Category Archives: Sewing

2014 a summary

2014 started with me being thrown out of a lecture because I was knitting and after that I just didn’t enjoy knitting anymore for almost 6 months, so I sewed instead except for april and may which I spent in school barely getting home to sleep, hardly having time to talk with my husband. Then the summer came and with it more time for creative things. I set my mind to make my own underwear, as well as sewing my first pair of trousers, a couture gown and decided that knitting is for fun and if I only want to knit kids-wear to stock up for a distant baby in the future, that is fine. It doesn’t have to be practical, useful or smart. I also decided to start making separates which surprisingly resulted is a new favorite outfit, my black velvet skirt, Amélie and a thin lace cotton cardigan, also black. This was unexpected in two ways firstly me wearing black willingly and secondly my favorite isn’t a dress.

Her comes some of the most loved items from the past year.

For 2015 I am hoping to graduate and to get well in to my master thesis project and to keep creative in an unwise and happy way simply enjoying the proses and make what my heart feels like, so to those of you how occasionally receive handmade gifts, there might not be any in the near future…

Needle case

My mom gave me new nickel free knitting needles, so I made a new case for them. It’s made using a dalahäst canvas, plastic foil for the outside and cable pockets, elastic for the needle pockets and bias binding for the edging.

I wanted a zipped pocket for end stops, safety pins, stitch markers, a pair of scissors and all the little things you need. Separate pockets for all the different cable lengths, it makes it so much easier to get the right one straight away and of course to be able to close it with a zipper to prevent any from escaping.

I think it turned out well, it is certainly much prettier then the case for my old needles so lets just hope that it ages well.

Black Lace

This one is made just as the others from pin-up girls classic bra pattern but since I have changed it a little every time the resemblance to the original is questionable. I found this smooth lace in my local fabric shop and thought it would be perfect for a bra or two. The surface is smooth and the mesh part makes it slightly stretchy. The fit is good but I won’t model this one. You can find my previous versions here, 1, 2.

Black lace bra

Bombshell dress

Bombshell dress bra

I made this dress for my cousins wedding in august but since I wasn’t completely pleased with the photos and taking new ones have proven difficult. I took the Bombshell dress class on craftsy and used the accompanying pattern. The fabric is something I bought a long time ago and have dragged around with me through several relocations and finally it has now become something spectacular. It is silk taft in pale dusty pink with printed green to brown flowers on.

Modifications: I lifted the over the cups area quite a bit and drafted my own skirt with pleats using all the width in the fabric and wished that it had been a little bit wider. I also made my own boned strapless bra to go with it.

I underlined the entire dress with a high quality thick cotton clot, (intended for the underdress in or national costume).

I also lined the bodice with a beautiful nan iro volie and sewed in a creme coloured waist-stay with a pearl button as closure. I also added horsehair braid to the hem to make it more structured instead of a petticoat which I think would only have been bulky to this type of skirt that doesn’t have much width.

Bombshell dress bra

40’s bow dress

40's Bow dress

I bought this fabric when I was looking for some nice navy blue cotton poplin for a skirt. I didn’t find a nice weight of poplin but walked on this flowery fabric 100% cotton in a light, dense and almost drapey fabric perfect for a 40’s dress and very similar to the fabric on the patterns envelope. I think that the patterning of the fabric makes the beautiful details on the yoke disappear a little too much but it is certainly nice this way too. I used about 2.5 meters of a 112 cm wide cotton print, made the bodice and sleeves exactly as the pattern, but didn’t have enough fabric left for the 6 panel skirt I really wanted so I made a very pleated skirt with 15 pleats on the front and back all in all 30, pointing around in a circle. This is more of a skirt from the early 60’s or 20’s put together with a 40’s bodice and sleeves, but that’s the charm of making your own clothes, you have and opportunity to mix and match all you like.

40's Bow dress

The pattern is Simplicity 1587 a reprint from the 40’s it has an optional bow with I of course made and pleats surrounding it for the bust shaping. It is unlined and only have a neck facing, I didn’t think of a good way to add a lining because of the complex yoke which is a bit unfortunate for a winter dress. I will make another one in a plain fabric when I find something suitable, hoping for some nice wool suiting.

40's Bow dress

40's Bow dress 141207_4742

This is how happy I was about defying the weather to get these photos.

40's Bow dress

It was 4°C and pouring.

Black Velvet skirt

I was skirt planing when the first task in pattern review’s sewing bee contest arrived in the email, an A-line skirt, and as it happens I had already bought some black velvet the day before for exactly that purpose. So her it is the perfect skirt that goes with almost everything.

I used about 1.2m 112cm wide cotton velvet, 1m viscose lining, a normal zipper and scrapes of quilting cotton the the inside of the waistband, button on the inside to protect the zipper, as well as some light interfacing. The pattern is based on the Delphine skirt from Love at First Stitch but modified to give it the fit I like better. I lowered the waistband to sit over my high hip instead and reshaped the hips and added some waist shaping. The result is so comfortable that I don’t want to take it of and have already been wearing allot.

The perfect skirt, take one

Delphine mimi skirt blouse

My first try at creating the perfect skirt, This is a modified version of the Delphine skirt from Tilly and the buttons book love at first stitch reviewed her. The blouse is the mimi blouse from the same book. It is made in linen I died a few weeks ago. The fit still needs a few tweaks but I regard this as a summery wearable muslin in minty linen. I have already started one in black cotton velvet that will be perfect for this winter and will go well with all of my blouses.

Knitting bag

I used this tutorial by Pink Penguin, but put it together a little more traditionally and neater I think, but the end result is the same: a perfect bag for smaller projects. It wont hold an adult sized sweater but almost anything else. I got inspired to make one for me after seeing this version that Clara made and later that day when I was packing together stash yarn with needles, pattern and notions, ready to go. I didn’t have anything to put them in except shopping bags and we need our shopping bags for shopping. So I made this out of fabric scraps + a lot of interfacing. I’m thinking of making a bigger one for sweater projects as that is what I knit most of the time and what I like most, but honestly I probably won’t get to it.

Softies

The one thing Peter always asks for before Christmas and his birthday is another dolphin, lets just say that he has a few and last time I gave in for it and made him 2 new. I drafted the pattern from one of the other ones but tried to give them a slightly different character

Dusty mint

Is one of my favorite colours, it simply feels elegant that said I only own 2 items in this colour the shoes I wore on our wedding day and this new sorbetto. It is made in viscose and probably is the cheapest fabric for an entire project I ever bought, it was the end of the bolt and I got about half of the normal price and the shop owner asked me weather that little could ever become something, but here it is all used up.

Sorbetto mint

This will be perfect with a cardigan now that fall is coming. You can read more of the details in the post about my first sorbetto here. And now I wonder how you are preparing for the change of season?