Know Me 2001 in Blue Wool Cashmere from Super Cheap Fabrics

Super Cheap Fabrics invited us to explore their collection of fabrics and select some projects to share with you.  This was an exciting opportunity to create a coat for Lauren’s trip to Europe and become the hero to build her travel wardrobe around. One of the key events Lauren travels to is Pitti Umo a men’s fashion trade show so the pattern picks needed to have some strong tailoring elements.  

Blue Wool Cashmere from Super Cheap Fabrics

Last year you might recall the pink coat but this year Lauren wanted to go with a cooler colour that would also be suitable for the trade shows. When we spotted this Mykonos Blue in Wool Cashmere we knew it was the one.
The fabric is 150cm wide and created with 70% Wool, 27% Cashmere, and 3% Polyester meaning it is dry clean only. It is a heavy-weight material at 540 GSM, which is perfect for outer coats and jackets.

Know Me 2001

Know Me ME2001 is a coat designed Beaute’ J’adore. This is one of the first patterns in the Know Me collection so it has been on our list for a while and was perfect for the fabric. It is an oversized style that is one line from shoulder to hem, it has a set-in sleeve, lapel notched collar and a belt. It is a lined coat and side seam pockets.

We made a few changes removing the armbands as it was not sitting well in the thick fabric and a split in the centre back as it needed more movement due to the length. 

Finished Know Me 2001

Photo Credits

Fabric:  Wool Cashmere – Mykonos Blue – 150cm provided by Super Cheap Fabrics
Pattern: Know Me 2001 provided by Sewdirect Australia

Simplicity 8560 and Simiplicity 8561 in Minerva Exclusive Buddleia Bower Glossy Activewear Lycra Stretch Knit

Activewear is often in the “too hard” or “not worth it” category for us, but we decided to take on the challenge!

Fabric: Minerva Exclusive Buddleia Bower Glossy Activewear Lycra Stretch Knit

First, knit fabrics can be tricky. Luckily, the Minerva Exclusive Buddleia Bower Glossy Activewear Lycra Stretch Knit was a dream to sew. With 85% polyester and 15% elastane, it’s stretchy, comfortable, and forgiving. Its 60% stretch in both directions and 150 cm width made cutting and sewing simple, even leaving us with extra fabric. 

Pattern: Simplicity 8560 (sports bra) and 8561 (leggings)

Second, finding the right patterns for activewear was daunting, but Simplicity 8560 (sports bra) and 8561 (leggings) worked perfectly. The sports bra, available in band sizes 30–44 and cup sizes A–G, allowed for a customised fit. We extended the top slightly for added support. The leggings, offered in sizes XS–5X, include optional features like side pockets and stirrups.

We primarily used an overlocker, but topstitching required a domestic sewing machine with Gutermann Maraflex elastic thread. This thread’s 80% stretch made sewing straight stitches on knits a breeze without risking breakage.

Though we enjoyed this project, we’re not rushing to make another set. Australia boasts excellent activewear brands, and for now, we’re happy supporting them rather than adding activewear to our regular sewing list.

Finished Activewear

Photo Credits

Pattern: Simplicity 8560 (sports bra) and 8561 (leggings) provided by Sewdirect Australia
Fabrics: Minerva Exclusive Buddleia Bower Glossy Activewear Lycra Stretch Knit provided by Minerva

Melbourne Frocktails McCall’s 8282 Hand Painted Fabric

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. 

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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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Vogue 2042 in Bella Riveria by Anthea Jacklin on Spoonflower

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.