The Shabby Apple Mad Hatter Giveaway!

Have you seen the gorgeous Mad Hatter Collection over at Shabby Apple? Well, you should because it’s amazing and I am in love with all the beautiful pieces I’ve posted here! And what’s more, one of you will get a chance to win an item of your choice from the collection!

I had the privilege of asking Kate Weed on the Design Team at Shabby Apple some questions and am happy to share them here with you!

Q: Shabby Apple designs have inspired many of us, what or who are your source of inspiration? What inspired the Mad Hatter Collection?

Shabby Apple: Inspiration comes from so many different directions and sources. It can come from a vintage dress, an iconic actress, a current television show or film, an aspect of nature, a city or country, or artwork. The answer is really, from anywhere!

The Mad Hatter Collection was inspired by a number of different sources. To name a few: a love for feminine detailing and the current prevalence of lace, the whimsy and imaginative essence of the Alice in Wonderland tale, an embrace of all things English and the style of Princess Kate Middleton, and vintage table settings used in tea parties at the turn of the century.

Q: What are your tips on creating wearable vintage inspired pieces, which still looks pretty much today?

Shabby Apple: Our tips are to fuse vintage detailing or a vintage shape with another aspect that is more current. This means taking a vintage design and using a very current fabric/color combination, or using a current shape with vintage details or a vintage print.

Q: In your opinion, what are the essential wardrobe pieces for Spring 2012?

Shabby Apple: Our list for Spring 2012 essentials includes: the midi skirt in a bold color, a longer (rather than cropped) blazer, a navy blue dress, a bright leather bag, an accessory piece in rose gold.

Thank you so much Kate for sharing these tips with us!

And to participate in this giveaway, all you have to do:

1) “Like” Shabby Apple on Facebook and include your facebook name in the comment (so we can verify when you win:))

2) Browse through the Mad Hatter Collection and let me know your favorite item/size. If you win, the item will be mailed to you anywhere in the world by Shabby Apple.

3) You can double your chances of winning by subscribing to my blog and triple your chances by following me on twitter.

It’s that easy! This giveaway will close on March 12 2012.

 For the next 30 days, readers from this blog also get a fabulous 20% off coupon when you make a purchase at Shabby Apple. Just enter the coupon code ‘sewconvert20off’ at checkout, happy shopping!

Blessings!

Adey

A Poll: It’s a mad mad mad mad world!

I must confess I’ve only watched two and a half seasons of Mad Men but the dresses wore by two women in particular on the show and in cast photos continue to wow and inspire me. With all the buzz created by the series’ return on television March 25, the sewing world is filled with exciting challenges and sewalongs! Mena at The Sew Weekly will be having a themed week, Julia Bobbin has sewn two perfectly adorable Mad Men dresses out of the same pattern and is hosting a Mad Men Challenge on her blog, Gertie has finished her Joan Holloway-inspired rose appliqué dress  and No Pattern Required is having a Mad Men Sewalong of Peggy’s Perfect Skirt. It’s exciting just hearing what others are doing and that makes me wanna sew up a Mad Men Dress!

WIthout further ado, here’s the list of dresses I’m mad about placed above sewing patterns I could use in my stash. I really need your help to select which dress I should sew first. I have been having such a hard time deciding, so please help me by making a selection at the poll.

What I would name Peggy Olsen’s signature dress, this black and white gingham has been my top Peggy dress since the first season, no other came near until I saw dress number two, the inverted pleats dress below. My pattern of choice is Butterick 2137 and Yes! I will definitely add the midriff band and front skirt flap with buttons. I love those additional details so much! What’s more, I’ve got a black/navy blue/ white gingham in my fabric stash just for this!

I think I love the inverted pleats dress so much because of the color combo. It kinda reminds me of my orange tab dress but is a sweeter, more demure version. Simplicity 5581 comes close to the design and I actually do love version 2 on the pattern cover so it’s likely I’ll stick to it!

