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?

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...

Dress Burda 5/2000-131 FO

Remember this dress? And the swayback issue?
I took the time to unpick the zipper and do the adjustment.



It's not perfect, but much better.



And I loooveee it!!!

The nightgown to top refashion - Burda 12/2005-111

Another UFO down!

I realised that most of the UFOs on the pile are actually muslins. Which is a rather good news since I don't have to finish them completely. Unless they are wearable. Or I want to. There are several dress patterns I really want to get right, but that's for another day...

The after: top Burda 12/2005-111 (without the band and slightly lengthened).

I find it lovely. But the fabric is too crisp for this pattern. The front should drape softly,and here it sticks out if you don't flatten it down with your hand. Ah, well.. Next time I'll use some silk. Maybe even make a dress.

This is the before:

Coming back soon with a fun fun post!

I hope your weekend was fun and relaxing!

Ciao!

Pants Burda 7/2010-127

Yes, these! I wanted to make them since the moment I saw them. The most obvious reason being a "tall" pattern. I was anxious to see how they would fit.


I cut a size 84, at the waist 80, and used this lovely colorful bouret (discounted :-)) silk I bought around Christmas, having in mind a spring pair of pants.

The fit is great! Isn't it?

There are just a couple of things, though... The side seams are sticking out due to the interfacing used to secure them and need to be stitched down. It was too heavy, I suppose.

Aaand, they shrinked some more in the wash!!! Argh! Do natural fabrics do that all the time? Because if they do it's better never to wash them again. There is some length left in the cuff, but what about the width?

Anyhow, I love wearing them! :-)))) And will make them again. For sure.

Ciao!

Hello! and some stuff...

Hello everyone!

It has been a while since my last post, hasn't it?

Thanks to all of you who stopped by while I was absent and kindly commented, and thanks to all my new followers! :-)))

I have started making stuff again lately, after this and that, and today I want to share the following:

Green cotton top - wearable muslin
I used a pattern found around the house while cleaning, traced and cut out but never used. It's a La Mia Boutique pattern. Who knows from which issue. The fabric were some remnants I got from Grandma. There are plenty of those pieces for more muslins. Because, honestly, I can't see myself in this color...

Colorful skirt - dress refashion
I so loved the dress used to make this skirt! Wore it and wore it and wore it for years. It was long sleeved and floor length. The fabric is a Missoni knit. I just cut it at waist level and adjusted on myself to fit. I have to think of something to do with the rest of the dress. Make a bolero perhaps, or a purse...

Detail of the fabrics:


This scarf is my first knitting project for this winter. Nice and lacey.
The yellow wool yarn is veeery old. It was first used to make a sweater in highschool. After that I reused it to make another sweater in the 90s. And now...I guess it has been used for the last time. Because the wool has lost the softness throughout the years of wearing and washing. And I have other stuff to reuse and recycle, hehe. :-))




Coming back tomorrow with the simplest way to make socks.
Good night!

Bikin details

Just keep in mind that this was my first try and don't expect something spectacular, ok?

So, I finally got around to using the elastic foot on my serger. It was rather easy. Just some tweaking to get the tension right and there was a seam I liked!

Here you can see the front and back of the seam. First, I serged on the elastic (on the wrong side!) and then turned it in and finished with a three step zigzag on the right side.

The top - just triangles and straps. For the triangles I used my old swimsuit. Traced around and added seam allowances - 1 cm at the sides and 1,5 cm for the bottom where the strap goes.

These are the basic pattern pieces used. For the bottom I deconstructed an old pair of panties. After inspecting the swimsuits I own I discovered they had only two pieces, i.e., the front and gusset were cut as one single piece. Although you need the gusset pattern to cut the lining piece in cotton.

Wonky bottom...

I added 1 cm seam allowance everywhere except at the sides because I decided to give it some interest with the circle strap closure.

The sides were turned in 1,5 cm to allow the straps through.

The gusset was sewn in at the front-back seam and left loose on the other side. That's also a method discovered after inspecting my old swimsuits. They are all different so I encourage you to take some time and see what you can learn from the things you already own.

Since the fabric used for this test project were cotton knit scraps it will not be used for swimming. I hate having wet things on.

Yesterday I decided on the next pattern to try. This time I will use lycra remnants and another top (bra) shape. I don't have much to show off and those little triangles make me even flatter. :-(

I'll try to document all the steps so I can share them and, hopefully, help someone. Maybe even using the sewing machine only. For those who don't own a serger.

Ciao until then!

The other orange polkadot shirt

As always, using remnants - orange polkadot knit and some white from a small pareo.

The pattern is, again, Burda 5/2009 -103A. I changed the long sleeves with more flared small cap sleeves.

Actually, this shirt was finished a few days ago. Still, I was looking at it and was not satisfied. Something was missing.

I tried this and that, and the only thing that seemed to work was this doily. What do you think?

It's just pinned on. Looks lovely to me.

Should I sew it on?