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Fairytale forest dress
Autumn has come here in Finland. I made a playdress for S using a “Riine” dress pattern from the book Mekkotehdas by Etula and Valkeapää-Ikola. The dress has a nice square neckline. I completely forgot to make a slit to the back but luckily enough the neckline is big enough to fit over S’s head even without. The fabric is gorgeous quilting weight Michael Miller cotton called “Fantasy forest”. I also added some piping to the dress over the gathered skirt. I am quite proud of the piping because this was the first time I used it. I also had to make my own piping to get the right color. I…
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Summer dresses for me
I have been too busy to upload any of my finished projects for a while, so I decided to combine all the rest of the summer dresses I made this summer. The first one is my first Lekala dress, made with my measurements. The dress came out quite ok and I did not have to do many adjustments. However, I think that my choice of pattern could have been better. I don’t think that the dropped waist suits me very well, as I have a long back and short legs. Luckily adding a belt improves things I have completely fallen in love with the book Sy! Urban Collection by Jenny Hellström.…
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Grey Lily
I have wanted to have a relaxed linen dress for a while. I found some end-of-roll fabric that the salesperson said was most probably some kind of linen-silk mixture. The fabric has a slight silk shine to it but also some roughness due to the linen. At home I noticed that the label said “Do not wash”. Arrgh! Dry cleaning in Finland is so expensive that I could buy a new dress with the amount I would spend on two dry cleanings. So, I took a risk and dumped the whole fabric in water. I hand washed the fabric and… Guess what? Nothing happened! I bought the Lily Linen Dress pattern…
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Hello! It’s me at last and my new Norah dress
I haven’t yet shown my face in my blog, but here I am at last to show my new Norah dress. We took the pictures yesterday after exiting from the cinema where we went to see a new Finnish action comedy called Big Game. The tunic works best with some leggings. I have also worn it with a tee-shirt under it or with a cardigan and the outfit looks nice in both ways. The weather was finally warm and sunny, as you can see, but I still carried a button-up shirt just in case. The pattern is Norah dress from a wonderful book Sy! Urban Collection by Jenny Hellström. I originally…
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Looking for gingerbread house… or red clovers
I fell in love in the “Old Fashioned Beauty” dress in Ottobre 3/2013. S’s closet is bursting with dresses, but there’s always room for this pretty little thing. I found the cotton in Kangastukku and initially was not impressed with it. However, after sewing the dress I really like the outcome. There is actually some vintage ribbon to make tribute to the name of the pattern. I have an acquaintance whose hobby is to find owners to the old stuff found in cupboards of people that don’t need them (usually because they have recently passed-away). She knows that I do a lot of sewing and now passes me bundles of little treasures…
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Twirly polkadots
I bought some lightweight polyester polkadot fabric already year or two ago and found it really hard to find any pattern for it. I had almost forgotten the fabric in my cupboard, but when I saw this pillowcase dress on Burda (07/2014) I knew I already had fabric for it. I did not want to make lining for the dress – read: did not have any suitable lining fabric in my stash, so instead of lining the dress, I finished the armholes with some white satin bias tape. Since the polkadot fabric is not see-through in any way, the lining was not really needed. A white satin ribbon finished the…
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Sweet dreams in sweet nightgown
I think that there is something special in the old-fashioned long nightgowns. After seeing a picture of Olabelhe’s Hannah I knew that S must have it. Crisp white cotton with subtle pattern was perfect for the nightgown. Sleeveless gown suits well for the warm summer nights. The end result reminds me of little Clara’s nightgown in the Nutcracker ballet.
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Arrrr… pirate birthday
I have never before arranged a themed birthday party in my life. However, my pirate-loving son is turning eight soon and we decided to organize a pirate-themed costume party. I decided to be ambitious and sew a pirate captain costume for my son. I made a pirate coat and turn-up cuffs using some cheap faux-leather. I combined them with a sash made of unbleached sheet cotton and some old leather belts I found in a flea market. I made a Jack Sparrow type of scarf using red sheet cotton and some beads and some coins a got from a cheap H&M coin-necklace. Hat was originally an old felt hat that…
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Waiting for the lilies
We found some lily-of-the-valleys right next to our house. They will be blooming very soon and there is plenty to be picked and brought in to bring some of their lovely scent indoors. S wears my first version of the Olabelhe Miranda with which I got caught in mistake in the pattern and cut a skirt that was too narrow. However, S always needs play dresses, so I finished the dress by gathering the narrower skirt and adding a little bit of a ruffle to the hem plus two bows at the sides. I am not particularly happy with the dress. I think it would look nicer made either a bit…
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Graduation day with sunshine
A relative of ours graduated on Saturday and we went to congratulate her for getting her degree. S had one of her new Miranda dresses on with a white bolero, since the morning at home was slightly chilly. In the picture S has just spotted a squirrel at our front yard. When we arrived at the place of celebration some 250 km North the sun was shining and it was very warm. We left out the bolero and put a white pinafore with the dress. I had made the pinafore using the bodice from the Miranda dress as a starting pattern and added the apron parts and some little ties…