Mademoiselle Holloway looked great in almost every dress but my favorite of her dresses came from these publicity shots. The baby blue drape sleeves chiffon dress is so pretty and elegant. I don’t think I wear that shade well though so I’ll probably make mine in a different color using Simplicity 3445. And those sleeves, I have never sewn something like these before so I’m keen to give them a go.

Last but not least, the V-neck vixen dress, sexy and elegant at the same time. But, let me first express how much I love the pattern details in Advance 7967. Just look at those yummy seams at the lower waist and those pleats on the back neckline! I can’t wait to sew up this pattern! I might use a solid color fabric though just so that the design and technical details wouldn’t get lost in a print.

So, what do you think? I couldn’t even decide which to sew out of only four choices. So, please help me by making a selection at the poll which will be closed after a week. Blogging about these lovely dresses and patterns has renewed my energy to get them done and I can’t wait to finish my Miu Miu inspired dress and get started on this Mad dress project! I hope you will be sewing some Mad Men dresses too! Have a blessed week!

The 40s spring floral dresses

Yay! I finished sewing the 40s mother-daughter floral dresses last week and am almost done with a chiffon top to go with my lace shorts (yes, another UFO out of the way!). The patterns I used for the dresses were vintage Simplicity 3384 and 3611. The two patterns, unlike others in my stash were not part of the ‘true’ mother-daughter fashion series but something I put together as I saw similarities between them- front yokes and the pleats. My Simplicity 3384 was an unprinted pattern which came with no instructions. All I could rely on was the visuals on the front and back of the envelope. I had to kinda wing it and work the bits and pieces into a dress.

Here’s the mummy spring floral dress with yellow piping between the yokes and bodice. I wore it with a self-fabric belt made with another 40s dress last year.  I am beginning to think I might be slightly long waisted and added a few centimeters to the front and back bodice as I would to any 40s blouse pattern. Do you normally make adjustments to the bodice length, like me?

I adored the slightly higher sweetheart neckline, the pleats on the front bodice, front and back of the skirt but think I might have done the skirt pleats differently from what the pattern intended and could only wish I sewed the daughter dress first.

You see, both dresses came with centre front  and side front skirt pieces and these were supposed to be stitched together before the pleats were sewed. By doing so, the seam line becomes hidden below a pleat (as shown in image below). When I did this for the daughter’s version, I knew immediately that I have missed this detail on my dress. Mystery solved and now I know why there was an additional small dot on each of the side skirt pieces. So, it is quite a miracle that my dress fitted well upon completion. 

I usually buy only a yard of fabric for my lil princess’ dresses and as a result didn’t have sufficient pink floral fabric for the entire dress this time. So, I improvised and used an ivory eyelet fabric for the yoke and sleeves to create a faux bolero. Yellow scallop trim was used for embellishment. 

I adored the tiny Peter Pan collar but was quite surprised that the dress actually came with a front zipper in its design. I found an old regular zipper in my stash with the right length for it.

I am so glad to be sewing again and can’t wait to wear the dress out together with my princess. She has beaten me to it and wore hers last Saturday. These cotton voile/lawn fabric from Lecien are a dream to wear, so light weight and comfortable!

And thank you so much for leaving me suggestions/ links on lining the jacket which will be an ongoing challenge for myself while I finish the rest of the projects. Finally, I’ve gotten those jacket buttons and finished those buttonholes! I’ve got to start working on the lining, cuffs and collar soon but at least it’s progressing:)

Have a blessed week everyone!

The UFOs and the dress that refused to go away!

No more deadlines.

Procrastination. Lethargy. Pure laziness. Whatever the reasons…

the UFOs piled up…

way up high.

To get myself out of the blogger’s block, I decided to update my blog with a new look, update all links and information just to get myself typing again. I seem to slip into this non productive mood after a break or a vacation. And on the sewing front, I have been working on projects but not really finishing anything which really pisses me off. First I started on a pair of crochet lace shorts only to find out that I have no matching zipper of the right length.

