Pants with Overskirt

I used the same Japanese fabric from the Under Bust Corset to make a pair of pants with a joined overskirt (McCall's Pattern 2487). I think the pattern is now discontinued, I got it second hand for $1 from a dressmaker who was clearing out her stock. I made a few alterations to the pants to fit them to my hips and butt and to lower the top from my waist to sit down on my hips. Unfortunately when I washed them they shrunk slightly so they are about an inch shorter than I am comfortable with but I still like to wear them.

The patch is from a stall at the Brunswick St Markets in Fortitude Valley, Brisbane.



More photos can be found here.

Thanks to polymonkey for taking the pics.

Craft Vault 1

I've been crafting for a number of years now (mainly for friends and family) and have never really showcased my work. Lucky for me my partner is a photographer and has kept a good record of everything for me. I'm finally going to document my achievements and put them up on this blog (or if Cloud says it's 'dark enough' it will go on Voodoo Rabbit).

TY the Tasmanian Tiger is a mascot character who features is a series of computer games made by Krome Studios in Australia. I spent several years working on the franchise, both making the games and marketing. One of the creators of the character was expecting his first child, so I decided to make a baby quilt featuring a x-Stitch of TY as a present for him & his wife.

I created the pattern by taking some character concept art into Adobe Illustrator to trace and colour it. This helped me to constrain the colours to a manageable number. I then took the image into PC Stitch to create the x-stitch pattern.

TY is sewn onto 28 count cloth and finished he was around 15cm x 20cm in size. I bordered him with chocolate bias binding and then added TY as a middle panel for a cot quilt. Baby's parents loved the blanket and didn't want to let her get her hands on it.

First Spoonflower Swatches have Arrived

I have designed the first of my fabrics and the test swatches have arrived from Spoonflower. The series is called "Gingham Invaded" and has been printed in Black, Baby Pink, Baby Blue, Red, Red on Black and White on Black. In the middle is another new design called "Tartan Heart" that I'll develop a range from down the track.

Some of the colours need to be refined and once this has been done they'll be available to buy from our Etsy store.

We have stock up on Etsy!

The first lot of buttons and fabric has arrived! We have uploaded a heap of stock to our Etsy store including some Alexander Henry, Wilmington Prints and Michael Miller fabric.

Also on Etsy is some vintage fabric that Ky and I hunted and gathered from around Brisbane. I love this one:



I think it's from around 1950's and I really like the green flowers / fruit. Some of them look like pomegranites. The brand "Creesrist" is printed on the selvedge and the only reference to it we can find on the web is an old advertisement from The Canberra Times, 20 May, 1949.

Voodoo Rabbit is up & running

I have been super busy lately. I'm working full time, starting up Voodoo Rabbit and last weekend was a bridesmaid at Rae & Joel's wedding. If I haven't been blogging - check out Voodoo Rabbit - you'll probably see me posting there instead for a while....

Evil Bunny

Evil Bunny, originally uploaded by kylieD.

I told you I make the crazy toys. This is the first attempt that Ky & I did of the Voodoo Rabbit.

He's sewn out of polar fleece - it's easy to turn out & it is easy to stuff but I'm unsure if I like it. I really like the heart on him (complete with dodgy zombie stitching). The teeth aren't right yet though. We played around quite a bit trying to get the face right but neither Ky nor I are happy with it. The ears are cute.

We're going to try to remake him using a woven cotton to compare. Eventually, once we get it right he's going to be sold at our Etsy store.

There may even be a pincushion version...

Under bust corset

This under bust corset was made a while ago with fabric that I bought in Japan. The pattern is McCall's 4861.

The pattern went together fairly easily and the fit is pretty good, now if only I could find an appropriate top or dress to wear under it. More photos can be found here.

Thanks to polymonkey for taking the pics.

Planning a Wedding - Part 1

Last Saturday my little sister got married. In the lead up to it there was much sewing and crafting to make various bits and pieces for it. I am planning to do a series of posts on some of these items.

I will start with the hens party. For the hens party we designed and screen printed up some shirts for the Bride, Bridesmaids and the Mothers of the Bride and Groom.

Last Christmas I recieved a screenpriting kit from Santa. It then sat in the cupboard for 6 months due to work commitments. As the hens party approached my little sister decided she was quite keen on having some shirts printed so we broke out the screen printing kit. The hens party was to be a night of karaoke, bowling and drinking. The design was a joint effort between myself, the bride and the other two bridsmaids.

Back View

Front View

More images can be found here.

Thanks to polymonkey for the photos.

Skull Dress

This fabric is what helped start the Voodoo Rabbit idea along. I saw dresses similar to this in the shops for well over $100 but couldn't bring myself to buy them - the quality of the make was really crappy. Cloud & I spent HOURS on the computer doing a search for "roses, skulls, fabric" until we discovered that the print was Alexander Henry Skulls. This was the first fabric that we hunted for to start our shop - unfortunately the supplier is out of stock and it is discontinued.



The dress was made using New Look Pattern 6457.
Thanks to polymonkey for taking the pics.