I almost hesitate to post this because I'm not convinced I'm going to be able to pull this project off, BUT posting the process here puts pressure on me to actually follow through. I should preface this by saying the last piece of clothing I ever made was an embarrassing jumper back in 1991 in my 7th grade sewing class. I got a C-. My teacher was gracious.
Over Christmas I purchased a pile of heathered green jersey on clearance and figured it would be a cheap way for me to gain some experience working with jersey (edit: no, i wasn't thinking of old t-shirts in that moment, duh!). There are some other fabrics lying around that might get used, but this jersey is pushing me. So, I've got a hankering to make my own tunic top, or lightweight, long summer cardi. Here's what's got my wheels turning:
The Prudent Baby blog is basically amazing when it comes to a constant stream of tutorials. You don't need a child in your home to appreciate all the fantastic ideas posted! The freestyle hot mess mommy dress caught my eye, but I'm not sure about the pleats on the back or the not-much-going-on front. I like the length and overall idea, though. And, while I don't know what to think about shirring on me, I really like everything else about this most flattering shirt dress. The minus-5-minute tank top tunic has a lot going for it, but I'm not wild about the bum-flashing side slits and the need to have a good hip-slung belt to really make it work.
Still, the concepts are catching my eye! I feel like I need to take stock of how things are assembled, what my priorities are, and what I think will actually look good on me. It's complicated!
A plain front is, well, plain. I want some kind of detail to add a bit of interest (and distraction) to the front. Even the simple single gather on the top on the far left, from Asos, looks do-able. Of course, that side-pull ruching on the dress in the middle (from NY&Co) is really cool - this dress can be short or ankle-length thanks to that ruching! So the concept is pretty nifty, but the follow-through could break me. I like the simplicity on this summer flyaway vest from Forever21 (edit: check out this 30 second tutorial on how to make your own vest), and the shoulder detail on this top from Bonaparte. Hmmm....
But details in the front don't necessarily a great top make, right? If it's cut like a sack, it's going to hang like a sack and, unless you're a pencil, this generally doesn't do any body favors. So, the overall shape and structure of the piece is important. I like v-necks, or asymmetrical necklines, like the green top on the left by Etsy seller BE visable. The side gathers on the green top are cool, too, but overall it feels a little too over-the-top to be something I'd feel comfortable wearing. I love the droopy neckline of the gray dress by Kupra in the top right corner - in fact, I could see myself wearing this dress as it is (but then you'd need the belt!).
Another seller on Etsy, Galinesa, does a great job w/diagonal stripes and asymmetrical seams. Overall the dress and top are a tad too bold for me, but I like where she's going. This is either really complicated, or easier than it looks. I wish I had one of those dress forms to play around with!
And then I saw this dress by Etsy seller, Kupra, in Israel. I LOVE this dress! (no surprise, she also made that gray dress, above) It's clean and simple, but not basic or plain looking. The attached side-tie-sash is a subtle accent, as are the black buckles on the straps. I like how there's enough going on visually, and in an understated kind of way.
Even though the torso would have to be longer, I think something like this could look good on me if it the top/skirt connected at the right area. This is the part where I hate being both short-waisted and tall - nothing ever falls correctly on me! I'm tempted to try something like this dress' style sometime, probably playing with the concept in another Prudent Baby tutorial, called the 10-minute onesie dress - although obviously on a tank or T-shirt!
So, you see, I have a lot of ideas floating around in the back corner of my brain! I'm sort of scared to try sewing anything that could be called clothing, but I think if I don't try, I'll never know, right? And then there's that whole thing of: practice makes perfect, ha!
Have you ever sewn your own clothes? Did it turn out better than you thought, or did it fall in the 'epic fail' category?
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
Earth Day Balcony Fascination
We've been chilling on our balcony enjoying this streak of unbelievable sunny, spring weather here in Germany. I've been stumped on a few projects, so the balcony has been a great retreat in terms of being the perfect place to dream.
Today's Corner View theme is "Earth Day" and I thought this shot of a bee zipping over one of our planters full of spring flowers was appropriate. For more Corner Views from around the world, check out this list over on Spain Daily.
Today's Corner View theme is "Earth Day" and I thought this shot of a bee zipping over one of our planters full of spring flowers was appropriate. For more Corner Views from around the world, check out this list over on Spain Daily.
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Roadtrip 2010: dream Helsinki
Another stop we're dreaming of on this summer's roadtrip is Helsinki, Finland. Just looking at these pictures gets me all hyped up because it's yet another spot on the coast, which means seeing lots of water! I miss the ocean so much!
We'll take a ferry from Stockholm and meet our dear Finnish friends on the other side. Seeing old friends will be awesome because it always is. Especially ones we haven't seen in over 2yrs!
Maybe we'll go check out the big flea market while we're there. Maybe we'll eat elk. Or salad. Or both. We'll certainly hit up a Marimekko store!
We'll take a ferry from Stockholm and meet our dear Finnish friends on the other side. Seeing old friends will be awesome because it always is. Especially ones we haven't seen in over 2yrs!
