Sewing for Me

Sorbetto and I

/ Melanie/ 3 Comments

Hello all!

Well, what should I say. It’s not working out between Sorbetto and me. I’d even go as far as saying that it’s over. But let’s start at the beginning: I discovered the free Colette pattern for “Sorbetto” quite early in my sewing career. As probably all of you already know, the pattern comes with different views, with and without sleeves, with and without a center fold in the front. I really liked the version with the fold – it turns a rather basic top into something special, in my opinion. I downloaded Sorbetto, but never quite got round to actually sewing it. Until I saw a really cool cactus fabric in one of our local fabric stores back in May. (more…)

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Sewing for Me

Purl Soho Wear Anywhere Tunic aka „Pocahontas Dress“

/ Melanie/ 2 Comments

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Hello all!

I normally don’t like beach vacations. I prefer travelling around and sightseeing, so that’s what we normally do. Last year we travelled to Sri Lanka, and since it was VERY hot, we decided to go against the rule and squeeze in a couple of beach days. Lounging around in our cute B&B on the beach made me realize that I have a lot of practical travelling/city trip clothes, but not one piece that I can just throw over my bikini while going to the bar or restaurant. My next sewing project was set! (more…)

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Sewing for Me

Maxi, Maxi Skirt!

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Diesen Blogpost gibt es auch auf Deutsch!

Hello all!

Last week I told you about my fabric shopping adventures in Vienna. In the end, I was very, very disciplined and only bought one lovely pink cotton fabric with flowers at Komolka. When I bought it, I was thinking about the pyjama pants from Tilly and the Buttons’ book “Love at First Stitch”… but the longer the fabric was laying on my table, the louder it was whispering “maxi skirt…. maxi skirt… maxi skirt…” Which is weird, because I never, ever wear maxi skirts. I am quite short, and maxi skirts make me feel like I am disappearing in the fabric. But if a fabric is so certain what it wants to be, you have to give in, don’t you? (more…)

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Sewing for Me

Smocking Svenja

/ Melanie/ 4 Comments

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Hello all!

I’d like to introduce you to Svenja. I met Svenja on Pattydoo’s website when I was searching for a quick-to-sew summer dress for wovens. For years, I wore a RTW cotton summer dress from H&M when spending a day at a lake or a beach. I’m surprised the dress held up as long as it did, but this summer I finally needed a replacement… So I searched the internet for patterns for wovens because I hate the feeling of jersey on sunscreen drenched skin (and as I’m extremely light-skinned, I am always lathering on layer after layer of 50+ sunscreen :-)). Also, I wanted a pattern without fiddly closures, no zippers or buttons. In combination with woven fabric, that narrows down the field quite a lot… So I had been looking for a while when I stumbled upon Svenja! (more…)

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Sewing for Me

Pink, Pink, Pink – Hot Pink Crepe Dress from Gertie Hirsch

/ Melanie/ 3 Comments

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Hello all!

My favorite birthday present last year was Gertie Hirsch’s „Gertie’s Ultimate Dress Book“: a wonderful thick and heavy ringbound book filled with beautiful dress patterns and tipps on sewing them. But let me tell you, these are no projects for the faint-hearted – the dresses are true labours of love! No quick, one-evening sews – but when we received an invitation for a winter wedding, I went straight for Gertie’s book. As the wedding was scheduled for November, I wanted to make a pattern with sleeves and settled on the Hot Pink Crepe Dress. You don’t have to make it in pink, of course, but in my opinion, nothing trumps pink – so off I went in search of the perfect fabric! (more…)

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Sewing for Me

Labour of Love: My Alex Shirt Dress

/ Melanie/ 4 Comments

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Hello all!

When Lisa from Sew Over It published her ebook „My Capsule Wardrobe: City Break” last year, I fell head over heals in love with the concept: five patterns that make up an interchangeable capsule wardrobe for a weekend city trip! I bought the book straight away, and then the usual happened: I got sidetracked with other patterns I wanted to make, and the ebook lay idle at the base of my pattern pile… until one rainy day this March during our vacation in Scotland. (more…)

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Clemence Skirt from "Love at First Stitch", Tilly And The Buttons - Full ViewSewing for Me

A British „Dirndl“ skirt: Clemence

/ Melanie/ 10 Comments

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Hello all!

Those of you following me on Instagram or on the blog here know: I am a huge fan of UK pattern designer Tilly and the Buttons. I have already shown you my two Cocos here on the blog (a dress and a sweater), and today I’ll talk about a make from Tilly’s book “Love at First Stitch”: the summer skirt Clemence! The pattern for Clemence is a self-drafted pattern. Tilly explains how to take your measurements and turn them into pattern pieces to make up the skirt. Making the pattern pieces is simple, as all of them are rectangles. The skirt is fitted at the waist by gathering the hem, no darts or other more complicated fitting techniques needed! (more…)

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Coco from Tilly and The ButtonsSewing for Me

Accidental Coco hack

/ Melanie/ 7 Comments

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Hello all,

while I was sewing my first Coco dress from Tilly and the Buttons, I had already decided that I definitely needed a sweater version of this pattern. I am so in love with the neckline, and I wanted to be able to match such a top with jeans. Plus, the pattern already offers a dedicated “sweater hemline” – so making a sweater is a quick job. (more…)

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SewHouse7 Toaster #1 Cowl NeckSewing for Me

My second Toaster

/ Melanie/ 3 Comments

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I was all set for spring: the tulips and bellflowers were blooming, I had taken the first ride on my standup paddle board, and on my cutting table I had laid out a beautiful flowery viscose and a shirt dress pattern. And then winter came back. At the end of April, it snowed so much in Munich that there was a white blanket on all the spring flowers and trees. I was imagining thick, cozy sweaters instead of light, flowery dresses – and couldn’t stop thinking about the great sweat fabric that I recently bought in Edinburgh. After finishing my first berry-coloured Toaster #1, I had been planning on making another version with thicker material anyway – and the terrible weather gave me the chance to do that now instead of next fall (great opportunity for my stash, as the sweat takes up a loooot of space in the closet). (more…)

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Sewing for Me

Sewing Jersey with a normal sewing machine: My shirt Agnes

/ Melanie/ 2 Comments

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Hello all,

when I started sewing, I kept strictly to woven fabrics (probably like most sewing beginners). I read about jersey shirts and dresses on blogs and on Instagram, but everybody was talking about „serging“ and „sergers“ and the knives on the sergers, and somehow I was overwhelmed. I was sewing on my mum’s 25 year old Pfaff sewing machine, and I had to google what a “serger” actually is. So, I decided that sewing stretch would just have to wait until I was able to afford first a new “normal” machine and then later, maybe, a serger. (more…)

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