The first of the UFOs to come.

Next, I started on and am currently a quarter way to finishing a 70s suede coat for hubby using vintage Simplicity 6887. It’s my first experience sewing with suede and the first time I’m gonna try to line an unlined coat pattern with back vent so I’m keeping my fingers crossed And please, if you know of any great tutorial on lining a coat with back vent, please let me know. The coat front, back, sleeves, pockets and shoulder tags are all done but I have yet to attach the pocket flaps, cuffs, collar and lining. Why did I stop? Buttons….I had enough of them originally but had to use 6 of them for hubby’s new years shirt, so now I am short…

Both problems coming from my notions inventory? Not just that, I was going to get these replenished as soon as possible but something bigger stopped me. The scorching heat of Spring. I hope the weather will be kinder soon as I plan to do some notions shopping in chinatown tomorrow.

With the above sewing plans coming to a halt, I’ve started working on a set of mother-daughter spring floral dresses from these 1940s sewing patterns. The sweet fabrics are Japanese voile from Lecien. I’m sewing the mother’s version at the moment and it’s a new challenge for me as the pattern came with missing instructions but I love the pleat details too much to give this a miss. At the moment, it’s still going pretty well and I’ve finished the top half of the dress.

What’s happening after this? I wasn’t sure until my visit to the doctor’s earlier this week.

I first saw this blue dress on the cover of Urban, a fashion supplement that comes with our newspapers on Fridays and posted this photo on twitter 21 January.

After three weeks, I’ve forgotten completely about it until I saw the same dress again while flipping through a magazine, waiting for my turn at the doctor’s.

Sheer coincidence, I told myself. After the appointment, I happened to walk pass Miu Miu and couldn’t believe my eyes. The actual dress was staring back at me! Boy was I taken aback! A dress that refused t go away?

I told myself there and then. That’s it, I SHALL make myself this dress! I later googled and found out that the gingham dress was from Miu Miu’s 2012 Resorts Collection.

I will only be starting the rest of my Spring/ Summer wardrobe sewing after finishing these. Plans are still being finalized and I’ll be letting the land of my Spring vacation inspire my Spring wardrobe. I’ll tell you more soon:)

Welcoming the Year of the Dragon!

Happy year of the dragon! My son was extremely excited about the coming of this new lunar year as the dragon is his favorite creature from the Chinese zodiac (blame toothless:P) and our family surname is 龍 (Dragon in Chinese). I finally have the opportunity to snap a photo of the siblings in echino outfits at a gathering with friends. There’s my princess striking what she’s named the ‘snow white pose’ after witnessing how princesses gestured in Disneyland.

Before starting on the food and wine, we had fun watching the daddies and kids at play by the pool. I wore my Braving it out dress, the gathers and S-shaped seams are showing extremely well here.

Here are the 3 shirts I finished sewing last week. There are all based on burdastyle’s Jakob pattern. The green and brown polka dots and purple ikat print shirts were for my hubby and the centerpiece was for dad who requested for a pocket.

Personally, I really like this shirt I made for dad using a border print fabric from Alexander Henry’s Lakspur collection. It was the most interesting to sew out of the three as I got busy with fabric placement.

The original fabric came with stripes at the border but I didn’t really like those at the bottom of the shirt so I cut the fabric above those stripes and used them for the collar instead. 

All seams on the inside of the three shirts were finished with french seams or hemmed so no seam was left exposed, making them more comfortable for the wearer.

The french seams where side and sleeve seams met.

Here’s hubby in his ikat print shirt with stand collar. He has a preference for them so I simply dropped the collar piece from the Jakob pattern and used the collar stand for this version only.

The buttons used were cute black and white ones.

Now that I’m done with my new year family sewing, its time to come up with my Spring and mother/daughter fashion sewing plan:) Are you still sewing for fall or already planning for spring? Or if you are from the Southern Hemisphere, already sewing for summer?

Whichever it might be, happy sewing! Wishing one and all prosperity, health and success in the new year!

