Kelly Skirt

Slowly but surely, I am making my way through the sewing projects that I committed to back in August. I bought the Kelly Skirt from Megan Nielsen, and have to date made 2 skirts.

The first one was I made was a trial version; size small with inexpensive corduroy. I accentuated all of the seams using contrasting white thread. I do quite like this skirt, though it is a bit longer than I’d usually wear, and my fabric choice is a bit childish, but I still think it works. Also, it’s just a touch too wide on the waist.

In the next version I made a XS using some more expensive fabric from Frau Tulip (my favourite fabric store in Berlin), in a beautiful thick mustard corduroy. This time, I cut 2 inches on the bottom of the pattern and finished with a cute scalloped hem, which took me way too long, and still I messed up my calculations somehow, and ended with uneven scalloping where the two plackets meet. Merde. Also, Scalloped Hem – 2 inches off the pattern = really short skirt, oops! I also cut the waistband fabric lengthwise along the grain, so that the corduroy stripes ran around my waist, which I think looks better.

Overall, I think this pattern was really great. The instructions were phenomenal, since I’m only an intermediate level sewer, I found the pictures really helpful. I would highly recommend this project to any new sewers, or people who just need a really versatile skirt. I look forward to the next patterns that I buy from Megan Nielsen.

 

New Bookbag

Since starting school again in September, my craft time has been greatly cut back. However, holidays are plentiful in Germany, and after only 6 weeks of classes, it was time for our 2 week long fall vacation… I love you Germany!

Anyways, as the books and notes pile on, I’ve been struggling with fitting everything into my current satchel (it was kind of round… not too good for textbooks and binders), so I decided to make my own. I’ve wanted to sew the Urban Tote from Bag-n-Tell for a long time (see this post), and this seemed the perfect opportunity.

I grabbed my fabric from Ikea (I wanted something tough enough to hold all my books, so I chose some thick upholstery fabric), and all my bits (zippers, clasps, webbing) from the Turkish market. My grand total coming to 21€ – nice!

I really loved the free tutorial from Bag-n’tell (here), but I definitely found it to be tough to follow. As a self-taught sewer, I find purely written instructions really difficult to understand… I had to do a lot of re-reading and youtube-ing.

For the majority of the time I stuck closely to the tutorial, but I did make some changes.

• I skipped the leatherette trim parts, this didn’t match my fabric.
• Although I drafted and made the cell phone pocket, I never bother to attach it. I felt it was too big and bulky, plus I’d rather keep my phone somewhere a bit safer, or at least behind a zipper.
• I originally made and attached to utility pocket and flap, but was not really impressed with how it looked. I preferred the sleeker/safer envelope pocket. Instead I removed the utility pocket, attached another zipper (16cm) and reattached it without the flap, much better (though I did make the rookie mistake of having my zippers open in 2 different directions… oh well).
• I never did attached a snap to the wallet pocket, and I probably won’t. I like how handy it is, and I often find myself using it to quickly shove my gloves or water bottle in, no snap needed.
• After using the bag for 2 days, I realized I really missed having a “secret” pocket on the inside of the bag, so I added one of those too. This was pretty awkward to do, but I managed. I placed the pocket on the inner side of the bag with the notebook pocket, so that all the seams were hidden. Due to the limited space/mobility, I could only machine stitch up 3 sides, and was forced to hand-stitch one of the sides (oh well, no one will ever notice inside anyways). The pocket dimensions I used were 25cm width, with 18 cm height, with a 21 cm zipper.

Notes for next time: I’m sure I’ll make another one of these bags, they are great! Though, I’ll definitely be making some more changes.

• I’ve been using this bag for about 3 weeks now, and I’ve already had to wash it twice. It is a really light colour and gets really dirty.  I’ve always found totes with leather bases attractive, but I never clued in to the functionality. They prevent the bottom of your bag from getting a dirty when you rest it down on the ground (or in my case in my bike basket). Next bag I make will definitely have a darker leather/pleather bottom section.

Overall, I’m really happy with the bag!!! Check it out!

