Sewing Indie Month, The Hackers....The Final Entries

Sewing Indie Month has been quite a month! To be honest, I was a little worried about whether or not there would be many if any entries for pattern hacking, but you ladies have blown me away with your creativity! Congratulations to everyone who used a little creativity and thought outside the box.
We had 5 new entries yesterday and I want to showcase their lovely hacks.
A bodysuit takes on a whole new life when it becomes a maxi dress. http://dibulous.blogspot.com/2014/06/nettie-maxi-dress-hack.html took the Nettie Dress and Bodysuit from Closet Case Files and gave sexy a whole new look!
                   
After you've worked so hard to obtain a PhD and you need to defend your dissertation, a lovely dress is in order. MariaDenmark's Day To Night Top was the perfect beginning for his lovely dress made by   
http://www.kollabora.com/projects/dissertation-defense-dress
                       
Dixie's DIY Ballet Dress gave http://www.thepatternhack.blogspot.com/ the perfect pattern for creating this maxi dress. By the way, this is her first ever post. A brand new blogger!!!! Be sure to welcome her to the blogging world.
                  
For a woman who loves to exercise, The Avocado Hoodie from Seamster Patterns gave http://www.cleverthinking99.com/2014/06/jaywalk-alexaavocado-hoodie.html just what she needed to create this great jacket.
                          
Being able to run and be cool and comfortable is a must for http://sewtigersew.wordpress.com/2014/06/04/sewing-indie-pattern-hacking-a-running-top-for-the-volume-lover/, so she took the Summer Concert Tee from Dixie DIY and combined it with Fehr Trade's XYT Workout Top.
                                    
So that closes out the entries for Pattern Hacking. Again, great job ladies!!!! And a big thank you for participating. The voting will begin on Monday, so I will be posting links then.
Sewing Indie Month is not quite over for me. I will be posting my hack of Sew Chic's Myrtlewood dress this Saturday. I have an event to attend and the dress will be perfect! I also have another piece to hack from Waffle Patterns that I think you are going to love. I'll be back a little later today with a fun Thrifty Thursday piece. Until then, have a fabulous day!

Sewing Indie Month, The Hackers Part 3

We're down to the final stretch!!!! Today is the last day that you can enter your creations for a chance to win all the fabulous prizes. Now, it is early and there's a full day and night ahead of you, so there's still time to hack away. Take a look a the free patterns that are being offered here, http://www.rhondabuss.blogspot.com/2014/05/sewing-indie-for-free.html. Just download one and off you go. A great hack could be something as simple as taking the Skinny Bitch Curvy Chick Tee, chopping it at the waist and adding a gathered skirt. It doesn't get any easier than that!  So please don't miss out on a great opportunity!
Now, we've had a few more hackers come in since yesterday.
This is a hack of the Mathilde Blouse from Tilly and the Buttons. By lengthening the pattern and making a few other alterations, http://www.emmakespatterns.com/blog/2014/6/2/mqowvnt0cml3hh3lwosu6b38xntucr came up with a cute and versatile summer dress.
                      
This is a second hack from http://thehobbyharbor.blogspot.in/2014/06/Kristen-Tee-Free-Sewing-Pattern.html. Believe it or not, this is the Kirsten Kimono Tee from MariaDenmark. By the way, this is a free pattern :)
                   
This great little summer peplum top made by http://stitchandcappuccino.wordpress.com/2014/06/03/sewing-indie-month-cami-peplum-top/ started life out as the Cami Dress from Pauline Alice.

The Out and About Dress pattern from Sew Caroline was used by Morgan of Thread Theory to create this perfect summer maxi.  You can find her post here on the Britex blog, http://www.britexfabrics.com/blog/2014/06/02/maxidress/

And last but not least this morning is a great peplum made by Anna. She used the Elisalex Dress from By Hand London . You can see her post here, http://www.kollabora.com/projects/elisalex-hack-pink-peplum-top
         
For a little more inspiration, check out Pattern Hackers 1 and 2 here http://www.rhondabuss.blogspot.com/2014/05/sewing-indie-month-hackers.html and here http://www.rhondabuss.blogspot.com/2014/06/sewing-indie-month-hackers-part-two.html. Whatever pattern you decide to use, remember that the pattern needs to be one of the participating Indie patterns in order to qualify for the contest.

