a bit of this and a bit of that

wowser, my blog stats have gone through the roof thanks to Erin over at Dress A Day giving me a shout out on her blog about the post I did on using the Ikea drawers for pattern storage. I thought she would be interested given she must have a vast collection, but it turns out lots of people are interested too! So thank you all for making the journey over here and leaving lovely comments on various posts. I'll try to address some of the comments now.


Firstly I have conquered the Burda World of Fashion jacket and it is now very nearly complete, along with a matching skirt, except for some hand sewing of the hem. To clarify, the jacket is 115A from the 12/2007 magazine. Thank you Jean C for letting me know about complaining to pattern companies about the quality of their instructions, but I think the problem was more me being too eager to start sewing and a little bit lazy, and not investing enough time and brain power in deciphering the instructions. It is a three dot Burda World of Fashion pattern after all! However, I overcame the problem of not being able to do the one piece bound pocket following their instructions by substituting it with a traditional double welt pocket, using the Palmer Pletsch method described by this very instructive tutorial over at Debbie's Sewing Tips and Projects. Since I used grosgrain ribbon for the welts it's not that different from the pattern:


I also used the same method to make the little slit for tab closure on the front too. Here is a photo of the jacket on my dress form, needing it's hem sewn and a good pressing, but you get the idea:

When the weather behaves itself here in Sydney I will take a photo of the jacket and skirt to share with you all (oh, who am I kidding I just wanna show it off!)


Next up, thank you Pamela for leaving a lovely compliment about my Louis Vuitton inspired suit that I posted about here. When I say inspired, I really meant I took the colour combination more so than the construction methods (mine certainly ain't couture), but here is a close up of the fabric and collar/front:


barbie2be, yes I know the amount of sewing patterns I have (nearly 600 now) is a shameful over consumption, but I can justify: I get most of the patterns from op shops (I am recycling and they are cheap), I use / plan to use a lot of them (so they are useful and not just hoarded junk), lots of people give me patterns when a relative passes away and they're happy to see them go to a good home (I'm doing a community service) but mostly because I love looking at the pictures and find them as inspirational as any fashion magazine. Also I think there is some little known law of physics that says an item will expand in volume to fill it's available space of containment, so who am I to deny the forces of nature and not buy any more patterns?


Good thing I don't work in a fabric shop like Jean C and her daughter did - imagine getting free patterns on a regular basis! Sorry Jean no photos of my closets because they are packed and a little messy. I have three of them - one for summer clothes, one for winter clothes and one for special occasion and little used clothes. Not just me though, my husband has his in there too. I don't know what I'm going to do when I have kids and they need cupboard space of their own!


And to all those that admired the Ikea solution for pattern storage, I'm glad the Ikea solution may help you out with your pattern storage too, and that it brought you here to my little blog!