SarahLizSewStyle

I was finding it quite difficult to take daily pictures this week, and thought that maybe I would not continue with this challenge.  Then I suddenly remembered that I do this challenge in the way that suits me - I don't have to post a picture with me wearing the clothes. and I don't have to post on every social media site.  So this week I am taking picture boards along with some pictures of me in clothes. Monday 16th May.   Mildish, about 23.  Activities: Work, Chores. Me Made Skirt and RTW shirt and tights: Sewing :  Find fabric and iron, and iron traced pattern pieces for next top. Tuesday 17th May: Warm and Sunny, 27 . Activities, Chores, Work from home. Me Made Skirt and RTW t-shirt. It was warm enough for summer clothes and sandals.  Leggings at night. Sewing - thread overlocker for next top. Wednesday 18th May:  Milder, 23-24. Actitivities - Doctor's appointment, Chores, Pack for trip to Sydney in PM - mostly black basics so I don'

Finally, here it is, the brightly patterned wrap dress, Vogue 8827.  I call it my Persian Dressing Gown Dress. I have had Vogue 8827 in my pattern stash for a long time now.  It was published in 2012, but as far as I am concerned, a wrap dress does not date. The pattern has a few variations: Many of the  reviewers on  www.sewing.patternreview.com  made up the collared version of the dress.  I wanted to make the middle dress - it's just so elegant.  I chose to make longer sleeves though.   I have  a fabric in my stash that would be perfect for the middle dress, but it was expensive, so first I want to test the pattern, and also wear it to see if the dress works or needs modification. The dress does not close with any sort of closure, it just wraps and ties inside like a dressing gown and then you place the tie around your waist and secure the dress.  Most reviewers said the pattern had a huge amount of ease, and I agree, there was plenty of ease - not surprising given

Week two of Me Made May 2016.  This is my first attempt at taking part in MMM and I have to admit that I did not think the timing was superb, as we have a lot of problems at the moment, and what I am wearing is the last thing on my mind. I also have two trips coming up, which I hate. I'm not one of these people who likes to plan a weeks wardrobe - I just put in black separates, a few tops, and that is it.  And my pearl ear studs.  I sometimes think my background as a Nurse affects my dress style - I started as a student nurse at the age of 17 way back in the 1970's. I trained in a very big and acute public hospital, and although we had the modern system, we still did hard, long hours and physically demanding work.  And we saw things that most 17 year olds do not see.  We grew up quickly.   So clothes as a young woman were not a high priority. And I think that habit stuck, so I wear clothes that are practical and interchangeable. Monday 9th May: Weather Cooler and Overcas

I made this little top some time ago from a leftover piece of fabric after I had made a dress from it.  I have not yet blogged the dress - that will be blogged next weekend. I decided to make a wearable muslin from Vogue 9085: This looked a fairly straightforward top, and I quickly made a toile out of an old sheet. I cut size M for the body as I like quite a bit of ease especially as I will probably wear this over a long sleeve t-shirt in winter.  For the neck, armhole and shoulders I used size XS (4-6).  I only had enough fabric to make the shorter sleeve version (A), so that is was I made :).  I also took off 4.5 inches from the length as this was a tunic length top, and I wanted a blouse length top. The minimal fabric sort of also decided the length :). The calico looked as though it was an okay fit in the neck and shoulder area so I went ahead and cut out the top and made it up.  The fabric I used was a rayon twill, with a large and asymmetrical pattern.  I did not ha

I wasn't going to take part in Me Made May 16 because it just didn't appeal to me - taking photos everyday and trying to wear Me  Mades all the time.  I do now wear quite a few me made garments, but there are still gaps in my wardrobe, especially during transitional seasons, and especially Autumn.  I've also concentrated on making basics, and still have  quite a few gaps to plug before I like fully presentable. But I sort of made a non decision about this - and that sort of took the pressure off, so I am not feeling so overwhelmed by MMM16. So this is the week that was - some photos are reposted from old blog posts when I didn't have the time or inclination to photograph them. I'm also documenting my daily sewing activities - some of you comment that I seem to sew a lot, but in fact it is that I sew little and often sometimes that gets the results.  I also don't watch television in the evenings, and often get up very early and use that early morning tim

I recently finished these pants, and although I have just written a post, I was so excited about these pants, I wanted to share them with you as soon as possible. The pattern I used was Burda 6701, a wide leg pant.  I picked it up recently for $5.00 in a Spotlight sale. As you can see from the line drawing, the side seam is placed a little to the front. This works really nicely, and I found gave a lovely line to the back of the pant.  I'll show you later... The fabric also came from Spotlight - our local Newcastle store has been getting rid of their surplus stock recently, and I found a piece of polyester and viscose gabardine 150 wide for $2.00 per metre.  It is normally  $14.99 per metre and is still currently in the Spotlight range. (* This fabric bleeds a lot, so I used a dye fixative to set the dye when I was pre washing the fabric). Now, as this is a fashion garment I would not want to spend too much, so the pattern and material were about the right price