Winter Is Coming! (Amazing Knitting Books Giveaway!)

Knit Noro accessories 2 & 60 Quick knitted toys giveaway by thisblogisnotforyou.com

WINTER IS COMING.

…or, as those of you eagerly awaiting the Game Of Thrones Season 7 start tonight know: Winter has come.

To be prepared, I’ve checked out some cool knitting books for you! And I teamed up with the lovely folks over at Sterling Publishing to giveaway a copy of each book! (As always – all opinions are my own! My reviews are completely honest and I only giveaway products that I genuinely love.)

Let’s have a look!

Knit Noro Accessories 2 review & giveaway by thisblogisnotforyou.com

KNIT NORO: ACCESSORIES 2

Sixth&Spring Books

First, there’s Knit Noro: Accessories 2. It’s a beautiful hardcover book full of easy, mostly quick to make accessory patterns: gloves, socks, hats, shawls, ponchos, and more. The patterns themselves are fairly simple but show off some really great techniques and colourways. Projects in this book are certainly achievable for beginners and still interesting enough for more advanced knitters.

What I love most about this book is the photography. The Noro yarns come in beautiful rich colours and the projects are styled in a really cool way. The whole book has a really fresh look about it and inspires to start planning your autumn projects right away! It would certainly make for a great present, as well.

The knitting instructions are very detailed and clear, all marked on a 1 to 4 stars skill level.

All thumbs up!

Knit Noro Accessories 2 review & giveaway by thisblogisnotforyou.com
Knit Noro Accessories 2 review & giveaway by thisblogisnotforyou.com

Knit Noro Accessories 2 review & giveaway by thisblogisnotforyou.com

Don’t these projects look lush? I love these cabled boot toppers!

60 Quick Knitted Toys review & giveaway by thisblogisnotforyou.com

60 QUICK KNITTED TOYS

Sixth&Spring Books

The second book I checked out for you guys is definitely my favourite of the two: 60 Quick Knitted Toys.

If I was able to show you all 60 of these projects, I would have! It was super hard to narrow it down to just a few sneaky peeks. This book is full of amazing knitting projects to make for kids: stuffed animals, toys and even games, which I had no idea you could knit! (Such as fishing or ball games, Tic-Tac-Toe, baby blocks etc.)

The book includes super cute stuffed animal patterns and some really fun, unusual knitted toys, such as a tool set, building blocks, a guitar, a peace hippie van, baby rings, numerous hand puppets and a castle set complete with a dragon, king and queen. (Also great for some Game of Thrones reenactment!) It’s all just very adorable and flipping through the books the projects get better and better. The projects range from super easy to really complicated-looking, so there’s definitely something in there for everyone.

The only drawback to this book: There’s simply not enough time to make all of these! But have a look yourself:

60 Quick Knitted Toys review & giveaway by thisblogisnotforyou.com
60 Quick Knitted Toys review & giveaway by thisblogisnotforyou.com

60 Quick Knitted Toys review & giveaway by thisblogisnotforyou.com
60 Quick Knitted Toys review & giveaway by thisblogisnotforyou.com

Super cute, right?

I simply LOVE that adorable little dragon. Which brings me back to the topic… dadam dada dadam dada dadam, dada daaaaaaa… Are you watching the GoT season start tonight?

No, sorry, I got distracted there. I wanted to let you know how to get a chance at winning a copy!

HOW TO ENTER

First, this giveaway it open to US and Canada readers only!
I’m really sorry, if this means you cannot enter. There will be more opportunities to enter giveaways in the future. If you really love the books, both are available to order online or in your local bookstores.

Together with Sterling Publishing I’ll giveaway one copy of each book to two lucky winners! To enter the giveaway, simply leave a comment below letting me know which one you prefer and which GoT characters you’ll think will die this season. Oh, right – that last part isn’t mandatory!

The giveaway closes on Sunday 30 July 2017 at midnight (UTC) and I’ll announce the two winners shortly after on the blog.

Good luck!

xx

Charlie

Please note: Two winners will be selected at random from all entries entered before midnight on 30 July 2017 and the winner will receive the prize described above. There is no cash alternative, and your prize is non-negotiable, and not refundable. If the prize isn’t claimed, another winner will be selected at random.


Happy Knitting!

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Let’s try something funky!

Burda 04/2014 #112 Funnel Neck Dress by thisblogisnotforyou.comBurda 04/2014 #112 Funnel Neck Dress by thisblogisnotforyou.comHey folks, hope you all had a great week! Mine was super busy and I have quite a bit of the behind-the-scenes stuff to share with you. I’ll probably squeeze into an extra post though, because I want to share my newest make first.