Once you've finished your creation, be sure to link it here, http://www.rhondabuss.blogspot.com/2014/05/announcing-sewing-indie-month.html
Good Luck!!!

Susan Khaljie's Cocktail Dress

A few weeks ago, I received an email from Susan Khalje announcing her new online class, The Cocktail Dress. I almost fell off my chair when I read that she was offering the class to me for free. The cost of the class is $120.00, so of course I hopped on the offer and ordered the pattern. There are 3 styles offered in the pattern.   

 Here's a look at the size chart. The pattern has a very nice range of sizes.

 Along with the pattern, Susan sent a 2 page course outline as well

 as a detailed list of the course materials.

Since Susan was so kind to gift the course to me, I feel that it is only fair that I should go through the course and make up the dress. It wouldn't be fair to walk you through the entire process, but I will be able to touch on the highlights of the dress construction.
Like many of you, I am trying, not too successfully mind you, to pair down my massive collection of fabric, so I went through my fabrics and decided on this great piece of metallic silk. It's a very bright orange with gold threads running through it.

As luck would have it, I just happened to have a piece that perfectly matches.

The embroidery is so pretty.

In July I will be attending a party that I attend every summer, so I need a new dress. You may remember the zebra dress I wore last year. This is not the dress that I intended to make, but it will be lovely and I will use fabric I have rather than purchasing more. I intend to lengthen the dress into a full length gown.
I am very excited about this little endeavor.
Susan is offering 2 free videos on her website which you can find here, http://susankhalje.com/ One is on things to bear in mind when choosing fabric and the other talks about choosing the correct pattern size. Valuable information.
You may remember that I took Susan's French Jacket class a few years ago and created this jacket,
                         
I wanted to take the class and learn the steps involved in making the jacket. It was a labor of love, but well worth it in the end.
So as I work through the cocktail dress videos, I'll show you my progress and give you my thoughts on the course. I can say now, based on past my experience with Susan that yes, the course is $120.00, but well worth the money and time.

Sew News Magazine Winner

 I got a little side tracked yesterday and forgot to post the winner of the June/July issue of Sew News.

The winner is Kathy of   http://runningwithrocket.blogspot.com/. Congratulations Kathy!!! Be sure to send me your address so I can get the magazine out to you, sewbussted@yahoo.com.

The next sew along will start on June 23rd and we will be making the Summer Breeze Top from Hot Patterns.

As soon as the Flickr group is up, I'll let you know. In the meantime you can order your pattern here,  http://www.hotpatterns.com/hp-1137-riviera-summer-breeze-sleeveless-tops/ If you decide to purchase your fabric before the sew along starts, keep in mind that it needs to be a very lightweight fabric, like a silk charmeuse or a very light weight knit will also work well. In order to achieve the front drape, a good bit of fabric is gathered into a rather small space, so if your fabric is too heavy, you'll never get it all gathered up.
A little bird told me that there will be prizes after the sew along ends, so you will want to join the Flickr group.
I'm going to be feverishly working on my Sew Chic Myrtlewood dress today so I can post it tomorrow. It should have been finished last week, but life.......
I will be back a little later with something rather fun, so see you later!!!
Rhonda

Sewing Indie Month, The Hackers Part Two

The hackers are beginning to accumulate! What fun it is to see what everyone is doing with their pattern of choice. Last week I showcased 6 hackers and their wonderful creations, 2 of which had 2 entries. Way to go ladies!!! I don't like to leave anyone out, so I thought I would showcase the new entries that have come in.
First up is http://pootleandmake.wordpress.com/2014/05/27/fo-bhl-anna-dress/ with her lovely remake of the Anna Dress from By Hand London. Such cute fabric :)

