And the winner of the mystery giveaway is . . . !

Before I deliver the news that you’ve all been so patiently waiting for, I must first thank you all so much for your wonderful comments. So many kind and inspirational words. Blushworthy to say the least. And big thank you’s also for the newbies who recently subscribed. A big lovely Oooboppie welcome to you all! 🙂

Ok. Get on with it. I hear you say. Well I guess you should know what was in that mystery black box . . .
giveaway prizeHere it is, in all it’s mysteriousness! The contents of which include:

Burda Magazine, May 2014 issue
Handy service kit for sewing machines and overlockers
3m of novelty London print fabric
2m of polka dot turquoise fabric
3m of black lace
3 spools of Moon thread
3 different coloured pencil chalks

In order to get some fairness and squareness going on, I needed a trusty assistant. And I could think of noone better than Little Miss Ooobop herself. She just got a new haircut so is looking extra cute too!
A little shake of the entries . . .
shaking the entries

A little blindfolded stirring of the entries . . .

blindfolded and stirring the entries

A winner is picked . . .

A winner is picked

And the winner is . . .

and the winner is

Congratulations lovely Simona from Sewing adventures in the attick
The goodies are all yours!

close up winner
I’ll Email you shortly to retrieve a delivery address and will deliver it post-haste!

Princess Jessica’s Prom Dress

I think I have kept you all in suspense for quite long enough. This evening is Jessica and Tom’s leavers prom and so I am allowed to reveal the dress I have been working on for the last few weeks.

I was feeling a bit poorly today so Mr Ooobop, like the knight in shining armour he is, set off with his new birthday camera without sparing the horses. The following photos are some of the loveliest he has taken. And I think you will agree that the beautiful subjects contribute somewhat to the awesomeness too.

Meet Jessica. The most wonderful 16 year old daughter of my friend Tina. Can you now picture the pressure that was to create her a prom dress fitting for such a beautiful princess?!

Jessica having hair styled
Jessica having hair styled

Tayla Harris was in-house hairdresser for the evening and styled Jessie’s hair beautifully. Complete with little jewels to match her necklace.

Hair jewels
Hair jewels

And ooo… look. A cheeky first glance of the bodice! Such a tease, I know!

Hair styled with jewels to match necklace
Hair styled with jewels to match necklace

With make-up, hair and outfit complete, enter Jessie’s Prince Charming – the lovely Tom. I’m so pleased he liked his tie. He didn’t really have much choice in the matter, bless him. It was delivered seconds before this photo was taken. I only finished it this morning! And here we also have a side view of the prom dress. I’m getting there, honest!

Tom's arrival and receiving the tie
Tom’s arrival and receiving the tie

The tie was made to match Jessie’s sash as you can see. And Tom did a much better job of tying it than I did!

Tom putting on his tie
Tom putting on his tie
Tom looking more like Prince Charming every minute!
Tom looking more like Prince Charming every minute!

So now they were both dressed to impress, Mr O worked his magic and took some awesome shots of them together. Don’t they look adorable?

Jessica and Tom
Jessica and Tom
A beautiful portrait of the prom Princess and her Prince
A beautiful portrait of the prom Princess and her Prince

I would love to be a fly on the wall tonight and take a picture of them dancing together. The dress is a circle skirt underneath 10 layers of gathered polkadot tulle so you can imagine just how twirly and frothy it would be.

A little dance to limber up!
A little dance to limber up!

Jessie came to me with a firm idea of what she wanted and luckily for me there was a very similar pattern in one of my old Burda magazines. I’ve got quite a hefty collection now. It’s always a joy to go through back issues and see patterns you didn’t notice first time round. But this one was on the money! The only thing I had to do, knowing how standard the sizing works, was to do an FBA. And I had to learn how to do it pretty quick!

prom dress idea

Thankfully for me, and for Jess, I had recently come across a great set of instructions on the By Hand London site. These totally took the fear factor out of the whole process. And I learned so much. Not least of all to come down 2 sizes for Jessies petite body and then doing an FBA. It took just 4 fittings to get it right but oh it was so worth it.

Side view of the dress
Side view of the dress

The strapless bodice section of the dress is boned. For good reason! This was a first for me too. Though I did discover some fantastic boning in my local haberdashery department that sold pre-cased boning. I just had to sew it directly onto the open seams.

