The finished coat

I'm so happy to show you this coat. I have been working on it for about a month - on and off - and now it's finally finished! - Just in time for the cold and the snow that hit Denmark this weekend.

I wrote a blogpost about the construction process here, so this post will be all about the pictures and me rambling about what I've learned.

I chose a simple, classic sillouette for my first babysteps into coatmaking. I'm hoping a classic coat will last me more than one season - and that all the tailoring will make it look good for more than one season too..

So what did I learn from this project?

- I learned a lot of the basics of tailoring. I now know the dirty secrets of a good coat and the amount of time it takes to make it.
- I learned that using horsehair canvas the right places will add stability and a more professional look to your garment. The horsehair canvas also helps to shape the fabric properly.
- I learned to use beeswax to reinforce the thread when sewing by hand.
- I learned to use sleeveheads. I can't understand why I haven't done that before. Sleeveheads are from now on, a must do for my slopy shoulders when sewing a jacket or coat.
- I learned how to interline a coat for warmth

In the next two photos you can see what a sleevehead and shoulderpads can do for a coat.

I really like that the front piece is sewn to the backpiece like this:

Here you can see how I lined my coat. It's a navy-black twill weave acetate lining I've used. The lining is hiding all the tailoring made on this coat and the interlining.

I used two large snaps to close the coat properly. I guess, I could have gone with just the belt, but since this is a wintercoat, I feel it's nice with a possibility for a proper closing.

What would I do different next time I make a coat?
- I would use horsehair canvas down the front instead of fusible interfacing. I think I would still use fusible interfacing on the facings and the hemlines of the sleeves and coatbody. In this coat I only used horsehair canvas on the lapels, and for shoulder reinforcement and in the collar.

Have you got any good advice for coatmaking?

Have you planned any coats this season - or have you already made one? Please spill the beans!


Happy sewing


Mette

The Top Issue

Just stopped by to say hi!

I have been having a big crush on Instagram lately and have been neglecting my poor blogg. I still like to write blogpost and connect with you guys, and I shall try to make it up to you. In the meantime I'll show you what I have been up to top-wise in the last few month. Without futher ado I present to you the Sewbluedresses Top Issue:


Cotton silk pleated t-shirt

This is the The Pleated T-shirt by Salme Patterns made in a lovely cotton-silk blend I bought from a new danish on-line fabric shop called Fabricminds. Oh how I love this shop already. They carry a nice selection of designer and high end fabrics. Enough to feed all your dreams. They ship to Denmark, Norway and Sweeden but do contact them for shipping information if you live elsewhere. I made the top a year ago as a wearable muslin in a viscose of some sort, but this fabric is an entirely different league (no, I do not get sponsered by Fabricminds - but is very much open to the idea:))


Archer in the garden

Another favorite pattern of mine - and my go-to pattern for classic, oversize shirt is the Archer Shirt from Grainline Studio . I've made this pattern 3 times before and knew it would be right for this drapy viscose fabric (and yes it is a homemade selfdrafted lace cami under the shirt). This is possibly the best viscose fabric I've bought and I knew I had to use every last scrap of it - therefore I used the rest for this:

Burda blouse for hot weather

I knew I wanted a v-neck so I browsed through my old Burdastyle Magazines. I found a tuniq in the plus size section of the march edition from 2013. I cut the pattern shorter, lifted the v-neck by 3 cm and took it in a bit at the sides. It's an oversize blouse so I wasn't too concerned about fit. I only had enough of the expensive designer viscose for the front so I bought some plain viscose from Stof og Stil - and what a remarkable difference in quality. I'm sure the front of the blouse will hold up beautifully, but not too sure about the back...

Closet workhorse Archer in white

This is yet another version of the Archer pattern from Grainline Studio. This time made in gorgeous white Liberty fabric I bought of Ebay. I've actually never owned a classic white shirt so it was about time. I made it back in may and have used it a lot since.

