plus size vintage and the daily wardrobe peek

There's an interesting discussion over on Gertie's blog about what is plus size anyway. You might want to check out her blog if you like vintage stuff, she's working her way through Vogue's guide to better sewing from 1952 and has done a few posts about fit and adjustment and sewing from vintage patterns. She's doing really well at including the plus size angle in an area notoriously small sized! (Thanks to Kate for putting me onto her!)

And while we are on sites I am currently loving, I am addicted to frocks & frou frou. Lilli posts great clear pictures of her fabulous and extensive wardrobe, plus info about where she buys and some shopping experiences. Already through her site I've finally found some really good reasonably priced leggings (sadly they are currently out of stock of larger sizes but I am sure they'll be fixing that soon). Lilli is not as big as me but I just love how she dresses and her extensive shopping knowledge. I'm hoping she'll head over here and do a few posts on Large for us. (Thanks to Kim for discovering this site for me!)

but you can call me Taph

I'm Taphophile. It's Greek for 'lover of cemeteries' and is not my real name. :)

This is a fairly typical scene - unwinding with knitting and a glass of wine at the end of an exhausting day frugalling (op-shops, garage sales and fetes). Out of shot is my fella, known in blogland as the Old Flame, and my mate The Shopping Sherpa (she took the photo). They love a bargain as much as I do and we make a formidable team. They may well pop up in future posts.

Knitting is my natural resting state.

I cannot remember a time when I did not knit and sew. My earliest memories are of "helping" Mum by organising and reorganising her button jar and knitting needles while she crafted our clothes. Nowadays I knit because I love it and sew because I have to.

The fabric stash used to exceed the yarn stash by a very large factor, but with a bigger disposable income and the greater availability of larger-sized clothes (and the follow-on effect for op-shopping) I haven't needed to sew as much. There is still a considerable amount of fabric lying around just itching to be garmented (totally a word), though. Lately circumstances have changed and I need to alter some old clothes and make some new ones. Rummage -Renovate - Refashion is my new motto.

My main blog is Unravelled (mostly knitting) and I contribute to the Canberra op-shopping blog I Op Therefore I Am. If you're on Ravelry, I'm Taphophile over there as well.

Introducing Christy

An Introduction:

Hello out there! My name is Christy, otherwise known as MommaOnTheMountain. I have been married for years now, and we have 4 gorgeous kids ranging from 14 to 4. I have sewn crafty stuff and basic kids clothes for years. I started attempting to sew pants for myself last spring when planning a vacation. That went fairly poorly, and I didn’t take the pants I made with me.

When I first made the decision that I would like to be a contributor for this blog, I was excited…then nervous and a bit scared. I have had my own blog for nearly two years, and enjoy writing about all things family, crafty, and important to me. However the one thing that I rarely address is my size. I don’t like to talk about how hard it is to find clothes that fit right, and when I do they really are out of our family budget so once in a great while I will splurge.
I am going to write a four part series about sewing for myself. I have sewn things for my daughter (who fits standard sizes and is 6 years old) and have tried sewing pants for myself without much success. So my first order of business is to choose a pattern that that will best suit my body type. I truly want to find a pattern that will cover my backside all the way up to my waist, be wide enough in the legs to accommodate my thick legs (I am on the average an American size 22 waist with a size 26 leg) and be comfortable and look flattering. That is a tall order!
I have intermediate sewing skills, and look forward to a challenge. If you have any suggestions, I would welcome them! I have a Baby Lock Crafters Deluxe sewing machine, am about 30 minutes drive from a decent sized town, and 90 minutes drive from Portland, Oregon…so supplies aren’t too far off.

Here is my plan for postings with Large:

1. Pattern Choice (and all that encompasses)
2. Fabric decisions (function, price, and availability)
3. Sewing process (fumbles, foibles, and successes)
4. Final product and pattern review

I hope you will travel with me down this road, share your thoughts, provide tips, and offer advice. I don’t think that clothing oneself should be so darned difficult! Even though we are large, we are beautiful…and I don’t think we should ever forget that!

ta~ta for now!~

hello from bunnybum...

i don't like being the center of attention. never have. birthdays, anniversaries, graduations all freak me out. that's why i want to get this intro over with and get on with things.
i have been meaning to post on this here bloggy blog for a while now, only, um, i can't write. i am quite self conscious about my undeniable lack of writing ability. my blog relies heavily on photos, tutorials and recipes (don't go over there, it is boring and i hardly ever post anymore). seriously, just skip my posts here on large if you are generally offended by extra commas, overuse of parenthesis (i like them) and abrupt changes in tense. however, i can sew, i can craft (i must craft, actually), i am a mama, i am sarcastic, i am a photographer, i am a good cook, i am a great friend, i am excited, i am large (extra large as a matter of fact) and i am really looking forward to getting to know this large community.

hello.

beth ditto 101

Let's face it - to have a blog about fashion, larger lives, and people who are firmly stomping outside whatever boxes our culture may set, it wouldn't make sense not to have a quick cheat sheet about Beth Ditto.

Lead singer for the Gossip, she's also been very vocal about the fashion industry - check out her advice column for the Guardian, her reply to Topshop wanting to use the band, and featuring the likes of Yves St Laurent, Louis Vuitton & Prada, an amazing fashion spread for Pop magazine .
(Sidenote - if anyone knows what the heck Prada are doing to mohair to make it come out with that laminated look, do tell in the comments!)

Words to live by:

"Just remember - fashion is something that is prepackaged, bought and sold, but style, like art, is a primal instinct. My number-one theory in life is that style is proportional to your lack of resources - the less you have, the more stylish you're likely to be."

Rock on, Beth Ditto.