Pyjama Party!!!

Karen at Did you make that? is hosting another pyjama party in June (starting June 3rd - yes, I'm taking a bit of a head start, although not with sewing - June 23rd being the big reveal). This was partly inspired by the release of the new Sewaholic Pattern: Tofino Pants. If you haven't heard of the last year's party, you can read about it here. I was so sorry to miss it last year, this was the time when I was getting back into sewing, but hadn't really found the community and my favorite blogs. So, I'm thrilled I can take part this year. Especially, since I really need sleepwear. I tend not to buy too many, usually sleeping in old t-shirts and stuff, but maybe I'm getting old or something, but I really want some cute pyjamas :)

And I have acknowledged this on some level at some point, since I have actually bought a sleepwear pattern!

Simplicity 3696

And I'm thinking of using this for the pants. Or at least making one pair from this pattern. I really would love to get the Tofino Pants pattern, but I really need to not use so much money and use the patterns I have instead... But if I make enough patterns I have, I can buy it for sure in the future. Although I kind of want to know how the Thurlow's look, my waist and hip measurements are not really in the same size with these patterns...

But, I was going to use the pattern above for the top too, until I saw this:

 Vera Venus Pyjama Top (1930s style)

How awesome that it's free. And a real reproduction of a 1930s pattern! And my size! I think I will do a muslin just to be sure... But I really don't know if the pants above fit with this top. Well, depends on the fabric choice of course. But the same site has also these French Knickers:

So, I might just do those for a bottom... We'll see. I really haven't thought about the fabric, but something slinky would definitely do justice to the pattern. And then there's always The Ruby Slip, although I don't know how comfortable it would be to sleep in... I think I will go for the 30s/40s style this time. Because for me the sleepwear is all about comfort and only a tiny bit about looking good.

I'm really excited about this! First of all, I this is something I really need in my wardrobe and second, everyone seemed to have so much fun last year. Unfortunately I can't jump up and down on my bed, since I have a loft bed (I hope that's the correct term: at least that's what Ikea uses...). Or maybe I can borrow someone else's bed...

SwimAlong2013

My sewing challenges are coming along, I did some fitting with my mother while I was in Switzerland. I didn't really have to change anything. Except keep the bodice with extra length for Réglisse. But I had forgot to order lining for my flapper dress (and the zipper!) and I realized that with the fabric I bought for Réglisse, I need to line it too. So, I'm waiting for some extra material now. But hey, I decided to go for another sewalong...

Katie at Kadiddlehopper and Leila at Three Dresses Project are hosting a swimsuit sew-along. I have a hard time finding swimsuits and/or bikinis I like, so I decided to give it a go. Also, it's on till the end of June, so I have time even if I don't start sewing before June... But I got my pattern already! I went for Mrs Depew Vintage's One-Piece Bathing Suit. I was looking at the lovely 40s pattern as well, but this has my size. So, if this goes well, I might try that as well.

I also ordered a fabric:

Fabric from Spandex House

I'm thinking of making the halterneck version. I think I will like the feel of it more. I'm quite excited, although a bit afraid as well, since this will look horrible if it doesn't fit well. I'm also really happy about the pattern, although I really wanted to make this:

Hollywood 1341

But I couldn't find where I could buy it. Or I did (and it was the right size!), but it was $85 + shipping, so I think not... I will keep a look out for this, however, since I'm totally in love with it. But I think I'll be happy with my current pattern as long as I can make it fit...

Some MAJOR shopping

Well, I start with the challenges. I of course needed to find a suitable fabric for both of them. Even though the patterns haven't arrived yet... I thought I would go to Paris on Thursday or Friday to do this, but decided that it was ok to do it at home on Wednesday when everything is closed due to 1st of May. Well yes, I actually found something I liked. Then finding the fringe for the flapper dress was another matter. I still didn't quite find long enough (or wide enough) fringe, but at least it's 4" which in my head translates to about ~10cm. Which is not too bad, but I really wanted something along the lines of 30cm. And I still have the option of doing my own fringe (which I will need to do, if the color is wrong, we'll see).