Your favorite dress and my 2011 sewing targets

I was dying to know this. Out of all the garments I’ve sewed in 2011, which were the favorites amongst readers and your responses during my birthday fabric giveaway have given me some insights. The competition was fierce and here are the top 10, each winning by a single vote! The most mentioned dress was the Jason Wu Bow Dress. This didn’t surprise me, it was a fave fabric on a fave pattern on a dress I have been wearing a lot! It was also fun and simple to construct. Definitely my fave dress of 2011 too! While I have styled it with a belt for the photos, I normally wear it without belt as the bloused effect of the bodice and the fit made the dress pretty flattering on its own.

There was a tie for second place. The 40s Sweetheart Dress I made for Valentine’s Day and the Blue & White Parasol Dress.  I would consider these dresses the two I spent the most effort on. For the sweetheart dress, it was my first experience sewing with such a difficult silk blended fabric. Its placing as THE project with the most time consuming fabric cutting process is indisputable.  The parasol dress probably took up the most time for fabric placement and bodice fit but that experience was fun for me. I think I find a lot of satisfaction when stripes matched. It was also unnerving when I had to cut slits in the skirts to insert those pockets while trying to decipher the brief instructions. Two challenging projects which I am happy with despite the issues I faced making them. I will have to start wearing them more to make them worth my effort:)

Another tie for the fourth spot. The Much Needed Curves Kitty Dress and The Abandoned Hangar dress. I’ve totally enjoyed making these two and felt a confidence boost whenever I’m wearing them. The Kitty Dress, based on Colette Pattern’s macaron, is so flattering and creates the illusion of a tiny waist that even my friends thought I lost weight-  Scoring BIG points for any pattern!  The Abandoned Hangar dress was made using the 1939 Evening Gown sewing pattern from Eva dress (a reproduction of McCall’s 9906 ), one of my fave patterns. It is body hugging with a flare skirt and incredible gathers on the bodice.

It’s tie for the sixth position for two dresses made from the same pattern! Simplicity 2591. The Au Revoir Dress and the Giddy with Polka Dots Dress.  Both easy to make, wonderful everyday dresses I wear on a regular basis.

There is a three-way tie for the eighth spot. The FELA Tribal dress, the Gather & Go Dress and the Sewn on Borrowed time dress. The FELA dress being on this list shocked me. I’ve always assumed that more comments correlated with more likes. This was one dress with few comments and yet made it to the top 10 list. Personally, I do love the fabric combo and hope to wear it more. The Gather & Go Dress has become a go to dress for me. Knits are just easy choices for casual wear and I intend to sew up a few more versions of the dress.  I love love love the Sewn on Borrowed time dress but have yet to find an opportunity to wear it.  I am actually contemplating unpicking the lower skirt section and wearing the top with the W seam and beads as a pretty blouse. As you can see from the photos, I am so unimaginative when it comes to posing kekeke.

The other thing that has been on my mind is whether I have met my targets for the Sewing Through the Decades Challenge and the Craft Book Challenge, two other challenges I’ve taken up while doing the Sew Weekly Challenge. I’ve finally found some time to update the lists. I’ve definitely exceeded targets for the former but for the Craft Book Challenge, I am one project short. Oops!

I’ve just placed a link to my brand new Twitter account below the subscription bar so do follow me on twitter for updates on new projects, drool worthy patterns or fabrics, tutorials, giveaways, polls or just to get to know me a little more. I’ll love to hear from you:)

Have a good sewing week my sewing comrades! Let’s persevere!

The Peekaboo Post. New Year Resolutions and Wish list.

Peek One

I’ve just finished matching siblings echino outfits for the lunar new year and ever so excited to snap pictures of them. I’ll try to get some photos taken when my lil prince and princess wear these on 23 January. 

