Sewing Ballet Clothes (?)

... or: Creating a wardrobe hole, then sewing to fill it.

I'm terrible with exercise, too boring, too sweaty, too... I'd rather sew. The only exercise I ever really enjoyed were ballet classes, but I stopped 20 years ago. I'm turning 40 now, so I thought now or never and took my first class on Tuesday. I'm satisfyingly sore and think I'll stick with it.

Now what? You know the answer. Here's the pattern:

I planned to make it up in navy blue with white accents, but now I'm thinking b-o-r-i-n-g, and have been eyeing the pretty muted colors on the Sewy website.

Also, I've been surfing the dance wear manufacturers' sites, and oohing and aahing. It would be very possible to buy something pretty. And it's not like all my fall sewing will get done, take or leave a ballet outfit on top of it.

What do you think? Have you sewn exercise wear? Any feedback on the pattern? Your remedy when you think you have to make it all yourself (but know you can't)?

Happy sewing!

A "New" Silhouette

It's August, but the weather is more like October. I'm not ready to get out the chunky cardigan just yet, but I'm not keen on being cold either.

So yesterday, I got out my trusty brown wool vest (rtw) and put it over a me-made puff sleeved blouse and skirt (and it isn't even Self-Stitched-September yet!). Viola! A whole new silhouette, a bit Dirndl (the Bavarian folk wear, not the skirt), a bit 1930's. Today's a repeat performance with another self-stitched blouse and skirt. Love. I never thought to wear this blouse with that skirt, but it works. Isn't it fun to try out new combinations from the closet? (I don't do this nearly enough.)

No sewing going on here (other than a placemat and a couple of keychains for the school cone). My oldest child starts 1st grade on Tuesday. I'm not ready for this at all. Can't they grow up a bit slower?

Wishing you all better weather and fun with your own homesewn clothes!

Blouse Burda "Frankenpattern"

Three's a charm, so here's my third, best-fitting blouse so far:

The inspiration:

Fall fashion previews made me crave a flowered blouse to wear with chunky cardigans when the time comes. As usual, I'm fastest when I begin to sew after inspiration strikes. I thought of this on Thursday, decided on a stash fabric (intended for pajamas!) and sewed the bodice on Friday and finished it up today.

How I did it:

I started with pattern Burda 8/2007/114 that I made this blouse from. Since that was a bit snug in the bust and billowy in the waist especially in back, I tried it on and decided to add a good inch in front. To take out the front width in the waist, and to further take in the back, I took the back darts of the original pattern (2 of them) and tripled them - 4 in back, 2 in front. I looked at a RTW blouse and positioned the front darts about 1/2 inch down and towards the middle from the bust darts' tip, the back darts were just spaced somewhat evenly. I lucked out, the fit is great:

(Worn with skirt Burda 4/2009/101 reviewed here.)

Other changes made to the bodice front and back:

I made the bottom curve more shallow and as usual (I have a long torso) a bit longer.

The armholes were cut a bit deeper.

The shoulder curve was straightened by about 1/3 inch. I did this by taking a bit off at the neck side of the shoulder since I have a slim neck and didn't want to tighten the armhole.

I just "re-drafted" with my shears, so I don't have a pattern of the changes I made. Hopefully I'll remember to look it up here next time!

I then took the sleeves and collar from pattern 3/2010/124 which I made here. I made the sleeve band according to my arm circumference not the pattern. I didn't redraft the sleeve after changing the armhole because this sleeve has a lot of ease which took care of any differences.

After not quite liking the collar (and doing it upside down) last time I did a lot of measuring and a bit of re-sewing this time to get it right. Sewing collars still isn't my favorite, but it worked! I also added shell pink buttonholes and button thread. Why? Because I could!

One last question:

I think this fabric is called "dotted Swiss cotton" in English (I love how light and transparent it is! See the gratuitous "lightbox" shot above.) What is it called in German? (I think I know more English sewing words than Germans by now, thanks to all the English sewing blogs!)

Here's to sewing when everything goes just right!

I'm back!

We had the most wonderful vacation - though we didn't get to do to the Netherlands but a small German island in the North Sea. Look at this:

Don't you want to take off your shoes, dig your toes in the sand, and breathe?

The weather and all the biking we did called for rugged garments like jeans and tees, so not a lot of homesewn clothes got worn. But I made a little collage that has a me-made garment or accessory in every picture:

I missed you all, and since I haven't sewn a stitch in about four weeks, I miss sewing. Yeah, poor me, all that vacation and gorgeous summer weather!

Tagged!

Lindsay tagged me, and I think it's fun to think about questions I wouldn't ask myself. Such as:

Which pattern/vintage style have you been thinking about lately?

I'm not into vintage patterns. I appreciate a certain nostalgic style of dressing, but hunting down vintage patterns is just too much of an effort for this die-hard Burda collector who can easily find ten patterns for high-waisted trousers etc. etc. in her Burda stash.

I remember thumbing through my mom's old Burdas when I was little, but those were the 70s and I'm not sad they don't exist anymore!

I tried to find out what kinds of patterns were used in Germany before Burda. I came upon a couple of pattern books but nothing else. If anyone knows more about this I'd love to hear it!

