Biker leggings Cassie

Moin ihr Lieben,


heute mal wieder von meinem eigenen Blog gepostet,
und zwar die "Cassie"-Pants von Style Arc.

Als ich letztes Jahr in Australien war habe ich nach einem Shop gesucht, aber leider werden die Schnittmuster ausschließlich über das Internet vertrieben (Style Arc ist ne Australische Marke, wie ihr euch vielleicht denken könnt). Bis vor Kurzem auch nur in Papierform, inzwischen kann man sie auch als pdf über Etsy bestellen (was sich schon allein deswegen lohnt, weil die pdf´s in mehreren Größen daher kommen, während man sich bei den Papiermustern immer für eine Größe entscheiden muss).

Good day sewing-lovers

today I´m showing you my latest make: "Cassie"-Pants by Style Arc.

When I was in Australia last year, I tried to find a Style Arc Shop or something similar, but these patterns are exclusively sold online. (The company sits in Australia, obviously)  Until shortly they were available as paper patterns only, but a few months ago they opened a shop in Etsy, were the patterns can be bought as a pdf to print yourself at home. Those come in packets of four sizes, whereas the paper patterns are sold in one size, so you have to make sure you pick the right one.

Der Schnitt sprach mit an, weil ich auf diesen Bikerstyle schon länger abfahre, er recht einfach zu sein schien und keine besonderen Verschlüsse hat (ich vermeide immernoch gern das Einsetzen von Reißverschlüssen) = ein Gewinn für meinen Kleiderschrank!

The pattern caught my eye because of the bikerstyle, which I find totally cool, the fact that it seemed quite easy to make and the fact that it doesn´t have a zipper (I still dread inserting zippers, brrrr)= a total bargain for my wardrobe!

Nachdem ich drei Wochen auf den Schnitt gewartet hatte, war er endlich da. Nur um dann für etwas mehr als ein Jahr in der Versenkung zu verschwinden...

...bis zu dem Samstag, als ich auf dem Maybachufermarkt diesen perfekten Stoff entdeckte! Einen dicken Jersey, fast ein Romanit, relativ wenig dehnbar, mit einer grauen Seite und einer Seite, die sich wie Wildleder anfühlt, so eine Art Velours in dunkelgrau.

Als ich ihn sah, wußte ich, der wird eine Cassie!

After ordering the pattern I waited three weeks until it finally arrived... only to be stashed away for more than one year... until one fine Saturday when I innocently roamed my favorite fabric market at the Maybachufer, where I discovered this perfect fabric. It´s a rather dense Jersey, almost a punta di Roma, relative few strech, with a grey side and a side which felt like the finest suede, in a dark grey.

I knew, this had to become a Cassie!

Mitgenommen, zu Hause brav gewaschen und dann zugeschnitten. Am nächsten Tag genäht. Hat alles super geklappt, nur beim Annähen des Taillenbandes mochte meine Maschine nicht so gerne die Veloursseite transportieren. Das hab ich gelöst, indem ich den Stich von zickzack auf relativ große Stichlänge Geradstich umgestellt habe (und dann gehofft, dass es nicht reißt bei der Anprobe). Ich war direkt ein bißchen aufgeregt, als ich sie zum ersten mal anprobiert habe, hatte ich doch aufs Geratewohl zugeschnitten in einer Größe 12. Alle Einzelteile werden noch von rechts abgesteppt, hätte ich was ändern müssen, wäre es also echt viel Arbeit geworden.

Aber zum Glück saß das Schätzchen wie ne Eins.

Der Stoff ist absolut genial, sollte er nächste Woche noch da sein, wandert auf jeden Fall noch was davon in meinen Vorrat. Er fühlt sich an wie ein Ziegenlederhandschuh für die Beine ;-)

I took some yardage home, washed it and cut my pattern. I sew it up the next day. Everything went smooth, only during attaching the waistband my machine didn´t like the leathery fabric and I had to change to a different stich to keep going, but greatfully, it worked out. I must admit I was a little anxcious when I tried it on for the first time...would it fit? All the pieces had to be top-stiched, so it would mean a lot of work, should I need to make some alterations.

But, luckily, this beauty fit like a glove!

I really love the fabric, it has such a buttery feel to it, like the finest goatleather. I´m definitely going to snatch up some more should it still be available :-)

Ich habe beim Zuschnitt die Länge um drei Zentimeter verlängert, ich mag Hosen nicht so gern am Knöchel enden lassen. Sonst habe ich nichts verändert.

I sew it in a size 12, with lengthening the hem for about 3cm as my only alteration. I like it when my pants are really long.

