Crazy December

Last weekend my girlfriend Cassie had her dance showcase. She has only had the dance school since October so it has been a mad craze to get everything ready. Finally the day came and the performance was spectacular. 

This is the vulcher costume. I loved playing with the feathers. Something a bit different to normal! 

My second favorite costume was a snake ballet leotard. In all the madness I forgot to take a photo!

As a treat to myself amongst the christmas madness, I attended a bear workshop at Bear Essence. I love making Josie's bears. I try to make one every Christmas. This is "wanna be a reindeer". When making this cute little fella, I used a nose made of modeling clay. This was so much easier than stitching a nose. And look how cute it is. 

I hope everyone has a lovely Christmas and safe New Year. Love Meagan 

Leather Leggings

I made some leather pants/leggings but I have to say, they are not real leather. I am really big on animal cruelty free. I see people walking the street in leather and I think, "if they can do it why can't I". So I headed into Cleggs in Melbourne and found myself some good look faux leather! The girls are so helpful, they helped me find a beautiful fabric called Rebel Leather Look Vinyl. Oh if only you could see the texture and feel it. It's 57% polyester and 43% polyurethane. The right side looks like soft animal hide leather but the inside feels soft and gentle. It does not have a plastic look or feel and it has a small amount of give in it (bonus).

I used McCalls pattern 4444. There was a write up on it in threads over 12 months ago.They claimed it was the best leggings pattern ever. So I had to buy it back then and it has sat in my pattern basket ever since! 

There are 4 different styles of leggings which gives great variety, and I chose to make view D as I had seen leggings like this with the leather sides at numerous retail outlets. 

They where extremely easy to make and only took about 4 hours including the alterations for my large hips. I am wrapped with the finished product and am looking forward to making a few other things with my left over faux leather. 

What did I learn? Heaps!!

Needle; always use a leather/denim needle, size 100/16 or 90/14.

Foot; use a walking foot, roller foot or teflon foot. You need to change the foot so it feeds smoothly. Some research suggest that the leather can stick to the feet or plate. I didn't find this at all, perhaps because it had a soft wrong side. I played with some scraps for a while and then decided to cheat! I used my 4thread overlocker for everything except the top stitching. I think it worked ok. If the foot is sticking to the fabric some suggestions are baby powder on the fabric, tissue paper between the fabric and metal or sticking scotch tape onto the sticking side of the fabric. Hmm I'm not sure about the sticky residue on the fabric or on the needle! 

Machine setting; I had the stitch length at just under 3, and also had to reduce the tension until it ran smooth. 

No PINs; If you pin the leather it leaves pin holes. So I used clips. In some of the tricky spots I did pin, but I kept within my seam allowance. You could also use paper clips if desperate. 

No BooBoos; for the same reason as no pins. If you make a mistake and unpick, you will be left with perforated holes and an ugly mess. 

Stay tuned for my next faux leather attempt. Special thanks to Christeen at Sew n Sew sewing school for a lovely sewing day and assistance with the alterations. 

Ta Meagan 

Almost done

I feel like I've been saying almost done for months! Both girls have had their first competitions and at the next they add 2 new items. So yes more costumes and headgear. 

Today I am going to share with you my favorite product. It does change from time to time, but for now this one has made my life so much easier. When sewing sequins on, you do a single or double line, or you may be required to stitch them over a motif to create an item, like flowers. Miss Ms club costume required the later. 

We had to cut the motif into little pieces and pin down while embellishing with sequins. The difficult part is your thread getting tangled and knotted on your pins. I find this extremely frustrating and it slows me down heaps. 

I quickly thought, I need glue. Some glues leave a residue, some change the fabric colour and others just don't work on Lycra. My brainwave was to use my appliqué stick. This glue pen is made by SewLine, and I love it. 

A little dab on the back of the motif and it stuck to the Lycra beautifully. Even when I stretched the leotard over the body board they remained glued. 

This ment I could stitch the sequins on without the pins. Awesome. No tangled cotton and quick completion. 

I loved that the glue dried clear, it left no residue on the leotard or the needle when sewing sequins and it did not change the texture or stretch of the fabric. Marvelous stuff. Now I need one for my appliqué bag and costume bag!! It was also a dream with the headgear. 

All complete and worn. Well done girls for second place in your clubs item. 

Costumes, costumes and more costumes.

Since my last post I have done nothing but dance costumes. I am in desperate need of some long sleeve tops. I have the fabric and the patterns but no spare time as these costumes consume my everything😜 I'm going crazy! 

