Category: Events

Melbourne Frocktails McCall’s 8282 Hand Painted Fabric

by two.sewing.sisters, posted in Events, Sewing Project

We’ve had a vision of painting fabric for a couple of years now, and Melbourne Frocktails was the perfect excuse to embrace our creative vision!

Pattern: McCall’s 8282

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Erin wanted to create an off-the-shoulder look with a full skirt for this fabric.  We landed on McCall’s 8282 as our base using view B. This pattern was provided by Sewdirect Australia and is available here. 

Fabric: Hand Painted

For this vision, we started with a white cotton drill which we purchased from Spotlight.  We selected our colour pallette of fabric paints and combined some colours to give a vibrant tone.  To make sure we didn’t paint extra fabric and waste painted fabric we cut the fabric first.  This also allowed us to consider the placement of the paint and colour balance.  We nervously set about stamping the fabric.  Check out the video. 

https://www.instagram.com/p/DCOoApyPf5Y/

Finished McCall’s 8282

Photo Credits

Pattern: McCall’s 8282 provided by Sewdirect Australia
Fabrics: White Cotton Canvas purchased at Spotlight hand painted by Two Sewing Sisters

Melbourne Frocktails Vogue 1723 Injalak Arts Linen

by two.sewing.sisters, posted in Events, Sewing Project

Melbourne Frocktails upped the game again this year, with a change of venues they had space for more makers to come. It was a wonderful night with a sea of fabulous me-made outfits!  At every turn, you could see a great fabric, design or skill.  We each wanted to create some new for the occasion.  Lauren turned to our stash and came across a beautiful linen that Mum and Dad had purchased when they were visiting Darwin from Injalak Arts.  

Pattern: Vogue 1723

We have made this dress a number of times and love that it offers a full silhouette but is a great showcase for fabric that has a strong print. It does not have many design lines or darts that break up the fabric so it was perfect of this fabric which we wanted to be the hero.

Vogue 17233 is a very loose-fitting pull-on dress that has a stand collar that extends into ties at back, with a slit opening at the neck. Imporantly it has side seam pockets and the balloon sleeves are held in shape with a stay. 

We were limited in fabric so had to cut economically with the priority of placing the centre on the fold.  So we finished the neck with a internal bias. 

This pattern is available on Sewdirect Australia here. 

Fabric: Linen from Injalak Arts

Injalak Arts is based in remote Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory, with over 200 active members – artists, weavers and craftspeople from Gunbalanya and surrounding homelands.

This linen is a hand-printed design created by three talented women, Priscilla Badari, Katra Nganjmirra and Sylvia Badari.

Finished Injalak Arts Linen Dress

Photo Credits

Pattern: Vogue 1723 available at Sewdirect Australia
Fabrics: Linen from Injalak Arts 
Headpiece: Lauren J Ritchie Millinery

Flying Fox Fabrics at Oaks Day

by two.sewing.sisters, posted in Events, Sewing Project

Last year we took part in Sew Gorgeous which is a special collaboration between Songlines Art, Flying Fox Fabrics & Papulankutja Artists.  You can see our make for this project here.  We loved the beautiful fabric designs from Songlines Art so selected a piece to create something for ourselves. 

Patterns: Know Me 2016, McCalls 8161 and Simplicity 8669

This was an absolute mash-up of patterns that started with the bodice of Know Me 2016 with a lengthen waist, the sleeves of McCalls 8161 and then the skirt of Simplicity 8669.

Fabric: Flyer Fox Fabrics

The cotton we selected from Flying Fox Fabrics was a beautiful blue and orange print by artist Jennifer Ngunyaka Mitchell called Kapi Tjukula meaning water and holes in rock.

The placement of this print was important, we only had limited fabric but wanted to ensure that there was a strong visual line down the center front of the dress. 

Finished Dress of Flying Fox Fabric

Photo Credits

Photographer: James Christie Media
Pattern: Bodice of Know Me 2016, sleeves of McCalls 8161 and skirt of Simplicity 8669
Fabric:  Kapi Tjukula Jennifer Ngunyaka Mitchell from Flying Fox Fabrics
Black Pillbox: Lauren J Ritchie Millinery

Vogue 1902 with Butterick 5951 in Cotton from Tessuti Valli at Oaks Day

by two.sewing.sisters, posted in Events, Sewing Project

The theme of purple floral continued for Lauren on Oaks Day at Flemington Racecourse this year.  The hero and starting point for this dress was the beautiful floral cotton she found when travelling in Florence earlier this year. 

