Thursday, June 27, 2013

Sewing the Trends 2013.

I love the idea for this series that Justine from Sew Country Chick kindly has invited me to participate in. Sew something for yourself showing one or more of the summer trends 2013. One thing is loving the concept another thing is actually knowing what the summer trends 2013 are....I had no clue. 
In my opinion there are two types of trend groups every season - the trends on the runway - as in what did the high fashion designers make for their spring/summer collections 2013 (check out THIS Pinterest board Justine has started) and then there are the trends of what normal people with some fashion interest wear in daily life. Those two trend groups are of course connected but usually the greater population are a few seasons after the designers. And what I am trying to say is that I am not really following what the designers put on the runways anymore (okay, I check my favorites like Marc Jacobs, Marni and Celine but that's about it)....hence the 'no clue' to the summer trends 2013. That does not mean I am not interested in it and in this post I am showing you my version of an outfit that unites the two trend groups.
I took a look at the previous mentioned Pinterest board and of course the graphic trend was calling on me. And to integrate that trend into what people are actually wearing right now I focused on colors that I would say is pretty hot right now the mint/aqua/pastels/metallic. 
The dress I would say is a fairly classic/timeless cut. And what makes me say that? Well, it is actually a dress from my spring/summer 2007 collection back when I had my women apparel company in Denmark, and in my humble opinion I don't think it looks particular outdated. 

The dress has raglan sleeves, covered buttons at the front and a few rows of shirring in the high waist/low empire cut and the sleeves. Simple and extremely wearable.


There is no tutorial for this post but I wanted to show you the pattern pieces for this self-drafted pattern.
I am not quite sure why but I decided to skip the side seams - it's been a while since I made it as you know - but skipped they are. And that gives a funny looking side, front and back top piece as you can see but it totally works, promise. The dress pattern pieces are put next to each other the way they are sewed together. No room on the left photo for the raglan sleeve and neck facing which you can see on the separate photo on the right.

The dress is made with what I think it my favorite buy from Fabric Weekend, LA. This beautiful mint/aqua thin cotton (almost voile type) fabric with those great big polka dots that almost looks like they are glued on top with tiny raw edges all the way around them. I bought it at Mood and that shop is AMAZING - I could have spend days (and fortunes) in there. Don't miss the opportunity if you come by their NY or LA shop.....or check their webshop.
Of course I bought it without having a specific idea of what to make with it so when I decided to make this dress I did not have quite enough fabric sooooo I decided to shorten it a bit.

Photos: Kasper Thye

What you see above are images from my spring/summer 2007 look book and as you can see did I offer it as a top and a knee length dress. For this post I guess I ended up doing a middle version of those two. Seeing the photos of myself I kind of wished I have had enough fabric to make it knee length because...well, you don't exactly think of sticks when you see my thighs but it is okay(-ish), sigh!

And then we have those leggings. It all started with Pinterest (of course). I saw a photo of the ever so cool Jenna Lyons wearing a pair of Celine pants. And first I made a pair of corduroy pants for Wilma. You can see the original Celine pants and my knock off HERE. Then I made a skirt HERE and then I made the kids leggings HERE. Phew, and now I made the adult version leggings too, wohoo. I wear leggings and dresses all the time but have never made a leggings pattern for myself before - ridiculous because that is actually quite easy! I am SO going to make a lot more of them. I mean the color combinations are endless, right! 

I love how the four fabrics in the leggings totally represent Fabric Weekend, LA. It is totally random that it ended like that - I DID choose what I thought looked best with the dress and together of course. Two fabrics from friday's shopping in LA's fabric district with Michael Levine as the biggest attraction and ehhh the other fabric is bought in one of the many small fabric stores that are around there. Then two fabrics from saturday where we first went to Mood and then some of us to SAS - a shop I would never even come near if I passed it alone (pretty sure I would not even go to that neighborhood alone) but I found some really really great things in there. Like narrow striped piping for 15 cent/yard (WHAT??? YES!!).

So here you have it, my version of Sewing the Trends 2013.
Don't forget to check out the other amazing ladies in this series. There will be links to them all on Sew Country Chick.


Thank you Justine for having me.

Friday, June 21, 2013

My first post for the Sewing Rabbit Creative Team 2013.

If you saw the announcement a few weeks back you know that I was one of the lucky ones who got chosen to the Sewing Rabbit Creative Team 2013 and today my first post is on.
I am one of the last ones on the team to do my post and I am definitely feeling the pressure. My teammates have been amazing so far! You should definitely check them out. See the button on my sidebar.

I have made another version of the skirt I made for Skirt Week at Crafterhours. And as you might remember that was a pattern drafting tutorial so this time I made a full sewing tutorial for it like I promised.

It is photo overload for sure but I think you will find some tricks there that you might not knew before......maybe.

Here is the new version. 

Here is the first version.
Funny how different fabrics can give SO different looks, right!

