Buttons make me happy :)

I am feeling absolutely rubbish today BUT I got a fun little package to cheer me up* and help me forget that my joints feel like they have aged 40 years overnight.

I love deliveries!

After reading Melissa’s post I decided to take up her discount code offer and test out Lots of Buttons online shop too.

Cutely organised

I ordered these puppies on August 15th and my shipping was delayed a little bit due to one of my selections being out of stock but Boaz was quick to email me and offer some alternative options. I selected a replacement and as an apology I also received a credit which was unexpected but really nice.

I received my shipping confirmation email the following day and since today is the 27th that means they took 9 days to reach me. Pretty awesome I think and the postage was free since my order was (just) over $25. There was also a 10% off voucher included in the parcel, with no expiry date, yay!

‘Rebbeca’ wooden buttons and my substitute for the ‘Yaeko’ chalk button (I actually like them more than my first choice!)

For scale I have included a NZ 50c coin which measures close to 25mm or 1 inch across. If you are interested it shows Captain Cook’s HMS Endeavour sailing past Mount Taranaki (aka Mount Egmont), Captain Cook was the first Briton to reach NZ in 1769. The 50c coin used to be 32mm across but all our silver coins were re-sized in 2006 and the 5c coin was deleted. Can you imagine the logistics of all that? All those vending machines, parking machines etc to change over? Sheesh! But hey, at least our gold coins are the right way around, aye Australia?! Hehe, but you guys get style points for having a dodecagon shaped 50c coin.

‘Reyes’ and ‘Tom’ synthetics, shank attachment

Sorry about the reflective plastic crappy photos, but they look so cute all lined up that I can’t bear to open them just yet

‘Frederick’ wooden and ‘Dorinda’ resin buttons

So overall I am really happy with my purchases and with the excellent service I received from the Lots of Buttons team. This order was kind of random but when I next have a project that needs buttons I’ll be back for a more specific purchase.

*I should probably also give some credit to the bacon and egg bagel I am eating for lunch as I type this! Yummo

Sewing as Art – Berber Soepboer Dresses

You know those times when you click on an interesting link and that leads you to another link and another and then you find something amazing? This was one of those times.

I can’t even remember how the link-loop began but I ended up on Berber Soepboer’s page looking at the Color-in Dress and I was amazed!

Berber Soepboer Colour-in Dress

Berber Soepboer Colour-in Dress

Wow!

Have you ever heard about the 4th dimension in design? It’s often referred to when an object can also change over time, the 4th dimension. Sometimes we change it through our interaction with it and sometimes it changes by itself, like when metal rusts. Anyway, design babble aside, I love design that changes. Even in it’s starting state this dress is really nice…and then it gets even better.

‘The Colour-In Dress’ is a simple dress with a black and white print, which is especially designed to fill with coloured textile markers. Because the print is so flexible you can make many different designs by colouring it. Everybody can interpret the print the way they like it best.

Scrolling around I discovered even more amazingness. The dress under Fragment Textiles is great but I really really really want to have a go at making a skirt just like that.

Berber Soepboer Fragment Textiles

I love how some parts stand up and that hem is a bit spikey and the idea that you could take it apart and make it into another garment.

Berber Soepboer Fragment Textiles

There skirt is made up of star shapes, while the dress utilises squares, there is  a picture of how the squares join up to make the “fabric”.

Berber Soepboer Fragment Textiles

The goal was to design clothes with a second live; cradle to cradle. Completely environmentally friendly. Together they developed two small forms made of special biological wool. Squares and Stars, both can be put together with more of the same kind creating a fabric. Both forms have small slices, which gives them the possibility to click in each other and hold. Two cloths were made with these forms; a square dress and a star skirt. Both completely detachable thus changeable, in colour as in form.

The Replacement Dresses are also a cool concept and I’d love to see it developed further with other garments. I can see skirts being clipped together to make a dress, or tops becoming trousers!

Berber Soepboer Replacement Dresses

‘The Replacement Dresses’ exists out of three dresses all printed with a multicoloured design. Each dress exists out of several pieces, which are attached to each other by buttons. The pieces can be exchanged between the three dresses. This makes it possible to combine the three different prints in a way the wearer prefers

Berber Soepboer Replacement Dresses

There is quite a bit more on their website so I highly recommend you click through and have a cruise around for some inspiration, it definitely got my brain buzzing!