Maybe we'll go check out the big flea market while we're there. Maybe we'll eat elk. Or salad. Or both. We'll certainly hit up a Marimekko store!
What would you do in Finland?
Saturday, April 10, 2010
Sewn: Pieced polka dot tablecloth and napkins
Now that my office/sewing room has been reorganized (I'll post pictures when the doors to our storage finally come in), I have space to create once again! Hooray! After completing some mending projects, I set off to cut into some of the fabric purchased at last year's Stoffmarkt (fabric market). I knew I wanted to create a tablecloth and napkins, but I wasn't sure about the design...it took me a while to figure it all out!
I had seen this tutorial for a pieced tablecloth last fall and had filed it away for 'one day'. It ended up being a great springboard for what I ended up making! I also used their clean finish corner tutorial to make neat corners on my tablecloth. I wish I had also used it with the napkins, but oh well. If you haven't checked out the Sew4Home sewing site, you should - it's got tons of great home dec projects with well-photographed guides; perfect for a beginner like me!
We're really happy with the end result! I have to say cutting the fabric was REALLY hard for me. Not only was I trying to do it on the floor (long story), but I discovered it had been cut and printed crooked, so once I tore off the edges to at least find the grain, I then had to just tell myself to 'deal' w/crooked prints and ignore them so my project would hang properly. Then I realized I should have used less tension in my stitching on the center panel of the tablecloth; it puckers here and there and no amount of ironing will get it to chill out, so unless I want to have a seam-ripping party, I'm going to have to live with it. I also must improve on my straight-seam skillz. This is mainly due to my impatience and desire to see it finished, no matter how crooked it looks. I need to slow down!!
But it's super cute! I love the little white polka dots next to the white pom-pom trimmed chair pads! I love that making napkins is easy, and I'm definitely going to make more. I just plan to make them bigger next time...a little 'oops' of mine for making them only 17" (43cm) square this time around!
If you'd like to make this tablecloth, here are the measurements I used for my Björkudden Ikea table. Keep in mind this is for our little kitchen table, meaning I didn't want a long, formal overhang! *I did my measurements in metric just because I have a hard time with math and it's easier for me to deal w/metric decimals rather than Imperial fractions.
The finished tablecloth is 150cm x 105 cm (or roughly 59"x 41"), allowing for a 15cm (~6") overhang on all sides.
* 2 panels (mine were red) 48.5 x 156cm (or ~19" x 61")
* 1 panel (mine was floral) 22 x 156cm (or ~9" x 61")
My napkins were supposed to be 50 x 50cm, but I ended up making them only 17" square, which is really too small, I think. That's what I get for mixing Metric and Imperial with my own little ideas of how big an informal cloth napkin needs to be, but live and learn, right?!
Assemble using the applicable sections of this tutorial, finishing your outer hem and corners with this tutorial. Assuming you don't have the freak-out problem I do when it comes to cutting fabric (ie, I measure about 400 times before I cut), the table cloth and four napkins should take you just a morning or afternoon to complete. Yay for finished projects!
I had seen this tutorial for a pieced tablecloth last fall and had filed it away for 'one day'. It ended up being a great springboard for what I ended up making! I also used their clean finish corner tutorial to make neat corners on my tablecloth. I wish I had also used it with the napkins, but oh well. If you haven't checked out the Sew4Home sewing site, you should - it's got tons of great home dec projects with well-photographed guides; perfect for a beginner like me!
We're really happy with the end result! I have to say cutting the fabric was REALLY hard for me. Not only was I trying to do it on the floor (long story), but I discovered it had been cut and printed crooked, so once I tore off the edges to at least find the grain, I then had to just tell myself to 'deal' w/crooked prints and ignore them so my project would hang properly. Then I realized I should have used less tension in my stitching on the center panel of the tablecloth; it puckers here and there and no amount of ironing will get it to chill out, so unless I want to have a seam-ripping party, I'm going to have to live with it. I also must improve on my straight-seam skillz. This is mainly due to my impatience and desire to see it finished, no matter how crooked it looks. I need to slow down!!
But it's super cute! I love the little white polka dots next to the white pom-pom trimmed chair pads! I love that making napkins is easy, and I'm definitely going to make more. I just plan to make them bigger next time...a little 'oops' of mine for making them only 17" (43cm) square this time around!
If you'd like to make this tablecloth, here are the measurements I used for my Björkudden Ikea table. Keep in mind this is for our little kitchen table, meaning I didn't want a long, formal overhang! *I did my measurements in metric just because I have a hard time with math and it's easier for me to deal w/metric decimals rather than Imperial fractions.
The finished tablecloth is 150cm x 105 cm (or roughly 59"x 41"), allowing for a 15cm (~6") overhang on all sides.
* 2 panels (mine were red) 48.5 x 156cm (or ~19" x 61")
* 1 panel (mine was floral) 22 x 156cm (or ~9" x 61")
My napkins were supposed to be 50 x 50cm, but I ended up making them only 17" square, which is really too small, I think. That's what I get for mixing Metric and Imperial with my own little ideas of how big an informal cloth napkin needs to be, but live and learn, right?!
