Tag Archives: clothing

FO: Morris Blazer

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Grainline Studio Morris Blazer

Last week’s Panda shirt post already showed a sneak preview of my Morris Blazer, but now it’s finally time for its proper post. I’m amazed at how much I like it, because I normally dislike how blazers look on me. It was meant as a wearable muslin, and it certainly turned out wearable.

For this version, I used a stretch cotton sateen and cut a size 4 without any other modifications. The fit is very good, but I’d make the sleeves just a smidge wider in a next version. It is just a bit tight to get over a shirt right now.

Grainline Studio Morris Blazer

The whole thing went together very smoothly. Only the sleeve cap gave me lots of grief because this fabric just did NOT want to ease at all. If you look closely, the sleeves are rather puckered, but it isn’t too noticeable in everyday wear. I’m definitely planning one or two more versions. Probably one in a bold colour with contrasting topstitching, or one in a print. Mainly, I want the next fabric to be less of a lint-magnet, because this one keeps ending up covered in all the dust in a 100 metre radius.

Just the facts:
Pattern: Grainline Studio Morris Blazer PDF – €10,-
Fabric: 1,5m black cotton sateen – €15,-
Notions: thread & interfacing from stash – €0,-
Time spent: Didn’t keep track very well… Probably 3-4 hours in total.
Final verdict: Very wearable and professional looking with a great fit. Very pleased!

Grainline Studio Morris Blazer

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FO: Pandamonium!

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FO: shirt from Knipmode. Fabric from Paris.

One of my main sewing missions for 2016 is finding the perfect button-up sewing pattern, and although this one is not that yet, it is pretty good! I love the straight silhouette, and the fact that it has no darts whatsoever. The fit throughout the body is great, but I do wish the sleeves were just a tad shorter and tighter, especially around the wrist. Those crinkles you see throughout the body are a combination of the shirt having been in my bag for a few hours, and the fact that it was very windy!

panda shirtThe process from fabric to shirt was rather slow. From October 2014 to July 2015, the fabric was waiting for the perfect pattern, and from July 2015 until last week this shirt was in a box, completely finished except for the buttonholes and buttons. I had been putting off the buttonholes for months because my machine isn’t always the best at them. Last week I had a sudden burst of finishing energy (at 11pm, of all times) and I am very glad I finally got it over with, because I’ve been wearing this shirt a lot since it’s been finished!

The original design has a pointed yoke and patch pockets, but I decided to not include those because I was too lazy to create perfectly matched panda-pockets. Perhaps there is another version in the future that will include those details, because they do look very cool.

Just the Facts:
Pattern: Model 20 from Knipmode 12-2014 (€ 7,-)
Fabric: 100% Cotton, printed with pandas. Bought in Paris, Oct 2015 (€ 10,-)
Notions: Wooden buttons from Stephen & Penelope (€ 2,50)

Total Cost: € 19,50

Also, yes that is indeed a Morris Blazer in the second picture. I don’t often have a chance to take photos, so we decided to get that one photographed too. It does however deserve its own blog post, so that one will come later this week!

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Hawthorn Sewalong: WIP Update

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Hawthorn WIP

Eep! The last two weeks have been very stressful and have really cut into my sewing time and mojo. But luckily the most pressing issue (that of a job after the summer) has been resolved, so now only my thesis remains as this continuous looming presence…

Anyway, I’ve managed to be quite productive on the thesis-front today, so I figured an hour or so of sewing would be fine. As you can see I don’t have much to show for my final Hawthorn yet, but it’s slowly and steadily getting there. Actually, seeing as I have changed the pattern so as not to have a peplum, I’m not even that far behind! I’m doing the version 2 sleeve, so I have another 3 days to get ready to set in the sleeve. Sewing the side seams somewhere in the next few days should be doable…

Hawthorn Sew-along: Wearable Muslin

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I’ve been making the most of the few free days I have before I have to lock myself in the library to finish my thesis, so here’s my first version of Hawthorn!

Hawthorn: Wearable Muslin

Pattern: Colette Hawthorn
Fabric: Thin cotton sateen
Time: around 7 hours (including taping/cutting the pattern)
Total cost: around €15,- (€11,- for the pattern, barely anything for the fabric & notions, because they’re left-overs.

For this initial version I cut a straight size 2 and put it together without any alterations. I did a quick fitting of the bodice before attaching the collar and everything, but it seemed to be quite fine. I’m pretty happy with the result. It’s an adorable little blouse that went together without any real problems. On the photos it seems to pull a little bit in the back, but that’s probably just how I’m standing.

Hawthorn: Wearable Muslin

The only thing that I have a problem with has everything to do with me and absolutely nothing with the pattern: I don’t know how to wear it. I’m so used to wearing my shirts tucked into high-waisted skirts, that this new silhouette looks really weird to me.  For these quick photos I’ve matched it with a red pencil skirt, which looks nice, but somehow I have the feeling that I look a bit dowdy and matronly (which I know is probably just my perception). I will start wearing it though, because I’m sure it will grow on me when I combine it in different ways.

Hawthorn: Wearable muslin

(Please ignore my “straight-out-of-the-shower” face and hair, the sky was getting very cloudy and I don’t think there would’ve been much more light left later).

Anyway, I am reconsidering my coral/white dotted fabric for  this one. If I already find this version a bit too girly and dainty, I’m sure that will just be too much. I am going to make a black sleeveless dress version though, because I do really like this pattern.

FO: Swiss Dot Summer Blouse

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The first truly summery day of the year; Liberation day with a music festival right outside my door. There’s hardly a better occasion to wear my just-finished summer blouse out for the first time! I love it a lot, so it will definitely not be the last time either!

DSC02341

The Facts
Pattern: Blouse 125B from Burda Magazine 04/2007 (They seem to have a few patterns from this issue online, but not this one)
Fabric: Swiss Dot (cotton), about 1,5 m
Notions: Self-made bias tape, 5 buttons, thread
Cost: No idea… everything has been in my stash for a long time. Probably about €15,- in all if I count the magazine.
Time: About 6 hours including tracing and cutting.

I thought about the buttons for very long. At first I wanted white buttons, but I didn’t have any in my stash, I didn’t have time to go buy some, and I wanted to finish at that very moment. So red it is. You can’t see it on the pictures very well, but two out of the five total buttons have a little print on them.

The blouse came together super quickly. The only thing I’d change is to interface the button bands. The instructions don’t tell you to, but it seems a bit too flimsy without some sort of light interfacing.  The best thing about this pattern is that the front panels are double, because it meant that I didn’t have to underline the fabric. I might make another one kind of like the one in the magazine, with a contrasting fabric for the inside of the bodice. In fact, I have a meter of Liberty cotton lying around that would be just enough if I cut the second tie panels from another fabric…

DSC02348The skirt is me-made as well. Somewhere last summer, when I wasn’t really blogging.  It’s a super simple half-circle skirt with pockets, and it’s so easy to wear in the summer. The pictures are a bit too small to show it well, but it has tiny hearts printed on it, not dots.