A Bronte to love

Dear Sewing-lovers,

didn´t I post that the urge to sew has left me, just, say, two or three days ago?
Oh, what can I say, I coulnd´t resist to buy the Perfect Pattern Parcel #6, which just burst with fantastic patterns, so I rediscovered the sewing passion and made my first Bronte Top by Jennifer Lauren Vintage.

There have been a lot of pics and posts of gorgeous makes of this pattern, and, as usual, I´m behind the hype, but still, I have to blow into the same horn as all the other sewists before me:
The pattern has the potential to become a classic, it´s easy to sew, with the options of long or short sleeves and contrast binding (or not) just the way you like it.

I made mine in a size 8, which fitted straight out of the pdf ;-)
It came together within three easy hours, and that´s cutting and asembling the paper pattern and cutting the fabric included!

Jennifer suggests a medium to more heavy weight jersey for this shirt, but I went with a lightweight cotton jersey, which is very strechy. Turned out it was a good choice as the sleeves sit a teensy bit more snug than I like it under the armpits.

Apart from that, I´m really happy with the outcome of the pattern.
Because you don´t need much fabric it is perfect as a stashbuster, too.

There are some more Brontes to come from me, that´s for sure...(my stash is bursting with stuff, oh my god...).

Right, that´s my first make after my two month long trip in Australia and Japan.
The next countdown (to Burning Man Festival next September) will start soon.

Until then, 
happy sewing and don´t forget to let me know what you think or ask whatever you like.

Cheers,
Milan

A staple dress and -blouse

Hi peeps,

as usual, it´s been a while since my last post, but work is rolling in and I still didn´t manage to clone myself, so some things simply have to wait...

But then, I made some pretty stuff since I last posted, mostly dresses of which I want to show you my two versions of the staple dress which was included in the previous Perfect pattern parcel.

I found this cotton/viscose blend on my favorite fabric market, Maybachufermarkt, here in Berlin. It´s always fun to browse between the stalls, touch and feel the fabrics, have a little chat with Mahmud and his colleages and sample some of the Maroccan food thats being offered. It´s one of my favorite pasttimes on a Saturday after cleaning the flat and shopping groceries. I take a ride to Neukölln and enjoy the atmosphere at the market. Should you ever come to Berlin, don´t miss it, every Saturday from eleven am to five pm.

Back to the fabric. I love those big Hibiscus flowers on white ground, the fabric has a nice drape and is very lightweight, doesn´t crumple and feels cool against the skin.

I made the staple dress with a normal seam, maybe next time I will try the high-low seam version.

The dress came together pretty easily, ok, the pattern is for beginners and I was finished in a few hours.
Shoulder seams were made with french seams, I like the clean look that gives to the inside of a garment.
The shirring in the middle sits a little too high for my liking, a fact I eliminated with the blouse from the same pattern. Due to the lightweight fabric I decided to omit the pockets as I didn´t want my hips to be emphazised too much. I added just two rows of shirring on that one. My machine (a Singer curvy) had no problems whatsoever with the elastic in the bobbin.

I am rather pleased with the result as you can see. Only the weather changed and it is too cold to wear this dress at the moment. But hope never dies, huh?

On with number two:
A blouse from the same pattern, with a very different fabric. This time it´s a pure cotton, a little stiff but with a nice feel to it, a lovely print (or so I think) and so very easy to sew, my Machine almost purred while sewing it.... :-)
Unfortunately I cut it too short, and it looked like a bad joke when I tried it on for the first fitting...so I simply cut another 20 centimeters and added them to the hem. Now it looks hot (again only my opinion...)
and I will wear this a lot (at least if it will ever be warm again here).

But have a look for yourself and tell me what you think!

Ok, bad hair day inclusive, but not too bad or is it?

I like the blouse and the dress. All in all a time well spent. I´m thinking about a jersey version in a plain color, with pockets, just to be on the practical side for once.

And just for fun a little goodie as a nice finish:

Have fun sewing guys and keep your fingers crossed for the time to pass fast until I can finally pack my stuff for the Great Oz Experience.....

Til then,

happy sewing :-)

Lovely Nettie

Hi peeps,

here I am again.
I promised you to show off my Nettie (recently released by the talented Heather Lou) as soon as there are some adequate pictures... well, since my good friend Alexandra stayed with me last week, we made a few shots that I´m not totally ashamed of, so I can present to you my two Netties.

The third is still on my sewing table as this time I want to try out the snap crotch option and didn´t have the right supplies while making the first two versions. Number one, the high front neckline, the very low back neckline:

made from a black superthin and strechy spandex, more for dance class than actual street wear... but I like the dramatically low back.

