Floating with cocktails and other adventures.

Hi! Long time no see. I'm going backwards here with  unblogged items. I'm starting with a  pencil case I  made for my son at the beginning of the year. Pencil cases are pretty expensive and really *r@p. I used some zips I had in stock (ha ha , I feel like I have  "stock") and  some great 'fabric' I picked up in  Spotlight . It's kind  of net over some plastic. It was on sale for $8 per metre and then half price for $4.  There was also  a hot pink one too, but when I took them to the counter they didn't want to give me the  pink one for the half price so I left it  because they didn't say before cutting that it wasn't  on sale.  Anyway, I had to go back later for something I forgot and  it was  in the remnant bin so  in the end I got it for $2.50.  I  bought it to make some shopping bags .. still unmade min you. Anyway my  son really liked the pencil case but after 1 day it had scribble on it and the tab on the zip was missing!??  I'm going to  harvest that metal zip when the pencil case dies. 

Next up I made some togs. Same fabric as the 2 piece I made for my sister. I could not find my Speedos. I had been down the beach and though they must have dropped out of the car, so I wrote them off. I had to go to aqua so I whipped these up quickly and didn't line them. I used up the last of my rubber elastic and used some other elastic for the legs.

These photos were taken a couple of weeks after making. They are already in the bin. The fabric is really bad quality and it was very old lycra I suspect. It was on sale at Pitt Trading, but I'd expect it to last longer. They stretched out after 2 wears (and that's only 2 hours of pool work) and by 8-10 wears max they were history. It is disappointing as I still spent the same time making them.

See above.. the original colour is on the right. The green faded terribly..... it's such a shame.  Which leads me to the next pair of togs and my title... My aqua teacher is a bit of a tyrant (in a fun way) and at times says you can pick your own exercise, which leads me to say "floating with cocktails". Now she says pick your own exercise and looks at me and says "and floating isn't an option!".  When I bought the above fabric, I also bought the fabric below.

It is as vibrant as it looks and it's so fun! I LOVE the print and now I can float with cocktails!

I lined these with lining fabric I bought at Pitt Trading and it's quite nice... soft and very comfy. The other fabric... gorgeous but NOT lycra although it was marked as lycra and suitable for swimwear.  It's very thin. It's not 4 way stretch but only 2 way and it is NOT lycra. I'm pretty annoyed about that. Unfortunately I made some changes to the pattern like shortening the straps and narrowing the upper bust area by a smidge. These changes along with the lack of stretch, makes me a contortionist getting into and out of them. I'm disappointed. I won't be buying any more fabric from Pitt Trading or lycra online.  I have a little left (I only bought 1 metre) so I may make another pair or a rashie. I've got plenty of other lycra in plain colours so I'll make something else but I have so many things to make it's a shame togs have to come to the top again.

I have two dresses I haven't had time to photograph and another 2 dresses I'm half done with. Plus I have a ripstop basic rain jacket I'm cutting out. Anyone got any tips for sewing with ripstop? I'm thinking of getting some seam sealer but not sure what. I'm not making a serious rain jacket but like a spray jacket that's light to keep in the backpack I use when I walk to the ferry to get to work in the morning. Back soon with more dresses and a few photos from the Brisbane Spoolette's High Tea.