Category Archives: sewing community

Me-Made-May ’18 ◊ I’ve signed up for #MMMay18

It’s the end of April and that means that Me-Made-May ’18 is very near. What is Me-Made-May? It’s a personal challenge to wear and to love your me-made-garments. This year is the ninth edition. If you want to know more about this challenge I suggest listening to the fantastic interview with Zoe, the founder, on the ‘Love to Sew’ podcast. Or read more on Zoe’s blog.

Me-Made-May '18 My Me-Made-May ’18 pledge

I, Wis (from @wis_g and www.whatisew), sign up as a participant of Me-Made-May ’18.

  1. I endeavor to wear at least one me-made garment each day for the duration of May 2018
  2. I will wear every garment only once; so no repeats.
  3. I will wear at least 10 garments I didn’t wear last May 2017.
  4. If I wear a combo of 2 me-mades I will wear a different combination than the previous years.

Me-Made-May '18

My Me-Made-May history

My first became aware of Me-Made-May in 2015. I was reading several sewing blogs and there was some MMMay15 buzz, either in blog posts or in the sidebar widgets. I was intrigued by this and I wondered if I could meet the challenge to wear me-made clothes during a whole month.

In July 2015 I joined Instagram (@wis_g) and made a huge and very inspiring connection with the International Sewing Community. So when Zoe made the announcement on Instagram for MMMay2016 I decided to accept the challenge and make a pledge. More, I made it quite challenging for myself because I endeavored to wear at least one me-made item each day for the duration of May 2016. I had no clue if I could make it but I did. Even more, I was able to wear a different me-made garment for 31 days.

Every day I posted a picture on Instagram.  I know this is not the purpose of Me-Made-May but I wanted to document the challenge for myself. More, this was an opportunity for me to archive my me-mades from earlier years. For this, I use the hashtag #wgsewingXX (where XX refers to the year I sewed the garment; so #wgsewing18 is for all my sewing I do in 2018)

Also, the pictures made it easier to contemplate about my self-made wardrobe and sewing.

These were my observations:

  1. I was able to wear at least one self-made garment every day for 31 days in a row.
  2. No repeats!
  3. While I wore only black clothes in the eighties, I was wearing a lot of colour being 55!
  4. Taking a picture of yourself every day was quite confronting.
  5. My style is very eclectic!
  6. There are only 6 self-made tops.
My Me-Made-May’s from 2016

After my successful first Me-Made-May, I participated again last year in MMMay2017. This time I made the challenge a bit more daring for myself. Not only did I endeavor to wear at least one different me-made garment each day for the duration of May 2017. I would also wear at least 10 garments I didn’t wear during May 2016.

For the second time I succeeded and I enjoyed it enormously. To be able to wear a different self-made garment for 31 days in a row made me happy. On top of that, I was really pleased that half of them were recent makes. Though I must confess that I didn’t wear some of the older makes since May 2016, I was happy with the excuse to wear them again.

For MMMay17 I documented on Instagram and wrote three blog posts about it. (I started this blog in December 2016). Again this made it easier to reflect on my wardrobe and sewing.

These were my observations:

  1. A LOT of prints! I definitely have to sew some solids.
  2. A variety of colours.
  3. No repeats, at all.
  4. An eclectic style.
  5. At that time we had some ‘tropical’ weather in Belgium so I was happy to wear my summer clothes.
  6. Two old rtw-tops. The others I made myself.
  7. Taking a picture of yourself every day is still quite confronting.
  8. I enjoy the challenge to search my wardrobe every day to look for a new me-made!

Wardrobe-wise I made some progress on self-made tops but I’m still lacking some garments in solid colours to combine with all my prints clothes.

MMMay17
My Me-Made-May’s from 2017
Me-Made-May preparations

How do I prepare for Me-Made-May? I don’t! That’s not exactly true but I mean I don’t sew any new garments especially in advance, or even during the month of May. Of course, when I finish something for myself I will probably wear it. This happened three times in MMMay16 and only once in MMMay17.

