Wonky Droid Covers

 

I wanted an instant gratification project today and while the outcome is not perfect it’s good enough – for now anyway. I wanted covers for my phone and tablet so I found some fake leather in my stash and got to sewing. I started with a phone case which are just two rectangles sewn together and hemmed at the top. Since I have never sewn in leather (real or faux) I didn’t know how it behaved and the case is not completely perfect. Like I said, for now, I don’t mind.

Moving on to the tablet cover, I folded it over so the bottom is not sewn, just the sides. Also for this I wanted a closure so I made a triangle piece to fold over.

I added a button, I thought the red went well with the leather, but I, for some reason, only put a button hole in the bottom closure, so it’s hard to close and the button is not seen when the case is closed. Yeah, I’m not very smart sometimes.

The back of the leather is fleece so my phone and tablet are nice and comfortable while in the cases. (The seam allowances of the clousre were trimmed after this photo was taken).

So, my cases may be a bit wonky, but they do the job. And they are Droid covers, in this household we are Droiders (my phone is Samung, the tablet is ASUS).

Project summary:

Pattern: Self-drafted (traced the gadget and added a bit for seam allowance)
Difficulty: Easy when choosing an easy fabric.

Fabric: Faux leather
Notions: Button,  thread
Estimated price: Fabric 15 SEK (€1.75), button and thread 5 SEK (€0.58). Total: 20 SEK (€2.34)

Project rating:
I really like

Bow Dress

Ah, my bow dress. It felt as if it ran a risk to be overdesigned when I had the flu, since I just kept adding more and more details (such as the bias tape down the front) but in the end I really like it. Perhaps taking a break isn’t a bad thing after all, since you get some distance to the project.

The pattern is Burdastyle 10-2011-129, which I have modified quite a bit. Not the basic shape, but the original pattern is a maxi dress with long sleeves, so just by the first picture it’s obviously altered. I shortened the dress, made it sleeveless, removed the side zipper (I think the buttons are enough closure) and used a bunch of bias tape. The bias tape along the back neckline and armholes are used as facings, the rest are purely decorative.

I have made up this pattern before, as a blouse with a peplum, but I’m thinking of turning it into a dress as it didn’t work very well as a blouse. I just need to find a skirt fabric, which so far hasn’t been a priority. That blouse however showed off the feature I like about this dress which is the drafting of the bodice. The neckline is unusual and I love the look of it, it’s flattering and not too low cut. I also like the pleating along the waistline. It feels like a bodice drafted for those of us with some curves on top.

The fabric is a lightweight viscose with printed bows (hence the name of the dress) and I also used buttons, interfacing and bias tape. The skirt is cut on the bias for a little extra flow, however I do worry that it ended up too short and too flowy as the bias tape stiffened the hem. There is also a small gaping at the neckline. All in all I’m pretty pleased with my dress, but afraid of the length being too short. I also think a belt, I have a black Obi-belt, would flatter the look.

Project summary:

Pattern: Burdastyle 10-2011-129, Boho Crepe Chiffon Long Dress
Alterations: Shortened skirt, omitted sleeves and side zipper, used bias facing in neckline and armholes.
Difficulty: Intermediate. There are some tricky details such as the inseam pockets and pleats and the instructions are a bit hard to decipher.

Fabric: Printed viscose.
Notions: Buttons, interfacing, bias tape and thread
Estimated price: Fabric 99.88 SEK (€11.87), bias tape 19.95 SEK (€2.37), buttons, interfacing and thread 10 SEK (€.1.18). Total: 129,83 SEK (€15.42)

Project rating:
I really like the drafting of the bodice and I think my alerations tyrned out pretty good. The pockets and length of the dress do worry me, but perhaps it’s all in my head.

One End and One Beginning

After some thinking I’ve decided to end my Me-Made_May experience for 2013. I’m not feeling inspired and my nursing-friendly me-made wardrobe is sparse. I’ve still learnt a lot and I will post about my experiences later. Theoretically, I could probably fulfill my pledge of 16 days wearing something me-made, but it would just be repeat outfits of what I’ve worn already. Therefore I am withdrawing.

