UPDATE: My progress with the Fickle Sense knitted shorts. I need help!

Here is the update on the Fickle Sense knitted shorts......

Short Front

I have committed the most basic of knitting crimes... I have run out of yarn. I had the idea of knitting this second pair of shorts a few years ago and since then the yarn that I bought is discontinued:( I have visited all of the yarn stores in Berlin and have searched the net..... with no luck:( I think I only need one more ball of yarn. Can anyone help?

Yarn: GGH, Big Easy. Colour: royal blue #18. 

At the moment the current solution is to start the ribbed waistband with a yarn of the same size (5-6) and similar colour, which I have found at the Berlin knitting store knit knit.  This version of shorts will have to be the Hip version. I will probably knit the high waisted version with another colour... thinking of knitting a  burgundy version.

Fingers crossed my solution works! 

Short Back

The famous 'mahaila knitted shorts' are back!

Remember my 'mahaila knitted shorts?' 

Back in 2011, as a challenge I created this pattern and knitted my sister these shorts. Since then, I have had many inquiries from fellow knitters requesting the pattern for my mahaila knitted shorts. And the good news it that I am actually getting around to knitting another pair, with the aim of writing the exact pattern down and sharing it! 

This is how Kass styled the knitted shorts in Aus.

So, I am slowly knitting the shorts and these will hopefully be ready for June! This time I have picked a 100% cotton Royal Blue yarn!

Hopefully I can reach my June deadline. I will keep you updated!

Knitting and Crocheting Bags from FS Screen Printing!

Today I finally finished my two new bags for knitters and for crocheters! I have been illustrating quite a bit lately and will have some sewer bags ready soon too. I screen print my illustrations onto ethical, organic bags. I also added some little pockets in both bags for placing needles/hooks. 


I made these for a couple of reasons. 

1. I am not the neatest person and need to contain my projects within a confined space. So these little fella's help me out in that department. 

2. I am a knitter/crocheter who likes to travel about with my projects in my bag.... you never know when you will have a spare minute to keep your hands busy

3. I like things which help define me. I am a knitter and crocheter... and sewer and proud of it!  

Both bags can be found in my etsy shop FS Screen Printing. 

Mr & Mrs: Our DIY wedding

After months of hard work I am happy to report that our wedding went really well and I am now a Mrs.! 
   
I will be sharing my DIY wedding tips in some upcoming posts

- Sewing the bridal gown
- Sewing the grooms suit
- Sewing the bridesmaid dress
- Creating the cake toppers: Crochet and sewing
- How to create a complete DIY wedding.
- Creating your bouquet
- Making your own wedding invites: illustration and printing


So watch this space!

The Year of the Productive Sewing Blog

 

photos: Michael Dooney

Welcome 2014, goodbye turbulent 2013!
2013 was certainly a difficult and full on year. Perhaps this was reflected through my lack of involvement on the blog. BUT! I am looking forward to 2014 and am definitely starting with a positive and enthusiastic frame of mind. It will be a productive year for Fickle Sense! & for my sustainable fashion blog 'i give 2 hoots'.


I hope to mindfully make some of the following changes within the following weeks.  

Organisation
I have that many things on that I really need to make more of an effort to be organised. I do have an unorganised, fleety, creative mind which makes it hard for me to remain tidy. I know how to do it, I just have to put it into practice for more then one day. 

Keeping healthy
I am someone who "needs" to exercise daily to function. It is a de-stressor, it helps me release some of my energy and helps to clear my mind. Plus I just love it! Training for last years marathon made me realise how fantastic sprint work is, I will continuing with this. I will also continue with my green tea drinking and super healthy eating. 

More adventure, experimentation & risk taking .....with confidence!
This year I aim to experiment more with our photography, designing, sewing and printing with confidence. My frontal lobe is always urging me to sensor myself and inadvertently dulling me down at bit. This year more of my primitive self may emerge.... don't be scared, i might just add a little more quirk. 

German
Yes german is still... and will probably always be on my 'much needed for improvement' list. If I was taking German at school, I would be achieving at an unsatisfactory level 'she exhibits desire to improve, but unfortunately she rarely completes her homework. She seems to be focused on other areas of study. I am looking forward to seeing improvements in mahaila's German study habits within the following semester'. Lets hope I get there! as with all of my goals.
 