Miss L had a stage rehearsal at Ballarat. All items got the tick of approval, except Harry Potter. The grey velvet looks drab and the sequins on it are over the top. So the tie and collar are gone but the rest stays. With the collar the girls necks just looked like a mess if sparkle with no direction. Once removed it looked much cleaner. Just goes to show that what looks lovely up close can look gastly from the audience. So Miss L is done and first competition is in 3 weeks. 

Now I'm onto Miss M. Must bigger costumes, definately more intricate and way more time consuming. I am starting with a velvet sailor unitard, sounds interesting!! The Colour us actually beautiful and with all the inters team together it is striking. So it's made and I have started the sequins. Here is a sneak peak. 

I hope you are intrigued. In 5 weeks I can show a little more. Being velvet I thought I would share a few tips and tricks for working with this luxuriously smooth fabric that can be so very frustrating.

1. The biggest thing for me when working with velvet is to clear my workspace (including my head) and slow down. 

2. A bonus with velvet is that you can get 2 different looks. When the pile is up, it is smooth, so it feels soft when I run my hands up the fabric from waist to sholder This makes my velvet look dark. 

If the pile runs down, it is prickly to run my hand up the fabric, then it will look lighter. This can be a great effect and used to your advantage. 

Always check the pile before cutting. Is it running in the correct direction on all pattern pieces! I double check, sometimes even triple check.  I like the pile running up. That's smooth to run my hands up the fabric and prickly to run my hands down the fabric. 

3. I always cut eat pattern piece individually, ie not right sides together. With the pile facing down I use sharp scissors or rotary blade to cut the fabric. And I move my hand around the curves rather than moving the fabric. I am being careful not to move or change the direction of the pile as I cut. 

4. Like I said early, clear your workspace. Velvet is very short hair fibers. So when you cut they go everywhere. The even get stuck in your rotary cutting board if you use one. I always wear old clothes and get changed after I am done (nothing worse than going down the street or to school pickup with light fibers on your dark pants or top. After I am done I also clean my work area with a damp cloth. Even after you've cleaned they can magically appear like fairy dust. 

5. And lastly, when sewing, I thread my machine with a silk thread. I lower the tension and I reduce the foot pressure. 

I hope that helps a little! Bertie also has done great tips to share. Follow her link; www.blogforbettersrwing.com.2014/01/tips-for-sewing-with-velvet.html 

Have fun sewing, love Meagan xx

Ps. I hope the link worked! 

Calisthenics Overload

I spent the weekend up in the hills. Friday night was the Inters/Seniors Cali camp at Yarra Junction and Saturday night was at the Subbie/Junior camp at Mt Evelyn. 

Friday night was so inspiring. After the kids had gone to bed, the coaches and sewers kept working into the night. They have some brilliant ideas for costumes and props. Some ladies started looking at head-gear for the costumes. I was blown away and can't wait to be at a level that I can help with head-gear. Can't show you any photos until competition season starts. Sorry😞 but not long to go. 

Saturday night and Sunday morning I was with Miss L. It was her first camp and she was so excited. Words can't describe her expression and excitement. After working hard all day the little girls finally fell asleep. This allowed us mums to sew into the night, I mostly sequined! Here is a sneak peak of what I worked on. It is for Miss M in her rods routine. It is all back velvet, but notice how the fabric to the left looks different, well it's not it has the nap in the opposite direction. It looks amazing on!!

LOL, you can't see much. Dress rehearsal is this Saturday. I have 2 costumes still to finish. The mums who design these costumes are amazing, wish I could be so creative! 

Here's a final photo of Miss L in her camp hat. She is relaxing at home after a full weekend. 

Ta MeagyLove xx

Cali Costumes

The last few weeks of sewing have been focused on the girls calisthenics costumes. Have 2 incomplete costumes for Miss M, they are a lot more detailed than previous years and are taking a lot more time to complete. Miss L has 2 1/2 that I can tick off my list. 

This is Miss L in her Penguin march. An easy leo to make but very effective. The head dress was a new skill for me and I really enjoyed learning it. I found the mesh difficult to sew at first but once I changed my needle to a crowbar it was much easier.  

The mesh was used for shape and was sewn onto wire, then covered with fabric and finished with some sequins and fluff. Am wrapped in how well it turned out. Must add millinary course to my bucket list. 

This is the Aladdin freearm leotard. I love the colour and braid. My challenge is the sequins, only because they are mixed colours and I think it looks busy. Plus I don't do random!! The neckline is just gorgeous. It is amazing how something so simple can be so effective. 