However, I thought of another way to force myself into thinking about what I wear and how I look. I’m going to do a “random outfit” series. Every day I will take a photo of my outfit. After each week I will randomly pick a day and post that outfit here along with my thoughts on it. This will force me to dress properly (ie. no sweat pants!) each day and think about what works for me, without turning this into a daily outfit blog.

I’ve already taken my photograph today and next Monday I’ll randomly pick which of this week’s outfit to dissect.

Sewing is currently taking a back seat in this blog, but by fall I hope I can start sewing more regularly again, right now it’s very sporadical. Until then I will focus more on style.

Sunday Reading #4

Another Sunday, another time to browse the blog world. Well, it’s not entirely true since I prepared this post on Friday as I was away all weekend. Perhaps I’ll miss some weekend gem, but I can make up for it next week.

Through Andrea of Four Square Walls I found Dear Abby Leigh and her series “Dress for the Day“. The mantra is “Dress for the day you want to have, not the day that’s trying to have you”. I love it and will think about this when I’m getting dressed.  Andrea’s contribution is about dressing for your handmade day.

ReadyThreadSew wonders if the sewing blogging world is too nice, fearing to give constructive criticism. Perhaps there lies some truth to what she says. (There is a first part too).

Karen talks about her mother guiding her into sewing. So sweet! Perhaps a subject I’ll write about later as well.

Chirp, Chirp

As you can see in the right coloumn, I’ve joined Twitter. I’ve fallen for the group pressure. Now I just need to figure out how it works, how to communicate with others, hashtags and any other possibility I do not yet know of. I’m a total novice!

Follow me @eitchy_82!

Heavenly Nursing Dress

Boob*, eat your heart out! I made myself one more nursing garment, this time a dress. I made use of what I learned during the making of the Cassette Nursing Top and therefore this version has some minor differences from the top.  To get a definition of the dress I put an elastic in the hem of the shorter front. The shorter front on the dress also comes higher than on the t-shirt, I wanted to shorten it compared to the top, but it became even shorter as I missed to catch the hem in my twin seam. It came out perfect, I think. The elastic is also shorter in the dress version than the t-shirt version.

I made the dress sleeveless, so I attached the two bodices both along the neckline and the armhole. For the back neckline and armhole I stabilised it with interfacing bias tape and hemmed it with the twin needle (I’m so glad I took the machine to the shop and finally figured out how to sew knits).

The fabric I used is a light blue, ecological fine rib knit. Since I hadn’t tried out the tutorial before buying the fabric I chose as cheap as I could get, without cutting back too much on quality. The fabric is very soft and drape-y, more so than the cassette fabric (which probably wouldn’t have worked so well as a dress). Plus, it’s the colour of my hometown’s football/soccer team, usually called heavenly blue, hence the name of the dress.

Just like the t-shirt I used my TNT knit top/dress pattern Burdastyle 01-2009-106 (both a top and a dress pattern, just elongation and shaping). I do however need to find new top patterns.

Project Summary:
Pattern: Burdastyle 01-2009-106, dress version.
Alterations: Altered into a nursing top using Christina’s tutorial. Removed sleeves altogether.
Difficulty: Easy

Fabric: Ecological light blue fine rib knit.
Notions: Self-made interfacing bias tape, thread, elastic.

Estimated price: Fabric 100 SEK (€), notions 10 SEK (€). Total 110 SEK (€)

Project Rating: I really like this dress and hope it will fit me well come nursing time. Right now it’s, obviously, a bit clingy, but the fabric has a nice drape and I think it will be a summer favourite for me. I love the softness of the fabric, I will remember to look for more fine rib knits as my store’s selection usually are a bit heavier.

*Boob is a Swedish brand, focusing on maternity and nursing wear in organic materials, with prices for dresses ranging from 500 SEK to 100 SEK (€58-116) . My fabric is also ecological and with a material cost of approx 110 SEK, way below their prices. I didn’t spend many hours on this, but I don’t know how to price my time.

Me-Made-May 2013 – The Next 4

Day 7

What’s today’s outfit?
Ma Belle-skirt and RTW t-shirt.

Where was it worn?
Chilling at home, doing glamourous chores such as laundry and wardrobe cleaning.

