Showing posts with label free pattern. Show all posts
Showing posts with label free pattern. Show all posts

Sunday, March 3, 2019

Julianna skirt; Free pattern



I did not blog much in February, but I did sew, I actually sewed a lot because we again had a sewing weekend! One of the things that I sewed on the weekend was this awesome teen proof skirt. I sewed it from a scrap that was left after sewing this dress. Seeing that the scrap was oddly shaped I had to be extra creative with the lower ruffle, but due to the black fabric, the extra seams to do not show. Another awesome thing of this skirt, it is made with a new FREE pattern. The pattern is a collaboration between the lovely ladies behind Lilyenwoody and Kaatjesnaaisels.


The Julianna skirt is a fake wrap skirt, the fronts overlap, but they are kept together by one closed waistband. The waistband contains elastic so the skirt is easily put on and off. The black fabric hides the extra seams very well, but it also does not show the construction that well on the pictures. The pictures that you can see on the sites of the creaters make the lines in the skirt more visible. During our sewing weekend I borrowed her coverlock again and I added a contrasting seam to the bottom ruffle, so at least that line is nicely visible.


I slightly hacked the skirt (would you have expected less from me?). The ruffle is designed to have a curve at the top, but I was afraid that I would not be able to hem that curve with the 2 centimeter hem allowance that I use for jersey, so I drew the ruffle straight at the top and sewed the short edge of the beginning of the ruffle into the waistband. She also sewed a lovely Julianna in jersey during the sewing weekend, and she hemmed the curve at 2 centimeter without issues. I also shortened the waistband and cut it from rib knits (there is still elastic in it) such that the waistband does not contain gatherers while it is worn.


The skirt is designed for both woven and knit fabrics. Our eldest was a bit over the top of the size table, seeing that she prefers skirts to really hit her knees. I therefore added a bit of length to the largest skirt. The skirt comes in five sizes starting at 2 years, going up to 10. The free pattern can be downloaded from Lilyenwoody, but also visit Kaatjesnaaisels for her lovely versions.


Thursday, July 27, 2017

Skirting the issue: Rugam, free skirt pattern



Like last year, I am again a guest on the Skirting the Issue tour and this year, I am offering a FREE pattern. Skirting the issue is a beautiful idea, you are invited to sew skirts for charity, and to motivate you, the whole month is filled with free skirt tutorials and patterns, you can read everything about it here. Visit the Project Run and Play site to see what others already suggested to sew.




My skirt pattern is based on the free Liv skirt from Sofilantjes* and is available in six sizes from 9/12 month to 11/12 years. It is an easy skirt with a double circle bottom, which is perfect for dancing (without showing their underwear). The skirt has a fold over yoga waist, without elastic. I drew instructions, which are part of the pattern file and you can find the pattern in the file section of the Sofilantjes Sew and Show group.



I of course made several skirts to test the pattern. I somehow thought that the skirt would look best in one fabric, so that is how I sewed most of the skirts. The last skirt that I sewed, the one for my eldest daughter was impossible to squeeze out of the piece I had in mind. I therefore made it a dual tone skirt, and I have to admit that I like that one best. The color block shows off the lines of the pattern best. My next one will also be color blocked.



I used good quality organic cotton jersey for all parts of these skirts. After making these skirts, I gathered more insight. I think you get the best result with a fabric with a nice drape for the lower skirt. Some rayon or modal jersey would look beautiful. I think you could even use a woven fabric. The diagonal seam makes the stretch level of the under skirt irrelevant.



Like I wrote before, this free Rugam skirt, but also the free Liv (the skirt the pattern is based on) can be downloaded from the Sofilantjes Sew and Show group in the "file"section. 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, March 24, 2017

Dulcie dress, free pattern release



We are celebrating today, Sewpony has officially dropped the "vintage" part of her name and on this road to simplicity she is releasing a lovely easy sew dress, the Dulcie, and the best part about it, it is free! This pattern, designed for wovens has two necklines, two ways to finish the sleeves, and optional collar and pockets. Visit the Sewpony website to find out how to get this lovely free pattern.



