Monday 12 July 2010

Dressmaking Part Two.



A lovely weekend despite the overcast weather clothing Cornwall of late. We still had fun with trips to the cinema, fruit picking and watching Dave belting out songs with his school staff band at a 'gig' (I use the term loosely as it was a Fun Day, but they really are a very good band and Dave really is a very good if very growly singer much suited to the likes of Nickleback & Reef type songs!). Anyhow, first up comes the fruit.



Isabella was supposed to be holding the bowl for me to gently drop the berries into, but from my precarious position I could see they were fast disappearing into her mouth. Fortunately, the thought of playing horses on the prop that supports our very old and wonky pear tree was more appealing than being moaned at by me.



A daydreamy moment while riding the plains.



We (I) picked so many that a batch of tayberry jam seemed a good idea. Just look at the richness of this bowlful.



And so on to the dressmaking stint of the previous weekend, the one where I sewed three articles in one day with no pattern and a lot of luck. This is item number two - a skirt for Lucy made from a hacked about skirt of her older sister, Lauren. It went from this...



to this: A flicky skirt with two ruched sections in the front decorated with black ribbon to keep a slightly more grown up feel (well, she is twelve now you know).



I actually found it quite hard to photograph the ruched bits to show how they lift to form a sort of gathered section which adds a little interest to an otherwise fairly simple skirt.



It was very easy to do and could be achieved either by shirring a small section vertically or, as I did on this skirt, merely using a gathering thread to pull up the amount you want before securing with a few stitches on the machine.



We liked the effect so much that I feel many of our clothes could be receiving this treatment. It is also very forgiving as it can be used to hide an uneven hemline - obviously I am not suggesting for one moment that any of you would be so shoddy as to do such a thing, but frankly my three items were patternless and hurried, hence a little manipulation was required and this was the result!



One happy lady more than happy to pose.



My little Sweetie x

What did your weekend hold? x

14 comments:

  1. Would that I had your talents, I am in awe.

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  2. Oh thank you Cait, but honestly it is just having a go and seeing where it leads (and hiding theones that don't work!) x

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  3. I am in awe of your sewing skills. You must get such a buzz out of making clothes for your girls. Love the skirt so pretty.

    The jam looks yummy. We too went fruit picking on Saturday. Mainly strawberrys and raspberries. I am hopefully going to make some cupcakes later with the strawberries! Wish me luck. lol.

    Beautiful pictures as always. Have a wonderful week.

    MBB x

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  4. Hi Pipany!!

    Thank you so much for visiting my blog - always lovely to meet new people! And I know what you mean, I am always hopping from one blog to the next and have no idea how I got there in the end...:) - I guess that is part of the fun!!!

    Anyway, I have enjoyed my visit here too and will be back!!! Nicola

    p.s. Rain has reached us up here in Suffolk now too and I am really enjoying it!

    Oh - and you Tayberry Jam looks absolutely delicious!!!!

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  5. What a stunning girl you have there and a cutie too! Love the skirt - how clever to be able to do that without a pattern and the jam looks ymmmy.

    Jane

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  6. Oh stunning! I love that ruched effect and it doesn't sound too tricky. Your girl looks beautiful.

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  7. What a brilliant model Lucy makes (and her skirt looks lovely too).

    Lovely photos as usual, you have a real talent there.

    Sue xx

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  8. What a lovely skirt, the ruched effect really makes it. Lucy is a perfect model for it too.

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  9. Hi Pipany
    Wow your girly looks so lovely, she should be a model she has that pose down to a fine art. You did a great job on the skirt.
    Big Hugs
    Gem
    xxx

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  10. I love your pictures. That is a super cute skirt, love the bow accents, what a great and fun idea! I wish I had you talents, I would whip up some skirts for my daughter who is only 3 but so into everything girly. When I was younger my mom's hobby sewing and she would make dresses all the time. There was a time my sister and I found it fun to make shorts, but that only takes you so far! lol! Great post! happy day!

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  11. I love your manipulation of dressmaking and the skirt looks fabulous - very grown up.

    Here's keeping my fingers crossed that the weather lifts and is back to it sun tingly self soon.

    take care,

    Nina xxx

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  12. You chose beautiful material for the skirt, and did a great job on it. Well done!

    Emma

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  13. What lovely skirt! I can't wait to learn the tricks of the trade and start sewing gorgeous things like these for my little girl!
    Are you giving any lessons?? ;)

    I can't think back to what we did over the weekend. It's been way to hot over here! 35C today. Not pleasant. Looking forward to next weekend though, when my hubby gets home!!

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  14. Whoops, forgot to tag my blog address to my name!... Here it is, in case you want to visit... ;)
    www.lalomino.wordpress.com

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