Outfit rating
Meh. I feel the skirt looks very homemade and t-shirts like these are boring, plus this is very old and worn out. I do need something loose for nursing and this t-shirt pulls up easiliy. Not a very good outfit, but OK for hanging at home with a baby.

Day 7 – bonus

The kiddo had played with water (organised play) at pre-school, so he came home in his spare clothes – including his Purple Wristlet Pants. The sunhat is RTW and the t-shirt is a hand-me-down. A purple kiddo, good thing purple is one of his favourite colours (as well as any other colour).

Day 8

What’s today’s outfit?
Unblogged plaid skirt, RTW stockings, nursing top and cardigan.

Where was it worn?
Visiting my grandparents with baby E

Outfit rating
OK. The skirt has an elastic waist which is totally comfortable. However I’m not sure about my fabric choice, I need to get picker (I will explore this in my MMM lessons learnt at the end of the month). Baby E didn’t care for it as she puked all over me and forced me to change clothes in the afternoon.

Day 9

What’s today’s outfit?
Heavenly nursing dress

Where was it worn?
A day at the horse race tracks. The dresscode is neither Ascot or Kentucky Derby. I was a photo finish from winning 300 SEK on my 10 SEK bet. Darn!

Outfit rating
This dress is comfortable, it is a jersey dress after all, and the nursing feature works perfectly for discrete nursing. I must blog about this creation soon, since I really like it (I need photographs). This will be worn a lot this summer!

Sunday Reading # 3

The sewing world is occupied with Me-Made-May, a good thing to come of Me-Made-May is that I find plenty of new blogs to read. Which takes away from sewing time, so perhaps it’s not the best thing after all.

The Coletterie asks readers “What’s hard about knits?” for upcoming tips about sewing with knits. I, for one, will be reading and learning.

Lelie has started a series on organising your space. Every once in a while I get an organising urge, redoing the planned system. Right now I need to expand my fabric storage, either by sewing (which I currently don’t have much time for) or organising. On her blog Lelie also has a glue gun giveaway.

Yes, I like that has come to the realisation that in order to properly measure our clothes’ value we should compare it to higher brands as opposed to the cheaper ones such as H&M and C&A. Let’s compare with JC Penney instead!

As for myself I have an ongoing project, which is slowly progressing. I also have an idea for a fall project (yes, a fall project, because that’s probably when I can get some real sewing time in). And perhaps it won’t be an exclusive project, but ongoing over some, undefined, time. I won’t present it just yet, but perhaps I can convince someone to join in.

Getting some sleep…

For the first month of her life baby E had terrible nights. She was awake for up to two hours and would only go to sleep on either of her parents. We were getting desparate and I turned to the web for ideas, any ideas on how to get her to sleep by herself, even if it still was in our bed. One of the ideas I came across was a babynest.

So, what is a babynest you might ask. In short it’s a padded matress for small babies, made to be snug since that’s how babies like it (it’s not that they have a lot of room in the womb). Another thing one can know about the babynest is that the “official brand” retails them at an incredibly high price, 849 SEK (€100). However, if one can sew…

A babynest seems to be a Swedish thing since I could find many tutorials here, but not many in English. Perhaps my googling skills are dwindling. Anyway, it’s a padded matress with extra padding around, which is drawn in using a drawstring. It creates the baby’s one space, snuggly but the baby still has room to move.

This was quite a quick make, to be fair I didn’t worry too much about seam finishes and polishing. I don’t remember how much the fabric cost (which I needed one metre of), but the stuff I bought was about 100 SEK (€11.71) and I think the fabric could have around80-100 SEK (€9.37 – 11.71). Either way, my babynest is less than 1/4 of the retail price.

The real verdict, however, lies not in price or quailty but if baby E likes it. The first night I was able to put her down in her new nest after nursing and she fell asleep herself. The second night was not as good, but after a few nights she’s getting used to it and does fall asleep on her own, in her nest, for most part. Success! Although I don’t know if she would have done that either way, but from what I’ve gathered about her, she probably wouldn’t. We’re all getting better sleep now and soon perhaps we can move her, and the babynest, out of our bed and into her bassinette. I can slowly feel my energy returning…

(Yes, I am aware of the fact that sleepless night will be part of our lives for some time to come. But those nights when you can sleep, that’s what you want).

