What Katie Did...

Katie GannonTo find out more about the fashion industry, I interviewed designer Katie Gannon for a college project.  Her eco-friendly label "Mother Maria" is dedicated to her late Polish grandmother, Maria.

Katie started sewing as a teenager, remodeling her own garments from retro pieces she picked up at local op shops.

She's still inspired by vintage  magazines and retro patterns. Many of her unique garments use vintage fabrics collected over the past 15 years.

I love the way that Katie's label and cool blog have a strong social conscience.

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What's not to love about op-shopping!

Just part of my new stash of fabric...When I spotted a stack of Vogue Designer sewing patterns (circa 1980), I suspected this St Vinnies might have some nice fabric in stock. 

True to form, I found crisp linen (pristine white and prints), crepes, real wool and  shiny silks tucked in amongst their stash. 

And the price?  A princely $16.50 for some twelve metres of material.

Spot the op-shop jeans...Seriously, who can tell the difference between my brand new $65 no-name jeans and the $4 Levis I found op-shopping in country Kenilworth? 

It was so hot camping that I bought the jeans on the right to cut up into shorts, but in the end figured they were too nice and deserved better treatment!

Easiest ever way to convert your jeans to shorts

For those with the same urge to cut up your jeans, I spotted the easiest way to do it on some shopbop.com shorts.

Just turn up the edge once to the outside and stitch.  No messing around trying to put cuffs on your shorts - it stops the fraying just a bit and you get a great look for minimum effort!

New Free Sewing Project - A Wrap Skirt made from two pillowslips

Finally!  Our wrap skirt project instructions are up on-line! 

This skirt is super easy as it is essentially a tube shape with ribbons and hammer-on snaps attached.  Also because it's made of two pillowslips, a lot of the seams are already sewn for you.  The sample skirt in the how-to's is sewn in contrasting colours, just so you can see how it works.

I've also managed to doctor all the How-tos in our Free Sewing Projects so that if you click on a picture, each can be viewed as a slide show with instructions.  Not a grand accomplishment for some, but for a direct descendant of Ned Ludd like myself, I was well pleased... 

Enjoy!

Update on Oct 28, 2009 at 16:37 by [Carmen]

Take a look at some It's a Wrap skirt variations at our Show and Tell Gallery!

Print your own fabric design

Spoonflower.com  is a fabulous American site that prints your designs onto a range of quality fabrics like organic cottons and bamboo.

60's potholder60's fabric designI had a shot at designing some fabric using an old vintage potholder for inspiration.

Agapanthus photoAgapanthus fabricAnother photo I took of an agapanthus blooming in the front yard morphed into this design.  You can see your work in fabric form for as little as $5US for an 8x8 inch swatch.

Spoonflower can also put your fabric design up for sale on their site and you'll receive a 10% commission for your trouble!Just a few of the hundreds of home-grown fabric designs at Spoonflower!

Wardrobe Refashion Sign On

At Wardrobe Refashion, you can sign a pledge for a minimum 2 months, to not buy new clothes, but craft and create your own instead.  Participants can log their progress on the WR blog. 

Here's my first entry:-

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