Eye-catchers #11

21st May 2017sewing communityeye-catcher, indie patterns, sewing, sewing inspirationWis

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.

Follow below what caught my eye recently.

The African wax top of Natalie

African Wax top

I told you before: I love African wax and when I see something made of it that immediately gets my attention. This happened again when I saw this stunning top sewed by Natalie. Apparently she wasn’t convinced herself, at first, but I really love it. The fabric is gorgeous and showing the selvage at the hems of the sleeves is fantastic. Such an inspiring idea.

The Falda Jacket

Falda Jacket Pattern Fantastique

The Falda Jacket from Pattern Fantastique is on my 2017MakeNine list. This is the original version made by the pattern designer. Look at these exceptional lines. I am crazy about this design. I planned to sew it this Winter—I even have the pattern and fabric—but I didn’t get to it. I am definitely going to do it this Fall, I promise.

The Tie Belt Dress from Mollie Moxie

Tie Belt Dress

This amazing dress made by Mollie Moxie instantly caught my eye. I like the fabric, the model and also the length. Mollie lengthened the dress because she had more fabric than the pattern required. That doesn’t happen a lot to me; most of the time I am a bit short of fabric for the pattern I am making. Nevertheless, I think it is a great idea for when I should have more fabric.

Ooobop’s dirndl skirt

The simplest things are often the prettiest one. When you have such awesome border fabric just design a dirndl skirt for it. When you wear it to cycle—like Ooobop did—cars will stop and heads will turn!

Brenda’s sewing tip

This is such a clever tip from Brenda: to eliminate bulk in cross seams, make a V-snip. I did not know this trick but I will definitely apply it the next times when I have to sew cross seams.

Did anything catch your eye lately?

MMMay 17 – halfway

18th May 2017sewing communitymmmay17, sewing overviewWis

We are halfway through Me-Made-May’17 so it’s time for some observations. It’s the second year I’m participating, therefore I extended my pledge. Besides wearing one me-made garment every day I also endeavor to wear at least 10 me-made garments I didn’t wear last year. I also want to wear 31 different outfits. Did I succeed so far?

New garments

NO.7 VANLØSE — How to do fashion // Moneta dress — Colette patterns // Brooklyn skirt –Seamwork // Walkey dress – – MIY collection

Me-Made-May '17

Two hour top (free pattern) — Sew Different // Ariadne Tunic (free pattern) — Tanit-Isis Sews // Veloculottes — Sew This Pattern // KnipMode skirt

So far I wore 7 new me-made garments thus I am on track. Except for the Moneta dress, these were all sewed last Summer. The Ariadne Tunic is, in fact, an old make but I did not wear it last May. I sewed it in 2014. The back is perfect but there are some imperfections at the front so I don’t wear it often.

Old garments

Me-Made-May '17

Paula pleat skirt — Maria Denmark // Amelia Dress — Green Bee Patterns // Hudson Pant — True Bias // Sureau dress — Deer&Doe // NewLook 6106 // Julia Sweater — Compagnie M. and Skirt from Allemaal rokjes // Odette dress — Blue Gingerdoll

Seven days I wore clothes that I also wore in last year’s me-made-may. I don’t consider that a bad thing. It means they still fit me and that I am happy to wear them.

Some observations

A LOT of prints! I definitely have to sew some solids.
A variety of colours.
No repeats, so far.
An eclectic style.
All the tops—execpt the Julia Sweater—are old rtw’s.
Taking a picture of yourself every day is quite confronting. Also, there were a lot of grey days with bad light. A true damper on the party.
I enjoy the challenge to search my wardrobe every day to look for a new me-made!

How is your me-made-may going?

1000 followers on Instagram

16th May 2017sewing community, Sewing keeps me saneInstagram, sewing, sewing communityWis

My Instagram profile picture. Sewing keeps me sane!

When I posted my first Instagram photo in July 2015 I could never have guessed that I would ever reach 1000 followers. I am even more in disbelief because about 950 of them are people I don’t know in real life! But I am thrilled to have met this wonderful online sewing community.

I joined Instagram with a photo of me in our Tuscan garden. I wanted to share pictures of my two loves—besides my family—sewing and Podere Santa Pia, our Tuscan holiday house. Back then I could never have predicted the joy it would bring. I met so many inspiring dressmakers, pattern designers, fabric stores… I even met the fabulous Anne Whalley in person.

Meeting Anne Whalley was an amazing experience.

All the sewing joy

Thanks to IG I had the opportunity to test several patterns: the Nita Wrap Skirt from ‘Sew DIY blog’, the Daphne Dress from Sew This Pattern and currently I am testing a dress pattern for Schnittchen (still a big secret).

