Monthly Archives: March 2017

The Virginia leggings from Megan Nielsen – SewMyStyle#3

The third piece of the Project Sew MyStyle are the Virginia leggings from Megan Nielsen. Although wearing leggings is way out of my comfort zone I accepted the challenge. Now, I am glad I did because they feel so comfortable and the fit is on the spot.

 

Is this a quick sew?

The goal of the SewMyStyle project is to sew together one garment every month and post your sewing on the last Sunday of that month. Strange enough I was still expecting there to be another Sunday in March. So I thought I had all the time left and was planning on sewing my leggings next week. It was the post of Alex on Instagram that warned me that in fact, I had to sew it this Sunday. Luckily I had my fabric and I could finish it in exactly two hours—from printing the pattern till putting it on.

The Virginia leggings pattern

This is the first pattern from Megan Nielsen that I sewed and it was a very pleasing experience. The 17-pages PDF-pattern has clear marks for the gluing. There are only two patterns pieces: the legging and the waistband.
Based on my measures I cut out a straight XL and I did not lengthen the legs, although I am 181 cm. I checked it with my Hudson pants and saw they were long enough. I love the scrunched look at the ankles.
I opted for the natural waist version and raised the waist with another 10 cm. In hindsight, 8 cm would be enough but they are sitting comfortable.

The Sewing Process

The Virginia leggings come together easily. The instructions are clear and you only have to sew three seams and the waistband. I sewed all the seams on my serger and used my beloved fagot stitch on my sewing machine for the hems.
I believe an important condition for the success of this project is the fabric choice. It is absolutely necessary to use fabric with at least a 40% stretch. This cotton-viscose jersey with a good stretch was a lucky find at my local fabric shop. It was the only colour they had.

Conclusion

Virginia leggings Megan NielsenI would have never thought it but I ‘heart’ these leggings. They are comfortable and feel like a second skin. I even wore them to school today. On top of that, without the SewMyStyle project,  I wouldn’t have sewed them. So again a big win.
Will I sew more Virginia leggings? I guess so. Definitely for my daughter because she loves them too.

Virginia leggings
That’s how I look after a day of teaching.

Eye-catchers #6

An eye-catcher is a person or thing that attracts the attention

eycatcher

The online sewing community is very visual. So, every day I see heaps of sewing related images on social media and blogs. Some of them catch my eye because they make me think or they give me inspiration. Here,  I want to share these eye-catchers with you.

Follow below what caught my eye the last 10 days:

#sewtoghetherforsummer

Sewing clothes

I said it before: the online sewing community is such an inspiring community. The day Spring peeked around the corner—and the MIYMarch2017 challenge was still in full swing—three amazing sewists launched another challenge: “Sew-together-a-shirtdress”. I wasn’t planning on sewing another shirtdress—in fact, I have one that is currently a WIP—but this challenge motivates me to sew one! Maybe it will be…

The Carolyn Pajamas dress by Jenny

Carolyn Pajamas Dress

Wow, I am so in love with the Carolyn Pajamas from Closet Case Patterns but I would never have thought to make a dress from it. This is such a clever idea from Jenny and she explains on her blog how she did it. Now I have to sew one.

The Cascade Duffle coat made by @katilulemakes

The Cascade Duffle coat from Grainline Studio has been in my sewing queue for a long time—like so many other patterns. But when I saw this version of @katilulemakes it really itched to start with one immediately. Isn’t this great? She made it with scraps and left-overs from wool fabric.

The Heron Top made by Sal

For two years making something from the Merchant and Mills workbook has been on my #MakeNine. When I saw this powerful Heron Top from Sal I thought: “Wis, what are you waiting for?”.

The Makebra DL01 made by Teresa

Making my own bra has also been on my wish list for a long time. Look at this amazing bra made by Teresa. I like that it is a foam bra made with green satin and beautiful top stitching. I really should get started on this now!

Did anything catch your eye this week?

The Daphne Day Dress from Sew This Pattern

In the beginning of February, ‘Sew This Pattern‘ asked for pattern testers. Last year I made their Velo Culottes and I loved them, so I was eager to be a tester for the Daphne Day Dress. On top of that, they asked for an intermediate sewer and I like a bit of a challenge too. So I immediately volunteered and was glad when Annie selected me.

Daphne Day Dress

The Daphne Day Dress pattern

I received a pdf pattern and a booklet with instructions. Due to the clear marks on the paper, the gluing of the pattern went easy.
The main pattern contains seven pattern pieces. The bodice has a separate midriff piece so that the front bodice can have gathers and the back bodice an open back. On top of that, the skirt has pockets and pleats—two of my favourite features.
I traced the (Australian) 18 based on my measurements. As asked, I didn’t make any alterations to the pattern. Being a #sewingtall girl I only lengthened the skirt with 6 cm.

