Yay another maternity dress!

Wow, I'm on some sort of sewing frenzy. It so much fun cos things are actually working! And the patterns I'm choosing aren't proving too difficult yet! I made the next dress on my to do list and I love it! It will actually be wearable even when not pregnant as a comfy summer dress so at least I don't have to pack it away once Bub comes. I used a vintage sheet for this one, as well as an opshopped zipper. Here's some really professional pics of me wearing it!

This is the pattern I used to make the dress.

Now I just need to make this cute brown one.

Yay for handmade dresses! I'm so excited about all the ladies who have signed up to my handmade dress swap. Sign up is still open but I will be closing sooner than planned so if you want to sign up perhaps do it soon!

Ok, well this sunshine is amazing, we are going to go explore the seaside.

Making maternity dresses

I'm quite excited. I made myself another dress(yay)! It's a maternity dress(extra yay)! And I made it following a pattern(oh my goodness yay)!! First time ever! And it was actually quite simple. Instead of doing my usual throwing the pattern across the room or looking at the lines and getting stressed, I read everything slowly and carefully and it all made sense.

Like all my patterns, this one was opshopped and already cut from the previous owner! I like to imagine what theirs ended up looking like. What fabric and trimmings they used. Anyway, I didn't really know what size I was working with so didn't alter anything. The end result is a little loose but I think as my tummy grows, it will fill the dress more and probably be perfect later in my pregnancy. It's not bad now but I think I would have been better making a size smaller. Next time! 

I attempted this pattern first, as it is just a simple a-line dress. I think it's called maternity because it does have quite a loose fit to fit growing bellies. The pattern also asked for darts. I've always avoided them but this time tried to do it carefully reading the pattern and marking the fabric. They are actually very simple and straight forward! Anyway, with this new confidence and excitement that I can wear pretty dresses that fit, I hoping to make the other maternity patterns I have too. Here's the dress I made. Lovely autumn colours which I didn't plan but it's worked out wonderfully. 

If only I had the hair and face to match.

These are the patterns that I'm going to start next...

Love the pink dress

Just gonna whip up the blue one for a day pottering at home. Joking, hoping to make the middle brown one.

I'm loving this dress making phase I'm in at the moment. Looking forward to my Handmade Dress Swap, which if you would like to join, you can sign up hhere

See you soon, maybe with another handmade maternity dress!

Taz x

Chocolate and Banana cake

Hello again. 

I'm back with a recipe for you to try. It's a chocolate banana cake or a banana chocolate cake. It's basically a chocolate cake but sweetened with bananas. I wasn't sure if it would work but it did. I had 4 black bananas which I didn't want to throw out, plus I wanted chocolate cake!

The cake itself is sweet but not very, so I do recommend you use the icing or your own icing. But with the icing it's perfect. 

So...

You will need:

4 very ripe bananas 

200 gm spelt flour or regular flour

75 gm coconut oil, melted

200 ml milk

2 eggs, beaten

40gm Cocoa powder

1tsp baking soda

Preheat oven to 180C. Mash the bananas well and place in a large bowl. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix well. Pour the mixture into a greased or lined cake tin. Bake for approx 30-40 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean.

Cool on a wire rack.

While that's cooling, make your icing. 

Mix 100gm salted butter with 6 tablespoons rice malt syrup and 3 tablespoons cocoa powder over a low heat in a saucepan. Once melted and silky leave to cool. When cold and a fudgey texture, whip
with your electric beaters until light and fluffy. Ice the top and sides of your cooled cake.

Enjoy!

If your swimming in ripe bananas, Lunchlady has a almost rotten banana cake with cream cheese icing recipe up on her blog. 

Taz x

Handmade Dress Swap

Ok I'm quite excited. It's taken me a while to get this going as I've been thinking about how to do it to include more people and make it a wonderful time of sharing and celebrating handmade!

Firstly, I'd love for you to share this around. Even if your not taking part, if you think it's a great idea then I'd love you to share the link or image on social media. The more handmade goodness being made and shared the better this world will be, don't you think!