A little while ago, the lovely guys over at Funkifabrics (@funkifabrics) asked whether I’d like to try some of their fabrics. What a question! Hell Yes! You should really check out their website, they have the most amazing prints you will ever see! Seriously! It took me two days to narrow my samples down to 12, which I shortly afterwards got in the post.

The Fabric:

FunkiFabrics specialise in flexcite stretch (swim and dancewear) fabrics, so you will only be able to order lycra, but they have thousands (no kidding) of prints to choose from. Everything is designed and printed in the UK. Pretty awesome, if you ask me. Some might see the narrow fabric options as a disadvantage, but I think it’s pretty cool. First of all, lycra is super versatile. You can use it for swimwear, lingerie, leggings, dresses, skirts, sportswear and what not. Secondly, since the fabric is the same for all prints, it’s perfect if you want to mix prints and colours. You won’t have to worry about two fabrics not going well together. I picked a print called Prism. My challenge this year is to use more bold prints and colours. I think with this project I definitely achieved that.

Burda 04/2014 #112 Funnel Neck Dress by thisblogisnotforyou.comBurda 04/2014 #112 Funnel Neck Dress by thisblogisnotforyou.com

At first I wasn’t sure what to make with it, but then I realised that I could simply use a jersey/stretch dress pattern. It’s just not the right season for sewing bikinis, you know (but I will with some of the leftover fabric). So let’s talk about the pattern:

The Pattern:

The pattern is…tada!…Burdastyle 04/2014 #112. Yes, I know! I haven’t used Burda patterns in ages. Lately I was all over indie patterns, but if you’ve followed this blog for a while now, you will know that I am a big Burda pattern fan. Since the print was so funky I thought I needed a slightly more funky dress pattern as well. Luckily, I recently went through all this year’s Burda magazines and this came to mind:

 

It’s a funnel neck dress with a twist. It has all sorts of design details going on. The whole dress piece is cut as one on fold. So there’s only one side seam, which is gathered at the hip and makes the hem slightly asymmetrical. One sleeve sits off-shoulder – since there is no side seam on that side there’s no shoulder seam. The sleeve is inserted by clipping the fabric horizontally and then using a very tiny seam allowance to attach the sleeve (which has no sleeve cap). The dress pattern itself is basically a large rectangle, darts in the front and back cinch it in at the waist and make it more fitted.

Adjustments: I shortened the dress by 20cm and lengthened the sleeve by 5cm. I cut out facing for the funnel neck instead of simply hemming it. I cut out a size 36 (UK 10) which I graded to a size 40 from hip downwards.

Burda 04/2014 #112 Funnel Neck Dress by thisblogisnotforyou.com

The Fit:

It’s quite hard to say something about the fit. Since the pattern is quite funky, I have no idea how this dress is supposed to look. It fits comfortably, but I am not so sure about the off-shoulder sleeve. Design details like this always have you end up with a batwing -like bunch of fabric  under your armpit. Despite all the darts, it’s not extremely fitted and the funnel neck does not behave and keeps moving around, that naughty bastard.

Issues:

There were loads of issues with this make. Luckily, I could fix most of them. I had some issues with the gathers at the hip, as they came undone when I overlocked the side seam. I should’ve used some twill tape for reinforcing that part (or learn how to gather with an overlocker). But in the end I could salvage it and it doesn’t look too bad. The print is way too busy anyway for people to notice.

Burda 04/2014 #112 Funnel Neck Dress by thisblogisnotforyou.comBurda 04/2014 #112 Funnel Neck Dress by thisblogisnotforyou.com

I lengthened the sleeves by 5cm in the front, because I like that slouchy look. One thing that I really need to practise is sewing the hem on stretch fabrics with my twin needle. I used a smaller twin needle (3mm) for the sleeves and a larger one for the hem (4.5mm). Normally I don’t have issues with my twin needle, but this time the bottom thread tension was to high and my stitching looks like piping now. It sort of looks ok, so I am not too unhappy about it. A friend of mine told me that it’s actually possible to fiddle with the tension somewhere at the bobbin case, I have to find out how! After all these years, my sewing machine still keeps secrets from me.

Burda 04/2014 #112 Funnel Neck Dress by thisblogisnotforyou.com

Burda 04/2014 #112 Funnel Neck Dress by thisblogisnotforyou.com

Another issue I encountered was this. Since the back of the fabric is white, the funnel neck ended up looking very awkward and I didn’t like that the left side of the fabric was showing through. I thought I could simply fix this issue by facing the funnel neck. Which I did. Now it sort of looks ok when it is all nicely pulled into place.

