Tag Archives: indie patterns

What I sewed in 2020 — Top 5 || the hits!

9th January 2021Sewing keeps me saneindie patterns, sewing overview, wgsewing20Wis

What!? 2020 is over! I still can’t believe it. It feels like yesterday that our government on 13 March’20 announced the first lock-down. I then thought it would only take a week or four. Oh Boy, was I wrong. As we speak, we are still in lock-down and probably will be for a significant time!
I guess we will forever remember 2020 as a strange year so my sewing overview will probably also be unusual.

The one steady thing is the infographic that I now use for five years to collect my sewing data.

sewing overview 2020 — Look here for my 2016, 2017, 2018, and 2019 infographics.

What do these numbers say?

Well, you can’t miss it: I most of all sewed facemasks in 2020! For myself, my family and some good friends. I used the free, approved by the Belgium government, pattern from Maakjemondmasker. I used only fabric leftovers or recycled some old clothes.
Originally the mask closes with four ribbons but after wearing it most of us are more comfortable with the elastic closures around the ears. So I modified nearly all of them

sewing overview 2020 - Facemasks — Some facemasks!

#16 sewing projects

When I look at my other sewing projects they are not much different than last year. I sew mostly for women, using a pdf-pattern from an Indie Pattern Designer.
There are two shifts though:
1) I used more free patterns (gifted, available on the net, or self-drafted).
2) I sewed nearly all of the time with fabrics from my stash!

The three utilities are:

an e-reader sleeve
a giant pouf, filled with thons of scraps and leftovers
a Maxi-Cosi cover for our newborn second grandson

Sewjo? What Sewjo?

When I first heard about a possible lockdown in our country I thought that it would give me some more sewing-time. But I was wrong. The longer we were in lockdown the more my sewjo shrunk. I think it was because I had to take a 180 degrees turn for my teaching job. In no time I had to reform all my courses in online courses and this took all my energy.
Although I didn’t sew much during the first lockdown I did a deep tidy-up of my sewing room and a thorough organisation of my fabrics and patterns. This still gives me a very satisfying feeling whenever I enter my sewing room nowadays.

During summer my sewjo came back and I really enjoyed sewing again. It was a productive summer. The last quarter of the year it was in a downward spiral again: more stringent measures, the second lockdown, a heavy workload, etc… so not much sewing was done, alas!

But as we speak, I feel that this new year will give me tons and tons of sewjo!

Sewing overview 2020 || Top 5

Like the previous years, I’m joining the sewcialists series of the #SewingTop5 of 2020. I find this a nice format to reflect on the last sewing year and get some goals for the next year. It starts with the “Sewing Hits”

My Top 5 Hits

A sewing hit for me is a project that gives me joy! And this joy can be caused by a lot of things: from the pleasure of wearing it, to the challenge of sewing, the first time tackling a particular technique or a new type of fabric, or the gratitude you receive from the person you sewed for…

Here is my top 5 of what I sewed in 2020.

#1 The Blanca Flight Suit from Closet Core Patterns

How I love this flight suit! In February, I got the pattern for free from Closet Core Patterns to test it. Unfortunately, I could not finish it in time. I got the flu (not COVID 19) and then everything went down as I told already. But I’m so glad I finished it at the begin of July. I used this amazing vintage cotton with a denim feeling from 1974.

#2 The V9253-dress with the deep V

In August 20019 I went to the Sewing Weekender in Cambridge. That was so much fun and I was determined to go again in 2020. Then came the pandemic! Luckily the ladies of the Foldline and Charlotte had the most brilliant idea to organise a Sewing Weekender Online. So, at 13-14 June, I retreated in my sewing room and made this famous dress in this fabulous African Wax.

#3 The Sirocco Jumpsuit for my daughter

Deer & Doe Sirocco jumpsuit — It fits like a glove!

Oh boy, this was a labour of love 😍. It took me nearly 1,5 years from start to finish. My daughter’s measurements are not included in the available pattern measurements so I had a lot of adjustments and tweaking to do. Then when she tried it on she was not able to get the bodice over her shoulders. I fixed it by sewing in two blind zippers of 60 cm in the side seams! Can you see she is very happy with it?
I’m planning to blog about this project (and my other projects of 2020) soon.

#4 The black linen Fremantle pants for my husband

My husband loves wide legs pants with a loose-fitting. Especially in linen. And black, always black! He was asking to sew him a pair for several years now and I finally did last summer. I used the Fremantle pants from Elbe Textiles and made several adjustments as he requested:
* scoop pockets
* wide legs
He loves them and he already wore them a zillion times. Now he’s asking for a woollen version for winter!!!

#5 The Closet Core Patterns Pouf

pouf sewing overview 2020 — Sewing is my superpower!