Simplicity 1366: duck egg blue sandwashed silk

This is yet another version of my beloved Simplicity 1366. I've made it two times before and it's a good basic pattern to show off nice fabric. I like to use simple patterns when I use difficult (expensive) fabrics. This is sandwashed silk from Stof og Stil. It's a lovely quality and wasn't too shifty to cut into. I made sure to do all the right things. Staystich, french seams etc. As a simple design feature I cut a back slit late one night - which by mistake ended up in the front.. This hasn't prevented me from using this blouse a lot - but next time I'm cutting slits I'll make sure they go on the right side.

Simplicity 1366: the cheap version

This doesn't come near the silk simplicity 1366. It's a (cheap) viscose twill from Stof og Stil. I really like the pattern and the colours but the fabric just feel too cheap. I have only been wearing this a couple of times since I made it, so I guess that the price pr. time a garment gets worn can be high - eventhough the fabric initially was cheap. (good excuse to buy better fabric from now!).

Afternoon Blouse

This is the Afternoon Blouse pattern by Jennifer Lauren Vintage I'm not really that into vintage patterns, but I really like this shape. I've made it twice so far and maybe I'll make one more in plain black. For this version I used viscose crepe from Stof og Stil . I like the texture of this fabric and plan to use aaaall the colours available.

Plantain scoop neck tee

I have a few tried and true knit t-shirt patterns that works everytime for me. This is the (free) Plantain t-shirt from Deer and Doe. I like the scoop neck and the slighly flared style. Makes good room for them hips:). The fabric is a nice viscose jersey from Stofdepotet. I have been hoarding this fabric and have been saving every little scrap to use for details in t-shirts and so on.

Pineapple Plantain

This is another Plantain
This time with short sleeves. I used this really cool pineapple fabric from Aime Comme Marie bought at Metermeter. I think the print looks really cool, but I'm so disappointed in the quality of the fabric. I'm not too sure it will hold op in the wash for more than a few times. I washed the fabric before cutting into it and it already looks a bit frumpy (and so do I, when I think of the price..)

Lace cami

I love lace - it ads a bit of everyday luxury. This is a stretch lace bought locally at Rita Stoffer (no website). It stretches beautifully and feels wonderful. I used and old tanktop to make the pattern. It's a fast make and will surely not be the last lacetop I make.


Alice Top

The fabric shop Tessuti from Australia also sell their own pdf patterns. I downloaded the Alice Top from their website. The patterned fabric is thrifted silk crepe de chine from a dress and the solid is of unknown content from stash. I'm however not to sure this style suits me, but will give it a go this summer.


Sutton Blouse by True Bias

The last one - and then I'll shut up - promise! - is the Sutton Blouse by True Bias. Kelli from True Bias is the genious behind The Hudson Pants. The Sutton Blouse is for drapy fabrics and feature a yoke, v-neck and a flowy sillouette. I made this using a subtle leopard jaquard weave white viscose from Citystoffer. Citystoffer only offers a small part of their fabrics online, but do pay them a visit if you are in Aarhus. They have a great selection of dressweight fabrics. The Sutton Blouse came together easily, but you have to make sure, you are precise, when finishing the v-neck. It's a great blouse for warm weather, but can also be used with a cardi, when the weather cools down again.

So, that's it! I guess I have enough tops for the time being (who am I kidding - never enough!). I'll make a childrens issue soon - and maybe a dress version..

Have you made any sundresses yet? I'm always pondering if I'll bother to make a sundress here in the danish climate, since there's rarely (and sadly) any occation to wear it, but this year I think I'll make one since we are going to France on holiday! I'm so excited - better make a sundress with enough room in the stomach area since both cheese and fabricshopping is on the to-do-list:) Have you got any favorite sundress pattern and can you recommend any good fabric shops in Paris?


Happy sewing

Mette

Cuteness overload

A cute kid and pandas in the same picture - it doesn't get any cuter than that!

I'm on a kids sewing binge and I finished this little outfit during my easter break.

