Vogue 8184 Hack

There's Ikea hacks. And beauty hacks. And let's not forget bringing entire financial corporations to their knees with some nifty and well-timed computer system hacks.


The last one might consider itself to be the original and the best. But none of them hold a candle to my Vogue 8184 hack!

Ok, ok, so maybe my hacking hasn't managed to funnel tens of millions of dollars into my bank account (alas!), but I'm still pretty chuffed with my hacking skills. Although, I shall confess that this hack isn't new - I did it on another 8184 way back in the summer of 2011 but since that dress has been worn and washed so many times that the linen is beginning to tear, I thought it was high time for another version.


As far as hacks go, this one is pretty darn easy - I simply extended the length of the shoulder straps when cutting them out, then carefully placed them in a v-configuration at the centre front point. I then tried on the dress, adjusted the straps to the back for the perfect fit, basted them into place and then proceeded with the bodice lining as per usual. Simple, but darn effective!

Project Details
Pattern - Vogue 8184, view B with strap adjustment
Fabric - 2m cotton from GJ's Discount Fabrics (from stash, woo hoo!)
Notions - 35cm invisible zipper (also from stash - double woo hoo!)

Frocktails red party dress

There are Saturday nights when you find yourself in your jimmiejams, eating chips on the couch and watching Bridget Jones's Diary for the 227th time. Those nights are balm to the soul, but not something that I'd generally find myself blogging about. Or admitting to. Please don't tell anybody that I can quote that entire movie. The shame, the shame!


Then there are the Saturday nights when you get to hang out with another 50 sewing bloggers, wearing a frock you have sewn up yourself, living the Frocktails dream! Guess which type of Saturday night I just had? Let's put it this way: being eaten by Alsatians whilst listening to Sad FM was *not* on the agenda!

It was a pretty darn fabulous night, and the dresses had to be seen to be believed. It was an honour to hang out with so many talented and wonderful ladies, and I got to meet so many people that I've admired for so long. If you'd like to see some great pics of the girls and their frocks, Poppykettle took some marvellous photos, so pop on over there and drool yourself silly at the gorgeousness on display.


I had a bit of a dress disaster prior to the event. I had started making Vogue 8900, and it was all going along swimmingly until it came to doing the side vents (which was the last bit I had to do, natch). Try as I might, I could not figure out a way to make (a) the bias binding fit and (b) get the vents to sit flat. After checking out other versions on Pattern Review, I discovered this was a common problem, but that wasn't going to help me when my dress had gone from hero to zero faster then you can say "Frocktails Panic!"


I had 3 days left to make a dress. On a zero budget. And it had to look fab. What was I to do???


Like any good seamstress, I hit up the stash. I found 1.5m of silk stretch blend, and then rummaged through my pattern collection to find a party-worthy pattern. Thankfully McCall's 6320 came to the rescue - I'd already made one version of this in a green cotton a few years back, so the sewing came easily. And whilst I may have been hand stitching the lining in at 6 in the morning on the day of the event, it was eventually done - phew!


No alterations were made to this dress, although I am kind of wishing that I had gone for the pleated sleeve option rather than the plain set in sleeve. Next time! It was so comfy to wear, and I felt suitably glam, which was great - in a room full of sewing wonders, you want to feel like you measure up (ha! bad sewing pun!) to all the talent surrounding you.


And let's give a round of applause to the stash, eh? In a year of frugality, having a little extra tucked away saved my bacon!


Project Details:
Pattern - McCall's 6320, version C
Fabric - 1.5m silk stretch blend from The Fabric Store
Notions - 35cm invisible zipper, hook and eye, lining and interfacing

Monthly Menu Plan - April/May

Late last year, in the Christmas sales, I bought myself a slow/fast cooker, hoping that this final purchase would serve us well in our Year of Green Frugality. Four months into using this wonder machine (which is a pressure cooker and slow cooker in one), and I am pleased as punch (hmm? wonder if I could use it to make punch?) to announce that when it comes to saving money and time whilst also creating amazing meals, the fast/slow cooker gets an A+!


Every other Monday I use the slow cooker component to make a casserole. The quantity it makes is enough to serve 8 people - or, feed us one night, with plenty put in the freezer for another, plus left-overs for lunch! I usually bulk up the recipes with extra root vegetables/beans/lentils, and then serve them with some sort of grain like couscous, quinoa, brown rice... you get the idea. One meal equalling many mouths fed is the sort of equation that makes me happy indeed.


