DIY Summer Babydoll Dress

A few weeks back, I got this strech cotton-blend sunflower fabric from an op shop for $2. What a score! I pretty much decided immediately that I wanted to make a summery dress from it...

Now, I, personally, do not and will not wear ANYTHING with a fitted middle section... Let's face it, I've had 3 kids and my stomach isn't what it used to be. 

The latest styles of ladies clothes for the past year or more, have had these waistlines that I refuse to wear... I mean really, where are all the baby doll dresses and baggy tops at?

My main focus, was to create a dress that disguised my stomach area and didn't bring attention to it! Seriously, fashion *ugh*! 

I'm not the girliest of girls, I much prefer to wear pants and shorts and I really don't have many dresses at all. A comfy, casual babydoll dress might actually get a bit of wear from me.

So, I've put together a tutorial of how I made this little number... It was super easy and a beginner seamstress will be able to make this.

- First of all, you need to get yourself a singlet that fits you well and is also made from a similar fabric to the one you are sewing with. This will allow for correct sizing.

I only want to replicate the bust and shoulder straps really. I chose to use this Nike singlet because it isn't too tight and I like how the neckline sits.

You will need to lay your singlet flat onto your fabric.

I used tailors chalk to draw the outline. Keep in mind you only want to outline the FRONT of your singlet at this stage.

Using sharp scissors, cut around your outline.

(I am obsessed with tailors chalk and disapearing texta. I make the outline and then cut out. I find it quicker than pinning.)

Use your front bodice piece as a template for the back... I made the scoop on my back piece higher though.

Fold each piece in half to ensure each side is a mirror image. I just trimmed the areas that had a slight overhang.

You will now have 2 pieces. A front and a back bodice.

Here we will construct the bodice to try and get a good fit. 

Lay the 2 pieces Right Sides Together and pin the top of the shoulders and down the 2 straight sides on the bodice. Make sure you don't pin the arm holes or the bottom!

Now we want to Baste the pinned areas. (Use the longest stitch on your machine but DONT back stitch.)

I put the basting at the width of the presser foot...

When you have Basted the pinned areas, take your pins out (if you haven't already) and turn yr garment out the right way. 

Try your bodice on and see if any adjustments need to be made.

I needed to adjust the shoulders. I put pins in them while I still had it on so I could get the right fit.

I also needed to make the length of the bodice MUCH shorter. We are going for a babydoll dress remember!

I folded the length up and pinned that at the required length also.

I took off the top and ironed a crease where I'd pinned. Then I just cut along the crease line to shorten!

Once I had the bodice at the desired length, I took the excess material, draped it around myself and made a few marks with chalk for the length and width.

When doing the width, allow a bit extra because it will be gathered.

Once you have cut your skirt piece, you can gather one length, which will soon be attached to the bodice

To gather, baste 2 lines about a presser foot apart (those are technichal terms, right?!) and about 1.5-2 inches from the raw edge.

Don't back stitch the threads otherwise you won't be able to gather the fabric!

(I had a little helper who wanted to sew - with my help of course!!)

When you have finished sewing the 2 threads, it's time to gather the skirt...

Pull both threads from either the top or the bottom of the stitching... I think mine was the 2 top threads. 

Shuffle the fabric along until the whole side of the fabric is gathered evenly.

Ok, put your skirt piece aside for a bit... Let's get the neckline and sleeve trims sorted!

Lay your bodice flat and grab your tape measure. Roughly measure how long the front and back necklines are.

Mine were as follows:

Front neckline - 23.5" length, 4" width

Back neckline - 18.5" length, 2" width

Sleeves - 14" length, 2" width

I made the front neckline trim wider than the back neckline and the sleeves... 

NOTE: This turned out to be not the smartest idea which I didn't think about until later on... Rookie error!! 

So, make sure you make the front neckline AND back the SAME width!! 

This is how I made the trims... Roughly measured the length and width and used the tailors chalk to mark it up, then cut along the white lines!

To make the trim itself, I ironed the strip, then folded the 2 edges into the middle and pressed well... 

Once you've done the whole piece, fold it in half and press again... You will have something that ends up looking like this!

Repeat this procedure for the remaining trims (sleeves and back neckline).

Next, I pinned the trim to the raw edges...

And whipped it through the overlocker.... Too easy!

Repeat for all other trims...

The shoulder straps of the bodice will end up looking like this...

This was the point where a said a few choice words because I realized my stuff up with the mismatching trims... Argh!!!

Anyway, I tried to trim the excess a bit to fix it up as best I could... But if YOU make a dress, you won't make this mistake haha ;-)

Pin the sides of the bodice together and sew/serge seams....

Your bodice is now complete. Press all seams and then it's time to attach the gathered skirt.

The skirt will be evenly gathered like this... 

Lay the bodice inside the skirt like this... The right sides of the fabric are together and the gathered raw edge is matching up to the raw edge of the bodice... Pin well the whole way around...

