T-shirt tutorial 1: zip'n tuck ... plus JEWELLERY NEWS!

Whew, it's been a busy few weeks, but the translation work is winding down. Although if I followed one of my readers' brilliant suggestions and added Pig Latin to the list of languages I can translate, I'm sure I'd be swamped with job offers.* Anyway, until I update my resume, I have a little bit of time, and I've finally got around to writing up the first installment of my T-shirt tutorial series.

Disclaimer before we even begin: as I did this remake in 2009, I only have one "before" pic and none to show the creation process. Get ready for a bit of reading and using your powers of imagination!

Here is how the T-shirt looked when I bought it (complete with a room full of crap, most of which is in exactly the same spot now. Nearly two years later. Sigh.).

It was a few dollars from Savers but originally from Millers, where it was probably also only a few dollars, as Millers is, shall we say, a very affordable brand. It's a brand aimed at the more mature lady, therefore the cut was pretty generous and it had shoulder pads (which I removed).

Here's how it looks now (you can see a few more pics here too):


What you will need for this project: scissors, an open-ended zip (neckline to waist length), elastic, pins, needle and thread (preferably a sewing machine too, but you can hand stitch if necessary). Oh, and a T-shirt of course!

1. Fold the T-shirt in half exactly down the centre front (match up side seams to find the centre front). Cut down the centre. Fold over the raw edges by about 5mm-1cm to the inside and stitch into place.

2. Try T-shirt on to work out where it hits your waist, as you only need the zip to come to there. With zip done up, pin centre front edges of garment from neckline to waist on either side of zip, leaving the zip teeth visible (or if you don't want the zip to show so much, match up the centre front edges of the T-shirt exactly so that the zip is concealed). Stitch zip into place, removing pins as you go.

3. Now that you have the zip done, put the T-shirt on inside out (a bit tricky, but doable) and do up the zip. You can now start pinning darts and tucks in the material so that it fits your body to the waist (you probably will need to make two long darts in the back and on each side of the front, and you may need to take in the side seams too. All this pinning is pretty tricky so you might need help). Don't make any adjustments below the waist. Once you're satisfied with the fit, take the T-shirt off and sew the darts, removing pins as you go. When all adjustments have been made, try the T-shirt on again, right way out, and check that it fits snugly.

4. Trim excess material from the hem to make the T-shirt the desired length (if you trim, you will probably need to overlock or zigzag stitch the raw edge so it doesn't fray). I made my hem hip-length and gave the top a bit of shape by cutting it in a curve towards the base of the zip, but you don't have to. As you have not made any adjustments below the waist, the top should flare out a little bit, like a peplum. Great for girls like me who need help to create the illusion of a waist!

5. To create a bit of a puff sleeve, trim sleeve and stitch a casing around the edge if necessary. My T-shirt's sleeves were the right length to begin with so all I did was run elastic through the hem and stitch it in place.

6. Take photo of your stunning creation and tell us all about it!



*And then I'd have loads of funds to spend on things like Sollis jewellery, which I mentioned in the last post. Actually, you don't even need loads of funds, because they're offering a discount! It's running until April 10 at www.sollisjewellery.com
To claim your discount, use the following code at the checkout: FINDERSKEEPERS

... and that's not all, folks. Check out this blog if you feel like donating to a worthy cause AND scoring some designer jewellery. Plus, you get the thrill of an auction so you can waste time at work checking to see how your bids are going. Could do-gooding get any better?!

Markets and Multiculturalism in Melbourne

How was your weekend? Did you celebrate Earth Hour? I did, by hanging out with the cool crowd at Lou's place... at least I think it was the cool crowd. For all I know they could have been wearing polar fleece, as it was a bit hard to see in the candlelight! I took this pic before I left the house - I wore a green jacket in honour of the event (and to make up my Me-Made-March quota).



After hanging out in the dark on Saturday, it was time for some sunshine today, and Melbourne really put on a beautiful show. How could I resist heading out?
First stop was the Finders Keepers market at Docklands (yes, that means lots of photos for you!!). I usually hate Docklands because it's nearly always windy and my non-existent orientation skills inevitably get me lost, but I checked the map a zillion times before going and there was just a light breeze, although you can't tell that from this picture!!


