31 July 2017

Fabric Haul - Red, Green and Wine red striped

I have a bad habit of buying kimono bolts in bulk from my favourite ebay seller Kimono Petit Japon (http://stores.ebay.co.uk/kimonopetitjapon)


This is one of 5 from the last bulk buy that I did.


A lovely red striped wool bolt.


Quite narrow stripes.


The wonderful thing about buying kimono bolts is that you sometimes get a label and here it is one for this bolt.


Here is a closeup and a ruler to show the width of the stripes.


It drapes like a nice quality cotton so I will probably make a dress out of it or maybe a skirt and jacket combo.

24 July 2017

Fabric Haul - Hot Air Balloon

I will start my fabric haul collection with the latest fabric I have brought recently.


Isn't it gorgeous!

I feel in love with it as soon as I set my eyes on it.


I brought it from A&L Fabric facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/alfabricss/)


It is 100% cotton and cost £15.00 plus £3.90 for postage which is not a bad price for 5.5metres


I love the fact the hot air balloon are big and bold.


Seriously they are big and I do love big prints.


My first thought is of course a yukata/kimono as it is so unusual and I seem to like wearing kimono that standout.  But part of me would love to make a lolita dress from it.  Maybe if the seller has another one for sale, I might get it so save me the trouble of deciding.  However then I would be hoarding.

23 July 2017

Making a Dress - Qi-lolita Overdress

Inspiration

Now I have conquered my fear of wa-lolita it is time to turn my attention to qi-lolita.

Well it seems only fair that I do, since I am Chinese so it is a sub-style most suited to my culture.

Design

Luck would have it Otome no Sewing book 10 had two patterns for an qi-lolita overdress.  They are pretty much the same expect where the dress is split.

I went for the side split one.

Of course the book is recommending that I use chinese brocade but this would be a bit outrageous for work so I went for my trustworthy black bi-stretch but to add a little colour I would be using red lining and some red cotton trim.

Construction

During my shopping trip I could not find any decent red trim so I brought some white cotton trim that I liked and decided to dye it.  

Going well...



Unfortunately it is not as red as I hoped but maybe that is for the best.

Now to tackle the pattern.




Looks like I will need to add a little width as it is a little tight on my Miffy 2.  I want to be able to wear this at work and most importantly move.


There that should make it a little more comfortable to wear.

And then I forgot to take construction photos apart from when I finished sewing in the lining for the zip.


and sewing the armholes.


Sorry must try harder in future.

Finished

Ta-da here it is!


I have paired it with my cotton tiered undershirt but I plan to make another one that is easier to look after for work.


Closeup of the top part which still needs some button closure but I can't decide what style.


The back which involved a lot of hand sewing for the invisible zip because of my use of the lining.


Since it was such a plain overdress I went for a bright and colourful lining.


One slight problem is that my seams don't quite match up on the back.  I am always a millimetre out for some reason even though I take so much time to line them up.

Conclusion

I really enjoyed making this overdress as I have been wanting a qi-lolita outfit for ages.  I would like to make another one just because I love the look.

Although next time I will make the side slits a little shorter as they go right up to my natural waist!  So I have to make sure I wear a strappy top.



19 July 2017

Fabric Haul - Introduction

Since I started sewing, I have been slowly feeding my fabric stash with all sort of random fabric that I have found on eBay, Facebook fabric groups and random shop purchases.

So I thought wouldn't it be lovely to document each time I buy more fabric.

One it would give me a visual record of what I have brought and also share my thoughts on why I brought it.

I suppose I should also include trimming purchases as well since this is sometime the hardest thing to buy.