Remember the blue vest?

Here he is! :D

You never know...

...who you're going to meet when you go out in full color 😁

I met Batmaaaaaaaan!!!! 😂😁

He was impressed 😉

Historical clothing wonders

There is a wonderful exhibition at the Klovićevi Dvori Gallery here in Zagreb, dedicated to Russian Empress Catherine II. All the exhibits came from the Hermitage Museum. If you are passing through Zagreb, don't miss it!

I wanted to share just a few photos of the gorgeous clothes in the exhibition. Some of them, the military inspired dresses, belonged to the Empress herself. We were lucky to come to the exhibition right before a guided tour, where our guide told us the Empress preferred wearing simple clothing to the opulent court ensembles. Often, it is said, those large dresses served to disguise her pregnancies. Interesting, eh?

       

     

Riding coats of Grand Duke Alexander Pavlovich.

      

Don't know what this was...:( But it is wonderfully embroidered.

Festive Lady's dress and Parade robe, France/Russia 1780-1790

Clothes of the grandchildren of the Empress.

Uniform of Empress Catherine II, made after the uniform of the Cavalry Regiment life guards.

 Attire of the Empress made after the uniform of the life guards of the Semyonovsky Regiment.

There were many more wonderful art pieces from her collections. From paintings to toiletry items, sculptures, tableware and decor, to her beloved cameos. A truly marvelous exhibition showcased on two floors of the gallery. We went through twice, the first time on the guided tour and then slowly again to inspect every piece, and spent 3 and a half hours there!

I also particularly loved this portrait of Sarah Alexandrovna Greig, so here it is :D

T-shirt perfected

One of my favorite activities is perfecting the fit of clothes, which usually happens for others since I still don't have a fitting dress form made to measure. Always on my mind, though.

Remember Z's T-shirt? Here it is, the pattern altered almost to fit perfectly. The most important thing was lowering the shoulder. That alone took away many creases from under the arm.

Hmmm, I still can see a couple small bits that could be improved...;D

Montura 2018 fashion show

So, a few days ago I participated in a fashion show with my school! I'm so happy they called me. :D
Montura is the best known fashion manifestation in Split, Dalmacija and it was fun to be there!
I chose to show a mini collection of three outfits. There will be more when I grow up and start my own label! Yes, soon!

The sketches..
I was inspired by the 30s fashion, slim silhouettes and beach pajamas. For a contemporary touch I added some fabric manipulation. :)

The fabrics..
I ended up using only the glazed jersey and the stripey polyester. The jersey was lovely to sew until I had to do the hemming. At that point there was no way to get a proper seam. The needle would stick to the glaze and totally made me crazy. The muslin/satin was so nice to see and feel, but awful to sew from the second minute. I'm getting frustrated only thinking of it. Pure plastic. I ripped the side seams of the long dress three times before getting a presentable shape. Sigh.

The outfits..
In the end everything looked quite nice, fortunately. :)

Wide legged trousers with a small top that mimicked a scarf knotted on the back. I also made the sun hat!

Midi dress and matching clutch. My favorite. I wish I could wear this one..

The lovely long dress. I don't have a proper photo of the back, but you can see it in this photo

And here we are in the defile'. You can see the back of the top and midi dress . :)

It was quite a nice afternoon spent in the beautiful garden of the Ivan Meštrović Gallery in Split. :)

Bright floral trousers Burda easy fashion F/S 2009

I bought this fabric last year with the idea of making jeans. Now I'm happy I changed my mind!
One more make I totally love. :D
I made a muslin how the pattern would fit this time. It's Burda easy fashion F/S 2009 boot cut pants, number 3.  I adjusted it for slight sway back and took away fullness from the back pieces in two places. The pants really look good to me now! :)

Test T-shirt

I made a test long sleeved T-shirt for my favorite human.
The fabric is a viscose jersey I had in my stash and was happy to put to good use, even for a muslin.
The pattern needs some adjustments but he wants to wear this one anyway! :D
Not bad for the first time.

Pattern weights fun

My favorite pattern weights!

I love books! 😁

Colorful and flouncy Burda 3/2008-113

I should have been doing something else today, totally, but all those colorful scraps just had a magnetic pull to them...And here's another finished top! #2018 Tops that pop

It's Burda 3/2008-113, adjusted for the tall me. Perhaps this time I should have kept the pattern as it was, but I didn't anticipate the heaviness and pull of the bottom flounces. The seam should sit at the waist. Eh, well...

