The Chevron Poncho or Burda's Return

I started sewing 4 years ago. All I knew back then was that I could find patterns in Burda magazines. I knew that because my Grand-Ma (a seamstress) had them lying around when I was little. I remember sitting with her and not understanding why she kept on looking into the centerfold (with the technical drawings) and not at the pretty pictures with the nice ladies. Of course, I understand now !

In the last 4 years, I started using Burda patterns, and than I discovered a broader world, little by little. I started leaving Burda patterns aside for Vogue, Colette and other shiny ones. Well, in the past months, I kept on going back to the Burdas for inspiration and I have not been disappointed. When I first looked at the October edition, I fell in love with the Poncho.

I needed a nice and cosy poncho for Monday mornings. At work, the heating is law during the week end. It means that on Mondays and everymorning, I feel quite cold. I already wanted to make a color block snuggly top and the Burda arrived right on time ! I used cashmere wool in camel and black. I played around with various trimmings but in the end, I chose to leave it fringes out of the project. And that was a great choice !

This pattern only comes up to the size 44 so I had to upgrade a little. It's a very easy pattern. Basically one front piece and one back piece. Both divided in chevrons blocks. Upgrading did not affect the matching points. That was what worried me the most. The fabric was quite thick but with a lot of steam pressing, there is no bulk.

All in all, I am super happy with the result. The poncho is in my desk drawer and saves my life on cold mornings.

I have more Burda things coming, but also some Colettes and Vogues :)

Gertie's Wiggle Dress with a Cherry on top !

Time to reveal one of my new completed projects everyone !

Since July, I have been losing a little bit of weight, and this made me want to wear more fitted clothing. I have also been feeling more comfortable wearing these fitted dresses and skirts. For my wedding last year, I have used Spanx. And they work miracles.

All of this made me gravitate towards Gertie's Wiggle dress. I have been admiring it for some time. First in the book. If you don't know, it is the book cover look.

Further in the book, it is presented with a few variations. Long sleeves, short sleeves, no sleeves, drindl skirt etc. This dress is a sheath style with kimono sleeves. It has a boat neck in front and a V at the back. It als has an underarm gusset. This dress also makes you look like a beautiful hourglass. I love the design of the hip line. It marks your waist beautifully !

There have been a few versions in blogland. Erika, of course, went for it. I think she liked the book even more than I did ! The photo is even in her banner. I think it is a style that would make many women look gorgeous. You just need to feel ready to jump and go for it.

Our favourite Mad Men lady showed us the way for the past few years. To be honest, without Joan, there are a lot of things that would not have been in my radar at all. The dress below if one of these exemples. I actually went for that color. I also shortened the sleeves. This photo was a great inspiration for this project.

Working on this dress went much smoother than expected. I started from the size 16 for the bust and upgraded to what should have been a size 18 from the waist down. And the muslin was perfect. The only detail that needed changing was the length : I had to shorten the skirt of approx. 10 cm. Shortening the sleeves was tricky because I did not know where to cut. I tried a few different cuts. I also had to slash through the gusset to be able to go for that. I also added a lining due to the itchy nature of wool. Here you go !

This has to be worn with high heels!

I really love the marked waistline

I think that the profile is less flattering compared to the front but still looks good

This is the lining with a nice light rayon I had leftover from the bridesmaids dresses

These are labels my Mister got me for Christmas from the Colettes pop up store

I used bias leftover from another project for the armholes

I also used it for the hem

All in all, I love the dress. It makes me feel like wearing high heels and put make up on. It also can make me feel fabulous when I feel less nice. I really really like it and I will defenetly use this pattern again.

Hints on Winter: It Is Coming!!!

Hi everyone !

I have been busy ! And I have a lot of projects to show for it !

Are you ever in a mood where you feel like sewing, but not writing about it ? Well, that's basically where I was in the last few months. All in all, I have sewn 4 projects based on Colette patterns, 2 on Gertie's book, 7 on Burda patterns, 2 on Ottobre magasine, 1 on Vogue, a beautiful total of 16 done within a few months.