The dress is made from a 1930s mail order pattern 5201 which came in an envelope without the pattern company’s name so I have no idea of its origins. It is a size 2 pattern but my 3-year old is so petite that I have to take in the sides after fitting.  The pattern pieces were unprinted and instructions (only 4 to 5 paragraphs) were printed on the back of envelope. I chose to sew View 1 which is a simple dress with front yoke and pleats. A simple design brings out the flavor of echino fabrics best in my opinion.

The echino print with buses looks familiar? Indeed, it has the same print but different colorway as my Mod Oriental Dress . Remnant of the doubleknit fabric from my Braving it Out Dress was used for the font yoke. So, I guess we can go out in Mother-Daughter fashion when I wear either of these dresses:)

Last year I sewed my son a shirt for the new year but he only wore it once. The thing is he prefers the comfort of tees, doesn’t really enjoy wearing polo shirts and totally detests woven shirts. I made him pants without a zipper as he is so lazy, he has the tendency to pull off his jeans without unbuttoning/unzipping. So, an elastic waisted pants would be perfect for the boy. He dresses for comfort and ease period.

The tee is again made with remnants from the same dress. I embellished it with a pocket and sleeve band using fabric pieces cut out of an old pair of echino pants which the prince has outgrown. The bottom of the tee was cut on the selvedge with fringe and was left unfinished on purpose. The prince seemed to adore these “Flintstones fringe”. The bottom was made with a comfortable cotton drill fabric and embellished with echino’s scooter fabric from the new ni-co collection. My mum told him, “big pockets for all your red packets!” and he responded with giggles.

Peek Two

Laura Mae, the winner of my Christmas/ New Year Surprise Giveaway has received the ‘surprise’ pattern from the merchant! She sent me a sweet email and said:

I received my exquisite new (to me) pattern in yesterday’s mail!  I love it!  Now I just have to find the perfect fabric . . .

Thank you so very much!  It is just what I would have picked out for myself!

Thanks again,

Laura

Since Laura has seen her ‘surprise’ on 11 January, I thought I’d post a photo of the pattern here. Simplicity 3448 from the 1940s has been marked a favourite by me for sometime now. I love the little details on the short sleeves, the detachable bib, the gathers and what looks like shirring or smocking just below the waist and the potential variations of the pattern. Total 40s elegance. Can’t wait to see Laura’s take on it!

New Year Resolutions and Wish List

With the exception of a couple of morning jogs, I did absolutely nothing for fitness in 2011 unless I count stepping on the sewing machine pedal as a foot exercise. For 2012, I have devised a totally unambitious but ‘easy to maintain’ fitness plan. To brisk walk at least 4 km  two to three times a week. I just started walking at the beach by following these green footprints and totally enjoyed the views at the beach so much so that I forgot I was working out!

To motivate myself, I will be updating my fitness progress on twitter, just for my own documentation.

What about Sewing?

Short term goal: CLEAN UP. STASH BUST. SPRING PALETTE SEWING

Long term goal: MORE SEPARATES. MOTHER-DAUGHTER FASHION. PRETTY ON THE INSIDE GARMENTS.

I’m working on shirts next week for hubby and daddy for the new year. My spring sewing will commence after I’ve solved a major problem- the GREAT BIG GIGANTIC MESS in my sewing room. I also want to get my machine serviced, my poor overworked BROTHER. My other problem is space, I am truly running out of space with my burgeoning fabric and vintage pattern stash *Proud Grin*. So, I will have to stop buying these until I’ve used a portion of them up *Sigh*. There are some exceptions off course *Yay!*. I am allowed to buy fabrics while on vacation and have given myself the option of securing some of these modern-day beauties which have been on my wish list since last year if I so wish to *kekeke*

They are from Independent Pattern Companies and come in the pdf format. And pdfs are not gonna take up any physical space, right?

1) Victory Pattern’s Hazel and Anouk, both truly beautiful and unique.

Hazel (Victory Patterns)

Anouk (Victory Patterns)

2) Salme Pattern’s Loose Fitting Pleated T-shirt

Here’s the version my fellow TSW contributor Sarah sewed last year and I have been wanting to make one, no two of these since I saw it. One in chiffon and one in knit. Perfect for everyday wear!

