sewing | delfinelise

Cutting fabric for more than one project at a time.

January 3, 2012 in fabric, sewing

Since I spent most of my sparetime yesterday cutting fabric, I was curious if anyone else does that too? Cut fabric for more than one project at a time, that is?

Yesterday I cut out six projects, two dresses, two skirts, and two shirts for my darling.

I think it´s a good way of saving time, as my dining room table gets to step in and play the role as cutting table, I like it to not be covered in fabric all the time. I also find that it´s easier to begin a new project if it´s already cut and ready.

How about you? Are you one of the lucky one´s with a designated cutting space, or are you stuck with similar solutions to mine? I´d love to know!

Tags: cutting fabric, fabric, sewing
23 Comments »

Fun!

January 2, 2012 in color, fun!, inspiration, sewing, spring

First of all: Happy New Year, everyone! I sincerely hope that this will be a wonderful year for all!

The last couple of years, I have been focusing on putting together a thought-through and balanced wardrobe, but this year, in 2012 I am going for the fun!

As I now have a closet full of practical everyday wear, I want to focus more on unique clothing, and on evening wear. Updressed casual daytime clothing is where I excel, but I´d like to not have to rummage my closets in panic each time I´m going to a party or I´m going out for drinks. I usually end up in black, and although I love black, it´s not really representative for me to always wear black – I love color too!

So here are the colors of my Fun!-palette. These colors are bright and fun, and I love to wear them. The emerald-ish green color represents everything green in my plans. I have a couple of different fabrics in a range of greens and teal, and I want to wear more of them! I used to wear red all the time. But as my wardrobe is slowly changing into a handmade one, the red didn´t come along! This has a lot to do with the fact that I´ve had such a hard time finding red fabric, so when I´ve finally found some, I have been excused from my Stash Bustin´and have bought a couple of meters. The navy blue and the eggshell white are both staples in my wardrobe, and the coral is so fresh and spring-y. I have one particular coral colored fabric that I´ve been wanting to use for ages! This is the time for it!

When it comes down to picking patterns, that will be more difficult (yet Fun!), because there are so many gorgeous ones to choose from, and I really want to explore unique styles and techniques. One guideline will be Sewing trough the Decades as I still love to explore patterns from different eras and styles.

So there you have it, I am going to have some fun this year! Hope you will too!

Tags: colourlovers, fun, inspiration, palette, sewing
19 Comments »

Fall Essentials Sew Along: The Summary

December 9, 2011 in fall essentials sew along, sewing

Although I haven´t made everything I planned on making, and even if I have made some changes, I feel that I have completed the Fall Essential Sew Along. It´s been so much fun to see what everyone have been doing over at the Flickr group, and reading all the blog posts! I love these types of sew-alongs, where we all just cheer each other, and everyone can sew in their own tempo. It fits my schedule perfectly, as I have some of spare time in certain times of the year, and zero in other.

Just to refresh your memories, dear readers, this is what my original FESA- plan looked like:

Now, I made some changes during the fall, and you can read all about my different choices here.

I ended up not using the houndstooth fabric and one of the dress patterns. I do plan on using both the gorgeous fabric and the pattern, but I´ve decided that fabric and pattern didn´t work together that well. I want to make a little outfit with a skirt and jacket out of the houndstooth fabric, and I am itching to make a red dress pretty much like the one on the cover of Simplicity 7766, but I don´t have an appropriate fabric in my stash, so I´ll have to go hunting for one, if I´m going to be able to make it.

Out of all the items I made, the BurdaStyle dress is the one item I´ve used the most. I wear it all the time! I work from home a couple of days of the week, and there isn´t much that can compare in comfiness to a knit dress, warm tights and a cardigan! The yellow shirt is what have gotten the least wear, I´m not quite sure why, but I´ve been in a casual dressing mood of late, and silk shirts doesn´t really fit into that category. I am sure I´ll get more use for it when I change into another, more up-dressed mood.

Here you have them, all of my FESA- items in one collage:

As you see, I´ve added my Tabby Tam as well, as I thought it fitted into the color scheme rather well. It´s been great fun sewing and knitting this autumn, and a big thanks to Ali, Sarah and Alessa for arranging the Sew-Along!

If you are participating in this or other challenges, how are you doing? Have you been making any changes in your plans?

Happy sewing!

Tags: sewing
6 Comments »

FESA: The corduroy pants

November 11, 2011 in challenge 2011, color, fall essentials sew along, pantalon, pattern review, patterns, sewing, stash bustin´, Thrifts

Edit: I had no idea, but a post over at the Coletterie stated that it is Corduroy Appreciation Day today! Fitting, no?