Review: Sonja Dress

Although we did have some scorchers in July, summer pretty much ended early/mid-August here in Berlin.  I feel like I’ve been robbed of 3-4 weeks of prime summer dress weather. In fact, there are some dresses that I didn’t even have a chance to wear once this year. How depressing.

However, that was not the case for the Sonja dress, since luckily I stated early in June and it only took me a weekend to make. You can grab your free copy of the Sonja dress patter (here) via BurdaStyle available from Salme Patterns. They’ve also got some other patterns available for purchase too, as well as some helpful tutorials. I think I would like to try the Buttonless Shirt Dress, or the Sleeveless Pleat Front Dress next.

I was a little hesitant about this dress at first, because I usually shy away from things with halter-style/high necklines, since I am a bit self-conscious about having broad shoulders. Nevertheless, I made this pattern anyways, and I’m so happy I did. 

According to my measurements, I should be a size 6, however after making the dress I needed to take a lot in on the chest. I took it in at least 1 inch along both sides at the side hem after the dress was finished, but still the dress does look a bit too baggy around my waist. I think next time I make this dress I will definitely make a size 4, and also enlarge the size of the darts to create a more fitted form.

I was planning on making another version on the Sonja Dress with the adjustments listed above, but since summer left us early, I think I’ll hold off until next year.  I think it would be really easy to make some cut-out alternations between the bodice and skirt to reproduce the Staring at Stars Zig Zag Dress from Urban Outfitters. Hopefully this cut-out trend will reoccur next summer as well.

Things I’ve been swooning over to sew!

I’m off on a “vacation/business trip” in Cologne, and yet all I can think about is “what am I going to sew when I get back home this weekend?”.  Crazy eh? Here are the things that I have been most recently considering making for my next projects.

 

1) Shirt Dress with Hip Yoke from Burda Style
2) Kelly Skirt with Scalloped Hem from Megan Nielsen
3) Fabric Baskets from Nalle’s House
4) High Tea Dress from Burda Style
5) Urban Tote from Bag’n-Telle

Any suggestions on which I should do first? or what I should add to my ever growing list?

 

Learning Woodworking in Berlin

Quick post here, just want to pump up something that I thought was really fantastic!

Last Saturday I took a beginner class in Woodworking at betahaus in Berlin. At 107€ (including materials) it wasn’t cheap, but I definitely felt like it was worth it. With a small class of only 5 people, we learned about and got to use a ton of tools including: a Miter Saw, a Table Saw, a Band Saw, some Japanese Handsaws, a Router, a Drill Press, a Hand Drill, an electric sander, and tons of other hand tools. It was awesome, and all in the span of 6 hours. It was great having hands-on action with all these tools, but the downfalls of the course were that we went through all the settings and changing bits/drills/saws/pieces really quickly… so much so that I probably won’t be able to remember most of it, and will definitely need a refresher on most things.

Together we all transformed our starting material (a 1.2m x 30cm piece of spruce) into an awesome… box… thing? At first it seemed like a weird goal, but hear me out! Since I was in charge of my own project I made specific adjustments to reinforce mine and turned it into an awesome Step Stool for my kitchen! I’m pretty damn proud of my work, and I’ll be honest, I’m experiencing an inflated sense of self… so much so that I’ve tasked myself with building a kitchen island! Yes, I realize that is a huge jump, from small box-thing, to a substantial piece of furniture, but a girl has got to dream! And I’ve got help too, since now that I’ve taken the course I can use the tools at betahaus for a fee and there will always be a carpenter supervising. Hurray!

So, in closing, if you’re interested in learning the basics of how to use some heavy duty tools and want to get into woodworking, I highly recommend checking out the Introduction to Woodworking Course at betahaus. The course is usually offered on Saturdays, please check the program listings to see when the next course available is. Use of the Woodworking shop is available Tuesday evenings and Thursday mornings for 20€ a go.

 

More Aprons!

What happened to us? We were so organized! Our inner Germans were so proud! We were consistently blogging once a week, but then… we all failed… all at once… for 2 months. But no more! I vow to return to once per week blogging! Crafts forever! Celebrate distractions!

