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A light pink linen Dahlia

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I didn’t mean to be gone so long! I think I lost a bit of momentum after making my maid of honour dress because it was such an intense project and it wasn’t something I chose to make myself. I made a few things here and there for other people, but in general I think I was battling the winter blues and loss of my sew-jo.

But Me-Made-May and the Indie pattern challenges going on over at the Monthly Stitch have inspired me again. That, and the beautiful spring weather we’ve been having. It’s been rather mild and not too much rain here in Holland.

Today I’m sharing the Dahlia dress from Colette patterns with you today. It’s described as being a perfect wardrobe staple that will transition through the seasons. I fell in love with the pattern as soon as I saw it in my inbox. I bought it right then and there! It just looked easy to make and has so many special gathered details that really seem to be flattering. I printed it out and traced it quite soon after I bought it, but I wasn’t sure what fabric to use at first.

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Then I had this trip coming up to visit my family in Canada (back in April) and I thought it was a perfect time to dive back into sewing. Yay! New dress! But when you’ve been out of it for a while, it can take a little bit to get back into it. I found that I was slow and clumsy and I wasn’t able to finish before I left. Mind you, I always seem to take on large projects when I want something new last-minute. Not that this dress is super-complicated to make, but it has quite a few pieces (11 in total) and a lot of little bits of gathering, so it just takes time.

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I love so many things about this dress, but I don’t think this is a great first try. When I traced the pattern, I traced the size I usually do with this brand. I also pre-emptively lengthened the bodice (by 2.5cm I think) so that the bottom of the waistband falls on my waist. These were two big mistakes on my part. First, because I didn’t really realise I had lost quite a bit of weight since I last measured myself. And second, I think that I shouldn’t have lengthened the bodice. I’m not sure yet how I feel about it. What do you think? I hope to make it again, and I plan on cutting out a smaller size and leaving the bodice as-is. Oh, and I had to change one more thing, which was adding pleats to the shoulders. Otherwise, it would have been completely unwearable.

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Oh man was it ever hot today! It was 34 degrees in the shade in our yard. I have been drinking a LOT of iced tea. This dress is actually great for this weather. The fabric I chose was a dusty rose linen. The thing I love about linen is it’s a perfect summer fabric. It is so incredibly breathable. This is from my 10 year old stash (from when I was working at a fabric store). I originally earmarked it for a suit, but yeah, that was a long time ago.  Those who sew and wear linen know that it does have a downside – it wrinkles like crazy! I just chalk it up to the charm of the fabric.

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What I am most proud of is the invisible zipper I inserted. Can you see it? because I can’t! I also loved using my new bias tape maker, although linen is a little bit thick for making the small bias tape. The other thing I love about this dress is the sleeves! I didn’t really participate in me-made-may mainly for this reason. My closet is full of sleeveless summery dresses, but no dresses with sleeves. The weather wasn’t really warm enough to wear dresses like that. So I definitely have to add dresses with short sleeves to my list of things to sew. I’m thinking maybe a Sigma dress by Papercut patterns.

What is your next sewing project? Have you found a gap in your me-made wardrobe?

Thanks for stopping by!

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Copycat Challenge Completed!

Inspiration

I first blogged about my copycat inspiriation here. But if you missed it, here’s a brief recap.

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Basically I wanted the top with the lace applique with a plaid tulip skirt similar to the second photo. Angels Never Die is one of my favourite brands. Whenever I see a sale on Vente-Exclusive, I always buy at least one thing (but it often puts me in the red and then I promptly send it back…:(

I love that they mix fabric prints, textures, and weaves.  They often mix knits with wovens and they always have interesting draping, designs, and appliques.

Making the dress

To make my dress, I used the skirt from this Burda 09/2011 Dress pattern. The top part is a refashioned basic knit top I’ve had since last year, from the Hema. It matched the brown plaid I had in mind from my stash, so I went with it.

I cut out the skirt from the plaid fabric.  I had to do some creative cutting because I had only 1m of it and those front panels eat up a shitload of fabric. So some of the seam allowances were cut on the selvage but that’s ok. I ended up cutting the waistband on the lengthwise grain (if that’s even a term?!). Also, none of the plaid matches, but I’m ok with that because it’s not too noticeable. I did not use the instructions except to check how much to gather the top of the skirt to.