The front and back have rouched tulle stretched across 2 panels
The front and back have rouched tulle stretched across 2 panels

The front and back have rouched tulle stretched taught across 2 panels. I love the way they ‘butterfly’ out from the centre seam. And I love how classic and timeless they both look here. Reminiscent of the 1950s.

Full skirt. 3 layers.
Full skirt. 3 layers.

The tulle overlay is ivory in colour and works so well to soften the pink. Kind of like a frothy strawberry milkshake, don’t ya think?! Of all the techniques involved in making this dress, funnily (or not so funnily) the most tricksy part was gathering all those 10 metres into a 27 inch waist. I even made several gathering threads to avoid breakage but it was still a nightmare. I ended up gathering small sections at a time and pinning it on the underskirt, on the mannequin and then hand tacked it all together before I even thought of taking it to the machine!

The bodice and skirt are lined in full with a slightly darker pink lining. That was one of the easier bits! Unlike the Burda instructions, I sewed the circle skirt lining to the waist seam and then once the bodice lining was seamed at the top, I turned under and hand-stiched the waist seam of the lining over the raw edge of the skirt lining.

Oh yes! How could I forget? The shoes!! Check out these amazing Kurt Geiger shoes that Jessie snapped up in the sale for a mere £29! Pink patent leather with bows and bling!

Kurt Geiger shoes
Kurt Geiger shoes: Pink patent leather with bows and bling!

Have you got loveliness overload yet? I think I have. But hang on I forgot to show you the back. Pretty bow sash and all

back view of the dress
back view of the dress

And so the ‘royals’, unfazed by their impromptu photoshoot, bade their farewells and headed off to the prom.

En route to the prom
En route to the prom

I would so love to have seen everyone’s faces as they walked in together.

Outside the venue
Outside the venue

A massively big thank you to Mr Ooobop for these amazingly professional photos. I would never have got these together myself. I also have to thank Tina for asking me to make this dress for her beautiful princess. It has been such a huge learning curve for me. I don’t deny there was a fear factor involved. I had no choice but to get it right. But that’s how we learn fast, right?!

And last but not least for the ever obliging Jessica and Tom. You make just the perfect models and have brought such beauty to my blog! I am being totally honest when I say that these pictures brought a tear to my eye. I hope you guys had the time of your life! x

A Tie for Prom Prince Tom

A few months ago I was asked if I’d make a prom dress for my friend’s daughter. Of course I was delighted to oblige, and honoured and scared but it happened. By some amazing miracle it happened. But I can’t show you just yet. Jessica’s prom is tonight and Fulham’s best kept secret can’t be revealed until she’s all dolled up and ready to rock. Mr Ooobop is at the ready with his camera, don’t you worry!

But what I can show you is the tie I made for princess Jessica’s prince charming. I hope he won’t mind. In fact I hope he likes it. Prince Tom hasn’t seen it yet but I hope it’s a relief and fair competition for all the designer ties he went in search for;-) Designer sort is Tom, by all accounts. He likes his labels. But all the Ralph Laurens and the Guccis of the world couldn’t match the gown. Shame I don’t have an ‘ooobop!’ label at the ready, I’m sure that would have sold him sweeter!

A tie for Prince Tom
Pink satin tie with pink gingham lining

I only had a couple of evenings to research, cut and sew the tie. Sailing close to the wind, I know! So my first point of panic call was to all my wonderful Twitter followers. And they came up trumps immediately.

Angela from Sew Mental Mama was straight in there with a link to a FREE tie pattern and tutorial from Collette Patterns. And here’s a link to the fabulous ties she made for her son and her husband using Simplicity 1745. (wow! that pattern cover is creepy!)

Rachel from My Messings tweeted with a link to Unique Schmuck who had made one here. No hard sell on the hand sewing. In fact no sell at all. But that’s ok because I’m a weirdo and I quite like it!

And then Tom came along with some fantastic words of encouragement which gave me all the confidence I needed to get started!