Me-Made-May, The Beginning

Day 1

What’s today’s outfit?
Me-made Cassette Nursing Top and thrifted pants.

Where was it worn?
A day at home with people coming over.

Outfit rating
A very comfortable outfit! However, the pants are a bit too long,as are all RTW pants on me, so I might have to hem them a bit.

Day 2

What’s today’s outfit?
Megan skirt, H&M t-shirt and Camaïeu cardigan.

Where was it worn?
Fabric shopping

Outfit rating
Last MMM it was suggested to dress in honour of Zoe on the last day – I didn’t. However I was putting this outfit on, I felt that it should have been my tribute outfit. Comfortable, but the cardi doesn’t really work with my current shape.

Day 5

What’s today’s outfit?
Mandarin Skirt (un-blogged), RTW t-shirt

Where was it worn?
At home. The kiddo was running a slight fever so our planned guests had to stay at home.

Outfit rating
Truth be told I would never wear a velour skirt out of the house. But it works perfectly as lounge wear.

Day 6

What’s today’s outfit?
Namesake Skirt, No-sew nursing tank, thrifted top and jacket and Polka Dot Diaper Bag.

Where was it worn?
Day at home and then a doctor’s appointment for baby E (regular check-up).

Outfit rating
Finally warm enough to be bare-legged outside! I made the most of that weather. The skirt is comfortable and I wear it alot since denim is so easy to match.

Sunday Reading #2

Another week, new reading material, the sewing blogosphere really is inspiring!

Tilly has conducted interviews with some of her GBSB cast mates, including Ann, Lauren, Jane and Mark.

Stephanie of 3 hours past… discussed peplum lengths in depth. If you’re thinking of jumping on the peplum bandwagon read her post first to find the optimal length.

At Megan Nielsen’s Design Diary there was a post on how to avoid having your clothes looking handmade. I really need to read those tips since I feel that making my clothes look less homemade would take them to the next level, and many of my clothes in the past have fallen into this trap.

Gjeometry wrote about the generousity of the sewing blogosphere. It makes me think I should enter more giveaways…

An Optimist goes Shopping

I was thinking of sewing a babynest for baby E, in hopes that it will make her sleep more comfortably (during night she almost exclusively wants to sleep on top either of her parents). To do that I needed to go to the fabric store to get some padding for the babynest and of course I couldn’t resist looking for me as well.

I’m in between sizes and time is sparse, so I directed my attention to the scrap bin and looked for knits. Currently, for me, knits have many advantages; they’re easy to adapt for different sizes (as I hopefully shrinks) and projects are quick to sew (which is good since time is sparse). I found two pieces.

Both pieces are viscose jerseys, one in mustard (for some reason called “mild yellow) and the other is jade (despite what the image shows). The mustard piece is 2.15 m which should be enough for two tops and the jade on is 1.2 m, enough for one top. I did notice a small hole in the jade piece, so I will have to work around it or mend it. There could be other errors as well, one of the risks of scrap bin shopping.

With a piece of bordeaux viscose jersey I know have enough knits to make four tops, probably many out of Burda 02-2013, now I just need the time, hence the optimism.

My Me-Made-May ’13 Pledge

Being a part of Me-Made-May is a lot of fun and I’ve been wanting to join since it was announced. Participants are encouraged to phrase the pledge themselves, in a way to make it more challenging every time. This is the reason why I’ve been hesitant, since my wardorbe is limited at the moment due to breast-feeding and not having gotten my pre-pregnancy body quite back yet.

But, as Zoe pointed out, sometimes the challenge is not about wearing more me-mades than the previous round, sometimes life gives you a challenge in itself (her “life’s challenge” is being pregnant). So perhaps I should reduce my number of me-mades, as it is challenging enough just to dress.

Further on, I also thought that I should use this opportunity to focus on the things I want to change about my personal style, which is to focus on thrifting and getting out of that sweat-pants trap I’ve fallen into.