Pattern: Vogue 1902 with Butterick 5951

We mostly have a me made wardrobe but recently we were looking through Myer and wanted to check out what Cue had in their latest collection. Lauren spied a few dresses with drape detail and knew this was a detail she wanted as part of her Cup Week looks. With the neck detail of Vogue 1902 in mind, she transformed it into a dress by added the A-line skirt of Butterick 5951 to it. This pattern was supplied by Sewdirect Australia.

Fabric: Purple and yellow Floral Cotton from Tessuti Valli

This fabric caught Lauren’s eye when she was in Florence and visited Tessuti Valli for the first time. The print was quite large and had vibrant yellow centres in the flowers. We had spoken quite a bit about what we wanted to create for the Melbourne Cup this year, focusing on natural fibres and styles we would wear repeatedly throughout the year. Due to how light this cotton was we lined it with a light pink cotton poplin weight to help support the fabric and make it more opaque.

Finished Vogue 1902

Photo Credits

Photographer: James Christie Media
Pattern: Vogue 1902 provided by Sewdirect Australia with Butterick 5951
Fabric:  Purple and yellow Floral Cotton from Tessuti Valli
Yellow Beret: Lauren J Ritchie Millinery

Vogue 1802 in Purple Floral Satin from Tissus Coupons Saint Pierre

by two.sewing.sisters, posted in Events, Sewing Project

For a night at Government House for the Cup Eve reception Lauren chose to create a dress in a floral satin using the pattern Vogue 1802.

Pattern: Vogue 1802

Vogue 1802 is a loose-fitting, pullover dress that has a collar extending into ties in the back, slit opening at the neck, and side seam pockets.  We created view B with the long line and gathered tier. This pattern was supplied by Sewdirect Australia.

Fabric: Purple Floral Satin from Tissus Coupons Saint Pierre

When Erin was travelling in Paris earlier in the year she visited Tissus Coupons Saint Pierre and selected this purple floral satin. The satin piece of fabric came in a pre-cut length of 3 meters long. While not our usual choice of fabric type it was a great choice for this pattern. We lined it with a plain white fabric in the top section of the dress which also helps with the static in the fabric.

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Finished Dress Vogue 1802

Photo Credits

Pattern: Vogue 1804 provided by Sewdirect Australia
Fabric:  Purple Floral Satin purchased from Tissus Coupons Saint Pierre
Wide brim hat: Lauren J Ritchie Millinery

Vogue 1884 in Toile de Jouy from Tissus Coupons Saint Pierre

by two.sewing.sisters, posted in Events, Sewing Project

This beautiful feminine fabric called for a classic style.  While not a typical Melbourne Cup Day look the need for a wide brim on this lovely spring day.

Pattern: Vogue 1884

Vogue 1884 is a fitted bodice with a wide square neckline, flared skirt with diagonal gathers under the waistline, side seam pockets and low cut back. This pattern was supplied by Sewdirect Australia.

Fabric: Toile de Jouy from Tissus Coupons Saint Pierre

When Lauren was travelling in Paris earlier in the year she visited Tissus Coupons Saint Pierre and selected this green and white Toile de Jouy. The cotton piece of fabric came in a pre-cut length of 3 meters long. The print featured the iconic style of scenery in the print. It called to be a very feminine style so was the perfect pairing for this dress pattern.

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Finished Dress of Ellie Whittaker Fabric

Photo Credits

Photographer: James Christie Media
Pattern: Vogue 1884 provided by Sewdirect Australia
Fabric:  Toile de Jouy purchased from Tissus Coupons Saint Pierre
Wide brim hat: Lauren J Ritchie Millinery

Know Me 2016 in Ellie Whittaker Fabric at Melbourne Cup

by two.sewing.sisters, posted in Events

Do you spot a theme from Lauren this Spring Racing Carnival?  Purple Floral maybe. When we spied this Ellie Whittaker drill fabric it was definitely on the make list for Melbourne Cup Day.  The race day is hosted at Flemington Racecourse and is known for bright and vibrant colours. 