So, I finally finished my corduroy pants! I´ve been wanting to make a rust colored pair since seeing Carolyn´s version. I have already told you about the beginnings of these pants, so here comes the finished product.

I used BurdaStyle Magazine 10-2010-110, omitting any back pockets and leather details. Just as for the shorts I made using this pattern, I got good help on zipper insertion from sewing goddess Sandra Betzina in this video over at Threads.

I am pleased with the final product, and they came out the way I wanted them to be, but I am reminded, while wearing them, that I am more comfortable with a side zipper. I just feel more at ease having the zipper out of the way! So I´ve actually started on another pair of corduroy´s – with a side zip…

On the pictures I wear them with a knit top I made from a scrap of the same fabric I used for the knit dress.

BurdaStyle Magazine 10-2010-110

Pattern size: 34-42

Avaliability: BurdaStyle Magazine

Pattern type: Pants

Rating: Highly recommend

Pattern Description: Flat fronted, mid-rise trousers with faced waist, fly front, slanted hip pockets, back single welt pockets, underlap with button for internal closure, outer tap with button for another waist closure.

Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it? If I ignore the fact that I did some changes, yes.

Were the instructions easy to follow? I didn´t really follow the instructions, as I wasn´t going to have all the details that is included in this pattern. But the instructions seems to be quite thorough, when I look at them in magazine!

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern? I like the leg finish, and the side pockets. I also love the rise. On second thought I am not too fond of the front fly zipper, but that is only my personal taste, and has nothing to do with the quality of the pattern!

Fabric Used: I used a thrifted corduroy fabric.

Pattern alterations or any design changes you made: I used a different zipper insertion method, I omitted the outer tap with button in the waist, and I omitted the leather placket on the legs, and I also didn´t include the back pockets, all of which makes my version of this pattern much easier than the original.

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others? As I have already made the shorts from this pattern, I think I might not use this again, but you never know? I will recommend it to others who want a pair of pants in this style!

Conclusion: A well constructed pattern with lots of options for unique details!

Tags: burda, burda 10-2010, corduroy, pants, pattern review, patterns, sewing, thrifty
15 Comments »

The anniversary outfit: Pattern Review for Simplicity 1782 and Burda 02-2011-107

November 2, 2011 in embrodery, pattern review, patterns, retro, Sew Retro, sewing, Sewing Through The Decades, stash bustin´, vintage

Eight years ago, my darling and I met at a Halloween party. I can´t believe how time flies! So, to celebrate, we went out on a dinner date on Monday (yummy Italian food), and I got a chance to wear two of my newest creations, a 40´s top I´ve been dying to make since I got the pattern, and a pencil skirt in my new favorite color!

I got the pattern for this top at midvalecottage, and I was initially drawn towards view no. 2 with the balloon style sleeves, but I chose to make view no. 3 first, mostly because that was what I had enough fabric for! I used a gorgeous drapey black fabric and black and silver beads for the embellishment. You can´t see the embellishment as well as I´d wish, but I made a little flower using small Czech beads. So fun to do!

Pattern review for Simplicity 1792 (1940´s pattern) Misses blouse

Pattern size: Size 14 (bust 32)

Avaliability: Vintage Simplicity pattern

Pattern type: Misses blouse

Rating: Highly recommend

Pattern Description: The blouse has shirring at sides, dart-fitted back bodice, snug dart-fitted peplum or peplum with bias flare, side zipper closing, and your choice of collarless V-neckline or collarless jewel neckline with diamond keyhole and string tie closing. Add tapered cap sleeves, below-elbow balloon sleeves dart-fitted to bias-bound edges, or tapered long sleeves with snapped vents at wrists. Your choice to accent blouse with embroidery and sequins.

Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it? I was very satisfied with the finished look in comparison to the pattern drawing!

Were the instructions easy to follow? The instructions were quite easy to follow with illustrations and written descriptions that was easily understandable.

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern? There are so many details on this pattern I love! The idea for embellishments, the peplum, the side shirring and the sleeve options were all details I love! The pattern came with instructions (that I followed) about how to make a closing with snaps and hook & eye. Because my fabric is black it doesn´t show much, but I think an invisible zip will add less bulk in the side seam for the next version of this.

Fabric Used: I used a drapey cotton, perhaps cotton/rayon blend, fabric bought at Les Coupons de St. Pierre in Paris. I think this blouse would look equally good in other types of fabric as well, taffeta or silk dupioni would be fantastic!