Testing the Nita Wrap Skirt and the Daphne Day Dress

I was flattered and excited to be featured on the Girl Charlee UK blog. The Secret Valentine exchange brought me a beautiful bag from @sophomorestudio.

I really love the-photo-a-day challenges in which I participated like #sewphotohop, #bpsewvember, #MIYMarch, #makersforfashrev, #mmmay, and #dressmakers52.

I can’t forget the Moneta Party. A virtual party only attended by sewists of Instagram all dressed in their Moneta Dress.

And the sewing joy continuous

At this moment two new and exciting challenges are running. First, there is the Sew Together For Summer. We all sew together a shirt dress before June 21.

Second, the Restyling Exchange which is very thrilling. You receive a garment from somebody to restyle and to refashion and you send one of yourself to another sewist. Although this will give a lot of sewing joy it is also a bit nerve wrecking: sewing for somebody you don’t know. But everything is perfectly organized by Pilar and Amy.

The men’s skirt I received from @elisabetefcarvalho.

And last, but not least, it was Instagram that stimulated me to start this blog. I felt that I wanted to share more than was allowed in the comment section beneath the photos. But I get a lot of inspiration for my blog through Instagram like you can read and see in the Eye-catchers feature.

Thanks for all the love, here’s to many more years of Instagram sewing!

Eye-catchers #10

7th May 2017sewing community, Sewing keeps me saneeye-catcher, sewing, sewing inspirationWis

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

Follow below what caught my eye recently

The Seamwork Jane T-shirt by Becs

Seamwork Jane Becs made a real eye-catcher from a basic T-shirt by using this beautiful, bright floral jersey. Again evidence that the right fabric choice can bring a pattern to a higher level.

The African wax Tunic Dress of Eleonora

Burda Tunic Dress I love African wax and when I see something made of it that immediately gets my attention. So I was intrigued when I saw the Tunic Dress Eleonora made. It is a pattern from Burda. The straight lines of this pattern make the design of the fabric sparkle.

The Winterdress from Bianca

Winterdress Patternreview

Bianca, from the blog Thanks! I made them, made this Winterdress from Patternreview in a double layer cotton jersey. She airbrushed and stenciled it. Then she handstitched around the shapes and cut out the middles. That’s the way to have unique fabric. Very impressive!

Suzy’s Jumpsuit

Jumpsuit Bridgetown Dress hack

The April entry of the project SewMyStyle was the Bridgetown Backless Dress from Sewhouse 7. Suzy took the challenge to a higher level and created a jumpsuit with the pattern. Therefore she used the bodice of the dress and combined it with trousers. This is an ingenious idea and the result is stunning.

The Mirri Dress from Ariane

Mirri Dress Wardrobe by me

I discovered a new pattern designer by looking at and reading about this beautiful dress Ariane made. It is the Mirri Wrap Dress from Wardrobe By Me. I like faux wrap dresses and this one has a nice shawl collar. Also, the left under-piece has no pleats and that gives the dress a smooth look.

Did anything catch your eye this week?

Me-Made-May ’17

30th April 2017sewing communityme-made-may, mmmay16, mmmay17, sewingWis

Tomorrow starts Me-Made-May ’17. Again an exciting challenge from the sewing community. Zoe, the founder, describes it as follow:
“Me-Made-May’17 (#MMMay17 for social media interaction) is a challenge designed to encourage people who sew/knit/crochet/refashion/upcycle garments for themselves to wear and love them more.”

Me-Made-May '17

To sign up you make a pledge that you post in the comment of Zoe’s blog post.

My pledge

I, Wis from www.whatisew.be and @wis_g, sign up as a participant of Me-Made-May ’17. I endeavour to wear at least one me-made garment each day for the duration of May 2017. I will not repeat any garment. More, I will wear at least 10 garments I didn’t wear last May 2016.

Me-Made-May ’16

Last year—mmmay16—I participated for the first time and I enjoyed it tremendously. These were my observations:
1. I was able to wear at least one self-made garment every day.
2. No repeats!
3. Wearing only black clothes in the eighties I am wearing a lot of colour being 55!
4. Taking a picture of yourself every day is quite confronting.
5. My style is very eclectic!
6. There are only 6 self-made tops.

Are you participating?

Eye-catchers #9

18th April 2017sewing communityeye-catcher, sewing, sewing inspirationWis

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

Follow below what caught my eye the last week:

The trench coat of Maria

I have a love-hate relationship with trench coats. I love wearing them but the RTW-ones I bought in the past all had some fitting issues. So far I didn’t think about sewing one myself but when I saw this beautiful trench coat of Maria I might give it a go. On her Instagram feed she didn’t mention the pattern she used. Maybe she drafted it herself? Look also at the fabulous embroidery she put on the back of the coat.