I'm wearing a Mexican dress I remade, with ancient Tsumori Chisato boots that my friend once described as formal gumboots.

As I'd expected, the Finders Keepers market was packed! We were too late for the musical performances but I did like this cheery origami installation over the stage area.



There were, of course, many lovely crafty creative things to gawk at, like these adorable baby shoes by a brand called "all about Heidi". I'll definitely keep them in mind the next time I need baby presents.



These cute cup-and-saucer bird feeders attach to poles that you can stick into your garden bed. I don't think they'd be quite sturdy enough (or large enough) for the naughty birds that I know, but dainty little seed-nibblers might like them. Both the shoes and the bird feeders will be available on this site in a little while.



These lampshades are all made from vintage fabric. The one on the very bottom left is a Very Hungry Caterpillar lamp!



Some cool new ways of wearing crochet, which you can see more of here.




Some cute animal brooches... it looks like the foxes are after the rabbits...



While I'm inclined to think the craft world is going through owl overkill at the moment, these glazed ones are really very charming.



The foxes, rabbits, owls and more are all for sale here.

If I needed cool Australian souvenirs, these pillow cases with a kangaroo and a cockatoo print would fairly much top my list. In fact I was sorely tempted to buy them for myself.



They're by Madeleine Stamer.



And in case you still thought macrame was an ugly 70s craft...



Yes, you may want to reconsider that notion.


Aren't these super cool?



I particularly like the green bracelet with the silver beads, but they're all fairly fantastic.



They're by a brand called Sollis. Enter the website at your credit card's peril.

Amazingly, I managed to show self-restraint and walked away from the market with nothing but a handful of business cards from all the lovely ladies who I've featured here. My friend Jun and I walked and trammed to Federation Square to catch the Viva multicultural festival. Before we'd even set foot into the main part of the square we were stopped by a film crew from channel 31 who were asking people what they thought of the festival and multiculturalism in Melbourne.



I suppose that walking along wearing a Mexican dress, shoes by a Japanese designer, carrying an army coat I bought in Paris (5 Euro!!), gabbing away in Japanese and being half Asian myself, I was kind of the ideal candidate to comment... except for the fact that I had not actually been to the festival yet. Details, details...



Anyway, channel 31, if you happen to be reading this, we did indeed enjoy the festival! After all, with performances, market stalls, food and drink all on offer under a sunny sky, how could we have had a bad time?

Click go the shears, girls!

Life's funny, isn't it? One minute you're being filmed for TV or mixing with the fashion pack, the next you're walking through sheep poo. Well, at least that's how my life was this week.


I was asked to go along as an interpreter with an eco-friendly merino wool company which had some Japanese and Chinese clients out on a field trip. They were visiting sheep farms, and I got to go with them to one just out of Ballarat.

It was very chilly and windy, as you can see. I was wearing a me-made cardigan but you'll just have to take my word for it, as there was no way I was removing that coat! And no, the flagpole growing out of my head is not a new accessory, although come to think of it, it would be quite unique. Hmm.
Can you see the lake in the background of the photo? Apparently a year or so ago that was just a dustbowl, thanks to the really long drought Australia experienced. I'm sure the green grass that I'm standing on in the picture wouldn't have been there then, either. And nor would these sheep, as they're still only young ones...

We got to watch them being shorn...

Apparently this guy can shear 140 sheep a day - and he's 64!! His record was 240 a day when he was younger. It was interesting to see the sheep just lying back in his capable hands. If they're not held properly they kick, but good shearers now how to get them to relax. Just like a good hairdresser, I suppose, although I wouldn't want those clippers anywhere near my head.

Here's the fleece fresh off the sheep, still full of thistles and goodness knows what. Just considering all the steps and know-how it takes to make a jumper (that's a sweater for my US readers) is somewhat mind-blowing.

For example, the farmer explained that diet affects the quality of the wool so it's imperative that the sheep have a stable source of food. He started growing lucerne a few years ago because it has deeper roots than grass and doesn't get blown away during a drought. And that's just one aspect of sheep farming. Something to think about next time you buy a woolen jumper! Oh, and for the crafty ones out there who like to make their own, here's one of the sheep whose wool you're buying. His fleece can't be used commercially so it gets sold for handicrafts...


