Yay! Another halter-neck! 

This one was very easy to do: only took me about 7 hours. The collar isn't attached; it's just one whole piece and then the neckline folds down to make a collar. The interfacing in the top bodice layer helps stiffen the collar. Unfortunately my interfacing is super stiff and makes the dress quite rigid, and I'm worried that the interfacing will get creased with time after all the collar folding. 

Nevertheless the entire dress is a fabulous design. I think I may very well do another one but maybe D, E, or F. That way I won't have to sunscreen my back when I'm out and about! Yes, I am that pale! 

Lots of hand sewing on this one. I had to slipstitch the lining of the bodice closed AND the entire hemline of the skirt as well. There is an extra piece of facing so that the material around the button holes and buttons is more secure and it made it so I couldn't do my good ol' blind hem! 
Then there are also 12 buttons that had to be sewn on too! Good thing I love hand sewing! 

Materials: Maroon flat sheet from Indooroopilly McIntyre Centre (approx $3.50), sewing pattern from St Vinnies Fortitude Valley (50c), 12 buttons from RSPCA Sherwood ($2.50), interfacing from Keperra Lifeline (25c). 
Cost to make: $6.75

Do you like it plain or do you prefer it with a vintage belt? 

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 how splendiferous! 

I was first going to make the collar and cuffs orange but then it all looked a bit busy together so I went for some yellow from some leftover fabric from another project. 

I have done elasticated waistbands where you make a band and slide through the elastic, but this dress was my first time doing elastic that just gets sewn on to the inside of the dress. This will make it so I won't have to wear a belt if I don't want to. It is already quite busy so I think adding a belt would multiple into mayhem! 

This dress took me about 12 hours. The Kwiksew instructions were a little unclear at times which did not help! But it was a nice challenge to experiment, get it wrong and learn. 

When I first saw this material I knew it might not be enough for a whole project and I actually had to make the skirt a lot shorter. The original design was at least half way down my shin and a very classy cut. However if I used the fabric for something else I probably only would've been able to make a skirt and I loved it for a dress. I was also a little sneaky and didn't cut the inside facing on the grain, just so I could fit in all the pattern pieces. 

Do you prefer the collar buttoned up or undone? They create a very different look don't they? Let me know in the comments! 

Materials: single flat sheet from Everton Park St Vinnies ($1.50), interfacing from Keperra Lifeline (25c), buttons from Keperra Lifeline (20c), elastic donated by Pat, sewing pattern from Sherwood Salvos ($1)
Cost to make: $2.95 

This is my new little label that I got for Christmas! First dress I could put it on! How excitement!

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

This was probably one of the busiest months I've had to squeeze a dressmaking in to. A film and then at the same time a theatre show and then also work as well! But we made it in the end! Hurrah! Luckily the dress only took 5 and half hours! 

I actually picked this dress pattern because I liked the look of the long halter neck dress with the ruffle but I didn't have enough material for that one and was a bit strapped for time so I chose this one. It also has a very different neckline that I haven't done many times. 

For some reason unbeknownst to me, it did not include a pattern piece for the ties of the halter. It detailed quite clearly that it did not have a piece for it; you just had to make it up! Luckily I still had enough material to work with because it pretty much just told me to go with it! Maybe back when this pattern was made it was a very common thing to do? Not sure on that one. 

Unfortunately the pattern is a size 14 and was not a multi pattern so the dress is too big for me to wear. I was going to alter it however I am not sure I can fully pull off the neckline so I will leave it as is and someone else can enjoy it :)

Materials: second hand material from Reverse Garbage Woolloongabba ($6), sewing pattern from Grovely St Vinnies (50c), zip from Everton Park Lifeline (20c).
Cost to make: $6.70

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