Stashbusting Sewalong: August theme "Face your fears" - Swimsuit

Guess what? I'm a bit chuffed, because for the first time ever, I made a swimsuit! This month's stashbusting theme is all about facing what we fear in sewing. I had originally thought of cutting into some special fabric that I've been putting off using, but after some discussions on the Stashbusting group's Facebook page, I came up with something far more appropriate, and an actual real fear of mine: Lycra.

Lingerie: Cream Bra

It's been a while since I've had a big enough chunk of time to sew something for myself, and of course, my mind went straight to bra making. I had actually been putting off making my next bra, even though I knew what style I wanted, and what I would make it from. As I mentioned when I made my last bra, I made the decision to try a larger size underwire.

My sewing studio: Storage for fabric by the roll

How wonderful is my husband? Not only did he come up with the opening line for this blog post, but he put together a storage solution for organising my fabric rolls in my storeroom.

The new fabric rack

Knitting Adventures - Silk Scarf, and my new dressmaker's dummy!

Do you remember when I bought some silk yarn on my visit to Tasmania last year? The yarn is 100% silk, from a local Tasmanian artist Rebecca Kissling. I had in mind to make a scarf, but have been taking my time thinking about it before making it up.

Well, the time had come, and my neck was crying out for a different scarf to wear, so I took a week out from my other knitting project to make this up. I didn't want a pattern that was too boring, but also didn't want to have to follow a pattern or think too hard when making this one. I settled on a 2 x 2 rib knit, so the scarf would look the same on both sides, and not roll at the edges.

Hemming Tutorial - The wonders of Ban-Rol

I first came across ban-rol a few weeks ago, when a member of the Stashbusting Facebook group was asking for opinions on hemming a shirt, and someone else posted a tutorial to sewing baby hems with ban-rol. Not that I had a need for it, but I started searching for some straight away. Local sewing shops had never even heard of it, so I switched to searching online. Even there I wasn't having any luck.

I was trying again one day to find an Australian supplier, and came across another tutorial for using ban-rol, when I happened upon a comment from an Australian saying that she was getting some in for her shop. That person was Helene from Stitch 56 in Melbourne, a company that I had not previously heard of, nor had it come up in any of my searches for ban-rol. Less than a week later, I had my ban-rol, and a client who needed 50 silk scarves hemmed! I bought 5 metres of the widest ban-rol available, 2 inches. In hindsight, I should have bought more. I mean, the postage cost me as much as the ban-rol did, and if I need more, I'll be up for even more postage!

Sewing Machine Review - Janome Coverpro 1000CP

Here is the final member of my sewing machine family, a Janome coverstitch machine.

What brand and model do you have? This machine is a Janome Coverpro 1000CP

Sewing Machine Review - Janome Mylock 634D Overlocker

It's been quite a while since I've written any sewing machine reviews, despite the fact that I do have two machines that I have not yet shared here. Although I've had it for a while, here's my newest overlocker (serger), a Janome Mylock 634D. I bought this to replace my Pfaff Hobbylock after it stopped working.

What brand and model do you have? This machine is a Janome Mylock 634D overlocker. I'm not sure of the exact age, but I estimate that it is from around 2012 - 2013.