And off course, I want to finish and test my self drafted pattern for the dress version of my ‘Half way there muslin tee’.

I will probably put the tee version up first after a few more tests. I have no idea how to grade a pattern though but given that these are in jersey, they will probably fit a bust 32-36 when finished. Now to save up for a good scanner or figure out how to use the one on my Canon printer.

I’m still a regular visitor at The Sew Weekly and community (You can find the themes here). While I won’t be following the January themes, I might join in for some of the themes after that, we’ll see:) What Mena has done with the site is just amazing and there are more than a hundred contributors sewing together this year with four projects being featured together with Mena’s creation every week. How fabulous is that!

Last but not least, there is something else I have to consider this new year. What to do with my blog? I’m running out of image space (7% left) and am still deciding between an upgrade (which means I have to pay $19+/ year) or to create a new blog. I’m more inclined to do the latter at the moment. So, my next post might very well be on a new blog address Keep you posted.

Have a blessed sewing year!

Christmas/ New Year Surprise Winner . Fabric Shopping in Hong Kong .

Hi everyone

Happy Twenty Twelve!  I’m back and have been busy catching up with friends. I hope you had a fantastic Christmas and New Year!

The winner for the Christmas/ New Year Surprise giveaway (I’m so thrilled you girls found it fun!) is #36 Laura Mae who blogs at Lilacs & Lace. Laura said

“My favorite era is always changing, but at the moment, I am loving the 1940s. The patterns use very little fabric and do not take up that much closet space (a welcome relief because of the many 1950s crinolined beauties already in residence there!).”

Congratulations Laura, I will be in touch soon to find out your size so I can start shopping for that 40s vintage pattern:)

Hong Kong was fun, especially for the kids!

I was really looking forward to fabric shopping in Hong Kong but was a little disappointed with the results.

Don’t get me wrong. There was an abundance of gorgeous prints, vivid solids and a huge variety of fabric types. I guess in Hong Kong, they tend to do things a little differently. I didn’t get to see many rolls of fabrics as they came mostly in the form of swatches displayed outside fabric wholesaler stores like these.

I touched the swatches and for the quality of fabric, prices were inexpensive. HOWEVER, most wholesalers will only sell a minimum of 5 metres per fabric. That was not the major issue. Most wholesalers in Hong Kong did not hold stocks in the stores and it could take one to three days for your cut fabric to arrive. I remember shopping at the Shanghai fabric market and while some stores did not hold stocks, they were able to deliver the fabrics in 15 minutes. So, that was a major bummer for me. I was able to see and touch many gorgeous fabrics (especially loved the chiffon prints!) but was not able to purchase them as I visited the fabric market towards the later part of my vacation in Hong Kong. So, if you are planning to visit the fabric wholesalers in Sham Shui Po (only a few MTR stops from Tsim Sha Tsui), Hong Kong, remember to go early in the trip and revisit for collection a few days after. And, yes you definitely need to bring cash.

I didn’t go home empty-handed though as I stumbled upon a stall selling denim in rolls and bought some black stretch denim and blue denim with a glittering effect. Both at US$3 per metre. In Singapore, I usually pay US$8 per metre of basic denim.

At other corners of the fabric market were many stores selling leather, beads, buttons and all sort of sewing accessories. I managed to buy some belt buckles from this store.

Sadly, that was all the sewing related shopping I did. But, the next stop at Disneyland certainly cheered me up. My fave Mickey  and fave waffles….:P

And I managed to get photos of my last Sew Weekly project taken at the Disneyland Hotel where we stayed for a couple of days. You can read more about the “Braving It Out” Dress here. The pattern used was a Vintage Vogue reprint 2787.

