Crafting and sewing

This made me laugh the other day - Chris found it on the internet. printed it out and slipped it inside yet another crafty supplies parcel which I had ordered.  Obviously it's not just me then...

In other news, I have made a second tunic dress, this time using purple chambray which was gifted to me.  I knew it would come in handy!  The floral material was just a fat quarter, but made the pockets, sleeves and tie ends, so was perfect for this.

The back looks pretty too.  I have finally got the neck right too, without having to add any darts.

I have also got round to making my own bias binding, following a tutorial which I have had for ages, which I am very pleased about.  I am making my third dress at the moment and couldn't find the right shade of bias binding.  So, I used the contrast fabric and made my own, using the nifty little red gadget in the photo above. It isn't difficult although it is a bit time consuming.  However, I am sure the end result will justify the extra time.  Having learnt how to make it, I can now use my own material all the time (unless the pattern needs metres and metres of the stuff, in which case, it is cheaper to buy it!) For the top of the pockets and the neckline for this dress, it is about a metre, so well worth it, I think.  Naturally, I will post a photo of the dress (and hand made bias binding) once it is finished.

Sewing Lesson 3 - Pockets

 Although there isn't that much to see yet, I have started my first tunic dress!  I spent the majority of the lesson last week pinning and cutting out the pattern, which took ages, but I wanted to take my time and cut it as accurately as I could.

I then started sewing the pockets (having discovered that tacking bias binding is a very worthwhile exercise).  Initially, I had some trouble as I had pressed the bias binding so that it wasn't quite equal on both sides, so when I tried to sew it, my stitches just fell off one side of the binding. Once it was tacked, I got on much better.  You can see that I am using the 'rather loud' (Chris' words) material I bought at one of the vintage fairs back in September and I think it will look great.  So, I have some sewing homework to do before my next lesson - shoulder seams, side seams and back seam and then attach the bias binding to the sleeve ends...(Sue, my tutor, said she though we could probably get the tunic dress nearly finished next lesson, with perhaps just the hem to do at home. I'll give it my best shot, anyway!)