A Day to Op-Shop

An orthodontist appointment brought me into town today, giving me a few hours to poke around the local shops. I live in a small, rural town during the holidays, so I usually save my money till I hit Brisbane for uni. Unexpectedly, I had such a productive day! My newsagent has suddenly started selling proper artist supplies, so I finally got my hands on a roll of gummed tape for my watercolour paintings (yay)! Next was a stop to Salvo's. So, so much fun. I managed to get one dress, two skirts, 1 blouse and heaps of stretchy striped fabric for $13. Not bad!

Here's the first find, a size 16 Crossroads dress. It's very cute and Audrey Hepburn-ish. Still, it'll need to undergo a major restructure if it is ever to be worn by me. A challenge awaits!

Next is a Harry Potter blouse (the label, not the poor wizard-boy). Too big, but easily fixed!

Here's a size 10 Sussan skirt. Missing a button. Some size 10, it's minute in all direction! This one will definitely only be worn with thick tights or leggings :D

Last one: another skirt (and I'm not even a skirt person!). This one looks handmade (the seams aren't overlocked and the zipper doesn't match - it's gray). It's very tiny again, but has a really nice shape to it.

(And yes, I was boiling taking these pictures! It is far too hot for tights).

She wore it in the '70s.

A simple chambray pinafore made from a very old Simplicity pattern, which I cannot find anywhere :S

This project has been sitting in my project box for about 4 years (since I was 14, I think). I redid the zipper, because I had done a truly dreadful job all those years ago. It’s really funny, because I remember it was the first zipper I had sewn in all by myself :D Unfortunately, this fabric wasn't too keen on being unpicked and resewn, so the fabric covering the zip doesn't sit properly.

The only other thing I had to do was attach the buttons! The fabric frayed a great deal when I attempted a buttonhole, so I opted for snaps instead. Hey, they pop off randomly throughout the day but it saved me the pain of getting out my buttonhole chisel and crying at the mess it made.

Now... if anyone else has an old sewing machine, you will probably know that changing to a heavy thread isn't much fun. Tensioning it is a nightmare, and it often tangles and snaps in the bobbin. Even though I love the look of the denim thread, I think the next time I use it will be too soon.