How do I then prepare? Instead of grabbing the first garment that comes to my mind in the morning I sort of plan my outfit in advance.

  1. I go through my agenda and look if there are some special activities or parties planned. If so then I know already which clothes I am going to wear for them.
  2. How many days do I have to teach or go to school. I try to picture in my head the work appropriate garments I have and that I could wear.
  3. Are there some vacation days? Again, I make a selection for these days.
  4. I check the weather forecast as the weather in Belgium is unpredictable. I am hoping for some sunny days because then I can prepare (in my head) my summer clothes.

Be aware that this planning is not on paper. These are only some thoughts in my head and they are not fixed. It is possible that at the end of May I didn’t wear that skirt that I thought of in the beginning.  After all participating in Me-Made-May is fun and shouldn’t be a stressy business.

I am really looking forward to MMMay2018. I’m definitely aiming to wear a different me-made garment every day. Also, if I wear two pieces I am going to try to make different combinations from the previous years.

See you at MMMay2018!

 

 

Fashion Revolution Week: restyling or ‘New Lease’

Every year between the 23rd and 28th of April the Fashion Revolution Week takes place. This is an awareness campaign to remember the victims of Rana Plaza in Bangladesh. Sadly, today 5 years ago on 24th April 2013, the Rana Plaza factory collapsed, which killed 1138 people and injured many more. To raise awareness that the fashion industry also has to be a clean industry—fashion can’t come at the cost of people or our planet—there are several campaigns and challenges this week on social media.

On Instagram, we have the ‘Makers for Fashion Revolution’ campaign hosted by Emily from ‘In the Folds’. Today’s prompt is ‘New Lease’.
Besides sewing your own new clothes there are also a lot of ways to changes old clothes to new ones. You can upcycle, recycle, restyle, refashion, embellish… them and so create new dazzling garments.

In this spirit, I want to draw attention to the annual restyling exchange of Amy and Pilar. This exchange fits perfectly with the Makers for Fashion Revolution action. I participated last year I want to share my experience with restyling a garment.

Fashion Revolution Week
Restylingexchange2017: look at this beautiful top Linda, @listokap restyled for me! I sent her an old dress that I only wore once!
My first experience with restyling:  a ‘New Lease’

*** This post was previously posted on June 17, 2017. ***

When Amy and Pilar announced the first annual restyling exchange I immediately jumped on board. Those who read my blog know that I am always in for a challenge!
What is this restyling challenge? You receive a garment from someone to restyle it. Meanwhile, you send a garment from yourself to someone else, also to restyle it. So I received a men’s shirt from Elisabete and sent an old dress to Linda. A simple and beautiful concept. To make it more easy to sew something a questionnaire with measurements, colour and style wishes was sent with the garment.

restyle men's shirt
From a men’s shirt to a women’s top.
Restyling: how do you start?

I have never restyled or refashioned an existing garment before. So I started with unpicking the main seams of the shirt. In the meantime, I thoroughly went through Elisabete’s IG-feed and read her blog. This gave me an insight into her style, but it was also a little intimidating because she is a very skilled seamstress and ‘refashionista’!
Looking through her pictures I got the idea of sewing the Kastrup top from ‘How To Do Fashion’. I have this pattern in my pattern collection but I didn’t use it so far. So no extra costs were made.

Fitting the new pattern on the shirt

Once I decided to sew the Kastrup top I stuck to it. This top has a vintage vibe and also nice sleeves. And, Elisabete has a thing for particular sleeves.
It was quite a puzzle to get the top out of the shirt. This was also the hardest work of the restyling.

restyle men's shirt
Fitting in all the pieces and cut them single layer.

restyle men's shirt

It was not possible to get the back pieces out in one piece. So I made a yoke for the back and used the original closure of the front for the rest of the back.

restyle men's shirt

I unpicked a little of the sleeve placket to be able to cut the new sleeve pattern.