Fazit: Superbequeme, stylische Leggings
Schwierigkeitsgrad: einfach
Stoffverbrauch: ca. 1,30m bei 1,50m Stoffbreite, Größe 12
Änderungen: 3cm Länge zugegeben
Gesamt: Hurra, die nähe ich nochmal :-)


Summary: supercomfy. stylish pants
Skill level: easy
Yardage needed: approx. 1,30m with 1,50m width
Alterations: lengthening the hem for 3 cm
All in all: Love it, will make some more :-)

Okay, ihr Lieben, das war´s von mir,
was die anderen fleißigen Damen kreiert haben, könnt ihr beim MeMadeMittwoch bewundern: Hier


Other lovely creations you can find as usual here, at the MeMadeMittwoch-blog.


Viel Spaß beim Nähen und bis bald,
happy sewing,
Milan

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

Bombshell by accident

Hi sewing nerds,

summer´s finally decided to stay for a while, so I spent time mostly outdoors, enjoying the sun and lazy breezes here in Berlin and around at the lakes that surround our capital city.

But still, sewing is with me all the time.
I got inspired by a dress made by my favorite designer, Lena Hoschek, which she released this summer, namely: the cabrio leaves dress. A jersey dress with a pencil skirt shape with ruffles at the sideseam and knotted at the shoulders with a little waterfall neckline.

As I didn´t find any unlicensed pics online, I give you this, my own interpretation of the pattern and overall look of the dress:

This is the fabric I found for my experiment, a lightweight cotton jersey with some elastic and a similar color as the original.

The fabric and the idea then lay in my stash and waited to come to life, but I got distracted and did many ohter garments before yesterday I came across a website that sparked my interest, trashtocouture.com, by the talented Laura.

She presented a tutorial for a ruffled skirt that looked smashing and so I dove into my stash to look for a siutable fabric, coming up with the one above.

I didn´t opt for a maxi skirt though, a mid length was more to my liking.

I did the skirt and it fit me well. During my first fitting in front of the mirror suddenly I felt reminded of the cabrio leaves dress and the idea to make this skirt into a dress struck me.

I rummaged through my old Burda issues to find a pattern with a waterfall neckline, as I had never made one before and wasn´t sure about how the pieces should look. I found one in Burda 9/2012, shirt 130.

I cut the front and back pieces and added a little capsleeve as I found long sleeves wouldn´t work on this dress. But when trying it on together with the skirt it just looked old-fashioned. I didn´t like it at all.

It makes a nice shirt though :-)

I found a shirt pattern in an old magazine (from 1997) and, although it didn´t feature a waterfall neckline, it sported a knotted shoulder. 

The pattern asked for double layers, which I managed to sqeeze out of my remaining fabric. Sewn together and in front of the mirror for a fitting.

It looked promising. So I basted it together and connected skirt and top.

And to my surprise, I looked so much like one of these 1940ies Bombshelldresses! Starting this I had no idea how it would turn out, but I love the result.

The slit may be a little naughty e.g. too high, but still, I like it like that. Also the asymmetrical hem. I was shortly thinking about adding more ruffles also to the second side, then decided against it. It is much more interesting this way. What do you think?

You must excuse my pics, unfortunately there was no one near to make them, so I had to use the self-portrait button and hope for the best...

Like it a lot :-)

A little on the butt side... still like it

If I dare, I will wear it tonight at the outdoor dancing at the Bode Museum.

All in all, I think I´m going to experiment a lot more often, now that this one came out so nicely.

Watch out for new makes.

Happy sewing peeps, and keep the good spirits up!

A very retro-inspired Tiramisu

Hi folks,

let me proudly present to you my latest make:
a Tiramisu.
It´s actually my second version and much improved too :-)

I found the fabric, a soft drapey viscosejersey, at the market "Stoffmarkt Holland", a travelling fabric market that comes to Potsdam every three months for one day only. And fell in love with this aquamarine color and little white polka dots (of course).

My first version of the Tiramisu by Cake patterns was made of a similar fabric, yet I had my problems with the right sizing of the bodice. My torso is rather long and my boobs small, so I decided on going with a size 30 (the smallest available). During the first fitting I sadly found out that it was much too short. Luckily I had some fabric left and cut the bodice again, same size but about six centimeters longer than before. That did the trick. In the end I had to take in some of the sideseams (about two centimeters at eacht side) to make it fit at the waist, and I like the result alltogether.

With this version I wanted it to sit right at my natural waist, so I widened the waistband on top of the longer bodice pieces, and now I just love the result.

The white seambinding gives a nice and clean finish to it, imagine white gloves and a poodle and I could step right into a Cary Grant Movie...

I added the pockets to this one (where I omitted them with the first version) and they don´t make the hips look bigger at all (which was a concern at first).

In short, I love this dress. 
Hopefully the summer will remember to come along to play soon, or it will just hang in my drawer and wait for better weather!

I will wear it to my Salsa dance class on Sunday anyway.

Hope you like it as much as I do:-)

Cheers, and happy sewing,
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