But so, what did I choose... For my Great Gatsby challenge I found a lovely turquoise satin. I'm very into turquoise at the moment. Especially when it comes to satin. And I finally, after looking for a long time, found some turquoise fringe at fabric.com! I could've taken silver as well, but somehow the fringe seems more likely to come in gold. Well, this might still change, but I will have to see the fabric and fringe together before making any decisions.

Satin for the Great Gatsby dress

Fringe for the Great Gatsby dress

If this dress becomes anything like I imagine, I will totally love it. And with less fringe I just have to make the dress a bit longer (which might not be a bad idea).

The fabric for Réglisse was also fairly easy. I was not really happy with anything, until I saw this:

Fabric for Réglisse

I can't help it, I love chocolate brown. I hope the real color is as good as in the picture. I got both of the fabrics at Hall du Tissu which seem to have a nice selection. Well for this anyway, I'm having a whole lot of trouble with fabric in general, every time I find something I really like, it's completely wrong type of fabric. Well, so far I've always managed to find something I like in the end, so I just need to look around a bit.

Lady Valet by Adjustoform

Well, my shopping spree didn't really stop here... I recently found out that I'm getting a major tax refund (well, the money will come in december) and in addition to a trip to Doha to visit my cousin, I decided I could buy a dress form. Well, I took a bit of a head start with it and ordered one today... I ordered a Lady Valet from Mercerie Durand. I did a bit of research in the net and I actually would've liked Uniquely You dress form (mostly because this video by Shona: she has a scoliosis too and it showed on the form!), but I could only find it at US Amazon and they didn't deliver to Europe. This seems like a good option as well, they had it on sale at Mercerie Durand, and my budget was ~200 €, so this was ok concerning that as well. This one has 12 buttons to fit the form to one's measurements, you can pin on it and it has a hem adjuster. And people who have it seem to like it a lot.

My Sewaholic patterns + the Pavlova

This is totally my guilt trip post, because my shopping doesn't end here either... I bought some patterns... Well, that was about a week ago, but I kind of splurged there. Well, they do ship from Canada, so I decided to buy the ones I wanted with one sitting. So, I got the Renfrew Top everyone seems to love, as well as the Cambie Dress (there are some amazing Cambies around like Scruffy Badger's, I especially like the polka dotted version, Miss Crayola Creepy's Yellow version, Karen's fruity one, and Amanda's Muddy Waters: I just love that color!), and then I need more pants, so Thurlow Trousers were an obvious choice, Alma Blouse is just so cute, Karen convinced me of Hollyburn Skirt, and who wouldn't love the Robson Coat? And then I blame it on Gillian: I also bought the Pavlova by Cake Patterns. It looks kind of vintage-y so it would be perfect for dancing. The wrap shirt would probably flatter my figure and even though Gillian didn't like hers I think it looks good on her! And I also got the two books I've been drooling on for the longest time: Gertie's New Book for Better Sewing and Couture Sewing Techniques.

And then I have some other plans, but at least I didn't buy any more patterns... I'd love to make the Abbey Coat for winter. Can you think of a more perfect coat? Well, maybe Robson ties the race, but this is completely different style, so they are in a different race. And I can't help: I love that blue! Although I think mine would be some other color... like chocolate brown or mustard (70s) yellow... And then there are the Colette patterns. I haven't forgotten the idea to make the whole book, although I think I will leave the Pastille until my fitting skills improve a bit (or I get the dress form!), and then there are some that I'd love to get: Ceylon, which I didn't think much of until I saw Lauren's version, I've always wanted to do Macaron, and Chantilly looks like my cup of tea. Also Beignet, Sencha, Jasmine, Iris, and Ginger look fun. Just when do I have the time for all this...? We'll see. At least now I'm having fun with planning. And the next projects to be completed are the two challenges. And I do have some plans for other Deer and Doe patterns, like Chardon, Belladone, Airelle, and Bleuet... And I think I should prefer French patterns, since I am in France after all ;)

More and more like my grandmother every day...