restyling
The largest use of the old shirt!
Making my own border print

woodblock stamp printing

After cutting the pattern I was not satisfied. I wanted to give this restyling a more personal touch. So I decided to make my own border print. Also prompted by the recent positive experience I had with a border print.
My husband, who is an editor of artists books, has these Indian woodblock stamps, that would be perfect. I bought some blue textile ink and together we gave it a go!

woodblock stamp printing
The Indian woodblock stamp.
woodblock stamp printing
First test on a rest of the shirt.

restyle men's shirt

It is easy to print your border after your pattern pieces are cut. Then pattern matching is not difficult.

woodblock stamp printing

I was able to give one sleeve a non-conventional placing of the print. Which I adore.

Kastrup top - How to do Fashion

restyle men's shirt

Later on, I needed the test pieces to cut out the arm facings.

The Kastrup Top

Kastrup Top - How to do Fashion

Here is the result: «insert drumroll» the Kastrup Top! I adore how it came out. There are several features that I am proud of:
– The back with the yoke and the original front button placket.
– The sleeve with the non-conventional placing of the border.
– The vintage fabric used for the lining of the sleeves.

Conclusion
Kastrup Top - How to do Fashion
This is how I look after a full day of sewing.

I am super satisfied with my first restyle project ever. Now I hope that Elisabete likes what I’ve done with her husband’s shirt. I want to thank Amy and Pilar for this great challenge. I enjoyed every minute of it. More restyling projects will definitely follow.

When I was finishing this post, the message came through that Elisabete finally received my restyled top. She liked it and, moreover, the top fits! I am a happy woman now.

restyling Kastrup Top - How to do Fashion
©photos: Elisabete Carvallo
Sign up for the Second Annual Restyling Exchange

To sign up for the Second Annual Restyling Exchange go to Amy’s or Pilar’s blog and fill in the form. Simple as that. Maybe we meet as restyling exchangers!

4 reasons to participate in the 2018 Secret Valentine Exchange

Woohoo!! The 2018 Secret Valentine Exchange is back. I love this “sewing-community- handmade-gift-swap” so much that I give you—again—4 reasons to participate. I wrote this blog post exactly one year ago for the 2017 Secret Valentine Exchange but everything is still true!

2018 Secret Valentine Exchange
Design made by Sanae

The  Valentine Exchange is a non-conventional handmade gift swap that occurs worldwide. It’s the fifth time it takes place and it is organized by two very creative and inspirational women: Sanae from Seattle (US) and Ute from Berlin (Germany). You can read more about the exchange on Sanae’s blog.
In 2016 I participated for the first time and it really was a heart-warming experience.

Here are my 4 reasons why you should participate as well!

1 You get to know new people

  • Like I said before, the hosts, Sanae and Ute, are amazing people to meet.
  • Then you meet your assignment: the person you have to make a gift for, in my case, that was Elle from the UK. I received an email from the organizers with some information and her IG-account for inspiration.
  •  And of course, at the end, you get to meet the person who made something for you. Last year Angela from Oakland was my Secret Valentine.

2 You get challenged

The purpose of the SVE is to make something yourself with barely any costs, to use materials from your stash. I learned that Elle’s favourite colours were: grey, navy, gold, and mustard. Luckily I had some scraps in my stash of these colours.

Grey and mustard scraps from my fabric stash

Then you have to let your creativity work. Elle is a great sewist, so I decided to make some pattern weights and a bag for putting them in. I used the open wide zippered pouch pattern from Noodlehead for it.

The pattern weights are filled with lentils
The open wide zippered pouch from noodlehead

I pimped it with some cuberdons, a famous sweet from Ghent, my hometown.

3 You get thrilled twice

  • It is very exciting to send a gift to someone and have to wait to receive their response, whether they liked it or not. Elle expressed her thanks extensively and still does, and every time I get warm and fuzzy all over again.
  • It is also very exciting to receive your gift, especially when it comes from overseas and when it is beautifully wrapped gift containing a block print of David Bowie on a white canvas bag. I use it all the time because I love it so much.