Next up is a post from http://fabrictragic.blogspot.com.au/2014/05/finished-leisl-and-friedrich-von-trapp.html, and this is all about fun. You just have to hop over to her blog to read about the costumes that she made. The lederhosen were made using the Jedediah pants pattern from Thread Theory. I'm so happy that at least one man got in on the Sewing Indie Month action. If you would like to try your hand at a pair of men's pants, here's a link to the pattern,  http://threadtheory.ca/collections/store/products/jedediah

                      

A very different take on the Mimosa Top from Skinny Bitch Curvy Chick was done by http://sewingdreamsblog.wordpress.com/2014/05/30/mimosa-part-ii/ It's as pretty on the inside as it is on the outside. Be sure to check out her post.

The next entry comes from http://sozowhatdoyouknow.blogspot.co.uk/2014/05/tutorial-how-to-pattern-hack-coco-for.html, the brains behind Me Made May. She used the Coco pattern from Tilly and the Buttons and she turned it into a top perfect for breast feeding. Absolutely ingenious!

Combining 2 patterns and coming up with a real winner is what http://www.laurasinclair.com.au/2014/05/31/emer-mae/ did. She combined the Emery Dress from Christine Haynes with the neckline of the Mae Blouse from Blue Ginger Doll.

Here's another great take on the Anna Dress from By Hand London done by http://justkeepsewing.net/2014/05/31/peplum-top/ Great combination of fabrics too!

You saw my Kirsten Kimono Tee by Maria Denmark last Sunday. Here's a very cute color blocked version from http://notimetosew.wordpress.com/2014/05/31/indie-pattern-hacking-colorblocked-kirsten-kimono-tee/

Last but not least is another free pattern hack by http://thehobbyharbor.blogspot.in/2014/06/polly-top-in-sheer-chiffon-pattern-hack.html. She used the Polly Top from By Hand London. So very cute with those checker board pants!

I have a feeling that over the next few days the entries will begin to pour in, so I will do another showcase post on Wednesday. Remember, Wednesday June 4th is the last day that you can enter your hacking creations, so time is running short! Be sure to enter your hacking creations here,

http://www.rhondabuss.blogspot.com/2014/05/announcing-sewing-indie-month.html
Good Luck!!!!!

Sunday Night Reflections

Do all you can with what you have, 

in the time you have, 

in the place you are.

Free Kimono Top Pattern From Maria Denmark, Sewing Indie Month

This post should have been done last Thursday as it is really a Thrifty Thursday post. At the moment I feel that if I ever get caught up with everything I have going on, well, it will be a very happy moment!
A couple of weeks ago I did a post on the free patterns that are offered by the pattern companies who are participating in Sewing Indie Month. I have not had a chance to try all of them out, but I can say that all that I have tried, I've been very pleased with and that now includes the Kirsten Kimono T-Shirt pattern from MariaDenmark.

It's a very nice, basic t-shirt pattern, and super easy to make.

I made only 2 small alterations to the pattern, I took up the side seam at the waist probably a good inch,

and I lowered the neckline about 2". I lowered the neckline at center front and I also took off about 1/2" at the shoulders. I tapered my line back to nothing at center back, so the neckline was not lowered at center back.

I think you can see how my neckline is a little more open than it would have been if I had followed the original neckline of the pattern.

Because the lines are so basic, this is a great pattern for hacking, actually, the sky is the limit as far as design possibilities go. You can find the pattern here, http://blog.mariadenmark.com/?p=875 You will need to sign up for the newsletter in order to receive the pattern. Maria is not at all intrusive. I think that since I signed up, I've only received 2 newsletter emails from her. So jump on over and pick up a pattern for yourself. The last day to  post on the Sewing Indie Month contest is Wednesday, June 4th. So there's a little time left...but not much!!!!!