The Winners And the Last Giveaway

Winners of the Patrones Kids magazines are: Lory and Elizabeth. Please send me your mailing addresses on: aikkam at gmail dot com.

I'd also like to ask Sharon, the winner of the first giveaway to send me her address.


In the last giveaway of this year you can get the Patrones Pleno Verano or the La Mia Boutique June 2008. Both are spring/summer issues.



As usual, I'll send magazines to any part of the world. Put down which magazine you'd like to have.
Closing time for the giveaway is December 31st 24.00 EST. Good luck :)

Happy Holidays

I wish you all happy holidays...

Magazine Giveaway No.2

Ok, next giveaway.....

Here are two Patrones kids magazines. The first one is Patrones Ninos Fall/Winter 2008 issue; and the second one is Patrones Disfraces, which is kid's costumes issue.



To enter, please leave a comment below. Closing time is Monday 22nd 24.00 EST.
Please put down which magazine you'd like to win.

I forgot to mention in the last giveaway that I'll send the magazines anywhere in the world.

I will choose two winners, of course, if only one person enters, that person gets both magazines :)

Good luck...

And the Winners Are....

I decided to have two winners, so each one gets one magazine. My sister drew the names from the bag.

The winner of the La Mia Boutique is Sharon.

And the winner of the Burda Easy Fashion is Dawn.

Congratulations to the winners. Please send me your snail mail addresses. My email is: aikkam at g mail dot com.


Another giveaway coming right up......

Magazine Giveaway No.1

Since it's December and the holidays are around the corner, I decided to give away a few magazines and patterns.

This weekend it's time for Burda Easy Fashion Fall and La Mia Boutique May 2008.



(click on image to see bigger size)

Anyone interested leave a comment to this post until Monday 15th December 24.00 EST and on Tuesday I'll randomly pick one lucky winner :)

La Mia Boutique 09/2004 - Top #12

This is a pattern for a non-fitted turtleneck with dropped shoulder-seams and wide waistband.

Fabric used: 4-way stretch cotton jersey. I didn't use the rib knit as pictured in the magazine, since I couldn't find any locally.

The pattern: The pattern has 5 pieces, only 3 (the front and back bodice and the sleeve) are included in the pattern. You have to draft 2 rectangles for the neckband and the waistband yourself, according to the instructions: 40cm X 18 cm and 38cm X 20cm respectively. The measurements are for the Italian size 38, which corresponds to European 36.

What bothered me the most about this pattern is the fact that the photo in the magazine doesn't correspond to the given pattern pieces.
First of all, the neckline. The neckline (on the bodice) on the magazine photo is wide, so that the turtleneck is quite loose and not tight around the neck. Well, on the pattern pieces, the neckline is drafted as if it would be on a basic T-shirt pattern. And the neckband comes quite tight around the neck.
Since, that was not the look I wanted, I lowered the neckline by 1 cm all the way around. I should have lowered it a bit more. In addition, the length of the neckband is, according to the instructions 40 cm; but if measured, the neckline is 44 cm - that was prior to my alterations. That makes the neckband even tighter and certainly not loose as shown on the photo.

Second issue was the waistband. The instructions have you cut the 38cm long waistband. However, those 38cm correspond to the width of the bodice and when you attach the bodice, you don't get that loose bodice with fitted waistband as pictured. I had to take in the bodice by 4cm to approximately achieve that look. I know I didn't use the rib knit for the waistband; but even if I did, I still wouldn't get that gathered look.

Here are some photos of the finished garment:




Construction wise, the top went together easy. I first joined the front and back bodice at the shoulder seams, attached the sleeves in flat. Sewn the side bodice seams together with sleeve seams. I then attached the neckband and the waistband.

I really like the idea of this pattern, and I will make this pattern again with some major alterations. I'm not disappointed with the results, but I wish my top looked more like the photo in the magazine.

Jalie 2449

Pattern Description: From Jalie website: Easy-to-make stretch top with crossover neckline and choice of short or 3/4 sleeve.

Pattern Sizing: Pattern includes 22 sizes. I made size R - women size 4.

