A different wrap

The October issue of Knip Mode showed a nice variation on the wrap top or t-shirt with a twist. As I needed something not too complicated after my jacket, I did sew this last weekend. And still have no pictures of me wearing it!

Look at the neckline on the two pictures, a bit strange to have this from the same pattern don’t you think? The left neckline is much higher than the right one.

The line drawing, more representing the idea of the blue version than the pink one.

 

There are “step by step”  instructions in the magazine. To me they were not clear! For a start the pictures are too unclear to really see what is being done, and having used a printed fabric doesn’t help much either. I do prefer the instructions they had before, with drawings. If using pictures, they should have used a plain fabric. I tried to follow the instructions, and made a hem on the wrong part of the neckline, so  in the end just did what I think was best. It’s a muslin more or less, wearable but could have been better with clearer instructions.

The result of my collar. Not too bad, but I can just get my head through it.  I will try to get pictures of me wearing it.

Vogue 1064 – finished at last

It took me ages to finish the jacket. This was not because of the pattern, it isn’t that difficult. You know how it goes: other priorities, the weather was very good for a few weeks with summer temperatures here, not the weather to sew a winter jacket and more of such things. It also made/makes me reading only very few blog posts of other bloggers, rarely commenting too. I apologize for that, I love to read on sewing and get inspiration from all of you who blog.It’s just the way it is right now.

This is the result on me:

I’ve sewn a black pair of trousers (very much needed) as well, but they still needed a final press. Today a family member was available to make pictures during daylight, so you see it with my old jeans and I didn’t bother for the black trousers to be pressed first ;).

Back and side view. I might add a chain to the hem as in a Chanel jacket. This fabric might need it, especially in the back. I took out some space from center back. After doing the muslin I added a fba and did not make a new muslin. Then when the body was made it was too wide in the back. It already showed a little in the muslin, but after adding to the front it was too much.

 

The very bright fuchsia lining:

      

Sleeve detail. In this picture you can see the fabric and its colors best.

Mostly I followed the instructions, only added hair canvas interfacing on part of the front and a back stay of silk organza, which I’ve done in previous jackets. It is a really nice pattern and I would like to make it in a plain fabric sometime, which will show the darts better.

The review on Pattern Review is here.

Meeting a diva

Yesterday I had a lovely sewing related day. I “took a day off” from work, or rather left work for what it is (I’m my own boss, so no one to ask for a day off) and drove up to the north of the Netherlands together with my friend Valerie where we met sewing diva Els.

We met at the store Beauty vof, specialized in notions for tailors. There the owner of the shop gave us a tour showing the things they sell. Great for future reference too, as they sell online as well, though the webshop is interesting only to readers who speak Dutch, as the site is in that language only. After that we had lunch first, came back to the shop to buy quite a few things, and had tea at Els’ home. It was a wonderful day, and Els is as nice in real life as she is through sharing her knowledge on the Sewing diva’s blog. It was great meeting you Els, thank you so much!

Me, Valerie and Els

Valerie and Els discussing sewing?

Now I really must get some sewing done, I’m being quite absent here….

Mixing fabrics

Is not what I am doing yet, but designer Dries van Noten certainly is doing this in a very inspiring way. Lindsay T and Carolyn already made beautiful garments inspired by his designs.

Last weekend Dries van Noten was the guest editor of the weekend-supplement that comes with our newspaper. And it was a great supplement, the skirt on the cover immediately caught my eye:

Think I will try to find some fabrics to make a skirt like this when I go to one of the fabric markets that are held now.

 

 

 

The picture of the front is from the Dries van Noten website. If you like mixing fabrics (which is rather new to me), do take a look at his website. Very inspiring.

 

And my actual ewing: very slow progress, hope to do some substantial work on the jacket this weekend. BUT: there is a forecast for beautiful weather, so I might be enjoying that instead of sewing inside the house.

Another Vogue pattern

As I said this week: the dress is out for the moment. Too complicated to get it the way I like it.

There’s another Vogue pattern that has been in my stash for a few years and have wanted to try for a long time: 1064, an Anne Klein jacket. I’ve checked before and did it again yesterday, but there are NO reviews on this pattern and it even is out of print now. Not popular apparently, but I like the style with all the darts and the waistline shaping it gives.

 

After my disastrous Knip mode jacket in early summer, I made a muslin first. Size 14 was the largest in the envelope I had, a 16 would have been the size to use by bust measurement.

 

  

It is a bit snug in the bust area, I already did a fba (Sandra Betzine method from het book Fast Fit) on the front pattern piece.

The back looks a bit wide, but I must not make it smaller, because I won’t be able to move easily anymore. A little shoulderpad will probably make a difference too.

All in all I’m quite happy with the muslin. Now to decide which fabric to use.

Give away

The Sewy bra pattern is for the 5th commenter: Rustyboobz=Andrea.

Hope you will like it. Please send me your mail address (you’ll find my e-mail address in the sidebar) and I will send you the pattern this week.

Give away

No news on the dress from my previous post. I do agree with some of the comments that I should add the skirt part to evaluate the fit better. But I don’t like the top part enough to continue it. I’m not fond of the cut-on sleeves and honestly I think I need to do a FBA to make sure the top remains closed decently. Too much effort for me now, not in the mood for such a complex change.
I did make a bra, of which I don’t have a picture here (time really is an issue at the moment and I don’t want to photoshop a picture). It’s the pattern below, the Sewy Linda bra.



I have the pattern already a few years, made it for the first time more than 2 years ago and didn’t like it that much, though I wondered whether it was the fabric/lace I used at the time. I wanted to give it a try again, and though the fit is OK, I still think it’s not “my” pattern. Time to let it go. Anyone interested?
Sizes you can see on the picture (click to enlarge) and the instructions are in German.
This give away is open to anyone, anywhere in the world. Leave a comment on this post if you’re interested and I’ll do a draw on Saturday.