During testing I sewed two dresses and I showing them in reverse order. I sewed the second dress with the final version of the pattern and I actually followed the instructions, so I did a fully lined bodice with blind zipper. I sewed the square front neckline and added pockets. The bodice fabric is a Cotton and Steel remnant from the Cas and Nina remnant package that I told you about yesterday. The skirt is the same fabric as this dress and now that I fell back in love with it, the fabric is almost gone. I used a blue fabric for the lining and that gives a nice pop, even though I did not used the folded sleeves.



The first dress that I sewed is this grey dress. I actually used a jersey bodice on this one and did not line the bodice, but worked with a square facing (inspired by the neckline). The jersey is a very interesting double quilted version from Lillestoff. It is also from the remnants box and it was only 30 centimeter high. The height turned out to be perfect to cut the bodice from. I did forget to take away the zipper seam allowance on the back, so I made an extra, off centre seam (I did not want to cut in the print), the seam is almost invisible though, and might even add to the design.



Originally the dress also has a square back neckline, but that created the a bit of a shoulder dropping hazard, so that neckline was taken out of the pattern. Due to the fact that I used knit, shoulder dropping hazard was amplified. I first solved that with a small upcycled strap on the back neckline, but then she suggested to use multiple lines. I took some mustard yellow jersey, and it turned out great. I always love when a fix makes you more creative.



The skirt part of this dress is again See you at Six rayon and also from the remnants box. To create the back skirt, I had to puzzle four pieces together, but it worked, nothing was left or else I would have made de back straps with the rayon. I love that with this rayon well ironed seams are really invisible. As you can see, my daughter got glasses, and she loves them. She chose a beautiful pink pair, that I feel suits her very well.



I am not celebrating alone, and if you want to see more Dulcie dresses, you can visit these girls. Like I said at the beginning, visit the Sewpony site to find out how to get the pattern for free.The coming weeks more fun things will happen on Friday's over at Sewpony, so be sure to subscribe to the newsletter.




Saturday, December 3, 2016

Irene dress release (free pattern)



Do you remember that I showed you this oversized sweater from a free pattern a few weeks ago? Isabelle from Bel'etoile made the photo tutorial for that pattern. Yesterday, Isabelle released a full multi sized pattern, the Irene dress, and it is free! Many people were enthusiastic about the dress and today the Irene blog tour is starting, with 24 (!) bloggers.


The Irene dress is a lovely A-line dress designed for woven fabrics. The pattern includes three different button plackets, which give the dress a very nice touch. Some testers really became super creative with the pads. I was in tester mode, so I just did as instructed, it looks great as well like that.



The dress looks best in a rather heavy fabric, I do not have much heavy woven fabrics. When I was considering my fabric options, I had just finished a Secret Santa gift made from Canvas. I felt the left over was the perfect piece to turn into an Irene. There was not enough fabric to actually center the front, so I went for a modern off centre version. The back placement was a big challenge. There was no way I could match the print, I simply did not have the right pieces anymore. I solved it by coming up with an alternative print matching. The blobs where not evenly spaced, so I could not make it perfect. but it is close enough.


The dress is perfect all year round. It is a lovely summer dress and perfect with a long sleeve under it in colder periods. The pattern is wde enough or a long sleeve, you will not have to add ease fot that. Like I said at the beginning, the dress is completely free and it is available in a good size range. You can find the pattern here. Isabelle drew more free patterns, in the past, which you can find here.


Monday, November 7, 2016

Bel'AnaĆÆs anniversary



A bit over a year ago Miss Anais van Bel'etoile joined forces and a free pattern plus picture tutorial were born. With the pattern you can make an oversized comfortable sweater. The one version of the pattern fits size 36 to 46 (European sizing). Miss Anais and Bel'etoile decided they wanted to celebrate their joyful cooperation and have organized a small blog tour. Today, I am the first of the tour, but the hole week you will be treated on Bel'AnaĆÆs sweaters.


As tour participants we were allowed to pick a fabric from the Miss Anais web shop. Being allowed to pick whatever fabric you desire from a fabric store must be every sewers dream. Miss Anais has many fabrics suitable for a Bel'AnaĆÆs sweaters and I finally settled on a French Terry by Poppy. The fabric is light green with big drawings of origami cranes on it. The fabric both has a nice stretch and sturdiness and both sewing and earing it it is a dream.