This free pouf pattern from Closet Core Patterns is grandiose. It’s announced as the ultimate scrap busting project and I can only confirm this. It ate all my fabric scraps from the last six years and a lot of threadbare clothes. It’s a giant also because I increased the side panel to 40 cm. No new fabric was used. I even made my own piping with used curtain strings!⁣ I’m very happy with my pouf!⁣ And a huge thanks to my hubby who cut all the scraps!

So this was my, a bit unusual?, sewing overview of 2020. But I have a strong feeling 2021 is going to be a good year! I will come back to check this a year from now!

I wish you all a very inspiring sew year!

Sewing Top 5 of 2019: misses & highlights & reflections & goals

18th July 2020Sewing keeps me saneindie patterns, sewing, sewing overview, wgsewing19Wis

Okay! I started to write this post on the 22nd of January and then there was life! So, now that we are in this strange pandemic atmosphere I thought this is an excellent time to finish my ‘Sewing Top 5 of 2019‘

As it’s mid-July 2020 now I’m going to make one blogpost of part #2 and #3 of the #SewingTop5 series from ‘The Sewcialists‘. So here are the 2019 misses, highlights, reflections, and goals.

Sewing M i s s e s

“Misses” is a very elastic concept! It could be some projects that totally went wrong, or that you didn’t wear. It’s also possible that you have sewed your garment ok but that when you wear it doesn’t feel like you. Or maybe you destroyed it by accident!

fives on it – poem by a friend (alligatorzine).

Looking at my sewing of last year here are some of my misses in random order.

#1 The Mary Quant dress in Mahlia Kent fabric

I started sewing the Mary Quant dress, a free pattern from the V&A museum which was designed by Alice & C° patterns, with the brand new Mahlia Kent fabric I bought in Paris in February ’19. (Look below in the highlights.)
Man, was this fabric hard to work with. Due to the woven geometric print, it frayed like hell. So it was hard labour to cut and sew it. But in the end, I managed and I even got as far as the construction of the collar and the neckline. Unfortunately, I cut out the undercollar and the neckline facing from the main fabric. I should have used lining fabric that would have made the construction doable. Now it just was bulky!
I hope to find the courage to unpick it and finish it in a neat way. A perfect project for next fall.

The beautiful Mahlia Kent fabric. Prewashed!!

#2 The shrinking of the Zadie Jumpsuit.

Although “The joy of prewashing your fabric” was one of my reflections of 2018 I did not always act on it. So you can imagine the horror when I got my Zadie Jumpsuit out of the washing machine and even immediately felt that it had shrunk! I CRIED.
After this debacle, I prewashed EVERY, EVERY piece of fabric I used for sewing.

#3 The tearing of my first culottes

I was so happy with my first complete self-drafted culottes pattern. I was even happier that I could sew it out of a piece of fabric I bought at the small fabric stall on a local Tuscan market. It was only 3 €! In retrospect, this should have warned me because when I wore the culottes for the first time on a dinner date the fabric just ripped at unexpected places. The tears are beyond repairable because the fabric is in fact exhausted! Luckily I made already a new pair of culottes this time out of brand new fabric.

#4 Being a scatterbrained sewist!

I guess this title needs no further comments. The main reason for not finishing my ongoing sewing projects is that I’m always so inspired by all the fabulous projects and challenges I see every day within the sewing community. So, I easily abandon the project I’m working on and start a new one. I love starting a new project so that’s how I create a lot of WIPs and UFOs.

H i g h l i g h t s

Life isn’t only about sewing! Or is it? So here are my non-sewing highlights of 2019. No surprise that these highlights are not so different from those of 2018 and 2017.

#1 Our grandson M.

From January ’19, when his mother went back to work after her maternity leaf, our grandson M. stays with us every Wednesday. Needless to say that this day is the highlight of our week.

#2 Podere Santa Pia

Also in 2019 was staying at our holiday home in the South of Tuscany the best thing of our life. And being there with our family and friends makes it even better.
It is a tradition to take a goodbye picture every time we leave. We call it the #ciaosantapia photo session.

#3 Spending time with family & friends

The special highlight for our family in 2019 was the diamond wedding anniversary of my parents. Even more special was that we could celebrate it on the farmhouse where my father was born and where they lived until my father moved to an elderly home.

Greatgrandparents — My parents with our grandson M.

A special family gathering was the celebration of four generations within my husband’s family.

Always a highlight for me is when we have a Sunday pizza night with our out-of-the-house living children. These are great nights with a lot of laughter and love.

Days spent with friends are also happy days. Even more when we visit together museums or art shows (which is my highlight #4)

#4 Visiting museums

I said it before I can be totally flabbergasted by seeing a good art show. This year I had the pleasure to see again a good show at my favourite Musem De Pont in Tilburg (Ann Veronica Janssens & Richard Long).

Standing in awe for the work of Ann Veronica Janssens.

We also saw a very interesting show of René Heyvaert at the Museum M in Leuven.