Tokyo Tom tweet

Laura After Midnight confirmed it as an easy one too, so I duly printed out and pieced together the Collette tie pattern, having unpicked one of Mr Ooobop’s ties to compare. I realised that though the paper pattern was probably the best place to start, it was very slim and actually tapered differently from the ready-made one I had unpicked. Wouldn’t normally have been an issue except for one major factor. The only interlining I had was from the unpicked tie. Shops were shut and I had nothing similar in the stash, save from some white felt which, even when cut on the bias has no elasticity.

Carefully unpicked tie!
Carefully unpicked tie!
Comparing pattern with existing tie
Comparing pattern with existing tie

I was a bit nervous of using the existing one as a template as it was so difficult to position straight, being cut on the bias and all. It didn’t appear that it had been cut accurately to start with so I was off to a wobbly start. But after a bit of bullet biting, it was full steam ahead.

Interlining from ready-made tie
Interlining from ready-made tie

I did use the Collette Patterns instructions however. And without these I would not have achieved the point or the lining inset that was required on each end.

With no ooobop! labels at the ready I was determined to put an ooobop! slant on this otherwise very conservative tie. So I added some pink gingham lining. It made sense to make the loop in matching gingham too. There. Happy now!

Detail at back of tie
Detail at back of tie

There was a fair bit of hand-stitching, it’s true. But on the whole a very satisfying project indeed. I now have a couple of hours before delivering it and seeing the gorgeous couple in all their gorgeousness.

Come back soon for the big reveal!

tie on mannequin
Is this how you tie it? Don’t judge!

Jeepers Creepers, where d’ya get those peepers?

I always fancied the idea of some face furniture. Not the furry kind, you understand. And I certainly was never brave enough to go down the road of facial piercings. But a good old pair of bins / Gregorys (specs) / glasses – whatever you like to call them – have always been on my wish list. Well you know what they say… be careful of what you wish for and all that.

The time came with the realisation that my arms were no longer long enough to read the back of a sewing pattern. Let alone the inside instructions! I’ll reserve that excuse for some of my mishaps!

I dutifully set off for Specsavers. Was told the price of the test and dutifully walked out! Since when did that happen? Then I remembered the voucher that was on the reverse of a receipt from a recent purchase from Boots. A fiver for an eyetest? That’s more like it!

I’m sure you don’t need me to talk you through an eye test. It’s clearly only me who hasn’t been for 20 years or more!

The results weren’t too harrowing, though keeping ones eyes open while air is puffed onto your pupils IS! The diagnosis was a very slight stigmatism in one eye and the need only for low strength reading glasses.

The reality (and a little bit of excitement) set in. I actually need to wear glasses! I marched straight over to the designer frames. £280 for a pair of bins might just be a little too much but honestly and truthfully that Prada pair was the only pair that didn’t make me look like a complete dork! Vain? Moi? Well maybe just a titchy bit! Even the sales assistant was politely ushering me over to the £5 specials in little plastic tubes. Ugh! Really? There’s got to be more choice than this.

So I went home to Google… some goggles! (sorry) And promptly found this wonderful site called Retro Peepers. There was choice. There were cool frames and they weren’t a million squids… hoorah! I emailed with a couple of queries and do you know, the lovely Annie got right back to me. She was even replying to an Email I sent later at 11.30pm. That’s proper dedication to the cause.

Anyway. Here they are, in all their cheeky nerdy retro glory. Introducing the Peggy frames. A snip at £18.

retro spectacles

The ordering/delivery service is amazing. I placed the order online one afternoon and they arrived, properly packaged and cozied up in their free case, the following morning! Don’t you just love a smooth operator?

And before anyone asks, this is not a sponsored post. Retro Peepers won’t even know I’ve blogged this unless anyone clicks through to them. But I jolly hope they do in their hundreds and give them all the business they deserve because quite frankly there aren’t many companies out there that I’d give a free shout out to unless I truly believe in the service.

There is just one tiny flaw with them though. It doesn’t stop at £18 for a pair of readers because you will be back to order another pair in a different colour or style and then theres the retro sunnies, the reader shades and of course I will need another pair with a proper prescription…. oh well. At least I’ll be a while, and a fair few pairs before I get to Prada prices!

In other news. I have been sewing, honest I have. Though very little I have to say. Too much work maketh a dull Ooobop! Working on Mr O to take some pictures of my latest frock this weekend. So keep yer peeper peeled. There’ll be a more interesting and sewing-related post coming up soon.