I´m wearing an A-cup, if anything at all, so I excluded the breast-pads.

Version number two is a more everyday wearable piece, this time I made the scooped front and back neckline in a four-way-strech cotton/viscose blend in black and white stripes with red bias binding. Love this one:-)

Since I am a long-torsoed gal, I lengthened the body for about 3cm, seeing the pooling of fabirc at the back I think I will reduce that a little and make a swayback adjustment for number three. Also, the shoulders of Nettie are very narrow and tend to fall off  the shoulder... maybe I will lengthen them a little to stop the drop.

Paired with my red Hollyburn it´s a real showstopper :-)

I also like the sporty look the stripes provide.

I chose the 3/4 sleeves both times as I think this length suits me most. 

Ok, my legs are still as white as a Mozzarella cheese from Italy, but it is only the beginning of June and the sun didn´t grace us with her presence very often so far. There are still about 88 days until I leave for Down Under, so plenty of time left to accquire some tan :-)

Speaking of Australia, today I bought my first bottle of sunscreen with 50+. Never used it before, the sun isn´t that dangerous in these parts, but it´s good to be prepared.

Don´t think a Nettie will accompany me on this trip, I have to keep my luggage light. But still, I am really thrilled with this pattern and will definitely try a pattern hack with it, like cutting off the bottom and taking the top as a crop top with a high waisted pair of pants or a slim pencil skirt.... so versatile this pattern. It came together really fast and the description is easy to understand and follow. At first I thought a bodysuit is so 80´s and I never missed these pieces, but I rediscovered my passion for them. The striped one will be worn a lot this summer.

So, this is the last May post this year and I kept my pledge. Only thing I will change from now on is not to buy fabric randomly anymore, just because I like it. My stash is bursting already and it takes away from sewing sustainably and economically. 

I do sew for fun, but I want to focus more on sewing what I need not only what I like.

However, there is a new Perfect Pattern Parcel out and I would recommend it to any home sewer. This time there are even five patterns in it if you pay 28 Dollar or more. I think it´s a wonderful idea to pair up independent pattern designers and charity organisations to benefit from each other. As soon as I found out there is a new one, I got it. So the next dress on my cutting table will be the Staple dress from April Rhodes. Interested? Do pop over to Perfect pattern parcel and buy your copy of four/five lovely patterns to follow your passion and stuff your closet with beautiful selfmade garments AND do good with a donation to a charity organisation. Can´t be any better.

That´s about it for today peeps, see you in time to report about my new dress or more of these cute little cork-men I found in Berlin.

Happy sewing and stay safe.

Me made may first week review...and a travel report

Hi folks,

here we go and the first six days of May have already passed me by... here are my first three pictures.

As I don´t possess enough self-made clothing (at least not for wearing with these temperatures), I will show you as many as I really wore:

this is a Burda Style Shirt with polca dots :-)

This and the shirt below are from the same pattern, Joanna 

by joulijou, an indy-pattern designer from Germany. Actually this shirt is my first make since I started sewing again :-)

I got to spend a long weekend at my old hometown known as Bielefeld, the city, that doesn´t exist!

Actually, it is an old joke made up by some students in the 90´s to make fun of some conspiracy-theories going on, but it somehow survived the decades and has even resulted in books that focus on that topic... lol.

So, for the first time in a long period I made one way by coach. I like travelling by train and would have done so this time either, but realized too late, that I needed to book in advance in order to get a decent price. So I checked the coach sites on the web and finally decided on a ticket with the BerlinLinienBus for 22€ one way.

The coach was comfy and the trip not as exhausting as I expected, I even had a chat with an elderly Lady sitting next to me, definietely do it again.

When I arrived, temperatures had dramatically dropped by about ten degrees, so I shivered a bit in my leather jacket... but got some warm jumper courtesy of my best friend Christian, once I arrived at his place :-)

I spent some nice days in Bielefeld, though the weather did it´s best to dampen my mood, and I shot some nice pics for you. 

Impressive, ain´t it?

Should you ever come to the area, don´t leave it out, it´s a nice and rather quiet town, lots of bars and restaurants, a beautiful old town and small expensive shops mixed with galleries and art shops. Of course there are the ugly parts of town with dirt and rotten places, but you really have to look for them.

So here come a few shots made in the old town and I hope you like them. :-)

I´ll be back with more pictures from my latest makes, til then, stay safe.

Cheers,

Milan

Cabrio-Cambie

Hi peeps,

here it comes, my red Cabrio-Cambie!