4 It is very easy to sign up
Just fill in the Google form. The deadline is  Wednesday, January 10th, so you have still a few days. You don’t need to have an online presence to participate. You just have to let your creativity work!

Are you participating?

** I also posted about my 2017 Secret Valentine Exchange **

1 year of blogging

1 year of blogging

Exactly one year ago I pushed the publish button of this blog for the first time and herewith I entered the blogosphere.  Not that there weren’t enough sewing blogs already but I wanted to share my personal sewing stories. Although I was pretty nervous—would someone out there ever read it?—I also felt very excited. Especially when I received positive and supporting comments. So today I am celebrating 1 year of blogging and…

one year of blogging

 

1 year of blogging = 55 posts

I published 55 posts! That’s more than once a week.  While they are all sewing related, I don’t have a fixed format. Most of the time I write about the garments I sewed. Three of them: The Daphne Day Dress, The Chari Dress, and The Laneway Dress were pattern reviews and I loved the combination of sewing and reviewing.
In February I started the Eye-catchers series and this series worked really well. I got a lot of positive comments on it and it gave me heaps of sewing inspiration. I absolutely am going to write more Eye-catchers.
Writing a guest post for the Sewcialists blog was also a fun experience. After two years of inactivity  Gillian from ‘Crafting a Rainbow‘ reanimated this blog. I am glad that I could contribute with a piece about sewing bloggers who inspired me.

4 most read posts

I love some statistics so I consulted Google-analytics and found my most-read posts. The result doesn’t  surprise me.  In fact, they cover my different types of blog posts.

Eye-catchers #18

what I sew: one year blogging

 

The striped nanöo top

what I sew: one year blogging

The Laneway Dress

The refashion of a men’s shirt

What is not so good about having a sewing blog?
It’s time-consuming

Creating content, making and editing photos, this all takes a lot of time for me. Also because I am writing in English, which is my second language. Sometimes I think: “ Wouldn’t it be better to sew instead of blogging!”

 Feeling guilty

When I haven’t posted for more than a week I start to feel guilty. I tell myself that this feeling is unnecessary because blogging is a fun hobby and it should stay fun, not an obligation. Alex, from Sewrendipity, wrote about this guilt feeling too.

Still, I think the good vibes that blogging brings are stronger than the negative ones, so I am going to continue for at least another year!

 

Thanks

A huge thank you to my daughter for editing all of my posts, and to my hubby for taking almost all of the blog photos.

Maremma love
Mother & daughter in the Maremma, my favourite place on earth. Photo was taken by my husband.

 

And of course enormous thanks to you readers all over the world. Because without your support this blog would have no sense at all.

xxx

My TNTs – Tried and True patterns

The November theme of the Sewcialists is TNT patterns.  One of the purposes of this theme is to show the patterns that you tried, several times, and that you love. You can either share them on Instagram with the #SewcialistTNT or tell about them on your blog. (At this moment you have still one day for it!)
So I dove into my sewing archives and discovered that I had several TNTs.

My first TNT patternTNT Tried’N’True patterns

In 2013, after a sewing hiatus of more than 20 years, the first pattern I tackled was the A-line skirt from the book  Allemaal rokjes from Mme ZsaZsa  (You can translate the title as A whole lot of skirts !).  After sewing this skirt I felt the joy of sewing something for myself that has a good fit. The feeling was so strong that I immediately sewed some more of the same skirt. For myself and for my daughter.

allemaal rokjesIt is always the same pattern but some have more flare and others have a box pleat at the front.

Why sewing a TNT pattern?
  1. You save time
    The fact that you have already a traced and maybe an adjusted pattern saves you a lot of time. This is a big win for me because I am tall and I have to lengthen all my patterns.
  2. You professionalize
    Every time you sew a pattern that you sewed before you improve your sewing techniques. Well, after sewing in about twenty blind zippers in your skirts, I can do it with my eyes closed ;).
  3. You can vary a lot
    You can use another type of fabric for the same pattern. You can make small changes like lengthening the sleeves or the hem. Small decisions that bring a lot of variety to your wardrobe.
  4. You have joy
    Sewing a garment more than once gives joy. When you are sewing it you know already that the fit will be good, how it looks on you and how you feel in it. That makes that you have a smile on your face while you are sewing it because you know the outcome will be great.

