Frocktails 2023

It’s Frocktails time!  What an exciting time! Frocktails brings together local makers to celebrate their makes and enjoy a cocktail together. The event was hosted at The Bank on Collins and cocktail of the night was “Daylight Bobbin-ry” which was made with Jamaican Rum, Frangelico, Crème de Cassis, Dom Bénédictine, Cranberry juice and nutmeg. 

Is Frocktails the event where you can walk up and pat someone else’s fabric?  Yes, yes it is!  So why not wear texture?  We certainly leant into this with our fabric choices this year. 

From the left – Erin Butterick 6351 Crushed pleat The Fabric Lab, Lauren McCall’s 8213 tinsel fabric The Fabric Lab, Katelyn in By Hand London Flora tulle Spotlight, Eliza Know Me 2016 Spotlight, Robyn Vogue 1723 The Fabric Store

McCall’s 8213 in Purple Tinsel from Fabric Lab

Well it was love a first sight. Purple, sparkle, tassel, love. With the fabric purchased the next step was to decide how to best showcase this fabric. We looked to McCall’s 8213 for the bodice band and ties then gathered a tube of the amazing tinsel fabric onto the band.

 Butterick 6351 in a crushed pleat from Fabric Lab

Fabric Lab has an amazing selection of special occasion fabrics including amazing pleats! Erin found this sensational shot green in a crushed pleat. She stitched it up in Butterick 6351 with the elastic back waist and open draped section in the back bodice.

Vogue 1723 in georgette from The Fabric Store

Mum has created a stunning long-length version of Vogue 1723 in a stunning georgette from The Fabric Store that was lined in pongee lining to compliment the weight of the outer layer. Do you spot Dad there in his Stakes Day vest? That’s right, what a week, Frocktails was on the evening of Stakes Day, 8 events in 7 days!

Photo Credits

Photographer: James Christie Media
Pattern: Butterick 6351, McCall’s 8213, By Hand London Flora, Know Me ME2016 and Vogue 1723
Fabric: Fabrics from Fabric Lab, Spotlight and The Fabric Store.
Millinery: Lauren J Ritchie Millinery

Looking for more Frocktails inspiration? Check out our 2022 Frocktails outfits here.

VRC Kennedy Oaks Club Lunch at Crown Palladium in Vogue 1884 and Vogue 1723

We were very excited to attend the VRC Kennedy Oaks Club Lunch at Crown Palladium for the first time.  Where did we start with our outfits for this ladies’ lunch?  We went for a hunt in our stash and found two fabrics that were just waiting for the occasion.  We created two Vogue patterns for these fabrics Vogue 1723 and Vogue 1884.

Vogue 1723

We had seen a fabulous outfit of silk blue organza created by Laura Wolfgang on Instagram and set out to create our own version.  The outer dress is Vogue 1723 by Carlos at Vogue Patterns in embroidered tulle from New York when we were there earlier this year.  The underdress is Vogue 1834 in a peppermint rayon blend from The Fabric Store. 

Vogue 1884

The fabric for Lauren’s dress was purchased in Vienna and patiently waiting in our stash since 2018!  The border style print called for a skirt that would showcase the lovely design.  When Vogue 1884 came out we knew it was just the design for this fabric.  

Photo Credits

Pattern: Vogue 1723 and Vogue 1884
Fabric: We wish we could remember the locations but sadly all we can offer is New York and Vienna.
Millinery: Lauren J Ritchie Millinery

We also got see see fellow sewer Bryony Bourke who was wearing a fabulous me made outfit!

Christmas Outfits for 2022

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