Wink Designs

Indian cotton fabrics

I've developed a little obsession (not yet declared on this blog) with Indian fabrics.  Some of the block printed fabrics are really amazing, especially the ones with a fresh and modern twist.

Many of these are printed on lighter cottons and voiles and they started to catch my eye from a dressmaking point of view due to their perfect weight and drape for summer clothes.

Rather than clothes, though, these ones are actually going to be used to redecorate Cee Cee's room.  She's totally over the butterfly and floral stage and wants to get rid of anything in her bedroom bearing those sort of prints.

So, despite my appalling track record on completing home decorating projects, I'm aiming to make a new bed cover and curtains from these.  That's the plan, at least!

Etsy is a great source of Indian cottons, and some of the shops I've bought from or have my eye on are listed below.  You need to take some time to sift through to uncover the gems, but it's well worth the effort.  (The white fabric with paisley embroidery peeping through in the lower corner was one of those lucky finds from Spotlight.)

pallavik

Monsoon Weave

TATAindianwoodstamps (sells wood stamps and fabric)

theDelhiStore

RaajMa

DesiFabrics

Enjoy! (And let me know if you know of any others.....)

Little Ellie Dress : Pattern tester pics

I haven't yet shared photos of the amazing dresses that the pattern testers made using the Little Ellie Dress pattern.

This one in white linen and chevron print by Janice of So-Cal Sewing Mom shows off her daughter's cuteness to perfection:

Jen of Lea & Lars made one for her daughter in a pretty sea green and floral combo.

                       

This one is by Suzy of Floating World in a fabulous Liberty birdcage print.  

                   

And these are the work of Kate of Two Little Banshees.  Kate went the extra mile with her fabulous duo of dresses.  Love the dresses, love the smiles!

             

The pattern is in Sizes 1-8 and available in my etsy and craftumi shops.

T-shirt in progress

I think sewing with knit fabrics is fun and frustrating in equal parts.  I have a couple of bits and pieces on the go at the moment.  Here's a little detail from a t-shirt I've been making.

While I was doing some twin needle stitching on another project I sewed over a pin and snapped it.  Damn.  Twin needles do not come cheaply and now I need to go out in search of another.  So this one remains unhemmed for the moment.

The blue fabric is a rayon jersey from Spotlight which has a lovely feel and drape.  The colour is a wee bit intense for my liking but fits in with my big girl's current colour obsession with bright aqua.  

The stripey knit for the shoulder drawstring is from Crafty Mamas. 

Through a new lens

I've been wanting to experiment with new camera lenses for a while but my brain freezes up a bit when I try to work out which lens does what and how..... Add to that the scary cost of most lenses and it's enough to make you just give up and stick with the stock standard lens already on the camera.

So when I found this "portrait" lens the other day at the bargain basement price of $75 I decided to just go for it.

            

This is not a variable lens and not being able to zoom takes a bit of getting used to.  This is especially so when you're trying to photograph children who jump around alot.  

But I think it definitely adds an edge to the photos and captured the available light really well on the fairly dim afternoon when I snapped these pics.

             

What's also great is the lovely shallow depth of field - no need to tidy the kitchen when the clutter just blurs into the background!

P.S. Happy birthday to Cee Cee who as of the weekend is now a very sophisticated 9 years old! Peace......

Digital products: New instant download Etsy feature

Great news for buyers and sellers of digital products on etsy.  E-books, PDF patterns etc. can now be directly uploaded to etsy listings so that when a buyer purchases that listing the files are available immediately from their "Purchases" page.

Having buyers in lots of different timezones means that as sellers we're often asleep or not "at work" when sales come in.  So now there's no panic to fill orders for the seller and instant gratification for the buyer!  A total win win!  Thank you etsy....(more information on the etsy blog here).

Source: art by wiley via amazing miniatures

All Wink Designs patterns are now available as an instant download.  Also, only a few more days left to take advantage of 20% discount on the newest (Little Ellie Dress) pattern.  Enter LITTLEELLIE123 at checkout...

Wrap-Up Skirt news :: New larger sizes & workshops

One of the most frequent questions I get asked about the patterns is whether I have the Wrap-Up Skirt for Girls beyond a Size 6.  I'm excited to tell you that it's now available for girls up to a Size 10 as an instant download (more news about etsy's new digital products feature in a separate post).

               

This pattern was the first I ever released and it was in need of a makeover. So as well as adding extra sizes I've also thoroughly updated it with new instructions, drawings and pattern pieces.  Here is a little sample spread of some of the pattern pages:

AND (this is a biggie!) I'm also super excited to announce that I'll be running some Wrap-Up Skirt and Peasant Top/Dress sewing workshops at the lovely Sew Make Create space in Sydney over May and June.  (I blogged about Sew Make Create in an earlier post here.)  The details and dates are here and here and the patterns are included in workshop costs.

