Wednesday, August 13, 2014

A spring Anemone


HI everyone,

Before indulging in my maternity wardrobe planning, I want to show my me-made-summer pretty things (at the moment, there is only one of them that still fits my little bump). I want to start with one of my favourite skirts ever: my Anemone!



As you may know, I fell in love with the beautiful patterns from Eléonore at Dear&Doe. It all started when I used their free Plantain back in January and March. Since then, I have finished 4 versions of it! But that’s another story… When you look at the patterns, they all really appeal to me because they look very flattering, cute and pretty.




I have however pondered about ordering (or not) to D&D for a long time because their size chart is not very large. Their larger size is 41in at the bust, 33 at the waist, and 43 at the hips. This means I would need to upgrade 3 sizes at the bust, 4 or 5 at the waist, and 5 or 6 at the hips (depending on patterns). Even after my many adventures in the upgrading world, I wondered if  wanted to invest into Indie patterns (and the price that goes with them) for woven fabrics with such a high risk of oopsies.



Well, one day, I just decided to try and I ordered the Anemone skirt pattern. I simply love the side peplums and the high waist, I thought it would really work for me. A colleague of mine also convinced me. That’s a funny story actually. I was checking patterns during my lunch break and I had the Anemone website window open. My colleague arrived behind me and said “Oh, that one is really something you would wear!”. I guess my colleagues see me as a peplum kind of girl…

Anyway, I ordered the pattern and I really enjoyed the packaging. It comes with two instructions booklets, one in French, one in English. It felt very odd, because if I am a native French Speaker, most of my sewing vocabulary is in English… The pattern is printed on a very large thick white paper that makes it really easy to measure and play around with upgrades. Would you guys be interested in seeing pictures of the pattern + the grading annotations I made?




I graded up 5 sizes at the waist and at the hips, to try out because I wanted to try and keep similar proportions to the ones of the original pattern. The muslin was quite nice (I forgot to document it) so I adopted these adjustments. My first idea was to sew a white skirt that I would be able to  use during spring and summer. I had the perfect fabric in my stash but I was afraid to use it directly because I wanted to use a few tricks I had not done with the muslin: add a lining, and add some boning along the seams around the high-waist. I feared that that portion of the dress would roll down and plastic boning would be a very simple solution for that. I decided to use some old cotton my grand ma gave me. She bought it 20 years ago for something like 2 EUROS a meter. What happened next is very funny. I fell in love with the end product! What I thought would barely become a wearable muslin became one of my favourite skirts ever! I love all the colours you can combine this skirt with, and there are some really pretty golden lines hidden in the pattern of the fabric.


I really like the way this pattern cheats and makes me look like I have a much narrower waistline! And oddly enough a flatter belly...



To make the lining, I just used the basic pieces of the skirt and shortened them. I really needed a lining because the waist is very adjusted and I wanted to make sure I could slip this on easier. I was also planning to wear it on colder days with tights.




We took the pictures back in May when we went to spend a week end with my family in Belgium. We were in a cute little town called Durbuy where you can still walk amongst medieval little streets and beautiful grey stone houses. They also do yummy ice creams in the summer and tasty warm wine in the winter if you are around!




Have you ever been to Belgium or Durbuy?
What is the largest grading you ever made?
Do you want to see the grading notes on the pattern? 

23 comments:

  1. So cute! I love the colours in the skirt, I can see how it's become a favorite.
    THe grading notes would be awesome! I'm scared to grade personally so your notes would be such a help and might even get me out of my comfort zone!

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  2. SO GORGEOUS! I hadn't seen this on anyone curvy but it looks fabulous. You should definitely share with us how you did the grading

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  3. This looks wonderful and is so very flattering, I would love to see how you graded it up!

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  4. I love the outfit ! And Anémone is great too !

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  5. I have coveted that skirt pattern for months. I wish Deer and Doe would 1) offer more digital downloads and 2) go for an expanded size range.

