Tag Archives: indie patterns

9 inspirations from the sewing community

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Do you lack sewing inspiration?

The sewing community provides you with a lot of sew-alongs, sewing challenges, giveaways and even a sewing party! I give you 9 online sewing festivities that maybe could give you some needed inspiration.

  • Project Sew My Style

    Alex from Bluebird Fabrics launched this year-long project last December 2016 and it is such a challenging project that I immediately signed up.Project #SewMyStyleSewMyStyle is all about raising awareness about the slow fashion movement and about encouraging young women to take up sewing. I’m not young but I felt spoken to. They want to show you that sewing your own wardrobe isn’t an unachievable dream.
    The goal is to create a wardrobe by sewing 12 garments in 12 months, with the entire community.  We’ll post photos of our makes on Instagram on the last Sunday of every month. In the end, we’ll all have a nice little capsule wardrobe of handmade clothes. To make the project achievable, the patterns that are chosen are relaxed in fit and most are accompanied by instructions.
    The first pattern on the list is The Toaster Sweater #2 from Sew House Seven. Currently, I am in the phase of choosing my fabric.

    Patterns for SewMyStyle
    The 11 patterns for SewMyStyle. The 12th pattern is yet to be released.

     

  • 2017 Secret Valentine Exchange

    The 2017 Secret Valentine Exchange is a non-conventional handmade gift swap that occurs worldwide, hosted by Ute and Shanae. I already gave you 4 reasons why you should participate.
    Sign-ups are closed now but you can follow all the makes on Instagram with the #2017SVE hashtag. At this moment I’m racking my brains to find something to sew for my Secret Valentine.

    2017 secret valentine exchange

  • Dressmakers52

    After a very successful MakeItYourself March 16, co-hosted with Wendy from WendyWard, Emma from Dressmakers Social started a year-long project: #Dressmakers52.
    Every Sunday, she picks a new theme from her deck of cards with prompts, to use as inspiration for posting a picture on Instagram. It started the first week of April 2016 and we are now in week 43 with the theme: dresses. I really love this challenge, it gave me a lot of sewing inspiration so far.

 

  • Moneta Party

    Moneta Party
    A real sewing party hosted by The Triple Stitchers: Abigail, Elle and Rachel.
    This is fun! It’s a party held on Instagram! Everybody can participate, no matter where you live—simply post a picture of your handmade ‘Colette Moneta dress’ on your Instagram feed between Friday, February  24th 18.00 GMT and Sunday, February 26th 18.00 GMT 2017 using the hashtag #Monetaparty. And there are prizes to win!
    I am really looking forward to this party because I am planning to sew a Moneta for my daughter for more than a year already.

    The Triple Stitchers
    © The Tripple Stitchers

 

  • Le défi dentelle
    Le défi dentelle
    A lingerie sewing party hosted by Marion, Eugénie and Barbara.

    Do you fancy sewing your own lingerie?  When you do, post a picture of it on Instagram and you receive a lingerie pattern from Barbara—Je fais mes dessous. You can post until Valentine (of course!). Wow! Don’t these beautiful pictures give you inspiration?

 

  • Jungle January

    Anne from Pretty Grievances started it 5 years ago: sew anything you want using an animal print fabric. Check it out on Instagram and Twitter with the #junglejanuary hashtag.

    Jungle January
    Teaser for last years Jungle January © Pretty Grievances

    I never used an animal print before and at this moment I don’t have an animal print in my stash but I do love all the Jungle January sewing! And you still have 10 days to sew something with an animal print! If you have an animal print in your stash—sew it!

  • Sew Japanese (patterns) in January

    Launched by Blogless Anna on Instagram. So far I didn’t sew any Japanese patterns, although I like a lot of them, especially the coats. Unfortunately, I will not have some spare time to sew Japanese this January (due to 2017SVE, SewMyStyle and the upcoming MonetaParty). But you can!

    Japanese sewing inspiration
    RepostBy @bloglessanna: “My #sewjapaneseinjanuary plans are underway. I’m hoping to sew two items from two of my newest books (inc. this top). Are you joining in?” )

 

  • Blusen Sew-Along

    No, it is not impossible to sew your own shirt! You just have to start. That’s why Elke —a German sewist is organising a Blusen Sew-along.Blusen Sew Along

    This is the schedule of the sew-along:
    * January 22: Choosing of the pattern and fabric, what inspires you?
    * January 29: Do you have to make changes? Are there hurdles?
    * February 5: Work in progress. Did you learn tips and tricks or do you need help with your project?
    * February 9 (Thursday): Presentation of the finished blouse. FINALE!
    You can follow all the makes on Instagram and social media with the #blusenSA2017

  • 2017 sewing book challenge

    Do have a lot of sewing books with patterns in it and you never sewed one these patterns? With the 2017sewingbookchallenge you can solve this.2017 Sewing Book Challenge

    Carla Peicheff looked at her sewing book library and realised she nearly didn’t use one of the patterns in it. That’s why she launched the 2017sewingbookchallenge: make at least one project a month from your stash of sewing books.
    I only have one sewing book and sewing something from it is already on my #2017MakeNine list.