My vintage fabric

I had this vintage cotton fabric—a gift from my sister-in-law—in my collection that I thought was perfect to give the dress a real vintage look. Only, this fabric had a strange width of 76,5 cm so I had to cut the front skirt in two pieces. This resulted in some serious pattern matching.

Daphne Day Dress

The sewing process

Thanks to the very detailed instruction booklet the sewing went smooth. It is a plus that every step is illustrated with a photo.
I finished the edges of the facings with self-made bias binding.

Daphne Day Dress

 

What I like about testing a pattern is that you have to decode the way of thinking of an experienced designer-sewer, and get to test-run the instructions they have written. I struggled a bit at the part where you put the back midriff, the back midriff facing and the back bodice together. I managed in the end but suggested some extra marks could be helpful here. That is what pattern testing is for, isn’t it?

Daphne Day Dress

Conclusion

Because of the challenges I liked sewing the Daphne Day Dress. I’m glad I used this vintage fabric for it because it is perfect for this design. It accentuates the vintage feel.
Now, I’m dreaming of a long warm Summer to wear this dress.

Daphne Day Dress

MIY March 2017 – Sewing Community

MIY March 2017

MIY March is an Instagram photo challenge for the sewing community. It is hosted by Wendy Ward with the help of Emma from Dressmaker’s Social. This year is the third edition going on—for me the second one that I participate in—and it is inspiring and fun. Like Wendy puts it:

“Yes, that month-long shenanigans that involves us all running around getting friends, family and ourselves to take photos of us, us in our makes, our makes artfully arranged on tables, us in our sewing caves and more is back for another month of sewing photo fun.”

MIYMarch2017

Sewing Community

Today’s theme is the community. I always sew alone and I don’t have sewing friends or attend sewing meetups in real live. But I write about it on my—still very young—blog. This gives me inspiration, challenges me and offers me support. So thank you, all.

Here you can read all my posts about the sewing community.

Sewing Community

 

Eye-catchers #5

An eye-catcher is a person or thing that attracts the attention

sewing patterns

The online sewing community is very visual. So, every day I see heaps of sewing related images on social media and blogs. Some of them catch my eye because they make me think or they give me inspiration. Here,  I want to share these eye-catchers with you.

Follow below what caught my eye this week:

  • The Adeline dress from Style Arc

    Adeline Dress Style ArcMeg sewed this beautiful Adeline dress for her friend. The fabric apparently is custom made at My Fabric Designs. I didn’t know this company but I like the idea that you can create your own design. The combination Meg made of this fabric and the pattern is spot on.

  • The skirt from Mollie Moxie

    V1486Look what a stunning skirt Molly made. She only used the upper part of the V1486 skirt. Which was a good idea because she sewed it in this amazing home decorator fabric.

  • The Sahara Skirt from Ralph Pink Patterns

    Sahara Skirt Ralph Pink PatternsThis amazing fabric used by Clare immediately caught my eye. She posted it as her presently favourite fabric for the #miymarch17 photo challenge on Instagram. Then I read she was making a Ralph Pink Pattern out of it and—again—this is a pattern designer I didn’t know. So thank you, Clare, for introducing me.

  • A muslin for V9239

    V9239When I saw this sewing project of Henna on Instagram I was totally in awe! The fabric design reminded me of Sonia Delaunay, who I immensely admire. So I was amazed when I read that Henna used Ikea fabric for making a muslin for V9239. I am not in favour of this pattern—the way Vogue presents it—but I do like it in the way Henna placed the fabric.

  • A tunic in Dutch wax print

    Green Ivy Style proves it again. You don’t have to use a complicated pattern when you have beautiful Dutch wax print.

Did anything caught your eye this week?

The striped Nanöo top

I was so in awe of The Nanöo top—made by Debora—in my latest eye-catchers that I decided to sew one myself. Furthermore, I had some very soft green striped jersey in my collection that was perfect for this project. So, why wait?

The Nanöo Top

Nanöo is a rather new Spanish indie sewing company with two patterns so far. They distribute the pattern both in paper and in PDF-format. The ordering and downloading of it goes very smooth.

The Nanöo Top pattern

The pattern has a clear design and exists  out of three pieces. You only have to glue eight pieces of paper together but here I miss some connection marks. On top of that, the only measures indicated in the instructions are those of the finished garments, which are not specified. I assumed the largest are the hips. Based on these measurements I cut out the tallest size and did not make any alterations to it.

When you sew striped fabric the most difficult part is matching the seams. Especially when you use knit fabric. Taking extra care of the cutting is very helpful.

The Nanöo Top

How to cut the front and backpiece in a single layer

* place and pin the pattern piece
* be sure you mark the center or your front or back on the fabric
* cut out, be careful not to cut beyond your marks

Cutting The Nanöo Top
* flip the pattern, align on the marks you made on the fabric

Cutting The Nanöo Top
* cut out the second halve of the front piece
* put the cut piece on the fabric, right sides together and cut the second piece

Cutting The Nanöo Top

Now your patterns pieces lay already in place for sewing your shoulder seams.

