First Sewing Project of 2013!

It has been a slow month getting back behind the sewing machine...and even slower getting into the blogoshpere!

 

After my big clean up of my studio, I realised I had far too many repairs for the husband lying around to start anything new straight away, so after completing a few repairs I managed to get my creativity on and made this lovely number...

 

 

I call it the Valentines Date Dress!

 

It is a tulip skirt dress with fitted sweetheart neck bodice and darling tie up straps...

It falls to the knee but can be hemmed shorter depending on your personal taste!

 

and it can be found for sale on my etsy site here.

New Year - New Studio

Welcome to where the magic happens ;)

after transforming my sewing studio into a guest room for the relies over christmas, It has given me the opportunity to re-organise, clean ad setup the space in a way I have not done in too long to mention!

So with a thoroughly tidy new space I thought it the bast time to share with you where I potter around on my weekends - dreaming of the day I can immerse myself fully...

My posters are all care of Frankie magazine - I have collected them all since I moved here and lovingly placed them around my space - I'll admit I am getting close to having to cull/replace as new ones come through and I'm not sure what I'll do then...

My cutting table was wonderfully crafted by my father to my exact specifications , and my sewing table was handed to me by my mother who used to use it. My sewing machine was a gift from my grandparents on my 21st birthday and my overlocker was my first business purchase made shortly after I graduated from fashion school.

I get to look out at a fence...and sometimes the washing on the line...

But it can also be a good spot to see wildlife come by or people watch if I hear some action out there...

My wonderful bookcase was also made by my father, and is filled with photographs of loved ones, gifts and knick-knacks and an ever growing collection of gorgeous fashion books, as well as all my frankie and peppermint magazines...

I also have several tubs loaded with vintage and retro fabrics about the place, from which I get my inspiration and create my garments from - I'm very excited about doing a lot more of this in 2013!

Also note the gorgeous framed picture - a cross-stitch from my mother, who is most definitely the source of my creative crafty genes!

and there is a peek into my little alison sarah world...

Indie Marketing

As my nearest and dearest...and some of my facebook followers...may know, I've decided to start planning for the day I can play in Alison Sarah land full-time!

Or even part-time! or any-time....

This process has led me on some intense internet searching (thanks to my good friend google!) and along the way I've found some gems, in terms of help AND inspiration - both of utmost importance at this stage. And thus I shall share them with you...

Today I happened upon Makery - a web design site, that also runs a blog on topics to do with marketing your indie business - Perfecto!

 

One of their posts was immediately useful - Less Telling, More Selling: Add Etsy Mini to Your Blog - and I have now used this to set up a shop page, and then an about page, to my blog!

Thanks Makery for enabling me to put more of what I love and what I do in the one place!

I also really appreciated the series on target markets - gold for someone into the planning stage for progressing an indie design label...aka. me!

Grecian Journey

We spent almost 2 weeks in Greece, from a few days in Athens, to a week sailing the Greek Islands.

Athens was a diverse place, with some close ties to Australia. It's said that Melbourne has the largest Greek population outside Greece itself!

One thing that struck me about Athens was the effect the GFC has had on them - there were stores closed everywhere, usually the smaller, locally owned ones, and poverty was more obvious than in Italy or France.

I found the Greek islands to be quite different in that respect, as they gather more of a tourism industry.

We went on our sailing adventure with Gadventures (well recommended to anyone thinking of taking this approach of their Greek island touring), and shared a 50 foot yacht called 'Paris' with 6 other travelers and our Skipper.

They even trusted me to steer for a while!

This was one of the more breathtaking parts of our travels, seeing the stunning islands from the water by day, taking time to explore some of them in the afternoon and enjoying the amazing food each night!

I even got to do a little shopping in Mykonos on our last night after the sailing tour ended - and made the most of the end of season sales...

We then made our final leg of the journey to Turkey...

Magnifico Italiano!

And so we move onto Italy!

We started our adventure in Venice, which is a beautiful town, but really feels like it was just set-up for the tourists. It was hard to believe anyone lived there!

But in the true spirit of Venice and it winding streets and many canals - we got lost - and found some parts that tourists were not (as there were no shops!) and saw the areas that the locals habited.

We also found our way to the ritzy area of shops, and got a few pics with some of the big names!

After Venice, we made our way to Florence, and spent our days exploring the galleries and restaurants...

Our hotel concierge gave us a recommendation to catch a bus out of town to the hilltop village of Fiesole, which overlooks Florence. We arrived close to sunset and got some amazing pics overlooking a small olive grove, with Florence spread out in the background...