#5 City trip to Paris

Paris is only a two and a half-hour drive away from our house. So once and a while we go there for a day. We went the 16th of February ’19 which was an exceptional sunny day. Paris is always fun but being able to buy some fabric at the Mahlia Kent store (see misses #1) made it even more enjoyable.

Sewing R e f l e c t i o n s

When I reflect on my sewing in 2019 two happy facts pop up and they are both related to the sewing community. I attended The Sewing Weekender in Cambridge and I started going to a sewing class.

#1 The Sewing Weekender in Camebridge, UK

I was over the moon when I scored tickets for The Sewing Weekender, 31st August – 1st September ’19 in Cambridge, UK. The Sewing Weekender is an informal meet-up of sewists organised by The Foldline and English Girl at Home. It’s two days of unlimited sewing, whilst chatting with sewists, and listening to very passionate speakers from the sewing community.

What I liked the most was finally meeting all these fabulous sewists I know from the online sewing community IRL.
Attending the Sewing Weekender was so inspiring and gave me a lot of energy. I hope to go to many, many Sewing Weekenders in the future.

#2 Sewing Class

More than three years ago I started following patternmaking classes. Although I learned a lot, these classes were more on a theoretical level. In September’19 I enrolled in two other classes which were more practical orientated: Making Pattern Trousers for yourself & Sew Your Selfmade Patterns. These are great classes which I enjoy deeply. And I already have good results: my culottes and a basic trousers pattern.

Sewing G o a l s

Sewing goals for 2020!

Just like last year I’m going to be very brief here. As I did not reach my goals for 2019 I’m going to repeat them for 2020.

Finish all the UFOs and WIPs
Don’t create new WIPs!
Keep on sewing whenever you feel it!

What I sewed in 2019 — Top 5: the hits!

5th January 2020Sewing keeps me saneindie patterns, sewing, sewing overview, wgsewing19Wis

Welcome to 2020, a new sewing year. I love the start of a new year because it gives me the possibility to look back on my sewing exploits of the year that’s gone by. Like the previous years, I collected all my data in an infographic and here below you see the result of “What I Sewed in 2019“.

Here you find my 2016, 2017, and 2018 infographics.

What do these numbers say?

I sew mostly for women (this year for myself!), using a pdf pattern from an Indie Pattern Designer. This is my conclusion for the fourth time in a row. So, no drastic changes there although I would like to add some nuances.

# 31 sewing projects

This is a significantly smaller number than last year (54 projects)! Although I know I shouldn’t be, I’m disappointed with this number. Why? Because I have this silly idea in my head that I want to sew something new every week. Stupid idea, I know!
The reason why I sewed fewer projects last year is that life was a bit rough. I had a lot of worry about my father whose Alzeihemer’s aggravated rapidly and he had to be admitted into a nursing home. It took me a long time to process this. Time in which I didn’t sew. It got better to the end of the year and now my sewing-mojo is back.

What’s different?

In 2019 the balance between fabric from my stash and new fabric was fifty fifty. This is a little more than in 2018. I still bought new fabric though but mostly to use immediately and not to hoard.

I still use quasi only pdf-patterns but now 75% of them are free. Some of them were gifted to test, some I found on the web, and some were self-drafted! And I guess there will be more of these in 2020.

As a direct result of me sewing less, I posted less on Instagram and I blogged less! Last year I only wrote 14 blogposts! That means I didn’t write something about every finished project and I didn’t even celebrate my third blogiversary! It makes me a little sad because I love blogging. So it is my intention to blog more in 2020.

There has been some action in my sewing room!

What I sewed in 2019: Top 5!

As a sewcialist, I am joining the sewcialists series of the #SewingTop5 of 2019. I find this a nice format to reflect on the last sewing year and get some goals for the next year. It starts with the “Sewing Hits”

My Top 5 Hits

A sewing hit for me is a project that gives me the most joy! And this joy can be caused by a lot of things: from the pleasure of wearing it, to the challenge of sewing, the first time tackling a particular technique or a new type of fabric, or the gratitude you receive from the person you sewed for…

Here is my top 5 of what I sewed in 2019 in order of when I finished the projects.

#1 The copper pleather Hollyburn skirt

It was the first time I sewed with pleather and although it was a little laborious at the beginning I am thrilled with the result. The pleather feels nice and I love wearing it. I was even surprised that I could wear it in every season. So joy all year round.

#2 The Madrid dress from Coffee & Thread

I received the pattern of the Madrid dress from Coffee & Thread to write a post for a blog tour. There were several firsts here: it was my first dress with tiers, it was my first time participating in a blog tour, and I was able to reuse the fabric of a failed project within a year!
Unlike what you would think, it is pleasant to wear a maxi dress on a hot day. So I wore it all the time last summer and I enjoyed it a lot!