By the way, none of those were ready for my size and most had to be fully or partially upgraded. I actually really enjoy this part of the process !

Color blocking

Belt with...

Pink silk brought back from China

Liberty fabric from London!

I always complain about Burda but I kept on finding myself going back to them. I adopted a different way of starting up projects. In the past, I would jump on odd patterns that look interesting to assemble. Lately, I evolved towards « What would look good on me? » , « What can be used with the fabrics I have in my stash ? » and « What do I need ? ». I guess that this is a more reasonable to look at sewing. But it is, as I realised, still as fun.

In the past, I would almost just sew dresses, because they were cute and because the patterns looked cool. In the past months, I did « only » 8. It is still half of the 16 garments, but it is a project. The rest are seperates : 2 skirts, 3 poncho, 2 blouses, 1 pair of trousers.

Pockets or no pockets? Heavy or light fabric?

Top or Skirt?

I wear it all the time!!!

                    

I also used to watch TV series or movies while sewing. I now started to listen to audibooks. At the moment, it's Game of Thrones (I have been slightly obsessed). I am listening right now to Book 5 « A Dance with Dragons », Chapter 5. I sometimes drop everything I have in my hands to listen carefully. G.R.R. Martin has a gift to make you actually feel for aweful people.

What projects do you think I went for from Colette or Gertie ? What would you like to see in the next post ?

Are there any plus size related issues you would like me to look at ?

Let me know:)

A Liberty version of Rachel Comey

Fall is here and this is my first fall project!

Earlier this year, Mister brought back some beautiful Liberty prints from London. I have trained him well! One of the fabrics her got me is this beautiful Jack and Charlie Tana Lawn. When you see it from afar, it looks like a simple polka dot print, but it draws you in because from up close, you can see cute pears. It is a beautiful delicate cotton and the quality of the print is beautiful.

I have been waiting some time for the perfect pattern. I wanted to use these 2 meters to make a simple dress that has something special. I found happiness in the last fall collection from Vogue patterns: a really cool Rachel Comey dress: V1350: Lined dress has yoke fronts extending into sleeves, close-fitting bodice with side back seams, raised waist, semi-fitted skirt, side front extends to lower side back, no side seams, mock front bands, and concealed snap closing. I particularly like the neckline and the sleeves. I was also intrigued by the curved side seam on the skirt.

After my usual upgrading, I had to make a couple of adjustments. First, and almost as usual, I had to remove ease along the front neckline. Second, I had to raise the lower back seam. Surprisingly, the curved seam was quite easy to sew. You cannot really see it on the finished dress but it's quite a cool line. I really love this dress and it is my fall staple. The lining makes it warmer. It looks great with or without belts, cardigans, and a variety of stockings colors!

The princess seam on the back was quite tricky. The point had to be sewn in was the patch method. This is the first time I attempted it. The result is not too bad! You can see some of the patch fabric a the point but it's still good. If one of you has tips to get it in a smoother way, please let me know. I will try to do better next time.

I also decided to strengthen the armholes with bias inside the seam. I also used the same bias at the waistline. I wanted it rest better at my waist. I love the feel of it nicely snug. It makes the dress feel more precious.

I also love the lining. I avoided bright colors. I did not want a bright orange to peek through because I am planning on wearing bright stockings with this dress and I don't want any clash.

A few more close ups below. I always like how lined garments look like inside out!

Mini capsule for China

August has been crazy for me! I started a new job, I started a diet, I turned 31 and I went on vacation!

After August comes September. September is one of my favourite month to sew because it’s the beginning of fall fashion. I always feel like it’s a new beginning.

But before the fall mojo hits me, I would like to share some of my last summer projects!

In July ans August, I have been completely focused on preparing a Vacation Collection for my trip to China. I had already finished a Laurel dress. I just needed a couple of light linen separates that would be cute on photos, light in a sometimes tropical weather, easy to wash, quick to dry. I decided to make one pair of trousers, and one skirt.