Now jump over the Me Sew Crazy and see the tutorial.
I hope you like it!

And if want to see other skirts from me check out my tutorial page on Sew Set or HERE on the blog.

Monday, June 17, 2013

SONP 2013 - Elastic waist skirt with in-seam single welt pockets - TUTORIAL.

Holy smokes do I have a tutorial for you guys today.
This is part of Summer of No Pants 2013 (SONP) on the great blog Hideous! Dreadful! Stinky! (yes I know, that name is hilarious! And since I had the pleasure of meeting Marigold (and how is that for a cool name by the way!) at Fabric Weekend, LA I can tell you she is exactly the opposite - beautiful, clever, funny....and not stinky at all, ha!) So if you are coming by from there....welcome to my blog! 

So what are we doing today you might ask? Well, around a year ago I made a pattern drafting tutorial to THESE elastic waist skirts with pockets and when I got the chance to do a tutorial for SONP I thought hmmmm, I have actually never made a sewing tutorial for that type of skirt. That changes today! Being the annoying person I am, of course I had to change something from the skirts I have already made. And I came up with this in-seam single welt pocket (yes, I have totally gotten help to that description - thanks Shannon!).
But the measurements from the pattern drafting tutorial are still working and I am giving you the info you need for these pockets in this post - I hope...otherwise please feel free to ask!!
Let me first give you a short explanation to the magic change of fabric and colors along the photos in the tutorial...argh, I know!! So I was sewing the orange and coral skirt and taking the photos for the tutorial along the way. When I was done sewing I uploaded the photos and saw that the photos for sewing the single welt on the skirt - and this is for sure the hardest part of this skirt - does not work at all - grrrrrrrrrrr! SO what to do...well, the easiest solution for me, since I can't do graphic design, is to simply cut another skirt and photograph the steps I needed again. And this time I got what I needed. But there was no way I was going to make another skirt in the same two fabrics (I am not that crazy) and since this neon pink polka dot from Michael Levine had been calling on me since Fabric Weekend I decided to use that instead. You can see the other finished skirt HERE.

So now that we are past the little bumps on the way let's get this tutorial started, shall we!

I am only showing you the pattern piece for the front skirt because the back skirt is exactly the same as the one showed on in the pattern drafting tutorial - except you have to cut of that top strip for the color block piece and add seam allowance (if you want the color block version of course).
I am adding interlining to the 6 x 20 cm welt pocket pieces. I would for sure recommend you do that too so that the pocket openings holds up.
After you put the interlining on then fold and iron the welt pocket pieces so they becomes 3 x 20 cm - right side out.

And now I hope the photo collages should tell you the rest you need.




I do have one small change that I only did on the neon pink dot version. Before sewing the side seams together on the waistband, I cut of 1 cm on each side of ONLY what then becomes the front waistband. That way the side seam and therefor also the pockets gets pushed a bit forward on your body and simply looks better when the skirt is worn.




And now to the finished result worn by yours truly.

Oh and this is the full skirt version and the neon pink dot/yellow is the less full version. (You will understand what I am talking about when you see the pattern drafting tutorial.)

That's all for me. Thanks Marigold for having me.

Tuesday, June 11, 2013

Fabric Weekend 2013 - Los Angeles + GIVEAWAY.

I have made a new skirt. But not just a new skirt..... it is the first item I have made with fabric bought on the Fabric Weekend 2013 - Los Angeles-trip. Yeah!


And it kind of makes sense that this was the first fabric I cut into because it was my first stop on our trip, Michael Levine. Smack in the middle of fabric district in LA.
Me and Christina from 2 Little Hooligans came basically directly from the airport (with 5 minutes break at the hotel to drop off our luggage) both from 5 hour cross country flights and the lunch they served probably saved our lives a little bit before they gave us a tour of their 3 stores right next to each other and then send us off on a fabric frenzy.

You can find them here: 
Michael Levine, Inc. - Main Store 
“Everything In Fabrics & Notions”
920 Maple Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90015
Phone: 213-622-6259
Store Hours:
Monday - Saturday: 9:00am - 5:30pm
Sunday: 11:00am - 4:00pm
email: store@lowpricefabric.com
www.LowPriceFabric.com 
Website Customer Service & Internet Division
Phone: 213-488-9003
Customer Service Phone Hours:
Monday - Friday: 9:00am - 5:30pm
Home Décor Store
Upholstery, Indoor & Outdoor Fabrics
Located across the street from the Main Store
919 Maple Ave.
Los Angeles, CA. 90015
Phone: 213-689-1363
Store Hours:
Monday - Saturday: 9:00am - 5:30pm
Sunday: 11:00am - 4:00pm
the Loft
Fabric sold by the pound!
Located on the 2nd floor above the Home Decor Store
917 Maple Ave.
Los Angeles, CA.  90015
Phone: 213-622-0507
Store Hours:
Monday - Saturday: 9:00am - 5:30pm
Sunday: CLOSED


If you don't live near LA they also have an excellent website where you fx can buy the neon dot quilting fabric I used for this skirt. Find it HERE. I also bought it in orange and yellow - I could simply not choose. So look out for that on the blog another time.
I already had the bright yellow cotton poplin at home but THIS - also from Michael Levine - seems like a pretty good match.