#3 The V9253 with the deep V!

I wanted to sew this dress for a long time and I’m super happy that I realised it this summer. The black linen was in my stash for several years and it was the perfect fabric for this model. I’m glad I choose black for this dress because it makes it stylish and classy. Perfect for wearing it at my parent’s 60th-anniversary party.

#4 The Zéphyr dress with flutter sleeves

Last year I sewed a Zéphyr Dress for my daughter and it was a perfect fit. So she wanted a second one but this time with sleeves. As this is a pattern for a sleeveless dress I had to draft them myself. I used the knowledge of my patternmaking and the flutter sleeves were born! They came out perfectly and my daughter is delighted.

#5 The self-drafted culottes

Drafting your own patterns based on your measurements is pure joy. So far I made only one pattern for these culottes but I’m convinced more will follow in 2020.

Next up in the #SewingTop5 are Misses & Highlights, and Reflections & Goals

The Green Perth Dress

2nd December 2019Completed sewingprojectsdress, indie patterns, sewing, wgsewing19Wis

Sometimes you see a pattern, you buy it and you sew it up in a blink of an eye. Well, this did not happen with the Perth dress. It only took me 7 months from buying the pattern to finish it.
I can’t remember when I saw the Perth dress for the first time but I remember that I was immediately intrigued by the design of it. Especially by the front closure. A search through my pattern files learnt me that I bought the pattern last March. I intended to sew it for my late spring wardrobe but other projects interfered with that plan!

Eventually, I cut out the pattern in June. I took the pieces with me to the Sewingweekender at the end of August and I nearly finished it there; except for the collar and front closure. During the mid-term break at the beginning of November, I could finally finish this beautiful dress. Alas, we are in Autumn now, therefore, I have to wear it with a layer underneath. But I don’t care because I love my green Perth dress.

The Perth dress pattern

The Perth dress is a Carolyn & Cassie pattern. It’s an unlined, loose-fitting dress with some nice design features: the folded front, inset sleeves, a close-fitting collar on a collar stand, a back yoke AND inseam pockets! All these features tick my boxes. There’s also a blouse version.

The Perth dress has 9 pattern pieces. Luckily the pattern is available in A0 format so I could let it print by Paternsy.

Based on the finished garment measurements I cut out size 44. Except for the neckline as I didn’t want it to be too tight, so I used size 46 and graded to size 44 on the shoulder line. The fit of the collar is now perfect for me.

The green fabric

This radiant green fabric was a gift from my sister-in-law so I don’t know exactly what it’s composition is. I guess it’s 100% cotton. It has medium weight and a little structure which is ideal to hold the pleats.
Plus! It is solid which is not my standard as “print” is my middle name. But I love it! Even more so because it is green, which is my favourite colour.

The sewing process

Along with the pattern of the Perth dress comes a booklet with instructions. There’s one page with “quicky instructions”: a list of the order of construction. Very handy for the more experienced sewists. I followed these quickies until I reached the part of the collar construction. Then I jumped to the more detailed instructions which are sufficiently illustrated with designs.
The collar and collar stand need interfacing. To avoid bulky seams I cut out the interfacing without seam allowance. This also makes it easier to turn the collar and form the pointed tips.

Following the steps, I didn’t bump into difficulties. Even the unusual front closure with the tap is not difficult. Just take care of copying all the notches on your pattern pieces. In fact, while sewing the Perth dress I never had to unpick any seams. It was pure sewing joy.

Conclusion

Do I love my green Perth dress? I do! Even though it is a short-sleeved dress I already wore it several times with this colder weather. And I got a lot of compliments.
Will I sew another one? I would love to because I love everything about this pattern.

How could I not sew a Zadie Jumpsuit?

1st July 2019Completed sewingprojectsindie patterns, jumpsuit, sewing, wgsewing19Wis

Only if you’ve been living on a desert island for the last six months you are not aware of the sewing storm the Zadie Jumpsuit from Paper Theory Pattern has caused. On Instagram alone, there are at this moment about 1700 posts with the #zadiejumpsuit!

When I first saw the pattern, I was intrigued by it but at that time I was sewing another jumpsuit for the Minerva Crafts Blogger network. (This post will come online on July 10!) So the need to sew a Zadie Jumpsuit got a little diffused.

Zadie Jumpsuit

Then the ‘Sew Together for Summer 2019‘ challenge opened and guess what was the focus? A jumpsuit of course! This brought the idea of sewing the Zadie back to live. But the thing that really got me started was the message I received from Gerda, @three_eight_cake to sew together a Zadie Jumpsuit with some other Belgian sewists (Melissa, @floating_sewist, and Kirstin, @smallbobbins). We even talked about meeting and shooting some pictures together with our Zadies. Unfortunately, it was a bit difficult to find a date. But I sewed a Zadie Jumpsuit and I am super thrilled with it!