Did you like this post? You may enjoy one of these:

Sewing as Art – Light Trail Dresses

Sewing as Art – Origami Map Dresses

Sewing as Art – Paper Dresses

My nomination for Most Amazing Fabric Award

Last night I actually dreamt about sewing, I stitched up this amazing dress in under an hour (ha!) and it fitted perfectly even though I didn’t seem to use a pattern or try it on at any stage (double ha!). It must be a sign that I have finally gone crazy from lack of sewing because this weekend…there may be sewing room pics…but don’t hold you breath, I’ll do that for us since you are all probably sick of me babbling on about this imaginary room

Right, on to the fabric: I think I may have just bought the most amazing fabric. In. The. World!

Ok, maybe you disagree with me, we are all entitled to our opinions but seriously, this has to be right up there though, no?

I found this, of all places, in Spotlight, it’s a medium weight cotton drill and I should have included something in this image for scale, oops. The envelope patterns are about the size of, well, real envelope patterns.

I was meant to be looking at curtains (which, contrary to nerdy husbands assertions, does not count as sewing!) but I saw this first and carried the bolt all over the shop for about 20 minutes until I was ready just in case someone else saw it. This is not uncommon for me, I often carry several bolts all over a store until I am ready to purchase, it’s my mulling time. I’m sure I drive the shop assistants crazy because I usually decline their offer to place them on the counter even though I am usually just one bolt away from dangerously overloading my poor arms.

It’s my fabric, mine

So many possibilities but right now I am thinking of using it for the long overdue sewing machine carry bag for my Elna (which will be a direct rip off of my Bernina overlocker bag), but really that could change at any second! Of course it should be something sewing related though.

Tell me, what would you do with this amazing fabric?

Have you ever seen/purchased a fabric that should be nominated for the Most Amazing Fabric Award?

Manequim 638 (July 2012)

Going out on a limb here but this has to be one of the best Manequim issues I have received so far, full to the brim of amazingness:

Manequim 638 (July 2012)

I am trying something different this month, placing the line drawings separately so you can see more detail, you like?

It’s hard to see the details of the skirt in the middle, even at maximum DPI, looking at the pattern pieces doesn’t make it any clearer, I think maybe a bow which would be awesome.

The dress I really like (in my size, score!), it is a faux wrap dress and I already have some ideas for it, here is the back story: I saw an advert on TV for a new online clothing store called boohoo.com which sells lots of what I consider ”cheap and disposable” clothing. My opinions aside, I noticed a dress that looked a lot (actually exactly) like Vogue 1190 so I went online to try to find it so I could share with you but there were sooooo many pages of dresses to go through I found this instead:

Boohoo.com Beatrice Striped Jersey Wrap Dress

Isn’t it funny how inspiration and complimentary patterns sometimes turn up at the same time? I was thinking how much I liked the pattern above and then I spotted the above dress online the very next day. It would not be difficult to add in those extra seam lines and also I seem to have amassed quite a lot of stretchy striped fabrics in my stash so…

Peaky shoulders seem to be all the rage right now. I don’t really need any help with accentuation in that department but I am interested in the construction, they look really cool on a jacket. The green dress is gorgeous too but I am far too distracted by the dress in the centre. I LOVE the magic silhouette/illusion idea and I think this one is gorgeous with a great cap sleeve and bust detail. Here is some more inspiration found on boohoo.com:

Boohoo.com Myla Belted Illusion Midi Dress & Catherine Metallic Panel Short Sleeve Midi Dress

They also remind me of a pattern in my stash: McCall’s 6028 Palmer/Pletsch that I bought after seeing it compared to two dresses in the Michael Kors Spring 2009 Ready-to-Wear Collection.

This month’s “Always Well-dressed” section is Courrèges and since I had no idea who they were I decided to google them and I was really impressed at the like-ness, even the photography style portrays the same feel as the online store images. I’m not really sure how this section works, surely Manequim has to ask permission to produce a pattern that so closely copies the style? Anyway, it’s very mod (in a good way I think) and I really like the purple/yellow/white colour combo.

Bonus points for a vintage sewing machine prop, loving tops 336 & 337 and the jackets, channelling and little bit of Chanel maybe?

The Black & White section is great too, the white jacket is fabulous! I have been intending to make a blazer/jacket for work for aaaages and this one is going to the top of the list, it’s almost my size so I’d have to have a bit of fun-with-grading but it would be worth it.

The black dress has some great details if you look at the line drawing and another magic silhouette dress mimicking the previously mentioned Kors dress.

There is also a fabulous formal section with 6 different outfits based on some celebrity fashion. Long and short and all very sparkly or shiny

Next month looks interesting: I spy an odd looking jumpsuit/romper but also a fabulous looking luxury section!

I’ll leave you with a quick sewing room update: Carpet samples are being mulled over and my finger is hovering over the ‘GO’ button! Exciting!