The Hong Kong vacation was a fruitful trip. There were people I’ve met and things I’ve seen on this trip that has inspired me to sew some upcoming projects. A couple of stories which I will share once these projects are completed. My priority now is to sew some garments for the family  in time for the Lunar New Year (23 January 2012). But, before that I’m gonna relax and enjoy the yummy lychee freeze (This one’s from Fosters Cafe at Holland Village, Singapore) on this hot hot day!

Have a blessed week everyone!

The Christmas/ New Year Surprise Giveaway!

Hi everyone! How’s your holiday season been so far? I’m probably in the midst of re-living my childhood down at the Hong Kong Disneyland Resort where our family would be staying for a few days so this is the scheduled post while I’m away:)

And here’s the Christmas/ New Year giveaway I promised. So, where’s the surprise Adey?

Well, the surprise is in the item the winner will be receiving. Even I do not know at this moment what it will be. Huh?

Let’s put it this way. Besides sewing and fabric buying, I spend a LOT of time searching and looking at vintage sewing patterns. I’m excited by good deals I stumble upon but because I’m too lazy to grade patterns, I have the tendency to purchase either a 32 or 34. But, I’ve bookmarked/ favored lots of patterns I adored that might or might not be in my size  nor suitable for my weather. So, for this giveaway I’ll be sending you a pretty (if you trust my taste ) vintage pattern in YOUR size from YOUR favorite fashion era  (1940s to 1980s).

(image for reference only)

All you have to do is to tell me  which is your favorite fashion era and why in the comment section and I’ll do the shopping on your behalf if you win:) It will be my little gift to you for the start of the new year. Sounds good?

This giveaway is international and the winner (selected by random.org) will be announced when I’m back from vacation. Subscribers double the chance of winning.

Merry Christmas & Happy 2012!

My Birthday Dress, the ‘Half way there’ Muslin Tee and a Giveaway winner!

I’m now officially 39 and to celebrate my birthday, I made this “With or without bow” Birthday Dress for the Sew Weekly Challenge last week. The theme was the color purple, which happened to be one of my fave colors to wear. It’s strange that while my fave color is green- sage to be exact, it does not appear much in my wardrobe. So, I’m wondering. Do you wear your fave color often? Or is your fave ‘wear’ color different from your fave ‘usual’ color, just like me?

The dress is made from Simplicity 1291 from 1944 which I found on etsy and instantly loved! It can be wore with or without bow since the bow works very much like a brooch. 

And off course without bow, I would fasten the waist tie such that the black and white contrast faces outwards. It is my preferred way of wearing the dress.

The skirt is sewn with an orange lining which does a peekaboo when I am seated. More photos and info on my TSW post here.

This week was tough, tough, tough. It’s the week of “Going Patternless” on The Sew Weekly. I handed in the ‘Half way there’ Muslin Tee which I drafted from scratch through lots of trial and error, as I was too tired at the end of completing the muslin to sew another dress in the same week. The source of inspiration is the Sweet on Stripes Dress from Modcloth and eventually I hope to finish sewing a similar dress like it.  You can read more about the project on my TSW post here.

My WIP shot. My idea on paper. I’ll have to change all the stripes on the back of the dress if I want them to match at the seams. Ideal versus reality. And I realized the button at the back of the neck tie was not necessary. 

Giveaway winner

And off course I didn’t forget, the winner of my birthday giveaway is …………………….#78, Nicole Tobin! Congratulations Nicole, I’m be sending you an email shortly. I hope you enjoy sewing with this fabric! I want to thank all who participated and especially those who went through my entire list of outfits sewn for TSW this far and shared with me your thoughts! Thank you, I’m in the midst of tabulating the scores on each garment as I’m curious curious curious. On whether I will still be sewing weekly next year, I’m still undecided but I’ll definitely still be sewing regularly and as and when possible sewing along the themes for TSW and off course sewing up some mother/daughter fashion as I’ve mentioned previously.

I’ll be away on family vacation very soon till after Christmas but do look out for the Christmas giveaway I have scheduled!

A super blessed Christmas to you and your loved ones!