Loooong overdue post! A few months ago I bought a couple of Japanese sewing pattern books called ‘I Love Tops’ and ‘I Love Pants’, both by Yuko Takada. The books feature tops and pants that look pretty casual and comfortable. I’ve been very happy with a couple of tops and one pair of pants that I’ve made from them. So it looks like I will continue making other patterns from these books. Top A is called ‘Half Sleeve Peplum Cut & Sewn’. In Japanese patterns, the term ‘cut & sewn’ means that the item is made from knit fabric. I have […]
Category: womenswear
Sequin Linden T-shirt and Ninni culottes
Have you seen the Spring/Summer 2017 collection: The Playground, from Named Clothing? It is inspired by the practicality and simplicity of childrenwear. I’m all about practical and comfort so I was very excited about this collection. It is launched two days ago and I immediately picked the simplest pattern to make, The Ninni culottes. It is a pattern for wide-legged cullotes with elastic waistband and in-seam side pockets. I made it in very stable black jersey. To make my life easier, I keep a Google spreadheet for all alterations that I have to made for each pattern. For Named patterns, I […]
Esme maxi cardigan and Linden sweatshirt
I’ve been wearing my wool coat that I made a couple of years ago everyday this winter. It’s a really great coat but I got a bit bored of it, so a simple long cardigan seem to be a perfect alternative. The pattern is Esme maxi cardigan by Named patterns. I made size 34 with lots of shortening alteration, 2 cm above the waist and 10 cm below the waist. FYI Named patterns are drafted for height 172 cm, that is why I have to do lots of shortenings for my 150 cm height. The fabric is grey sweatshirt fleece with brushed side in […]
Rosita’s jacket and Tokyo Comic Con 2016
A couple of months ago, my husband asked me if I would like to come with him and a friend to Tokyo Comic Con in December. I’m not really a big fan of crowd so I just told them to go ahead. But then our friend suggested that we’d picked a character and do a cosplay. More reason to sew? Now I’m interested! I was thinking of dressing as one of the characters from Game of Thrones, but then I thought the flowy dresses would only be worn for that one day. I’m not planning to do a lot of cosplaying so I […]
Yoga set OHM – Schnittchen patterns
Here’s my contribution to Schnittchen’s Sewing Around The World project. In case you haven’t heard of it, the project features 12 sewing bloggers around the world sewing Schnittchen pattern. My pattern is called Yoga set OHM, it is actually from the Winter 2015 collection. As the name suggests, this is a set of patterns for tank top, leggings, and a sweater made of jersey. You can wear them for yoga and they are comfortable too for lounging at home. Schnittchen patterns also sent me the fabrics. They are organic cotton jersey from Lebenskleidung in Berlin. These fabrics are so beautiful and comfortable! These […]
Kielo wrap dress #2
In my previous post about my Kielo wrap dress, I mentioned that I wasn’t quite happy with my fabric choice. So here is my second Kielo wrap dress! The fabric is quite interesting, it is actually two separate layers of thin jersey connected together around each dots. Not much to say about alteration nor construction. The only difference that I made for this dress is finishing the armhole and necklines with knit band instead of bias binding. I’m quite happy with this version! The dress is very comfortable and flattering. Pattern is Kielo wrap dress by Named patterns (PDF), size […]
Kielo wrap dress
This is the second dress that I made from the fabrics that I bought in Indonesia. The beautiful print and color combination caught my eyes immediately. The price is also a bargain at about USD5/meter. The fabric is stretch polyester and quite slinky. I knew that I wanted to make a dress with it, preferably with as little seamlines as possible so the beautiful print wouldn’t be cut. So I was quite happy when I stumbled upon Kielo wrap dress by Named patterns, a simple maxi dress with an interesting shape. It has diamond shape with two waist ties […]
Drape Drape dress no. 3
When in Indonesia last month, I met up with a couple of my good friends. They are both fashion designers, so of course one of our destinaton was the fabric store! I had often visited fabric stores with them about 20 years ago when the three of us were in fashion school, so it was quite a nostalgic journey. The store is called Pronto Moda in Mayestik area, Jakarta, quite a big store with four floors and a considerable choice of fabrics. It was not crowded at all, so the shopping experience was really comfortable. My friend told me that the fabrics in the […]
Pattern testing: Sophie Swimsuit
Summer is here and it means another good reason for a new swimsuit! Luckily a couple of months ago I was offered to be one of the pattern testers for Sophie Swimsuit by Closet Case Files. This swimsuit has classic silhouette and very flattering balconette cups. “View A is a classic one-piece with a pronounced hourglass shape and skinny elastic straps. View B mixes a bra-style halter tied top with an elegant high waisted bikini bottom. With a low cut leg and a full cup, both offer sexily modest coverage.” Initially I made view A in a quick muslin version only […]
Aging jeans
One of my most enjoyable sewing is making jeans. there are so many things that I can love from a pair of handmade jeans. I love the feeling of crisp denim fabric. I love cutting them and putting all the details into a pair of jeans. And when they are finished, I love watching them aged. After several years, they can look completely different from when they are fresh out of under the sewing machine. A pair of new and crisp jeans slowly turned into a soft and comfortable pair of jeans. The colour is fading, but it only adds character to […]