  

Now to the clothes in the post.

The blouse was purchased from the second hand/vintage shop, Broken Doll in Fremantle last year when I was home in Australia. I am always on the look out for interesting blouses, especially with frills of some sort. Coral was my favourite colour for 2013, and I think I will continue to source coral coloured items\fabrics.

These Large print Houndstooth shorts have made a few appearances on the blog, I made them a while ago from this Burdastyle shorts pattern (I think it was this pattern, I actually can't remember). I wear them so much, that the zipper broke. They broke on a Friday night out. Luckily I had a cardigan to cover the large slit. Now they are sitting on the 'need to mend' pile. 

Anyhoo, Happy 2014 everyone. It is going to be a good one!

What are your plans for 2014?

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TUTORIAL: Horse print on How.do

After a long few months of 'wedding adventures' I am back to my full fickle sense power! With a tutorial! 

I will be posting about my bridal party sewing ventures within the following weeks.... but for now I am sharing my love of printing through the how.do application. I am sure everyone has cottoned onto the fact that I am not that technologically inclined, however thanks to Melissa from how.do I have actually put together a tutorial through the website. The tutorial was inspired by this years Chinese New Year animal: The Horse. An array of bloggers & creatives have developed numerous 'horse' inspired tutorials. Check out the many tutorials here.

Here is the full Fickle Sense tutorial on www.how.do/guide/horse-print

HORSE PRINT a micro guide by Fickle Sense on How.Do

Click on this image to generate the free template for the tutorial.

 

Check out how.do and the many amazing available tutorials on their website as well as their blog. It really is a whole new world of DIYing! Anyone can create a tutorial (as long as you have an iphone.... How.do is currently in the process of opening the application to android phones, I am waiting for this, so that I can make more tutorials with the application). 

 

I am still here!

I assure you I am still here! Alive & sewing...& printing & crocheting!

This lengthy absence from the blog can be attributed to my, once again over  commitment to 'making'... it just never stops. Our wedding is just one month away and I have really only started sewing my dress, Michael's waistcoat & trousers and Kass's (bridesmaid) dress in September. We also designed and printed the invites; I am part way through crocheting the cake toppers and the music selection is OF COURSE one of the most important tasks to complete. PLUS organising everything else! 

Our Sreen Printed invites. We are very happy with our design and execution:)

Anyway, I am quickly signing off again. I have to get back to work! My relaxed attitude towards the whole wedding has perhaps put me on the back foot.... so I am moving in a forward motion. Lets hope we get there and I don't walk down the isle with half a dress. That would not be a pretty sight. 

Until soon!

A not so successful refashion

 

Photos: Michael Dooney

The dress before the refashion

Refashioning is something that I have been doing for a while now, and luckily pretty much all of them have turned out reasonably well..... until this garment. The good news is that it is still wearable, but the choice to resize it was a mistake

Why this dress?
I found the item in amongst a few antique gems at an antique market. The print was what initally caught my eye and the silhouette was also appealing. Resizing seemed to be the most sensible option. 

Me at the market buying the garment

What was altered?
I used a basic slip pattern and ended up shortening it and pulling in the sides. The problem was that I detached the collar but I did not completely deconstruct it. So it was difficult sewing it back on. This silly error has made the collar sit strangely and I don't feel completely comfortable wearing it. So I basicly destroyed a really lovely garment, because it didn't fit me.

One positive thing that did come out of this project was that I realised that I need to set myself some refashioning rules. So I will share my refashioning rules in some follow up posts!

Watch this space for my refashion do's & don'ts!

Nostalgia! 3 years of Fickle Sense!

Collection of mahaila images 2010-2013

photos: Michael Dooney

This month marks 3 years of Fickle Sense! Woo Hoo! Back in 2010 my sister, Kass and myself decided to start the blog as a way of maintaining contact from Perth, Aus to Berlin, Germany. I sewed and she styled. These images document our progress over the years.

