Seat covers

I sewed a simple seat cover for my dining chairs as the PU leather has started peeling off.

The cloth I chose is kinda thick so that it lasts longer. Sewing it takes time due to the thickness. Firstly, I made a block using the newspaper to gauge the size of the seat. Once I'm comfortable with the newspaper block, I placed it on the cloth and started cutting it. Of course, I need to leave about 2" to sew up the hem. I used rubber elastics to hold the cover to the seat, placed at the back of the seat. Unfortunately, no pics here.

The end result... simple and easy to sew.

Curtains

I sewed curtains! Made quite a few of them but the materials were kinda gaudy as I couldn't find nice, non-transparent and cheap materials. The nice ones are usually very costly. Anyway, it was an easy to sew and fail-proof curtains which I hope to change it to something more interesting in the near future... tab top headings perhaps... when I have the time :-)

This was 1 of the sets for my kitchen. Mine is using curtain hooks so it was easy to sew. After measuring the window, cut the material accordingly, making sure there are extras (10" to be safe) for the hems/ tucks. Just sew the tape for the hooks (you can get it at any supermarkets) at the head and close the bottom hems. Easy peasy!

MIL's blouse

This was the last sewing I did during my Intermediate class... supposed to go for Advance but have yet to continue... probably later this year. I sewn a blouse for MIL... a simple yet complex blouse with yoke and what nots. It's a typical blouse for an old lady :-)

Unfortunately, no photos of the blouse as I had given it to her prior this blog. I regretted using this chiffon like fabric as it was totally difficult in sewing it... sigh!

Baju Kebaya

Not an easy feat but worth it! It was stressful as I bought this silk material in Bangkok. Similar to the Baju Kurung, the skirt was easy as it's straight sewing all the way!

Cheong Sam

A modern cheong sam which I was skeptical of sewing as this Chinese silk is from China and it's not cheap! I was so worried I could have sewn it wrongly as I have to sew inner lining. Double stress here! Overall it was quite easy as more straight lines here even though with lining. However, the collar is really difficult, the material is soft and it couldn't stand much ;-)

Baju Kurung

Baju Kurung can be considered 1 of the easiest to sew, especially with cotton fabric! It's a straight line at every edge :-) However, it requires a lot of material. If I remember correctly, this one was 4 metre in total. Majority for the skirt especially the side pleat ;-)

Long pants

First time sewing long pants, 1 high waist and 1 low waist. It's kinda easy to cut and sew it but the difficult part was to draw the block. If we drew it wrongly, the pants would be uncomfortable and not fitted.

The end result... the beige one is high waist and the purple one is low waist :-)

Shirt dress

My next dress was a shirt dress which was kinda easy to sew except for the sleeves and collar. Goodness those were so difficult especially since my cloth was firm and hard. I didn't upload the photo of the dress yet as it's still not ready until today :p

Princess' pre-school uniform

I sewn this in 2007 when Princess first went to pre-school. I found the pattern easy hence thought of sewing it but to my dismay, the sailor collar was really difficult! It was much cheaper though compared to buying it :-)

 

I had just started my Intermediate then so good timing... I mean it's time for a difficult pattern to sew rather than the easy ones during Beginner's stage ;-)

Princess' dress

I finally dare to sew a dress for my Princess, using the same material as my sleeveless dress. Princess was about 2 years old when I sew this. Honestly, not easy to sew as it's small, very challenging. Furthermore with Peter Pan's collar and puffy sleeves, took me longer to complete it. No wonder children's clothes cost much more!

Sleeveless dress

This next pattern is one of the easiest to sew, a sleeveless dress, with roundish/ square neck and loose waist. Even though the material was soft, it’s easy to sew as it’s just plain simple, with a little princess cut.It's also comfortable to wear :-)

Long sleeve shirt

For my next pattern, I regretted getting this material to make a long sleeve shirt. I can’t remember what type it was but it’s damn soft and not easy to sew. It really tested my patience while sewing it ;-) It’s nice on the skin though. Sewing a shirt is no easy task. A lot of steps to remember, especially the collar and cuffs. This one is with princess cut for a feminine touch but I just couldn’t get the ends right due to the material. Hence you can see the unevenness of the ends. The best material to sew a shirt is still cotton… trust me ;-)

Sleeveless blouse

 

Next pattern I did was a sleeveless blouse. I chose this pattern as it was unique, with princess cut, square neckline and petal like edge, from one of the sewing magazines Madam Pang had. I had drawn the block wrongly actually for the back piece hence you can see the back is longer than the front ;-) When I wear it, it wasn’t noticeable though, phew!

Short skirts

I have always wanted to learn a skill, something I can rely on in the future when I’m too old to work in a private sector. As I’ve always harboured the desire to be in the fashion industry, hence I’ve opted for sewing since I’m poor in drawing. I managed to find a school in the Yellow Pages, Italy Fashion & Dressmaking Institute which is located in S.E.A Park. The principle, Madam Pang, was trained in Italy, which really impressed me.


There are 3 levels to complete i.e. Beginner’s stage, Intermediate and Advance. I started taking the lesson in April 2006 as a Beginner. During this time, I was thought how to measure and draw basic blocks in miniature sizes, subsequently upgrade to measuring and drawing simple blocks of some patterns for myself.

My first assignment was to measure, draw and sew a skirt. I chose 2 patterns i.e. pleats by the side and box design, both short skirts.

The end result:-
Top brown colour: pleats by the side, bottom teal colour: box skirt

Honestly, I have never used a sewing machine in my life before, thus I was very nervous sewing the first skirt. Luckily I had bought cotton materials for this assignment hence it was easy sewing it ;-)