Tag: McCalls 6044

Christmas Me Made Outfits 2024

by two.sewing.sisters, posted in Sewing Project

This year, we took our Christmas outfit game to a whole new level — well, more accurately, Audrey did. Every year, our family Christmas dinner is a chance to channel our Nan’s tradition of creating festive outfits for the whole family. It’s a nod to her legacy, and we’ve kept the tradition alive with something handmade for the occasion.

But this September, Audrey threw down the ultimate challenge. She casually said, “You know how you all wear matching outfits? What if ALL of us matched this year?” Game. On.

We dove into fabric hunting mode, shared a few options in the family group chat, and the clear winner emerged: a cheerful red and white gingham from Birch. Next up, everyone shared their vision for their Christmas ensemble, and we hunted down the perfect patterns on the Sewdirect Australia website.

What followed was a marathon of stitching: 10 garments, a mix of our tried-and-true patterns and some exciting new styles. By the time we were done, the sewing machines deserved a rest as much as we did!
Wishing you a Christmas as merry and love-filled as our matching outfits!🎅🎁✨

The Full Family Lineup

The full family line up of Nathan in McCall’s 6044, Audrey in Simplicity 9597, Tracy in McCall’s 8030, Lauren in Know Me 2076, Fergus in Two Sewing Sisters Bandana, David in McCall’s 6044, Robyn in Vogue 9237, Austin in McCall’s 6044, Amahli in Simplicity 9848, Erin in Know Me 2091 and James in McCall’s 6044

Ritchie line up

James in McCall’s 6044, Erin in Know Me 2091, Lauren in Know Me 2076, Fergus in Two Sewing Sisters Bandana, Robyn in Vogue 9237 and David in McCall’s 6044,

Taylors line up

Audrey in Simplicity 9597, Tracy in McCall’s 8030, Nathan in McCall’s 6044, Amahli in Simplicity 9848 and Austin in McCall’s 6044

The creative team

Audrey in Simplicity 9597, Erin in Know Me 2091, Amahli in Simplicity 9848, Lauren in Know Me 2076 and Fergus in Two Sewing Sisters Bandana.

Two Sewing Sisters

Erin in Know Me 2091 and Lauren in Know Me 2076

Photo Credits

Photographer: James Christie Media
Fabric: Red and white cotton gingham from Birch
Patterns supplied by Sewdirect Australia:
Nathan – McCall’s 6044
Audrey – Simplicity 9597
Tracy – McCall’s 8030
Lauren – Know Me 2076
Fergus – Two Sewing Sisters Bandana
David – McCall’s 6044
Robyn – Vogue 9237
Austin – McCall’s 6044
Amahli – Simplicity 9848
Erin – Know Me 2091
James – McCall’s 6044

White Christmas McCall’s Outfits

by two.sewing.sisters, posted in Sewing Project

We hosted a Christmas Party this year that had a theme of white and by accident McCall’s!  We were excited about the idea of creating some new cotton outfits in a colour that we don’t make a whole heap of.  We headed to the Sewdirect website to see what latest patterns we wanted to create. Then we went to Spotlight to the cotton section to see what textured fabrics they had available.  

McCall’s 8482 in white seersucker

Erin loved the idea of a set and had seen some fabulous versions of McCall’s 8482. She had created the top for her trip to Europe and we loved that is had a soft gathered neck but still a set-in sleeve which many of these peasant-style tops miss out. The skirt was LONG! So we had to adjust the length and bring it up which also allowed for a little bit more gathering in the top panel.

McCall’s 8385 in white Broderie Anglais

Lauren had been eyeing off this dress pattern for some time, so when the chance to make it came she had to go for it. She had a vision for it in Broderie Anglais which meant was also had to line it with a poplin to make it more opaque. With many buttons later the vision was fulfilled!

McCall’s 6044 in Quilting Cotton

It was a full matching set with James getting a new white shirt in his favourite McCall’s 6044. White he initially was planning a linen, our in house photographer and lighting designer ended up with a texture white quilting cotton in the long sleeve view.

Mr Fergus Banadana

Last but certainly not least, our slightly scruffy-looking host got a new bandana for the occasion. We also like to create him bowties but for this occasion, he went for a more casual look that you could more easily see amongst his fluff.