Zadie Jumpsuit

The Zady Jumpsuit pattern

Why is this such a good pattern? First of all, no need for buttons or a zip! The jumpsuit wraps around the body and fastens with a tie at the waist. Secondly, it has a relaxed fit. These two features make it an uncomplicated sew.

Zadie Jumpsuit

Due to the relaxing fit and based on the finished garment measurements, I cut out size 16 and didn’t grade between sizes.
The pattern is drafted for the height of 170 cm and I’m 180 cm so I had at least to lengthen the bodice. I did so with 2 cm at the provided line on the pattern piece and I took 1 cm extra seam allowance at the hem of the bodice.

Zadie Jumpsuit

To check if the crotch depth was long enough I pinned together (half) the pattern and tried it on. I raised my arms and the tissue paper tore a bit at the crotch. The message was clear: I also had to lengthen the crotch line with 2 cm.

At last, I lengthened the legs with 10 cm because I want to be able to wear this jumpsuit in the colder seasons.

The Fabric

One of my sewing goals for 2019 is to shop my fabric stash. So I browsed through my collection and found this eggplant crèpe that I bought last September at ‘The Fabric Sales‘. I remember now that I bought it with a jumpsuit in mind.

I only had 2,50 m of this fabric and with all the lengthening I had to do there wasn’t enough fabric for the pockets. So I used a remnant of the silk of the Kingfisher Top for the pocket facings. And even these remnant pieces weren’t big enough so I had to divide the pocket pattern into 3 pieces.

The sewing process

Paper Theory Patterns itself announces the sewing of the Zadie Jumpsuit as a quick and an easy sew and they are right. The instructions are concise and clear. I followed the work sequence except for one step! I always immediately staystitch all the curved and slanted seams. In the instructions, it happens after already having manipulated the bodice a few times.

After sewing the bodice and the trousers part separately I pinned it to form the jumpsuit and the fit was spot on. This asked for a happy dance!

Zadie Jumpsuit

To attach the binding I used a zillion pins and this also worked perfectly.

Conclusion

It’s a cliché but I am JUMPING of joy for my Zadie Jumpsuit! Everything is great about it: the design, the feel, the fit, the comfort when you wear it, the compliments people give you, the sewing… In short, a sewing project that only gives you happiness!

Zadie Jumpsuit

Will I sew more Zadies? I am really tempted but my sewing queue is SEW long so I think it is not going to happen in the foreseeable future.

Are there still people who haven’t made a Zadie Jumpsuit? If you are hesitating I can strongly commend to go for it!

Blog Tour: The Madrid Dress from Coffee and Thread

17th June 2019Completed sewingprojectsdress, indie patterns, sewing, wgsewing19Wis

Hello, my lovely readers!

Can you believe it? This is my 100th blog post! I never would have thought that I would reach this milestone when I pushed that publish button for the first time in December 2016.
Although it wasn’t intentional, it is kind of fun that this 100th post is part of a blog tour which is a first for me. So reviewing the Madrid Dress from Coffee and Thread is the birthday party for my 100th blog post.

The Madrid Dress pattern

The Madrid dress is a Bohemian inspired faux wrap dress or tunic with a tiered skirt. It offers three length options and three sleeve variations and comes in sizes 2-20. It is designed for woven fabrics with drape.
I particularly love the faux wrap bodice of the design and I went for the maxi dress with straight sleeves, not the flared ones.

For the maxi dress, there are 5 pattern pieces and two facing pattern pieces. The pattern is available in A0 format so I let it print by Paternsy.

Based on the finished garment measurements I cut out size 18 and didn’t grade between sizes. Being a tall girl I lengthened the bodice with 3,5 cm. There’s a line on the front and back pattern piece to indicate the best place to lengthen (or shorten) your pattern. But don’t forget you have to lengthen the front facing too, for which there is no line indicated. You can draw it yourself by putting it on the front piece.
To be absolutely sure the maxi dress was a maxi dress I lengthened every tier with 1 cm.

Madrid Dress — Why does it always start to rain when you want to take pictures?

The fabric

I bought this special African Wax fabric at Goldhawk Road in April 2017. Last year I tried to make a maxi skirt out of it but this went wrong completely. So I’m glad I could recuperate this fabric for the bodice and I had enough left for the tiers. Because, boy you need a lot of fabric for these.

The sewing process

Sewing the Madrid Dress is not difficult. The instructions are concise and clear. Every step is illustrated with crisp designs. I never had to scratch my head to figure out how to go on.
After sewing the bodice I tried it on and I was able to get it over my head although I accidentally closed both side seams. So I decided to omit the blind zipper.

One thing that takes time is the gathering and the sewing of the tiers. Like I said hereabove these tiers are magnum!! You stitch two rows of gathering stitches, one inside and one outside the seam allowances. I use a different colour in my bobbin when I stitch gathering stitches. This makes it easy to know which thread to pull to make the gathers, always the bobbin thread!

