I'm back! Sorry for the lapse in uploads - needed a little break!
Back with more outfits and ready for a splendid year!

I may or may not have been passing through Spotlight and seen a sale on their patterns. I can't resist a good jumpsuit! And it was 3 for $10! 

It was a little bit tricky with this one though - the sleeves gave me a bit of grief; the inside was too big for the outside and it was a bit of mucking around to get it to fit. Other than that we have some super fun pleats and I also lengthened the pants because I do not like sitting down and feeling my bum on a cold seat! The original size would have ridden up too much. The bust area is super flattering - very comfortable, but it is a little tight on the groin area - I think my bum is too big haha. 

All in all a bundle of fun :)

Materials: blue with orange spots retro single flat sheet from Kenmore St VInnies ($3), zip from Spotlight ($1.50 but free on Christmas voucher - thanks Moni!), hook and eye from collection, interfacing from Keperra Lifeline (20c), sewing pattern from Spotlight ($3.30 but free on voucher). 
Cost to Make: $3.00 (or $8.00 without vouchers)

Fun fun fun! 

After a fab year I finished with a fab skirt and top combo. Maybe you recognize the material? I first used it on my April 2013 dress and still had enough for something else! So glad I got to use up this material but unfortunately I was using scraps so the front of the skirt is two pieces instead of one large piece. Pockets distract from that though; yay pockets! Haven't done them on the outside of a dress since November 2012! 

Alas alack! A piece was missing! Pretty important one too: just the front of the top. As the picture shows; I chose C which is a different look to A and B. I had to work out how large it was by the armhole facing pieces and the straps of the back of the top! Mayhem ensued when working out where to put the dart in the chest area. But we got there in the end! I think if I'd had all the pieces I would've definitely done less than 6-7 hours on this one. 

I didn't have any of those waistband hook and eyes so I had to go to Spotlight. I could've done it with a button instead, or maybe velcro but I wanted to try the waistband hook and eye. And the results are brill-o. The waistband flattens down nicely and looks nice and professional. 

Materials: leftover material from April 2013 Old Diamond Rose Dress sourced from Graceville McIntyre Centre ($3.00), McCall's sewing pattern from Annerley St Vinnies (20c), zipper from Everton Park Lifeline (25c), interfacing from Keperra Lifeline (20c), waistband hook and eye from Spotlight ($2.50). 
Cost to make: $6.25

What a lovely number! Nice and simple! 

You can't see in the photo but maybe on the sewing pattern photo; the collar is open at the middle around the neck and the bow is keeping it together. 
It is so lovely and light though - nice and breezy and with good sun protection on the back. 

I added pockets as the pattern had none and I am an ambassador for pockets in dresses; more of them need them. But the pattern is from 1983 so maybe they didn't think they needed them? 

Swish factor is good and high on this one - and I may make a belt to go with; the one I chose is not quite what I'd wear it with. 

​Took me about 4 hours altogether. Yes! 

Materials: flower blossom flat sheet from Ipswich St Vinnies (approx $5), sewing pattern from Ipswich Lifeline (approx 20c), bias binding donated by Pat, elastic donated by Pat.
Cost to make: approx $5.20

Happy Halloween! 

Am I a lobster? Am I a pumpkin? Am I a goldfish?
What fabulous possibilities the colour orange creates!

I have been looking at this pattern for a long while and was not sure I should go with such a vivid colour but orange is my favourite and although the dress would look better with a sheer fabric like satin or taffeta all I have is cotton! 
I love the ruffle and bow situation on the back; it really carries the plain front. I almost put straps on but thought it might be too busy. I don't normally go for strapless dresses as they are quite cumbersome but thought it was pretty classy. 
Would be nice if I had a turquoise belt to put around the middle too. 

​Super in love with it though; so bright!

Time to make: 6 hours (which I also love)
​
Materials: orange sheet from Cannon Hill St Vinnies ($5.00), bias binding donated by Pat, zip from Everton Park Lifeline (20c), Polyester Boning from Spotlight ($5.99). 
Cost to Make: approx $11.20

For some reason September is always a busy month. As well as a dress, I opened 2 theatrical productions, one of which I had to sew 2 jackets for, ran children's holiday workshops, and also went under general anaesthetic for a nostril surgery. 

Hence the simple dress. 

I think the material was too light though. Needed to be a bit heavier to make the right shape. I like the sleeve length and the band on the sleeve but the waist is a little bunchy for my liking. Haven't done a lot of plaid/tartan/stripes so I'm not sure I did it the best possible way. 

A nice light casual dress though, very comfy. May well whip it out for an 80's party. 

Materials: Blue and red plaid blanket from Emerald Lifeline (approx $4), sewing pattern from (20c), 
Cost to Make: $4.20

Wow! Such fun! 

I kept getting more and more excited about the end of this dress; I wanted to see if the finished look was as fabby fun as it was when I was adjusting it. The waistline tapering looks great; there are so many times a dress just phases over the waistline when it is one of my features I'd prefer to highlight. I may take the buttons in a little more though; think I overestimated. 

