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ME-MADE MAY 2021: Rediscovering your me-made wardrobe
There are so many challenges going on in the sewing world, but one that stands out and that nearly everyone knows is Me-Made May set up by Zoe of SoZoeWhatDoYouKnow in 2010. Since then May has become a month of discovering new sewing accounts on Instagram, getting inspired by fabulous makes of the whole community. While it may seem that sharing your outfits for the duration of the month is the main idea, it’s not the case though – the goal is for you to set your own challenge (make a pledge) that will help you get to know your handmade wardrobe, discover what you wear the most, which items…
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An exercise in tracing and cutting flimsy fabric: Burdastyle asymetric trench coat
If you saw my Make Nine on Instagram, you know one of the items on the list was a drapey trench coat. I didn’t have a specific pattern in mind, but put an image of a Burdastyle 02/2018 pattern in dusky pink drapey fabric there as a possible contender. I was also considering the Victory patterns Ulysses. But then I saw a gorgeous trench coat made by Vesna of @kelerabeus on Instagram and was instantly drawn to the asymetric hem, the soft lapels, and the back pleat. She used another Burdastyle pattern, this time from the 04/2018 issue. I own this one and have considered the pattern before, but until…
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Comfortable and cosy: Lockdown fashion with my favourite jersey patterns and patternhacks
Like so many of us, I have been spending more time at home than I would like these past few months. This has had a profound effect on my wardrobe. Usually I am a very dressy kind of girl, no matter the occasion. Pretty dresses or blouses and skirts were always my go to. However, these are not the most practical to wear at home, or rather I do not feel like wearing them, saving them for something more special. Like… I don’t know… actually going to the office sometime this year? Anyway, back to my working-from-home wardrobe, which now consists mainly of leggings and jersey tops. I’ve made a…
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Of koalas and honeycombs: Andrea Mowry’s Wool & Honey sweater
As you could have read in one of my previous posts, at the start of this whole Covid-19 business, I got into knitting. After the success of my ginormous Find Your Fade shawl I decided it was time to try my first sweater. Well, I say first… I knit a couple in my teens, however, always under my grandma’s supervision and with lots of help. This time, it was all up to me, as grandma was 150 kms away. While it tends to be a newbie knitter’s first choice, I decided a plain sweater from chunky wool wouldn’t really be my thing. For ages I’ve been drooling over Andrea Mowry‘s…
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Tie the ties: Liesl + Co. Belgravia dress in festive red
With Christmas just around the corner, I thought I’d share this festive little number made from wine-red ponte roma fabric from Dům látek. I bought it in the autumn with some fabric money I received from my colleagues at work and I knew I wanted to turn it into a comfortable, but classy dress. As soon as I came across the Belgravia dress by Liesl + Co., I knew it would be that one! I love waist ties, but this dress takes it to the next level. The waist ties are integrated into the front bodice pieces which have enough excess volume to substitute for bust darts. When tied, this…
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Ravello + Elodie = Ravlodie? The best of two wrap dresses
You know how it is. You spot a new pattern, instantly fall in love with it, impulse buy it, then you sew it up, put it on, and the thing that all sewists dread comes to pass – the fruit of your hours-worth of labour is just a bit, well, underwhelming. Or just not quite right for you. When the Sew Over It Summer Dreaming E-book came out, I was really drawn to it. All the pretty colours and the Indian backdrop made me snap it up immediately after release. I particularly loved the Ravello dress, especially the short version Lisa wears made from the mustard Atelier Brunette double gauze.…
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Stripes and pintucks: a Burdastyle shirtdress love affair
Shirtdresses are one of my favourite things to wear. They can look really smart, buttoned up to the top, or more casual when left more open, with the sleeves rolled up. This Burdastyle pattern from the 01/2010 issue is a particular favourite. It features beautiful pintucks along the button band and a lovely pleated skirt, a mandarin collar , and narrow cuffs with a bias-bound placket. When I saw this shirting from a top Czech manufacturer in Textile Mountain, which sell deadstock fabric in Prague, I knew it was destined for this pattern, with a few modifications. For this version, I drafted a rounded collar and used the mandarin collar…
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Lockdown knitting: Find Your Fade shawl by Andrea Mowry
My grandma is a big knitter. Everytime I wanted a sweater, she would knit me one, she even sometimes knits for my friends. She tried to teach me when I was a teenager. I managed a couple of scarves and a sweater for myself, but I would run to her or mum for help everytime anything other than straight knitting was involved. Then I got into sewing and forgot about knitting altogether. This spring, however, amidst lockdown, when I was paradoxically extremely busy with work, uni, and another course I was doing, I didn’t really feel like sewing most of the time, but still wanted to do something with my…
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Thinking of getting into sewing? Here are some tips for newbie sewists
Chances are, those of you reading this blog already know a thing or two about sewing. However, once in a while when people find out I sew my own clothes, they tell me how they would like to learn as well, but find it too intimidating. So I thought it might be useful to put my pitch for sewing as the perfect hobby into writing along with some tips for beginners. Grab a cuppa, sit back, and relax, because this might take a while. Why pick up the needle and wire up the sewing machine at all? First of all, because mastering the craft of sewing allows you to create…
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More flowers and v-shaped back necklines: Burdastyle summer dress
I mentioned in my last post about the Rifle Paper Co. dress that it wasn’t the first time I have made this bodice. So here it is, along with the original panelled skirt, made from a lovely printed cotton from my local fabric shop Nanitce. The pattern is from this year’s April issue of Burda, and I fell in love with it as soon as I saw it. The patterns in the magazine can be a bit of a hit or miss sometimes, but this one is definitely worth putting your Sherlock Holmes hat on and finding the correct pattern pieces amidst the mess of intersecting lines on the patternsheet.…
