Beckiejo's Kelly Green dress for Miss Pinup Victoria

Beckiejo presented me with a beautiful pair of emerald green shoes and asked me to design a dress around them.

She wanted something that could be worn with or without a petticoat/underskirt and something 'classic'.

I decided early on that I wanted to use a medium to heavyweight stretch satin and 10 colour samples were sent to Beckiejo.

Kelly Green was decided on (although my terrible iPhone photos do not reflect the true colour of the dress) and a toile was made in calico.

I used a darted boat neck bodice that had a high neckline - front & back, but as you will notice if you scroll down to the next blog post, I liked the 'v' in the back of Sheena's wedding dress and modified Beckiejo's design for the final toile.

The fabric is 97% Polyester/3% Spandex Satin and a dream to sew. I was nervous about sewing a full circle skirt in this fabric but it was not difficult at all.

I did not line this dress, which is uncharacteristic for me, but used a neck and armhole facing. I finished off the dress with a handmade belt with diamonte vintage style buckle.

Beckiejo was Miss Va Va Voom Victoria and Miss Classic Pinup Runner Up at the 2010 Miss Pinup Australia competition and handed her 'titles' to this year's winners.

Photo credit for photo of Beckiejo wearing her Miss Pinup sashes: Lizey Weber

Little T's Raindrop dress

I made this cute dress using American craft cotton from Clegs (or was it Japanese?!), a vintage sewing pattern and finished it with a yellow velvet bow.

The back has an invisible zip and the neck hole is faced.

Little T loved her dress and would'nt stop twirling around in it, hence the blurry photo.

Meet Gaby from Hopeless Lingerie

Hi Peta Pledger friends and fans! My name is Gaby and I am the owner/operator/sewing lady/designer and everything in between for Hopeless Lingerie.

Peta has asked me to write a guest post for her blog about my little business so here goes!



I have been working on Hopeless for close to 3 years now, so much has happened and I am still so excited to see what the future holds. I had the dream to start my own lingerie business after many years of being unable to find bras that fit me. As a curvy E cup I am now finding more brands that cater to this market which is wonderful, but it is still my ultimate to goal to create beautiful, flattering and comfortable garments for girls of all sizes, smaller and bigger. So far my journey has mostly involved pieces that cater to the smaller end of the spectrum, as I slowly learn the techniques and find the machinery and materials needed to make structured underwear. There is so much that goes into making properly fitting bras that I am not ready just yet to embark on it, but I am getting close!



I have been enjoying sewing with bamboo and modal jersey a lot recently - and focusing on comfortable sleep-wear and lounge-wear. I spend a lot of time when making patterns and samples to try and create styles that will be suitable for a range of different body types. This means putting elastic in the right places, allowing room to grow in some areas, and making adjustable elements like ties, clasps and slides. I know ordering expensive things over the internet is scary so I try to make the garments as flexible as possible. (And that is also why I do so much made to measure!)



I have a very exciting year ahead, with 4 small ranges planned, the first of these is a (mostly) white bridal range which I am shooting in a weeks time. To find out more about me and Hopeless you can have a look through my blog here .

Thanks for having me Peta!

Gaby xoxo

Vintage inspired [sweatshop free] kids tees by Arthur's Circus

These sweet new tees by Arthur's Circus have arrived in their online store and make the perfect Christmas present for both babies, toddlers and little people.

The t-shirts are manufactured in Australia and carry the Sweatshop Free logo. The prints on the front have been hand printed in their studio and are of Natalie's photographs, featuring some of the sweet toys available from Arthur's Circus.

You can buy Arthur's Circus tees from here and from Magnolia Square market this weekend if you're in Melbourne.

'Lula' mini skirt in tartan

The new photos from my latest shoot will be trickling online over the next few weeks.

Available from my online store now, the 'Lula' mini skirt in tartan is made from 65% Polyester/35% Viscose and lined with 100% red Polyester.

Lining adds to the cost, but I think that the 'creeping up' feeling when you're walking down the street in an unlined mini is quite uncomfortable, also, by lining this skirt I found that it gave it a nicer shape.

The waistband is bound in yellow (you can see inside the skirt if you click on image number 4 here and there is an invisible zip in the centre back. I am favoring large snaps as waist band closures at the moment over traditional button and buttonholes.

If you wish to buy this skirt, it is available from my online store now.

Because the simple frocks in life are often the best...

The reason this blog post bears this title, is because I was pleasantly surprised that my client for this garment, Juanita chose to wear the dress with minimal jewellery and minimal tizz. The result? Perfect for the occasion it was made for!

Juanita supplied the shot blue/purple 100% pure silk for this dress. Upon advice from the retailer she bought it from, I did not pre-shrink the fabric and I did not use any water or steam during the construction and pressing process.

I lined the bodice in blue 100% Viscose for comfort and the skirt in a matching bemsilk lining.

After alot of consideration and discussions with other dressmakers, I decided not to bone the bodice as I wanted to avoid that bridesmaid/1980's party frock look. The bodice is fused in a medium weight iron on (I can hear some of you gasp at that) interfacing and the invisible zip is in the centre back.

We agreed on a rounded 'collar' around the top of the dress and decided against a matching belt.

The Paper Plane sterling silver necklace is by Australian jewellery designer and maker, Victoria Mason. Please check out her site, her work is delightful.

'Emma' gets some love from Mikes

Meet Me At Mikes Blog Love is Good Love. Not only is it always an honour (check out their blog and you'll see why), but finding people that cross promote and support other like-minded shops and designers can be quite a rarity in the clothing industry, but it is not the case in the "handmade" scene.

Guest blogger McCranky featured my Burgundy Hawaiian Barkcloth 'Emma' skirt on their blog this week, you can see the post here.

Thank you so much guys, I have sent a courier in to the store, bearing a gift today!

Blog Love is so Lovely and so is this dress...

Andrea, has an Etsy store called DreamsandJewelry and a beautifully laid out website/blog called Anything Indie. I was lucky enough to be featured in her Valentines Day Gift Guide. Please visit both as the quality of Andrea's work is exceptional.

The 'Be My Valentine' Lucky Diamonds dress is made from 100% cotton. I have again used a high quality viscose lining, which makes this simple dress a dream to wear. The centre back has an invisable zip closure. I have chosen not to topstitch the waist seam as I wanted the dress to be as 'smooth' as possible.

Thank you so much to Andrea and please be sure to check out her store!