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

Were the instructions easy to follow? The instructions are clear and easy to follow.

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern? I like everything about this pattern. The style is wonderful and versatile. The only thing that I found strange was the neckline on the back because the fabric is simply folded and stitched. I'll probably change that and add a neckband next time.

Fabric Used: Jersey knit.

Pattern Alterations or any design changes you made: I wanted long sleeves, so I lengthened them by approximately 30cm. I also found the top to be a bit short, so I added a band, approximately 5cm wide, to the waist. I would have simply lengthen it, but I forgot to check the length before cutting the pattern out. Ups.

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others? Definitely.

Conclusion: Wonderful and easy to make top. I had this pattern in my stash for quite some time and I really regret not making it sooner. This pattern's a real winner.

Here's the picture of me wearing it:


Notice the drag lines across my bust? Those weren't there while I was trying on the top during construction. I was however wearing a different bra, so that could be the cause.

Here are photos of the back and close-up of the waistband:

WOF 08 / 2004 #142 top

I made a muslin for this Burda top. I made size 34, but as I see now, I should have made it in 36. I'm still quite happy with the results, except that my muslin knit fabric turned out to be too stiff for this top. As you can clearly see in the photo of the back the fabric should have more drape.

Here's the picture of the muslin:




As far as the construction goes, it wasn't as difficult as it looked on the first sight. My instructions were in German - not my strongest suit. I tried to make sense of it, but I couldn't quite get it. Finally, I just wrote the numbers of notches on the fabric and placed them together accordingly. And it worked.

The only thing I don't like is the waistband part. It came out too small. The problem could be the fabric, or I could have made a mistake in construction or that I made it one size too small. I'll figure it out until I make a real version of it. Btw, there's a seam on the front of my waistband that shouldn't be there. I had a limited amount of this fabric and I couldn't cut it on fold.

Also, I noticed that this top is really short.I thought it was longer based on the one on the model. But again, this could be solved with a bigger size.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Here's another top I made. Inspired (or shamelessly copied) by Adriana's version posted here.

Sewing Plans and Inspiration

Lately I have been inspired by draping features in both tops and bottoms and oversized looks.
Here are some of my inspirational pieces for fall/winter tops:

Robert Rodriguez and Revolver tops:

Design History & Rick Owens tops:

(All pics taken from Bluefly.com and Net-a-Porter.com)

I'm completely inspired and in love with Design History looks. Here's a link to their looks on Bluefly.

I'm also inspired by Adriana's creations over at The Princess Seam blog. Adriana is genius in my book, superbly talented and overall gorgeous.


On my sewing table:

Ever since I saw this top made by Adriana, I couldn't stop thinking about it and I had to make my version of it (Adriana, I hope you don't mind). The top is almost finished, I still need to hem it and then I'll post pics.


On my cutting table:

Burda WOF 08/2004 #142 top




Progress:
I've traced the top. The pattern pieces are a bit unusual and my German is quite poor; so there will be a lot of guessing involved with this one.

It's been a while...

I can't believe I haven't posted since July. Time sure flies. A lot has happened in the past months.

On September 8, I had to say good-bye to my pet bunny Aika. She died of a stroke. Luckily, she didn't suffer much. She truly was the best bunny in the world and she's greatly missed every day.



Second major event/change in my life is the fact that I decided to quit my job. I figured that working 10 or more hours a day, having no free time and having your personal life reduced to eating and sleeping was not exactly my cup of tea.

So now while I'm on a search for a new job I finally have some time for myself and sewing.

Happy sewing everyone!

P.S.: I promise my next post will be sewing related :-)

I'm Officially Fluent in Business English!!!!!

I passed the Cambridge Business English Certificate with A grade!!!!! Woohoo!

I'm proud as peacock right now :D



I'll leave you with a picture of my Hibiscus plant:

Quick Update

Unfortunately no sewing done here. My JCC is still waiting to be finished; but you know how it is, sometimes life gets in the way.

So what have I been up to...
Well, I've spend 3 days in Spain on a business trip, previewing the fall/winter collection of the brand I work for. I had a wonderful time and I met some wonderful people.

