Thursday, September 29, 2016

Upton dress



Besides on the Vivie, I also did a re-test for the Upton from Blaverry. The Upton is a jersey dress with a color blocked front and a back pleat on the back. Both the split front and back pleated back are perfect to experiment with different fabrics. Due to the pleat the dress is very roomy and has a high playability and the dress sews up very quick.



I bought the main fabric over a year ago at Stoffenelf. It was in the period that I totally went for animal photo prints. I had stayed away from them for a while, but then finally did fall head over heals. As can be expected, I kind of jumped on the next fabric trend, and this cute fabric just stayed on my pile. I think the colors are perfect for fall, and I really love how it looks with the mustard yellow.




She wore the dress to a baptism and we made pictures in front of the church, and my youngest photo bombed the shoot a bit. Seeing all of us where dressed well, we even made group picture to replace the one on my husband's desk at work. In the current one, our youngest was just born, so we really needed a new one. This is not the picture that will decorate his desk, but the one that shows off the Upton dress best.



I love to hear what you think of my creations. Feel free to leave a comment in the language you prefer (although Google translate might have to assist me if you choose something different than English, German, Dutch or Hungarian).

Wednesday, September 21, 2016

Finch Fabric: Candy Monster release



As you know, I love jersey and I love border prints. Finch Fabrics brings those two loves together in many of their fabrics. I have bought several prints in the past and I made this dress, this set and this shirt. This time, I was allowed to test one of the new fabrics! I got a large piece (well over a meter after washing) to make into whatever. Until now, I always used relatively small pieces, so this time, with such a big amount of fabric, I actually made five pieces.



Although I made five pieces, the main and first plan was a dress for my youngest. The dress is a mix between the Nivalis* and Solis*. I made a mix between these two patterns before, and even wrote a tutorial. For this mix you have to adjust the width of the Nivalis bodice to the width of the Solis bodice (or else the skirt will not fit). I also used the height of the (front) Solis bodice to determine the length I had to cut the Nivalis, to create a bodice. I made soft pleats, to show off the print of the skirt better. This is my first Nivalis with collar and I am over the moon that my daughter is not bothered by it. I love the look.




For my son I made a Semper*, shockingly without alterations. For my middle one I made a Hibernis*, also straight by the pattern, I know I am still amazed myself. I wanted to show off how well the main fabric goes with different colors and prints. I went through my fabric closet and found several combinations that I wanted to try. My middle daughter got a sweet style by pairing the fabric with pastel prints. My son a cooler version, combined with red stripes. I fell in love with the selvages of this fabric, I just had to use them. In my son's shirt you can see them on the front piece and on the sleeve bindings. I did not use ribbing, but jersey for the neckline of the Semper, the neckline is a standing up because of it.



For my eldest, I made a Liv skirt (free pattern) and a hacked the ADVT*. I had to adjust the Liv skirt patterns a bit. I wanted as much of the Monster print on it as possible (the pockets where the bottle neck), and I only wanted one Monster. I think it worked out rather well. From the last remnants I squeezed out an ADVT front, but I added a diagonal on the front. On one hand I did not have enough fabric, on the other hand because I liked these shirts a lot. The back of the skirt is made from the stripes fabric only.




The fabric is now available through the Finch Fabrics website, but it might also become soon available through your favorite fabric shop.




Feel free to leave a comment in the language you prefer (although Google translate might have to assist me if you choose something different than English, German, Dutch or Hungarian). If you buy anything through my affiliate links (*), I get a small commission (the price stays the same for you), I am very grateful for everything that feeds my fabric addiction.


Friday, September 16, 2016

Sewing challenge



Challenges, you know I love them. When Davina, came with the idea of the Sew Challenge, I of course wanted to join. The idea of the Sew Challenge is that you get three challenges from one blogger and you give three challenges to another. This way everyone gets a challenge on her own level. I got my challenges from So Popo Sew,and they were great. She challenged me to sew something for myself, from La Maison Victor and use uni color(s), three things I do not often (or never) do, but that I should do more often.



Although I have only sewed the Candy and several Martini dresses from La Maison Victor, I actually own all magazines. So, I curled up on the coach and went through all of them. After much internal debate, I chose for the Heriette dress from edition 6, 2015. I googled which bloggers already made the dress, to get some extra tips about sizing etc. Like a sign, I saw So Popo had actually was one of ones that posted about the dress!



Like So Popo, I went for longer sleeves. I did a full bust adjustment (explained in the same La Maison Victor issue). The Hariette officially has many pieces, and all seams are top stitched. I went a different direction. I did not get any restrictions on hacking (which I had feared), so I dropped the waistband and cut the bodice and skirt in one pieces (while keeping the princess seams). I decided not to top stitch.