The skirt has pleats AND gathers.  And the pleats are gathered! It’s a lot of fabric sitting right there on my pouch, but I like to think it doesn’t make me look too huge because the back of the skirt is such a nice shape, kind of like the Elizalex dress. The hem is finished with bias tape. The inside seams are finished with bias tape on the waistband and with a zigzag stitch for the side seams.  I would have liked to do french seams, but I figured it would get too bulky.
I purchased some of the lace trim from the most recent fabric fair in Leeuwarden and some from my local fabric shop, Jan Sikkes. I attached the trim to the top using a zigzag stitch to help keep it from getting wavy. I folded the trims over at the top and slipstitched it in place.

Styling

I paired it with leggings because a) it’s getting cold out there, b) it’s not lined, and c) it’s a good thing I did because riding my bike to the photoshoot place made the dress open up pretty much right to my crotch. I might have to add a snap or tack it down.

In some of the pictures I’m also wearing an actual Angels Never Die jacket, which I love love LOVE (there would have been an exclamation point if the jacket had pockets, but it doesn’t so boo hoo). My boots are Dr Martens and are already like 3 or 4 years old.

I accessorized with a fake pearl necklace I inherited from my grandma because I thought it matched the lace on the top quite nicely.

I even did my makeup, which you can’t even see in the pictures 🙁  I did cat eyes with brown eyeliner to match my dress!

And now, for picture overload!

 

Thanks for stopping by!

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Gathering Apron

I made this back in July I think. I meant to photograph it sooner, but I wiped my beet-juice covered hands on it and it was sitting on my laundry pile for a while. Maybe I should have taken photographs anyway, to make it more ‘real.’ So here it is, freshly washed: my Gathering Apron from Sew Liberated.

I’m wearing it with my Kelly skirt (not intentional). And what also wasn’t intentional was to show my crazy life in the background. haha, I thought I cut out my laundry in the shot, and I didn’t even notice the knocked-over bucket. I decided to leave the photos as-is, as it kind of goes with apron photos. They aren’t supposed to be glamorous or anything, though this pattern is more glamorous than most. Not unisex at all.

The pattern features adorable (yet annoying) pintuck details at the waistband and the bottom of the apron. The best part is the huge pocket in the front, perfect for gathering produce from your garden, or eggs from your chicken coop. I don’t have a large garden myself, but I could see it being useful to put clothespins in and various kitchen stuff while cooking.

I made it out of a thick grey linen I got for €4/m at de stoffenspektakel this past spring. And I can see why it was such a good price. The fold line is permanently faded, as you can see a line down the front of my apron. I chose linen because I wanted to have a teatowel feel to it, someting that would be absorbant, because I like to wipe my hands on my clothes, which is why I had to make myself an apron!

And now for my little rant, I mean, review of the pattern. You see that cute little gusset? There are only written instructions on how to attach it, and it’s a bit confusing. Fear not! There is a video of the sewing process to help you if you are a visual learner. Um, yeah, I had to put in my password to access the video 3 times before it worked, because it’s one of those rnadom number and letter passwords. Then I finally access it and I see that the pattern piece in the video is  completely different than the one included in the pattern. In the end, I figured it out. You’re supposed to line up the bottom of the gusset with the bottom of the bust cup and sew from the pattern marking to the top of the gusset. I hope that helps someone who is trying to figure it out.

The rest is fairly straight-forward. I finished the straps differently than the pattern called for. I believe you’re supposed to sew the straps closed by topstitching it, but instead I just sewed them inside-out and used a long-handled wooden spoon to turn them inside-out.

And I also did only the bare minimum of pressing because I made it during our heat wave in The Netherlands. It was around 25 to 32 degrees for a good while, so you really don’t want to be handling a hot iron. Most of the apron is finger pressed. I think I only did a final press, actually. And pressed under the seam allowance on the belt so I could top stitch it down. It’s just an apron, so I’m not terribly sad about it. It’s one of the reasons I chose this project to do in the heat, actually.

Here is my new tiny kitty! His name is Walter and he is either completely crazy or completely relaxed. Kittens are so fun and exhausting! After Korban died, we decided to just get a new kitty rather than waiting a year to get one (we were basically at the end of the spring kitten season). I sure miss Korban but Walter keeps me so busy that I don’t think about him too much. I love him and his craziness.