The fabric for the dress is of course from Stofdepotet - no surprise here. This particular fabric is not available online anymore, but this is the same quality and really cute too. The fabric is a summer sweatshirt knit and maybe best for sweatshirts and Hudson Pants. Now, in our house there is not a great need for another pair of Hudson Pants at the moment so instead I made a dress and received the mommy of the year award - pink, pandas and spots will qualify you if you are interested:)

The pattern is Onion 20045. It gives you a few variations - among these ruffles. I'm planning to use this pattern again, but next time, I'll use a more drapy jersey instead. The pattern is really simple so don't stir away because of the danish language.

The fabric for the leggings is a remnant from a non-blogged Plantain T-shirt for me. Also from Stofdepotet. You can still buy the fabric here. The fabric is a drapy viscose knit with small dots and a really nice quality. I have been wearing my Plantain T-shirt every week for the last two month and the fabric still looks great. I hope Stofdepotet bans me from their website sometime soon - it's just too tempting...

Here is a flat shot sans kid so you can really enjoy the pandas:)

The good:
The sweatshirt knit was a bit expensive but it's a really lovely quality. The pattern is easy - would be perfect for summerdresses too with short sleeves.

The bad:
I haven't photographed the clothes I have made for myself recently. Why is it such a hazard to get decent pictures? - perhaps a new camera will do the trick? If you will like to follow my journey in clothesmaking more closely, you can find me on Instagram - my username is "sewbluedresses". I hope, you stop by and say hi!

Have you started planning your summer sewing projects yet?


Happy sewing

Mette

Coats - the mother-daughter-theme continues..

The mother-daughter-theme continues on this blog... Especially since my remnantpieces is just enough to make something for miss 4. So I present to you, The Mother-Daughter-Coat-Collection:)

I have been watching all the gorgeous coatigans both in the shops this season and all the loveliness made by trendy sewtionistas online and decided I needed one for myself. This coat is not warm enough to be a regular wintercoat - at least not here in cold scandinavia - but it's a trusty friend, when you need to look slightly more elegant than you do in a parka coat.

This coat is made using this burdastyle pattern. I altered the pattern slightly since the coat pattern doesn't allow for buttons. I altered the frontpieces to do a small overlap allowing for me to make a row of big snaps to close the jacket. I left out the pockets from the pattern - but now I regret it a bit - where do I put my keys, pepples and papertowels?

Here you can see the coat up close. However, the fabric hide the beautifull line drawing giving a bit of shaping to the front - please take at look at the burdastyle webpage to see the line drawing. The coat has a coatlining adding a bit of stability to the rather lightweight mohair wool.

I made a small tag to add a bit of everyday luxury.

And now to the mini-me-coat.

I "drafted" the pattern for this coat myself using a sweatshirtpattern one size too big, slicing it down the front, adding a bit to the frontpieces to allow it to overlap and drafting a new lining. It sounds harder than it was, but do give it a try. Childrens clothes is quite forgiving to make. Since this was a remnant piece I wasn't too worried to ruin it. I made small pockets too adding a (bought) crochetted flower to one of them for decoration. I used a remnantpiece in a light rosy collar to stabilize and use as a button placket for the sew-on snaps.

Since the coat is quite open around the neck, I asked my mother in law to knit a scarf - and she knitted one in just the right colours for this little number. Thank you!

These coats are not very practical but they were a fun sew and I use mine quite a bit for work. I would like to learn more about tailoring and make a proper wintercoat - perhaps next fall? Have you made a warm woolen wintercoat? Can you recommend any books on the tailoring?

I have a few more winter sewing projects to show you but I'm looking forward to start sewing for spring. How about you - have you started planning your spring wardrobe?


Pattern: Burdastyle Magazine 12/2012 # 117, and selfdrafted
Fabric: Stofdepotet. Lining purchased locally


Happy sewing

Mette

Raglan - sewing for fall

Jeg er godt igang med at sy efterårs- og vintertøjet. Disse to sweatshirts var hurtigt syede. Mønstret til begge er Onion 20047, som jeg har anvendt en del gange efterhånden. Min datters sweatshirt er jaquardvævet stjernestof fra Stofdepotet.

