PTB - what happened?

Remember this?

What happened to it?

Well this...

I used a batwing top from House of Lola as a template and just cut out the front and the back pieces. The neckline isn't finished (yet) since I'm not 100% happy with it. What do you think? OK or a dud?

xx

Johanna

Dreamy dress - Simplicity 1699

During the summer I made a lot of Giraffe dresses, the original blue one, the one in black and white, the striped one I made for my sister and one more I haven't posted about, yet. BUT I didn't make only Giraffe dresses, I did make another Simplicity 1699. My first version was a dress I made for my grandmother. That one turned out very pretty and I wanted to make one for myself.

I had the above fabric in my stash and wanted to use it for a dress. I thought of Simplicity 1652, as seen above, but it's made up of something like 15 pattern pieces and I got the advice to make something simpler to show off the pretty fabric. And that's how I decided on Simplicity 1699.

I had already traced the pattern in size EU44 which is a little small for me around the waist (especially after the summer...), but I used it anyway and added about 4 centimetres to the seam allowances around the waist. And that did the trick. The fit is good and during construction, I left the side seams to last so they can be modified if needed in the future (like if I lose my extra "summer weight").

Since I had a pink zipper, and I love pink, I decided to let the zipper show to give the dress a little extra something.

The length is perfect if I only overlock the edge and turn over a centimetre, which means if I should make a nice-looking hem I have to cut the dress longer. Maybe I'll do that if I make the dress again.

The fabric is 100% cotton from the brand Tilda which can be found at Panduro here in Sweden. I love the fabrics from Tilda, the quality is fantastic and the prints are unbelievably pretty.

I'm onto other projects, like autumn/winter sewing plans. :)

Bye for now,

Johanna (and Siri the Cat)

Sweatpants in disguise

As I wrote in an earlier post I purchased some patterns from Stoff och stil. Among those was a pattern for skinny trousers.

I had some black sweatshirt fabric that I found at a sale this summer and I thought why not use it for a pair of trousers?! So I did. I could even cut out a dress from the same piece of fabric (1.6*2 metres!).

I am very inspired by the clothes from House of Lola and they're all so soft and comfortable and that's where I got the idea to use sweatshirt fabric for the trousers, because all their clothes are loungewear in disguise! I love when clothes are fashionable and beautiful but also comfortable.

It was so easy to sew up the trousers. I mostly used my overlocker and the sewing machine for the topstitching. I didn't cut the waistband out of the sweatshirt fabric, because it would have been too bulky, so instead I cut it from some ribbed jersey fabric. Speaking of the waistband, that's where I have my only problem with these trousers. I don't have a big rear, but somehow I always find trousers that are too low in the back waist, same with these. They fit OK as long as I don't move, but as soon as I do, they creep downwards in the back and I keep having to hoist them up. Quite annoying! Maube I'll make a yoke piece to put between the trouser and the waistband in the back. Any thoughts out there?

See? Lower in the back then the front. Very uncomfortable...

Detail of the topstitiching on the leg.

Anyway, the trousers will be warm and cosy for autumn and winter and they will go as trousers with sweaters and as leggings under dresses. Win-win, right?!

Bye for now,

Johanna

Update

So... I've been out of the blogging loop for a while and that's due to a few things but mainly that I'm having another burn-out episode ("a dip") so I'm exhausted most of the time and I haven't had much energy left for sewing, and none for taking photos and blogging. The other big thing is that my dad is terminally ill and I've spent a lot of my free time driving to see him in the hospital (he lives three hours away by car).

So two major bummers (don't think I take my dad's condotion lightly just because I call it a bummer)... but I have a good thing going on as well and that's my family's first vacation together abroad! I, my husband and my kids are going to Tenerife for a week next Friday!!! Yay!

Anyway, now my head is in packing mode and trying to figure out what to bring for a beach vacation...

I have done some sewing this last month and today I finally scraped together some energy to take photos, so now you can expect some posts and FOs! Finally.... :)

Our hotel in Tenerife! Looks grand, doesn't it?!

Bye for now,

Johanna

PTB

PTB (projects to be), on-going projects, what's on my sewing table... Whatever you like to call it, here are some sneak peeks of what I'm working on at the moment...

Be back soon,

Johanna

Another denim Ginger skirt

I really like my denim Ginger that I made last year, it's just that it's kind of big...

So I decided to make another one a size smaller, size 14 this time. I also added pockets and I made them like on these shorts:

The pocket edge is interfaced and then the pocket piece is attached by a visible seam. I read Sunni's post about her denim Ginger skirt, to figure things out about the pockets. Very helpful.

Aside from the pockets, nothing was really hard about putting the skirt together, which goes to prove that I have learned a lot since the last time I made this pattern.

This time I used an invisible zipper, which isn't very invisible since it's green and my machine doesn't sew invisble zippers that invisibly. But I'm fine with it, what's not to love about green?! :)

I also shortened this version since the other one feels a little matronly, and we all know (well, at least if you have watched Project Runway) that that isn't a good thing.

I had some top-stitching thread that I was going to use for a pair of jeans, but the fabric for those jeans is now said skirt and these trousers, so I felt it was OK to use it on my Ginger. :) Though I should have used another twin needle since my jersey (!!!) one had a hard time. But, that's how it is when you're too lazy to go to the store and get another one. At least it didn't break! :)

See you later,

Johanna

Ideas for autumn/winter sewing

Autumn is closing in, even though the weather isn't making me feel it. We still have warm and sunny weather though the mornings are a bit on the chilly side. One thing to make me feel the autumn coming is all the catalogues with autumn clothing, like H&M or the fabric store Stoff och stil ("Tissue and style").

I got inspired by both of those catalogues and I even ordered some sewing patterns from Stoff och stil:

Source, all images above: stoffochstil.se

Other inspiration for my autumn/winter sewing plans comes from the latest issues of Burdastyle magazine, no. 8/2013 and 9/2013.

Source, all images above: burdastyle.com

I do want to use fabric from my stash as much as possible, because I can't afford to buy a lot of new fabric and I have to learn to use what I have and also decrease my stash (I'm starting to have difficulties in where to put new fabric, I don't want to be one of those sewists who has boxes or bags of fabric everywhere).

I have loads of dark blue/navy blue jersey fabric of different qualities (fine jersey, double knit etc.) and that should be something I could use for autumn/winter sewing. But something I would like more of is viscose (rayon?) fabric, I like the drape of viscose for blouses and dresses.

I would also like to be able to make those nice moodboards I see on other people's blogs, like Clotilde. Does anyone have a tip or advice for me on how to do that?

Do you have sewing plans or do you make sewing plans at all? Or are you more of the spontaneous kind?

Hopefully back soon with some FOs,

Johanna