Conclusion

I’m SEW happy with my Madrid Dress! It’s the first time in my life that I have a dress with a tiered skirt. And I love it! I wore it already and the width and the fluidity of the skirt make it a dream to whirl. I’m convinced this dress is going to see a lot of wear this summer.

One thing though to be careful about is when you descend stairs to be aware that your husband isn’t close behind you because he already stepped twice on the third tier!!

If you are looking for a Bohemian inspired faux wrap dress or tunic with a tiered skirt go for the Madrid Dress from Coffee & Thread.

So thank you, Olga and Claudia, for taking me in on this blog tour.

During the tour, Olga offers 25% off on any of the
Coffee & Thread patterns with the code ‘madridtour’

What I sewed in 2018 –Top 5: the hits

4th January 2019Sewing keeps me saneindie patterns, sewing, sewing overview, wgsewing18Wis

Nope, we can’t ignore it any longer. The new year—2019!—is definitely here. That makes that I can look back again and reflect. What kind of sewing year was 2018?
Like the previous years, I collected all my sewing data in an infographic and here below you see the result of my 2018 sewing!

What do these numbers say?

I sew mostly for women, using a pdf pattern from an Indie Pattern Designer. Although, compared to previous years, it isn’t that pronounced anymore. There is a shift in who I sew for. In 2018 I sewed more for babies. How else could it be with the birth of our first grandson! This joyful event is, of course, THE highlight of 2018!

2018 sewing — M. wearing his long sleeve sweater. Free pattern from Dromenfabriek.

54 sewing projects

I was a bit surprised by this number when I did the counting. I didn’t have the feeling that I sewed approximately 1 item per week! Say what? The previous years this was somewhat of a (hidden) goal that I could not reach and this year it came to fruition without special effort. Of course, with the 13 Bombazine Mitts, which I sewed in January, I took already a big jumpstart.
And yes, these 54 projects are ALL finished projects! Alas, I also have 7 (seven!!) WIP’s! But I am going to catch up on them!
Another thing that helped to get this high number of finished projects is that I didn’t lose my sewing-mojo this year. Last year, I didn’t sew every day and certainly not 300 times like I set out to at the start of the year, but there wasn’t a significant period of non-sewing!
A new item that I checked for this year is for how many projects I used fabric from my stash. It’s about 47%. This figure could be higher but I’m already pleased with it. Even more so, because it came naturally. It was not a specific goal of me to sew as much as possible from my stash.

sewing 2018 — Buying new fabric or searching through my stash?

Top 5 of 2018

Gillian form ‘Crafting a rainbow’ has this nice challenge for your #sewingtop5. I enjoyed following this last year so I will do it again this year.

2018 sewing

Top 5 Hits

The first thing I want to share with you is my sewing hits! My hits are sewing projects that give me the most joy! And this joy can be caused by several things: from the pleasure of wearing it, the challenge of sewing, the first time tackling a particular technique, or the gratitude you receive from the person you sewed for…

Here is my selection of joy for 2018.

#1. My Jumpsuit

The Vogue V9075 Jumpsuit is without a doubt #myproudestmake. Why? I made a muslin for it so I would not have any fitting issues. This paid off. The fit is perfect!
This is also my best fabric-pattern combination of the year: a cotton and silk blend that I bought at Goldhawk Road in 2017. This counts for sewing from my stash! And I wore it a lot and with pleasure!

#2. The Statement dress

When you make a summer dress in a red/black plaid then you make a statement dress!! This dress gives me so much joy. Why? I had severe grading to do and it worked! The pattern matching is impeccable! And last but not least, my daughter loves it and that makes me happy!

#3. The Jill Coat

It was such a good decision to put a lining in the Seamwork Jill Coatigan. Even more, to put two buttons with a loop closure on it so this coat is totally suitable for Belgian winters.
I particularly enjoyed all the hand stitching I did because of the furry character of the fabric.

#4. All the baby clothes

I started sewing baby clothes in November 2017 when the first grandson of my brother was born. Then in 2018, there was the first granddaughter of my other brother and then in August our little treasure was born. Sewing all these cute baby clothes is great fun and these projects are great stash busters too!

#5. The Kingfisher Top for my daughter-in-law L.

I was over the moon that I could cut out the Kingfisher top out of one panel of Lotte Martens handprinted fabric. This panel was 60cm by 150cm. I had some serious pattern tetris to do but it worked. I was even more over the moon when L. loved this top I made for her birthday! It makes me happy when my family loves and wears the garments I sewed for them!

Next up in the top 5 of 2018 are Misses & Highlights, and Reflections & Goals.

