Next project in readiness for the summer dress pattern

I’m all set to release the summer dress pattern – A fitted bodice with elasticized back, a 3 tier skirt and straps to hold it up just in case and make it pretty of course.

I would always choose a very lightweight fabric  for this dress- like the lawn one I made the summer dress with or viscose like the other summer dress I made with or rayon like the twirly skirt - another free pattern.

But, all these lightweight fabrics didn’t have a distinct right side and wrong side. It becomes very difficult to put up a tutorial with photos if both sides look the same – the mistake I made with the nightie free pattern tutorial. Half way through I just wanted to give up.

It is confusing for me as well when I look at the pictures. So I decided to use a cotton (a quilting cotton) which I wouldn’t recommend for this pattern.

In fact once you sew with lawn, viscose, rayon with the complements you get,  you wouldn’t want to come back to regular stiff quilting cotton.

Take the kids out in car, and by the time you reach the destination the dress or skirt is far away from the kiddo in every direction and all crumbled.

I’ve made so many skirts in the cotton like this phus phus skirt,  another, another and many more - all free patterns. It looks really good ironed and crisp but in no time gets crumbled.

Now whenever I goto fabric store I test the fabric. If you want to see how I test the fabric – here is how.

I just hope the skirt comes out good and the tutorial is easy to follow.

I know it will stand out a bit and that it will not be best picture to pin, but I know this will be best fabric to make the tutorial – which is what you are here for.

Stay tuned the tutorial with downloadable epattern is coming soon.

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Video - Bias tape maker or pins to make bias tape

I recently bought myself a bias tape maker - wonder why I didn't buy it earlier. Simple tools just make life so easy, yet you tend to put it off for later. I don't sew an awful lot so why spend on tools. Right? Same here.. I don't own any fancy foots, tools, cutting board, curves nothing. I own a simple sewing machine and a regular and buttonhole foot that has come along. I could as well survive without this bias tape maker, it was just that spur of the moment at the fabric shop that I bought it.  I made them using pins before that.

Below is a video showing both how I make them now using the bias tape maker and using pins like how I did earlier. I didn't take the video using my camera so its not very clear, not that I take good videos.. can't figure out how to focus or rather not focus at all. I'm really bad at videos but thought it gives a clear motion view especially with the pins.

I used the bias tape maker to make bias tapes for the two summer dresses - made of lawn fabric & another one.
Before that I made then using pins for a flowy dress on which the summer dress will be based on,  nightie and this  sleeved dress.

Have a good Sunday!

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Summer I missed

What am I missing the most due to a summer move of the house? Veggies in the garden. No, really!
I totally love growing veggies. Have been growing them since 4 yrs now and had to give it a miss this year. Last year I didn't have the garden space to grow since it was neatly lawned but that didn't stop me from growing in pots and growbags. Peas in pods - who doesn't love the sweet juicy peas. I bought some podded peas last year after my peas had done harvesting and my son said - these are not sweet like our garden peas.
I thought I should post some pics of the summer last year, our bountiful harvest that we distributed to everyone close. The dress I made is blogged here.
I grew tomato varieties -  gardner's delight,  sungold, ferline, money maker, sun cherry, black cherry, tumbling tom, alicante, golden sunrise, beefsteak  - there will be more that I can't remember.

 She helped pick the tomatoes for dinner everyday. 

 Look at the colours

 Bursting with flavour

All friends got a bag each of tomatoes.

 Have you ever seen a black tomato? No they are not rotten. :)

 They are not perfect but they are mine.

 Beef steak tomatoes. Rasam (Indian dish) made with these were too good.

 Real tomatoes.

 cherries

 Son had a bought a sun flower seed from school. It grew thrice my height. Notice the bee on it.

Peas - I just used the dry seeds that I soak and make curry with. They were perfectly sweet. Well, the kids hardly allowed to plump up, can't blame them - they were irresistibly sweet.

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Summer dress second try

Do you want to have the summer dress pattern? I hope you do and I hope to release it before the summer ends. Doesn't matter to people from India, South India where I belong because its summer every day of the year. One of my customer from work had come to visit India office from Germany and every morning he used to say "What a bright and beautiful day". By the end of the week he realised every day is a beautiful day in India, and this dress can be worn everyday in India that is South India. In north India or where it is cold, you could just cover up with a jumper. But if it get's really cold you'd want to put a t-shirt and tights inside but what's the point if you can't show off those little chubby arms and cute back. Isn't it? :)

 Yeah, she's got colour on her face from the painting she was doing earlier.

 Looking to see if it's clean enough for her to sit.

 Was just getting a wee bit cold, so put on a jumper.

 The not the right button, does it matter.