While I was away, we were having some terrible storms in Slovenia. During one of those storms, the lightning hit somewhere near our house and a few appliances went dead. One of them was my computer. I had to go without it for a week, but I'm back online now. Thank god, none of my machines got hurt.
The weather has been completely out of control this year. About a week ago, the first ever tornado hit my country. Luckily, nobody I know got hurt. It was a small one, compared to those I'm used to seeing on TV, but even the thought that tornadoes are going to become a part of our climate is frightening.

On the more positive note; well, on the wonderful and exciting note.... I'll get a promotion. I'll be the store manager. I'm still on training, but once this becomes official (in a few weeks), I will have a fixed schedule of 8 hours per day (finally), my paycheck will increase. Which equals, more time and money for sewing :-) Woohoo


I've been listening to some audio books on my way to work lately. And one of them was Eat That Frog by Brian Tracy and I truly recommend it. It has some wonderful tips on how to stop procrastinating, which is one of my huge problems; and I've decided to incorporate those tips into my life. It's funny how you already know practically everything, but it's not until you hear them said out loud, that you become aware of them. I had a few light bulb moments while listening. So no more procrastination from now on, not for me.

One of the decisions and priorities I've set up for myself is also to write here more often. So keep checking back ;-)

Simplicity 4020

This is my first top for my JCC.

Pattern photo:


My top:


Pattern Description: Misses pullover knit tops. I made view E; short-sleeved kimono style top.

Pattern Sizing: 4-20. I made size 10 straight out of the envelope and it fitted perfectly.

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

Were the instructions easy to follow? I read through them, but didn't follow them exactly. The top is pretty easy to put together.

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern? I like everything about this pattern: the kimono sleeves, the fitted bodice.

Fabric Used: Red matte jersey.

Pattern Alterations or any design changes you made: Pattern alterations: As far as sizing is concerned, I made no alterations. Size 10 fitted me perfectly. What a pleasure!
I reduced the SA to 0,7cm because I was short on fabric. I left the 3,2cm hem allowance but only made 0,7cm hem. I found the top to be too short for my figure. I'm short-waisted with D-cup and I find longer tops more flattering.
I also shortened the neck band by about 2cm for snugger fit.

As for the construction, I sewed the entire top with my SM. MY serger refused to cooperate on this project so I used my trusting SM. Even if my serger did cooperate I would have sewn the back seams with my SM. I found that if you use your SM and press the seams open, you get more polished and less bulky seam.

I used a seam-a-steam alternative on sleeve hems. I found it at my local shop and I decided to try it. I'm satisfied with the results.
Sleeve hem:


Additional views:





See the Stitcher's Gulid page on my monitor :-)

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others? Yes and yes!

Conclusion: This top is a wonderful addition to any wardrobe. You can dress it up or down, wear it with dressy pants or a pair of jeans. I definitely recommend it!

JCC Plan

This will be a short entry.
Unfortunately, I haven't done any sewing. I had to work Saturday, so I only had Sunday left for relaxation and hobbies.

I finally decided on the plan for the June Capsule Contest.



Patterns from left to right:
Simplicity 4020
Jalie 2449
Burda WOF 5/08 #103
Patrones n.241 (February 2006) Chind trousers


Progress:
All patterns for tops are traced and cut.
All fabrics are washed.

I've been tagged....

... by Marita at Paradise for Me

1. What was I doing ten years ago?

Ten years ago I was 18 (I feel so old now) and was studying for final exams to finish the Grammar School. That was also the first and the last summer that I had whole 3 months of pure freedom with no exams and no serious job. Those were the days.

2. What are 5 things on my to do list today ?

Today's an easy day. I'll go to lunch with my BF. Later in the evening I have to do some studying for my exam on Wednesday. I still have to finalize my pattern choices for the June Capsule contest.

3. Snacks I enjoy?

Fruit, dried fruit (I *love* raisins), nuts, wholewheat bread with cheese or tzatziki spread (yummy). And the not so healthy snacks: chocolate in any form.

4. Things I would do if I were a billionaire?

Travel the world. Buy a house with a huge walk-in closet and a pool. Fill the closet with designer clothes and shoes. Buy a small weekend house in Greece.