I've also been using it to cook all manner of pulses in the pressure cooker component. Not only is this the cheapest way of cooking pulses (especially when you buy them in bulk from the local bulk bin store), but it is saving the use of tins, which pleases the greenie inside me greatly! In fact, I've become the sort of sad person who is constantly scouring the internet for recipes involving turtle beans or chickpeas, just so I have an excuse to pull out my favourite kitchen appliance!


Now, having read over my waxing lyrical, I can guess that some of you are wondering if this is a sponsored post. Not at all, I can assure you. I am just really happy with my fast/slow cooker, and wanted to share with you all how useful I have found it. It did cost a little bit to buy, but it's already saved us lots of money - and time in the kitchen! If I could send it a bunch of flowers to thank it for it's service, I would!

Ok, enough blathering - on to the menu plan!


Week One:
Monday - Lemony lentil soup with crispy kale
Tuesday - Lamb and chickpea stew on couscous
Wednesday - Black eyed bean and vegetable soup
Thursday - Lentil cottage pies with buttered corn cobs
Friday - Tofu burgers with spiced wedges
Saturday - Sichuan gai lan with brown rice
Sunday - Moroccan sweet potato bake


Week Two:
Monday - Ribolitta
Tuesday - Spiced chicken tagine with dates and chickpeas
Wednesday - Paneer and vegetable curry on brown rice
Thursday - Roasted sweet potato, pea and zucchini risotto with rocket salad
Friday - Roast chicken
Saturday - Out for dinner...yay, night off!
Sunday - Thick vegetable soup


Week Three:
Monday - Cardamom pumpkin soup with Italian scones
Tuesday - Red wine stew with polenta
Wednesday - Spiced vegetable pilaf
Thursday - Pea soup with cheese toasties
Friday - Mascarpone and bacon pasta with green salad
Saturday - Spinach and ricotta cannelloni
Sunday - Chorizo, vegetable and black bean soup


Week Four:
Monday - Tuna meat balls with spaghetti and green salad
Tuesday - Massaman beef curry
Wednesday - Spinach and corn pasties with garden salad
Thursday - Spinach, bacon and tomato risotto with rocket salad
Friday - Vegetable macaroni and cheese with green salad

Meet the Fabric Stash

Hi! Come on in, sit down, help yourself to tea, and have a look at my fabric stash (and what could possibly be the dullest photo to ever feature on this blog):

Hmm. I've seen worse, but I've also seen far better. As part of our Year Of Green Frugality, I have put myself on a fabric buying ban. A while ago I had a big fabric sort out, donated what I knew I wouldn't use to Handmaker's Factory, and only kept the fabric that had been assigned a pattern. So now the goal is to only sew from the stash this year - I'll be using what I have, saving money and finally be able to see what an empty shelf in the sewing buffet looks like!


The majority of the fabric in the buffet is for projects for me. Tyger, however, does need quite a few new things made for this year. Seriously, the kid is growing like we douse her porridge with fertiliser each morning! So once I have used up the small pile of stash that is assigned to her, I shall allow fabric purchases made with only her projects in mind. Plus she might kill me if she misses out on any sewing action. Hee, hee!


I was worried, when I first came up with this idea, that I would feel restricted by the lack of new materials, but having sorted through the stash properly I've realised that every piece of fabric is in there because I love it. In a way it was quite lovely to do - seeing some of the fabrics again was like meeting old friends once more. I'm glad I did the de-stash when nobody was home, though, because I'm pretty sure I was babbling to myself, exclaiming at far-too-regular intervals witticisms like "Hey you! Looking good! Let me sew you up and we can look good together, baby!"


Speaking of looking good, how's this for a cute first cab off the rank project in the year of great money saving?  Fingers crossed Melbourne actually gets some summer sunshine this year, so me and this fine looking frock can do that look-good-together thing!

The Year of Green Frugality

Summer's over, school is back, and it's time to get back to work. And, in my case, to put my new year's resolutions up on the blog!


This year is all about saving. Saving money, and knocking that mortgage down, down, down, and saving the earth by being as environmentally friendly as we possibly can.


We've always been a pretty green-minded family, but the last couple of years have almost had me in a panic regarding the state of our earth. It is so disappointing to see our elected leaders sit on their hands whilst Rome, and everywhere else, burns.


However, there is plenty that I can do as an individual to reduce my impact. Not coincidentally, a lot of green ways are also very frugal ways, so I'm going to bring the two together and make this our Year of Green Frugality!


The rules are as follows:

 - Abide by the 3 R's (reduce, reuse, recycle) as much as humanly possible.


 - Think very long and hard before making a purchase. Nothing is to be bought unless it is truly needed. Ask the following questions: Do I really need this? Will it serve more than one purpose? Can it be passed on to others in good condition when we no longer require it?