Sewing seconds or more…

16th December 2018Completed sewingprojects, Sewing keeps me saneBurda, indie patterns, Moneta dress, sewing, sewing inspiration, wgsewing18Wis

If you read this blog regularly you know that I ask myself every time when I finish a garment: “Will I sew some more of this pattern?” Often I do but I never showed them to you. So now with December being the traditional month of overviews, I checked my sewing archives and found several second sewings (or even more…).

So, here are some of them.

The Moneta dress from Colette patterns

I sewed my first Moneta dress for the Moneta party in February 2017 and the urge to sew another has always been there. Then, when I was sewing my Beryl Bomber dress I put the leftover fabric on Lola, my dress form, who was already wearing my Wren dress. It was then that I noticed that the two fabrics worked together. Luckily, I had enough leftovers from both fabrics to cut out a new Moneta dress with 3/4 sleeves.
I made no alterations to the pattern and the sewing went super smooth. In hindsight, I should have made the bodice a little wider because this fabric has not the same level of stretch like the one of my first Moneta. It’s a little on the snug side but I’ll leave it this way.
I did not use clear elastic—I hate sewing with clear elastic—for the gathering of the skirt but a small, regular white elastic which I had in my stash. It worked out perfect.
One small sewing secret: I didn’t hem the sleeves and the skirt. I wore the dress already several times and the fabric doesn’t fray at all. So I am just going to leave it this way!

The Ali Sweatshirt from Sew DIY

Ali Sweater DIY

When I finished my Ali Sweatshirt, E., my daughter-in-law, was very enthusiastic about the pattern. So it wasn’t hard to find something to sew for her birthday! I used two brushed sweater fabrics from Chat Chocolat: Mackerels for the bodice and Mackerels- the essential for the yoke, sleeve and cuffs.
The birthday gift was a huge success. She likes the sweater a lot and that makes me very happy!

Ali Sweatshirt DIY

The Kingfisher top

Kingfisher Top Sewing Revival

When I finished my Kingfisher Top I knew without a doubt that I would sew more very soon! I proved to be right.
Here again, two things came together. My other daughter-in-law’s birthday was nearing and there was a sale of Lotte Martens handprinted fabric in my neighbourhood. I love Lotte Martens handprinted fabric. I used one of her panels for my plisé skirt last year.
When I saw this panel with the copper birds I knew immediately that it would be perfect for a top for L. There was only a minor problem: the panel was 60 cm by 150 cm.
To make it work, I divided the sleeve in two and cut them on the bias. As you can see in the photo I only have some small pieces of the fabric left. Kingfisher Top Sewing Revival

Just like with the first Kingfisher top the sewing was a walk in the park. For the binding of the neck and the sleeve cuffs, I used some peanuts brown rib I had in my stash.
This birthday gift was also a huge success. And seeing somebody being very happy with something I sewed makes me (again) very happy.

Kingfisher Top Sewing Revival

The Burda Turtleneck Top

Burda Turtleneck Top

I loved my Burda Turtleneck Top so much that I immediately sewed another one the same week. I had this soft jersey in my stash for about 3 years so it was about time to use it. Again this pattern proved to be very easy to sew. One of the joys of sewing a pattern for the second time is that you already know all the tricks.
I am so enthusiastic about this pattern that I have cut out the third one. Alas, this is one of my WIP’s. I cut it out in April but I have to tackle it soon. Like I said: ‘It’s an easy sew. Just a few hours work!’
Burda Turtleneck Top

And you? Do you have sewing seconds??

The Snowball high neck dress from Waffle Patterns

9th December 2018Completed sewingprojectsdress, indie patterns, sewing, wgsewing18Wis

The Snowball high neck dress from Waffle Patterns was already on my 2017MakeNine and my 2018MakeNine sewing wish list. When I first saw this pattern back in August 2016, I was charmed by the lines and the shape. I immediately bought the pattern and then it got pushed to the back of my mind… like so many things.
I don’t know how your sewing mind works—hmm, I don’t even know how mine works!— but it was the sew frosting challenge that made me think about this pattern again. In fact, I wanted to sew it out of the piece of Mahlia Kent fabric I have (one hundred percent frosting!) but I didn’t have enough fabric. Then I thought I could make a wearable muslin out of this metallic fabric to see how the fit went. Maybe I had to take in some seams and then I still could use the Mahlia Kent fabric. As you can see, that didn’t happen.

The Snowball high neck dress pattern

It’s the first time I sewed a garment from Waffle Patterns and I liked all of it. As the idea of sewing this dress came up on a Saturday night I hadn’t the time to use Patternsy to print an A0 format. So I printed 24 pages of the pattern and glued them together. There were very clear marks so it didn’t take long.
The Snowball high neck dress consists of 10 pieces: 7 pieces for the dress and 3 pieces for the facing. To give the facing a smooth fit the back facing has shoulder darts with curved dart legs. This is a classy tailoring technique that I like.