Cutting The Nanöo Top

The striped fabric

The fabric is a soft cotton jersey  from Girl Charlee that I bought in November 2015! Sewing with knits can be a little tricky but this fabric is cooperative. The seams keep flat and the stretch is perfect for the neckband.

Due to the cutting of the pattern pieces single layered and stitching with a walking foot the seams came out perfectly matched!

Perfectly matching seams

The sewing proces

Sewing together the Nanöo top is rather easy. It only has only straight seams and a neck binding. Still, I did it all by instinct as the sewing instructions that come with the pattern are rather brief.

The Nanöo Top

Conclusion

I am very pleased with my Nanöo top. Especially with how the stripes come out. For the next one, I will lengthen the sleeves to make them three-quarter.

My first striped top is spot on!

The Nanöo Top

 

Eye-catchers #4

An eye-catcher is a person or thing that attracts the attention

Eye-catcher

The online sewing community is very visual. So, every day I see heaps of sewing related images on social media and blogs. Some of them catch my eye, because they make me think or they give me inspiration. Therefore I want to share these eye-catchers with you.

Follow below what caught my eye this week:

  • The Ralph Lauren skirt for Vogue (V1723)

    Look at this stunning skirt made by Allison. This is so my style: a flared skirt with pockets. The pattern is a vintage—1987—Ralph Lauren for Vogue and only to find in thrift shops or on the secondhand market. But maybe I can draft it myself when my pattern draft skills grow?

  • The Nanöo Top

    I told you before I have some striped knits in my fabric collection waiting to be sewed. So when I saw this striped Nanöo top I was immediately intrigued. I did not know Nanöo—an indie sewing pattern company—so I’m glad this beautiful make of Debora brought it to my attention. And Debora also happens to be a brilliant Flemish sewist.

  • Moneta dress

    For me, this was the winner of the Moneta Party! Look at this incredible fabric Judith picked for her Moneta. Again evidence that the right fabric choice can bring a pattern to a higher level.

  • Knip Blouse

    Pdxsquared brought my attention to this blouse from Knip Mode. It probably is a very good pattern for using fabric leftovers because the pattern consists of several small pattern pieces. I am thinking even about a combination of fabrics. And Knip Mode is a Dutch—my mother tongue—sewing magazine so reading the instructions should be easy!

  • The Trapeze Button Front Dress from Taco Inou

    What a fascinating dress Taco Inou designed. I am really into this concept of wearing it above trousers and would love to sew one for myself.

Did anything catch your eye this week?

What I sewed in February – What I want to sew in March

Wow, February was a short but such an intense sewing month! As I told you before the theme of the month seemed to be secrecy and that made the sewing really thrilling. Even more thrilling was the grand finale of the month: the Moneta Party! Read all about it below:

February sewing
  • The 2017 Secret Valentine Exchange

    reversible tote bagFor my Secret Valentine I made a reversible tote bag and a coin purse. I wanted to sew both for a long time and I had a great time doing so. The tote bag came together very easily but I struggled more with the coin purse. Even after making one for practice I kept struggling with attaching the fabric to the frame. But a handmade gift can afford some imperfection, can’t it?

  • The Daphne Day Dress from Sew this Pattern

    Daphne Day DressI consider myself lucky that I could test the latest pattern of Sew This Pattern. It was a bit challenging but I like that because you can use your skills and the result gives you a lot of satisfaction. I used some vintage cotton fabric I had in my collection. When you live in the Northern hemisphere and you test a pattern from a designer of the Southern hemisphere then you have to brave the cold to make some pictures. But I’m really looking forward to wearing this Summer dress in the Summer!

  • The self-drafted skirt for the pattern drafting class

    I’m so enjoying this pattern drafting class that I’m taking. Our first homework was to draft a block for a straight skirt. Mine turned out to be a bit too small so I have to make some alterations for next class.

  • The Moneta dress from Colette Patterns

    The sewing community had a blast of a Moneta Party. Sewing together a Moneta dress was really very stimulating. I had great fun. Read all about it here.

  • The Saunio cardigan for the SewMyStyle project.

    The second project of SewMyStyle was the Saunio cardigan of Named Clothing. This pattern is a little out of my comfort zone but I accepted the challenge.
    I made it in a loosely woven linen with a woven print and lengthened the bodice with 13 cm. It came together very easy except for the sleeves. The front of the sleeve cap needed easing in and it shows.  Also, for me, the sleeves were a little too narrow and I widened them as much as my seam allowance let me. But I still think there is something not really right with the design of the sleeves.
    At first I wasn’t thrilled with the result but after wearing it a day it grew on me.

  • WIP’s

    Did I finish any WIP’s? No! Did I create new WIP’s? No! So the score remains 6 WIP’s.

 

March Planning

What are my sewing plans for this month?

What are your sewing plans for March?