Behold, I do a new thing!

Pattern Making 101Layout and cut out your patternSew Thomas the Tank Top

Don't drop your coffee cup, but I've finally posted a new project, Clone your Favourite Tank Top.  Great for girls and guys (yes, some do sew, I've seen it firsthand!) it involves making a pattern from your favourite tank top/singlet, cutting it out and stitching it up.

Top Tips for Thomas the Tank Top:

1) When making your pattern, be as accurate as you can.  If in doubt, err on the big side (ie. make it slightly larger - you can always take it in, but you can't take it out if it's too small!)  Learn by my mistakes - I was sloppy making a T shirt pattern for Aaron, and it ended up a whole size too small...

2) Buy fabric that's at least as stretchy as your original tank top otherwise the fit could be nasty.

3) Email me if you have any questions. Otherwise enjoy showing off those big Rafael Nadal sized guns in your new tank!

Handmade pressies!

My favourite handmade gift from my sisterI love giving and getting home-made presents.  Often they don't cost much to make (except if you count your labour at say, $50 per hour - now they're expensive!) My sister Jeannie told me not to show anyone her craftsmanship, but I love this crocheted cup too much. Stamped and sewn teatowel

Got this lovely hand carved Indian stamp for my birthday.  Printed and sewed up a sweet tea-towel for Kia that really is a one-off.  (I have a very short attention span and only made one!)

Make-up bag made for (Crazy) Judy out of garage sale silk remnantFlaws are part of the charm of handmade pressies - they're living proof that this is not a mass-produced item! 

Why not have a shot at this little make-up bag?  There's a great little tutorial here at Three Bears.

Blood Sweat & T Shirts...

Fascinated by an episode of Blood Sweat & T Shirts, a 2008 doco about 6 British fashionistas who go to work in India's textile industry.  They work lots of places, from a high-end designer clothing factory to backstreet slums.

I'll give your wife my mascara if you sew the sleeves for me!Depressingly, at a good factory, they make enough to buy a can of deodorant at the end of the day.

Richard would rather work an all-nighter than sleep at the factoryElsewhere, they stay up all night making 36 blouses (in preference to sleeping on the floor under their machines as other workers were!)The factory's overnight accomodation - tucked up under your sewing machine! 

Unfortunately only 15 of their blouses pass the factory's quality control, and they make 30 rupees each (about 75 cents AUD)  for their efforts.

Is this factory even legal?Worse still are the rabbit warren of backstreet slum factories. Conditions are so dismal,the British workers are amazed that they're not illegal. 

Carrying a load of brand name jeans through the Mumbai slumsWhat is illegal is child workers under 14  (but they still meet a 16 year old who has worked since age 10!)

What can I say?

You sew, girl!

The holidays are here!  The holidays are here!  We've worked hard at college this semester and I really enjoyed the chance to learn some great skills amongst some lovely creative types (most of them half my age!)

My skirt - took some things I liked - a high waist, shaped hem, bound edge......big metal zip at back...and made this!I think my favourite subject was Wendy's sewing production class where we made a truckload of samples ( zippers, casings, pockets etc), then sewed pyjamas, skirts and a couple of shirt/jackets.  Really enjoyed drawing, making the pattern and stitching up our own skirt design - it's very satisfying turning an idea into a 3-D object!

Super simple to sew cowl neck tee - the hardest part is making the pattern - lucky we have Wendy our favourite teacher to help out!

We also did some T-shirts - painless fun for those with an overlocker, but a little trickier on an ordinary sewing machine.  Here's a little cowl neck tee I made, it's pretty simple to sew once you draft the pattern up...

Out in the Blogosphere...

From Garance's photos during a trip to SydneyKeeping a blog is hard for lazy me!  But it's a great way to keep a record of what you've been doing.  There are a gazillion brilliant blogs out in the Blogosphere, but one I always keep an eye on is Garance Dore's.  She's the Sartorialist's girlfriend if that means anything to you (that guy who snaps people in the streets) and a brilliant photographer herself.  I like it because it's heavy on photos and images, light on text...