{giveaway winners} missoni DIY skirt kit

Congratulations, you're all winners!

Thanks for entering Le Coutureve's giveaway. You all gave such great reasons, I went and put together more DIY skirt kits to give away. You will receive the Italian designer missoni fabric that your name appears on.

Anna Aa.;

katherine h;

Jali;

Bernice; and

littlebetty

receive the large ups and downs - the same I used in the suddenly summer dress

Keren; and

Carolyn

receive the little green peaks

And you all receive a metre each of the mokuba fold-over elastic for the skirt waistband. To receive your prize, email, passiona "at" me.com with your postal address. A cool, hand wash is all this fabric needs to keep looking its best.

Thanks to Colette at tessuti for featuring the dress and giveaway and introducing new readers to Le Coutureve. Have a lovely weekend.

{Project Runway Australia Sew-a-long} Challenge 5: Grandma's Best

Project Runway 5th challenge involved no models - instead family members of the contestants! 

The brief: design their ultimate outfit

It must suit them to a tea, fit them like a glove and fulfill their every fashion fantasy

Budget $100

Time limit: eight-hours

Introducing... Nanna Linda!

A little about Linda...
1. She was wearing black before black was the new black... she insists she was the first in Sydney to wear ALL black (and I am not inclined to argue);

2. She commutes several hours every day to visit my grandfather in his nursing home, every day of the week (no days off for Linda!);

3. Has no time to launder with care nor iron her outfits;

4. She is terribly interesting, rich in character and full of stories!

 This inspired the light, gauzy fabrics she can wear on her long walks and trips on public transport all this coming summer long.

Also, I made the design so it didn't need to be ironed - but still looks smart. I achieved this in two ways. First, I tried experimental ruching on the sleeves - to make a feature of the wrinkled look. Second, I placed the grosgrain ribbons down the front and on the sleeves to give the impression of clean lines - without having to iron.

 The textured fabric in the skirt plays to her quirky ways.

Linda is happy with the fit. LOVES the colour and is absolutely tickled to have a new outfit!

{giveaway} missoni DIY skirt kit

Win a length of the missoni fabric for a DIY skirt kit. Includes colour co-ordinated mokuba fold-over elastic, for the waist band.

To comply with Australian competition legislation, this is a 'game of skill': to be eligible to enter, be a follower of this blog (you can be one already or become one now) and comment on this blog entry with why you would like to win the kit.

Thanks for stopping by. This is competition is now closed - you can check out the winners here. And head to Le Coutureve for more giveaways.

{dress yourself} suddenly summer dress

merino jersey acid yellow

with

missoni patterned knit from tessuti

today reached 26 dgrees. hottest august day in four years

and I had a dress to match

check out the DIY giveaway, too!

silk jersey top

silk jersey remnant rescued from tessuti

mokuba fold-over elastic trim

stretch interfacing

Silk jersey. Slinky, fine. A gorgeous drape. Don't leave it to the likes of Calvin. Just watch Cesar in The Fashion Show effortlessly turn out gown after gown in this gorgeous fabric, to give your confidence to work with it a boost. 

The edges are finished with an overlocked rolled hem. But it wasn't becoming of the silk's lustrous finish.... what to do, what to do...? Mokuba fold-over elastic has a similar sheen and fine profile. Done.

The sloper that came from my variation of the Lydia top has proven its worth again.

{sewcial} burdastyle day

Happy BurdaStyle Day!

A cold night in Sydney. Warmed by a common thread. Pam, Hollie and I were in attendance at tessutti Wynyard. Clad in our very own creations, to mark the occasion.

Our surprise host, tessuti's very own Colette, put on a lovely spread.

 Then onto stitch bar...

 ... and joined by Sandra  !

grr lowlight blurrr...

the night before cardigan

100% wool fabric and trim with leather buttons

This wool fabric made its way into my home. Mainly because I'd never before seen anything like it in a fabric store. It looks like some one has taken a thick ply wool and knitted a diamond pattern in it. And yet it has the sturdiness of a woven.

But it takes more than a fabric to make a garment. Fabric needs notions.

This shade of blue was proving difficult to pair. Somewhere between navy and royal blue. I had considered custom dyeing ribbing. After many months of loneliness. It finally made a match. With a mokuba wool trim. And real leather buttons.
When something has been in your mind for that long, it coalesces. And by the time I sat down to it last night, it felt like it was making itself. It even devised its own pattern variation - the BurdaStyle Andrew minus facings and ribbing with raised centre front.

A handmade gift, that isn't cheap. That came together in a night, after months of thought.

for the special man's birthday

a bag a day: the summer lace bag

On the hottest of hot summer days, you choose a dress so light it floats. And this is the bag to match that dress. Light as air.  It's not going to hold everything. Just a dainty for a garden party or to glam up a summer night.

A gorgeous lace embroidered netting fabric from tessuti. I started making a top from it. But it is so light, I would have to line it or wear a nude cami. And it seemed a shame to place anything against this fabric, except the light.