Yep, this one is literally the black sheep of the family!

Oh, and by the way, I was alerted to the fact that those of you on platforms other than Blogger couldn't post comments on my blog (thanks Katie!), but I've hopefully fixed this now, so feel free to drop me a line!

Is Fashion Sustainable?

This week has been all about feeding off other bloggers' posts instead of writing my own, and when you're on a roll (or incredibly lazy), why change things? Last night I went to "Is Fashion Sustainable?" which was a forum organised by Lara from Wardrobe Wonderland, so head on over to that blog if you want to find out more. There's profiles and links about all the speakers, and if you're at all interested in finding out who's who in sustainable fashion in Melbourne (or even in Australia), it's well worth the read. Here are the panelists, with apologies for the tiny, crap, horribly backlit picture...from left to right: Kerryn Caulfield, Cameron Neil, Tullia Jack, Juliette Anich, Alex Trimmer and Karen Webster.


I got to chat with Alex Trimmer (who designs Sosume, which is a very cool brand we used in the Fair@Square fashion show) before the forum started. And that amazing, gorgeous magazine I'm holding? That would be Peppermint, not that I'd be doing my best cheesy grin while shamelessly flogging the magazine I write for or anything like that! (Subliminal message: you need to buy this mag!!!)

Speaking of magazines, I was sitting next to Kealey Nutt of Thelma magazine, but she was rather busy filming the proceedings so I didn't get to pick her brain about things really. My somewhat surprised expression was due to my Peppermint pal Lou snapping us unawares (thanks for these pics, Lou).

So what was the discussion about? Well, the title says it all, really. The fashion world is moving at an ever more insane pace, we're consuming more and more, and some of us think it's time to slow things down before it gets too late. No doubt there will be videos or transcripts of the evening online through at least one of the links within this post, so keep checking them, but basically everybody agreed that fashion as it exists now is not at all sustainable. I won't go into details because once I get started on this I get a bit wound up, but we really need to stop buying cheap crap that we only wear a few times; buy stuff that already exists (ie from op shops), swap clothes with others, or invest in sustainably created pieces (organics, natural materials, fair trade and ethically manufactured brands, recycled garments, brands which use material that biodegrades or can be recycled, like polyester); wash the clothes we wear less and in cold water, and repair, remake or recycle them once we don't want to wear them any more. (If you're in the mood for browsing, you might find quite a few remaking ideas on my blog!) Me-Made-March and ideas that involve making your own things are also great... which of course is my excuse to segue into telling you what I'm wearing...

... although I have to say this is not the best example of a me-made outfit. I "made" the earrings and joined a few turquoise necklaces together to make a long rope, but the tassel necklace is from an op shop and my shoes I bought (gasp!) new, as in, not from an op shop even (double gasp).
My dress is not me-made, although I did draft the pattern for it (it's the same as this one). I was planning to have it produced in India so this blue one is a sample that a factory I contacted made up for me. It was one of those projects that ended up on the backburner, because I was not sure whether the factory was ethical. The colour is amazing too - which unfortunately quite possibly points to a terribly synthetic, chemical dye... aggh...

I will spare you the guilt trip and wind up this somewhat serious post with an amusing anecdote... I wore this dress on a silly fashion shoot that my friends and I did a few years ago - we were snapping away on the steps of Parliament and a policeman stopped us because he thought we were doing a professional fashion shoot and we didn't have the permission. Ha!! We nearly all died laughing and he let us keep snapping once he realised he was not in the presence of a supermodel or the next Steven Meisel.

We're going to be on TV!!

Everyone deserves their 15 minutes of fame, and mine is scheduled for April 30 at 5:30pm on channel 7!! Set your VCRs now!! haha...

To explain, Erica from Recycled Fashion asked me to come along to film a segment on op shop tours for Coxy's Big Break yesterday. There's more info on her blog, so again I'm going to be lazy and direct you to her post instead of bothering to go into details here. She didn't manage to get pics though, so here are a few of my crappy ones just for the record. Here's Lucy, the incredibly gorgeous and nice presenter for the segment, trying a few things on at the Salvos in Newmarket.

 

And here she is getting Lara's opinion on op shopping (sorry about the bad, bad backlighting!)