One last note about Sew Liberated Patterns: I got this pattern as well as their skinny jeans pattern. I am grateful that the gathering apron pattern is one size  because the skinny jeans pattern is multi-sized but does not distinguish between the sizes using labels nor different line dashes. There is also no size chart. So I guess I’ll have to give it my best guess. So these jeans are no longer high on my priority list for sewing. Better to make some Thurlows I think. Lauren totally skinni-fied them. So I think I may do that too.

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Terribly sweet blogger

I am so terrible for not posting this sooner, but I’m going to have to say ‘sorry, not sorry’ after reading this blog post by So, Zo. I’m not sorry that I have a life in addition to sewing and blogs. But I do thank all my readers for following me and posting all of your lovely comments.

So, a couple of months ago, I was nominated for an award by Sally of Sally Bee Makes! 😀 Thank you Sally, again. Sorry it took so long to get up this post (sorry, not sorry).

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So, this is what I have to do now:
1. Thank the Super Sweet Blogger that nominated you.
2. Answer 5 Super Sweet questions.
3. Include the Super Sweet Blogging Award in your blog post.
4. Nominate a baker’s dozen (13) other deserving bloggers.
5. Notify your Super Sweet nominees on their blog.
The questions:
Cookies or cakes?
Cakes. I love making them and I love eating them. Especially the mini kind.
Chocolate or vanilla?
Chocolate please!
Favourite sweet treat?
At the moment, panna cotta. Just got back from Italy where I ate a lot of it, and now I’ve made it twice! It’s got calcium, right…
Sweet nickname?
My nickname is Jo. Sweet? I think so.
My nominations:
And I’ll probably be away from the blog for another month or so because I’m most likely doing my thesis defense at the end of the month, so I need to put all my energy into finishing off my thesis, giving a presentation, etc etc…
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It’s been a crazy july, guys

Hello everyone. Again I’ve been neglecting my blog, however I think I’m not the only one because it is finally SUMMER and we are all going on vacations and spending time in the sun. Amiright? Myself included. I went back to Canada for a couple of weeks, this time with Mr. Livana, who hadn’t been there for 3 years, since my accident. So he figured it was high time he showed his face. So it was less of a vacation and more of a howmanypeoplecanwevisitin2weeks? Let me tell you, the trip did not start off well (for Mr. Livana).

Wait, let me back that up a little bit. About a week before we were scheduled to fly, my hometown, Calgary, FLOODED. I don’t mean a puddle in the street. I mean, like, thousands of people being evacuated and houses floating down the river, flooded. I mean, making international headlines flooded. The whole downtown (city center) was flooded, with some places without electricity or phonelines for weeks. Luckily, most of my family is “poor,” thus not owning riverfront property. Only two family members were evacuated, and didn’t sustain damage to their actual property, though one was without electricity.  My sister also works downtown and wasn’t able to work for quite a few days, and once she could go to work, they had electricity but no phone lines.

Highway 1, the main highway running through Canada, was partially washed away in the direction of the mountains. And we were planning on driving to the mountains with my friends the weekend after we arrived. But construction workers worked day and night to get the highway open to non-commercial vehicles within about a week, so we were ok to drive! Which was great, because the Canada Day long weekend (the weekend of July 1) always brings a lot of traffic into the mountains.

Our friends had to work until late, so we didn’t get on the road until 22:00 on a Friday. But it was good because most of the long weekend traffic was  gone.  Mr. Livana had volunteered to drive that night, and we made it to the Days Inn in Golden within about 3 hours. When he got out of the car, he said “I don’t feel so good” and when we got to the hotel room, he continued to say that until he ran to the bathroom. He threw up several times that night, including once in the sink when he woke up in the middle of the night and couldn’t quite make it to the toilet. Poor Mr. Livana’s weekend was also ruined by the fact that he needed to find a bathroom about every hour to empty his bowels. His diet consisted of pedialite and immodium for much of the trip. It’s really too bad, because we stayed at an amazing resort in Kelowna, in an apartment/condo for the four of us complete with kitchen, a large tv, bathroom with jacuzzi tub connected to our room, and the pool a stone’s throw from our balcony.

But we did end up doing some fun stuff, like visiting Mission Hill winery and having a fancy dinner there. That’s where I wore my new Kelly skirt by Megan Nielsen patterns, which I paired with a Banana Republic top that is not unlike the Datura blouse by Deer and Doe patterns (which makes me want to make one now, but I can’t because the pattern is out of stock until the end of July).