You could also check out your local Jo-Ann Fabric store who always seems to have what ever you need.
They carry tons of quilting fabrics and poplins which is perfect for this type of skirt. And of course the elastic, interlining and thread that you need also to make this skirt.
My local Jo-Ann has this address:

Jo-Ann Fabric and Craft
4412 Falls of Neuse Rd
Raleigh, NC 27609-6230
919-876-8803

But with 790 stores in 49 states there is for sure one near you too!

If you like the skirt I have made you should check back in here this monday where I am posting a full sewing tutorial plus showing another version of this skirt as part of the Summer of No Pants 2013 series on the lovely Marigold's blog Hidious! Dreadful! Stinky! 


Fabric-weekend-giveaway

One GRAND PRIZE winner!

Brother 1034D serger! (donated by GoToPatterns.com)

Four lucky winners will receive $150 in prizes!

$50 to GoToPatterns.com

$50 to LowPriceFabric.com

$50 for a class at Craftsy.com

Go-to-patterns-star-logo
Michael levine logo
Craftsy logo
Contest Rules:
Giveaway open internationally to contestants 18 years or older. Contestants must enter their email address to be added to the LowPriceFabric.com and GoToPatterns.com email newsletters to win. All prizes are awarded in the form of gift certificates. Winners responsible for paying shipping. Gift certificate value of serger is $210. Contest open from June 11, 2013 through June 20, 2013 EST. Winners will be notified within 24 hours of winning. Winners have 48 hours to claim their reward. New winners will be chosen if prizes are unclaimed. Winners will be emailed their rewards within 7 days of claiming their prize. ONE ENTRY per person. This contest is being held on multiple blogs. Please enter only once. You will be counted only once.

Monday, June 3, 2013

Culottes, Pattern Drafting Tutorial

I realized I have done a few tutorials as guest posts but I have never brought them home to my own blog which is kind of silly because that makes linking them up on my TUTORIAL page a bit complicated. Soooo here comes one of them from a guest post last summer on the lovely Justine's (which I now after Fabric Weekend consider my friend - we were roomies and boy is she funny!!) blog Sew Country Chick. This is part one that focus on drafting the pattern for the culottes. For part two, which is a sewing tutorial to the culottes that was posted on my own blog, click HERE


I will hurry up and admit that these culottes are a GAP knock off. 
Here you see the 'original' GAP culottes.

Tutorial:


1) To make the pattern I started thinking whether I already had a pattern I could use as a base for these shorts and I was in luck. Do you remember THESE shorts? The pattern for those shorts is what you see above. What you need to use this tutorial is any pair of shorts with an elastic waist. So to make the culottes we need to add much more width in the legs - kind of logic, right!

2) It is obviously a big help to have the item you are copying liking so much that you want another one, in your possession. I measured the GAP culottes and compared it to my base pattern. I started by adjusting the side seams, then the curve of the waist and finally elongated the crotch seam.  

3) What we have done up to this point is added width to the crotch area and we obviously want width in the whole shorts leg. And the way to get that is what you see above. I needed to add 8 cm / 3.1 in to the back and 9 cm / 3.5 in to the front pattern piece. If I would have needed to add more width I would have cut up the pattern more but for these numbers I only cut each pattern 3 times. You cut all the way up until there is like 1 mm (in inches? Very little ;-) left and then spread the pattern part till you get the desired gap (you can see the numbers on the photo above). 

4) Then you fill out the gaps by putting paper under and draw your new and now curved lower shorts edge with lots of width and you are now ready to cut and sew your culottes.
I have put on the measurements on the pattern parts for a size 3T* on the photo above and I hope you will be able to make them yourself. 
Please note that the measurements above are WITHOUT seam allowances so please add that in the drafting process.
*You might wonder why I am showing you a pattern for a size 3T and then showing you photos of my 4.5 year old daughter who use size 5T. Weeeell, ideas has been flowing between Justine and I and originally I made a pair for my 2.5 year old who uses size 3. In the end we decided to focus on the (reversible) pair that Wilma is showing below. Don't worry though I will show Evelyn and her pair of culottes next week. (you can see them HERE).
Since I also own the GAP culottes in size 5 (yes, at least I did pay for the product and then copied liked so much I had to make more) I compared the size 3T and 5T and the only difference was the length of the legs that was 1.5 cm / 0.6 in longer than 3T. I decided to extend them further and make them 3 cm / 1.2 in longer than size 3T. Otherwise I kept  them exactly the same.

Click HERE for part two of this post that focuses on the sewing.