5. Places I have lived ?

I've only lived in Slovenia.

6. What type of work have I done?

At the post office counter
On the phone company's info hotline (for years)
As a simultaneous translator in the chiropractor's office
Now: as a merchendiser and window-dresser.

7. 6 peeps I want to know more about?

Everybody I want to tag has already been tagged....

June Capsule Contest and Great Finds

I decided to join the June Capsule contest on Stitcher's Guild. One of the reasons being that I need a pair of nice summer pants and the second reason that I need garments that coordinate.

Here are the rules of the contest:
The contest will run June 1 - June 30.

Rules:

1. The capsule will consist of four garments and one accessory (purse, belt, headband, jewellery, etc). One of the garments must be a top, one must be a bottom, all the tops must co-ordinate with all the bottoms and the accessory must co-ordinate with them all.

2. One of the items can be purchased and one can be made before June.

3. All the other items must be sewn, knitted, crafted etc during June.

4. Twist: no black items.

5. Everyone who tells me they want to enter the contest and makes at least one item can vote on the winner.

6. At the end of the contest people can send me photos and I'll post them in sets on Flickr. We should have four photos - one showing all the garments (composite or hanging or whatever) and three of the wearer modelling the items. No flat photos of the clothes please.

Here's are my fabrics for the contest:



I'll be making pants (bottom fabric) from off-white stretch cotton; and 3 tops. I haven't chosen the patterns yet.

Click here for the official thread.



I did some unintentional fabric shopping this week. One of my favourite stores also sells bolt remnants by kilogram. These are usually plain knits wonderful for T-shirts, but sometimes dull and in strange colours.
Well this week, they had these wonderful prints and I bought a few.

These are small pieces from 60cm to 1m (0.6 yards to 1.1 yard):



But these ones are huge. The largest is about 3m (3.3 yards) and they were super cheap:




These will make wonderful dresses, won't they?

This weekend will be my last weekend studying; after that I'll be free. I can already hear my machines calling me.

Happy sewing everyone!

Lesson Learned

Lesson Learned:

Yesterday, we had a party at my office as it was one year since our stores opened. As usually, I had nothing appropriate to wear. After I decided on the pants and shoes, finding the appropriate top became a mission. At 6 o'clock PM (I had to leave home at 9), I decided to sew the sleeveless version of the Burda WOF Twist top. I've made this top before, I should be able to make it again in three hours. Well, apparently sewing under pressure is something I need yet to master. Everything went well, until it was 8:30 and I still needed to hem the top and finish the sleeves (not to mention shower, put make-up on, etc.).
I decided to do the lettuce edge on the hem - looks nice, it's fast. It worked well. I tried to do the same on the sleeves but it looked awful. In a panic, I decided to trim off the lettuce edge, leave it unfinished and finish it the next day. Here comes the lesson: don't use shears in a hurry and a panic. I trimmed off too much and made a complete and utter mess: gaping and uneven armholes, reveling seams and fabric; you name it.

As it was time to leave, I put on a RTW top and a jacket. The funny thing is that I spent an entire evening outside with my jacket on. If I had known that before I would've saved myself a lot of nerves and fabric. Oh well....

Closet Cleanout

It is that time of the year when I usually take everything that has accumulated in my closet out, go through it with a critical eye and put everything in three piles: 'keepers', 'menders' and 'never-use-never-will' pile.

Ever since I started working in a clothing store my wardrobe became full of RTW pieces. Part of the problem is that my job requires me to wear clothes from our store. And since the store I work in sells mainly casual clothes, my work wardrobe is very casual - mainly jeans and T-shirts.
The other reasons for my wardrobe expansion are employee discount and sales.