I'm having dreams of this being an annual thing, or even more often. Imagine your wardrobe growing each year with handmade clothes made just for you! Anyway, let's see how this one goes before I start getting too excited!

So what am I talking about?

I'm asking you to join me in a handmade dress swap. Zara and myself exchanged handmade dresses for each other and want to do it again and thought you may too! The dresses in the pics are what we made for each other!

This means, you make a dress for someone else, and in return they send you one too. No money is exchanged, or judgemental looks on how detailed yours is, it's about taking the time to make a one of a kind handmade dress and send it to someone doing the exact same thing for you. It's celebrating the           art of sewing, celebrating sharing and giving, and celebrating handmade!                            

I know some sewers out there are not very confident in making clothes for others. So I'm not going to force you, but I do encourage you to take a bold step and try. Perhaps see this as a good way to practise and push your sewing skills.

For other sewers, dresses are not on their radars. Skirts yes, but not dresses. Then good news, I'd love you to join in too!

And then for some, they love the idea of wearing handmade, supporting handmade but sewing is not a skill they have got or are even interested in. If you would like to be part of swapping a handmade dress, then you can still sign up. I'd ask that you buy and support someone else's handmade business or skill and send a handmade dress not made by you, but by someone else! This may sound uneven,as the price of buying a dress is a lot more than making one, but I want this to be open to people who don't mind buying one, knowing they will receive one and be part of this handmade loveliness! It's your choice! You can choose to do this through an independent business, someone you know who you can pay to make a dress or even a fellow swapper who might be more than happy to make yours while they make one for their partner for some sort of payment! Have a think!

This swap is not about doubting your ability. If you have the skill to sew two pieces together and make a simple a-line dress, then hooray! If your going to get the patterns and zips and buttons and trims, then hooray! It's all welcome! 

I'm a big fan of using opshopped material or vintage sheets, so I encourage you to make your garment with these fabrics too. But if you'd rather head to spotlight, then go ahead! A vintage sheet can turn even the most basic dress or skirt into a stunning piece!

If this sounds like something you want to be a part of, then please leave a comment with your email address below in the comments. Once sign up closes, I will email you will some very important questions that are not there to make life difficult, but instead make this swap the best it can be! These are the questions so you can see what will come next and have a think if this is for you!

Name:

Blog or IG:

Email:

Country:

Are you happy to post overseas?

Are you going to make or buy your garment?

Will you be sending a dress or skirt?

Are you happy to receive a bought garment? It's ok if you don't want that!

Are you happy to receive a skirt? Again, if you just want to make a dress and have someone make one for you, then just say so!

Will you be making/buying to size or do you need a similar/matching sized partner?

What is your size? This is so I can match you up and your partner knows what to cater for!

Ok so sign up will end FRIDAY 27th March that gives us a month to gather more sewers to join our fun!)

Have your garment in the mail no later than FRIDAY 5th JUNE. That gives you up to 2 months to make your dress. You can of course send it earlier!

Share on line your progress and what you receive! You can use the hashtag #handmadedressswap to see what everyone is up to!

And please share this swap around, the more swapping the happier we will all be! What a pretty world we will live in!

Once you have your partners details, whether email or social media, contact them and have a look at their interests. Find out if there are colours, lengths etc they hate on them selves so you don't end up sending something they will not wear. Get to know each other!

It's fun though to keep it a surprise. I shared with my partner that I don't like pastels on me. That's it. She said she likes anything. I knew from her blog she is a vintage sheet lover so made hers out of a lovely fitted sheet! Get creative!

Now for some cheeky stuff...

I'm not asking that everyone who joins this swap needs to follows my blog, but I'm asking that you share the image or link on your blog, IG, Facebook or even an email to someone you think might love this! I will also run a giveaway with the names of people who shared this post or image to win a dress made by me. Just let me know you have if your not going to use the hashtag online! 

If you have any questions please please please don't hesitate to ask! You can email me at tarryncarr@gmail.com