 ’I, Helena of Crafting My Own Style, sign up as a participant of Me-Made-May ’13. I endeavour to wear one me-made garment for at least 16 days of May 2013. For the remaining days, me-made is encouraged by myself and I will also focus on the thrifted clothes of my wardrobe. As an added, personal pledge, I also endeavour NOT to wear sweat pants at all during May 2013. ‘

I will post my me-made outfits to the Flickr group and all outfits will be posted here.

Wish me luck, with my currently larger waist/hip this seems like a real challenge, but I want in on the fun this year as well.

Sunday Reading #1

Since I’m not producing much of my own stuff right now, I thought I’d give my readers some tips on what I enjoyed during the past week. I’m hoping to find great posts by smaller bloggers, although this week it’s about big bloggers.

The Seamless Blog writes about The Great British Sewing Bee and Fast Fashion, hoping that people will learn what goes in to making a garment and question the cheap prices in retail. I will take the Seamless Pledge, I just need to phrase it for myself.

Even more GBSB, since the Sewing world is buzzing with excitement over it. Both Tilly and Lauren (who I was rooting for coming into the finals) have shared behind the scenes experiences on their blogs.

Karen of Did You Make That? focused on the need of many mirrors for building self esteem; when one aspect of your life (work, exercise, sewing) is hard, we need to focus on another of our endeavours to help re-build the lost self esteem.

Tasia/Sewaholic attended a fashion show that takes refashioning to the next level.

Another thing the sewing world is talking about is Me-Made-May ’13. I think I will take part and have been thinking about my pledge, I have until Tuesday to phrase it.

I chose to call this “Sunday Reading”, it may be subject to change further on.

The Great British Sewing Bee

As I don’t have the energy to sew myself it is great that there now is a show that allows me to watch others sew, The Great British Sewing Bee. It is the quest to find Britain’s best amateur sewer and each week the sewers are given three tasks; to work with a pattern, to alter a garment and to make a made to measure garment. Just what all the sewers around the world are doing daily!

I really like watching this show and it’s a bit sad that there only is four episodes. Let’s keep our fingers crossed for a second season! What I like most are the first two tasks of the episode, the pattern challenge and the alteration challenge. It shows us, the public, what differences fabric choices, personal style and creativity can make even though all the garments follow the same basic pattern or garment. Each piece is individual, the may share the cut, the basic colour, but in the end all sewers have presented a unique garment. That is cool and the reason why many of us sew.

Have you watched this show? What do you think? If not, here are the links the to the first three episodes: Episode 1, Episode 2 and Episode 3 (episode 4 has not aired yet).

In other news, I was so prepared to join Twitter yesterday, I need something easy to update when blogging time might be frugal. Imagine my surprise when @eitchy was already taken. Now what am I supposed to use?

One Week

One week ago today our daughter, E, made her speedy entrance into this world. I was in labour for a total of three hours and only spent 23 minutes in the hospital before she was born (husbie even less since he had to park the car). Now we are adapting to our new life with two children.

Still I’m pondering whether or not I will participate in Me-Made-May this time around. It is a lot of fun, but I don’t know how much of my clothes will fit me plus they need to be breast-feeding friendly as well, which rules out all dresses and some tops. We’ll see, I still have a few more weeks to decide.

March Thrifting

The last Saturday of the month means that the local flea market is open. I missed it last time due to the flu, which was probably a good thing since I got to see a little bit of rotation since the last time I was there.

I was initially hoping to find some toys to put in the kids’ (kiddo and his two cousins) easter eggs, but the toys at this particular flea market is not good. Lot of plastics (all pretty much crap) and stuffed animals, which I don’t want to buy second-hand. So, I focused my attention on shopping for me instead.