The Fenway bra from Orange Lingerie

I mentioned it before: making my own bra is on my sewing wish list for a long time. Again—when I saw this amazing make by Jennifer —I said to myself: “Wis, what are you waiting for?!”.

The Wanted-T-shirt from Vanessa Pouzet

This is the third version of the Wanted-T-shirt Annika made. Also in a plain colour and with short sleeves, this t-shirt is an eye-catcher. The design of the neckline is dazzling.

The Highlands Wrap Dress from Indiesew

Amber from @soisewedthis made a stunning version of the Highlands Wrap dress, a new pattern from Indiesew. I love her choice of fabric for this perfect Summer dress.

Rachel’s Astoria Top

Rachel from @shesewsvintage brought the Astoria from Seamwork again to my attention. This is also a pattern that I want to sew for so long. I love her fabric choice. It gives this top a real vintage vibe.

Did anything catch your eye this week?

The story of the Rosa Shirt Dress – Tilly and the Buttons

15th April 2017Completed sewingprojectsRosa Dress, shirt dress, Tilly and the Buttons, wgsewing17Wis

I finally finished my Rosa Shirt Dress from Tilly and the Buttons. Pfft, that was a long-term project. I started it the beginning of December 2016. In fact, I thought my first blog post would be about it. More, I wrote it already in my head: “My first shirt dress, my first Tilly and the Buttons pattern and my first blog post”. Little I did know…

The chorus line fabric

The fabric is a 100% viscose I bought in Paris, at Sacrés Coupons, last September 2016. I immediately fell in love with the design. It reminded me of the girls in the chorus lines of films from Busby Berkeley, which I adore.

a chorus line

Rosa shirt dress - Tilly and the Buttons

Beautiful this fabric may be, it is a real burden to work with. Viscose fabric can’t lay still on your table. So I had to cut out every piece on a single layer. To match the fabric lines I used the fabric piece to cut out its twin. It took forever!! (Having to cut on the garden table in our holiday house didn’t help either.)

The Rosa Shirt Dress Pattern

This is the first pattern I sewed from Tilly and the Buttons and it was a very satisfying experience. I bought the paper version of the pattern. It came in a nice envelope with pattern and instruction booklet. I chose the dress because of the flattering semi-fitted shape caused by the curved princess seams.

Based on my measures I cut out a straight 7. Being a #sewingtall girl I lengthened the bodice with 3,5cm and the hem with 5 cm. Here I did something stupid. To lengthen the pattern I used leftovers from the pattern paper but I didn’t notice I used my, already cut, collar pattern piece. Luckily Tilly sent me the pdf pattern to replace the lost collar. What a great service!

Next time I will lengthen it more as it came out on the short side.

Rosa shirt dress - Tilly and the Buttons

The sewing process

The instructions in the booklet are detailed and illustrated with clear photos. So it was not difficult except I didn’t get my tension right for the topstitching. (Another struggle in this project). I put some golden piping on the front yoke. Then I got a case of sewing block and didn’t work on it for four months.

Rosa shirt dress - Tilly and the Buttons

Because of the Sew together a shirt dress for Summer challenge the sewing community is currently buzzing with all kind of info about sewing a shirt dress. That gave me desire to finish my Rosa. With a stretch needle, a walking foot, new thread and a deep breath it worked out. Also very helpful were the tips and tricks about buttonholes and collars, posted by the #sewtoghetherforsummer team.
As I am not fond of rolled-up sleeves with tabs I finished them with a small elastic.

Is this a quick sew?

No, the Rosa Shirt dress isn’t a quick sew. Not only because of my struggles but also because there is a lot of stitching to do: the princess seams, the yokes, the piping, the topstitching. Plus, the construction of the collar and buttonholes takes time. It is not that difficult though when you follow the instructions.

Rosa shirt dress - Tilly and the Buttons

Conclusion

Sewing the Rosa Shirt dress was quite a chore—due to the briskness of the fabric—but I am glad I sewed it. I’m wearing it for two days now and it’s been an absolute pleasure. More, I love that it is a shirt dress. Will I sew another? A shirt dress, yes. Will it be a Rosa? I don’t know yet because first I would like to tackle the Carolyn Pajamas dress.

Rosa shirt dress - Tilly and the Buttons — Rosa or Calamity Jane?

Eye-catchers #8

9th April 2017sewing communityeye-catcher, sewing, sewing inspirationWis

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

Follow below what caught my eye the last week:

Csew’s Pilvi Coat

This stunning coat from Csews caught my eye. Of course, it’s because of the brilliant fabric she used. The pattern is the Pilvi Coat from the sewing book Lotta Jansdotter Everyday Style. This coat pattern is beautiful thanks to the simple lines and the raglan sleeves. That is why the result is so great: a beautiful fabric doesn’t need a complicated pattern.