From Florence we then had a weeks stay at an Agriturismo in southern Tuscany, in a town called Chianciano Terme (known for its thermal springs and spas). Each day we travelled to nearby villages and towns to explore, shop and eat - ending the day with a four course meal by our chef Stefano!

One of my highlights (being the twilight fan that I am) was visiting Montepulciano - also known as the village of the Volturi where Edward plans to reveal himself to a square filled with red caped humans... I got a pic of myself in the same doorway - but with less body glitter...

Rome was a challenging experience for me as I was feeling rather unwell, but we still spent the day visiting the ancient ruins, Trevi fountain and - of course - The Colesseum.

What struck me in Rome was that you would be walking down a rather normal, modern street, and turn a corner to see such an icon! 

There were ruins everywhere, even at the train station!

We ended our Italian adventure with an overnight trip - aiming for the Amalfi coast, but only making it as far as Sorrento...

We spent a wonderful romantic evening here, and even did the walk to the base of the cliffs to check out the 'beaches' after dark...not much sand space, but the water was amazingly clear!

The dress in the picture above was bought in a small market in Ovietto (Southern Tuscany). I never thought I'd buy into the whole 'hem longer at the back' look, but with this dress it just works so simply and stylishly! Love it!

And so onto Greece....

En Francais

My husband and I recently took a trip of a lifetime to Europe - more specifically France, Italy, Greece and Turkey!

This is why I have been absent for the past few months...Sorry!

I will make up for it with some travel tales and photos of the lovely things we saw (and bought!)

We started, where else, but Paris!

I had always dreamed of visiting paris, for the fashion, the ambiance and the romance!

It did not fail to deliver...

I loved exploring the fantastic boutiques and characterful streets and lanes - but the true magic of 'The City of Lights' is after sunset...

After Paris we did some cycling around Provence, and despite the sometimes grueling rides, I really loved exploring the villages for their food and shopping!

On a free day in the red ochre hilltop village of Rousillon I found a lovely boutique and tried on five dresses - funnily enough they were all from the same parisian designer label - Sinequanone.

I bought a lovely floral dress, and was so excited to have my first european fashion under my (proverbial) belt!

Pics to come of the dress my Greece entry, so stay tuned...

The Sundress

I recently completed this sundress for a client...

Have I mentioned yet that I love sundresses? 

So it was to my joy and delight that I discovered this focus on the humble sundress on Modcloth.com, with such a darling array of fun, bright colourful and lovely dresses...

And I came to the realisation that I do not have nearly enough sundresses, particularly for one who lives in the tropics and can so easily make my own! 

I had thought earlier in the year that I would make one a month, and by the end of the year I would have enough to wear a sundress most days... but sadly I let time get the best of me...

So this is something I look forward to remedying - and I hope to brighten up my days (and even yours perhaps) with expanding my (dare I say) 'collection' of handmade sundresses!

Here are some of the sundresses I have done for clients and some are for sale at my etsy store...

 

 

Crochet Love

I have been away from my blog for a while...a long while!

I recently began full-time office work, which has somewhat encroached on my sewing and craft time...

I have learnt to treasure my weekends at home, and also learnt how to fit crafting into my weekdays by learning to crochet on the ferry trip to work and back!

I owe my first crochet success to Aunty Anima from Hammond Island, who patiently showed we how crochet a trim for my first island dress.

Since then I didn't want to do anything to big or too naff...so I was lead to these gorgeous patterns for christmas (see tree and star) and valentines at The Royal Sisters tutorials. They have fantastic pictures and easy to follow directions for even the most basic of beginners... I am now attempting my first pair of slippers...stay tuned!

Bye Baby Bunting!

Make your own bunting to decorate a room, with a name, date or message appliqued on.

So easy it can be done in an afternoon. Great for gifts and party decorations!

All you need is some scrap fabrics and 3 to 5 metres of wide ribbon or bias binding...

Step 1

Cut out your triangles and letters.

Triangles should be about 15-20 cm on each side, with 1 cm added to the top for the binding. You can either cut one with pinking shears, or two to sew back to back for each triangle.

 My letters were hand drawn onto paper to fit onto the triangles, then traced onto the fabric with tailors chalk to cut.

NB: if tracing letters onto the wrong side of the fabric, make sure you reverse your letter!

I cut the five triangles for letters to be appliqued onto, then another 4 (2 each end) = 9 in total!

Step 2

Machine sew the sides of your triangles, leaving the top open. clip the bottom tip off, turn through and press flat with a warm iron.

You can skip this step if you chose to cut one triangle with pinking shears :)

Step 3

Layout the letters on their chosen triangle. You can use a double sided fusible web, or hand tack them on first to keep them in place. I just pinned mine.

