red button down skirt

Finally, some sewing again and it’s not even navy blue!

A bright red skirt which has been in the works for nearly two months! Phew. It’s based on the same pattern as the blue pencil skirt, but I wanted to add a button placket at the front.
I first procrastinated on actually drafting the pattern and when I finally did, I made many stupid mistakes…I redrafted and sewed the skirt up pretty quickly and it was looking really neat when I realized I had miscalculated the button placket and the skirt was now way too tight. So I ripped the placket out again and got creative in adding a new placket without having to redo the whole skirt (I was out of fabric for that anyway). Add a little time between each step to stew over it and get my motivation back up and you have two months of work on a simple skirt. At least now it fits!

It even has pretty buttons and button holes and is fully lined (don’t get me started on how many times I messed up the lining).

I think I’ve worked on it too long to determine if I like it. I’m sure some of you know that feeling. I’ll see how I feel about it in three months. That sounds depressing, I promise to be more upbeat in my next post 🙂
The necklace I’m wearing is by Native Clutter on Etsy btw.

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patterndrafting-land

That’s where I am and where I’ll be for months to come guessing by my stack of ideas and fabric. I’m busy drafting a couple nice basic blouses, using the Sorbetto pattern as a sloper. I did modify the length, armholes, neckline and bust dart, so I’m not sure you could even call it a Sorbetto any longer.

Which leads me to the question: how do you store your self-drafted or printed patterns?
I even trace bought patterns (like the Wiksten Tova and Tank) because I usually make the smallest size and I want to “save” the multisize pattern. Until now the number of my patterns are quite manageable and I store them like this, the pieces carefully folded and held together by a clothespin for each pattern.

They live in a small vintage suitcase. It was my mom’s and I claimed it as a kid and have held on to it ever since.


As my stack of patterns grows I will probably have to think of a new method soon. I’d love to see how you organize and store your patterns!
By the way, I am honored to be featured on the Wiksten Blog today with a tankdress I made from Jenny’s pattern!

handmade wardrobe

I’m still in the planning stages for most of my spring wardrobe. I don’t think I’ll ever get as organized as some sewers, I have too many ideas flitting in and out of my head and I change my mind too quickly.
That said, I’ve picked out and bought some fabrics that I’d love to use for the next few projects:

The floral cotton is the one I used for the most recent Sorbetto top, so that one is crossed off.
I’m terrified of the silk, I haven’t even pre-washed it yet (just cold water and mild detergent? Or is that too much already?). I’m trying to decide if it’ll look better in a more fancy blouse pattern (like Downton Abbey Edith’s blouse…swoon) or a very simple top that shows off its gorgeous drape, like Sybils top. I’d have a pattern for that one already, a dead simple 1950’s top I’ve made once or twice before. I could leave the sleeves short or extend them a little.

Not pictured is a grey and cream striped cotton jersey, my first knit and a take on the Sewaholic Renfrew pattern.
The rayon was an impulse buy, I love the print and rich browns look good on me. There’s a reason rayon is called artificial silk, it’s soo soft and nice to the touch, I can’t wait to sew with it. Same question here as for the silk regarding the right pattern choice. Any suggestions/opinions greatly appreciated, do leave a comment 🙂
The voiles will be simple, versatile blouses that can be worn with anything. I’m drafting the patterns myself, using the Sorbetto top as a basic sloper.

I’ve discovered the beauty of keeping a notebook and jot down ideas on the way to work on the train or wherever. At home I try to convert the scribbles into drawings I can actually work from.

I’m also dreaming of some 1920’s inspired dresses with drop waists…ideally a simple but elegant pattern in a soft, drapey solid.
We’ll see how many ideas make it into actual garments, before a new idea and a new project takes their place in my head. At least the sewing area in our new apartment is much roomier and more inviting than trying to sew between the kitchen table and the hallway, like in our old apartment.

Oh, and did you see the beautiful Tiffany lamp on the table? A thrift store find! Quite pricey at 30€ (that usually buys half the store), but I had to have it and I love the cozy, warm light it adds to the otherwise rather dark room.

floral sorbetto variation

A quick sorbetto top with a twist (or two, or three).

Inspired by this top and this Sorbetto Top variation, I modified the original Sorbetto pattern: Extended the shoulder by a couple of inches (and lowered the armscye) and added length, a button placket at the back and a small collar.

I also made a size bigger than I’d need to have it look a little blousier. The fabric is a lovely light floral cotton (almost sheer but not quite). I have to say I’m quite proud of the buttonholes at the back. I made them with my zig-zag steel monster machine using this tutorial for making buttonholes without a buttonhole foot or feature.

I like how it turned out and how it fits, but I’ll see how much I’ll actually wear it…I have nothing to go with a green floral except jeans. I’ve been looking for a nice grass-green fabric for a while (not cool green, not neon or flashy, just a nice fresh green) but no such luck.
Kind of like this aloe a friend gave me (I did find this lovely flower pot with a pastel green border for it at the thrift store).

I’m working on a couple more spring wardrobe-planning posts, so I might actually get more than one blog post in this week. Somehow a post each weekend sounds manageable and ok, but 4 posts a month sounds like nothing at all! I used to blog every two days when I started, but I have neither the time to write nor to read that much anymore. Most days it feels like I’m fighting my Google reader inbox and for every post I read there’s two more up that I don’t want to miss. Luxury problems I guess 🙂

patterndrafting adventures

Wow, has the weekend flown by! Can’t believe it’s already over again. I had planned to finally tackle Cal Patch’s wonderful book “Design-it-yourself-clothes” and make a top pattern for a dress. For one I am totally in love with the gorgeous dress Anna did based on that book and also I need a paririe dress for a charity event which is planned at the barn in June (1880’s country fair). I haven’t got any fabric for it yet but figured I could already draft the pattern and make a muslin on Saturday morning.

Two days and three handbasted muslins later (thank goodness for all of those old Ikea pillow cases, or I wouldn’t have had enough cheap fabric!) I was getting pretty frustrated because it just wouldn’t fit and the armhole was making me cry. My boyfriend said ‘Well, you didn’t think it was going to be easy, did you? Why did you think nobody does it anymore these days?’ to which I stammered ‘I thought people were just being lazy’.
Fast forward to a fourth draft and muslin and things are looking a whole lot better. Still not super duper perfect but good enough to be a satisfying finish to the weekend.

Totally unrelated but we’ve also been having a terrible storm today and all the way to the barn the streets were littered with branches and leaves. I took the highway on the way back but even there it was pretty scary with the sudden strong gusts of wind…I was glad to be home again and watch the rest of the storm from my cozy living room!