Fairytale chiffon dress - bodice toile.

I spent today sewing the toile of the bodice - a good thing too because I'm not at all happy with it. It's just a bit........................clunky!



It came together nicely - all the bits and pieces fit where they should but it doesn't match the image I had in my head. Back to the drawing board!



I have drafted a entirely different pattern from scratch. This isn't something I would usually do or recommend in pattern cutting but in this case it felt like I needed a clean slate. I used my dress block as a starting point rather than the bodice block this time. I've altered the shape of the straps over the shoulder and the curve of the neckline. There are more panels - so more versatility for fitting and hopefully a more streamlined finish.

18th Century petticoat update and the beginning of a new dress

I started this petticoat a while ago but then things got too busy to do any further work on it. I've finally dug the poor thing out of the bag it was languishing in and given it some much needed attention. This is what the petticoat looks like so far - unfortunately it's rather large and difficult to get a photo of it all in one shot.



This is the back - you can see where it fastens at the waist with ribbons.



The front view - which is should hopefully hang smoothly when I'm finished with it. The outward length over the panniers is adustable by pull cords so it could in theory fit over a set of smaller panniers. All that remains is to sew in the pleated side panels and finish the hem.

I have also started cutting a pattern for a new dress, which I have for now nicknamed the "fairytale chiffon dress". This is the final draft of the bodice - it's princess seamed and will be constructed from several layers.

A medley of finished tags!

I have been working away steadily at my christmas tags. It's taken longer than I thought it would to assemble them. Who knew cutting and sticking would be so exhausting? I've ended up with quite a lot of different designs and variations which makes me exceedingly happy. The more individual the better!



I have done a couple of close ups of some of my favourites.







I also made lots and lots of cute little 3D origami stars. I'm going to thread them together in groups of three and dangle them from presents as extra decoration.

Christmas gift tags!

I spent this afternoon working on some prototype designs for Christmas tags. Here are the results.












I made them using card and luggage labels, distressing inks, and images from clipart plus any other pretties I had lying around. I think I like the blue ones the best!!!