Husband loved the dress, has never complimented any of creations before and I was feeling really wow, but then I realised it was only because he chose the fabric. :)

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My next sewing project

Husband came along for fabric shopping this time and this is what he has selected. This will be my next project for the upcoming pattern for the summer dress.  This dress has been complemented a lot. Yes, lot more than the humble cape coat. Really..Totally Loving it!!

This month there is not much blogging I did. Blogging is really hard work - be it blogging for fun or if you are a full time blogger. I realise that only now after 5 months into it. Its only so much you can think creatively. Really I have to salute the bloggers who are in this for more than 3, 4 5 yrs. How do they do it I wonder. Creative juices, with beautiful photographs, beautiful poetic vocabulary, some with punchlines... It is hard work, but it is so rewarding for sure. You feel the triumph with every comment. Google analytics - seeing people are online right now viewing your blog, how can this be!!

Ok, back to my next project. I'm planning to have the bodice in a different colour. The pink on front and blue lining or the other way, I'm not sure.
yeah, I was trying buttonholes on this fabric.

The pink is the left over from a kind of circle skirt. Doesn't even look like left over here, I didn't have any idea at the time, how much fabric I might need to buy. The blue is the left over (true left over) from this beautiful nirma skirt.

See you again with my completed summer dress - second try.
Enjoy your weekend.

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Summer dress of lawn fabric

Heat is full on here and I'm loving it. It just feels like the cells in my body are opening up. No seriously I do.
I haven't been very active on the blogging front, I've just been a little busy personally; not that I couldn't make a couple of hours to blog, its just that I just couldn't collect my thoughts to blog. Just too occupied with other stuff.
I made this summer dress of lawn fabric for my daughter. During the last 8 months that I've been sewing or learning to sew, I've used various types of fabric that I've listed below with a few examples of what I made with them.

- quilt cotton (made all those phus phus skirts, nightie, nirma skirt, poltam skirt - all free patterns)
- tried my hands on rayon fabric - rayon nirma skirt
- cord - inverted pleat tunic, trousers
- viscose - viscose nirma skirt
- not so thick jeans material for skirt
- linen - aanchi dress with emboidery
- cape coat with suiting material
- lawn dupatta tunic

Although I've used lawn fabric before - lawn dupatta tunic, dupatta skirt- I didn't know how good it felt until I tried the other fabric. Now that I've I can say I really really love lawn. It's so soft. Its a pleasure to sew and its so comfortable especially for the summer. When you wear quilt cottons by the end of the day they really stand a meter away from your body, this one - No.

A fitted bodice 3 tiers.

 The inner bodice lined with contrast fabric that I used for - cape coat.
I first put elastic straps but my daughter didn't feel comfortable - I might have made it too tight. I had put lots of stitches over to secure and when I wanted to unpick I just gave up. You can see the remnants of it.. hehe.
My other creations are usually much neater than this. Not because of the remnants, but because I would generally have the starting of the straps tucked inside of the lining. But if I did that I would complicate the finishing of the bodice lining and would have a top stitch which I don't prefer. So compromised.

I've use elastic for the back. To be honest I wanted to try my hand at shirring. Couldn't get to the fabric shop but I was itching to get the summer dress done with the pattern I had in mind - so just went ahead and used the elastic I'd. Its so simple - I may be putting off shirring for a while now.

Finished the hem off with this tape which is made using a bias tape maker but cut straight not diagonal. I didn't have any curves here right to waste fabric.

 I thought it was long before putting it on, but I liked the length after it was on.

 The back is fully adjustable with loops on the back and tie back straps.

 No gaping at the front. I know you may be thinking she is so little.But personally I liked the fact that the bodice is fitted.

Hope you all have a great week.

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Sewing with kids around!

Whats going on you think.
House move, had no internet - let's say bad or very bad internet and I still need to buy a sewing table. *sad face*
We have been alternating between furnished and unfurnished house every year. We go to an unfurnished house buy all furniture and either we have to move or the house owner wants the house back. The next thing we know is we have inadvertently liked a furnished house.  Give all the furniture away!
So here we are in the 5th house in 5 years in an unfurnished house trying to furnish it.

In between all of this chaos of house move, address change, packing, unpacking, you see this - Well, this could be either funny or scary depending on you!!

I had to control my miiind to take one direction - either laugh or scream and I was doing both - imagine that. There were about 6-7 flowers made on the guest bed with the pins(master minded by my son with my daughter's assistance) and as I quickly started to clear out I thought I could a take a photo of this.. I can show it to them when they are older, may be I thought.
There also were a couple of more eraser's full of pins that I cleared out. Now when I look back it brings a smile. Aren't they cute!

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