Kiki’s vintage cushion cover

When my good friend Kiki asked me to make a cushion cover from her late mother’s Biba skirt, I kind of refused. Big time! I love my friend Kiki so much and would do anything for her but cut up a Biba skirt?! She was going to have to drug me first!!!

She texted to say she was on her way with said skirt. It didn’t look like I had a choice. In fact she was at mine before I got back myself! Mr O had a cuppa on the go. I went straight for the wine. This was going to be painful.

Luckily for me, Kiki gets things muddled all the time. (I really should write a dictionary of exclusive Kiki words and terms. I’m sure it would be a best-seller!) What she meant was that the skirt was a Biba-esque-style maxi skirt that her mum had hand-made in the 70s. She couldn’t see herself in it and to be honest, neither of us could get it over our thighs!

Jean's original skirt

Well. That was a relief but still didn’t make for easy cutting up. But I warmed to the idea that Kiki would get daily pleasure from it being on her sofa instead of folding it away in the attic forever.

There’s quite a lot of fabric going on in a maxi A-line skirt. Plenty enough for a 50cm cushion pad!

But there was a moth-hole. Typically right in the middle of where I needed to cut.

moth hole

I’ve not used the darning stitch on my machine before now.

darning stitch

It doesn’t mend totally invisibly but far better than a poke in the eye and a fraying hole!

darned hole

Nothing complicated about the cushion cover itself. Just two squares. Zipper sewn to top edges first. Seamed all round. And Bob’s yer uncle!

Such a great geometric design on this fabric. It’s great quality cotton furnishing fabric of some kind.

geometric fabric detail

And I have to say – I think it looks great on my sofa! Kiki can take as long as she likes coming to collect it!

finished cushion

Lucky Lucille? Lucky Me!

This post is hugely late but nevertheless essential and heartfelt!

I won a giveaway! Oh yes, oh yes… lucky me indeed!

rochelles bag

Back in November 2012, Tilly held a sewing social on Twitter which was such a hoot! It was here that I met Rochelle and boy was I glad I did. Have you seen her blog, Lucky Lucille? I have no idea how I managed to miss that one. Her styling, her content, her beautiful photography…. not forgetting her adorable loving pupster! I could go on forever or at least until I exhaust the dictionary of gorgeous adjectives but I really think you should have a look for yourself and then add it to your favourites because it deserves to be no place else!

Anyhoos, as if finding her blog wasn’t exciting enough, in December I won a giveaway on the Lucky Lucille blog – in time for my birthday! What a treat!

The packaging was the first delight. I almost didn’t want to open it. Almost, I said. There was only the tiniest hesitation, out of politeness, before I steamed into that package knowing exactly what was inside!

Lucky Lucille packagingWanna see?!

Not only this beautiful hand made bag, made by her own fair hand…

rochelles bag

But also this amazing 40s pattern, Butterick B5281, which I have had my eye on for far too long. I can’t believe I actually have it in my own mitts now. And check out the gorgeous buttons too, as if this wasn’t spoilt behaviour enough!

butterick b5281 and buttons

I am so huuuuugely grateful Rochelle, not just for this amazingly generous giveaway gift, but for the absolute joy your blog brings!

Now go people, GO… check it out… but mind you don’t drool on your keyboard!

Secret Santa Success!

50s_shirt_peg_bag_x

I know, I know… this still isn’t anything like a tutorial for Roman Blinds.

I’m on it, honestly I am and it will happen, once I’ve get round to drawing some diagrams to accompany the words.

But for now I can reveal the only Christmassy sewing project that I managed to squeeze into my crazy real-life workload. It was a secret Santa gift for my friend at work.

The theme last year was ‘home made’ or ‘charity shop bought’. I made a selection of jams for my boss and she loved them! So when this years theme was decided as ‘red white and gold’ I was determined to make something once again.

As soon as I plucked Ness out of the hat, I knew what I was going to make for her. She recently moved house this year, and was really excited to have a garden for the first time. ‘I will be needing a peg bag and everything’, she said! I had been meaning to make one ever since she came out with that so this was the perfect prompt. She also likes all things 50s, including my blouse so the Norman Hartnell approach to the peg bag was the only way forward!