Unfortunately I had to cave and go in to Spotlight for my buttons! It is super hard to find matching buttons in op shops; mostly just masses of odd ones. I have a good mix but I like to have odd buttons on a dress that are around the same size and didn't have enough. Dare I say it; I'm running out of buttons? No I couldn't possibly be! Nevertheless, I got it in my head what I wanted for buttons and they really do suit the dress perfectly. The round yellow matches the round yellow of the inside of the flowers so well that I think it was definitely worth it. Especially seeing as I got the material for free. Another dress where the buttons cost more than the material! 

Excuse me while I go and twirl as there is so much skirt - it's like a circle skirt!

Materials; Blue doona cover with cartoon flowers & ladybugs from Natalie K (thanks!), interfacing from Keperra Lifeline (20c), sewing pattern from Grovely St Vinnies (50c), 10 buttons from Spotlight ($6.60), 
Cost to make: $7.30

Wowza!

As an effort to use up more of the fabric I have; I am trying to do lining in each of the dresses when I can. This lining fabric is leftover from my September Violet Joie De Vivre Dress. The red contrast is from my April Fire-Engine Culotte Dress/Jumpsuit. Such a shame if it were to sit there for too long!

A reasonably simple design but after making it essentially twice, it was quite a lot of dress. 

I like alternating how the dress comes together; whether it's held together with a zip or buttons, and this one has elastic in the middle. It's quite large without the belt so I think I might have needed to bring it in more but it really needs the belt anyway for the whole outfit to work. 

Super fresh with these colours though; I really like the contrast pieces. It makes it all pop!

Please enjoy my crooked photos. 

Materials: Emerald blue sheet from Bellara Animal Welfare ($5.00), purple lining fabric from Sumner Park St Vinnies ($4), red sheet from Ipswich St Vinnies (approx $1), elastic donated by Pat, interfacing from Keperra Lifeline (25c), sewing pattern from East Ipswich Lifeline (20c), buttons from assortment (free).
Cost to make: approx $8.45

What do you think of the other side? 

What a lovely dress pattern! Stoked to find this one at Eatons Hill St Vinnies; it has a lovely neckline and great flare in the skirt. I hoped it would cinch in nicely without a belt as I prefer when the zip can just bring it in nicely. However, without the overskirt it is not entirely flattering on my body. Almost wondering if I should have just made Dress 2 which is just the top part with a built  in skirt. But Dress 1 with the overskirt was something a little different so I thought I'd give it a whirl. 

I thought this roll of mint fabric I found at Sumner Park St Vinnies would last me forever but this dress has been its last job. The pattern required approximately 3.5 metres including the overskirt. I guess it looks like more when it's on the roll! I've only made 2 dresses out of it (see August Mint Jube Dress from 2012) and about 100 YoYo's (see Fabric Flowers in Reinventions section). I'm glad I had it though; I've discovered that a lot of sewing patterns I'm finding are requiring different types of material; and are better suited to material that is not the usual cotton bed sheet. This pattern recommended: dupion, shantung, satin-backed crepe, lightweight jacquard fabrics, also satin and washed silk. Not something you can easily find in the op shops. 

This may be the shortest dress I've ever made! Whoa dress pattern! Thought you would at least go mid thigh! 

Materials: mint fabric from Sumner Park St Vinnies (), mint zip from Everton park St Vinnies (20c), sewing pattern from Eatons Hill St Vinnies (25c), interfacing from Keperra Lifeline (20c). 
Cost to Make: $0.65

Bringing my A-game when it comes to making dresses with pockets!

For some reason I had it set in my mind a long time ago that I would use this material to make this particular dress. What can I say? I'm set in my ways. Unfortunately younger Franciska never thought it through that this was striped material and also only a single sheet. What a crazy. 

It was a bit of rigmarole to fit the pattern pieces on the sheet and make the stripes all go the right way. And with stripes, what is the right way? What a dilemma! But I decided to persevere. 

Then for some reason I decided that I wanted to make the bodice lined with the same material instead of just having a little bit of facing on the edges around the collar and back panels. Somehow I managed this too. Miracles do happen.

I could've lined the skirt with another white material but only had this shining idea after stitching the waistband together. Maybe one day when I have too much time on my hands. 

Luckily I was a little quicker with this other idea I had; I was super set on getting large yellow buttons for the back but the op shops were not providing! It is really easy to find large bags of mismatched buttons, but it is the hardest thing ever to find collections of matching buttons. In the end I had to cave in and go to Spotlight and the buttons cost more than all the other materials combined! Sheesh! Worth it though, don't you think?

Materials: single flat sheet from Mackay St Vinnies ($6), interfacing from Keperra Lifeline (25c), sewing pattern from Bridegeman Downs Church garage sale (25c), buttons from Spotlight ($6.60) 
Cost to make: $13.10

This month was a whirlwind of busy-ness! 

I only really started and finished this dress on the last day of April! So I pushed it out in 5 hours. Have a little bit of altering to do as it turns out to be a little big for me. Think I was too generous with my seam line. 

But huzzah! Have now been doing this project for 3 years! This is my 36th dress! 

Every time I look at this material I think of mistletoe leaves! 

The sleeves are a bit more retro than I thought they'd be, but nevertheless I  think this is a classy dress just in time to style with winter layers. 

Materials: Dark green double flat sheet from Cannon Hill St Vinnies ($6), interfacing from Keperra Lifeline (25c), sewing pattern from Sumner Park St Vinnies (25c), 
Cost to make: $6.50