Best wishes for 2025 from Two Sewing Sisters

We hope you are having a wonderful festive season. May your 2025 be filled with creativity, joy and happiness

Vogue 2042 in Bella Riveria by Anthea Jacklin on Spoonflower

by two.sewing.sisters, posted in Sewing Project

It was an Italian-themed engagement party, in honour of Erin and James’ Italian engagement and this Anthea Jacklin fabric was right on theme 🍕

Fabric: Bella Riviera by Anthea Jacklin

We have been following Anthea’s work on Instagram and when Erin saw this print she knew it was perfect for this event. She chose the Bella Riviera print for the Italian theme on Organic Cotton Sateen.  

Anthea’s print was very clever as it does not have one direction with the elements rotating, check out the text to see this in action.  

Check out some of Anthea’s work on her website here.

Pattern: Vogue 2042

This vintage reprint, Vogue 2042 was a recent release from Sewdirect Australia, it is available here.  We loved the ring detail at the front that extended over the shoulders to form the back. 

We made some alternations by cutting a waist line which meant we could gather on a fuller tiered skirt.  For the ring at the centre front, we used a part of an old handbag that had fallen apart and some brute force to get it open and the fabric threaded on. 

Finished Vogue 2042

Photo Credits

Pattern: Vogue 2042 provided by Sewdirect 
Fabrics: Bella Riveria designed by Anthea Jacklin purchased from Spoonflower
Photos by James Christie Media

The event wouldn’t have been completed without a new McCall’s 6044 for James, Lauren wore Amalfi Coast border print cotton sateen print by Gertie Mona Dress by Schultz Apparel (see more about this dress here) and Fergus got a new bandana.

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

Christmas Me Made Outfits 2023

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

Jingle all the way with matching family Christmas outfits! 🎄✨

Ho, ho, ho! Sending you a sleighful of Merry Christmas cheer from our festive family to yours!

If you’ve been following our creative escapades over the past few merry years, you’re in on our jolly family tradition. But if you’re a newbie to our yuletide adventures, welcome to the holly-jolly club! Drumroll, please… it’s time to unveil one of our all-time favourite family customs: the annual creation of matching Christmas outfits.

This tradition is as timeless as Santa’s naughty-or-nice list. Picture this: our Nan crafting Christmas shirts and dresses for our Grandad and parents before we knew the joy of unwrapping presents! If you have been following along for a few years you might, just might recognise these outfits. If not then enjoy! The fabric was purchased from Spotlight in about 2017 and sat waiting for two years before we made them into matching family Christmas outfits. This year there was enough fabric to create James a shirt and Fergus a bow tie.

So, here’s to family, festivities, and fashionable echidnas! May your Christmas be as bright and merry as our outfits. 🎅🎁✨

Lauren in Butterick 6556, Fergus in Two Sewing Sisters drafted doggy bowtie, David in McCall’s 4399,
Robyn in Simplicity 8840, Erin in Gracie Steel Adrift Shift and James McCall’s 6044

Erin in Grace Steel Adrift Shift and James in McCall’s 6044

David in McCall’s 4399 and Robyn in Simplicity 8840

Lauren in Butterick 6556 and Fergus in Dog Bowtie

Photo Credits

Photographer: James Christie
Patterns:
Lauren – Butterick 6556
Fergus – Two Sewing Sisters drafted doggy bowtie
David – McCall’s 4399
Robyn – Simplicity 8840
Erin – Gracie Steel Adrift Shift 
James – McCall’s 6044

Love these outfits? Check out our past Christmas outfits from 2022 Green Jocelyn Proust outfits, 2021 Liberty Print looks, 2020 Blue Jocelyn Proust wombats, the first time we work these outfits in 2019

Christmas Outfits for 2022

by two.sewing.sisters, posted in Events

Merry Christmas from our family to yours!

If you have been following along with your makes over the past few years you will know but this family tradition. If this is a new project for you we are excited to welcome you to our family Christmas! One of our favourite family traditions is that every year we make matching Christmas outfits.

Christmas outfits is something we’ve been doing in our family since our Nan made Christmas shirts and dresses for our Grandad and parents before we were born! You can see last year’s red Liberty outfits here and see the historical collection here. This get pulled out every year as every December you will see us wearing the outfits from previous years.