1 free pattern from So Sew Easy gives 2 new sweaters

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Free patterns
For me, one of the perks of the online sewing community is free pdf patterns. I discovered them when I restarted sewing after a hiatus of nearly 20 years—they didn’t exist in the eighties and the nineties.  In fact, the first dress I sewed in 2013 was the Eva Dress and this was a free pdf pattern from Your Style Rocks.

The Eva Dress from Your Style Rocks—a free pattern

So, mid-December 2016, when So Sew Easy announced “The Easy sweater pattern for non-knitters: Let’s call her Cami” this model immediately caught my attention because I love raglan sleeves and it was a free pattern. Also, it looked like an easy sew and I needed that because my sewing mojo was really low at that time.

Camy Sweater from Sew So Easy

You get the pattern through a link on the site of So Sew Easy that leads to Craftsy where you can download it for free.
The pattern consists of 28 pages to print and it has a very clear layout. On the site you find detailed instructions and a tutorial with photos. I had not any difficulties putting it together.

I traced size 16 following my waist measurements. Being a tall girl, I lengthened the body at the hem with 6 cm.
The fabric I used is a loosely woven, lightweight rust-coloured tricot that I bought at The Stoffenspektakel last Spring.

What I really like about this pattern are the inserts between the bodice and the sleeves. They give you the opportunity to use some contrasting fabric or ribbon to spice up the classic raglan model. I used vintage ribbon that I found at Nahkontor in Berlin. This was a little bit smaller than the inserts so I stitched it on top of the fabric.Nahkontor in Berlin. This was a little bit smaller than the inserts so I stitched it on top of the fabric.

Second sweater
And it was a quick sew so I immediately sewed one for my daughter too. I had some grey knit in my stash that was very suitable but in fact a little too small. But it was a 4-way knit, so I cut the sleeves cross-grain. Here, for the inserts I used black jersey, leftovers from a sweater I sewed for her a few years ago.

Do you often use free patterns?

9 things to sew in 2017 (and some more)

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2016MakeNine
At the end of 2015 when everybody posted their #2015bestnine makes, Rochelle launched the #2016makenine: ‘The nine projects you plan to sew or to craft’ on her Lucky Lucille blog. That was a great incentive to think about the nine projects I really wanted to sew in the then near future. In fact, I’d already planned some in the back of my mind and I had bought all my patterns.

2016MakeNine
My 2016MakeNine

 

2016MadeNine
Did I sew these nine projects?
In my 2016 overview you see that I finished 41 projects last year but only 3 of them came out of my MakeNine selection. Why? Do I not like the ones I didn’t sew anymore? No, on the contrary, I still want to sew them but somehow they tumbled down on my priority ladder.

My 2016MadeNine

 

2017MakeNine
Because I still like the not yet sewed projects of 2016 I decided to keep them on my makenine list for 2017. The new ones are (top row):
* Snowball dress –  Yuki Waffle Patterns
* Jane shirt – Ready to Sew
* Falda Jacket – Pattern Fantastique

My 2017MakeNIne

 

2017MakeNine, the sequel
My first two makes of 2017 happen to be from my #2016makenine roster. What to do now? Mark them as realised or put two new in it?

2017MakeNine with the already sewed Paxson sweater and Hudson Pants for man

Some more things to sew in 2017: 5 WIP’s or should I call them UFO’s?
As I mentioned in my 2016 my sewing mojo drastically decreased after August and somehow that brought me 5 not yet finished projects.

  • Duffel bag to use for pattern drafting class
    Started in September
    I cut all the pieces and bought a zipper
  • Boxer shorts for my sons
    Started in September
    I cut all the pieces and made a mistake: the front and the back have different colours from the same fabric!
  • Jacket for my husband
    Started in October
    Only needs the second sleeve and the lining
  • Rosa dress from Tilly and the Buttons
    Started in December
    I cut all the pieces
    Sewed the side seams
    Very slippery fabric
  • Paxson for my son
    Started in December
    Cut all the pieces
    I put the sleeves with the wrong side of the fabric up!

Note to self: please finish these projects in 2017!

What I Sewed – 2016

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I was working on my 2016 overview when Saturday Night Stitch posted her 2016 hits, using an infographic. I found this such a cool idea that I copied it shamelessly and made my first infographic ever.

What do these numbers say?
In one sentence: I sew for women, using a pdf pattern from an Indie Pattern Designer!