I did not have any uni fabric coupon in my closet that was big enough to turn into a dress for myself. I considered doing a color block, but in the end I just went to the store. I am a careful cutter, so I usually ignore fabric requirements. I bought 1.75 meter of Punti di Roma at Textielstad and started cutting without a clear plan. I had so much fabric, I assumed I did not have to be very careful. I was wrong. In the end I had to add a seam to the front side panels. They do not bother me though, they are actually a nice detail.


The Sew Challenge was not the only thing Davina had come up with. She also organized a blog meet, connected to the Sew Challenge to it. This way we would meet the other bloggers in person, and come up with the perfect set of chalenges. So, in the last weekend of August we had a great meeting with 20 bloggers (with me being the only Dutch). The evening was filled with good conversation and goodies! Davina had gathered an amazing amount of gifts, and I took home some of the best ones. I won a gift card from Madaline for 50 euro, a Compagnie M paper pattern, two pieces of fabric from Droomstoffen, and several haberdasheries.


Curious to see what the other blogs came up? I am one of the last ones to publish this week, so you can check out most entries already. I actually came up with the challenges for Margot, and she made something truly amazing. There will be two more weeks of challenges, so it is far from over, check out Davina's blog next week, for even more great outfits.

ikmaakhetzelfnu - piekewieke - naaiz - c'est saar - mamadammeke - mumendemiekes - inspinration - sopoposew - 196  - girlsinuniformblog (Margot) - Ma Petite Etoile

Tuesday, September 13, 2016

PRP week one: Pokémon inspired



The first week of Project Run and Play season 12 has arrived, and I am a contestant! Today, six bloggers are presenting you their take on Pokémon inspired clothing. We love Pokémon in our house. I played the game when I was a teenager (almost in my twenties actually) and was impressed with how fun and still accessible to small kids the game was. I did not really watched the series, but I did have a poster with the first 150 Pokémon in my room. Our kids do watch the show. They had started just before the Pokémon Go app was launched and have been binge watching ever since (they are only allowed to watch tv after 5 pm until dinner). I did not realize that they are still making the show. Officially there are over 900 episodes, but Netflix only has the first and last seasons. The human team members of the latest show where unknown to me until a few weeks ago, but I have grown to love them (because I follow the show with one ear while cooking).



This week's assignment was to make a Pokémon inspired outfit, so not just copying the outfit as a costume. First, I wanted to make clothing inspired by a Pokémon. For all our favorite Pokémon there was already great inspiration available, so I went a different direction, and chose one of the human characters. Serena is the first character ever to not be shocked by Pikachu during their first meeting (totally got that one from Wikipedia), she does not want to become a Pokémon Master and she drastically changed her appearance during the series. The new look is really awesome. It is both sweet and cool, and has many elements that fit my middle daughter's style (she already has the messy hair style), Serena therefore became the inspiration for my outfit.



Let's start with the dress. The pink dress Serena is wearing has a white collar (or I think it has, I spend hours looking through pictures, but I could not really determine how the white part looks like) and the dress is very revealing (which is why she is wearing a black top underneath). Either the dress or the collar seems to close with a blue ribbon. My inspired version is a pink (with print) dress which has an asymmetrical white yoke. My daughter isn't a collar kind of girl, so that is why the white got incorporated in the dress itself. I wanted the dress to open on the front, such that she can dress herself. I did not wanted visible buttons though, so I went for a blind button placket. This way there is a separation in the front, like with the original dress, but it is not revealing. I went for a circle skirt, which is much longer than the original. Instead of a blue ribbon, I went for a light blue button.



Serena wears a halter cardigan which only true function seems to be that it has pockets. I am curious if a garment like this would work in real life. I went a different direction. I kept the color, and the fact that it has a different length than the dress, but I actually went shorter, instead of longer. To make the bolero an actual practical garment, I went for long sleeves. There is no way my daughter would wear a hat, so I went for hoodie. I finished the bolero with black bias. I chose black due to the black stripe on Serena's hat and the black top. The pockets where transferred to the dress.



In the series Serena wears over the knee socks, but with the fall coming, I thought tights would be more practical. The last piece of the outfit is therefore a pair of Wild and Free lounge pants, from Coffee and Thread. I slightly adjusted the knee parts, such that it could feature one of Serena's Pokémon. Pancham is a panda like animal, with a spike mohawk and apparently always has a leave in his mouth. My kids told me he has to have that leave or else he is not that powerful (missed that apparently with my one ear).



For the dress, I used the pink version of See You at Six Dandelion (last week I showed you the blue version). For the white yoke, I upcycled a sleeve from a silk suit. The bolero is made from a large sweater that I bought cheaply with the goal to upcycle. The leggings where made with black jersey (bought at Joyfits). I drafted the dress as a mix/hack of a dress from her book and the Theo. The base for the bolero was the Aura*, which I drastically hacked.