Look below for some patterns that are my TNTs. For me, a pattern is a TNT when I sewed it at least three times.

The Hudson Pants from True BiasHudson Pants True Bias

The most loved and worn comfort pants in our family. I sewed several for whole my family.

The Odette Dress from BluegingerdollOdette dress

I sewed all three of them in a knit fabric. That makes them secret pyjamas.  And you don’t have to sew in a zipper on when you use a knit fabric, win-win.

The Brooklyn Skirt from Seamwork

Same skirt and the same pattern with no changes, but three different types of fabric giving three different looks.

Ogden Cami from True Bias

The same pattern in three different lengths. This cami and dresses gave me so much joy in the scorching heat of last summer.

Future TNTs?

Will I sew some more variations of above TNT patterns?
I don’t have a crystal ball but it is possible. But, more likely it is that I create new TNTs.
And you? Have you some (favourite) TNT patterns?

Nina Leen, a fantastic photographer

Those of you who are also active Sewist of Instagram will know that September is SewPhotoHop month and how fun it is to participate.  For the others, I’ll explain. SewPhotoHop is an Instagram photo challenge where you post a picture inspired by a daily prompt. These prompts are always sewing related.

As one of the prompts was ‘Past Era’, I searched the internet for fashion photos from the late fifties—my favourite era—and I was taken by this telling picture. I was even more intrigued when I learned that the picture was made by Nina Leen, a so far for me unknown female photographer.  As I scrolled through more of her pictures I wanted to know more about her and share it with you.

Nina Leen
Plaid and checks are lined up at the Roosevelt Raceway pari-mutuel window, March 1958
Nina Leen, photographer
Nina Leen
Nina Leen, holding onto her Rolleiflex around her neck and holding up a tripod in her other hand, 1945.

Nina Leen was born in Russia (between 1909 and 1914; she always kept her age a secret). She emigrated to the United States in 1939. The first pictures she published in LIFE, in 1940, were from animals that she made at the Bronx Zoo. Then started a long cooperation as a contracted photographer with LIFE until the magazine closed in 1972. This means three decades of photos within a wide range of topics: animals, young people, American life, fashion, actresses, and the group of artists known as the Irascibles. Nina Leen died in January 1995.

***  If you want to see the Nina Leen pictures that are published in LIFE you can easily search the LIFE photo archive through Google with the following command: nina leen source:life.  ***

Nina Leen, photographs

What I like about her photographs is that they are often conceptual and even sometimes surreal. Her fashion images have a crisp, linear quality while her photographs of American culture are relaxed and without artifice.

Below I let her photos speak for themselves.

Nina Leen
From an April 20, 1942, LIFE story about proper skirt-hem lengths.
Nina Leen
Wedding Essay, June 1947.
Nina Leen
From the series: 420-Cotton Dresses—I love the photobombing man.
Nina Leen
Beach Fashions, April 4, 1950.
Nina Leen
Beach Fashions, April 4, 1950.
Nina Leen
Beach Fashions, April 4, 1950.
Nina Leen
Cover image for the Feb. 25th 1952 cover of LIFE Magazine “News In Gloves”.
Nina Leen
Tanned model is wearing striped denim bare-backed overalls with attached halter by Two Smart Girls, Miami, Florida, March 1955
Nina Leen
From the series: 477-Howe Fashion.
Nina Leen
Fashion at the Roosevelt Raceway, New York, 1958.
Nina Leen
Simone d’Aillencourt modeling a Traina-Norell dress, 1959.
Nina Leen
Nina Leen, fantastic photographer, with a fashion model, 1954

 

 

 

Eye-catchers #18

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

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.