Oh! That's right! I forgot to sew the sides of the skirt together! Ha!! FAIL!!!! 

NOTE: You should actually do this BEFORE you gather the skirt. Worst tutorial ever! Haha!! 

If you made it this far actually following my instruction, pin the sides of the skirt and sew/serge *face palm*

Right, moving back on to the skirt/bodice attaching!

Baste the skirt onto the bodice.... If you are really confident, you can serge or sew right away, but I personally prefer to baste first, sewing along in between the 2 gathering lines.

Once I was happy with the skirt placement, I went ahead and used the overlocker to sew the skirt on.

Next up, I pressed the seams and then last step, unpicking the basting stiches. And that's it! 

I chose to keep the bottom of the skirt with a neat, raw hem :-)

Try on your dress!! 

Small Fry Skinny Jeans

This pattern was in the Perfect Pattern Parcel #4 and the designer of the pattern is by Titchy Threads.

You can also buy the pattern direct from the Titchy Threads website.

As usual, I buy the parcel and don't get around to making anything until months later - partly, I think, because PPP are located in the US and the seasons are the opposite time of year to what we get here in Australia, so some of the patterns aren't appropriate for me to make straight away.

This project was a bit scary for me because, well.....JEANS..... Hand made jeans! Eeeek.

The pattern  got printed and cut, then sat on my 'to do' pile for a couple of months. I actually cut the denim too....and then it sat....and sat.... Until I realised my son had grown too tall for his current jeans! So, I thought I better get to it, especially seeing as I'd cut the fabric too!

I cut the pattern a size 8 for my son, allowing for growing room. He's very tall for his age (he's almost 6).

You have the option to make the jeans with a half fly, or a full fly. I originally wanted to make them with the half fly because it didn't require attaching a zipper (I hadn't ever attached one before). I ended up telling myself to "man up" and give the zipper version a go.
I didn't have a zipper in my sewing stash, so I grabbed my old pal, the seam ripper, and I removed a zipper from a pair of my husbands old jeans.

I also chose to make the top stitching version and I used a rust colour thread to contrast against the dark blue denim. I wanted to give them a 'professional shop bought jeans' look.

I really enjoyed doing the top stitching, I love the effect it gave and I think I did a pretty ok job at it too.

I fumbled a bit with the instructions, especially with the sections around the fly area.... But I got there in the end! I was pretty stoked at how I went attaching the zipper too. Beginners luck, maybe?!

Once the fly was attached, it was just a matter of sewing the legs together, then putting the waistband together.

For the lining inside the waistband and pockets, I chose a pale blue cotton fabric. I really wanted them to look like 'real' jeans.

Along with the waistband, I had to make and attach belt loops.

I did think, halfway through, that I'd bitten off more than I could chew with these jeans. But I stuck it out and pulled it all together.

I possibly could have altered the pattern to be smaller in the butt area and longer in the legs, but I just went with the standard size 8 on the pattern. 

I love that the waistband has button hole elastic in it, which allows the jeans to fit my son, without falling off his bum all the time (this is what shop jeans do to him). And honestly, I hate wearing a belt, I'm sure my active 5yo will too! 

So, finally, jeans that fit my boy and don't give him a plumbers crack.,,, that's a win in my book!! 

The top stitching on the back pockets got a little wonky in places, but from afar you can't tell.

They look pretty great I think!!

It makes me super happy to know that "I made his jeans". Very satisfying!

:-)

Froothie Optimum 9400 Blender Review

It has been almost 2 years since I've been of eyeing off Vitamix blenders. We eat super healthy, love juices and smoothies. I make heaps of raw food, treats, snacks etc. but found that between the crappy old blender we had and my food processor, there was only so much I could do.

My husband recently started going to the gym heaps more and he wanted to get on board the 'green smoothie train' so he was at the point of also wanting a better blender.
I watched countless comparison videos, comparing the Vitamix to other high speed blenders. They left me more confused and a little apprehensive. Which one do I buy??? When presented with too many options, I get a little overwhelmed.

As we all know, the Vitamix costs a LOT of money. This, obviously is a massive deciding factor for many people, us included! The reviews I had read online are not great. They are ok, but for that price, the blender should also be able to wash the dishes and vacuum the floor for me!

I was under pressure, I was *this* close to ordering one a few months back, seriously, I was going online to buy one.  I googled 'Vitamix Australia' and the first thing that came up was an advert to the Froothie website. It had the description "do not buy this blender - trial the Optimum blender for $471".

It was a sign! I was actually terrified of buying a Vitamix anyway, just in case it didn't live up to the hype... Or in case something went wrong with it, from what I've read, their customer service isn't great.

So, I clicked on the Froothie link to check it out!!

