verypurpleperson

life
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Making tempeh

Now that the summer holiday is over and school has started again, I should have time to sew again! Unfortunately I guess the summer bug has got me, it is so hot in my sewing room upstair that I prefer to stay downstair most of the time. I’m trying to make a dress right now with tie-dye fabric from my mother but the progress is sooooo slow for such a simple dress. Anyway I made something else. The hot temperature is actually perfect for fermentation! So I thought about trying to make my own tempeh. Tempeh is a fermented soy product, […]

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bags and purses, kidswear
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Boy’s wallet

The last time I made a wallet for Sidra was three years ago when he was still in kindergarten. It is still in good condition, but Sidra asked for a new wallet with coin pouch because his coins often fall off his wallet. So this is (maybe) the last thing I sew before we leave at the end of this week. I didn’t really feel like making my own pattern, so I browsed around and found this PDF tutorial for Bi-fold wallet with lace from Napkin pattern at Etsy. The tutorial was emailed just a day after I paid. It was […]

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lingerie
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Black and white lingerie set

I always get nervous before going on a trip, and sewing is a way to calm myself. It is sort of like meditation to me because I have to put other thoughts aside and concentrate on this particular task. Of course I should be packing instead of sewing, but…. *sigh* Anyway, this is what I came up with last night, a lingerie set of one bra and two panties in black and white. The pattern is Merckwaerdigh Mix30 for both the bra and panties. This is a multisize pattern with the description as follows: Pattern MIX30 from Dutch design Merckwaerdigh with a good […]

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womenswear
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Red romper

I was planning to continue working on my bombshell dress when I got distracted by this newly released pattern from Tamanegi Kobo. It’s a jumpsuit pattern called Heliodor and Tamanegi Kobo is having 20% off sale for all patterns until the end of this month. I also happened to have the perfect fabric for this romper, very soft cotton voile from Fashionable Fabrics, which is another prize from my Spring Top. You see that I had no choice other than making this cute thing! The jumpsuit has sailor collar, elasticated waist with ties, side seam pockets and patch back pockets. As my fabric was […]

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life, womenswear
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Lace shorts (and a haircut!)

Another pair of pants! Or to be exact, a pair of shorts. This time they are for me, made with lace fabric that I bought last summer in Swany, Kamakura. I can’t believe I’ve waited one full year to finally used this fabric! The shorts have very basic shape with a couple of darts on each side, no pockets, and an invisible zipper on the side. The pattern is from Blouse, Skirt & Pants Style Book ―パターンのバリエーションを楽しむ―. I used style #11: Tight straight pants as a base for my shorts. The lace trim on the hem is from Maya Road, another […]

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kidswear
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Camel corduroy pants

Looks like I’m making pants all the time. Here’s a pair of corduroy pants for Sidra that I finished yesterday. The pattern is from a Japanese pattern book, シンプル&ちょこっとデザイン おんなの子服おとこの子服 and the fabric is Robert Kaufman cotton corduroy in Camel from Whipstitch fabrics, still from my Spring top winning . The pants have slim legs, patch pockets, and fully elasticized waist. My favorite part is this little triangle details on the back! The back pockets originally have flaps, but I forgot to cut them (-_-). I also added belt loops because Sidra uses them to attach his card wallet. He’s wearing them to school today. […]

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menswear
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Men’s Denim Pants

  A new pair of pants for my husband that I finished last week. The pattern is Men’s Jeans from Pumila, a Japanese pattern shop, with the same alteration as his previous jeans. The fabric is 8 oz Indigo denim by Robert Kaufman from Whipstitch fabrics, one of my Spring Top prizes.   Since the weight of the fabric is only 8 oz, the pants are quite thin. I forgot to take this into account and didn’t interface the waistband. As a result, the waist area got a little bigger after a while and is not as snug as before. I think I will take it apart […]

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life
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ima made zuuto zuuto arigatou gozaimashita

Redojiimu, our hercules beetle, died last week. Sidra was playing with his friends when he noticed that Redojiimu hadn’t moved for sometime. Although he knew that Redojiimu wouldn’t live long once he turned into a beetle, Sidra was hoping that Redojiimu would stay with us at least until autumn, so he was sad. We were very sad too. Redojiimu came to our house as a tiny little larvae when Sidra was still in first grade. He’s now in third grade. Two years might be a short time for us adults, but for kids at Sidra’s age, two years is quite a […]

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womenswear
41 Comments

Bombshell dress – cup alteration

This is the backside of my muslin. I have scoliosis and my curved spine can be seen clearly here. This might be the first time I ever photographed my backside deliberately. The last time I saw pictures of my backside is when I was 15 years old. They were laid on the table in front of me and I got a few disheartening comments (parents can be so inconsiderate!) about it. I got traumatized and avoided fitted clothing since then. Until now. I must say that sewing and blogging about sewing have helped me to see human bodies differently. I make […]

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womenswear
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Starting the bombshell dress

Apparently the repair was faster than expected, the repair shop sent my sewing machine back yesterday! The big box arrived in the morning and I danced happily all day. No more machineless week! I used it right away to finish my husband’s jeans. They only need to be hemmed now and I’m waiting for my husband to come home so I can measure the length of the legs. Meanwhile, I started to work on my bombshell dress. The smallest size of the pattern is 36, which is still too big for me. So I resized it to 96% of the original […]

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