DIY sewing

 

Follow below what caught my eye last August:

Catherine’s  V9253 dress

DIY sewing

This was the first V9253 dress I saw in my feed and this version by Catherine from Thread Snips left me speechless. She searched for the perfect fabric and ended up with silk noil. More, she dyed it herself in this gorgeous colour. The result is a stunning dress that fits her perfect! I should really start to dye my fabric too.

@mokosha_ll’s  dress

Burda Dress

There are sewists out there who can work wonders. @mokosha_ll squeezed this Burda Racer Tank Dress out of 0,8m (where 1,8m was suggested!) As usual she combined two different patterns for the bodice and the skirt. That’s something I want to do more.

Bianca’s caftan

Simplicity 5313

The summer of 2017 was certainly the summer of the caftan. A lot of them popped up in my feeds but look at the brilliant version Bianca sewed. She used a 1970s vintage pattern, Simplicity 5313. I totally adore how she played with her striped fabric. Very inspiring!

Beth’s striped dress

Burda dress

Beth proved that there is more than one way to play with stripes. Although I am not a big fan of striped garments— I only have a few myself — I like the way how the stripes are put here. The pattern is the Asymmetric Sheath Dress from Burda. Beth posted this on her Instagram although she made it a year ago. She herself is not that convinced of it but I find it beautiful.

The tribute blouse of Meris

M6436 Blouse

August 2017 was the Sewcialist’s Tribute Month. It was all about paying tribute to inspiring sewists. I wrote a post about it but I didn’t get to sewing a tribute piece. But a lot of sewists did. You can read all about it on the Sewcialist’s blog.
I was immediately taken by this blouse by Meris of The Fabric Alchemist. The pattern is M6436. Meris made a tribute to Morgan from Craft & Bee, who made not less of 10 versions of this pattern. What I found striking is that Meris used this beautiful fabric from a kimono gown of her husband’s grandmother. That makes it a double tribute and a total lovely project.

Did anything catch your eye recently?

Laneway Dress Jennifer Lauren

The Laneway Dress from Jennifer Lauren Handmade

A month ago Jennifer Lauren called out for pattern reviewers. She is the driving force behind Jennifer Lauren Handmade, a New Zealand Indie Pattern company. She wants to show people with a variety of body types wearing her designs. Hence the call out for reviewers. I volunteered and I’m happy that I am an official Laneway Dress Reviewer!

Laneway Dress Jennifer Lauren Handmade

The Laneway Dress pattern

I was pleased that there is an A0 format of the Laneway Dress pattern because I try to avoid assembling pdf-patterns. One of the advantages of the Laneway Dress is that it comes with different cup sizes (B, C, and D). To prevent unnecessary prints and costs Jennifer made a different page for every bodice pattern with the facing. So you have only to print the page with your cup size. This is very economical and much appreciated.
After grading between the 20 for the bust and 22 for the waist I cut out the pattern pieces. Here I found that the difference between the lines for the different sizes was not always that clear, especially on the curves. To distinguish them I marked them.

Laneway Dress

With 14 cm difference between my full bust and my under bust, I went for the B-cup and the fit was right.

The pattern is designed for an average height of 170 cm. Being 181 cm I lengthened the bodice and the skirt each with 5 cm. On the bodice pattern there are no lengthen/shorten lines but in the instructions is explained how you can do it.
I didn’t lengthen the skirt at the seam but I put 5 cm in the middle because I wanted to hold the original width of the skirt.

Laneway Dress Jennifer Lauren Handmade

The Fabric

I had this African Wax Print in my collections since September 2016. I bought it in Paris in the Sacre Coeur neighbourhood where there are a lot of great fabric stores. When I bought the fabric I just went for the colours. I didn’t notice that the balls were, in fact, all kind of sports balls! Although the Laneway Dress has a 1940s A-line silhouette which is not immediately associated with African Wax Print I went for it and it worked perfectly!
For the contrasting collar, I used some gingham from an old table cloth.