And the last costume is Miss Lizzy's Harry Potter clubs. I think I need to take off the skirt and reapply. It looks a little tight. This happens when the leotard isn't stretched enough when applying the skirt. I've got a bit if time to fix it as the coach & costume coordinator are still  undecided about how to sequin. 

Take care, Meagan 

May sewing for Hamilton island

Corey and I are having a short break from life. Now the kids are getting older and our commitments getting heavier we thought a bit of us time was necessary. Plus I had a Big 0 birthday late last year and was given a massage at the spa on the island. So here I am having a break as we plan our next 3 years at the Beach Club Hamilton Island.

And while here I am proud to say I have worn a Me-Made item each day. These are my Bermuda shorts, made from a self drafted block and sewn 12 hours before catching a plane (I did cut them out in Feb but never got any further!). They are sewn in a cotton that I purchased from spotlight over 12 months ago. It is a beautiful soft cotton and is gorgeous to sew with.  I love the fit around my bum and crotch, but I think the leg might be a bit wide. But I don't care as they are so comfortable and easy to wear.
They have a narrow waist band and zip. I hate the zip. It fits ok but it isn't finished as neat as I would like on the inside. I think I will get a commercial pattern and follow their instructions next time. But this doesn't affect the fit or wear, so I'm not fussed for now.

 

And finally I am wearing my liberty top! Still not happy with the neck but it looks ok. I will make a calico and perhaps add darts. Bummer really as I love the fabric. And Mr M would be horrified if I gave up on it after spending $49 per meter. 

February and March catch-up

I am having trouble with this blogger thing! When I try and post I get an error, I'm calling it teething problems! Today it has let me enter to write a post so I am going to share a lot of bits I've been working on.

January

I loved working with Liberty Lawn while sewing my 'Scout top'. It is so fine and soft.  I widened the arms on the Scout top as this is a standard for me!! After making it I noticed the neck was too big, I removed the neck facing and added a slight gather to the centre front. To my disgust the neck was then too small. I removed the facing again and removed some of the gathering. Today, it is still in my UFO box waiting for a new facing to be cut. Must get onto that!! I also drafted the skirt from an old skirt that I love to wear. It turned out great.

 

February

February was extremely busy at work. We had a new Diploma group starting, this meant lots of long hours and not much me time. I attempted to make a pair of 3/4 pants. I had some coral cotton that I liked and thought it would make a good practice run for a block pattern I had self drafted. They fit really nice around the waste and legs. I am really happy with the length too. The are just a little 'crutchy' at the front, not sure why that has occurred, might have something to do with the spare tyre around my waste. Very comfortable and happy to wear these around the house. Think I will make a pair as shorts. This month my oldest daughter Madeline also finished her dress. Doesn't she look fabulous.

 

March



A good month at the sewing table. This month I made 2 articles from StyleArc: a pair of Faye pants and an Ivy top. I love the 'Faye pants' in the grey. They are so comfortable and where so easy to make. I like that the elastic waste isn't a traditional gathered waste like my grandmother wears. I made them in a garberdine fabric so they are a little stiff and hot when the weather hits 35degrees.

 

I love love love my 'Ivy top'. It was a free pattern when I ordered the Faye pants from StyleArc. I didn't reallt love the pattern when it arrived but I decided to give it a go anyway. I used a black mat knit for the main and a black tone on tone for the back and cuff's. It has come up really nice. It particularly looks great with my motto skirt. I can see myself wearing this a lot. Next time I will take a few centimetres out of the neck.

 

Until next month, take care. Love Meagan.



New Year, New Beginning

As you can see I tried to start this blog a few years back but it never really took off thanks to work commitments and kids activities. So here we go again with attempt number 2, wish me luck.

2014 Goal

My goal is to complete one garment a month, that's 12 for the year. Within these 12 garments I will complete a lined jacket. Actually I want to master the construction of a lined jacket!!

January

This month I want to make a basic blouse. Something I can wear with denim casually or dress up with a skirt or tailored pants for work. I have chosen the Scout Woven T-shirt by Grainline. I haven't used this pattern before but I have read about it on other blogs and they all have positive comments, and they look great. I have checked my measurements with the paper pattern and all looks good. I have big granny arms so I always have to check the armscye.

I purchased some Phoebe red Liberty cotton lawn from Tessuti. I ordered online and was delighted when my parcel arrived. It was wrapped in an old tissue pattern and tied with the Tessuti ribbon, it looked exquisite. Now to start creating.