Silk Stella top

Glamour? Oh what to make... for Decembers Social Sew.

I'm not one to sew up a new dress for every holiday party. Even though I suggested this theme. I just don't have the time... And by the way do you remember what everyone wore last year? I don't. 

So this year I made a silk blouse to be worn with one of my RTW skirts. The Stella top is a pattern from the latest La Maison Victor magazine they used a satin fabric with 94% polyester and 6% elastane. I used a nicer (and cheaper) fabric with 96% silk and 4% elastane. The fabric is again from the fabric sales. They really do have a great selection of designer fabrics. 

I made a size 34 without any alterations. The blouse is supposed to be loose fitting and the patterns from La Maison Victor always fit me well. So I made the decision to start immediately with my nice fabric. I like the pattern a lot, but it is not one that I would use more than once. And the best thing is that it is something that can be finished in an afternoon. 

The nice thing with this blouse is that I could wear it more after the holidays, I'm thinking black jeans and a thick wool cardigan.  What are you wearing? Do you make something new for every occasion? 

Pattern: Stella top, La Maison Victor
Fabric: 96% silk 4% elastane from the fabric sales 30€

The quest for the perfect top: Sutton blouse

I forgot to post this a few weeks ago but this is part two of the quest for the perfect summer blouse. I liked the V-neck and the sleeves of the Donna blouse. But I didn't like the curved hem and the low neckline. So I tried to find a pattern that had a V-neck and a lose shape. So I 'bought' the Sutton Blouse pattern from true bias. 

Again I tried the pattern first in a cheap viscose fabric to try the fit. I made a size 4 and because it is such a loose chape the blouse fits great without any adjustments. I also loved the instructions and the way the blouse is finished. The blouse is almost as nice on the inside than on the outside. Even my grandmother was impressed with the finish of the blouse and how well it is explained in the instructions. She doesn't understand English but I showed her the drawings and she was impressed. She is probably going to make one herself next summer.

So what to do when you have found your perfect pattern? You make one in silk. The one is in a nice silk is perfect to wear with my new culottes.  

Now I'm desperately looking for an equally perfect pattern for a long sleeved blouse. If you know a great long sleeved blouse pattern let me know. 

The details:

Pattern: Sutton Blouse true bias (free with a giftcard from indie sew)

Fabric: €6 for the viscose fabric, the stoffenspecktakel and €20 for the silk, den boom

Dusty top in a glittering fabric

So this is the Dusty top from the September - October issue of La Maison Victor magazine. That makes it fall appropriate not? The issue is great, one of the best so far in my opinion, lots of nice patterns that I would love to make, three lovely dresses, a nice top, a fun jacket and a coat. I want to make them all but I don't have the time. I was scrolling through my blog a few weeks ago and I noticed that I hardly ever make winter clothes and if I do they are party dresses... So I went shopping for nice winter fabrics, I went with my mom and my grandmother. It was a super nice trip and I bought some really lovely pieces with the intent of making this top and some dresses.

This top can be made in jersey and woven fabrics. The example that they made is made out of a jersey with some glitter in it. I liked it a lot! So when I saw this beige / gray thin sweater fabric with gold glitter thread running through I immediately knew I was going to use is for this blouse. The fabric would be rather thin for a sweater but it is actually rather tick for this blouse. 

you can't really see the glitter

The pleats on the shoulder would be nicer if the fabric was a thinner and more flowy fabric. Now it is rather thick. The pattern has facings to finish the neckline and armholes. There is one piece for the front and one for the back. But because my fabric was a bit to thick it added to much bulk. I altered this by cutting the facing in three pieces. One for the neckline and two for the armholes. I sewed the facing flat by hand. 

So the result, it's nice, definitely wearable but next time I will make some alterations. First of all I will use a different fabric, thinner and probably a woven. The neckline is to low. And the top is on the large side. so if I'm going to make it in a thinner fabric I will have to size down. The other patterns that I have made from La Maison Victor always fitted in a size 36, my size according to my measurements. but these last two are to big. 

sleeveless Alice shirt

Okay the last thing I made during summer it is the Alice pattern from the July- August La Maison Victor magazine. I made this early in September, a bit to late. To cold to wear it.

The fabric is a mystery fabric, no idea what it is made of, I'm guessing it is some kind of polyester blend. Anyway I love the print but I hate the fabric, it is soft but it wrinkles so fast! Half and hour of wear and it is a wrinkled mess. I chose to make size 36 based on my measurements. But I think it would be better in a size smaller, it is a bit big under the arms.

I do love the buttons, they are from my grandmothers collection, and they go perfectly with the colours of the print. It is the first collared shirt that I have made and it went surprisingly well. Normally the explanation in the magazine is relatively basic. But the collar went fine. the instructions where split up in small portions and a bit more thorough with clear diagrams. So that was great!

Next project is also a sleeveless blouse but it is form the September - October issue so that makes it fall appropriate!

Emmeline tee

Just a quick post to wrap up my summer makes, one more to go after this one. From the last post I won the fabric on a blog and in this one I won the pattern. I'm very lucky lately :).

The Emmeline tee is a very easy pattern so not much to say about it. I made a size small. The pattern can be used for woven en stretch fabrics. I of course  had to do it a bit different and combined the two. I made this T-shirt with leftover fabric from a summer dress and my concert tee. They both where to small to make an entire item but to big to trow away and the colour is a perfect match. 
I made version 2 with contrasting sleeves in the woven fabric. The woven fabric is slightly see through but that doesn't matter for the sleeves. 

To be honest I don't think I would have bought the pattern myself. It is a bit to basic for me to justify the price. 14£ is a bit to expensive for me, but the pattern is beautiful and it comes with good instructions. The envelope contains a booklet with very detailed instructions for the 3 versions and separate once for woven and stretch fabrics. If you are a beginner it might be worth it, just for the good instructions.