Based on the finished garment measurements I cut out size 48. I made no alterations on the bodice and lengthened the hem with 5 cm.
After the first fit—I machine basted al the seams with a stitch length 5 and hand basted the zipper— I slightly narrowed the upper front bodice above the bust.

snowball high neck dress waffle patterns

The fabric

I bought this fabric last Summer at the market in Castel del Piano. As with all the fabrics I buy there I don’t know what the exact composition of this fabric is. Probably a poly combo. It has this metallic shine and depending on the light it varies from colour. It’s more beige-ish than greyish though!
This fabric has a medium weight but for this pattern, a more sturdy fabric might have been better.

snowball high neck dress waffle patterns

I didn’t have enough fabric for the facings so I used some blue gingham from my stash. snowball high neck dress waffle patterns

The sewing process

The sewing was plain sailing. I enjoyed every bit of it. The instructions were spot on and illustrated with clear drawings. I loved the drawing of the little iron to indicate which seams should be pressed!
For inserting the blind zipper I followed my own method which is rather simple. First, I hand-basted the zipper and then I stitch it with my blind zipper foot.

snowball high neck dress waffle patterns

Conclusion

I’m very happy with my Snowball high neck dress! I don’t consider it a muslin any longer but a perfect wearable dress. Though I particularly like the design of the high neck it takes some time to get used to it. Probably I should have interfaced the facings—which I didn’t🤦🏻‍♀️—so the collar would stand more.
Will I sew another Snowball dress? Maybe! But then I surely would use a fabric with more body.

snowball high neck dress waffle patterns

The Beryl Bomber Dress from Named Clothing

24th November 2018Completed sewingprojectsdress, indie patterns, sewing, wgsewing18Wis

The seed for sewing the Beryl Bomber Dress was planted during Sew My Style 2017. The chosen pattern for December 2017 was a pattern from the then not yet launched Named Clothing AW17 New Collection. Although I gave up the Sew My Style challenge, I kept following it on IG and blogs. So, when Named Clothing launched their AW17 Collection, it was the Beryl Bomber Dress that caught my attention. I love the design of a bomber jacket and I find it very clever of Named Clothing to use this design and turn it into a dress! Then it only took me nearly a year to sew one for myself!

Bomber Jackets

Whenever I think about bomber jackets this photo of ca. 1944 comes to mind. It’s a group of Women Airforce Service Pilots leaving their B-17. Look at their cool bomber jackets! And they named their B-17 “Pistol-Packin’ Mama”! Beryl Bomber Dress

The Beryl Bomber Dress pattern

The Beryl Bomber Dress pattern consists of 9 pieces. As I planned to sew the dress I ordered a printed A0 pdf-pattern at Patternsy. This was my first time I used this platform and I was 100% satisfied. You upload your pattern, they email you the price and if you agree, they print your pattern on very usable tissue paper. And it only takes a few days!

Based on the finished measurements I cut out size 46. I lengthened the sleeves with 4 cm (2 cm under the biceps line and 2 cm under the elbow line). Further, I lengthed the hem and the facing with 4 cm.

Beryl Bomber Dress

The Fabric

I bought this fabric at my small local fabric store. It’s a knit of medium weight with an unknown composition. The fabric salesman in this store is a man of few words. So when I asked about it he just shrugged. I was attracted to the combination of the colours and the black design lines.
Somehow I thought that I needed a knit for the Beryl Bomber dress but after reading the instructions thoroughly I discovered this wasn’t the case. Luckily this fabric has only a minor stretch percentage so it worked out well.
One downside of this fabric is that threads are easily caught on desks and chairs. So I don’t know if the dress is going to lead a long life???

Beryl Bomber Dress For the collar and sleeve cuffs, I used a strong black rib knit with small golden speckles.

When I started to cut out the pattern pieces I became aware that I had to do some stripe matching! You wouldn’t say it at first glance when you see the fabric. But when the seams were a little askew it disturbed me a lot. So, I cut out the pieces on a single layer of fabric.

Beryl Bomber Dress

The sewing process

The sewing of the Beryl Bomber dress was fun. Sewing the collar and the zipper were a bit challenging but I liked it. The instructions are clear with crisp designs. I followed them for about 90%.

As I worked with a knit fabric I used my overlocker for all the seams. I machine basted (stitch length 5) the collar and finished it too with the overlocker. To reach a perfect fabric matching I hand basted the zipper and the pockets.

Beryl Bomber Dress

Conclusion

I’m very, very happy with my Beryl Bomber Dress. I wore it a lot already for several occasions. It’s extremely comfortable, due to the knit fabric I guess. I wore it during a two-hour flight and it never felt uneasy.
Will I sew more? I hope to. Also because my daughter and daughter-in-law expressed their enthusiasm for this model and design. Now, I just have to find some time (an old story I know!).

Beryl Bomber Dress