We continued the tradition of family Christmas outfits continued this year. This year we were all home together in North East Victoria for the first time in a long time. We celebrated this with a green backed echidna print by Jocelyn Proust.

Lauren in Vogue 1723 and Fergus

Lauren made the cotton into Vogue 1723 and put elastic around the sleeve hem instead of using the sleeve stay for a more casual look

We have made this dress before but in more formal fabric for Lauren’s Myer Millinery Award entry and Erin silk fabric from @injalakarts for the Cup Eve celebration but in cotton. It is such a comfortable cut especially for that big Christmas lunch and the cotton sits so well in the dramatic sleeve and neck tie.

Fergus practised this posing and sitting very patiently for his photo his year. If you missed his efforts last year check out our blog post. Let’s just say there was a lot less handsome puppy face and a lot more fluffy happy tail. With his sit more solid than ever thank you to the team at ProDog training Fergus wore a Two Sewing Sisters original dog bow tie pattern that included a D ring for his lead and quick-release buckle.

Robyn in McCalls 7542 and David McCalls 6044

For Dad’s shirt, we used McCalls 6044 which features a shaped body, curved hem, collar with stand and front placket detail for the buttons.

This year Mum chose to create her Christmas dress this year using McCalls 7542 bodice and attached a box pleat skirt with pockets. We have made a few versions of hacking this McCalls pattern into a dress, the first was this blue checked number, check it out here.

James in McCalls 6044 and Erin in Schultzapparel Senna

James chose his go-to collared shirt pattern McCalls 6044 which is a popular shirt pattern in our make set at the moment.

Erin made a variation of the Schultzapparel Senna. We were part of the pattern testing team for this Schultz pattern, you can see this make here. For this Christmas version, we straightened the waist seam and created a tiered skirt but kept all of the great features of the bodice which include a fastening-free finish with very clever ties.

Photography Notes of Christmas Outfits

Photographer: James Christie
Dress Fabric: Jocelyn Proust green background with echidna with Santa hat Christmas fabric
Patterns:
James – McCall’s 6044
Erin – Schultzapparel Senna with tiered skirt
David – McCalls M6044
Robyn – McCalls 7542 with pleated skirt
Lauren – Vogue 1723
Fergus – Two Sewing Sisters drafted doggy bowtie

Christmas Outfits of 2020

by two.sewing.sisters, posted in Sewing Project

The tradition of family Christmas outfits continued this year. We took to the beach in Apollo Bay in our matching Christmas print to celebrate together. We hope you had a safe and happy festive period with your loved ones.

Jocelyn Proust Christmas Wombats

This year we went for a modern Australian print by Jocelyn Proust. The cute Australiana print features grey wombats in red Christmas hats on a pale blue background.

We found the fabric at a Boxing Day sale last year (with luckily enough fabric left on the roll!). The blue background and Australiana print were perfect, as it was different from the traditional red themed fabric from previous years. We didn’t plan what patterns we were going to make when we purchased the fabric but still managed to fit our five garments out of 12.5 metres.

Lauren and Erin

This year we made two of our favourite patterns we discovered in 2020. Lauren was inspired by the ruffled version of the Flora Dress we had made recently and it was a great sleeveless option for a warm Australian Christmas Day. Erin made a dress version of the Schultz Apparel Ottilia Top adding a gathered skirt to the originally waisted top.

Robyn and David

For Dad’s shirt, we used McCalls 6044. We have recently changed the men’s shirt pattern we used for Dad, and we are really happy with the change. This pattern has more shape through the body, curved hem and front placket detail.

Earlier in the year, we made Mum and blue Kingfisher version of Vogue 1511 with the long sleeves. As it is one of her favourite dresses to wear, we decided to use the pattern to make a short sleeve version fit for summer.

James and Erin

James dove into the matching family Christmas outfits and took on the challenge of making his own shirt! This is his third garment having only made 2 pairs of pyjama shorts before tackling his first collared McCalls 6044 shirt.

Photography Notes of Christmas Outfits

Photographer: James Christie
Dress Fabric: Christmas Wombats by Jocelyn Proust
Patterns:
Erin – Schultz Apparel Ottilia Top hacked into a dress
Lauren – By Hand London Flora Dress
Robyn – Vogue 1511
David and James – McCalls 6044
Headbands: Lauren J Ritchie Millinery

See Family Christmas Outfits here