salme cropped blazer

Number one from my fall sewing frenzy. Usually a blazer pattern would totally intimidate me, but the Salme blazer seemed easy enough to tackle.

I went up a size (lesson learned with these patterns) and found the pattern to be very straightforward and easy and the fit is great! The only tricky bit is the hem. There is a step missing in the instructions (when you’ve folded it you need to open it up again and fold it to the other side) but other than that much easier than thought it would be!
The fabric is a navy brushed cotton (like flannel but with a bit more body) that goes with everything and worked great for this. The blazer will see lots of wear, I’ve already worn it to work a couple of times.
I made one small alteration in lengthening the hem at the back a little. It really is very cropped otherwise. I originally tried to make this pattern in a flowy navy jersey which was a disaster. My fault for ignoring the fabric recommendations.
The gold colored top is actually another Wiksten Tank I made last year and never got around to blogging before our apartment move. I changed the hemline to make it a cropped tank. The fabric is Free Spirit Voile “Coneflower”.

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salme lydia blouse

My last summer sewing project before plunging into fall and winter ideas (to be honest, I’m in waist deep already 🙂 ).
As mentioned in my Kimono dress post, I’ve discovered Salme Patterns for me. I really like Elisa’s designs – simple with a touch of vintage.
So I couldn’t wait to make the Lydia blouse in this gorgeous lightweight cotton/silk mix feather print.


On the whole I’m very happy with this. I did have a few issues with this pattern though:

• The fit is good, but man, these patterns really do run small! I should have gone up a size, even though I made the size that should have fitted me perfectly. It still fits, but the back is a bit tight and with the thin fabric the seams already look like they won’t last forever. Next time (yes, there’ll be a next time!) I’ll go up a size.
• The instructions are pretty sparse. I couldn’t for the life of me figure out how to get 11 pleats into the front, so I ended up with less
• That neckline is a lot higher than in the pattern picture. I don’t think I did anything wrong here and it looks ok but I really wish it was a lower.

Things I liked about this pattern: It was easy and fast to assemble while still teaching me new techniques. The sleeve cuff finish especially is a very interesting folding technique which I liked a lot (I should mention I did blindstitch the whole cuff by hand instead of doing only a few tucks as instructed). I omitted the shoulder detail but I’ll probably make it next time. The pattern comes without seam allowances, which suited me fine since I was free to add my own 5/8 ” and french seam the whole thing. On second thought, maybe that’s what made my neckline so high…maybe I should have added a slimmer seam allowance there.
Using Jen’s great tutorial, I french seamed the sleeve inset and it worked great! Now I’m wondering why I’ve never done it before…so nice and neat!


Now…off to buy fall fabrics!

salme kimono dress in silk

And the next one, I’ll have to see that I post all my summer sewing before summer is actually over…
I’ve discovered Salme Patterns for me and have so far made two of their patterns. The kimono dress was a test for something I’ve had in mind for months. I came across this interesting blue silk and cotton mix fabric on the remnant table in my favourite local fabric shop for 4€/m and had to snatch it up of course.

I don’t much like elastic waists so I just taped the two pattern parts together and cut one long shape and made a belt in the same fabric. It looks pretty strange without the belt I have to say!

I found the pattern to fit well. Salme patterns have less ease than other patterns though, so I would recommend going up a size when between sizes. I didn’t even look at the instructions so I can’t say anything about them. I changed the neckline and cut it lower.

I’m not all that sure about the fabric…I’m forever telling myself to stick to solids and then I come across a pretty pattern and can’t resist. It is a nice change in pattern for me though and I’m finding silk or silk/cotton mixes much easier to work with than I anticipated. And silk is always heavenly to wear of course!