41 sewing projects
I am a little disappointed about this number because one year ago I pledged to myself to sew one item a week. Until September I was on track—using #wgsewing16 on Instagram keeps me up-to-date—but after August my sewing mojo decreased dramatically. Currently, I even have 5 WIPs, all started the last trimester of 2016. But hey! I did sew 41 things, didn’t I?

5 hits from 2016
Because you can approach this from different angles I find it a little difficult to select five hits. Do you choose the most worn? The toughest sewing-challenge? The best fits? The ones you get the most compliments for? So here are my 5 sewing hits from 2016, randomly picked.

Nino Jacket * Paulin  Alice
It was on my #2016makenine and it is one of my favourite things to wear. I haven’t taken it off since November.
I picked a sublime wool from The Fabric Sales. The pattern was challenging with belted buttonholes and belted pockets but there are very good instructions on the Pauline Alice blog.

NO.7 VANLØSE * How to do fashionOne of the five paper patterns I sewed this year. This pattern from How to do fashion, a Danish Indie Designers, comes in a very beautiful package.
I used this floral crepe Lucy, bought from Mon Depot. For this project I made muslins for the first time ever and it paid off. I had to do some alterations at the trousers, I even had to shorten them! The first time that ever happened.
Because we had this real hot weather in September I could wear it a lot and I love wearing it.

Rushcutter * In the folds
I already acknowledged the greatness of this design on Instagram. New for me was sewing French seams and thanks to the thorough instructions, it worked out fine. I loved this dress so much, I couldn’t help myself and immediately made two, both in cotton.

Hudson Pants * True Bias

The comfiest pants ever! I sewed 4 this year, do I have to say more. The Hudson Pants for men is definitely on my sewing list for this year.

African Wax Prints

Sewing with African Wax was on my wish list for a while and I’m glad I finally did it last summer. If you wonder what African Wax prints are and where they come from, Tamara from Zoona Nova Design wrote a very interesting post about it. The fabrics I used are from Hi Target, which I found in my local fabric shop.
I made the  Brooklyn skirt from Seamwork and the Velo Culottes from Sew This Pattern out of it. The rigidity of the fabric gives both patterns some body, that I really like.

These are my impressions about 2016. My wishes for 2017 are coming soon.

A warm and happy Sew Year to you all!

 

2 new things and 1 not really new

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New blog
You are never too old to start something new and it is never too late to start a new sewing blog. For a while now I’ve been feeling like I want to tell a bit more about my sewing-encounters so I’m giving it a try. I hope you’ll enjoy reading it.

The Wren dress
Last summer I already sewed two Wren dresses for E., my daughter-in-law. The first one was a wearable muslin in an old rose lightweight jersey which was a perfect fit. Then I sewed the ‘real’ dress in a woven mint crepe—what was I thinking?

Wren dress Colette Patterns

Therefore I had to broaden the bodice to her measurements to make it fit. Also, because she is very lithe, and the front has quite an opening she was able to put it on over her head without a zipper.
I loved sewing the Wren dress and adored the end-result in both fabrics. So, when I found this beautiful midweight jersey at Stofferia in Cologne I knew it was perfect for another Wren dress, this time for me.


This fabric has a nice stretch, feels very soft and is very drapey. Excellent for this model. And I loved how it turned out, like secret pyjamas.

Pattern matching is my thing but this print is so full that I could lay my pattern pieces randomly. The neckbands are even upside-down.

Wren dress Colette Patterns

The Wren dress comes together easily and I find the instructions from Colette patterns very clear.

Wren dress Colette Patterns
I find the lower neckline a nice touch in the design.

Alterations
* Being a #sewingtall girl I lengthened the bodice with 6 cm. Especially because I found it rather on the short side when I made the first two Wrens. Now it hangs perfectly on me.
* To cover more cleavage I crossed the body pieces 2 cm further than the original marks.
* With the previous dresses, I struggled with the clear elastic, so now I used a small and soft regular elastic. Stabilizing the elastic with a few stitches on the two side seams and CF and CB also helped, but it remains a chore.
* The instructions also tell to use a twin needle for hemming but that is not really my cup of tea. I always have problems with the tension. Instead, I use the fagot stitch that is programmed on my sewing machine.

New sewing machine
We were lucky to receive a serious tax refund this year so I could gift myself a new serger. I have a 25-year old 3-thread Toyota whose tensions I couldn’t get right anymore.
Wow, this new 4-thread Juki is really a queen. No threading and tension problems. I serged all the seams (except the insert of the sleeves). This even speeded up the whole sewing process.

Will I sew more Wren dresses? I think I will and I am even considering about a Wren top like Jess made.

Wren dress Colette Patterns
So thrilled with my Wren dress!