Olivia wrap dress

Hyvää päivää!

I had to start my blogpost about the Olivia wrapdress with a "hello" in finish. The Olivia wrapdress is from the cool finish pattern company Named Clothing. Named Clothing is owned by two sisters who release pattern collections a few times a year. I really like a lot of their patterns because of the modern and contempory vibe.

All right, enough fangirl raving and back to the dress!

This dress is as comfy as a pyjamas. Its made from a soft viscose knit from Stof og Stil. The dress is a fabric eater and requires 2,90m, but don't be tempted to buy cheaper stuff, because this dress is so comfy to wear, that you'll wear it again and again.

I have seen so many wrap dresses in the sewing community the last six month, but not in the shops? Sometimes the sewingworld creates it's own trends? I remember I had a wrap dress - maybe 10 years ago?. I also remember the skirt to be quite clingy and to show all the lumps and bumps I had back then. I still have the lumps and bumps - and these days I have even more than back then, but this dress is constructed with small pleats which make the sillouette on (curvy) women look more attrative. And the idea of sewing your own clothes is to get clothes that fit your body and not just the clothing companys idea of a body. Anyway, all this ranting was just to say, that I really like my wrap dress and I'm sure it will be an everyday dress I'll use a lot this winter.

The only alteration I did on this dress was to cut off 13 cm. The pattern will give you a calf length dress, but I'm not sure this is a very good dress lenght on me.

Pondering about making more wrap dresses....


Do you plan your sewing after what you see in the shops - or where do you get your inspiration?

Happy sewing


Mette

Tokyo jacket - new kimono

I really love a good kimono. I have made two so far - but they are housecoats. You can check them out on instagram if you are interested. So I think I could justify making one for everyday use also...:)

I chose the Tokyo Kimono jacket pattern by Tessutti Fabrics because of the interesting pocketdesign. I think this small detail makes it a bit more special - eventhough I'm probably the only one noticing..

The fabric is a really nice drapy woven viscose I purchased from Fabricgodmother. (Don't look it up unless you are prepared to be tempted by all kinds of beautiful fabric). The viscose is a remnant from Coccinelle and I must say it's one of the best viscose fabrics I've had my paws on. I'm considering buying more for a dress - maybe a Maryanne dress?

Here you can see the design details:

How you tried any kimono patterns you can recommend?

Happy sewing

Mette

No3 Kastrup silk top

I was given this wonderful pattern by Nanna, a taylor and patternmaker with the blog and shop called How to do fashion.
Nanna is so skilled and pays lots of attention to details. I love it.

The pattern arrived in its own cardboard envelope including the pattern and a label with "How to do fashion". You find the instructions for the pattern on Nannas webpage.

The pattern comes with lots of cute details. It feaures double layer cap sleeves, princess seams, raglan sleeves and a back slit. Everything is constructed and finished so clever - the true mark of a real taylor.

I took my time sewing this pattern. I wanted it to be just right. I had a lux dark blue navy stretch silk in my stash, I had been saving for a special project and this was it. I truly love this top even though I'm not quite sure the stretch silk was a good idea. The raglan sleeves came in a bit wobly due to the stretch factor. This is not something that will prevent me from wearing this top, but when I make it next time, I'll be sure to use non-stretch lightweight drapy fabric. I still learn a lot from every sewing project - and I really love when a pattern can learn you a new construction method.

On another note - I made some pretty boring black basic seperates which you can see in this blogpost too. A black wool stretch skirt made from a Burdastyle pattern. Nothing much to say about that, but it sure is comfy due to the stretch factor. On the last photo you get a glimpse of my new woolen pants. This is my first dip into pantsmaking (sweatpants aside). They are not perfect fit-wise, but definitely better than most of my RTW pants. I used a pattern from Burdastyle september issue from 2013 #136. It has a sidezip. At some point I would like to make a pair with a regular fly opening.

Thank you so much for giving me the pattern Nanna.

Happy sewing

Mette

Blue silk shirtdress

Hello again sewing friends - and random family members:)

Nothing much is happening on this blog - because I've been sewing like a maniac the last few month. When it comes to choosing between sewing and blogging, sewing always win. This dress was finished at least a month ago and have had few outings.

The dress is from the Burdastyle Magazine from august 2015. I was immediately attracted to the kimonosleeves and loose tent like shirtdress appearance. Nothing beats a tent - it's easy to fit and wear - and I like the sillouette - at least with a belt..

Would you look at that fabric. I bought in a shop on Montmartre in Paris this summer. It's a 100% lightweight silk with a large paisley pattern.

Construction wise the dress was fun to sew. I like sewing the collar and all the nitty bits in a shirtdress. The hidden button placket took me a while to figure out - because Burda! No clear instructions. It came together in the end and I'm happy with the result.

This pattern is a plussize pattern size 44. Since I'm a 40-42 and I didn't size down it's a bit more oversized than the pattern suggests. I added an extra hidden button above the button placket to spare colleagues a boobflash at meetings - I'm nice that way:)

I didn't change the shoulders since this is a kimonoshape and since I wouldn't know how to alter the collar to a smaller size. Lengthwise I cut of my usual 10-12 cm. This is a common alteration for me, since I'm a shorty (and chubby).

Sorry about the blurry photo of my backside - my photographer needs a course, but he doesn't seem that interested in developing his skills...

Even though this lightweight silk isn't very suitable for the danish fall and winter, I think I'll use it anyway with tights, boots and a cardi.

