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Pandas, wrist warmers and a suspender skirt
One of the S’s favourite blouses is the yellow one that I made of soft cotton lawn since it has a pattern of cute little pandas on it. The pattern for the blouse comes from Yoshiko Tsukioris wonderful book Girly style wardrobe. Now that I’m leafing through the book once more, I don’t understand why this is the only pattern I’ve sewed from this book. The book is so full of super cute dresses and tunics! The suspender skirt pattern I got from here. Since the pattern contained only rectangular pieces there wasn’t a pattern sheet, only the measurements, that were enough. Originally the suspenders weren’t sewn into place but were…
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Sewing space organization
I feel lucky to have a dedicated space for my sewing and crafting hobby after years of sewing on the kitchen table. It was only last summer that I got tired of not having a suitable sewing table and I dragged old inherited Lundia bookshelves out of our basement and painted them white. I had to go around a bit to find the tables that fit into the shelves and sell our old bookshelves that occupied the space before but then I had this: Now my machines, Bernina 1, Bernina 2 and the newest addition, my Janome can reside here permanently and all the supplies are at an arms reach.…
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The quest for the Ultimate pants (part 1)
I vividly remember the first pair of trousers I made. They were shorts we had to sew at school and made of horrendous bright blue patterned quilting cotton. We had to use pattern that was too big for at least for me (I was about 12 years old and super skinny) and the teacher never suggested doing any fitting. A few years later I tried again and made a pair of sporty cargo pants. I chose the smallest size and ended up handing the finished pair to my mom since they were way too big. If the jeans I posted before don’t count I don’t have many good experiences with sewing trousers.…
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Roses, stripes and a useful sewing trick for piping
I just could not resist the powder pink stretch cotton with black and white roses when I saw it in the fabric shop. I feel increasingly girly now that spring has arrived and this fabric just shouted “Make a skirt out of me!”. So I did. I used again the Zinnia pattern with the deepened pleats. If you want to do the same, just cut the pattern along the center of each pleat and add about two cm extra. However, you cannot add much if you want to be able to cut the pattern from lengthwise folded fabric. To add some interest I added white piping between the waistband and the…
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Grey hoodie
I sewed myself a hoodie using the Burda young 7148 as a pattern.
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Ruffles and roses
May I present what is, on my opinion, the cutest tunic I’ve made so far! I used the pattern Shy eyes from Ottobre 6/2016 magazine as I have done before and cute floral viscose jersey with some added trims and frills from light orange viscose jersey. I always have felt awkward combining different patterns and colors but I think this time I succeeded very well. The orange jersey I had in storage was meant for something else but the colour fits perfectly with the colour of the roses in the main fabric. The tunic was also really easy to sew and my fingers are itching for me to continue making more of…
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Stretch cotton fabric from Tallinn and what became of it (part 2)
Funny how sometimes a pattern magazine manages to exceed all expectations. Ottobre design 1/2016 is a magazine that has a loose cover for so much use. The patterns are quite simple and perfect for different patterned fabrics and can be easily modified. The last blog post contained a pair of trousers from the afore mentioned magazine and this time I have made a dress number 14 called Mimmi. This pattern is an a-line dress with pockets and a lovely boat-shaped neckline. I modified the pattern by removing the need for the center-back zipper by inserting a keyhole opening and a button closure. This makes it easier for S to dress herself…
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Stretch cotton fabric from Tallinn and what became of it (part 1)
S wanted me to buy her some white and pink stretch cotton fabric when we visited Tallinn last spring. The fabric did not at first speak to me at all and it remained in my stash until S needed some trousers. When I saw Mini Sun trousers in Ottobre Design 1/2016 I knew that I had just the fabric. I loved this pattern. I like how the trousers have stretchy waist and the pleats but still have a slim silhouette. I did not change a thing and the trousers fit S like a glove. I had so much fun pattern matching! I don’t know why but it always gives me…
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My favourite Zinnia and the Pussy Bow blouse
This time I want to show you two of my favourite self-made garments. I already mentioned previously that I have made several skirts using Colette Zinnia pattern. This is my favourite one for winter – in fact, I’m wearing it right now! I have used this tweed fabric a lot, since it is super comfortable and doesn’t wrinkle easily. It also drapes well, as you can see. To make most of the fabric that I had I made the pleats in the pattern a bit deeper. Then I wanted to add something extra by sewing a black sating piping to the edge of the waistband and attaching a tab at…
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Tropical leaves aka vintage pattern adventures
I love vintage patterns that have a bit different cuts than can be seen in the modern sewing patterns. However, the images don’t always tell how the final dress actually looks on me so there is some trial and error included. Simplicity 1587 has an interesting bodice and I thought it might work for me. I found this nice rayon with leaf print and got to sewing. The bodice pleating was a pain to do. I did have to rip the pleats away a few times and fit the yoke to the lower part at least twice before the bodice sat right without the fabric pulling into weird directions. Luckily…