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    1. Hi Liz, I actually exchanged opinions with Eleonore from Deer and Doe. She is just starting up at the moment and does not have the resources to expand at the moment. But she is keeping that option open for later. I also agree with you on the digital versions. Fortunately I live in Europe so it's quite cheap for me. But I actually have similar issues when I order patterns from Vogue or Colette...

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  6. This looks great! I've successfully graded up 2 sizes many times. I once tried to grade up about 4 or 5, and it was a huge fail, although that's largely because the style was unflattering on me.

    I just received a freebie copy of Deer & Doe's Pavot jacket, though, and I'm dying to make it for fall, so that will be a bit of a grading exercise for me.

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    1. I actually just purchased the Pavot jacket and I am planning to raise the waistline to transform it into a maternity jacket. We will see!

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  7. Gorgeous skirt.
    The colour and shape are very flattering.
    I'd really like to see how you graded and how you put boning in the waistband. My waistbands always roll.

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  8. Love your anemone....you have convinced me to get it!!! and yesssss I love to see your grading notes! Hopefully one day I will make it to Belgium. Greetings from Florida, USA

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  9. yes to seeing your grading stuff :-) That skirt looks gorgeous! I think it looks gorgeous especially on you :-)

    I also am worried about d&d patterns because of the small sizing, so yes please post your adjustments!

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  10. Gah this is so pretty, and looks amazing on you! I really like this pattern but haven't got past the shipping (cost and wait time), I wish they came in PDF format

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  11. Absolutely beautiful! Please share your grading and boning notes. It's so slimming...I wouldn't have guess that extra fabric at the hips could be a good thing!!!!

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  12. Ooh. Lovely, I'd never imagine peplum skirt could be so cute. Yes I want to see your grading notes too :)

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  13. this is a wonderful skirt!! i love the anomone, too, although i have not made it. well done for taking the time to grade up and everythng! it is incredibly flattering on you! also, i had no idea you speak french! i do too!! i am from quebec, but live in the south of sweden now. why do i think that you live in chicago? or maybe you do? sorry if i am nosey ;)

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    1. I am still based in Europe :)
      I live in The Netherlands, so right next to my home country...
      By the way, I really love the accent from Quebec. We would like to spend a nice vacation around Canada, but that will be for a little bit later :)

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    2. oh, nice! no idea why i was thinking of chicago, then. i still have my accent québecois, but i don't speak much french these days. anyways, i'm always happy to find european seamstresses!

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  14. Ô this skirt looks great ! Wonderful, it suits you very good. I would be glad if you could share with us your notes about grading up this pattern. I am very pleased to read you speak French and Dutch. I live in Belgium, mother language German but studied at french schools. And you know that we need here absolutely Dutch. It's fine to read you here.

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    1. Thank you Brig :) Indeed, I learned Dutch in school but never used it... And 10 years after finishing school, I moved to The NL, having forgotten almost everything I learned... It took me a while to catch up, but all is good now!

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  15. I just love this skirt and your whole outfit! I would have never taken a second look at this pattern before I saw your version! It's so beautiful there, too. Love it!

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  16. Hi Laurwyn, You look great with that skirt!
    I live in Belgium but in the flemish part, Antwerp. Durbuy is super cute. I wish more indie patterns had bigger sizes, I actually have to grade almost everything. My mother tongue is spanish, live in the flemish part of Belgium so I have to speak dutch, but I'm learning to sew in english, pfff sometimes it gets messy in my head :-) I just started to sew 6 months ago so I'm a beginner beginner beginner. Please show us all your grading notes. Thank you for sharing.

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  17. I would DEFINITELY love to see more information on how you graded this (& any other) pattern up. I am about the same size as you, based on what I've read so far, though my bust is ginormous compared to most people. I am forever having to do an FBA. In the waist & hips though I think we're probably pretty close (18 or so). Thanks.

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