Knipmode dress by Kasia

I was immediately taken by this elegant dress made by Kasia. On her blog, I read that she used a dress patron from Knipmode and made some alterations to it. That was even more striking because Knipmode is a Dutch—my mothertongue— pattern magazine and I think Kasia is Polish. So reading and sewing this pattern should be easy for me.

Deer and Doe Mélilot shirt

Catherine from Thread Snips proves again what difference fabric can make to an already great pattern. This is gorgeous fabric. No more words needed!

Renee’s Lucy Backpack

This is such a cute backpack made by Renee. See more pictures of it on her Instagram feed. It’s the Lucy Backpack from Swoon patterns made in playful canvas from Cotton+Steel. I want to sew one too but I have two bags waiting in my WIP-drawer already.

#hellospringdress

@runningNstyle along with @jamorebyjackie and @robertswife_collection, are hosting a new friendly spring dress contest. Sew an inspirational spring dress and post a picture of it on Instagram before April 28, using #hellospringdress. There are some prices to win. Another sewing challenge to motivate me!

Did anything catch your eye this week?

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

4th April 2017Completed sewingprojectsNanöo Top, sewing overview, sewing plans, Virginia leggings, Watson bikiniWis

Although March is a long month I didn’t achieve a lot of sewing. There were a huge workload and family to take care of. On top of that, my sewing room was such a mess that I felt no desire to smuggle in some sewing minutes.
Luckily there is the Project SewMyStyle so at least I sew one item a month. But I succeeded to sew some more. Read all about below:

March sewing

The nanöo top

sewing realization If you follow my blog then you know that every week I select patterns that are special for me: “the eye-catchers“. The nanöo top was one of them. This pattern gives striped fabric a nice cachet. I wore it several times and get compliments about it. Probably there will follow more.

Watson bikini’s

sewing realization

I was desperate in need for new undies and nothing better than using your leftovers to sew some. This time I used the Watson bikini pattern because I have it for more than two years now. Also, the pattern kept popping up lately. It is a quick sew—especially when you use your overlocker. But I like the fit of the Ladies Basic Briefs Bottoms from Jocole more. That is the pattern I used for my previous self-sewed undies.

The Virginia leggings

sewing realization

The third project of SewMyStyle was the Virginia leggings from Megan Nielsen. Leggings are way out of my comfort zone but I accepted the challenge. I am glad I did because these are so comfortable and I love to wear them combined with a dress or a skirt.
sewing realization

Straight skirt

I finalized the muslin of my self-drafted pattern for a straight skirt. This is the project I’m working on in the pattern drafting class I am following

WIP’s

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

April Planning

What are my sewing plans for this month?

First, I would like to sew a Moneta dress for my daughter. (repeat from my March planning)
Second, I am going to test a pattern for Snitchenatterns. (sshht, big secret)
Third, the April project of SewMyStyle: The Bridgetown Backless Dress from SewHouse7
Fourth, I would like to start on the V9015 jumpsuit. This pattern has been an eye-catcher twice now.
And last—this is a keeper—I really would like to finish at least one of my WIP’s.

What are your sewing plans for April?

Eye-catchers #7

2nd April 2017sewing communityeye-catcher, indie patterns, sewing, sewing inspiration, vogueWis

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

Follow below what caught my eye the last week and at first glance, they are all dresses:

The dress from the ‘Stylish dress book’

Stylish dress book

I never sewed a Japanese pattern and I never had the urge to do so. Until I saw this amazing dress Ece sewed. I learned that the pattern came from the Japanese ‘Stylish dress book‘. This book—with the patterns in it— is present in my local library so maybe I have to give it a try.

The golden velvet dress

sewing planning

I was immediately triggered by this fascinating dress of @mokosha_II. It was not only the fabulous gold velvet but also the pattern was intriguing. It turned out she made it herself by mixing a bodice and a skirt of two different Burda patterns. That gave me some ideas for the future.

Martini dress from Capital Chic made by Ooobop

Martini Capital Chic

I am always glad when sewists I follow alert me to pattern designers I didn’t know before. So did Ooobop. She sewed this stunning version of the Martini dress from Capital Chic. They are an indie pattern design company with nice patterns. I like that this pattern has a one-piece and a two-piece version. Ooobop also designed the prints on the dress herself. Read all about it on her blog.

The V9015 Jumpsuit

V9015

I featured the V9075 before in the eye-catchers. Look at this breathtaking version Alex from sewrendipity sewed. It only reinforces my love for this pattern. I am going to tackle this pattern soon now.

The Jolene dress from Ready to sew

Jolene Dress Ready To Sew

Kylie made a stunning version of the Jolene dress, a new pattern of ‘Ready to sew’. I’m thinking this would be a perfect pattern for the #sewtogetherforsummer challenge.

Did anything catch your eye this week?