Laneway Dress Jennifer LaurenThis  100 %  African Wax was a dream to sew but very difficult to photograph. The colours change all the time. I also used the selvedge as a ‘natural’ hem.

The sewing process

This is the first pattern I sewed from Jennifer Lauren Handmade and it was a very satisfying experience. The accompanying instructions are detailed and illustrated with clear designs. The order of the steps is logical and there is nothing confusing.
A little different from my usual method was the way the pockets were sewn. It was described and illustrated in detail and they came out neat and smooth. For sure a technique that I will adopt now.
Laneway Dress Jennifer Lauren Handmade
What I also like in the instructions is that every step includes how to press the sewed seams.

Due to the grading between sizes, the fit was ok but could be more perfected. In hindsight, it would be better for me to grade between 18 for the shoulders and armscye, to 20 for the bust and 22 for the waist. Another minor mistake was that I had lengthened the bodice too much. I was able to take off 1 cm but for the future, I better lengthen the bodice only with 3,5 cm.

Laneway Dress Jennifer Lauren Handmade

Is this a quick sew?

I would not say that sewing the Laneway Dress is a quick sew. The sewing, however, is really satisfying. It is not difficult and after every step, you immediately see your progress. That makes that you are sitting there sewing with a smile on your face.

Laneway Dress Jennifer Lauren Handmade

Conclusion

I only finished my Laneway Dress today but I am positive that I am going to wear it a lot. It feels comfortable. The design of this dress is exquisite and the use of non-obvious fabric choice only confirms this. So, thank you, Jennifer Lauren, for letting be me a Laneway Dress Reviewer!

Eye-catchers #17

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

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.

sewing dresses

Follow below what caught my eye recently:

Jenny’s Eden dress

Eden La Maison Victor

Isn’t this lovely finished back of the La Maison Victor Eden dress an eye-catcher? The dress has a beautiful back decolletage but the way Jenny embellished it with the white ribbon is exquisite. Very inspiring.

Sewionista’s red-white striped dress

sewing dresses

I only have a few striped garments but when I saw this amazing dress of Sewionista I decided I want some more. This is the 05/2014 #104 Burdastyle dress. The pattern design is not that complicated but Julia did a sublime stripe placing that took sewing a striped garment to a higher level.

Shar’s Jazz Jumpsuit

ready to sew Jazz

She has a serious look in this picture—she says she can’t do selfies ;)— but the Shar’s version of the Ready to Sew Jazz jumpsuit is simply delightful. The use of Ikat fabric works excellently for this pattern. Picking a non-obvious fabric for a pattern is also something  I always try to aspire.

Anne’s keyhole blouse

Anne’s keyhole blouse reminded me of the Knip blouse I featured in Eye-catchers #4.  Both blouses consist out of several pattern pieces so you can mix and match fabrics. Anne did a great job here using a different fabric for the sleeves and back yoke.

Mirella’s dress

sewing dresses

This amazing fabric used by Mirella immediately caught my eye.  It’s a knit fabric but I could not read more about it on Mirella’s IG (@mirei_71). She used it to sew a dress from the Rosa P. book. This is an unknown designer for me. I always like it when I discover new designers, patterns,…  So thank you, Mirella, for sharing.

And, did anything catch your eye recently?

A guest post for the sewcialists blog

Hey there, I am super excited because today I posted my first guest blog post. More, it is on the sewcialists blog.

I am a sewcialist!

The sewcialists blog

The sewcialists blog is a blog from and for the sewing community. The goal is to build a community and make everyone feel welcome. There was a lot of activity between November 2013 and August 2015, but then the blog dozed for two years. Recently Gillian from ‘Crafting a Rainbow‘ reanimated it.

As a sewist, I entered the social media world in August 2015. So the previous activities of the sewcialists blog went past me. When about a month ago Gillian asked for writers for the blog I took the chance to participate because I love the sewing community!

sewcialists

Here is my first contribution to promoting the August Tribute Month: 5 bloggers who inspire me. Get over to the sewcialist blog to read it! Thanks!