So, after dividing everything into three piles, I assessed everything that was in the 'keepers' pile and realized the following:

CASUAL CLOTHES:
jeans - I have plenty - I get two pairs of jeans for free from my company every season
T-shirts - have enough
sweatsuit alternative (both tops and bottoms) - enough - I usually spend weekends and my free time in nature or doing somethings sporty, so I need and use plenty of casual wear
shorts - have a sufficient number
skirts - three
dresses - I have one single beach dress
outerwear - could use more, but it's not a priority


NICE CLOTHES:
In this group belong clothes appropriate for office work, interviews, parties, special occasions and events, etc. Basically everything that is not casual.
Now here I have a huge problem.

tops - I have two tops that could pass as appropriate
pants - one pair of winter pants
dresses - none
skirts - none
outerwear - one black winter coat

Quite bad, right?

My current job doesn't require nice clothes, but every now and then an occasion or event comes up where I need something nice to wear and then I sadly realize that I do own the perfect dress for the occasion, but it's still waiting to be sewn.

I need to focus on sewing nice clothes and I need a plan. I also decided to sew outfits instead of single garment pieces. That is because when I sew an individual garment, I have nothing to wear it with, so the poor thing just hangs in my closet waiting for better days.

I'm still working on a plan. I probably won't be able to focus on it until beginning of June due to my work and studies; but then I'll definitely start building a better, more functional wardrobe that won't allow me to find myself in one of those 'I-have-nothing-to-wear' situations.


I'm leaving you with a photo of a tulip I took on an annual tulip exhibition I visited recently:

Jalie 2682

I haven't completed a project in over a year. So this would be my comeback :-)

Jalie 2682





Pattern Description: From Jalie's web-site: Stylish V-neck top, raised neckline at back, with or without sleeves. View A has a zipper at front neckline for more coverage.
I made view B without sleeves.

Pattern Sizing: I started with size R, but ended up taking in a lot.

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

Were the instructions easy to follow? Yes.

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern? I love everything about this top, especially the neckline.

Fabric Used: Green jersey.

Pattern Alterations or any design changes you made: First I made a muslin and the top came out too big; not comfy big, but BIG. The only place it fitted right was across my chest. Since the fabric I used was thin and more on the fancy side and I also prefer my tops more fitted, I ended up taking over 3cm (= 1.2 inches) at the sides, but only on the lower parts, not the bodice. I also took in a little on back bodice part as well. If I were making it in a different fabric, especially thicker one, I wouldn't have taken in so much.

Second alteration I made was I lowered the bodice seams by 1.5cm (=0.6 inches) because with the original pattern, the seam came up too high on my bust. Naturally, I had to lower the back bodice seam also to keep seams in balance.

One thing I also noticed with the muslin was that serged seams came out too bulky, especially the ones between the bodices and the lower parts of the top. So I decided not to use my serger and sew the seams with my SM. I presses the seams flat and as you can see on the pics there are no bulky seams anywhere.

More pics:

Side view:


Back view:


Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others? Yes and yes. This just became one of my favourite patterns and I will definitely make it again.

Conclusion: As I said, I fell in love with this pattern. If you're looking for a quick and easy top that looks fab, this is the pattern you're looking for. And the best thing about it is that you can dress it up or down depending on the fabric you choose.
Big thanks to Leslie in Austin for sending me this pattern.

Blouse Sloper

I've been working on my blouse sloper for a long time. Now, with some time off work, I've finally finished it.

I drafted the pattern myself using the Rundschau technique. The biggest problem I faced was my bust and measurements connected to it. For example, armhole width is derived form bust circumference. In my case, my bust is big (I'm D cup), but my arms, back and waist are small.
It took a lot of tweaking and re-drafting to finally get to this:

front:


side:


back:


On the photo of the back, please ignore the right side of the photo - I made adjustments only the left side of the blouse lol

I'm not entirely satisfied with it yet. Do you see the puckering on the top of the darts on the back? I still need to fix that.
And also if you look at the side photo, there are some lines at my waist. I'm not sure how to get rid of those. I've tried taking in the sides and widening the back dart; it looked fine, but I couldn't close the blouse anymore.

Still some minor details to figure out, but, overall, I'm happy with the results.

New Toy

I bought this beauty today:



Isn't it pretty? It's an Olympus mju 840 in Candy Pink colour.

I'm off to play with it.

Inspiration

My job has been hectic lately. I can't wait until Thursday when things will finally calm down and I will work normal hours.