I did experience a feeling of nostalgia whilst collecting all of our images. Kass has certainly improved on the photo taking front and changed her style to some degree (check out her blog Render Sublime). Looking at my images my style is also changing, though I feel that I have tapered off in terms of the amount of clothes I sew now. I have so many ideas, yet so little time to execute them. Plus I now have an online screen printing shop, plus an 'almost' eco clothing store, plus an eco blog 'i give 2 hoots', plus a career, plus wedding preparations... and the list still continues! Perhaps I should slow down a bit and spend more time in front of the sewing machine, with my own creations:)

Collection of Kass images from 2010-2012 (find Kass at Render Sublime)

Which looks are your favourite? 

My favorite from Kass is the red slip dress. 

(second last row, second image)

My favourite from myself (mahaila) is still my refashion piece. 

(third row from the bottom, 3 image across)

And... of course thanks to everyone who has followed us over the years:) and lots of love to our men for taking all of our photos!


This song by one of my favourite bands the Handsome Furs is quite fitting 'Nostalgia......'

Mixing it up with prints

Photos: Michael Dooney

Prints and colour! I can't get enough of them. I found this fabric whilst back home in Aus and decided to make these 70's inspired print shorts. We took these jumping photos in Michael's studio. Loving his studio lights!

Sewing with prints
The challenge with these shorts involved the lining up of the print. The most important factor to consider was the crotch area and the pattern at the front seam. Having 2 small circles on the crotch area would seem some what inappropriate. After having lined up the prints I started to cut and pin the shorts together. I soon discovered that I had somehow ended up with exactly what I didn't want, 2 circles in the wrong area. I tried to fix this by sewing a larger seam allowance at the front, so unfortunately the shorts are a little more snug then I had wanted:(  

Tutorials on matching prints.
Sewaholic - How to match prints along seams
Coletterie - How to match plaids and stripes

The top and my struggles in lauching my eco fashion Fickle Sense store
This top is similar to some tops that I am making for my etsy store Fickle Sense. They are handmade and organic and will hopefully be ready by the end of August. It has been a long time coming. I have blogged a little about my progress here on my sustainable fashion blog 'i give 2 hoots'. (Don't forget that I am still looking for creators, enthusiasts, nostalgics and minimalists to add to the blog. Head over there to see the criteria!)  

Embracing the crazy!
At the moment I am working on a few different sewing projects which encompass my love of all things quirky. Most involve colours and prints. I first realised I should go more in this direction whilst having a conversation with Michael (finance) and Kass (sis). We were at a club on a Sunday arvo, relaxing by the spree. It was apparent that there were 2 types of people at this club: hipsters and fearless crazy dressers. We were joking about dressing each other up as hipsters and going to some clubs. Both Michael and Kass looked at me and said, 'no you wouldn't be the hipster, you would be the crazy dresser'. At first I was taken back, but after about a second I agreed. Embrace the uniqueness! 

Favourite holiday wear + CUT sewing magazine

Every European summer we venture to a different summery location. This year, Southern Italy. I was surprised by the chaotic nature of this region as I found both Croatia and Turkey to be a bit more organised. It took me about a day to adapt! All in all it was a nice trip where I was able to expose me taste buds to flavor again! (sorry Germany, but you don't thrive in the area of food produce). But I am certainly happy to be back in calm, quiet Berlin:)

 

Favourite holiday adventure wear 

Generally for every trip we will try and photograph a new sewing project. Unfortunately this time around I was busy blogging and screen printing, so I had no outfits ready for the adventure. But I did realise that I ALWAYS wear the same sewing projects on holidays. My CUT magazine playsuit/romper is certainly a staple outfit when enjoying the summer months (previously blogged about here). If you love the pattern, make sure you check out CUT mag!

The pattern for this playsuit can be found in the CUT Mag issue 5. It is written in German, but the steps are well photographed, so if you have a little experience in sewing, you can create the garments.

NEW: Issue 9 CUT sewing mag!
Yesterday I was walking past one of the little sewing stores in Berlin and I spotted the new CUT sewing mag! I have been following CUT mag since the first issue so it is always exciting to get the new issues with new sewing patterns and articles. This issue there is a mens shirt, half circle skirt and jacket.

Find more about CUT mag here!