I have been looking for a smaller ironing board (I have no idea of the name in English, I’m not even sure I know it in Swedish) for ages. Perfect for ironing sleeves, pants and other small parts. I’ve been looking in several supermarkets, but I probably should have looked in haberdashery stores. Anyway, by chance I stumbled upon this today and for a mere 20 SEK (€2.40) it came home with me. I think I need to redo the padding, but I hope that’s not a big issue. (We went to the garden centre on Thursday and I finally could pick up a new water bottle as well – which was more expensive than the ironing board)

I really liked this blouse and it seems comfortable. It’s in my regular size, so I hope it fits once my belly is gone. There could be a gaping issue at the neckline, but I think that can easily be fixed. As I was browsing tops and blouses I realise that I find it very difficult to shop for those things, I don’t know what I want and how to match my often printed skirts. That is an issue I need to address. Another issue I need to address is a wardrobe cleaning as I’ve just been adding stuff lately without removing (I did throw out a little a while back and I have a “donate” bag as well, I probably just need to do a better job)These are cargo pants, not full length. I figured they’d be good for summer, in hoping that they fit – they are my regular pants size. Casual pants for wearing at home (so I don’t fall into the sweatpant trap) or outings. For the pants and the blouse I paid 30 SEK (€3.60).

I’m really getting into buying second-hand, now I just need to start refashioning as well, so far all my second hand clothes are “off the rack”. But it’s been a while since I shopped retail.

Me-made Shoes

I was packing my hospital bag yesterday. Yep, one week before due date I figured it was about time to do that. I reviewed several lists on the internet and the one given to me by my midwife to see what I needed. All the lists I found pointed out the need of comfortable indoor shoes, so I went to my trusty custom-made ones, only to realise that they could be featured in a post here, since they are me-made.

When I was in high school I did a two week internship at the department of prosthetics and orthotics (which did not lead me down that career path, but I digress). As a task to try out the work I, with help and proper guiding, made these shoes. They are custom-made for my feet and some 11 years later still fit like a glove.

Funny thing is, before I made these shoes I was complaining about the fact that my feet differ in one size from one another (my left foot is one size bigger than my right) and when I made the casts for the shoes the engineer helping even commented on my different sized feet.

Anyway, I can’t believe I haven’t thought of this before, that I actually have some me-made shoes. Indoor shoes, but still.

‘Tis a Sad Day

Some time ago, as I was washing my Flouncing Sleeves Top it came to close to the washer’s edge and got a lot of stains on it. Yes, it got dirtier by being in the wash. Since then I’ve tried to wash it again, using stain remover and other tricks, but those stains remain.

Perhaps I haven’t tried every trick in the book, but I think it’s time to let the top go. Other clothes which have had the same problem have had their stains removed, but for this one they are really set. The top has been washed several times, which has perhaps set the stains even more, without result.

The top is by no means perfect in construction or technically, but it is easy to wear and match and has helped me through several me-made months. Plus it was one of the first knit tops I made so it holds a special place in my heart. This is hard, should I keep it just because of that? Make a new one? Or does anyone have any magic stain remover tips?

Polka Dot Diaper Bag

I finally finished my Polka Dot Diaper Bag. But I haven’t really decided if I like it. The size is good and I’m pretty pleased with my colour choices (considering the accents were from scraps I had at home), but it feels a bit bulky. I guess I’ll have to use it and see if it fulfills my needs.

The main fabric (green with polka dots) is a sturdy cotton. The accent in the front of the bag is a dark green courdoroy. Many fabrics were in the running of accent fabric, but they did not good. Luckily I found this courdoroy in my stash and the piece I had left was just enough for what I needed. There is a pocket in the front, a seam runs down the middle and the right part (of the picture) is also divided so there are three pockets in the front.

The back, although a bit hard to see, has two pockets.

The bag closes with a big snap (for all my haberdashery needs). The pattern called for a magnetic clousure, since I had no such thing I went with what I had.

The inside is fully lined, in this picture you can also see the bulkiness of the bag which is my main concern, it’s plenty of layers. I added a simple pocket on the inside as well, About 2/3 of it closes with a button, on the right is a cell phone slot.

Project summary:

Pattern: Detour Diaper Bag from Makebabystuff.com
Alterations: Just simple modifactions such as adding the inside pocket, closing with a snap and so on. The pattern is easy to customise.
Difficulty: Easy. The most difficult part is the curved seams in the bottom and the fact that these curved seams are sewn through several layers.

Fabric: Sturdy cotton (main), corduroy (accent), cotton sateen (lining)
Notions: Button, interfacing, snap, thread.

