The Antipodean Artisan's Story

Monday 14 March 2011

A date with the unpicker


Well I guess you could say I’ve definitely got my sewing mojo back.  I was given this most beautiful fabric from my girlfriend Ness in Australia for Christmas (or birthday – they are very close together and in my old age it gets difficult to remember), and have been wondering what to do with it.

I wanted something to show off the fabric, and thought a shirt would look too busy and there wasn’t enough for a dress (would have made a perfect ‘Alice dress’)… so a skirt – with pockets!!!  I love pockets, and I miss pockets, and am going to put pockets in every dress I make, except for the slinky ones. Why do they take out the pockets once you’re a grown up?  It’s just not right.

It’s been a long time since i self drafted a pattern, so I adapted a vintage ‘style’ (1400) pattern I bought off eBay in a 70s lot pack.  Some of the others are just priceless.  It had a 13inch waist!!!!!  Who has that apart from Victoria Beckham?  So I made the waist bigger, the skirt less full, and added pockets. 

This should have been a one to two hour job from start to finish, but in my haste and lack of practice, I didn’t even try it on before I finished off the seams.  Stupid I know, but I really wanted it done NOW.  Alas, the skirt was way too big (or I’ve lost more weight than I thought), and the pockets were set far too low. 

So, many hours with the unpicker later, I eventually fixed my errors, and sat down and thought about what I was doing, tried the skirt on, pinned appropriately, and now I have one finished skirt (minus the hem – Nameless Cat isn’t too good with a ruler and pins). 

Ness I hope I made you proud.

Cheers, Cyd

2 comments:

  1. The skirt is gorgeous, the style really gives the pattern a chance to stand out, and I totally agree about the pocekts! Beware though - if you've been ill for a week with Bali Belly you probably have lost a fair bit of weight from your middle! you might want to be careful about adjusting the skirt too much ;-)

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  2. I love it. Just gorgeous. How much material do you need for an Alice dress? I have spotted some very pretty material I think you might like. Much love to you dear one. xx

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