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. 

Soma swimsuit and bikini

So I made a swimsuit... and I never thought I would. Then why? Because I had the fabric... good enough reason for me. I won two meters of fabric of my choice from funkifabrics. Originally I had the idea to make a sports bra and some leggings. but when the fabric arrived I knew it had to be a bikini and bathing suit.

The perfect bikini for actual swimming 

So I did what every good seamstresses does and I googled swimsuit patterns, and was blown away with how many seamstresses/bloggers made a bathing suit! (And how many of them posted pictures of themselves wearing it on their blog.)

I had a difficult time choosing a pattern but eventually I opted for the Soma swimsuit by papercut patterns. The pattern is a bit more expensive then what I usually pay for a pattern but since the fabric was free I thought I would splurge on the pattern. And I'm glad I did. The best thing about the pattern is that it has three different versions, a one-piece, high and low waisted bikini bottoms and two different bikini tops.

I only own bikinis because I have never been able to find a fun one piece in my size. Retailers assume you want to wear a bikini if you are a smaller size or are that athletic that you want a bathing suit that is made for swimming laps in the pool but doesn't necessarily look nice. The reason I want a one piece is because I burn easily and a one-piece means one less area to put sunscreen, yes I'm that lazy. I wanted a fun bating suit that fits well and looks good.

Because I had never sewn a bathing suit I made a trial version, from my good fabric. I learned that using the right elastic is important. And I discovered that using good thread does makes a difference. I started with a small bit of thread from my grandmothers stash. The thread was old and apparently that does make a difference. When I was sewing my machine skipped a lot of stitches and when I used the gutterman that I bought it didn't do that anymore. I never finished the top because the finish was not neat enough for my liking. The bottom part looks fine so I'm keeping that one but with an other top, I still have enough fabric to make a new one. 

After the trial version I decided that I liked the other top better so I made that one. I made the top in a size small and the bottom in medium. The top fits well, its a bit snug and that makes it difficult to put it on and of. The bottoms where to big, I was worried that they would fall of in the water so I mad them 3 cm smaller on each side. This suit is lined with an other fabric, a thinner swimsuit fabric that I bought on the market in Maastricht. The trial version was also to big but I didn't make notes and I forgot. I bought it on a whim because I was surprised to find it on a market. I thought it would be super difficult to find. 
The fold over elastic was even easier to find I went to my local shop with the hope of finding elastic in maybe white and black. I was already thinking of ways to dye it. But no I ask for fold over elastic and she pulls out about 15 rolls of of brightly colored elastic. I used the technique that they explain on the papercut blog for covering elastic with fabric. I didn't want to buy an other type of elastic and at first I wanted to use the fold-over elastic for the shoulders straps as well. But that type of elastic was not firm enough. For the bikini I measured them myself and only realized they where to long when I had sewn them on. I thought it was to much work to unpick them so I sew them together. And I like it a lot that way... they are very secure and can't fall of my shoulders whilst swimming. 

I guess this is the longest (rambling) post I have written and I should start working on them sooner, considering that I started working on the first bikini in spring break. 

Graduation dress

It has been a while since I posted, that is because I was busy working on my final design project. I didn’t do anything else than work on that one assignment for over a month so I didn’t sew anything for a while. But now I’m officially a master in the architecture. I was so happy to have the time to sew again and deiced to make my graduation dress. But then life happened (read sleep deprived) and I was left with only 3 days to make the dress. I bought the fabric on Wednesday and the graduation ceremony was on Saturday at 10 am.

I had my mind set on a silk dress, in 3 days I know. They had a few options in the store and of course I chose the very thin flowy option. They had a few thicker options but I didn’t like the prints that much and a few cotton and silk blends. I love the fabric it is so beautiful, soft flowy and I love the print. But the best thing is 20 euro the meter, for 100% silk, a bargain compared to the lining, antistatic and nice to wear but 10 euro the meter.

Okay enough praise for the fabric now the pattern, I wasn’t going to cut into my beautiful fabric without knowing if my dress was going to fit. So I made the June dress form la maison victor again, you can see the first version here. Because the silk is transparent I was worried about the seam finishes. I tried overlocking the silk but that was not as neat as I wanted it to be. So I finished it with French seams, I think it is so weird that they are called French seams in English because they are called English seams in Dutch. 

The pattern is not actually made for transparent fabrics because it doesn’t have a lining. I made the front and the back of the dress in silk and lining. Once these were finished I pined the silk to the lining and used them as if they were one fabric. I didn’t want to underline the entire dress because then it would not show the flow of the silk anymore. The reason why I pined them together is because I thought it would be nearly impossible to insert a zipper in the silk. The neckline and straps were finished with facings.