Estimated price: Fabric 108 SEK (€12.97), notions 15 SEK (€1.80). Total 122 SEK (€14.65)

Project Rating: A simple project which was just what I needed. Since the bag was finished today it hasn’t been used and properly evaluated. It’s a pretty good bag pattern actually, it’s just that my fabric combination wasn’t the best.

Quite a Slogan

I’m almost finished with my self-made diaper bag and I’m not quite sure about it. It seems a little too casual, but then again I won’t bring it to any fancy places while being on maternity leave. I also worry that it’s a bit too bulky due to my fabric choices. I still have to assemble the main bag to the lining which includes fastening the straps and closure tab.

Hopefully, I can present my new bag this upcoming week, unless I get busy giving birth or something (my due date is April 1st and the kiddo was 5 days late so I have no high hopes of that, but one never knows. Although I’m not quite prepared, so I might need to go shopping one of these days).

I had bought big snaps, one of which I used for my bag. I just love the slogan of the company. First of all the brand is Essentials by Whitecraft. And then the slogan at the bottom of the pack.

For all your haberdashery needs.
In deed.

(I think I like the word haberdashery so much that I’ll change my (very small) notions category to that name).

Diaper Bag Project

Let the nesting begin! Although this is my first day of  maternity leave, the nesting feeling hasn’t quite kicked in yet, perhaps it will start once I’m just at home waiting for the baby to arrive. However, I thought my next project would be something I could use for myself and the baby, a diaper bag.

The fabric is a light green polka dot cotton. It was second assortment, but looked fine anyway so I bought it for a spring coat. After washing it I noticed that the colour was coming off in certain places, regularly, and since the pattern planned was a coat there was no way of working around it. The fabric became a lost soul without an intended purpose and since it’s damaged I knew it wouldn’t be highly prioritised and since it’s not a fashion fabric I need to expand my views and make it into something non-clothing. Staying at home with a baby I probably don’t need too much fashion clothes, plus it’s hard to know what will fit me in a few months time, however I do need a diaper bag. So I figured my ill-fated fabric could work for that as it is rather sturdy and I don’t care so much about the discolouring for a diaper bag.

I searched the web and ended up with this pattern. Hopefully, it will be a useful bag for me, whether it will be for diapers or something else.

*WARNING* Parental bragness coming up!

Like the proud mum I am, I must show off the kiddo’s progress. While I was on the floor tracing the pattern, he wanted to join in and grabbed a pen of his own. For one of the first times ever he wrote down the first letter of his name. Such a skilled guy!

New Acquisitions

 

Last week the flu struck upon our household. All of us were sick, the kiddo, the husband and I, to various degrees. It was pretty much a lost week in my book, I have nothing to account for it. The saddest part was that on the Saturday I was going to see Chess in Gothenburg with my MIL and SILs, however that had to be cancelled for me. Luckily they were able to find a friend to get the ticket, it would have been a waste of a ticket otherwise. But I’m still disappointed that I couldn’t go.

Therefore the dress I’m currently working on is in the same state as it was one week ago, and is running the risk of being over-designed if don’t finish it soon instead of adding more and more ideas to it. I still have buttons and buttonholes to sew (small ones, I hate those) as well as finishing the hem, which I will do using bias tape.

I’ve had some pattern acquisitions as well. I finally got hold of the Burda 02-2013, which has received plenty of praise for the knit tops. I’m already planning the 109 knit top in a Bordeaux viscose jersey, i.e. very similar to the magazine version. One thing I wonder about this magazine is what happened to the 115 maxi dress? It has just disappeared from my version, both the layout and the pattern. Such a shame, since it was an interesting design. Is it in other countries’ Burdastyle and has just disappeared from the Swedish one? I’ve asked the team on Burdastyle, let’s see if I’ll get a reply, otherwise I’ll look into it more, I liked the design.

See, skipping from 114 to 116

Another new pattern to my stash is the Sewaholic Thurlows. I won Becky of Sew-And-So’s Sew Grateful giveaway in which the prize was a Sewaholic pattern of your choice. It was a tough desicion since so many Sewaholic Patterns are lovely designs, but I settled on the pants for a basic piece, which I hopefully can use many times. At the point I’m more watermelon than anything else, but there will come a time when regular clothing will fit me again.

