Mod Dress: A patterns and postcards update

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There's something uber exciting about receiving mail in the post. The actual hard-copy post. It's a real delight to come home to.

I've received lots of parcels lately after swapping as part of the Perfect Noses' patterns and postcards swap. It's a really great idea and not only do you get to get rid of pattens you never use, you get to receive new exciting patterns and meet some great ladies along the way!

First up, I swapped the Perfect Nose for some of her traced magazine patterns, including a boatneck Knitmode dress. 

I was keen for simple project so this mod dress was the perfect thing. I've had this quilting cotton in my stash for a while, I originally had meant to make it into the Burda Alexander top and a pencil skirt but just never got around to it.

 Benj got all craft with the photos this time too. "Lean in the corner, lift your foot up, look away..." - a photographer in the making I reckon!

The dress is lovely, the boob-bit is a wee bit tight for my liking but I think it would be great to make this again in a fabric with a bit more stretch.

Here are some of the other patterns I swapped for:

A big thank you to Perfect Nose,  Busy Lizzie, Sew Squirrel, Beata, for swapping with me, I can't wait to get started!

I still have a few more patterns left, if you'd like to take a look here.

If you're ever interested in borrowing a pattern too just give me a shout - I'm always happy to post them around for other people to trace and use.

Leggy brunette

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Last weekend Benj and I headed back to Canberra to visit my family.My sister pointed out these leggings she wanted online yonks agobut they cost about $80. I thought this was just craaazy so I decided to whip her up a few pairs while I was in town.

We headed into the local Spotlight when we picked up this cheap green stretchy jersey and black and white stretchy jersey. I used a burdastyle pattern and a leggings drafting tutorial to double check the measurements on the pattern.

Here's Deeny sitting out in the sunshine in her new green leggings.

Doing some exercises.

The black and white pair.

It's always lovely to go back to Canberra, I particularly like the autumn days, beautiful sunny, warm days and chilly nights. We drove the new Beetle down there and boy oh boy was it fun!

A chill in the air

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It's heeereeeee. Winter time is setting in (ok it's been pretty warm lately but I'm sure it's on its way). This past weekend my Ben and Megan's Ben both headed off to the coast for a boys weekend, leaving us with plenty of time for sewing, shopping and watching Game of Thrones (8 hours - addictive).

I thought it was time I attempted to plan out a wardrobe and come up with some ideas of what I might actually wear. It was a pretty fun exercise, I trawled through all my patterns, fabric and notions and jotted down what I would attempt to make this autumn/winter.

This season, I will be conquering knits!

I've never sew with anything knitted before, the stretchiness scares me a bit. But after my recent experiences with the Indian dress (to be posted soon), I think I need a break from zippers and lining. I'll be using this nifty self-help guide from Lladybird to get me on my way.

My autumn/winter plan consists mostly of tops with a jacket and dress thrown in for good luck.

Below some mood boards. Excuse my dodgy photo editing skillz but you get the point.

First up we have the simple wrap top.  So versitile, this little baby goes with pants, skirts AND dresses.

Next up a simple, no-zippers found here jersey dress.

Winter just wouldn't be winter without a Sewaholic Renfrew on the cards.

It's about time I attempted a jacket and a Burdastyle pattern. With a flash of colour on the inside. 

Got this pattern from a friend the other day, a nice green jersey wrap top would be a great addition I think.

And just in case... a bonus round...