The two little white buttons with gold bicycles were sourced by Little Miss Ooobop! at a vintage fair last year and have seemingly been waiting patiently for this project!

peg bag buttons

To make the pattern, I drew a template for the back, overall shape and cut 2, one in pin dot and one lining. The front pieces are literally half of the back but allowing a couple of centimeters at the front for overlap.

I used one of my daughter’s child sized Ikea hangers. If I made this again, I would source a lovely wooden hanger so the shoulders are more horizontal and not sloping down.

She was delighted! Though the other partygoers at the opposite end of the table were a little confused. Not sure those young pups even know what a peg bag is! They just thought I’d miscalculated some measurements!

secret santa success

It was hardly a secret though. I was one of two seamstresses at the table and my poker face was rubbish!

I’m winding down from work as from tomorrow – *squeal* – and I’m really hoping to get some sewing action in before I return. Hoping it will curb my usual Christmassy eating frenzy.  Of course, that’s if 21.12.12 doesn’t prove to be the end of the world in which case we will all be eating hats!

A cape for Poison Ivy

poison ivy front

Meet my biggest little girl! Hardly a villain but seriously rocking the whole Poison Ivy thing!

It’s not often I get asked to contribute to her wardrobe. It is in fact never! So I was very honoured by the request to make a capelet for her Halloween costume. Yes I know this is a bit late in the day, soz, but I wasn’t allowed a sneak preview on the day (something to do with me being an embarrassing mum at her last party I would think!) and had to wait patiently for photographic evidence so I could share it with you.

poison ivy back

It was a very fun and quick project and even ‘biggest little’ was impressed! If you knew her like I do you would know how amazing that is!

poison ivy

Here’s a better picture of the stand-up collar. You cant see it for all the red luscious locks!

cape on manequin

The exterior is a bright green poly satin fabric with red satin lining and I used some glitzy buttons at the neck to cover the ends of the ribbon. Should have sewn them in the collar stand really!

It was a very simple project for quite an effective fancy dress accessory…

First I measured the neck (plus ease) and the measurement from the neck, over the shoulder to just below the elbow. Using Pi (22/7) I worked out the radius to draw the neck hole and from that circumference I could mark the length of the capelet and draw the circumference at the hem (plus SA)

circumference formula

Have you ever wondered what that little hole is for at the end of your tape measure? Well I sure have found a use. If you position and hold down the tape measure at the distance required, on the centre point, or corner of your paper, you can put the point of a pencil in the hole at the other end and draw the arc of the circle. Its not as accurate as a compass but I don’t have a set of compasses that large and this method was good enough!

draft circle

I folded the fabric into quarters and pinned the pattern, making sure it was butted to both adjacent sides.

folded fabric

pinned patternI did the same with the lining and cut out. This is not my favourite fabric to work with, I hasten to add!

cape liningNext up, I pinned the self to the lining, right sides together, using lots and lots of pins. I am telling you, this is soooo not my favourite fabric to work with. It slipped and slid all over the place!

pinned lining and selfThen I cut the front opening. You can see just how far out I was with the cutting/positioning of this slippery stuff!

cut opening

But I saved the situation with a genius idea to round off the corners! And note my next exclusive dressmaking tool…. a dinner plate!

round cornersI stuck in some more pins before I attempted to sew around the base hem and up the front openings. But it still took 3 or 4 attempts. It was like a couple of magnets repelling against each other!

more pinsI left the neckline open while I constructed the collar. First I made the collar stand. The measurement for which was the neck measurement (plus ease) by 5 inches (I think!)

I folded it in half, lengthwise and applied fusible interfacing to one side.

interface collar standTo make the ruffle, I cut a strip the same width only twice as long, folded, pressed and seamed the short ends, right sides facing. I gathered the raw edges to the same length as the collar stand.

ruffleI don’t have pics for the next stage but hopefully it will make sense. I sewed the short ends of the collar stand together and turned right side out. Matching raw edges, I pinned the ruffle to one side of the collar stand, right sides together, careful not to catch the underside.

collar ruffleI turned the ruffle up, hiding the raw edges inside and gave it a press to keep it in place. I then folded in the seam allowance from the remaining side and topstitched in place.

finished collarAgain I am missing a few pics, but to finish off I sewed the base of the collar stand (the folded edge), right sides facing, to the neckline of the self side of the cape. I then folded and pressed in the seam allowance on the lining and top stitched to the other side of the collar, very close to the edge.

poison ivy cape

Buttons and ribbons were then sewn in place.

