I recently rediscovered the Lara dress by Schnittchen patterns. I loved this pattern when it was released in our winter a few years back. It never managed to get onto my ‘to sew’ list until I found it again recently. I love un-fussy designs with unique details similar to the garments seen at COS. It’s…
Tag: Summer
Make menswear
I’ve become obsessed with making button-up shirts recently. Thankfully, Paul and I both love wearing them! I have been making these two Gosling shirts for the past few months, so it was satisfying to complete them. They are pretty quick to put together, but I have been focusing on making garments for myself. The size…
Anthea blouse
The Anthea blouse has featured so often on my Instagram feed that I decided to make it! Anthea is described as a dart-less blouse (or dress) pattern with puffed sleeves. All views have a button-up placket with a bias faced neckline. View A – Blouse – has puffed sleeves that end at or just below…
Zadie jumpsuit
The Zadie jumpsuit is without a doubt one of my favourite patterns. You can see other versions of my makes from this pattern made up here and examples of the top hack here. For my most recent version, I went with a cotton drill from The Fabric Store for the Zadie below. This garment is…
Passiflore dress
When the Passiflore dress pattern by Deer and Doe was released I was excited! I don’t often race to buy a pattern on the day it’s been released as I try to be mindful of my purchases. I had this purchased and printed within 24 hours and planned to sew it up that weekend. I’m…
Grasser 693 skirt
This skirt is the result of an evening spent researching Russian sewing patterns. For a while I was starting to think I’d seen all the new sewing patterns and was feeling a little uninspired. Since falling down the Russian sewing patterns rabbit hole I’ve discovered lots of new companies and pattern designs which has me…
Menswear updates
I wanted to share with you my latest menswear makes. My menswear posts both here and on Instagram get far less engagement than my womenswear posts. However, it’s important to keep sharing to provide ideas and inspiration with you – dear reader. Do let me know if you like this content as it encourages me…
Deer and Doe Myosotis
I tend to follow my ‘guidelines’ of what suits my body shape. You can read more about this here and here. But there are times where I like to create over-sized garments or what I jokingly like to call man-repelling as inspired by the original man repeller Leandra M. Cohen. The Deer and Doe Myosotis dress…
2019 Summer collection
When I met Nina, the director of Style Gorgeous, she got me thinking about my wardrobe as an Orchestra. She talked about how we should have garments in our wardrobe which act like the triangle in an orchestra. They don’t get used frequently but when they do they’re memorable. For instance my Banana Jacket, Falda Jacket,…
Two- piece spectacular!
Paul and I are developing our own family traditions. Our favourite summer festival — Beers at the Basin — is worthy of new outfits. In the summer of 2017 I made Paul the outfit above and myself a Celestial Dress. Originally he wanted a romper but I refused. A two-piece-setacular is way more practical and…
Lodo Dress Hack
I love the Lodo dress! It’s a perfect simple pattern for me. I have been trying to re-use and hack more patterns this year so I thought I’d hack the Lodo pattern into a button down dress like the Adelia. This dress is made in stretch denim (the Lodo is designed for stretch fabrics). The…
Jazz Jumpsuit
6 years ago Paul wanted me to buy this jumpsuit. I wouldn’t – and ever since I’ve never worn a jumpsuit. Well the Jazz Jumpsuit has made me think differently! Jumpsuits are easy to throw on and wear like dresses. This year a few sewists I admire made the Jazz Jumpsuit which piqued my curiosity. Kirsten…
Claudia Top
I’ve been admiring the Tessuti Claudia dress for a while. The problem is our high summer period is short and I don’t get many opportunities to wear sleeveless tops, let alone dresses. Separates seem to be a better option and what I need in my wardrobe. I was drawn to the Claudia dress pattern because…
Serpentine Hat
Paul and I recently went to Melbourne. Him for a work trip and me to enjoy all that Melbourne has to offer. My trip plans included fabric shopping, visiting art galleries and catching up with lots of lovely Melbourne sewists. Being high-summer I knew I’d need a hat which would easily squish into a suitcase….
Lodo Dress
This year I’ve been on a roll this year making lots of separates. However I love a simple dress – it makes dressing easy. I’ve been looking for a knit dress pattern which could become a wardrobe workhorse. I thought I would try the Lodo dress pattern by True Bias in my search for the holy…
The 10 x 10 challenge
Back in December, my friend Kirsten approached me to participate in the Sewist 10×10 challenge with her. (Kirsten has blogged about her experience here). The idea of the capsule closet caused a lot of discussion in the sewing world when Colette Patterns release Wardrobe Architect in 2014. Following on from this concept of a capsule wardrobe Lee Vosburgh from Style Bee…
Dresses for coffee and cocktails
A couple of weeks ago I came across The Day and Night dress challenge organised by Elizabeth Made This. I thought that is a challenge I can do! The challenge asks you to create two looks: A dress with a day look: This should be a casual dress appropriate for your everyday life. This dress should…
Hudson Pant shorts
It’s been a long hot summer, especially in Paul’s office. His workspace is an ex-dance studio turned modern tech office. The space is boiling hot in summer and freezing cold in winter. Paul wanted some shorts and wanted them a) yesterday and b) to be super comfortable for both sitting, standing and table tennis. We…
Sew Over It – Silk Cami
In December the lovely ladies at Fabric Drop sent me some luscious cherry silk rayon fabric. If you haven’t heard of Fabric Drop you should check them out! They are an online fabric, pattern and findings store. The owners are two sisters Claire is based in Invercargill New Zealand (at the bottom of the South Island)…
Sewing Swimwear – Soma Swimsuit
I grew up loving the water and spending every moment at the beach. My first email address was beach_chick. However, in recent years I developed a fear of drowning after a series of horrible nightmares. Looking back it’s sad that I let nightmares hold me back from enjoying the water. Recently Paul and I decided…
Emma's Atelier 