Needless to say I was hemming my dress at 11pm the day before the ceremony, but it was worth it!

PS. Some of you might have realized that I never posted the second half of me made May. I just wore the same items as in the first half and I thought it would be a bit boring to take the same crappy selfies and was too busy to come up with something more interesting.

Venue top

My June dress from la maison victor was a large success! And because the fit was so great I could not wait to make something else from their designs. I wear a lot of blouses in spring so I immediately thought of the venue top.

The fabric is a coupon from the stoffen spectakel, no surprise there. I have no idea what the fabric is made of, I’m guessing that it is a polyester blend of some kind. Maybe polyester and viscose blend? The fabric looks shiny but is surprisingly soft and comfortable to wear. But it was a nightmare to sew with, it is slippery and frays like crazy. The blouse has been finished for a few weeks and I still find little threads everywhere.

I had enough fabric to start with, a little over 1.5 meter but then I made a mistake. I tried to match the pattern as well as I could. But when I cut the sleeves I made a mistake and I cut the sleeves upside down. (Great tip, don’t cut fabric when you are about to fall asleep) I didn’t have enough fabric left over to cut the sleeves a second time the way they designed it. So I shorted the sleeves and left out the slit. Instead I made it look like I rolled up the sleeves. I think it is a nice alternative of the original design and I needed less fabric!

I like the pattern a lot, the fit is not as perfect as with my June dress but still good. The only thing that bothers me a bit is that the blouse is a bit narrow at the shoulders. I will try to make them a bit wider next time I use this pattern. Not sure how you do that but I will find out because I really like the pattern.

Because I like their patterns that much I got myself a subscription, they had an amazing discount for the occasion of fashion revolution day. So you will see a lot more of their designs on the blog in the future. 

Me Made May 2015: The first half

You can see the pictures that I took for the purpose of documenting me made may on the blog. They are all crappy mirror selfies because it could not be bothered to make good ones. Also this month is probably not the best month to try to figure out how well suiting my handmade wardrobe is for my lifestyle. I only have classes once or twice a week in May and I spend most of the other days at home working on my final design project. And I don’t always bother to get dressed if I don’t have to leave the house. But I tried to make an effort to choose my handmade over the others and this was the result.

Hudson pants

plantain tee

ava top

lane raglan sweater

Hudson pants

concert tee

venue top (on the blog next week)

lane raglan sweater

plantain tee

I found a pair of pyjamas that I made when I was about 16, the finish is not great they are one of the first things I made. But I love the border on the top and one extra outfit for me made may.

wrinkled pyjamas

I still have noticed somethings about my handmade wardrobe.

•         I don’t have any handmade skirts anymore and I miss them, I made some years ago but threw them away because they don’t fit my style anymore.
•          I love my Hudson pants but I need a pair in a thinner fabric, mine are a bit warm.
•       If I do have class I’m used to wear trousers and a blouse when the weather is not that nice. At the moment I only have one suitable blouse, the venue top that I finished recently (and will be on the blog next week).
•        Most of my dresses are sleeveless and the weather has not always been nice enough to wear them. I should make some with sleeves, maybe in a knit fabric?

navy plantain T-shirt

I’m trying to make more clothes that I can wear on a daily basis. Of course I started with a T-shirt.

It’s my second plantain T-shirt, the last one was a light blue long sleeved version. There is not that much to say about this version. The fabric is a lot thinner than the one I used in my previous make. I think this one is a lot nicer, the T-shirt is wider at the bottom and the thinner fabric suits that better.

Also with the last one I had a problems with my threat breaking when I used the twin needle to hem the sleeves and the bottom. The threat broke once when I was hemming this T-shirt and I have no idea why. If someone has an idea why this happens please let me know. It is so annoying when that happens if you are nearly finished.

And I love the tulips in the garden to bad I’m not working on anything pink at the moment that would make the perfect back round. 

Me Made May

I took a pledge for 'Me Made May'

'I, Nathalie from http://nathaliesews.blogspot.be/, sign up as a participant of Me-Made-May '15. I endeavour to wear a handmade garment 5 times per week for the duration of May 2015'

I’m going to try 5 days a week instead of every day because I don’t have that much handmade clothes yet. I’m happy that it’s in May because if it would be in winter I would not even be able to make 5 days a week. So I have already noticed that I seriously lack handmade winter clothes. That is kind of the purpose of ‘Me Made May’ to find out what the holes are in your me made wardrobe. Get to know you style better and it’s just a time to appreciate your handmade clothes. I might post some pictures on the Pinterest board. And a round up on my blog, probably crappy mirror pictures. Nothing is sure I will see at the end of May how many time I  remembered to take a picture.

If you want to know more about Me Made May than have a look on Zoe’s blog.