How to make a peplum top/dress

As I've mentioned in previous posts dear reader, my mum is a bit of a hoarder. The other day I was over visiting and was just curious to see if she had any leftover material I could use to make some things for my market stall (not like I need anymore since I've got my own hoarding fabric habit). 

Lo and behold, she's got about 20 full rolls of this coloured stretch fabric that she bought for $3 per roll at a closing down fabric store. Apparently she went back 3 times and bought $100 worth which filled up the ENTIRE CAR! So naturally, I took a bit home, perfect for the peplum top and skirt I've been planning to make.

There are some tutorials online but they're not as 'peplumy' as I'd like. I wanted a lot of ruffles! So I made my own peplum pattern using some disposable medical drape material. 

I did make a prototype (see above) but found that the seam at the top was unsightly so I fixed this by adding an inner panel that folded over so the seam was on the inside.The skirt is just a basic pencil skirt which I made a separate pattern for.

Going to the markets

My friend Nancy and I are going to start a market stall. It all came about over brunch the other week at Three Blue Ducks in Bronte. I had the fish, it was delicious. All this yummy energy put our creative brains into over drive and we thought - hey - we have something to offer the world. We can create goods that people may exchange some money for. Let's do it!

That night I was so excited about it I couldn't sleep til 2am, ideas zinging through my head like a neutron in those neutron accelerating machines - just gaining speeding and momentum. Well first I needed to do some research, what things could I sew that people will want to buy, with a personal touch of course. From hours of research on  the net, looking around what's in shops and browsing on the net I've decided I'm going to make a series of Spring collared blouses, peplum tops, pleated skirts and some bow dresses.

Coincidentally, I've recently discovered my mum can knit and crochet. Really well. One compliment one of her crocheted beanies and the following week she's made me three beanies a scarf when I really just wanted one. That's just how mums are - overflowing with love. So I put two and two together and asked her to maybe make a range of something I've always loved - wool cactus. The juxtaposition of something that's supposed to be prickly to something that's so soft to touch is awesome. Here's the first one, you've gotta admit - it's 100% awesomeness.

I've also started the first of my peplum tops. This is just a prototype with some spare material I had around. Hopefully I'll be able to perfect it on the next go. I made the pattern out of spare surgical drape material we couldn't use from the clinic. The plan is to get a market stall sometime in October. 

And lastly I'm re-doing some of my terrariums with some new moss and plants and I'm making some stonehenge figures for it too from polymer clay. Busy busy busy.I'll keep you updated on my progress.

Spot shirt with collar tips

It's been two months since I last made something that wasn't edible. Last month I tried to give myself the old pep talk to start a new project. It went something like this 'OK Toni, enough of this wallowing around in a pool of uselessness, get off your butt and do something already!' So I picked up some fabric and started cutting a pattern. I thought a nice long sleeved shirt is just the ticket for layering this freezing Winter we're having. I've made shirts before so putting together the yoke (the top bit of the shirt connecting the front and back) was done in a flash.

Then I got to the long sleeves, this is my first attempt and after a frustrating attempt at the cuffs followed by a hurried mistake leading to the sleeves being sewed on backwards the unfinished shirt sat in a crumpled corner on my sewing table for the next four weeks. I was defeated.

This is what happens when you're heart's not into it. You come to a hurdle and instead of trying to leap you turn tail. I am not a constant creative. Inspiration comes in unexpected pulses and you need a great idea to set yourself in forward momentum. My abilities to sew improve exponentially when I'm 'in the zone' and have a clear idea of what I want to create.  My mind clears, my energy rallies and I acquire a zen-like calm and patience.

So finally, I cut off the old crooked, backwards facing sleeves and start anew. My new sleeves end up great. The collar was a bit of a let down with some difficulty in getting exact corners so to cover this downfall glue on some gold birds from old necklace and attach it's chain across the lapel. I've been loving cowboy inspired collar tips for awhile now and love that I could incorporate this into my shirt AND cover up my poor cornering skills in one blow. See...inspired!

