Well I am so stoked about this little number. I will wear this again and again. Causal or fancy. I love the sleeves and I love the length and I love the bow and I love the waistline. I am so proud of my workmanship on it; I feel like I'm wearing a bought dress! Could be the new little label I have on the inside! (see January 2015 dress)

The pattern is actually for a size 16-22 but I made some guesses and then accommodated with extra fabric and trimmed later where necessary. 

It took me about 9-10 hours to make. Bit confusing in some parts but I finally got the hang of it! After this dress my slip-stitching game is very strong. It's where you go in and out of the edges and the technique makes it so you can't see the thread. 

There is something about this material that is so soft and malleable. It was so easy to work with! I have a bit leftover so might need to make a circle skirt. 

The pattern says to include a petticoat but its a little warm for that right now! Do you think it needs a petticoat anyway though?

Materials: Rose Doona cover from RSPCA Sherwood ($5), sewing pattern from Indooroopilly McIntyre Centre (50c), zipper from Everton Park Lifeline (20c) 
Cost to make: $5.70

Well I have been meaning to make this dress for a while and how delightful it is. 

I'm ever so happy about the skirt part as it turned out to be a circle skirt design (which  I love). The back of the bodice goes high enough to protect from the sun and the sash at the waist cinches in nicely. 

Floaty and fun and relatively easy design. Took me approximately 6.5 hours to make, while enduring this crazy heat that Brisbane is having! 

It has plenty of armhole space and dips in a little so may need a strapless bra. Maybe next time I will use a brighter print but this makes it nice and casual. 

This is also my second cheapest dress!

Hope you had a Happy Christmas and have a Happy New Year everyone!

Materials: double flat sheet donated by Gemma H (thank you!), interfacing donated by Pat, sewing pattern from Eatons Hill St Vinnies (25c), assorted buttons from collection
Cost to Make: $0.25

I know what you're thinking; that can't possibly be a bed sheet someone got rid of! Well it is actually offcuts of fabric that a friend gave to me. I have had it for a while, but the two pieces I got were one narrow piece that measured 30cm x 2m and the other was a 1m x 2m piece. A little tricky to fit a pattern on if it had a long or flared skirt! Especially as the zebras only go one way. But I just this month found this Vogue mod dress pattern that had a straight cut and short length and thought it would be perfect! 

At first I was going to make the yoke or collar a different colour, like a bright red or orange, but then thought it might be a bit tricky or limiting for the wearer to coordinate accessories. I personally would pair it with a large bright orange necklace. Plus then I use more of this fabulous zebra material! 

It may look quite basic, but there is also a lining underneath and there was a lot of hand sewing that needed to be done; especially slip stitching. Slip stitching is when you have to sew but not show any thread. All in all it took about 8 hours so not altogether too stressful; a very pleasant project. 

Plus there are pockets and zebras! No one can be unhappy in a zebra dress with pockets! 

Materials: zebra offcuts fabric donated by Miranda (free), sewing pattern from Grovely St Vinnies (50c), large zip from Reverse Garbage ($1.50), 1/4 of lining fabric from Grovely St Vinnies ($1.00)
Cost to Make: $3.00

Busy times! Managed to make this dress in about 10 hours but was still a little strapped for time with all the catching up I had to do after being away. 

The material on this one is fabulous; higher thread count maybe but I'll never know because it didn't come in the original packaging haha! It was very forgiving material and was very easy to work with. 
The sewing pattern was a bit odd though; there was this one part about the facing on the inside that was quite unclear and I'm not sure I did it quite correctly but the end product is delightful. 

I decided I always do flared dresses and needed the challenge of a tight dress, plus the buttons make it a bit tricky to pull off, so I picked this particular dress. Even though on the pattern there are other lovely designs which I will definitely have a crack at another time. 

All in all it is quite splendid indeed. 

Materials: half of a purple flat sheet from Sumner Park Vinnies ($2), sewing pattern (20c), buttons from Keperra Lifeline ($1), interfacing donated by Pat
Cost to make: $3.20

Well I hate to sew and run but I am off to France for 3 and a half weeks so I had to finish this project quick smart!

A quick and simple design, dress 'D' only took about 5 hours maximum to make. Unfortunately the pattern turned into a size 14 even though I checked measurements. Plus I might need to re-measure myself as I seem to have lost some weight recently. The buttons are effectively useless as they do not need to be undone for me to just pull it over my head. Hence the belt as without it I look like tangerine trouble. 

This is currently the cheapest dress I've ever made: most of the materials were given to me from friends! The only cost was the sewing pattern! 

I'll definitely alter the dress to be a tighter fit and maybe throw in a zip in the side to make it more snug; as I prefer zips to belts for tightness. But maybe I won't need it after I come back swollen from all the cheese and wine in France! Au revoir! 

Materials: blood orange mattress cover donated by Natalie K (thank you!), buttons from an old garment (free), interfacing donated by Pat, sewing pattern from 2 years ago (20c), lace trim donated by Pat. 
Cost to make: $0.20

Well this pattern was only half there! I was missing the pattern piece for the bottom tier of the skirt which I guess is what happens when you buy second hand patterns! Luckily it was the same length as the second tier of the skirt, just not the same width, which is why it is shorter than the picture. 
I figured it would be an awkward ankle length for me anyway as I am quite long and tall so I just used the same pattern piece that I used for the second tier. It actually worked out better though as that was all the material I had from the sheet, so I had only just enough material for the dress! 

And what a tremendous fit. One of the most flattering dresses I've made so far. Great for my waist and I love the ruffles so much! Lots of practice for gathering what with all those tiers on the skirt and the ruffling on the neckline! I really like how it can be a strapless dress but because of the fitted waistline it doesn't need any stiffening or boning in the bodice to keep it from slipping down. Which I love as that saves money on materials, and boning is very hard to come by in op shops ;) 
I may make a red rose belt for the dress as well as the colour is very much like the picture for once. 

