam. The back waistband piece I just traced straight from the pattern (shortening it for myself)

Then of course comes the Cutting.

The Boy helped.

When it came to starting the embroidery I had so many colours to choose from, but did eventually settle for 2 shades of pink, a green and a cream/ivory. I was lucky enough to find 2 floral embroidery designs built in to my machine that would do the trick. I still have not gotten around to attempting to load new designs from the computer on to it.

I started with the back waistband pieces. I traced the pattern pieces on to my fabric and attached adhesive interfacing to the back, then put the fabric into the hoop and embroidered. I didn't cut the individual pieces out until I had finished the embroidering to make things easier for myself.

At this point I stitched together some of the bodice, including the back waistband pieces, I also pinned the side seams and gathered the neckline to make sure it was all working the way I wanted

I was quite delighted with how it was looking, but then realised I was supposed to put piping in between the bodice and waistband pieces, so promptly unpicked them while the front waistband piece was being embroidered on the machine.

So when I finished up the embroidery for the front bodice piece as well, I sewed the side seams of the upper bodice, the sleeve hems and the neckline bias binding. I then sewed the back waistband pieces to the front waistband piece and sewed the waistband to the upper bodice, sandwiching in some piping in between. At this point I tried it on. I stupidly didn't check the fit when I did the gathering on the neckline, so I think I have pulled it in a little too much and made the top a bit tight, but as I am trying to lose a few kilos, that's probably not such a bad thing anyway. It does fit, it's just a s bit snug in front.

At this point I put this project aside to work on other things (a few things for Elsie George and also some cute pyjamas for myself) and I still haven't gotten back into it yet. As I have had this post sitting half written for some time, I thought I would just post my progress so far, in the hopes it will give me the motivation to finish this darling dress.

Dixie