Lacking a proper set of buttons I collected a pile of differing gold buttons and sewed them on. Why not! This is not for a mass market. This is just for me and I happen to like my buttons mismatched. And all this in a matter of 36 hours. I can't remember exactly what brought on this rush of creativity but now that I've got the ball rolling, I hope to start on some new projects soon. 

Coloured Bow Dress

I was walking around Cabramatta last week and this bright, fun print caught my eye. At $2 per metre I couldn't resist buying two metres not yet knowing what to do with it. 

For the whole week I had it draped on my mannequin staring at it, waiting for inspiration to hit me. What do you want to be? A skirt, a dress, a top. Bows, pleats, cut-outs? I found this dress on modcloth I thought would be pretty, especially if I used a contrast material for the bow. And hence a project was born. 

Since the last dress I made which had a very annoying invisible zip which I still struggle with, this one has an elastic waistband. The material is a bit sheer so lining was a must. I used the turquoise fabric just to break up the pattern a bit and the asymmetrical hemline I threw in just for some extra flow.

Top Three Tips:
1. Stretch out the elastic when sewing an inelastic fabric to it so you get that nice stretch at the waist.
2. Make sure you use a very long piece of fabric for a bow (mine was 3 metres). The knot takes up a lot of fabric.
3. Fold material in half and cut out your shapes from the midline. This will ensure complete symmetry.

This dress makes me want to go on a romantic row boat ride a la 'The Notebook'. Preferably with Ryan Gosling. 

Have A Heart!

It's a bit late for Valentine's day, but when I saw this Topshop dress, it perked my sewing curiosity and I wondered if my self taught skills would stretch far enough to include cut outs in dresses. 

Well there's no time like the present to give it a go! As usual I started out with the familiar and got the skirt organised. Most of my time was spent on the top. I made a heart template out of paper just to make sure I got the dimensions right and based the dress dimensions on one of my old dresses.

I had to sew in some padding as this dress clearly isn't compatible with a bra. The front has four layers of fabric to cover the padding. Other tricky bits were the zip and the front armpit area. I had to put some darts in as the front armpit drooped a bit. 


It's my first attempt at a lined dress and without a pattern too. It took me a weekend to complete it. Now to find somewhere romantic to wear it.

Something old, something new

My mum is a hobby hoarder. She's not bad enough to qualify for the aptly named show 'Hoarders' but she does like to keep things for a minimum of 20 years before she even considers throwing it out. 

The other day she gave me this playsuit she had bought a decade ago which is an unfinished factory second. It was a simple matter of putting in some buttonholes/buttons and a nice collar. Bob's your uncle - new playsuit.

From this...

...to this!

I also added a triple collar (I stole the idea from an old Dahlia playsuit I liked). I made a paper template of the three pieces in the collar just to make sure all the pieces fit well together. It's also kind of cool because its actually got shorts with an overlying skirt. Perfect for bike riding, to protect one's modesty. Thanks mum!

Favourite Fabric Stores

I've been furiously hoarding fabric in the past year in case the great fabric drought arrives so here are my favourites haunts and what I got from them.

The Remnant Warehouse

494 Botany Road, Alexandria NSW 

(02) 9698 7855 

‎My absolute favourite place to buy fabric. They have large tubs at the front of their shop which contain various 2-3 metre remnantswhich are sold for around $3-4 per metre. On the right day you can get some stunning silks and soft jerseys. 

In the store itself they also sell a great range of silks, cotton, jersey by the metre. Where they really shine is quilting fabric which fills up a whole wall and there are some really cute prints you certainly wouldn't find at Spotlight. 

They do a small range of haberdashery and hold classes there (I've never been but have always been meaning to enrol). Every few months they have awesome sales where they have 25% normal fabric and 50% remnants but when you find a good remnant it's best just to snap it up right away. Currently they're also doing 'buy one remnant roll and get one free' on Tuesdays.

Remnant silks for $3 per metre.

The Fabric Cave

78 Belmore St, Ryde NSW (enter via Porter St). 

02 8878 3353

I only stumbled upon this place by accident on  the tessuti blog but got really excited about it. This place is like Vinnies in concept but only sell fabric and haberdashery. People donate their fabric and bits and bobs and they resell them for $3 per metre with all funds going to charity. 