The skirt is made out of a dark grey fine corduroy. And the pockets are lined with the New York fabric from my Ginger skirt. I will not say that this skirt was a dream to sew because it WASN’T.

This project had its ups and downs all around. The first few steps were a breeze, just sewing straight lines to attach the pockets to the front, and sewing the side seams. Oh yeah, I was flying. But then I didn’t follow the instructions, which no where tell you to tack down the pockets, but I did it anyway thinking I was smarter than megan nielsen. So when it came time to set in the pleats, I couldn’t figure out why it was bunching up the *&?% pocket. Until I let out the basting at the top and then it was a breeze again. (this also happened over at Ginger Makes while making her sister’s Kelly Skirt).

Then when I was attaching the waistband, I didn’t pin down the pockets, so I caught one of them in the bloody stitching and had to unpick a good chunk of it. *TACK DOWN YOUR POCKETS PEOPLE!* And by the time I sewed down the waistband, not all of it was caught on the inside, but I stopped giving a shit and just left some of the raw edges sticking out. GAH.

And those button holes…. *^$#@^ All I can say is at least I had the foresight to practice first. I hadn’t done a buttonhole in years, so I figured I better make sure it looks ok. That was a nightmare. Mostly because I think after 10 years it’s probably about time I get my machine serviced. I couldn’t get it to do the ends right. So after about 8 attempts, I figured out that I needed to change the width to do the ends, which worked on MOST of the buttonholes in the end. But there is one buttonhole in the middle that has a really fat line because my machine didn’t want to turn back to the narrower width apparently. So, yeah, my machine should probably go in for a checkup sometime soon.

This winery had amazing food, which cost as much as a night at the resort, but since we don’t do it every week (or every month, or EVER), it was a delicious treat that we all thoroughly enjoyed. We got the matching wines for each course as well. It was the last night, so Mr. Livana joined in, guts be damned!

Things started to look up the following weekend. We had a BBQ at my (soon to be) brother-in-law’s place near the mountains on Sunday, then we went to Drumheller with my parents on Tuesday. I wore my Kelly Skirt again, this time ‘dressed down.’ But I must say, it did not travel too well. Sitting in the car for almost 2 hours and the top and bottom button both came undone. It was uncivilized! But it looked pretty cute, no?

 

But the next day we got some really bad news. Mr. Livana told me that our kitty was going to die. Before we left, he had been having problems eating and going to the bathroom. We took him to the vet and they said he was pretty healthy except for a blockage in his intestines and an inflamed kidney. They gave him laxitives over a weekend, gave us some antibiotics and sent him on his way. So while we were in Canada, he got a bit better, then stopped eating again. Mr Livana’s parents were taking care of him, and took him to the vet only to find out that his kidneys had shut down and that he was going to die. It was devastating. We made the decision to put him down before he got any worse. They could have kept him alive for the next few days until we got home, but his quality of life those last few days would have been nothing. Our poor little kitty was only 2 years old. Coming home to an empty house was hard. We both miss him a lot.

Korban, our little kitty

Korban, our little kitty

Me Made May ’13 round up

Hello lovelies. I was MIA for almost two months from the blogosphere. I hardly kept up with reading my sewing blogs, people! I flew to Canada for 2.5 weeks in May for a family affair. My grandparents were celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary and we were in for quite the shindig. My sister was in charge of organizing, so she had delegated loads of tasks to every member of our family. When I arrived, two weeks before the party, there were still lots of little things to do. My cousin was in charge of a photo presentation, but my Oma’s (grandma’s) photo albums hadn’t been scanned yet. Since everyone else was working, I had the lovely task of scanning almost 200 old photos from my grandparents’ family and their wedding. Let me tell you, scanning is quite the long and arguous task. It took me two afternoons of scanning, plus another full day to touch up the photos in photoshop. So I sent the jpgs off to my cousin, and in the meantime, my sister and her got into a tif about the presentation, my sis blaming my cuz for not caring about the presentation, and my cuz accusing my sis of leaving everything to the last minute. Of course, no one is phoning with each other, it’s all going through texting, which is the reason this all started because texts do not show intonation, but they do allow you to write things you may not say in real life. Oh dear, the drama! In the end, it all worked out of course.

