Take a Bow

Sometimes when I lose my inspiration to sew all I need to do to get it back is to make something really simple, quick and easy. Usually this involves refashioning rather than actually sewing something new. Since I've been lacking motivation recently I decided to give a cardigan that I don't wear very much a bit of a makeover.

I have quite a big stash of vintage sewing notions that I have picked up over the years at various op-shops. I hardly ever use them on big sewing projects but they are great for embellishing plain things.
Using some ribbon from my stash I made some really easy petersham bows and then hand sewed them onto the cardigan. I'm actually quite pleased with the way it turned out because I wasn't sure whether I would like it or not.
Now that I've got my sewing mojo back I'll have to get back to my Christmas dress otherwise it wont be finished in time.

A Christmas Dress Muslin

I've just returned from being away for a few days and have realised Christmas is looming ever closer. I want to make a dress to wear on Christmas day. We usually have a pretty casual Christmas (I'm pretty sure my Dad wore stubbies last year) so I will probably be ridiculously overdressed but I don't care.
I have had some poinsettia printed fabric in my stash for a while that I got off Trademe. I'm hoping it looks slightly Christmassy but not so much so that I can't wear it at other times of the year.

For once I decided to do a muslin. I used a weird tablecloth type thing I had in my stash as muslin fabric.
I inadvertantly cut off the top of my head in the photo (which was in fact probably for the best because I couldn't be bothered putting makeup on this morning).
The details aren't very clear in the picture but the bodice is really basic with kimono sleeves and a slight scoop neck. In the poinsettia version I'm going to take in the shoulder seams and the side seams slightly.

The skirt front has four pleats on each side which face the centre front. The back has two box pleats. The skirt is based on a vintage dress I saw on Etsy.

Now I've completed a muslin hopefully I'll be able to make the final dress before Christmas.