Dressmaking.

Phew, one week down in my new job. It has been so good but so challenging! Basically the role is one involving community outreach to people living with a mental illness, so visiting these peoples homes and working 1-on-1 with them has been very eye opening and a fantastic learning curve.

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I have made some progress this week towards my no-clothes pledge.

At the beginning of the week my dressmakers mannequin arrived in the mail. I bought this one on eBay for a really good price, and it arrived at my house in just over 24 hours! I have it all set up and adjusted to my measurements, and have a very large piece of calico fabric to play with on it! I want to try and draft my own pattern for a top using pencils, scissors, pins and the mannequin. I have the idea in my mind, I just hope I can transfer it to reality.

My next step forward involved my very generous sister-in-law Ally (I will be introducing you to her very soon) sending me a book she couldn't give higher praise for, Design-It-Yourself Clothes by Cal Patch. You see, Ally is a fantastic sewer and makes THE most adorable clothes for her 18 month old daughter, buying simple patterns and adding different touches to make her daughters clothes have a vintage/feminine look. So this book? Well Ally was right - it hits the mark in terms of actually explaining in simple language how to draft your own patterns. The instructions are so clear and all the clothes featured I would actually wear, unlike those featured in "Sew U".

As if giving me this book wasn't enough, Ally pointed me in the direction of a dressmaking magazine website called Burda Style. They have a website full of information, patterns and inspiration, which you can browse for yourself at: www.burdastyle.com.

This website is fantastic! There are hundreds of patterns to choose from, and when your heart falls for one, you simply add it to your cart, pay your money (not very much) and then it is yours to download and save. You simply print the pattern off using your printer, sticky tape the pages together, and cut out to your size. There are lots of reasons why I like this method:

1) You can print out as many as you need, so all the fiddling with tracing the different sizes with your shop bought patterns is no more. Simply cut it to size, and if you are making different sizes, you can print it out again and cut it to the new size!

2) The patterns take up no space! Just store them on your computer and print them out as you need them.

3) You have instant access to a multitude of patterns, saving you much more time.

4) The patterns are all about 60% cheaper than in stores in Australia!

While waiting for a friend to finish work earlier this week, I browsed a newsagency looking for dressmaking patterns.

So excited to find the latest issue of Burda Style sitting there in the magazine racks that I took it home with me.

Sam xox