So in the midst of all the preparations and visiting family and that, I didn’t give myself the time to take pictures every day. I shall remind you of my pledge before I get started with the pictures: I, Joanne of Zoe Livana, sign up as a participant of Me-Made-May ’13. I endeavour to wear a handmade or refashioned item each day for the duration of May 2013. In addition, I endeavor to make a pair of pants or skirt (hopefully both) in May 2013.’

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Day 1: refashioned threadless tshirt

Day 2: a UFO brought to life!

Day 2: a UFO brought to life!

Day 3: 3/4 sleeve Briar top

Day 3: 3/4 sleeve Briar top

Well, I never said I was going to take photos every day! haha. I actually thought since I was repeating outfits that I had gotten everything, but now that I’m going through it I see that I have not. I missed my polka dot Rebecca Taylor dress and my long sleeved Briar top.

Day 4: Two tshirts into one refashion

Day 4: Two tshirts into one refashion

Day 5: threadless tshirt refashion

Day 5: threadless tshirt refashion

I got to wear a lot of my threadless tshirt refashions. I really love the prints at threadless, but I don’t always want to wear tshirts, so I bought some XXL tshirts and converted them into dresses. 😀

Day 6: Colette ginger skirt

Day 6: Colette ginger skirt

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Day 7: Deer and Doe Sureau dress

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Day 8: Military-inspired Burda jacket

I wore this Burda jacket almost every day of this month. I really love it! But I have a sad story, a cautionary tale if you will. I prewashed the shell fabric, but not the lining because I thought it was just a regular old polyester satin. I WAS WRONG. I washed the jacket at the end of the month and now the hems are puckered because the lining shrunk. :(((((( So, ALWAYS PRE WASH YOUR FABRIC EVEN IF YOU THINK IT’S NOT GOING TO SHRINK.

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Day 10: threadless tshirt refashion.

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Day 11: At the airport wearing my comfy Briar top

May 11 is the day I left for Canada to visit my family. You can tell, because my Me Made May pictures suddenly get very sparse.

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Day 11: threadless refashion

I seriously do not trust Dutch hairdressers! I have been to see quite a few, and every single time, they cut off way more than I ask for. I ask for a trim, a couple of centimeters, split hair removal, and it always ends up being about 10cm shorter. So I’ve been cutting my own hair. So it was a treat to get my hair cut in Canada and get EXACTLY what I asked for. Well, except for the styling perhaps…

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Day 13: Burda jacket and Deer & Doe’s Belladone

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Day 16: threadless refashion

The above photos were both taken by professional photographers. The first was a family photo shoot because it’s been years since we got one done, taken by the lovely Anna Michalska. The second one was taken in a ghost town, Dorothy, Alberta, by my best friend N. If you want to see some cats beer posing, go check out her blog.

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Day 18: another threadless refashion

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Day 21: Belladone 2.0

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Day 25: A Knipmode dress from issue april 2013

May 25 was the anniversary party and this is the dress I wore!!! I shall blog more about it soon. My friend took some pictures and then her computer crashed and she lost all of her data. 🙁 I was waiting for her to send me some cool edits, but luckily she already sent me a few pictures, which I will post sometime in July probably.

I also slipped up for 3 days! Those were the days I returned home and I was far too jet-lagged to bother to do laundry, so I had no more comfy me-made shirts (i.e. my briars) to wear. I just pulled on a pair of sweats and threw on a tshirt and called it a day. Which, I guess points to another gap in my me-made wardrobe: comfy pants. So I kind of missed the dramatic ending on Flickr. I was busy catching up on my sleep!

And I also didn’t really fulfill my goal to make a pair of pants or a skirt. Instead (surprise, surprise) I made two dresses, the last two pictures (one of them already blogged here). I guess my Ginger skirt kind of counts, because I made it after my pledge, but it just happened to be the end of April and it took me just one day from start to finish. Actually, I did plan on making another ginger skirt from a nice chambray I scored in my home town for $4.50/m. Instead I did things like go to my sister’s boyfriend’s house for a BBQ and get my friend to take pictures of my new makes.

Well, I hope you all had a great Me Made May, those of you who participated. I know I did! But I must say, I’m glad to be wearing my store bought clothes again.

Thanks for stopping by!

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Polkadots, pipes and paraplus.

I started this dress at the beginning of May but didn’t finish it in time to go to Canada. So, I took it with me. I more or less finished the bodice and attached the bias tape to the right side of the fabric. In the plane, I hand stitched the bias tape in place. I didn’t want to do it with the machine because I had purple thread and the bias tape is green. My bias tape topstitching skills leave something to be desired, so I figured it was better to just sew it by hand. So I had my little sewing kit on the plane – sans scissors of course – and whipped it right up within one episode of Hemlock Grove.