Pattern: Know Me 2016

Know Me #me2016 is a design by Beaute’ J’adore, it is a dress with a shaped waistline sloping up slightly at the front and lovely design lines in the tiers with gathers. Let us not forget about the scoop pockets in the skirt. It has a high round neckline, bust darts from the sideseam and finished with an invisible back zipper. This pattern was supplied by Sewdirect Australia.

Fabric: Ellie Whittaker Drill from Spotlight Stores

The gorgeous fabric is a cotton drill that features green leaves and lovely purple hydrangeas designed by Ellie Whittaker. We purchased this fabric a Spotlight Stores.

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Finished Dress of Ellie Whittaker Fabric

Photo Credits

Photographer: James Christie Media
Pattern: Know Me 2016 provided by Sewdirect Australia
Fabric:  Ellie Whittaker Studio cotton drill from Spotlight Stores
Green Boater: Lauren J Ritchie Millinery

Butterick 6280 with Vogue 1647 in black and white from Super Cheap Fabrics

by two.sewing.sisters, posted in Events

Earlier this year when we were planning our Cup Week outfits we chatted about creating stylish pieces that were fun and comfortable to wear and this definitely fit the brief. 

Patterns: Butterick 6280 with Vogue 1647

This was a pattern mash-up of the sleeveless view of Butterick 6280 for the bodice transformed into a jumpsuit using the pants of Vogue 1647.

Fabric: Stretch Black and white from Super Cheap Fabrics

On one of our last fabric hunts, we came across this black and white stretch fabric on the clearance table at Super Cheap Fabrics and well, it came home with us. It does stretch in every direction, it makes for a challenging make BUT is super comfortable to wear.

Derby Jumpsuit

Photo Credits

Pattern: Bodice of Butterick 6280 with pants of Vogue 1647
Fabric: Black and White Gingham purchased at Marché Saint-Pierre in Paris
Millinery: Lauren J Ritchie Millinery

Simplicity 9886 in Gingham from Marché Saint-Pierre at Derby Day

by two.sewing.sisters, posted in Events

Derby Day is here!  Erin cannot seem to buck the trend of wearing gingham on this black-and-white-themed day.  

Pattern: Simplicity 9886

Simplicity 9886 is a fitted colour-block dress that has a bodice with princess seams and bust darts. We created this version with the longest skirt length and without the sleeves. You can find this pattern on the Sewdirect website here.

Fabric: Black and white Cotton Gingham

When Erin was visiting Paris she went to Marché Saint-Pierre and found this great pair of matching gingham in different scales which was perfect for her love of gingham for Derby Day. Then the great debate come as to which scale gingham to place in which panel.

Finished Derby Day Look S9886

Photo Credits

Pattern: Simplicity 9886 provided by Sewdirect Australia
Fabric: Black and White Gingham purchased at Marché Saint-Pierre in Paris
Millinery: Lauren J Ritchie Millinery

McCall’s 8141 in green floral satin from The Fabric Store

by two.sewing.sisters, posted in Events, Sewing Project

James and Erin celebrated their engagement with family at Bailey’s in Glenrowan.  It was love at first sight when we saw this green floral fabric in The Fabric Store on Brunswick Street in Fitzroy. It was the perfect fabric for the spring sunshine.

Fabric: Green floral satin from The Fabric Store

The fabric came first for this one, Erin went for a hunt at The Fabric Store and came across this beautiful white and green floral silk satin.

Pattern: McCall’s 8141

This fabric was a step away from our usual cotton fabrics so we needed to explore a new pattern that would showcase this beautiful satin. Erin was looking on the Sewdirect Australia website and came across McCall’s 8141.

McCall’s 8141 also known as Astor McCall’s is a a dress that has an underbust panel that is then fitted at waist, a raglan sleeve with tucks at the hem that this is supported by a stay and an a-line skirt. 

She created view A and swapped the necktie for a bias finish and added some more fullness to the skirt

Finished Dress of Ellie Whittaker Fabric

James wore his (current) favourite version McCalls 6044 – one of the most frequently made patterns in our collection.

Photo Credits

Photographer: James Christie Media
Erin Pattern: Vogue 1884 provided by Sewdirect Australia
Fabric:  Green and White Silk Satin purchased from The Fabric Store
Headpiece: Lauren J Ritchie Millinery