Malphi: Frills, Frocks & Fancies!

Irresistible Jones

Does anybody else use vintage or non-electric machines?  I'd love to hear.

I saw this old Jones machine on Ebay and just couldn't resist it!  It's a vibrating shuttle...my favourite type!  I'd never seen one with the blue decor and being my favourite colour the combination was just too irresistible!

Trouble is I'm really running out of space for all my machines.   I still use my beloved Vickers for all my work, it's just such a beautiful sturdy machine but it does mean the others tend to get neglected and there have been moments when I've considered saying goodbye to the ones I don't use.  I gave a couple of singers away a few years back and never regretted it but then again, for some reason I don't bond with the old Singers as much...haven't put my finger on it yet.  I hope I don't do anything drastic!

Through the gate...

This is the my Verity Hope dress in Ruby red available to make as a kit from Etsy.  I wanted a colour which was warm yet colourful especially through the winter months.  It's a deep red like winter berries.  Here it is from the back...

 
Nothing beats a blue summer day but winter brings on it's own delights.   I love it just as the sun is going down and a golden haze sets over.  I also love the cosiness of drawing the curtains early and curling up in a chair with a sewing project.  Must admit though, I can't wait for the spring!  The birds singing first thing in the morning through the window and the plants beginning to grow again....oh and sewing outside amongst it all on my non-electric sewing machine!

"In the depth of Winter I finally learned that there was in me an invincible summer"

Albert Camus

Bargain at Berwick Street...

I have been dying to use this fabric for something.  It's a wool blend I bought in Berwick Street, London years ago.  The shop had acquired a mountain of surplus rolls from dress designer Jean Muir and were selling it off at a bargain price.  I originally started to make a long dressing gown in the style of the Verity Hope Dress but never got around to completing it.  The body part and sleeves are still sitting in my drawer optimistically but now that I've used the rest of the remnant, completion is looking extremely unlikely!

What I did enjoy about this project was that it sort of designed itself.  One of the pieces was already in the shape of a frill so I didn't even have to cut it out.  Then I simply laid the other pieces out one at a time around the frill and cut them freehand and linked them all into an apron shape.  Sounds daunting, but it was actually rather nice to do and the element of the unknown always inspires me .

The fabric was quite flimsy so I lined it on the back with a cotton blend fabric which matched in colour and then embellished it...favourite part of any project!!

Truly Scrumptious

I have drawers and drawers bursting with remnants, linens, cloth scraps I just can't throw away.   Even though most pieces aren't big enough to make anything with , it just seems such a waste to throw them.  There's always a project looming in my head so I'm on a mission now to use them up!

This apron is made up from three different types of linen.  Scraps left over from my white Verity Hope Dress, a plain white linen remnant and a ragged linen piece left over from an early Flower Pickin' Pinny.

I only had a vague idea in mind as to how I wanted it to turn out.  I knew I wanted it to be very frilly but then just let it evolve as I went along.  Next time I'll spread the frill up more at the sides and I also want to add more darts at the front to shape it more.  This current apron has four darts,  two above and two below the waistband.  To decorate the waistband, I simply cut up an old embroidered linen napkin and then appliqued it on.

Oh I do love frills!  I keep thinking about that dress in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang when Truly Scrumptious runs across the beach with her frilly pantaloons underneath (if you've seen the film you'll know what I mean!)