I'm making progress on my to-do list for fall. These two sweatshirts didn't take long to make. I used the pattern Onion 20047 for both of them. I have used this pattern several times and I think it has a good fit. My daugthers sweatshirt is made from jaquard jersey from Stofdepotet.

Min søns udgave er quiltet jersey fra restekassen i Stof og Stil. Jeg er ikke imponeret over kvaliteten efter vask, men man kan dårligt brokke sig når prisen er 30 kr.. Halskanten er ikke helt vellykket, men stoffet er så blødt, at min søn tilgiver alle fejl og glad tager den på. Hvis jeg skulle sy denne igen, ville jeg gøre halskanten lidt mindre. Det er virker ikke helt godt, at halskanten er så vid, når det er en varm trøje.

My sons sweatshirt is made from quilted jersey purchased locally from the remnants bin from Stof og Stil. However, I'm not impressed with the quality of this fabric after washing it. I'ts difficult to complain though when the fabric was this cheap. My son is happy enough as long as the sweatshirt is soft and cuddly. I'm not quite happy about my work with the neckline on this either. It's a bit too loose..

Er du gået igang med at sy efterårstøj?

Have you started sewing for fall?

Pattern: Onion 20047
Fabric: stars: Stofdepotet, Quilted jersey: Stof og Stil

Happy sewing

Mette

Boy's Month: Lækker Sweat

Så kommer endnu et indlæg i den efterhånden legendariske boys month. Jeg synes, det er så dejligt med den store inspiration til tøj og andet til drenge, som denne måned kaster af sig. Jeg forsøger selvfølgelig at følge med de kreative kvinder i blogossfæren, men det er ikke nemt, når der er så mange fine kreative indlæg.

Denne sweatshirt er endnu en udgave af Onion 20047. Mønstret har raglanærmer og sidder godt om skuldrene. Jeg tilføjede afslutninger på ærmerne med rib, fremfor blot at stikke kanten om på vrangsiden.

I truely enjoy all the effort and inspiration from the creative women who joined Boys Month. This sweatshirt is another Onion 20047 featuring raglan sleeves. Nothing much to ad except that my son likes this sweater:)

Min søn er meget tilfreds med den nye sweatshirt. Den er tyk og blød - lidt som at iføre sig en bamse.

This sweatshirt is so soft and cuddly it's like wearing a teddybear.

Lige en lille smule pynt..

And a bit of decoration..

Pattern: Onion 20047
Fabric: Stofdepotet

Happy sewing

Kids - with a hint of neon

Jeg er den mor, der tvinger sagesløse børn til fotografering. Min søn er ikke meget for det og jeg fik kun lov til at tage ét! Det er så det I ser her. Jeg har syet en sweatshirt i grå med en neonlynlås til at lyse lidt op. Han er er rigtig glad for den og synes, den er smart - så kan man jo ikke ønske sig mere - måske bortset fra en pænere halskant.. Jeg tror, min fejl består i, ikke at have kalkuleret tilstrækkeligt med plads til lynlåsen, så nu buler den.. Men idéen var meget god ikke?

I'm the mother who forces her kids to pose when I've made them something new. My son doesn't like it and only allowed me to take one photo and one photo only! He's exclusive like that:) I made him a simple raglan sweater with a neon zipper to spice it up a little. I'm not proud of the neckband I made on this - I think the zipper is partly to blame. Sometimes the idea doesn't turn out how we expect them to.

Min datter er mere villig til fotografering og synes vist det er meget sjovt. Jeg syede denne bluse til hende i det superlækre stribede stof fra stofdepotet, som vistnok skulle være fra en Mads Nørgaard produktion. Jeg ved ikke om det er rigtigt, men stoffet er meget meget blødt og virker lækkert i kvaliteten.

My daughter thinks its rather fun to have her picture taken and is thinking a lot of which shoes to wear.. what can I say - I know she's mine;) I made her this comfy batwing t-shirt in this soft striped fabric from Stofdepotet. The fabric is from a production from danish designer Mads Nørgaard and is a really nice quality.