Hope this gives you some insight. So sorry for the missing pics. I will be more diligent with my tutes next time!

This is indeed a very fun and quick make… but I would advise a woven fabric just for sanity’s sake!

ooobop! Lucky Hat

lucky hat

I had the perfect sewing window today – Little Miss O at a party for 4 whole hours and a day far too chilly to hang outside for my liking!

But I wont dis the weather – that would be far too predictable for a Londoner – I will embrace it. And so I hatched  a plan to make a hat. I really don’t know how I get through every winter, convinced I don’t suit a hat, and freezing my poor little pixie ears off for the sake of not looking like (more of) an idiot!

So spurred on by the prospect of a toasty bonce coupled with an opportunity to make a minor stash bust but best of all, make a perfect showcase for one of my favourite buttons, the mini mission began!

lucky hat

Mr O had a similar hat – albeit a bit more manly! – so I set about drafting a pattern. I have quite a big head so this was another good reason to make one. If ever I find a hight street hat that I vaguely like, the chances are it will be too small!

Little Miss O found this button in a biscuit tin at a vintage fair in Islington last year. Just a single lonesome button with the word ‘Lucky’ on it. Could sure do with some of that ‘luck’ stuff right now so here’s hoping!

lucky button

It’s got an interesting stamp on the back but I can’t find any reference on line from where it might have come from.

lucky button

To create the decoration, I made a ‘yoyo’, my first one in fact! For those that don’t know,  a yoyo is a circle of fabric (in this case the circle that was cut out for my head hole!) gathered close to the outer edge and pulled tight. The raw edges are tucked inside and some reinforcement stitched sewn. Of course a statement button is a brilliant idea to cover up the scruffy bit in the middle. Velvet is not as manageable as cotton but a few needle pricks later, the result was very acceptable!

lucky hat decoration

I wore my new hat down to our ‘local’ for dinner tonight but didn’t take it off. I was a bit worried about the hat-hair issue. But hey, guess what happened when I took it off when I got home?! Hair looked better than it did pre-hat!

The outer fabric is a cotton velvet, wonderfully donated to me by a friend who was having a clear out. There are many more metres so I am contemplating a matching jacket! Contemplating I said!!

lucky hat

The inside is fully lined with a matching poly lining so it feels really neat. The band was machine stitched, right sides facing and then turned inside like giant bias trim and hand stitched to the seam line, using an uneven slip stitch. The stitches were quite small and sunk into the pile of the velvet so I am very pleased with the results.

I’m pretty sure this kind of hat will go with vintage or modern styles. Just need to make a few more in different colours!

Thanks to the wonderful Mr Ooobop! (of course) for the fabulous photos!

Little Miss Ooobop’s Fabulous Quiltblock Cushion

quiltblock cushion cover

Let it not be said that my littlest daughter doesn’t finish anything! I am so proud of her and I think you can tell by the photos that she is pretty damned pleased with herself too! And most amazingly, all the photos were bribe-free! No hard cash, no ice creams…. nuffink!

quiltblock cushion coverShe made the central quilt block – a double four patch – back in January. She sewed each little square by hand and made such a neat job of it. I can honestly say I wouldn’t have done any better myself!

So this weekend, when she asked if she could turn the block into a cushion cover I dutifully abandoned any sewing plans of my own, made a dash to the market for a cushion pad, and did some maths to work out the remaining blocks needed for the front panel and two for the envelope back pieces. Actually, the maths, was probably the most time consuming part of this project!

quiltblock cushion cover

I had the powder blue linen in stash so this counts as a minor stash bust too…yay!

And Little Miss Ooobop! cleverly rooted through the button box to seek out these lovely purple buttons for the back.

cushion cover envelope backShe loved being the ‘master of the machine’! And as soon as she’d finished the cover she was practicing the different stitches for her next project!

It is so lovely to share a child’s enthusiasm. Especially when it is focussed on something so basic and traditional. I know I can’t push it too far. I so don’t want to put her off. She has to come to me with her own desire for crafting but I might just happen to plant a little creative seed of thought every now and then!