I call it Cabrio-Cambie because when I wear it, I feel like I should be driving a Cabrio on a street in Cornwall or maybe in Tuscany, one has to stay flexible ;-)

Ever since I made my first Cambie I wanted to have a red one in Version B, with the wide skirt.
The fabric I had in mind is a batiste cotton with embroidery in the same color from my stash, bought some months ago at my local open-air market here in Berlin.

I made a size 6, just like the first version, including all the adjustments for a small bust I already made. 
Plus I swapped the sweetheart nickline for the straight one, after I read Tasia´s post on this change of style. 

I am really happy with the outcome and will wear it to my nephew´s confirmation next Sunday.

Spring is in full effect here in Berlin at the moment, lilacs are in bloom and everything prospers. The sun starts to get warmer and it is time to let my white legs peep out from under my skirts to get some fresh air and a light tan (although I tend to go red rather than bronze...). 
What is it like in your part of the world?

I finally decided to make a not-so-rock-hard itinerary for my Australia trip in September/October and booked some domestic fligths to meet up with all my friends in the different cities and coasts. There will be some more posts on this topic as there are still 121 days to count down, just wanted to share some of my exitement...

Maybe it is time to think about what clothes I might need in Oz and how I could integrate them into my pledge for the Memademay. 

There is so much to do, so I´ll get started and will get back to you later.
Have a great day and love what you sew.
:-)
Milan

Umbrella-Easter-Cambie

Hi dears,

I´m back to present my latest make to you: my Umbrella-Easter-Cambie.

I found the fabric at my local outdoor market and couldn´t walk away without buying two metres of it. It is a quitlting cotton that is a little crisp, so I chose to make version A of the dress, a fitted bocide with an A-line skirt and pockets.

Since the design of the fabric is so lively, I decided to use babyblue piping at the sweetheart neckline, waist and pockets, to break up the pattern of the fabric and just because I simply love piping :-)

As I seem to be always a little behind the hype, I can take advantage of all the skilled Ladies in the blogworld, who have sewn this pattern before me, and learn good tips and easy finishings from them. As happened with the brilliant tutorial by Tasia from Sewaholic herself, when it was time to attach the lining to the fashion fabric.

But first things first. I made a size 6 after taking a look at the finished garment measurements on the back of the pattern envelope and made a small-bust-adjustment as usual, making the darts smaller and taking in the sideseams to match up the waistline. To ensure everything fitted as it should, I whipped up a toile of the bodice including the zipper. I hate upicking seams and even more when the whole thing doesn´t fit after all the work that has gone into it! As I´m a very impatient person, sewing taught me to take it slow in order to get a good result. One never stops learning....

It came together within a few quick hours and was finished to my astonishment in one evening. 

I wore it during my Easter-visit to my parents and earned many a compliment from my envious sister and my parents´neighbours ;-)

Thanks for stopping by and if you have any comments, tips or ideas for futher makes or anything else, feel free to leave a comment. 

Cheers,
Milan

A little Lady in Red :-)

Hi folks,

it´s been a while since my last post, but I haven´t been lazy at all, just a bit more occupied than I thought I would be, but in a good way.

I attended a bloggermeeting in Berlin with lots of lovely Ladies doing a fantastic job in the blogging community and it was so nice to get to see the faces behind those inspiring blogs.

We´ve sewn a lot, too, but unfortunately I didn´t finish my coat (my very first attempt on making something more complicated than a dress), so I cannot present it here now. As soon as it´s wearable, you will be seeing it here of course :-)

In the meantime, I whipped up a Lady Skater dress, as I am probably the last sewer who hasn´t got one in their closet already. I made a first version as a wearable muslin, and it came out so easily and fitting without any alterations that I made another one in my favorite color: red.

please ignore the white legs, it´s still not warm enough to go without tights...





I made the version with a half-sleeve and omitted the cuffs, and I think it is just perfect for the weather we have here at the moment (still chilly in the morning but nice by midday).

 

 

 

So, this is a lovely addition to my wardrobe that will be worn many many times. I´m glad I made it before I´m going to tackle more difficult patterns in the very near future, sometimes a girl just needs something beautiful for herself, even if it wasn´t technically necessary.

 

This one is made from only slightly strechy Viscose-Polyblendjersey from my local market, which was a dream to cut and sew.

 

How do you handle the topic of sewing economically? Do you prefer to only sew what you´re in need of or do you sometimes just make something especially for you without a thought on necessity?

 

I certainly am more aware of the ways of the clothing industry and it´s imfluence on prices and styles since I started sewing; I aim to avoid bying clothes as much as possible and attempt on replacing all the clothes in my wardrobe by handmade stuff.

 

You are invited as usual, to tell me your point of view on this topic.

 

Until next time,

happy sewing

 

cheers, Milan