I haven't done anything sewing-related this weekend. This weekend was all about spending time with my DBF and relaxation.

And what does a girl do when there's no time to sew? Shop and dream about sewing :-)

I'm in love with May issue of Burda magazine. The dresses are fabulous! These are my absolute favourites:

This one is my absolute favourite. This pattern would look as good in blue jeans as well as in some wool fabric for a winter version.


Second favourite. Perfect for summer. And I just bought the perfect shoes to go with it :-)


Love the detailing on the waist.


Gorgeous. I'd just make it shorter.


I also love this top:


Speaking of dresses.. I added two Hot Patterns to my collection - my first Hot Patterns that is. I bought the famous Cosmopolitan dress and the Cha-cha-cha dress.

I also subscribed to Burda magazine and the Patrones. I cannot buy the Patrones here; I can get Burda at every newsstand, though, but I figured it saves me time to have it delivered to my home. Plus, nothing beats the feeling of coming home beat and discovering a package. Speaking of which, I just received the new Patrones Joven issue and I love it.

Now if only there were more hours in a day. Anybody know of a good website where you can order time?

Clothes: More for Less or Less for More?

Yesterday I had a debate with my co-workers on the subject of buying clothes. The main question was: Do you rather buy less, but higher quality and therefore more expensive? Or do you prefer to buy more clothes that are more affordable (not so say cheap) and of poorer quality?

I definitely belong in the first category, which made me the odd one in the group. I hate spending even the smallest amount of money for, let's say a T-shirt, that will lose it's shape after one wash. And buying it's replacement (more than once), makes you spend more money than you ever intended to.
I hate buying something I really like, wear it three times and realizing that the hems have raveled.
I don't need a closet full of semi-fitting garments, just so I can wear something new every day. I rather have less but better-fitting garments.
I, definitely, don't want to buy a garment that needs fixing and altering before I can wear it. If I have paid paid for it, it should be wearable.

And don't get me wrong, I LOVE clothes and my closet is anything but empty. But I hate wearing something that doesn't fit, or something you have to adjust every minute because it looks good only in one position, having seams pulling in all directions, loose threads hanging form every seam, etc.

I do understand that fabrics and garments have expiration dates, especially when worn frequently, but surviving the first wash shouldn't represent a challenge, even for a 5€ T-shirt.

What do you think?


On the sewing note:
No major progress. I am, however, trying something new for me. I always thought you needed at least half a day off, to get some sewing done. But lately I've been trying to do something sewing related in short 15, 30-minute intervals before and after work. And, so far so good. I never knew how much can be done in such short time.

Progress on the Skirt and More Fabrics

I finally had some time off to start working on my skirt. I'm using this pattern:




It's pattern number 5 view B, from the Fall/Winter issue of Burda Quick and Easy.

Progress:
Pattern modification: The pattern has 4 pattern pieces: center-front, center-back (both cut on fold); and left and right sides cut 2 times each. Based on my muslin (sorry, no pic), the skirt was too long; so I lowered the waist by 6cm and shortened the skirt by 5cm. I didn't want to just shorten it, because that would cause the skirt to lose it's bell-shape. Plus, the waist was too high for my preference.
Since I lowered the waist by 6 cm, the skirt was too wide at the waist. To retain the ratio between the pattern pieces (the front pieces are wider than the side ones), I narrowed the side pieces by 6mm on each side, which gave me 4,8cm less on the whole circumference. I left the front pieces untouched. Clear as mud?

Here's a pic of the fabric and cut pattern pieces:



I would have assembled the skirt, but, unfortunately, I ran out of thread :-(


One more thing I did over the Easter holidays is I went through all my Burda WOF magazines. I photo-copied all the technical drawings, put them in a binder. Then I went through the WOF archive on the Burda web-site and marked all the interesting patterns based on the photo and technical drawing. I found lots of very nice patterns that fashion photos just don't do them justice. So many interesting details are lost when they make patterns in solid colours, especially in black.


And ... I also bought more fabrics:

knits:


shirt-fabric - I have no idea what it's called:


denim and striped-knit:


I apologize for the quality of the photos - they were taken with my mobile phone.