Jeg kopierede blev meget inspireret af den nyeste børnekollektion fra Petit Sophie Schnoor. Neon på ryggen er et hit, når man er 9 år. Måske skulle jeg også sy en til mig selv?

I ripped off was inspired by the spring kids collection by danish designer Petit Sophie Schnoor. A stripe of neon on the back is popular when you are 9 years old. Maybe I should make one for myself?

Raglan sweater:
Pattern: Onion raglan sweater
Fabric: Stofdepotet

Batwing t-shirt:
Pattern: selfdrafted
Fabric: Stofdepotet

Happy sewing

Mette

I made a shirt! smugness and all the details

Advarsel: Dette bliver et billedtungt indlæg for jeg har lavet en SKJORTE MED DET HELE!

Warning: This is a really pictureheavy post I got for you here today 'cause I made a shirt! A real shirt with collar, undercollar, buttonplacket, sleeveplacket and everything.

Som du kan se, kan jeg ikke skjule min egen stolthed (og overraskelse over at det lykkes).

I can't hide my own sewing-smugness about this make:)

Skjorten er helt klassisk og passer godt til både nederdel og jeans.

This is a complely classical shirt that goes with both skirt and jeans.

Mønstret er Archer fra Grainline Studio
Jeg har aldrig syet sådan en type skjorte før, men mønstret tager dig i hånden og følger dig hele vejen igennem processen.

The pattern is the Archer shirt from Grainline Studios
. I've never made a shirt like this before, but the instructions takes you by the band and walks you through the process.

Mønstret er så godt, at jeg er tvunget til også at vise Jer et billede af ryggen.

This pattern is so great, I was forced to put a picture of my behind on the internet:)

Stoffet er en bomuld/silke blanding i lysegrå med små sorte sommerfugle. Stoffet var nemt at arbejde med og er en drøm at have på.

The fabric is a cotton-silk blend i light grey with tiny butterflies. The fabric was really easy to handle and it feels like a dream to wear.

Skjorten har en lille krave og er med underkrave, ståkrave (hvad hedder det på dansk?), skjortemanchetter og knapper.

The shirt has a tiny collar, collarstand and sleeveplacket

Ærmerne var lige det længste til mig. Istedet for at forkorte selve ærmet inden montering af manchetten, valgte jeg istedet at forkorte manchetten, da jeg bedre kan lide smalle manchetter på kvindeskjorter. Jeg er oftest forskellige størrelser mellem bryst, talje og hoftemål. Jeg valgte den størrelse i skuldre og bryst, der passer mig og skalerede ud til to størrelser bredere i hoften. Det fungerer fint og jeg er virkelig glad for at have en skjorte, der passer om barmen og ikke er for stram om hofterne.

The sleeves were a bit too long on me. Instead of removing the length from the sleeves before installing the sleevecuffs, I chose to shorten the sleevecuffs instead. I really like a narrow cuff on a womans shirt. I'm between sizes and I did my usual scaling between 3 sizes from my narrow shoulders to my wide hips. It worked quite good I think.

Jeg er virkelig glad for denne skjorte. Jeg tog mig god tid til alle de små detaljer og selvom det for en udenforstående er en ret almindelig skjorte at se på, ved jeg, at denne skjorte er helt speciel, da det er den første jeg har lavet - men bestemt ikke den sidste. Dette mønster kan hurtigt gøre dig afhængig. Prøv iøvrigt at google mønstret og se de mange fine versioner af Archer skjorter talentfulde kvinder over hele kloden har lavet. Kunne du finde på at sy denne?

I'm really happy about this make. I took my time making all the details as perfect as I could. Any non-sewing person probably would'nt see this shirt as anything special but to me this is first, but not the last shirtmake from this pattern. This pattern makes you addictive and craving more beautifull shirts. Please see all the beautifull Archers online made by talented ladies all over the globe. Are you tempted to make an Archer?

Happy sewing

Mette


Pattern: Archer fra Grainline Studios
Fabric: cotton silk blend from Stofdepotet. Found here