The Optimum 9400 blender looked JUST like the Vitamix, it had the tamper tool and everything. The specs on the Optimum showed it was even MORE powerful (a video showed it grinding up garden stones into dust!!!!!) than the Vitamix and it was HALF the price! I was pretty much sold at this point, however, I jumped onto the review sites, as you do, and had a bit of a read. I was very impressed with what I was seeing. It was really reassuring to read that people were extremely happy with the Optimum blender AND that the Froothie customer service team were also fantastic. Some people that had reported issues/faults with the blender on the review sites, had Froothie comment and help them out with replacement parts with no questions asked. THIS was the final decider for me.
I didn't have the gut wrenching, bad feeling I had when I was about to purchase the Vitamix.

So I purchased the Optimum 9400 from the Froothie website straight away! I ordered the silver one.
Shipping was supposed to take only 1-2 days (we are located in the same city as the warehouse) but because they were waiting on a shipment of the silver ones (just my luck!), I received mine in about 4 business days, which is still pretty good.

Unpacking the box was exciting, the blender was well packaged and it came with a raw food recipe booklet, a nut milk bag and the tamper tool.

I gave it a clean straight away and then made a fruit juice in it. I was really keen to see how it handled harder vegetables like carrot and beetroot and also how smooth it made the drink if it had seeds or nuts in it.

I made a juice with beet root, apple, orange, coconut water and some flaxseeds.... To my delight, it turned out smooth as silk. It makes a mean smoothie, I've made orange and poppyseed cake batter in it, I've made fresh fruit icy poles for the kids with it. It is actually, so good.

It had a pretty awful burning chemical smell that came from it while blending, which concerned me, but in the booklet it assures that this is normal for new machines. It is excess motor oil burning off and will go away within a few months of use. 

It has now been a few months, with regular daily use and the smell has mostly gone away but not entirely.

Back onto a positive note though...! 

I have made flour from quinoa (in photo below) that turned out amazing.

I've made almond meal, flax meal and one of my personal faves, hoummus! Yum!

I use it almost daily for smoothies, juices and dips and my husband uses it daily also, for smoothies after the gym. 

When making anything thicker than a smoothie, it is quite hard to get the last bit out of the bottom of the blender because the blades are in the way and you can't remove them.

The clean up is easy though. I usually just give it a rinse with water straight away to prevent stuff getting stuck to the jug. You can also half fill it with warm water and a tiny bit of detergent and pop it onto the base and turn it on. This ensures it gets any bits that might have been trapped in the blades.

Easy as!

The ONLY real problem I've had with it so far, is when I was making chocolate blackbean brownie batter in it, it overheated and turned itself off. I was a little worried that it blew up :-/
I turned it off, took the jug off and let the motor cool down while I finished stirring the batter with a spatula and scooping it onto a tray to go in the oven.
After 10 minutes I put water in the jug to clean the chocolate batter out. I put it back onto the base, turned it on and hoped for the best.... It worked. Phew!!!
I can only think that the batter was a little thick for the blender? I'm not sure... As it's coming into summer here in Australia, it's going to get a very thourogh work out making raw cakes and ice creams, so I'll update this post again in a few months to let you all know how it's going and if I've encountered any more problems.

One thing I do recommend buyng though, that doesn't come with the Optimum, is a silicone scraper. Using a metal spoon is not a good idea to scoop out your food because it WILL scratch the jug badly. 

I purchased a bundle of 3 or 4 silicone spatula spoons with wooden handles, from Coles, for about $5.00. So worth it t keep your jug in tip top shape!

So far though, I'm VERY happy with the blender!!

PS. Sorry for the lack of photos, I honestly didn't think I'd ever write a review for this, but because I'm so happy with it, I kinda felt like I needed to! 

QUESTION: Affordable Camera Suggestions

I want to buy a camera... Nothing too expensive, just something that is affordable AND takes decent pictures.

I'm just really sick of the grainy photos that come off my iPhone & iPad! They look great on the screen, then when I upload them, they look terrible!!! 

I've been looking at getting a Sony Cybershot similar to this.... 

I'd love some suggestions!

Healthy Strawberry Milkshake

I don't even remember the last time I bought a strawberry milkshake, or any other flavoured milkshake for that matter.

The shakes you buy at a store or cafe are most likely going to be made from a flavored syrup which is full of sugar, artificial colour and preservatives.

My kids can NOT handle such ingredients, within minutes, they are running around like crazy people - seriously, it's not cool. 

Because we don't consume these additives at all, the reaction is horrifying and is proof enough that we should keep on the path of keeping them out of our bodies.

I love a good milkshake though, so I've been tinkering around with a few ingredients that will satisfy my sweet milky cravings!

This recipie makes a mean organic strawberry milkshake! Without all the nasties but with added goodness. A healthy milkshake. 

Here is what I use to make it:

1 cup frozen organic strawberries

5 ice cubes

1 heaped tablespoon of white chia seeds (you could use black, they serve the same purpose, but your milkshake will have black bits in it)

1 tablespoon of raw honey

800ml organic raw milk

Add all ingredients into your blender jug and blend until everything is well combined!! So easy and so delicious!!

This amount serves 3 people in large glasses.

Serve and enjoy!!