Paula Dress Tutorial

Instructions

1. Place the front bodice pieces and the back bodice piece together, right sides facing.  Close the shoulders

2.  Cross the front bodice pieces and pin the sides, including the back bodice sides.  Sew along.

3. Fold the neckline area and sew along. 

4.  Fold the armhole area and sew along

5.  Waistband:  Sew along the side.
6. Create 3 pleats  1/2 inch wide each.  Iron them flat.

7.  Place the waistband and the bodice together, right sides facing.  Pin and sew along.

8.  Skirt:  Close the sides of the skirt

9.  Place the skit and the waistband together, right sides facing.  Pin and sew along

Finish the skirt by making the hemline.

And it is ready to go!

Step in Time Quilt

My Step in Time Quilt was originally published in Australian Homespun magazine, early 2012. It’s a fun and easy quilt to make and perfect for a beginner who wants to play with some pre-cut fabrics.

It’s also a fun weekend project for a more experienced quilter.

The finished quilt measures approximately 48” x 52”.

If you’d like a bed sized quilt, just by double the amounts of fabric. Rather than using 2 charm packs, you could use a layer cake cut - start the process by cutting the layers into 4 x 5” squares. 

A seam allowance of ¼ inch is included throughout. Requirements are based on fabric 112cm (44” wide).

  
Materials Needed: 

2 x charm packs OR 80 x 5”x 5” squares (I used “It’s a Hoot” by Momo for Moda) 
1.25 yard of a solid fabric – light (I used kona cotton in white) 
1.25 yard of a solid fabric – medium (I used kona cotton in ash) 
0.5 yard of a co-ordinating print fabric for the binding 
* Backing fabric (extra wide) or a pieced backing measuring at least 52” x 56” 
52” x 56” piece of batting 
Neutral thread for piecing & quilting 
Sewing machine with a ¼” foot 
Cutting mat, rotary cutter, ruler 
Iron and ironing board 
General sewing supplies 


Cutting: 
Solid Fabric - Light 
(9) 2.5” strips x WOF 
Crosscut (80) 2.5” x 4.5” 
  
Solid Fabric – Medium 
(9) 2.5” strips x WOF 
Crosscut (80) 2.5” x 4.5” 
  
Charm Packs 
Cut 78 fabric squares to 5” x 4.5” 
Cut each square in half to yield 156 (2.5” x 4.5”) 
  
Binding Fabric 
Cut 5 x 2.25” strips - WOF 
  

Construction: 

Place 1 solid fabric and 1 printed fabric strip with right sides facing together.
Sew along the long edge using a ¼” seam allowance.
Do this for all of the fabric strips.
Press the seam to the printed side. 

  

  

Arrange the blocks so that the solid fabrics look like “steps”. 

  

  

Alternate between 2x white solid and 2x grey solid to make a row of 12 blocks.

In the second row, place the first block in the opposite direction of the block directly above it (with the same solid colour). The second block of the row will be the alternate solid colour (in the opposite direction). 

  

  

Continue arranging the blocks in this alternating manner.

The finished quilt top will have 13 rows of 12 blocks each. 
  


Quilting: 

Press the quilt top well.

Piece the backing if required and press well. 

Lay the backing fabric right side down on a hard surface and use masking tape to secure it, ensuring the fabric is taut but not distorted. 

Layer the batting square over it, then the well pressed quilt top. 

Baste the 3 layers together with safety pins. 

  

  

Quilt as desired - I used a free motion meandering pattern all over the quilt.

  

Lakme Fashion Week Shifts Venue to New Hotel

Mumbai, The venue for the bi-annual Lakme Fashion Week, one of the India’s premier fashion events, has been changed from Grand Hyatt to Palladium Hotel here for the forthcoming edition of Winter-Festive 2014. The five-day fashion extravaganza will start Aug 20. LFW’s new venue spans across the eighth and ninth floors of the Palladium Hotel and promises to startle its guests with many new features and surprises.“Lakme Fashion Week is an experience that fashion patrons look forward to every season and with our new venue partner Hotel Palladium, we will take this experience to next level, while also making the five-day event more accessible for media and guests,” Purnima Lamba, head of Innovation, Lakme, said in a statement.Romil Ratra, director of Palladium Hotel in Lower Parel here, is also ecstatic to host the fashion gala.

“We at Palladium Hotel are absolutely delighted to play host to the iconic LFW brimming with stalwarts from the fashion industry. We are excited to showcase 45,000 sq ft of our two floors of opulent banquet spaces and to have them house the city’s creme de la creme starting August,” said Ratra. The LFW is a platform for a mix of over 100 established and upcoming designers who showcase their fashion collections.

Manish Malhotra to Showcase ‘Portraits’ at Couture Week

Bollywood’s favourite designer Manish Malhotra will showcase a collection titled “Portrait”, inspired by “vintage motifs” that represent neo-brides, at the forthcoming edition of Couture Week here. “Our couture collection 2014 – Portraits – Making Moments Timeless – is inspired by vintage motifs, moments and the beauty of architectural simplicity,” the designer said.“The collection represents the neo-bride that enjoys traditions in today’s modern world making every moment of hers timeless. Portraying a new world of old world that reflects colours, timeless classics and an interesting amalgamation of traditional and modern elements,” he added. Fashion Design Council of India’s (FDCI) six-day India Couture Week (ICW) will be held at the Taj Palace Hotel here from July 15 and the designer will showcase his collection July 19.

Manish Malhotra has collaborated with real estate group Logix for his show. “They are opening state of the art mall where they will also have a special section for couture designers. They are also tying up with PVR to launch the first Imax in Delhi As you know I have a history of cinema and it is great to be associated with someone who understands and loves cinema,” he said. Couture week will showcase collections of designers like Rohit Bal, Manish Arora, Anamika Khanna, Anju Modi, Gaurav Gupta, Monisha Jaising, Rina Dhaka, Sabyasachi Mukherjee and Varun Bahl.