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 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

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

Well what fun times!

I don't know if you know this, but I LOVE complimentary colours. That's where you pair up colours that are on opposite ends of the colour wheel. When the colours are put together they just make each other pop! My favourite complimentary colours are orange and blue, but the other pairs are red and green, and then purple and yellow. This also counts for variations of the colours, for instance; pink, which is a different version of red, goes with green. 

I'm so surprised I haven't done a complimentary colours dress before but I had this mosquito net that I found that had to be used for something! Yes, that's the tulle skirt part. It is a mosquito net. I bunched up the bottom edges as I'm sure you can imagine how long a mosquito net is. It came with a couple of flowers on it, which are the ones on the waist. 

I used a fairly simple dress pattern for the underneath part. I knew the skirt would be more detailed so I just used one that had a flattering neckline and was the right length for the blue petticoat. Unfortunately it did nto flatter my bust line so I had to put more darts in. 

Sometimes there is just not quite enough leftover from a sheet to make another dress so I'm glad I could use up the rest of my blue sheet from my October 2012 dress for another project. 
Because of the random colour of the top I actually used my Spotlight voucher that I got for Christmas, to buy a peach coloured zip. 

After putting it all together I realised I needed a little more bling and decided to go with pearls at all of the bunches and on the flowers and then had to put it on the top as well! It really ties the whole thing together :) 

Materials: Sunset Orange mattress cover from St Paul's Thrift Shop Ashgrove ($2), Blue flat sheet donated by Deirdre G, Blue mosquito net from Currimundi Lifeline ($6), zip from Spotlight (free-$1.50), pearl necklace from Everton Park Lifeline ($3), sewing pattern from St Vinnies in Sumner Park (50c)
Cost to make: $13.00

This is the petticoat underneath that is attached to the top part.

I have been sewing in a new house! My sewing room has moved address with me and I have turned an old dusty room into my little craft haven! Still yet to get blinds but it is coming along nicely, and I have a wonderful view while I sew :) Will show pictures when it is all finished and renovated!

So I have been on the lookout for a circle skirt design pattern for quite some time and just so happened to come across one! Excitement! It was only a skirt pattern though so I used the top part of another dress pattern and combined the two for this beauty of a dress down here. 

When going off pattern it can get a little tricky and I had to make a couple of alterations to the dress in order for it to fit together. For instance; the zipper seam for the skirt was on the side, but the zipper seam for the top was down the middle of the back. So I had to add in a seam at the back on the skirt so it would all sit together better. Learning curve. 

I'm a big fan of the circle skirt design, that's where if the skirt was fanned out on the ground it would create a circle, as it is very flattering and sits nicely on the body. The pattern has a short and a long version and I thought I would try long first. The length is always important; it changes the whole look and makes this dress feel very period for me. I'm now thinking of doing a line of 60's dresses, along with petticoats. Swish! 

Materials: Single bed blanket cover from Marsden St Vinnies, zipper from Reverse Garbage Woolloongabba, circle skirt sewing pattern from Indooroopilly McIntyre Centre op shop
Cost to make: $4.25

I know what you're thinking; you're wondering why it's taken so long for me to make a halterneck! I know! But the time has finally come!

Funnily enough; this is an exact replica of a bed sheet my parents used to have on their bed when I was a child. You should have seen my mothers' face when she saw me unpicking this doona cover! 

This dress was also the first one made with my new friend the overlocker! How exciting! The inside of the dress looks all finished and professional and I am super proud of the end product. Even if the first make of the dress was too big for me as it was a size 16 pattern. Better too big than too small so I just nipped it in and now it fits like a dream. For the photo I have put on a large pink tulle petticoat so you can see how much the skirt flares out. 

Can not tell you how wonderful it feels to wear this dress; it is so satisfying making a retro styled halterneck dress! :)

Materials: Doona cover from Graceville McIntyre Centre, zip from St Vinnies Sumner Park, sewing pattern from a VERY long time ago; it's one of the very first I ever bought. 
Cost to make: approx. $7.20

How delightful!

This one only took me about 3 days (slowly) and it is a lovely little number. Perfect for picnics or daytime dates :) I had a fair amount of material left over to make accessories with as well. I might redo the collar though; I wish the frill on the collar was a bit more frilly. If it was longer it would be a much better ruffle. 

I have been asked to make some dresses for a feature film produced by some very talented people, and I will show you more about that later when the time gets closer, but the film is set in the 1930's and the 1940's so the dresses I make have to fit in that era. How exciting! I love doing retro looks even if the war time fashion is not as ambitious as some of my previous designs. A lot of clothes from that time were more understated and conservative so I am having a go at trying to replicate this, but with my own little bedsheet twist of course :D This dress is the first one I've made for it. 

Materials: Bed sheet from Cannon Hill St Vinnies, zip from Reverse Garbage, interfacing donated by Pat, sewing pattern from op shop ages ago :P
Total cost to make: $8.50

I also had enough time to make a jumpsuit! Yay! 

Materials: Bedsheet from Arana Hills St Vinnies, Zip from reverse Garbage, sewing pattern from 
Cost to make: $6.50

Well it was a bit of a close one this time. Had so much work and so many other things going on that I only started this dress on the 23rd day of the month! Cutting it very fine....

In the end though, it was a simple design with lots of fiddly bits. Not the most slimming for my waistline; it doesn't quite accentuate it how I like but I am so in love with the back that I don't mind. 

And the COMFORT! It's like a fancy casual dress but I'm not restricted in movement at all! Luuurve :)

Materials: Flat sheet and mattress cover from Graceville McIntyre Centre OP shop, zip from Reverse Garbage Woolloongabba, Interfacing donated by Pat.
Total cost to make: $7.00