So, my grandmother used to have everything in plastic bags, the ones usually put into freezer (the noisy kind). Especially if traveling. I mean yes, I do usually put stuff like shampoo and conditioner into one, so that if they break, it's easier to clean. But my grandmother used to put every bottle, pack of cotton swabs, the nail clipper, each to their own bag. I don't know why I found it annoying when traveling with her, maybe because of the sound the bags make. But I should've been more understanding: I'm sure I'll turn into her one day. Here's why:

I got the idea from Gillian. I thought it was the best idea ever, although I didn't know clear envelopes existed. And I don't know where to buy them from here. But then I thought the mini-grip bags are just as good. And I'm not as artistic as Gillian, so I wouldn't be drawing anything on mine anyway, just the basic info is enough. But isn't it great? And I'm starting to think my grandmother was a genius, too :) And if I'm turning into her, it's not too bad: she was pretty amazing woman and I loved her very much. And she's definitely where I get my nerdiness from :)

My Pastille is coming along. Taking it's time... But I'm confident I can finish it this weekend. Unless I managed to screw it up with my pattern alterations. We'll see. I decided not to correct for my crooked back after all, since I really didn't want to correct all the foldings and I'm also not sure if it would've worked. I'm actually planning on a winter version of Merengue, so I thought I would make a muslin and see how it would work, since the Merengue was so easy to make (except for the scallops, but I mean the fit was just right!).

Pattern shopping...

Well, I didn't want to buy new patterns until I made the ones I've planned, but somehow I didn't hold on to my decision... So, I ordered some patterns and since I pay a bunch in postage, I thought I'd buy few at once:

For the first ones the reason is obvious. The pants are something I could wear for dancing if I don't want to wear a skirt. The 40s retro pattern is also bought with dancing in mind, although I just also like the style. The last one is from the 60s and not really optimal for dancing. I've just watched too much Mad Men. 

The Simplicity 1880 I just had to buy because of the sewalong at A Fashionable Stitch. I can't really participate the sewalong, but I've saved all the instructions in my Reeder, and when I have time I can make the dress. Or both. And the Simplicity 2215 is just so cute. And the best part is that it has the skirt and a blouse. I'm planning way too many dresses and I also need separates!

The last ones are just practical. I think I might need some sleepwear in the future, especially since my Moomin pajamas sucked. And these looked quite nice :) Also the top was an easy pattern and really cheap. And I like the knot. So nothing really deep there.

Designer pattern by Luisa Beccaria

But this is not all. I mean these are all the patterns I recently bought. But I realized that Burdastyle is now published in Finnish! I guess the June number was already a second number, but it's still a reduced price (4,75 €), so I thought I'd buy it. Especially since I had been drooling the jacket pattern already (I really like the asymmetrical look, and not just in jackets...). And also the designer pattern by Luisa Beccaria.

So, I thought two patterns in the price of one is not too shabby and there are couple of other dresses I could try as well.

The same day when I bought the Burda Style, I had my new issue of Suuri Käsityö, which is a Finnish sewing/craft magazine. The patterns weren't really that great this time in my opinion, but there were some knits I would definitely want. Especially the cardigan really looks like me :)

So, quite a lot of stuff when I wasn't supposed to buy anything... But of course I subscribe to the Finnish magazine, so I've already paid for it... And I really think the Burda Style was a bargain. And I think this happens to everyone, right...?

Pattern love

I did some internet shopping and these arrived earlier this week:

I saw a liverpool dress somewhere and fell for it and once trying to find where to buy it, fell for the anna tunic as well. I've looked at Amy Butler fabrics before, but for patterns I had mainly seen bags. And I want sew clothes. But, back to the package: I was very excited! Because besides looking pretty these clothes look like they are comfortable as well. Then, I opened one, and what did I find...

Yes, these patterns are those ready to cut ones. The ones I've heard about, but not really seen before. So, I'm a bit disappointed. I mean if you cut one size and gain weight, you can't make another one. So, I think I'm trying to trace these in case I want to make another size/length. But it will be harder, since the paper is quite thin and might wrinkle/break. We'll see how it goes.

I still love the patterns and I even got some fabric samples and extra (very cute!) buttons with my order. And how can I not make my namesake tunic :) And I think I can get over my disappointment, since while writing this I also surfed in the internet a bit and look what I found: Alternative to cutting the pattern!!! My life is good again :)