 - If the answer to any of those is yes, then the purchase can be made. It should be, however, at least one of the following: ethically made, second-hand and/or from an indie producer.


- Make as much as possible in the home. This will range from jam to clothes to laundry liquids. Not only will I be saving money, but I will value the things I have produced from high quality materials and will also be able to avoid environmentally destructive ingredients such as palm oil. This means that you'll probably be getting a hand-made or edible gift for your birthday. Hope you like it!


It all sounds a bit full-on, doesn't it? But truly, a lot of this is just about being more organised with my time. Mondays are going to be devoted to cleaning and cooking, so when I come home tired and stressed later in the week I can grab that pre-cooked meal from the freezer, rather than resorting to take-away and squillions of plastic containers. Which I will eat whilst admiring my mostly clean apartment. Win win!


Speaking of plastic, we are trying to avoid it as much as possible as well (like that time we went plastic-free). I'll be hitting up our local health food store and buying lots of our food from their bulk bins. It's going to be great - cooking as much as possible with fresh, non-packaged produce is going to be good for landfill AND good for my tummy!


I'm also on a mission to use up the craft supplies that I have here before even thinking about getting more. I have enough fabric for my wardrobe needs to last me a while, so I really want to work through that before I even think about justifying any new purchases. I had a major clean out last year of my fabrics and yarn, so the only things I have left have already been allocated to particular projects. Tyger will need some new things, though, so I'll have to just get my fabric kicks making things for her! I am banned from buying any new patterns, though - I have enough to sink a ship, and should really what I have. It's going to be tough, but I am determined not to crack!


We have also decided as a family to continue with some big hitting carbon reductions, such as remaining car free (using bikes, feet or public transport to get where we need to go) and to restrict meat to two meals a week, max, being veggie or vegan the rest of the time. The Galumph and I have also decided that rather than buying things for each other (things! things! the last thing we need is more things!) we will give experiences instead. Rather than a gift which we will have to find a home for and never end up using, we're going to go to concerts or exhibitions instead. My house will remain uncluttered, and I'll get a romantic night out with my husband. Ahhh, I'm liking the sound of this already!


So watch this space and see how we fare with our Year of Green Frugality. It's officially starting today - I'll keep you up to date here and on Instagram with our progress. If you have any tips or advice for me, please share - I'd love to hear your thoughts on ways we can reduce our impact!

Baked Cinnamon Donuts Recipe

I have been mucking around with this recipe for the last few weeks, and I have finally cracked it. The challenge, you see, was to create the perfect donut recipe using items that I would already have in my kitchen pantry. I didn't want to be rushing down to the supermarket trying to buy yoghurts or buttermilk, or essentially anything that came in a plastic container, because we are once again trying to be as plastic free as possible here in the Jorth household this year.


We're also living a year of frugality, trying to both boost our bank account *and* be as green as possible. Everything - even donut recipes - now need to meet our green frugality standards!


So you can imagine how excited I was when I created a lovely green donut recipe, with all ingredients coming in either recyclable glass or paper. But the best thing is the donuts have that essential stick-to-the-roof-of-your-mouth-ness that only a really good cup of tea or coffee can dislodge. It's the number one thing I look for in a donut, and now the perfect recipe is mine, all mine! Cue evil laugh, and get baking, kids!


Baked Cinnamon Donuts
60 grams butter, melted
1/2 cup raw caster sugar
1 1/2 cups plain flour
2 tsp baking powder
Pinch of salt
1 tsp nutmeg, or more to taste
1 egg, beaten
1/2 cup milk


Cinnamon Topping:
20 grams butter, melted
1/2 cup raw caster sugar
1 tbsp. ground cinnamon


1 - Preheat oven to 180 C. Generously coat a donut pan with some of the melted butter.


2 - Combine the caster sugar, plain flour, baking powder, salt and nutmeg in a bowl and mix well.


3 - Mix the egg, milk and butter together in a small jug. Make a well in the centre of the flour mixture, and pour in the egg mixture. Stir well to combine.


4 - Carefully, using both a spoon and a knife, add the mixture to the donut pans, making sure you don't overfill them. Bake for 15 - 18 minutes, or until golden brown.


5 - Meanwhile, add the raw caster sugar and cinnamon together in a shallow bowl, and mix well. When the donuts are fresh out of the oven, dip each donut top in the melted butter, then press into the cinnamon sugar mixture. Place on a rack to cool, then eat - that's if you can wait that long!


Makes 8 donuts.