Using a medium width zigzag on a small stitch length (use the same length you would for button holes - approx. 1/2 mm) machine stitch around all the raw edges of the letter - this includes inside A's etc. Line up your machine foot so that your zigzag goes over the edge of the letter, and catches the raw edge fully inside the stitching.

Step 4

Once all your letters are appliqued in place, layout your triangles in the order you want them to be on the bunting. Layout your bias binding or ribbon (having pressed it folded  down the centre, lengthways), and starting from the centre outwards, evenly place/pin your triangles inside the fold so that the open edge is encased in your binding/ribbon.

Your triangles can be placed side by side, or with space in between. I left 7 cm in between each of mine.

Step 5

using a straight stitch, machine stitch close to the edge along the triangles - make sure to sew all along the binding/ribbon.

All thats left is to chose a place to hang your bunting! easy hey? :)

Applique Throw Cushion

Step 1

For the front of your cushion mark out a square of your chosen fabric equal to the measurements of the cushion. I'll be using a standard 45 x 45 cm cushion for this tutorial. Cut this square out. You can now apply your chosen

 appliqué using the following instructions:

Appliqué

Choose a design you would like to appliqué, and the fabric/s you will use.

Trace your design onto the reverse of the chosen fabric (make sure to reverse the design if it needs to appear in a certain way ie. letters/numbers), cut it out.

Place appliqué piece/s onto your base fabric, and pin to secure.

At this point you can either baste the pieces by hand, use a double sided fusible to secure, or using a straight stitch close to the edges to attach the appliqué design to the base fabric.

Once pieces are secure, use a wide zigzag (4-6) and a small stitch length (0.5-1) to stitch around all the edges of the appliqué. Make sure you fully enclose the raw edge, and hold taught whilst sewing to reduce puckering.

Step 2

For the back of the cushion we'll be doing a simple overlap closure. Mark 2 rectangles at 45 cm high x 30cm wide in your chosen cushion back fabric. Cut these out.

Step 3

Over lock and hem in one of the 45 cm (long) sides for each back overlap piece.

 

Step 4

Lay front fabric face up, place back pieces facedown evenly over front piece, making sure they overlap down the centre, and pin around sides.

Step 5

Sew side seams of cushion cover, allowing for a 1.5cm seam allowance. Over lock the seams to finish. 

Step 6

Clip all 4 corners close to stitching, then turn cushion cover through overlap gap. Iron to finish.

Now just pop in your cushion insert, and you have a beautiful new piece to decorate your home – its that simple!

Crafty Bags

How super cute are these bags?

Makes me want to learn to crochet :)

Good thing we'll be doing some crocheting later in the sewing group!

If you're not the crocheting type, but love the look of these sweet bags, they're from NzL Bags and for sale through their etsy store here.

Fabric Sewing Equipment Roll

A fabric roll-up case to put your sewing equipment, keeping it safe for transport and storing! Can be made to store other equipment such as paintbrushes, crayons, makeup brushes or stationary!

Step 1

Mark out a 50cm x 50cm square on your choice of outer and lining fabric. Cut out.

To mark out you can use pins, make a pattern from paper or use tailors chalk (always do this on wrong side of fabric).

Step 2

Lay outer fabric square right side up onto fusible interfacing (shiny side up), pin and cut out. Carefully fuse interfacing to outer fabric with a warm iron (too hot can melt the interfacing). Make sure wrong side of fabric is facing shiny side of interfacing.

Step 3

Lay lining fabric on outer fabric, right sides together. Pin edges, marking a 20-30cm gap down one side (this is required to turn the fabric through the right way). Sew the squares together with a 1cm seam allowance, make sure to not sew over gap you marked out.

Step 4

Clip all 4 corners close to, but not through, the stitching line. Turn fabric right way around, through the gap from step 3. Gently smooth corners out fully, and iron the seams flat, making sure to fold the open gap in evenly as you iron it.

Step 5

Once caddy has been ironed flat, sew a topstitch approx. 5mm from the edge, all the way around (this will close the gap used to turn fabric through in step 4).

Step 6

With lining facing up, fold 1/3 (approx 16cm) of the caddy square up. Pin in place, and sew sides down, using the topstitch line as a guide.

Step 7

Lay out the equipment to be stored in the caddy, allowing space for items to fit properly. Using pins, mark out around the items where the stitching lines will go to make the separate pockets. For shorter items, also mark along the bottom of the pockets. Carefully sew along marked stitch lines.

Step 8

Measure and cut ribbon into lengths required to tie items such as scissors in place, then pin into place where required. Also cut and pin ribbon for outside tie on caddy (approx 30cm). Sew ribbon in place using vertical stitches and backtracking to hold firm.

Now place your sewing equipment in its new home, rollup, tie the ribbon, and off you go!!