I have a long backlog of unblogged garments so stay tuned for the next few weeks - esp. if you are into blurry photos:)

I hope your fall sewing is coming along as well. I'm still quite excited about my plans for fall sewing and have completed quite a few items from my list (- and quite a few not on my list too).

Happy sewing

Mette

The Sew What Club: Cocoon Dress for girls

I guess I'm on a girls dress sewing binge these days - or maybe just procratinating on the black wool pants I'm working on for myself?

Anyways, these cocoon dresses were the reasons why I signed up to The Sew What Club. The pattern is drafted by the famous and ever cool Groovybabyandmama. And who doesn't crave just a bit of Trine's effortless style? As you see, I do - I even used the same fabric as Trine, since I already had the grey terry in my stash. I'm such a pathetic fangirl!

I guess effortless photography is not a thing around our house. These were the best photos of hundreds.. Sigrid never misses an opportunity of making funny faces.

Here you get a better glimpse of the pattern. The patterns features a simple cocoon shape, elbowlength sleeves and shoulder ruffle. The dress hemline is shorter in the front.

I made a few changes to the pattern:
- lengthend the sleeves to 3/4 length
- finished the grey dress with ribbing in the neckline, since the neckline was a bit big for Sigrid.
- finished the shoulder ruffle on the grey dress with my overlocker
- made the shoulder ruffle of the blue dress in double layer, since the fabric I was using was white on the backside. This makes the ruffle a bit stiffer
- For the blue version I used a cotton jersey instead of the recommended heavier fabric.

It took me about 1,5 hour to make a dress like these. If you leave out the shoulder ruffle you could make it even quicker. I'm sure this will be my go to pattern for everyday dresses for my girls. I'm a bit hesitant to use too much time on childrens clothes since their span of life is often so short. The children grow and they wear their clothes hard.

I have one more girls dress coming up. I'm working on a shirtdress for Selma in a lovely Atelie Brunette Cotton. I bought the cotton to make a shirtdress for me, but she pursuaded me to make it for her instead... I must teach her to sew her own soon!

How about you - are you hesitant using time on childrens clothes?

Happy sewing

Mette

The Sew What Club: Maren Dress

This is a brief intermission from my fall sewing plans. Sigrid needed a new dress for a birthday party, I had this liberty fabric in my stash and along came the Maren Dress Pattern from The Sew What Club. It was meant to be.

The dress has a small peter pan collar, kimono sleeves and a dropwaist design with pleats. It comes in size 2-12 years old.

I don't know if you have heard of The Sew What Club? It's a subsription for pdf patterns. You get to choose between the childrens edition with two patterns a month or the women edition with one pattern a month. The patterns are designed by different indie designers - The Maren Dress is designed by Hey June Handmade.

With two girls it's great getting new inspiration on what to make for them. I didn't think the Maren Dress pattern was to Selma's (10 years) liking, but she has requested one in chambray. I guess a chambray version will be less cutesy than this floral liberty version. Better get on with that.

The dress came together easily. I didn't follow the instruction, but they appear to be clear. I changed the back keyhole to a smaller slit, since the fall season here in Denmark require a vest underneath. I subsequently changed the back facings and added a small roleau and button.

Here you can see the pleats. They are distributed towards the sideseams.

Sigrid was so happy with her new dress. I really should make more dresses while she still prefer the handmade to the storebought dresses.

I have a few items to show you from my fall sewing list as soon as I get photos. I guess the list wasn't quite complete, since new patterns suddently jumped the queue.. Sewing is a hobby so it's okay to bend the rules sometimes right?

Do share your fall sewing plans. What are you working on?

Happy sewing

Mette

Oh Coco! - classic jacket for fall

The Coco jacket from Schnittchen Patterns is the first item to get ticked off my fall sewing list. - I still feel all organized following my plan. Lets see how long it will last before I start a new sewing project on a whim...

From the Schnittchen Patterns website:
Coco convinces through its plain cut, rounded corners and 3⁄4 length sleeves. It is fully lined.


I can confirm that the Coco convinces me. I love this jacket. I rarely feel that about a new item, but this is one of those rare moments when colour, pattern and fabric choice just make everything so worth it.

I made a few changes to the pattern. First of all I added snaps - I even bought one of those tools to set them in. I think the snaps give a classic jacket a more modern edge. Then I added four selfdrafted pockets in two different sizes to keep a classic vibe.

This is my first time working with bouclé. It's a tricky fabric where the fraying was almost driving me nuts. I made sure to cut a 3 cm seamallowance and then I did a zig zag stich on all patternpiecec to prevent fraying. I used interfacing on the bouclé where I set in the snaps and on the facings. I also made a back stay on the top of the backpieces to prevent the jacket from stretching out. As a final touch I like to use piping in the seam between facings and lining. The pattern is well drafted and came together easily. I can really recommend this pattern as a go to pattern for a classic jacket.

I know my method of treating the bouclé is not the couture quilting method. I'm hoping this Coco jacket will give me the last bit of courage to finally tackling the black chanel fabric I bought to make "the real deal" with all the couture methods.

How is your fall sewing coming along? Next on my list is a silk shirt dress - have you got any tips for sewing with silk?


Happy sewing.

Mette


Pattern: Coco jacket from Schnittchen
Fabric: cotton bouclé from Paris - I can't remember the name of the fabric shop.