Be sure to check out all the entries from this week on the Project Run and Play page and do not forget to vote which outfit you like best. I of course hope that I convinced you to try to keep me in the game.


Thursday, September 8, 2016

Back to School, Mom edition with EYMM



Many people have sewed a lot recently to give their kids some new school clothes. High time to do some selfish sewing. The back to school: mom's edition blog tour from Everything Your Mother Made and More is perfect to get inspiration. Today I am on it, and I am showing a Natasha dress* in a beautiful drapey viscose from See you at Six.


When the See you at Six line was released, I immediately ordered a few meter at the Stoffenmadam (she was kind enough to pick them up for me). I really love the feel, drape and prints of the new line. I liked it so much that I wanted some for me as well. But what to make, I wanted something that would show of the drape of the fabric. When I came across the Natasha from EYMM I knew I found a match.


The Natasha is originally a pattern for jersey, but it works perfectly with this non-stretchy viscose. I did not have to change anything on the pattern to make it work with jersey. I did lower the front neck line a bit though. The pattern is very different from the jersey dresses that I usually sew. There is a huge amount of fabric that gets its  shape by a belt. This means the dress will keep fitting me even if I loose a few kilo's (which I am seriously planning). My husband still has to get used to it a bit, but I think it is a nice addition to my wardrobe.



The dress sews up crazy quick. Because of the dolman sleeves there is actually just two pieces of fabric that you sew together. The elastic hems take a bit more time, but you can still easily sew the whole thing in under an hour. I should have spend some time on re-ironing the dress just before I made pictures though. The fabric wrinkels much less than normal cotton, but just throwing it on a shelf for a few days was not the best idea.


The kids are back in school and parents and caregivers everywhere are excited to catch up after summer break! Use coupon code PARENTSROCK to save 50% off any adult-size patterns for men* and women* now through 11:59pm PST Tuesday 9/13/2016. This offer may NOT be combined with other offers including bundles.


Don't miss any of the posts on EYMM's Back to School Tour: Mom's Edition! (Note: the links below will not work until their scheduled day, but feel free to click through and check out the rest of their blogs anytime!)

September 8 Inspinration and Idlesunshine
September 13 Recap at EYMM

Feel free to leave a comment in the language you prefer (although Google translate might have to assist me if you choose something different than English, German, Dutch or Hungarian). If you buy anything through my affiliate links (*), I get a small commission (the price stays the same for you), I am very grateful for everything that feeds my fabric addiction.

Monday, September 5, 2016

Maple skirt tour



Today, I am part of the Maple Skirt Sew along tour. Jess, from Gracious Threads released the Maple skirt a few weeks ago. She is now doing a sew along, to show everyone could sew one of these cute skirts. She invited a few bloggers along to show off the versatility of the skirt. This is my second Gracious Threads Tour participantship and in both we were strongly invited to hack, so I think we could  actually be good friends.


The Maple Skirt is an A-line skirt that works well entire year round. Seeing the goal of the tour, I decided to go for an easy hack. Although the technique I used was very easy, I feel it really adds something to the skirt. Seeing that the technique is not complicated and it has been already well explained by others, I did not make a true tutorial. I hope I can still inspire one of you though.



I went for improvisational pin tucks, which was of course clearly inspired by this post. I used technique two from that post, but I sewed in straight lines. I just made a fold, which did not overlap with any of the previous tucks and just sewed a small seam. I first did some pin tucks from top to bottom, then I added some smaller ones in between. The pin tucks make the skirt pieces a bit narrower. Therefore I actually cut one size wider than I should have based on the size table.



I did not overlap pin tucks and did not to sew one over the side seam, because I wanted to avoid bulky seams. I slightly changed the constructions order. First, I sewed the side seams, than made the pin tucks. After a few pin tucks I started testing the width of the skirt against my model and the waistband. I continued making pin tucks until the skirt fitted my model perfectly. If you follow the same order, after doing the pink tucks you will put in the stay stitch at the top, iron on the stabilizer, make the bottom seam and sew on the pockets. Than you can just continue with step 7.


Instead of buttons and button holes I used snaps. Snaps are my go to closure method and I love these flower shaped ones. Snaps are perfect for people with button fear and my kids actually prefer them over traditional buttons. I chose a very contrasting color, but these plastic snaps are available in almost every color.  The skirt looks cool from the front, but I love the back! When she climbed this wall the bottom snaps, snapped over, which is much better than you buttons falling off.


Be sure to check out the entire sew along during the next days on the Gracious Threads blog. If you don’t have a copy of the Maple Skirt yet, you can use the code MAPLESEWALONG for 25% off.