It's a great little shop and it makes you feel good for shopping there! Being as random as it is you really have to spend a good few hours sifting through a wall of fabric to find something you like but the place is run by some very tidy and nice elderly women (and one gentleman from what I saw) so at least that makes it easier. 

They also have patterns for 50c a piece which again requires some sifting but they have some cool retro pieces (refer to my blouse post which I got from this place). The only negatives is that this place only opens on Mondays and Fridays from 9.30-2pm and as usual, with any second hand place there's a musty smell to everything in the shop.

A surprise every time with fabric selections. To the right is a lovely silk vintage piece that is amazing!

Cabramatta

This is not actually a store but a suburb in Southwest Sydney with a large Asian based community. In the centre Cabramatta on John St and Park Rd you will found a cluster of six or seven fabric stores that sell a great range of fabrics for around $2-$10 per metre.

The best thing is that there is so much to choose from and you can find some really pretty and up-to-date prints. But you're going to have to do a bit of work for it because all of the fabrics are all squished together in vertical piles with little aisle room to move about so it's not the most comfortable of experiences. Everyone speaks English and shopkeepers will offer you a pretty good price anyway so I really only haggle if I intend on buying in bulk. 

Spoonflower

This website is the answer to that inner longing for fabric covered in whimsical woodland creatures that you can never actually find in fabric stores. It's an online American based store that allows you to design your own print or select one from hundreds of already uploaded prints from other designers, choose what material you want it printed on and then have it posted to you. 

It's risky because it may not turn out exactly that way you want but you can pay a minimal fee to have them send you fabric swatches so you can get a feel of the fabric. I couldn't be bothered to do this and just bought a variety of fabrics in different prints to see which I'd like best. 

My favourite is the Silk Crepe de Chine (centre) but at $38 per yard (a bit less than a metre) it is a bit pricey. My least favourite was the Organic Cotton Sateen (furthest right) which I found too glossy and a bit cheap looking. It's not the cheapest way to get fabric (don't forget about postage costs as well!) but it's perfect for when you want to make a really special piece with something very specific in mind.

The middle print is my favourite and I'm building up my confidence to finally make it into a pretty blouse.

Tessuti

A place to go if you're a bit more advanced than what I am at the moment so I've always been too intimidated to actually buy anything from here. Both the Sydney and Chatswood stores have an OK range with really good quality fabrics but you're certainly paying for it with an average of $30-$50 per metre. The blog is pretty good though for tips and inspiration.

The Fabric Store

I've only been in this store twice and have never bought anything from it. Even during one of their 'sales', fabric still averaged around $20 per metre and the range wasn't really that great. 

Lincraft and Spotlight. 

A general all rounder for fabric and haberdashery. These places average around $10-$20 per metre though do not really have good choice of quality fabric. But they are convenient and do cover all your basics like zips, threads and buttons. I bought my first Toyota sewing machine for $150 from Lincraft during a sale.

Ebay

Ok so everyone knows about ebay but there's a lot junk on ebay you have sift through to find good fabric and more often than not, the nice pieces are just as expensive as buying it in a store. You can get lucky though. I found this super gorgeous dress on Modcloth which had little songbirds on it. After much googling I eventually found a lovely ebayer who had one precious yard which she sold to me for $5! I've only got enough material to have one shot at making this dress so I've been to apprehensive thus far to try. One day...

Future project.

Current state.

Vietnam

OK so this one is a bit unrealistic but I'll share with you my experience anyway in case you are heading that way any time soon. I found some really prints in Ho Chi Minh city for $2.50 per metre. There are specific areas that only sell one type of product so its great when you're looking for fabric that all the stalls are in the one province. I did get a bit of 'variety anxiety' at first just looking at walls and walls of fabrics but eventually just got down to business - picked a stall which had some cute prints and just bought three metres of everything. Buying similar printed fabric in Australia would have been ten times as expensive so I really tried to make the most of it. I also bought some unbelievably cheap zips and thread while I was there. I will never pay $4 for a zip again.

Cats and stripes and spots...oh my!