Both cutting and sewing the sweater is done rather quickly. The most complex part of the sweater is the V-neckline. All the other parts sew up super quick. I sewed up the sweater in less than an hour for sure (might actually be closer to half an hour). The tutorial does not specify an elastic width, and I used a rather narrow one. With hindsight, the sleeves will look a bit nicer if you use a wide elastic like in the tutorial, one that fills the entire armband.


I am a huge fan of three quarter sleeves, and I think these sleeves can pass for that type. This sleeve length makes it suitable for me to wear the sweater whole year round (I am not easily cold, but I have to wear non-short sleeves or else the people around me get cold watching me). I am on a weight loosing journey and I still have some kilo's to go before I reach size 36, but this sweater can join me on that trip.


Make sure you check out the tutorial on the a Bel'etoile blog and the great selection of fabric over at Miss Anais. The blogs that will treat you on Bel'AnaĆÆs sweaters this week are:

Inspinration - Naaisgerief -Kaatjesnaaisels - So Popo Sew - Bellevi - DoDidIt - Momfie 


Sunday, October 2, 2016

Skippy skirt, (free) pattern release



I keep coming back to my sewing weekend group, but with very good reason. Now, the one that organized the weekend actually released her first FREE pattern, the Skippy skirt. So Popo made a pattern for a jersey skirt and even has different options. For the ones that know me, I of course was sold on the pockets, fully functional big pockets, every girl's dream.



The first option in the pattern is a skirt with kangaroo front pocket. I am usually from the unconventional fabric combi's but for this skirt I went for a rather plain one. The skirt has to be paired with something right, and that will usually be a more colorful top situation. The instructions ask you to iron the seam allowance inward before sewing the pocket on the front piece. I am not such good friends with my iron, so I serged the seam allowances. This way it was very easy to push them under (or iron them in place).




The second option is one with a hidden pocket. I have seen many versions with vertical piping and they looked great. Be sure to check out all the examples that will decorate So Popo's blog the coming days for the blog tour. The tour started yesterday en will last a few days. This skirt will really be a great combiner in her closet, dots go with everything right ;)




We had a lovely location for the shoot. I shot them the same day as the ones from my previous post, so I just realized you already got a super tiny sneak picture from the skirt earlier this week. While posing together, they remembered what they did last time, when they had pockets. Lately, I have been more efficient in my shoots, if I know I am going somewhere nice, I just redress them quickly.



To summarize, this lovely FREE skirt pattern is now available through the blog of So Popo. It is her first pattern, so let's all show how much we love it, by sewing a bunch. She has many more ideas in that creative head, and I am already looking forward to the next pattern.



Blog tour: 

Friday, February 26, 2016

Zozo tunic, KCW #2

Yesterday, I told you about the black and white fabric I got from Droomstoffen, and today I am showing you another sew I made with one of those small pieces. I made a Zozo, it is a free pattern from Blaverry. Of course, I hacked it slightly.


The Zozo has a triangular shape, giving a nice drape on both sides. I foresaw that the drape on my 80 cm tall girls would not be ideal, so I went for a high-low tunic look. The front is still a horizontal line, but the back is curved.



It was a challenge to cut the dress from the small piece, but by turning the fabric 90 degrees (so actually cutting in the wrong direction) and splitting the back in two, I succeeded. The fabric has a great four way stretch, so cutting the fabric in the other direction was no problem. I turned the fabric, because this way the triangles were facing the same way (to the side) both on the front and back. If I would have cut the fabric in its normal direction, the triangles would have been up on the front and down on the back.



The back seam is not perfect, but it is pretty close to being invisible, only at the top the triangles became trapezes. I had not thought about an invisible back seam while cutting, I had made sure the triangles were on the same height, but the other dimension I did not think about well enough.


I had cut the dress a bit short, even for a tunic (the pattern piece looked so long to me that I had cut it shorter), so I decided to add a visible black line at the bottom. This way I even added a bit of length, instead of loosing some by hemming. I think it really nicely frames the garment.


She had been wearing that pink necklace all day, and it really was the perfect accessory to the dress. She was also the one who decided it would be a great belt too. This black and white fabric is totally in line with the typical Blaverry style. You can buy the fabric here and the free pattern can be downloaded here.


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).