For the skirt, I wanted something that would flow with the wind, but also easy to wear. I’s the first time I drafted a pattern for myself. Ok, that was an easy pattern… It only had a few properties:

-          Rectangle skirt, gathered at the waist

-          Added belt

-          Front of the belt interfaced and fitted

-          Back of the belt with elastic

-          Long in the back, high in the front

When I went to the fabric store, I chose a light blue linen. It felt quite thin in the shop but I realised later that it was a little bit too thick for the gathers.

Anyway, this project only took me a couple of hours. I cut the belt pieces and interfaced the front. I cut the skirt and drew the high/low hemline. I pinned the rectangle skirt to the belt and instead of the gathers I had initially thought, I made a few pleats. I just had to hem and it was ready!

Entry of a Buddhist temple

This was such a quick job and I really enjoyed having the result within one afternoon!

When in China, this was one of my favourite things  to wear because it made me feel so girly when the wind was blowing, making it fly, but still covering me. It was awesome in Hong Kong when it was almost 40 degrees (Celsius) and even better when we visited the Summer Palace in Beijing.

Victoria peak in Hong Kong with my good friend Rémy

The second thing I wanted to have was wide linnen trousers. I had purchased the Colette Juniper. I have a long history of try out and errors with trousers patterns, they never really worked for me. I thought that the Colette ones were nice and wide. I made a quick muslin and I loved the effect ! The pattern was so flattering. I usually have issues with the area right under my waist. It's droppy and looks awful. But the Juniper is nicely skimming that area.

I went with a beautiful ocre linen. It fit beautifully ! When in China, I loved wearing it the days we had to walk a lot. It was so comfy but became quickly too big because I lost 6 kilos between the muslin try outs and China so the waistband rested lower on the hips.

I am planning on using the same pattern, downgraded, later this fall.

I leave you with a few shots from our trip !

The ice mint dress

Wow! Summer!

What can I say? It's time for bicycle rides, barbecues, drinks with friends, but it is also time for renewed energy, longer days, and lust for new clothes!

After the Laurels, I wanted to work on a dress that adopted a true hourglass shape. I had found a gorgeous light cotton at my grand ma's and some appliqué she salvaged from a dress she made for my mum in the seventies. All I needed was the pattern! Now, this was before Colette launched the Hawthorn and this is why I picked up another pattern from Knipmode.

Knipmode is a Dutch magazine that works like the Burda. Melissa from Fehr Trade uses and reviews them quite often too. They usually have a lot of dresses patterns made for tricot and they also have very cool pants. For this project, I completely fell in love with this dress from the April issue. It has a very retro style and I love the lines on the skirt. And it has pockets!

I love the result! It feels quite precious and girly! I wore it yesterday to the cinema (World War Z was awesome) and today to work. I have received a lot of compliments in the hallways :) This dress is girly, comfy, light and precious in the same time. It was basically free! The fabric and lovely inserts were from my grand ma and the lining was leftover from a previous project.

This pattern only goes to a 46 (european size corresponding to 42 inches around the bust). Of course, I had to upgrade all the parts. I also had to adjust the neckline because it was gaping a little bit at the front. The rest did fit quite well.

I had to line the full dress because the cotton was too thin and you could see more than necessary through one layer. I have used a very thin lining, in a light beige color. To be honest, we had 30 degrees today and I did not feel too warm at all.

The pattern has a large V at the back. This is one of the details that makes the dress very flattering. It creates an illusion of a very balanced hourglass figure. The sewn in belt (insert lined with fashion fabric) has a contrasting color, also creating an illusion of a more "marked waistline".

I did my best to centre the pattern to keep things symmetrical. The pockets are such a cool detail too! I went a little crazy and hemmed my lining with a bias made of the fashion fabric. It is one of those details that make me smile. You would not find that on a dress purchased in the shop around the corner...

The last detail is the hem of the dress. I added a thin horsehair line to make it more rigid. That reinforces a lot the hourglass illusion.

Below, a few extra photos we took in the park behind our house. Our poor kitties were feeling so warm! Enjoy the summer everyone!