The Hem-isphere challenge: garment n°2

Hey there a quick post to show you what I made for the second instalment of Zoe and I's swap project, our topic was La Parisienne and you can read more about it here. I'm so sorry for the bad pics but I was in a rush and it was early in the morning so the light was really dim :(

So this is another take on New Look 6808, I used the beautiful silky cotton and mother-of-pearl buttons Zoe sent me and added heart-shaped lace from my stash around the collar. I LOVE my top and I usually wear it with jeans but it's also great with a pencil skirt.
You can see Zoe's garment here http://sozowhatdoyouknow.blogspot.com/2012/06/hem-isphere-project-parisienne-blouse.html, I can't believe she made such an awesome top out of what I sent her! See you

My unusual top

If you follow this blog regularly you have probably noticed that I love the navy colour and fabrics with kittens, stripes and flowers. I raaaaarely sew anything else but once in a while I'm attracted to a different print, usually something strange and in the home department of the store. I always call the garments I make from these unusual fabrics my ugly ducklings because even though they started differently in the end they fit well with the rest of my wardrobe :)
Today's top is the perfect illustration of this theory:




The fabric's from Ikea's children home section with black and pastel geometric patterns, writings and numbers on an off-white background. I fell in love with it the second I saw it even though I have no idea why since it's so far from what I normally like^^. Then there's the design, I used New Look 6808 which is a favourite but I changed the collar to a peter pan one and the thing is I don't usually like this type of collar on me yet I think it works quite well here!
BTW I can't remember if I wrote this before but I removed 1" horizontally on the front and back upper bodice above the bust to get rid of some fabric sagging and I lowered the armhole bottom edge to make up for the lost inches in case you'd have the same fit problem.
To sum up I ended adoring this top and I wear it at least once a week so it will certainly show up a lot for MMM 2012! See ya!

A typical bi-day outfit or why I love sewing

So today as is often the case, I've had the morning free and I'm working later which means I'll wear two variations of the same outfit, one to go walking and shopping and the other for more professional purposes. Here's the freetime version:


My eternal me-made denim shorts paired with a new top, the I've-almost-tamed-that-damn-fit version of New Look 6808 that I managed to squeeze in a yard of quilting cotton bought on sale. Even though I forget to take pics of them I've actually made a few of these tops and I like to add little changes from one to the other. For instance here I've bound the neckline and sleeves with navy bias topstitched in white and I've put a little bow on the side. I'm glad I found this fabric because it's super cute with its pink and blue confetti print and also because it was a real bargain since it went from 19€ to 6€ a yard -yes, that shop has crazy prices but fortunately there are plenty others which are much more affordable where I live :)

Close-up of the fabric and details and maybe a hint of the side handpicked zipper

Back to the outfit, as you can see it's pretty laid back and nice to wear in the current summer. Now for the teaching version, well I'll put on some jeans, pumps and I'll bring a pale yellow cardigan and that's it:

I LOVE my dazed face on this one, you can tell my baby cat was acting the fool behind the window^^

I don't think I have to ramble on and on about why I love sewing so much, obviously it's just too excellent to spend the entire day in stuff you've made yourself! Have a nice week and see you soon!

New Look top

Hello friends! I hope you're having a nice week :) A quick post to show you a New Look top I made out of Sevenberry fabric, it's a traditional Japanese print with off-white fans/scales on a navy background. It was easy to make BUT:
- I should have used the proposed facings for the collar, I don't know what possessed me to decide on folded bias instead, it was more complicated and it isn't as flat as the facings
- I should have lifted the shoulder seams, the fabric tends to sag above my bust and in the back, ahem it's not very flattering :(
- I'm really wondering if I should have made it one size smaller.
Despite these problems I love the fabric so much I think I'll wear it anyway! It looks good with black jeans/trousers and I may even make a black skirt to wear with it (I'm not giving up on girly stuff!).




See you!

14/05 outfit and New Look dress

Hello friends! I hope you're doing fine! Today was a nice day, I got to wear one of my favourite outfits with my chambray V blouse (from the Stylish Dress Book of course!) and black Muji leggings -they're sooooo soft :)


I also took pictures of the New Look dress I mentioned yesterday: it's design 6723 and I used an incredible cotton fabric which I found in a local shop. It often happens with this shop, you pay 7$ for plain, boring cotton and you find treasures for 2$ in their clearance bin! I repeat that if you make this dress be careful with how low the neckline goes before cutting it, I could adjust it a little by making the shoulder seams higher but still it's quite the plunging view, I have to pin the sides to my bra straps so that it won't show everything :( I lengthened the bodice with a set-in fabric belt and the hem is handsewn. I'm off to check the MMM gallery, haven't seen all the treasures there for a while and I need my fix^^ See you!

13/05 outfit

Hi! I wore the New Look top today and my only regret is that it's definitely roomy. Part of this is due to the fact that I didn't want to add a zipper so I didn't cut a smaller size, but I notice there's a problem with the back and neckline with New Look patterns, they're too big! I made a dress from this company and I'm going to have to add some trim or a ruffle or something because my bra is showing when I wear it! I'll keep that in mind newt time I try one of their patterns :) See you!

11/05 outfit and a New Look top

Hi everyone! I'm only working part-time at the moment so I can dress casually every two day. Hence today's simple outfit: I made the top 2 years ago using pattern "C" from the Stylish Dress Book, the fabric is purple cotton veil but I've worn it so often that the colour has faded a little :( I bought the shorts last year and have been wearing them a lot too!


I also wanted to show you the New Look 6808 top I made. The fabric is Robert Kaufman's Happy Days in Confetti and what can I say, it was a pleasure to sew! I narrowed the width of the collar a little, taking in about 1/2" and I didn't use fusible interfacing as I didn't want it to be too stiff. It's just lined with white polycotton -what would my life be like without polycotton^^?! I'll certainly wear it tomorrow so it can be added to the Me-made May wardrobe :) See you!