Looking at the map of Vancouver I figured I must have crossed Thurlow on one of our walks around town, which was almost 2 years ago and before the Thurlows were released (the only pattern back then was Pendrell, and we walked on that street too). Just a little point of useless trivia.

Toxins

At a Swedish sewing forum I visit I stumbled upon a discussion regarding carbon paper. The consensus was that older carbon paper was so much better as the colour of the newer kind didn’t really stick to the fabric. A haberdashery shop owner explained that in the old ones there was a substance which was good for sticking on fabrics, but it had been prohibited due to its being toxic. She ended her post with “I don’t know what to think of this”.

I know what I think. The reduction of toxins goes before my needs for easy work. I don’t want to use products that end up putting toxins on my body, which they do if they’re in carbon paper. Plus, when the garment gets washed those toxins will end up dissolved in water and who knows where they end up.

So, for my latest project I used my tracing paper to mark the pleats (there are red dots on the fabric above, I promise). But this particular tracing paper is at least from 2008, I have no idea if it’s old or new, regarding the terms listed above. Have I put toxins on my dress? I wonder, should I throw my tracing paper out, use it until it’s not useful anymore or find new means of transfering marks (including buying new non-toxin paper)? I like this tracing paper, but if it is toxic I don’t want it on my clothes. I don’t know what kind of toxins they have, if my paper has any, but if it’s banned, it’s probably not good.

Personal Style Project: What Do I Need?

I’ve already glanced at this topic during my “what do I have?” post, but I figured I should follow through with all posts. When I counted my items for that portion it was quite obvious what I was missing. Tops and layering pieces.

I have many shirts and blouses, but my selection of simple knit tops, both with short and long sleeves, is limited. And since I need comfort in my life knit tops are essential. I’ve finally conquered knits and I’m even thinking of getting a serger so I’m tempted to make more of those, they’re so forgiving, easy and simple to wear. There’s a reason why I’m currently hovering the magazine rack at the grocery store in search of Burda 02-2013 with several great knit tops.

The other thing I’m lacking in is layering pieces. I do find them hard to shop for, both at flea markets and RTW. Plus, with my lack of knit tops I don’t have much to layer over and it’s been a catch-22. I wish I liked to knit so I could make my own cardigans, but I just haven’t fell for it. Therefore I’m putting my trust mainly to flea markets. During the me-made months I’ve seen so many cute layering outfits, I want to look cute too! As for blazers and jackets I slowly turning around into liking their look, but it sits deeply with me. The first jacket I got was a Christmas gift when I was 18, a corduroy, very boxy jacket. I felt very butch in it, not my style at all and therefore thought that blazers were not for me. (For some reason when thrifting last year I picked up another corduroy jacket, I think that will go back into the donation pile. What was I thinking?) But I’ve seen other cute, lightweight jackets, feminine, well-drafted, with a shape. So I want at least one jacket to throw over clothes, but at the point I don’t know if it will be self-made, thrifted or RTW.

My first step will be to stack up on knit tops and dresses while also trying to find layering pieces. Once I have those in place I will focus on making my wardrobe more coherent, by replacing the skirts and dresses that don’t really go. I’m making it sound like I’ll be done by the end of the month and that I’ll truly stick to my plan, but I know that that’s not the case. Perhaps I’ll take a top break and throw in a skirt (not to mention that I “have” some skirts in my fabric stash) and some clothes will not be sticking to my plan at all, but I have a clearer idea of what I want and need now.

We’ve come to this, the end of series. I’ve covered what I like, who I am, what I have and now what I need. I will work more with colour palettes and usability, not just “oh, a pretty fabric!”. I really like using contrast in colour and texture so I will explore more in that area.

I would also like to thank everyone who has commented with your tips and thoughts. It seems like you all think I should wear more bright colours as opposed to neutrals (which I like, but confirmation is always good) and that I should wear figure-conscious clothing. I was tipped on the Tiramisu dress, which I’ve drooled over for a while, I think I need to order it. It is clear that I do have my work cut out (pun unintended) for me. As well as having two children. Well, I’m not in a hurry…