This woman is an op shopper, so she can't show her face on camera (does anyone remember that dentist ad from the 80s?). Hi Erica!

 

This is how Lara feels about op shopping!!

I managed to find something to buy, of course. This black leather Innovare bag for $9.95. I'll no doubt jazz it up a bit, but it's a handy size to carry all my crap around in.

 

I'm wearing a blouse I made from an op shop dress, shorts I made from corduroy pants, and jewellery I fiddled with myself too. I think I have featured this red and blue necklace before but can't remember where... the red beads are apparently mountain coral, although I'm inclined to think they're actually resin, and the blue beads are Fimo ones I made when I was 12!! That's why I keep EVERYTHING. It always comes in handy eventually!

Frenzied fashion post

How have you been? I've hardly had time to scratch myself (not that I'm particularly itchy anyway, but it's lucky that I'm not!). Having been out of work for a few months before this, I can only hope that this rush of work will continue - hopefully at a slightly more manageable pace. Anyway I did fit in a little bit of fashion stuff last week (it was Loreal Melbourne Fashion Festival), so here's some snaps and very brief commentary.

On Thursday, there was a fashion show at the GPO. I went with Fabia. I took photos of Lady Melbourne and she put up one of us on her blog too.


Seeing as she also took some good catwalk shots and did a commentary on the show, I'm going to be lazy and say check out her post rather than bother with doing a review myself.



Re Me-Made-March...my top's not at all me-made as it's by Balenciaga - it was a hand-me-down from one of the editors when I worked at Vogue Nippon (yes, BALENCIAGA, I know!! AS IF you would give that away! But AS IF I was going to argue when she gave it to me). The Me-Made component is the necklace made from a sporran that I mentioned the other day, plus other stuff but you can't see it so I won't go into details (it's late; my bed and my cat are calling me. Impatiently).

On Friday I went to Cecylia's, ostensibly for a fashion event, but it was basically an excuse to dress up, hang out and eat cupcakes with her and Sam from Bento. Check out the cupcakes!! And check out Cecylia's cute necklace!

And of course check out some gorgeous stuff in the boutique.


Plus, Cecylia gave me a really cool necklace for my birthday! So lovely of her. And it even matched what I was wearing. That's probably why I was so happy I look like I'm doing a jig.


Most impressed. Cupcakes AND a necklace. Can't get much better than that. I'm wearing a top I made from a T-shirt (I can show you befores and afters if necessary, just not tonight! Let me know if you want to see them), and the rest of my outfit you've seen before (self-snipped leather mini, etc...)


Last night I had dinner at my sister's place and was treated to a delicious Indian meal (her husband is an eeeeeexcellent cook for main courses) and a sinfully rich chocolate tart (my sister handles the desserts in their house). AND she also made me a necklace - this colourful beaded one which happened to go perfectly with the one I was already wearing. I made it from beads I got in India and some pink tassels that I made myself with wool from an op shop!


That's two necklaces I've scored in two days, not bad, hey?

If it's your birthday and you know it...

... raise your paw.


That's right, it's my birthday, so my mum let me do a special post all on my own! I'm 19 today, so I haven't got any wild parties planned, but I might have a quiet drink to celebrate.


And I am definitely not going to do any work. That will just have to wait. I'm sure the office can survive without me for one day.


I don't want to get overexcited on my big day, so I'll probably have a nap from about 7am to 12pm, then another little one from 12:15pm to 5pm, and I might just squeeze another few in between 5:15pm and 6:30am the next day. If it's a nice day I'll try to schedule in some sunbaking too.


And of course there's always the personal grooming to fit in. I never trust salons so I always end up taking care of things myself, even though it's harder to get my pedicure dry at home and it means I have to sit around like this.


I really have a lot of important things to do but I always have to make sure that I leave plenty of fur on mum's dressing gown, which she made when I was just a kitten. I use it more than she does, although she wears it sometimes if I don't need it and thinks that it belongs to her. Same with my bed. Even though I use it the most, she likes to share it with me at night and even calls it hers. Just because it's human-sized. I know it's really mine though. Isn't there an expression about possession being nine tenths of the law or something?


Mum will probably insist on celebratory cuddles too, so I'll pretend to enjoy them for her sake. After all, it's her birthday too.