All in all a great find, and not too many materials required either. A plus for this pattern :)

Hours: 15.5
Materials: Paled Red Double Flat Sheet from Indooroopilly McIntyre Centre (approx. $6), Sewing pattern (20c), zip from Spotlight ($1.80 but free with my voucher), elastic donated by Pat, bias binding donated by Pat, 
Cost to make: approx. $8.00

I had only just enough material for this dress! Had to do the lining of the bodice in a different sheet though as I ran out for that but I thought I would go for the super long dress instead of the medium dress (see pattern picture) for this time. 

Super in love with the back; it was literally the whole reason I made the dress in the first place! It would be great with a neat hair up-do but it was a bit too cold to get too creative with my photo shoot! 
Love the back more than the front, as it could be more flattering for my chest; it really could sinch in a bit more underneath my bust. That is quite easy to alter later though if I choose. 

It took approximately 18 and a half hours to make. Very stoked with the end result; even if it is a little pale: the picture doesn't show the colour of the floral very well. 

I will have to make more bows like this one. The pattern told me to put netting on the inside of the bow which is what has made it stiff and sculpted. Unfortunately I only had fluoro yellow netting and I was worried that the bow would be tinged yellow but it turned out ok. If I was making them in less of an experimental way I would get the right colour. 

Materials: flowery single flat sheet and mattress cover from Ipswich St Vinnies (approx $5), pink bodice lining from Nov 2013 dress scraps, zip from Reverse Garbage ($1), yellow netting in bow and sleeves from Reverse Garbage (used 25c from $6 roll), interfacing donated by Pat, sewing pattern from Bridgeman Downs Uniting Church Garage Sale (25c)
Cost to Make: approx. $7.00

Such whimsy! This is some old (probably childrens) bed linen that I managed to find and isn't it fun?!

I'm sure I wasn't meant to use a one-way design material with this dress pattern, but I had to use the material and couldn't resist this design as it is so simple but lovely. I didn't want the dress pattern too complicated as there is a bit much going on with the print. There are elephants and tigers and all sorts here. I would prefer bed linen that is not so much white but this pattern was just too cute!

It actually turned out way better than I thought it would! I wasn't expecting too much as it is always a hit and miss with patterns that only have a drawing of the dress on the front cover; and no photo. Very impressed with the fit and style and it is super comfortable! I would definitely pay too much for this if I saw it in an OP shop :) 
 
Materials: Single blanket cover from Marsden St Vinnies ($3.50), interfacing donated by Pat, sewing pattern from Sumner Park St Vinnies (20c), zip from Reverse Garbage ($1).  
Total cost to make: $4.70

Happy 2 year anniversary little blog! 
It's been a lot of dresses and creations along the way but I have been at this since April 2012! 
Let the creating continue!

For this month I made a simple classy design dress but used some second hand velvet I got from my days at Reverse Garbage. For my first time working with velvet it worked very well because it was stretchy so instead of putting in a zip I just left the seam as is and it just slips on over your head! Yay stretchy fabric! 

The velvet is very unforgiving material to work with though; any mistake I made was agony to unpick as it would ruin the material so there was no room for mistakes. Luckily the design only called for a couple of pieces so it was relatively simple but I don't know if I could do anything trickier! 

Materials: Black velvet from Reverse Garbage ($6), interfacing donated by Pat, sewing pattern from Sumner Park St Vinnies (50c) 
Cost to make: $6.50

Then I also made something which is technically called a 'Culotte Dress'. I think it's a jumpsuit really though. 
Culottte dresses are usually "women's trousers, usually knee-length or calf-length, cut full to resemble a skirt". The term originally comes from the french term which literally meant breeches. 

I really liked the design because it's a flared pant which suits me better for jumpsuits. It is always hard to find a good one! The top part is pretty old school but it is comfortable and light and also fun and casual! 

Materials: Red flat sheet from Ipswich St Vinnies ($3.50), sewing pattern from Bridgeman Downs Church Garage Sale (25c), interfacing donated by Pat, zip from an old outifit (free), 
Cost to make: $3.75

I had a bit too much free time this month and almost made 3 projects but decided to just finish the two and complete the next project next month. 

This dress is so interesting to me. The top of it did not fit as well as I would have hoped but the skirt part is remarkable. And that was the main reason I wanted to make it. The skirt has cording in the green edging part and is super fetch! I added shoulder pads as the top was a little roomy. It looks very classy though and I love the material; it's like an old oil painting :) 
First time doing long sleeves and I will definitely do it again! 

Unfortunately I did not have the right zipper but luckily I have an amazing auntie who gave me a Spotlight voucher for Christmas. Zips are not that different in price when purchasing, in op shops they are usually $1 and in Spotlight they are a maximum of $2 for the long ones. 


Materials: Doona cover from Indooroopilly McIntyre Centre ($5), 60cm zip from Spotlight (using Xmas voucher), shoulder pads from an old garment (free), sewing pattern from Indooroopilly McIntyre Centre ($1) 
Cost to make: $6.00

Oh also I made a double peplum suit jacket with a matching skirt. I am so in love with it! Long sleeves again and it is one of my best made pieces. It came together so well! I feel like I am channeling Cybill Shepard from her 'Moonlighting' days! 

Materials: Doona cover from Sumner Park St Vincent De Paul ($4), sewing pattern from Southport Lifeline (20c), buttons from Lutwyche Lifeline (5c each), 15cm zip from an old garment (free), interfacing donated by Pat (free)
Cost to make: $4.55