Assemble using the applicable sections of this tutorial, finishing your outer hem and corners with this tutorial. Assuming you don't have the freak-out problem I do when it comes to cutting fabric (ie, I measure about 400 times before I cut), the table cloth and four napkins should take you just a morning or afternoon to complete. Yay for finished projects!
Handmade: Traditional German Egg Decorating
I mentioned we usually attend a regional Easter egg market in a little village nearby. The women in this area have been practicing this for well over a century. It's evolved from more traditional to more modern techniques. There was also a display feature this year on traditional dress. Keep in mind this is done in a small village, not the MFA, so the displays are simple, yet still captivating.
Here are some of the traditional scarves that are worn has a kind of half scarf, half shawl, and typically tucked into the apron. I love the little girl's cardigan and the color of the baby's wrap.
Here are some traditional girls and boys formal attire. I love how colorful everything is! I feel like so often I think of the past in black and white, but it wasn't!
These are a eggs (some hen, some ostrich, etc) decorated with lace and cross-stitch scraps. Some cross-stitch patterns are made especially for the eggs. I really like how she really tries to work with found items - it feels like each egg has a rich history.
These are some painted eggs. Nature themes, like birds and flowers, are popular. There were also two old children's Easter books on display. Really old German, it was so hard to read!
This is one of my favorite artists. She paints eggs (and a few storage boxes) of all kinds with her stories. Some have a story that can be rolled out like a scroll and stored in the egg, others are simply small paintings depicting a scene, while others (goose eggs and larger) will show a painted spiral of a story so that as you turn the egg, you can read a rhyming story beneath it. A goose-sized story egg starts at 70 Euro, so you can imagine how expensive the ostrich eggs are! Still, we've collected a few of her hen eggs over the years, as you can see below.
Here are some of the eggs on our Easter tree. I didn't get a picture of the whole tree, but here are some of the painted bunny eggs. We only have 2, but the scenes are painted all around each egg.
These are the other eggs we have. My mother-in-law gave us the egg with the strawberries on it this year. The blue egg is typical traditional style for our region and has a saying written on it in old German. The verse is one that I love, Jeremiah 29:13, "God says, You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart."
Here are some of the traditional scarves that are worn has a kind of half scarf, half shawl, and typically tucked into the apron. I love the little girl's cardigan and the color of the baby's wrap.
Here are some traditional girls and boys formal attire. I love how colorful everything is! I feel like so often I think of the past in black and white, but it wasn't!
These are a eggs (some hen, some ostrich, etc) decorated with lace and cross-stitch scraps. Some cross-stitch patterns are made especially for the eggs. I really like how she really tries to work with found items - it feels like each egg has a rich history.
These are some painted eggs. Nature themes, like birds and flowers, are popular. There were also two old children's Easter books on display. Really old German, it was so hard to read!
This is one of my favorite artists. She paints eggs (and a few storage boxes) of all kinds with her stories. Some have a story that can be rolled out like a scroll and stored in the egg, others are simply small paintings depicting a scene, while others (goose eggs and larger) will show a painted spiral of a story so that as you turn the egg, you can read a rhyming story beneath it. A goose-sized story egg starts at 70 Euro, so you can imagine how expensive the ostrich eggs are! Still, we've collected a few of her hen eggs over the years, as you can see below.
Here are some of the eggs on our Easter tree. I didn't get a picture of the whole tree, but here are some of the painted bunny eggs. We only have 2, but the scenes are painted all around each egg.
These are the other eggs we have. My mother-in-law gave us the egg with the strawberries on it this year. The blue egg is typical traditional style for our region and has a saying written on it in old German. The verse is one that I love, Jeremiah 29:13, "God says, You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart."
I do believe that is true. I hope you had a joyous Easter. We certainly did.
Rejoice for he is risen! He is risen indeed!
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
Roadtrip 2010: dream Stockholm
Another stop we're dreaming of on this summer's roadtrip is Stockholm, Sweden.
A capitol city stretched out over more than 14 islands? Oh yes, please! Hopping off and on the water taxis in the hot summer sun with those endless nights...oh yes, we will visit. We might even sleep in a boat...
We'll certainly explore a little of old-time Sweden (Skansen) while we're there, and maybe pop into the lobby of a little bit of new Sweden while we're at it (The Rival, an ABBA bandmate's hotel).
Have you ever been to Stockholm? What are your favorite things to do? Or what do you dream of seeing if you could go?
A capitol city stretched out over more than 14 islands? Oh yes, please! Hopping off and on the water taxis in the hot summer sun with those endless nights...oh yes, we will visit. We might even sleep in a boat...
We'll certainly explore a little of old-time Sweden (Skansen) while we're there, and maybe pop into the lobby of a little bit of new Sweden while we're at it (The Rival, an ABBA bandmate's hotel).
Have you ever been to Stockholm? What are your favorite things to do? Or what do you dream of seeing if you could go?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