Here’s a quick catch-up post on my last 3 aprons. I made these for my sisters and mom, as “Thank You” gifts for pretty much organizing and planning my entire wedding in Canada while we were overseas. I think aprons are always a great gift,  and I love them so much because:

1. They are practical! No spills shall ruin my dresses!
2. They are (potentially) easy to make!
3. Aprons can give you the opportunity to wear colours/patterns/craziness that you wouldn’t normally wear.
4. Your “Hostess Point” go up 10 fold when you serve guests food while wearing an apron.

So here is a quick Show & Tell of my most recent 3. The first one (grey one), uses the same pattern as my previous apron. It was a fabulous free pattern from Sewing In No Mans Land. This time I altered the width of the top piece by increasing it by 1/2 inch per side. I think this fits better now.

The pink apron is the most practical and feminine, with its sweet heart neckline. However, as you can see in the picture below, it doesn’t quite sit right and buckles a bit on the chest. Next time I will make the top piece trapezoid shape instead of a rectangle, and put the neck straps at more of an angle to hopefully alleviate this problem. I really love the small bib and buttons on this apron!

My third apron took my forever to make, since it was my first time ever making full pleats and a collar. Needless to say, I miscalculated how much material I would need on more than one occasion. But no matter, I figured it out in the end… sort of. In all honesty, the top part is too narrow. I’m quite petite in the chest, so it covers me, but on most people I think it would run parallel with the nipple lines… so if you like to show off your side boob, this apron is for you! Next time I’ll make it 1/2 inch or so wider on each side. What I really love about this apron is the “top-apron”, essentially, a round apron onto of the apron base! Imagine wearing a long skirt underneath this apron! – Apron Inception!

The second and third aprons I designed myself. They are by no means close to perfect, but I hopefully plan on creating free printable patterns, once I gather more feedback and make some adjustments. Any feedback anyone has would be greatly appreciated, please post them in the comments below.

DIY Embroidered Mother’s Day Card

Oops, today is already Mother’s Day, but if you’re like me, and constantly running late for everything, then this tutorial is for you!

Here’s a easy, semi-quick card project –> How to embroider a card!

This is my first thing I’ve ever embroidered, and I’ll be honest, I’m hooked! What a fabulous craft. You can do it anywhere (I chose to completely these cards while watching Downtown Abbey). I definitely think I need to invest in some more embroidery materials.

Anyways, this craft is easy & cheap, all you need is:

• a blank card (make it from card stock)
• a pencil & eraser
• a needle with a large eye
• some embroidery floss

Since I’m new to embroidery I checked out this Embroidery 101 Tutorial on Instructables, which was really helpful and sent me off in the right direction, armed with a couple basic stitches.

First sketch our your design on the card. I chose a vase of flowers, very simple. Next, with some patience, thread your floss through the needle, and tie a double knot at one end, leaving the other end short and free.

Now comes the fun part, doing a basic Backstitch, outline your pattern. Starting from the inside of your card so that the knot is hidden, pierce the paper with your needle and bring it though, and making a new hole a few mm away, come back down again. Continue on using you Backstitch, changing threads when necessary, until you are all finished your outline.

A word of caution; don’t put your holes too close to each other, or they may tear into each other forming gigantic hole (which looks awkward). Ensure that there is some space between them so that they can provide enough support for your design.

Once your outline is finished, fill in the design with a satin stitch. Try to re-use the same holes as much as possible, as to avoid creating more hole craters.

Tie off & clip your loose ends, write something nice of the front, and fill the inside with words! Done!

Here’s the 2 I made, one for my mom, and the other for my mother-in-law. Personally, I prefer the “Alles Gute zum Muttertag” one, but I think they both look nice.

After I completed these, I then searched the interwebs to see if other people have made embroidered cards – apparently this idea wasn’t too original. Oh well. I did learn though, that most people actually make the holes in the card for the design first, and then once it’s all laid out, will weave the thread through. I think this technique would help prevent the creating crater-holes when you accidentally make two stitches too close together. I think I will try this approach on a future embroidered card.

Obviously I put these in the mail late, as usual. You can to! Bust out a quick Mother’s Day card asap, since it’s better late than never.