Some of you might recognize the dress pattern as the sensational Belladone from Deer and Doe. My previous attempt looked a bit too much like a babydoll dress. And since I love this dress so much, I figured it warranted a repeat.

This time, I added 3.5cm to the bodice and moved the bust darts down 1cm. It could have been more like 2, but I guess I’ll save that for the next version. I shall also try a scoop-neck version next time instead of the boat neck, which looks a little bit floopy on me.  I also added green piping to the waistband! I love it!

My best friend took these pictures of me at Elliston Park. And no, it was not deserted. Unfortunately. She got me to do some pretty crazy poses, and I think we got some sideways glances from parents, but it was fun anyway.

She has the greatest props, don’t you think? A pipe, an umbrella, and even a Diana camera! She just got it and I can’t wait to see how the photos turn out! It takes lomo pictures. You know we’re so Gen-Y that we didn’t even remember how to put film in a camera?! Oh, those flowers in my hair are hers as well. 😀

The back turned out a little bit loose again, so I can’t blame the stretch in the fabric like I did with the first one. But I don’t care- I love it!

I’m only laughing because my friend is singing a song. I’m actually getting eaten alive by mosquitoes.

Thanks for stopping by!

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Ginger goes to New York

To be honest, there isn’t too much exciting to say about the construction of this garment. However, it looks fabulous, doesn’t it? I thought I’d get a head start on my pledge to sew pants or a skirt in may, and this was the perfect pattern to do it with. It took very little time to make, even with the French seams I did.

This is the first time I put in an invisible zipper with an actual invisible zipper foot. However, it’s not one of those feet that is made for my machine, it’s a universal one from Unique and I didnt put it in quite correctly I think, because it’s not completely invisible. When I did a test with it on another zipper, it was completely invisible though, so I know it’s possible. I think it looks good enough though. I’m not going to unpick it.

back view

This is my second Colette pattern make after Laurel. I must admit, I’m not completely crazy about Laurel because I don’t think it’s very flattering on me (I think I need to add darts under the bust to make it more flattering). But my faith in these patterns has come back! I went out and bought Hazel to try next.

Look at that tiny waist! I thought I lost it when I gained a bunch of weight. Found it!

damn that's a tiny waist

The low-down:
Pattern: ginger skirt from Colette patterns
Size: 8. And it’s a little snug so next time I shall reduce the seam allowance or trace another size. Officially, my waist runs a size 8 and my hips size 10.
Fabric: a new York inspired print by Stenzo that I got at last year’s Stoffenspektakel (one of our annual fabric markets). So this is a stash buster!
Notions: thread, invisible zip
Time: about an hour to cut out the pattern and fabric, just over 2 tv episodes to sew (yeah, I measure in tv episodes because either I’m watching tv while I sew or Mr. Livana is and I can hear it in the background).
Make again: heck yes! Do you see how little my waist looks? It’s magical. And it hardly takes any time to whip it together.

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The eyelet and lace-print Laurel

When I read about Colette pattern’s contest, I immediately thought: I must enter! I bought the pattern when it was first introduced, at 10% off. I printed it out and traced it in the space of 24 hours I think. The following day, I chose an amazing paisley printed satin, and got to cutting it out. I even put tracing paper underneath the fabric so it wouldn’t slip and slide! I did french seams! I hand-picked a side zipper! I made adorable cap sleeves! Then I got to making the bias tape and suddenly it became part of my UFO pile. I must have spent hours on that stupid tape. I don’t have a bias-tape maker, and I had to make my own starch spray to stabilize the tiny strips of fabric, otherwise it would not press at all.  I sewed the bias tape to the bottom half of one of the sleeves, and then gave up.  All that’s left is the neckline and the hem. Actually, the hem is half way done. I’m doing a narrow seam, so it’s already got a line of stitching close to the fold, I’ve trimmed it, and all that’s left is turning it over and stitching again. It’s scandelous, really.

Half way through April, I decided to get my ass in gear and have another go at it. After perusing google images, I was inspired by a silk shift dress design by (?), which was color-blocked in navy and coral. And since I recently purchased a french curve, I was prepared to take on some simple pattern design.