I totally see myself making crazy cakes in this top. With lots of whipped cream and fruit. 😂

Crazy. Of all things, I'd bake in this...

White top Burda 12/2014-105

Here it is, my top for the 2018 Tops That Pop  sewalong!

I was curious to try this pattern from Burda 12/2014. It is a tall pattern and it needed just a few little touches to fit well. I made a muslin with the sleeves but didn't like it, so I opted for a sleeveless version, which is also more appropriate for this time of year. :)

I love it! Even more since it's a true stash busting project. Everything from stash. I bought this nice elasticised white floral jacquard ( like light matelasse) years ago to make a skirt, but never got around to doing it. I bet because it was white. Perfect for a top, though, and super light. I feel like I'm wearing nothing.

I think I could make this one again. Since it's pieced, it's also a great pattern for upcycling projects.

And now, what's next?

A vest for a young man

So, I had just cut out my (first) top for Faye's sewalong when my friend M called. She asked if I could alter suit pants for her son that were too large. I said yes. After that it turned out he also wanted a vest. Ok. And also he really, really wanted a bow neck tie. Oh, well...Ok.

So they came over and they brought velvet! Gosh. I just thought that I would pretend I knew what I was doing. :D ( I was slightly scared of the buttonholes to be made in the near future...on velvet...)
Of course, it wasn't only that the trousers had to be taken in, but he also wanted them Italian style. A bit more work. :)

For the vest I had to go through sewing two test muslins, because the guy is pretty tall and very very skinny. I used a pattern from a special edition of La mia Boutique for men as the base for drafting. The bow was the easiest thing to make, after some research.

And finally, it all turned out beautifully! Phew. I'm pretty proud of myself and the young man coudn't stop checking himself out in the mirror. :D I asked for a fancy photo of the whole outfit because Steph up here isn't the best of models for a men's vest.
Anyway, pretending to know what one is doing seems to be working well! :D

Now, the top....

Clothes in art

The Great Memory
by Valerie Hammond
Photolitho/Relief on handmade paper

A nice collection

So, this is my collection of (mostly) sewing magazines, all on display.
Burda, La mia Boutique, Modellina, and a few others. :D

 

The oldest Burda is from 1969. I found it on a stand, along with other Burdas from the 70s. Including the number that is as old as I am! :)

 

How fun would it be to sew something from THAT Burda magazine? :D

Clothes in art

Mending, Daniel Garber. American Impressionist Painter (1880-1958)

More destashing

 

Crazy printed jersey. Long time inhabitant of my closet. :) What shall I sew?  

ETA

This was quick!

I made up my mind that I needed a pair of pajamas . So now I have the craziest pair ever! :D

I'm also tempted to wear them out... :D

 

Stash busting with Burda 2/2018-107

After a long long time I decided to buy several Burdas. I found a stand with the newest numbers an I treated myself to several of them. There were so many cute patterns inside!

So, yesterday I traced number 107 from the 2/2018 issue. What a fun shirt, isn't it?

As soon as I saw the pattern I knew I had found the perfect match for a striped crush knit I've had in my stash for years and years.

I never actually used it out of fear of not being able to match the stripes since the crushed structure moved them around. And the irony is I actually was able to match the stripes on the sides...😂

I looove the result!

Ready for spring! :D
When it comes....As it is snowing right now...Hmh...

How pleats are made

This is amazing!
Watch what happens at the  Ateliers Gerard Lognon

https://youtu.be/I5uAuH4k1qc

Making making,finishing finishin

I know that you know that the majority of makers have tons of unfinished projects, for one reason or another.:D
These days I'm doing my best to finish as many UFOs as I can.

Proof! :)
Aaand new stuff to list in my Etsy shop ,finally! What do you think? Like something?

Still, I haven't reached the bottom of the current box I'm emptying. :D

Refashioned trousers

Hello there!
I honestly didn't think it would take me this long to sew a wearable item. Truly.
But at last I finally have something to share. :)

Last week I stabbed myself in the index finger of the right hand, and badly, so I was unable to do anything for several days. To console myself I went to visit a couple of second hand stores to see if I could find something nice. And score! I came home with two bags full of wonderful stuff. Including this enormous pair of classic trousers.

I liked the fabric so much. It has little white, yellow and orange spots all over. And Z almost forced me to finally sew something for myself. I've been running around declaring I had nothing to wear for a while. He is quite ironic about that, hehehe.

First,I had to deconstruct them completely, and then I cut them using a self drafted jeans pattern.

 

I only wish they were longer,though! :)

Ciao! :)