Easy Burda Dress

 Hello everyone, I am having a busy week here getting various bits of sewing completed and altering things that have kept annoying me.  A little bit of filming for my self to just get used to doing it a bit quicker and a dress for minerva.  So I will show you the dress first, it is yellow and that is only a colour I have added this last year as I have always been cautious as to whether it would suit.  I did try mustard earlier this year so now this brighter shade.  It is Art Gallery Fabrics cotton poplin...

Now the colour looks different again in this image as you will see on the indoor photo on the mannequin.

This pattern was from Burda magazine April and it is style 104 if any of you have that copy, it is a very basic pattern and is quite roomy when made up.  It is the belt that gives it the shape I feel.  I did take the front seam in quite a bit as the the v was very low on me.  Anyway if you want a very quick forgiving make this is the one, I did add bands to the bottom of the sleeve as a bit of detail and also because my fabric was not quite wide enough for the pieces.  This is because they are grown on sleeves so your pieces take up more space and are harder to reposition on fabric. 

Next up  I have two sets of shorts pyjamas that have camisole tops, well every time I wear them I think they are too big across the front as they end up twisting around me.  So first they needed taking in, tick that off my list.  Then was a pair of jeans shorts I cut down years ago, they have been worn a l lot and got a stain on a few years ago and I did a design with fabric pens back then.  My husband has never really like the back of them as they have not pockets and they are a bit plain. As I have been wearing them more in the warm weather I thought I would add pockets.  For the denim I used the wrong side of a scrap I had as it was closer to the faded colour, then made the pockets and stitched them on.  They do look better with a bit of detail to the back. 

Probably not the clearest of images but you get the idea.

Out in the garden I have been collecting seed pods again, and yes some things are making seeds already and I find it very exciting to go and collect them.  I label them all up in little packets ready for next year and give a few to friends.  It is quite funny that the image below looks like there a re seeds all over the worktop, the aren't ,it is just my worktop.

Any plants that I am not sure of I photograph with the app Plant Net and it gives you names, this came in very useful as we were on holiday and there was this shrub in the public garden next to the railway that had a couple of seed pods about to drop on the path.  I collected them and brought them home, a bit of digging states it can be grown from seed so we will see. 

In other random news I have started the muse by Jessie Burton and I am enjoying it, I seem to recall I started this before and got fed up which just goes to show that maybe it all depends on my state of being or the free time I have whether or not I enjoy a book.  Also on this subject there are books I read years ago that I loved and now think how ever did I think they were good?? We are changing all the time I suppose so of course our tastes will change.

What are you all up to? Enjoying the sun here in the UK or elsewhere, or staying indoors? Where ever you are I hope you have a good time, back soon. 

Art Gallery Fabrics Pyjamas

 Hello, I hope you are all well I am having a lovely weekend because now term has ended for the summer hooray!  I have been sewing and filming, we had a potter in the charity shops on Friday but I have to say I am finding the heat way too much at the moment as I am still struggling with my chest after being ill.  Everything seems to take it out of me at the moment so hopefully I will be fully fit really soon.  I don't want it dragging on through the summer.

Here is my make for minerva, some super comfy pyjamas in cotton jersey, I have had them on already and they really are lovely and soft.  The pattern is kwick sew K3382 and the pattern does state woven for the bottoms but I made it all in the same fabric and it worked out well.

I thought I would make a few practical things, so these fit the bill.

On Friday when we were out I got a few bargains from the £1 rail in the charity shop, these are for refashioning I have already made the shirt into a blouse and that can be seen on my YouTube channel 

Sewing by the Tracks 

I am trying to do mainly refashioning on there and also showing how sewing can be done on the cheap, the thing is I hope the ideas keep on coming.  I tend to refashion my own clothes when I get fed up of them too so it won't always be stuff from charity shops.  I like to make sure the fabrics keep evolving into something else while ever they are still holding up.

Also from the charity shop I found a lovely little teacup and saucer, I don't drink from a cup and saucer but it was just too pretty to pass up.  It is currently in my sewing room and I think I may try and recreate the design on to something, not sure what yet.

The books in the background were also bought for 65p each, a bit of summer reading I think one of them is a YA book but I don't mind that now and again. 

Well I hope you all have a good week and a re able to make the most of the weather. Take care. 

Refashion

 Hello I hope you are all well, I am just recovering as I have been ill again! I am really starting to think that working in school is hazardous to my health because of what I pick up there. So now I am feeling a bit more human I have just done something I have been meaning to do for ages and that is put some videos on you tube.  I have done a few for Minerva that won't be live until later in the year, but I wanted to do it for myself too focusing on using up scraps and refashioning etc. 

I want to show how you can sew for very little which is what I have always tried to do and had to do when I first started as a teenager.  Hopefully these will be helpful to people who don't have money to spare for fabric and patterns but want to get sewing. 

 Hopefully you will have a look, like, subscribe and comment as a newbie I have only three views so far and they are family. I have uploaded one on how to make a t-shirt from two old ones here...

T Shirt Refashion, Thrifty Sewing Tips - YouTube

So they were using two old t-shirts that used to belong to my boys when they were younger but quite baggy and a couple of holes at the bottom.  It made a little fitted one for me I like the effect at the sides.

Then I used a shirt a mans large one from a charity shop and a maxi dress a friend gave me to make a shirt dress with a few details.  I am really happy with how they  both look but still not comfortable in front of the camera filming. If you watch and have time please leave a comment I would love to know what you think, or do you have any filming tips for me?

Shirt to Shirt dress Refashion, Frugal Sewing - YouTube

I don't know how often I will do this but initially I thought I would do a few to get things going, I have no idea how people get views as there is so much on there.

Part of doing this is also getting over my fear of it, I made the banner ages ago, made another video and filmed it the wrong way and just generally worried about negative feedback. So I am over that and as I don't much energy for much else at the minute I thought it is now or never!

Have a lovely week everyone, back soon.