Pattern alterations or any design changes you made: I didn´t make any alterations.

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others? I would love to make another version of this, perhaps try view no.2 with the balloon sleeves in a emerald green dupioni I´ve got lying around!

Conclusion: A gorgeous vintage pattern that really pays attention to detail without being overly complicated. I love it!

Pattern review for BurdaStyle Magazine 02-2011-107

I´ve been wanting to try this pattern for a while, so when I found this fabric I knew exactly what I could use it for!

Pattern size: 34-42

Avaliability: BurdaStyle Magazine 02-2011 and burdastyle.com

Pattern type: skirt

Rating: Highly recommend – and great for beginners!

Pattern Description: high waisted pencil skirt with gores in the back.

Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it? Absolutely.

Were the instructions easy to follow? I didn´t follow the instructions as this is a fairly uncomplicated type of skirt.

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern? I love the gores in the back, it makes it very adjustable, and I also like that it is high waisted.

The skirt teamed with my newest version of Sorbetto.

Fabric Used: I used an upholstery cotton velvet fabric that I couldn´t resist when I visited IKEA (stash busted!).

Pattern alterations or any design changes you made: None.

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others? This will be my go-to pattern for high waisted pencil skirts, no doubt about it, and I can absolutely recommend it to others!

Conclusion: Classic pencil skirt with some cute details, it took me two hours and forty minutes to make this (hemming by hand included), a definite winner!

Including the Sorbetto pictured above, I´ve got three new garment to incorporate into my wardrobe as we are heading towards the festive season. I might be wrong, but I think that the black top is the first garment I´ve made using a 1940´s pattern, and so it fits into Sewing through the decades! And yes, I´ve got a new haircut…

Enjoy your week!

Tags: blouse, burda, burdastyle, pattern review, patterns, pencil skrit, retro, sewing, simplicity, simplicity 1782, skirt, vintage, vintage pattern, vintage patterns
18 Comments »

Pattern Review: BurdaStyle Magazine 03-2010-101A aka The Summer Coat.

October 27, 2011 in pattern review, patterns, prints, retro, retro style, sewing, Uncategorized

Back in May, after getting the flu from biking on a chilly night, I decided I needed a summer coat. Unfortunately, I lost my sewing mojo over the summer, and so this coat wasn´t finished until last week. The idea of this coat is to have something to throw over thin summer dresses in those cold summer nights we have up here in May and June. After taking these photos, I discovered that the coat is wearable in October as well, although teamed with some layers underneath, hat, scarf and mittens!

My initial idea was to make it out of linen, or something neutral colored, but when I stumbled upon this fabric when I visited a friend in Paris in June, I was sold. The fabric, together with the style of coat is a wee bit over the top, and must be carefully teamed with other garments to not look crazy. We discussed this during SSS, you know, where do the line go between “retro vibe”, and “costumey”? I guess it´s all about accessorizing, and how a garment is worn, as well as that my own personal style limits are pushed further and further the older I get.:-) How do you resonate about incorporating vintage looks into everyday outfits?

Pattern size: 36-44

Pattern type: Raglan sleeve lined coat

Rating: Highly recommend

Pattern Description: Raglan sleeves, large Peter Pan collar and 7/8 sleeves. Fully lined and with welt pockets.

Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it Yup. Pretty much.

Were the instructions easy to follow? As per usual, I had my Vogue Sewing handbook at hand at all times when things got confusing in the pattern instructions, mainly for the welt pockets and the collar attachment.

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern? I really love the simplicity of the pattern and the clean lines. I also adore the collar, and the sleeve length. What´s not to like?

Pocket detail

Fabric Used: I used a cotton jacquard I got at Les Coupons de St. Pierre in Paris. The fabric is navy blue and silver, and is actually equally gorgeous on the wrong side of the fabric. I had some initial thoughts about leaving it sans lining, but then thought I would get more wear from it if I did line it. The lining fabric is a navy rayon lining.

A close up of the fabric

Pattern alterations or any design changes you made: I did a FBA on the bust dart. Otherwise, the only design detail I changed was to not roll up the sleeves.

Out for a stroll in the Botanical Gardens.

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others? If I need this type of coat again, I will definitely pull out this pattern. The jacquard is rather stiff, but I imagine this coat getting a completely different look in a more flowy fabric. I can absolutely recommend this to others!

Conclusion: A pretty, easy to make coat in an over-the-top fabric for those days when a little dressing up is in order!

Wow, so that collar really needs a better pressing!