I chose two fabrics from my stash: A black eyelet and a printed lace, which I hand-dyed in my wok pan! I used tumeric to dye it, an all-natural dye that gives a lovely yellow colour. And those of you who love Indian food, you know how bad it can stain your clothes.

fabric dyeing process

So I cut out the pieces of my newly designed Laurel pattern and I sewed it up really quickly, even with all of the tricky corners in the blocking. I was just about finished, then I tried it on and realized that I hadn’t put the sweetheart neckline far enough down! I didn’t even take pictures to show you before. It just looked horrible. Like I had a flat DD chest or something. So I picked out the top part and re-cut the pattern pieces. I had plenty eyelet still, but I had to be careful with the yellow fabric because I did not have enough left.  It all worked out!

lovely laurel

Like all the reviews say, this dress comes together very quickly, even with my blocking modifications. I also french seamed all of the seams except for the shoulder seams because I reduced the seam allowance. When I tried on the dress, the arm holes were too tight, so I did a 1cm seam instead of 1.5cm.

I used two different sizes of bias tape on the dress. I used a narrow one on the arm holes and a wider one for the neckline. I ran out of the narrow one after the arm holes, which is why I switched. I think it looks pretty good, though.

It was so lovely taking pictures out in the sun. It seems like everywhere in the world, the winter was hanging on as long as it could. It’s the first time I’ve experienced the grass turning brown in The Netherlands since I moved here 9 years ago.

The back is beautiful, I think. I eliminated the zipper because in making the satin version, I noticed there was enough ease to be able to pull it over my head.

I hemmed it with a double fold.  I originally wanted to use the narrow bias tape to keep most of the length, but as I said, I ran out, and the wide one was just too wide in my opinion. The length is ok, though. A nice summery length.

But I am seriously thinking that I will never sew with eyelet again because everytime the needle went through the embroidery, it stopped or slowed down. I had to replace my needle after this project. And I think I might add darts in front one of these days to make it a bit more form-fitting. It’s a bit too loose in front for my taste.

Thanks for stopping by.

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Almost weekend post

I have been pretty busy these last couple of weeks. I’m really trying to finish off my thesis before I leave for Canada in two weeks, or at least have a very good first draft, because the end of the school year is drawing near and if I don’t finish, well, let’s just say I’ve taken long enough to finish my masters. No more excuses! And when I’m not working on my thesis, I’m sewing, or doing something sewing-related. When I’m uninspired to write, I’ve been tracing patterns. I’ve traced the Ginger skirt, the Ginger bodysuit, and the perfect nursing top all in the last couple of weeks.

And in non-school and non-sewing news, I have another new nephew! He was born on Monday and I got to visit him on Tuesday already. I went to visit him and his proud parents along with my partner and his brother, girlfriend and their son. Everything went well with the birth, so the parents were very relaxed and we all got to take turns holding him. The only problem with this picture is now the pressure is on for us to be next. But we are not ready to be next!

I made a couple of tops for my sister-in-law that she wore all through her pregnancy. I love that she appreciates what I made for her. So I sewed up a nursing top for her from Megan Nielsen’s maternity line.

That box in the corner is my UFO pile.

However, I’m a little bit nervous that it won’t be very good for nursing. I ordered the fabric online, and I didn’t read it very carefully. The fabric I used is a jersey voile, therefore SEE THROUGH. Not very modest for a new mom, is it?!. Thankfully, I also ordered a brown jersey that matches perfectly, so I used that to underline it. In doing so, I think some of the stretchiness was compromised. They are both only two-way stretch, so they weren’t very stretchy to begin with. If I make it again, I’ll make sure to use 4-way stretch instead.

I just hope that she loves it enough to wear it anyway! The dressform isn’t pregnant or has post-baby belly and it looks great on it, doesn’t it? I hope it is something that she can wear post-nursing as well. We’re going to their place next week to build a fence since they also recently moved into a new house. So we’ll see…

Summary:

Fabric: 1.5m jersey voile, 1.5m polyester jersey
Notions: thread
Hours: about 3-4 (underlining takes extra time!)
Cost: The fabric cost €12. I know, I’m supposed to be stashbusting, but I can’t help splurging on others! I used my standard black thread though. I get 1000m at a time, so I don’t go through it so quickly.
Make it again?: Yes! I’m already making another top for a friend. Also not too stretchy… oops. It’s the thought that counts, right?