(I also asked my mom who famously together with her sisters made all their wardrobes in the late 40's/50's. Well. They didn't use patterns because none were available (to them). They just took whatever detail they liked in others' garments and copied them. Later, there was Burda.)

Because a post without pictures isn't fun, here's a real vintage garment my mother made and wore when she was pregnant with me (exactly 40 years ago):

I wore it, too when I was pregnant. Luckily we have the same figures. Detail pics:

What is the one place you want to visit you've never been before?

This may be subject to change (as a child it would have been Egypt, later Australia), but for now it's Israel/Palestine.

How do you relax?

Contrary to other sewers I don't find sewing per se relaxing. I relax by reading, eating a leisurely meal (or chocolate!), taking a walk.

What is your favorite holiday/ vacation?

I really like visiting cities. Not necessarily to see the sights but just to wander and take it all in. I loved Leningrad in 1988, Berlin in the 90s, all the long weekends in Paris before the kids, New York City in 2000, but my all time favorite city is London. Love it. Could spend weeks just walking there (and eating, and shopping...).

What is/are sewing skills you want to learn/try out?

I'm not very ambitious in my sewing, just going where my fancy takes me. Who knows where?

Can you knit? Crochet? Other crafting talents?

I knitted a few pairs of socks when I was flat out on my back during my last pregnancy. I also did a lot of cross stitch then. I know how to crochet, and there's no textile craft I wouldn't study given the time.

What garment/accessory do you wear most often?

My watch. And some sort of cardigan.

How much time do you spend reading blogs (per day/per week)?

Oh my. My only saving grace is that I don't just read sewing blogs when surfing the 'net. Unless I feel a surge of energy to sew or have a rare appointment at night, I often spend a couple of hours on the sofa with my laptop before going to bed!

Your motto/mantra?

I don't have a catch phrase per se, but I try to live by putting kindness and thankfulness first.

Tagged!

I'd like to tag Karin of The Mrs., because she lives where I'm going next and Wendy of West 38th because she sews beautiful vintage patterns. If anyone else wants to play, I'd love to read your musings, so consider yourself tagged as well!

I'm off on vacation in a week or so. (Yes, we like to leave our planning until the last minute!) If things go well we'll go to the Netherlands again, which means Knipmode magazines and fabric outlet shopping in Alkmaar. I may not have time to blog until then, so I'll see you nice and relaxed sometime in August. Happy sewing!

Skirt Burdastyle 2/2010/104

Thank you for the lovely feedback on my swimsuit! It's very satisfying to find out that almost anything can be sewn, even by a home sewer with limited means (technique and machines). FYI, I did use a stretch needle, but I think the blue fabric was so thick and luxurious any needle would have had a hard time poking through!

After the swimsuit, I took out a piece of fabric I'd bought at IKEA some time ago with the intention of making a bag. Well, with the current heat wave I'm in need of more summer bottoms, so I thought I'd give the Burda pattern, a slight A-line with front pockets, no lining, a try. I cut out the short length (didn't have any more fabric), but I just don't like the mini length on myself anymore. My legs are alright I guess, but I don't like how a mini skirt looks so terribly wide on anyone above size 36. So I cut into a favorite piece of green linen, hoping that the rest will still be enough for the envisioned shirt dress, and added the border. Incidentally, I really like the skirts with a contrast border that have been around for a few years but never owned one.



Now I'm proud to report the skirt goes very well with the rest of my "Craving Color Wardrobe" that I started last summer and still wear heavily.

(As always, sorry for the blur!)

I think the skirt has a bit more hanger appeal than in real life, and looks a tiny bit like an apron on (and I don't wear aprons for fashion). DH says it's the border and I should cut it off ;-) I think it just takes getting used to and some creative combining.



Happy sewing!

Swimsuit Jalie 2446 View A

While working on the swimsuit, which took quite a while - the weather being positively tropical here at the moment - I thought about posting on it. Emotionally, posing in a swimsuit is no different than posing in a dress for me. And I'm all for being cool - a swimsuit is a swimsuit etc.





On the other hand, this is the internet. Who knows what big bad wolf might happen upon my pictures and abuse them, or use them to ridicule me? (A thought I also have when posting pictures of the children.)

I always tried not to let fear govern my behaviour. When I was younger and out and about, I consciously chose the alley that was the shortest walk for me, no matter how dark or isolated it was.


This is a sewing blog. So, for the benefit of anyone pear-shaped wanting to sew this swimsuit, here's the full picture, and the full story:


This was my second time sewing a single (not magazine) pattern, my first Jalie pattern and my first swimsuit.

I like the Jalie pattern, the instructions, and the sizing is spot on. I think it also looks a lot like the picture on the pattern envelope. (Not Jalie's fault, but would you believe I didn't understand that "fold line" meant "cut on the fold"?)

I had a few glitches sewing on the elastic, and my machine didn't particularly like the lycra fabric (skipped stitches unless I sewed through tissue paper). Considering I did this without a serger I'm quite satified though. When it was done I had my doubts whether I chose the right pattern for my body type, but now I'm starting to like it a lot. Sometimes a picture is a better judge than the mirror!

A short note on the covered buttons I made for DD's apron top: They held up perfectly well in the wash! So, for anyone wanting to save a few pennies, or wishing for a low-tech method for covering buttons, try the method I outlined in this post!