The classes are totally suitable for beginners or anyone who'd like to whip up a few cute pieces for their littlies with a like-minded and fun group cheering you on.  Given that we're now well into autumn I can also help you with fabric advice and options for the cooler weather. I'd love to see you there!

No-knead bread

The recipe for this no-knead bread has been floating around the blog world for quite some time now. It was created by a baker called Jim Lahey from Sullivan Street Bakery in New York and Simply So Good blog has helped to spread the word around the online world.

I've made it three or four times now (with plain flour, spelt flour and with seeds added in) and it's tasted great each time.  The only criticism I had of my bread was that the rise was adequate but not great and it was a little bit too yeasty.

So, this time around I cut down on the water (I used 1 and a quarter cups instead of 1 and a half) and cut back on the yeast by a smidge.  And, voila, this is by far the best loaf of all:

 

It tastes amazing eaten warm out of the oven and if you intend to take some photos you've got to do that pretty quickly because it doesn't last long.....

New pattern :: Little Ellie Dress

I'm happy to announce that the Little Ellie Dress pattern is available now in digital PDF format in my shops at etsy (enter code LITTLEELLIE123 at etsy checkout for a 20% discount until end of April) and craftumi:

        

I pared down my earliest version of this round collar sundress pattern to a simpler and more sophisticated style which would suit both toddlers and older girls.  The pattern comes in 5 sizes which cover girls from 12 months to 8 years.

As you can see, the circular collar/yoke is attached to a gathered dress which is finished with a narrow contrast hem band.

   

The design works best when made with lighter weight fabrics (at least for the dress pieces - the collar can be made from medium weight fabric).  

This version (in a Size 4-5) was made in Liberty "Mauvey" for the dress and a lovely sky blue linen for the collar and hem band (both from Tessuti).  There is a bit of a "crinkle" factor with the linen obviously, but I quite like the effect....

   

The pattern doesn't currently include the modifications necessary to make a top but you can easily do that if you want to by shortening it and making the hem band narrower to fit the modified width at the bottom.  

To show you the top (and also because I didn't have enough of the fabric to make a dress) I used this Anna Maria Horner voile in "Square Dance" to make one for Cee Cee in Size 8.  

       

The dress simply pulls over the head and the front and back are identical, minimising pattern pieces and making it easy to cut and sew.

A lovely moment of sisterly harmony for the camera (!):

                 

And that's about it.  I hope you like this simple but very sweet and pretty addition to the pattern range.  As always, I've tried to design the pattern so there is a minimum of cutting and taping required (a bit of a bugbear, I know, for a lot of people). 

Also, I am only a short email away if you need any "sewing helpline" advice on making up your Little Ellie Dress.....

                             

Note: Thank you so much to my pattern testers:

Janice

Jen

Suzy

Kate

Dani

Fran

Your detailed feedback and help was truly appreciated!  I'll do another post soon showing off some of the fabulous creations made by these ladies.

Tribal print dress & beads

Oh well, it's been bucketing down with rain here and before memories of Summer have completely vanished I should show you this dress I made during the warmer months.  

It's a teensy bit on-trend with the tribal print and pops of bright pink through the fabric (a cotton from Tessuti).

I drafted the pattern (if you could call it that) myself - just a simple shift dress with shirring at the waist. I wasn't completely satisfied with the construction but the end result was OK and I've gotten a lot of wear out of it.

If you've been hanging around the DIY boards on Pinterest at all, you'll be sure to have seen a few tutorials for polymer clay jewellery.  

Inspired by some of those, the girls and I had a go at making some beads during the summer holidays and this necklace was one of the results.  It matches the dress quite nicely.

We used FIMO brand clay, which was the one available at our local art and craft store.

You need to "condition" the clay quite thoroughly with your hands to be able to mold shapes with it.  It's a bit challenging for little kids who are used to using play dough but manageable enough.  Other than that, it's really simple to use and quite addictive.

If you try this, be sure to work with the lighter colour clays first as the colour from the darker clay tends to transfer and imprint a bit on the lighter ones.  Also, before baking the clay, make sure your holes (we made ours with toothpicks) are big enough to accommodate whatever you intend to string your beads on. I used leather in this example but have since bought some narrower cord from Spotlight which I'll use for my next try....

Birthday & Easter special

Easter Sunday falls on my birthday this year so if I'm good it'll be Easter eggs and birthday presents for me on the same day.  The reason I'm posting though is to let you know I've put an "Easter Special" listing in my etsy store.

        
Purchase the Easter Special listing from now until Easter Monday eve and you'll receive 2 PDF sewing patterns for the price of 1 (tell me which 2 you'd like at checkout).  

That's around $20 worth of patterns for just under $10.  Woo hoo!

Hope you all have a wonderful Easter.....