Burda 04/2014 #112 Funnel Neck Dress by thisblogisnotforyou.com

But when I bend over and all the fabric moves to the front, this happens:Burda 04/2014 #112 Funnel Neck Dress by thisblogisnotforyou.comWell, I have accepted this fact now and it didn’t bother me too much when I wore the dress. It’s super comfortable! And look, even my shoes’ lining matches the dress!Burda 04/2014 #112 Funnel Neck Dress by thisblogisnotforyou.com

I have almost 1m of the prism print left and am now thinking of what to do with it. Not an easy decision since the print is so recognisable. Maybe a bikini or some really funky knickers. I will let you know anyway! Over all, this project was super fun and also quite challenging as I struggled a bit with some of the design details. Nothing is more satisfying than salvaging a sewing fail. I quite like the way the fabric and pattern work together, I never would’ve believed that lycra is such a great dress fabric.

What would you have made from this fabric?


Happy sewing!

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A Tilda-Miette Skirt – It’s a wrap!

Tilda Miette Skirt by thisblogisnotforyou.comHave you heard about Tilda fabric? I hope you have, because it’s awesome! Tilda fabric was actually the first fabric I bought after I got my sewing machine (I bought a pack of fat quarters on Amazon because I had no idea how to shop fabric back then). This year I used up all my Tilda leftover fabric for making my sewing machine cover. When White Tree Fabrics asked me to join their blogging team I was super excited that they had Tilda fabric in stock. All I had to do was find the right pattern to go with it.

White Tree Fabrics specialise in dressmaking fabrics, haberdashery and patterns.They have all Tilly & The Buttons patterns in stock and I thought why not add the Miette to my Tilly pattern collection?

Tilda Miette Skirt by thisblogisnotforyou.comThe fabric:

After forcing the Mr. to help me pick a nice Tilda cotton, I finally went for the “Ella Slate Blue”. All Tilda prints are very romantic in style and since this one also looked a bit like washed denim I thought it would be perfect for a skirt. The fabric quality is amazing, it’s quite heavy-weight and very very smooth. It was really nice to sew with.  I did my best to match the pattern and have to say that I did quite well. You can barely see the pockets!

Tilda Ella Slate Blue fabric

Tilda Miette Skirt by thisblogisnotforyou.com

The pattern:

Now let’s talk about the pattern! I was a bit worried that the Miette might not be my cup of tea. I’m not a big 1970’s fan and those pockets just seemed to scream 70’s to me! As I had more than enough fabric, I decided to make the version with the pockets anyway.

Furthermore, I was also worried that the A-line shape of the skirt might not fall softly and therefore look a bit frumpy on myself (all this was suddenly going through my head as I was cutting out the fabric and I was starting to doubt my decision).

The pattern itself was really straightforward and the instructions so clear and detailed that the skirt came together without any problems in only a couple of hours. I made a size 3 which I did not grade up to a larger size at the hips – it’s a wrap skirt, so I though I would be fine.

I overlocked all seams with off-white thread and pressed them open. I hemmed the skirt with my machine, about 1.5cm from the edge, after folding it over twice.

Tilda Miette Skirt by thisblogisnotforyou.comTilda Miette Skirt by thisblogisnotforyou.com

The skirt doesn’t need any zips or buttons, it simply closes by tying it in the front. There is a tiny hole in the waistband (see pic below) where you pull one tie through and then join it with the other one in the front to make a bow. I still haven’t figured out how to tie it so it looks like a nice bow, not just like a crooked propeller. The ties have a nice length, not too long and not too short.

Tilda Miette Skirt by thisblogisnotforyou.com

The fit:

I really was pleasantly surprised by the fit of the Miette Skirt. It didn’t look 1970’s frumpy at all. The skirt drapes quite beautifully and you can barely see the large pockets, which are super practical (hiding large smartphones)!

Overall the skirt fits nicely and the back panels overlap enough to not risk flashing people. You only have to be careful when you come back from the ladies that you pull everything back in place before you step out of the door. It’s worth double checking in the mirror! (Don’t ask me how I know this!)

I quite like the pattern and will probably make the skirt again, maybe even in a softer fabric and without the pockets. The only thing I’m not so happy with is the big bow, as it is not too flattering sitting right on top of your tummy and I also noticed that I can’t wear my lovely pussy bow blouses with it 🙁  Two propellers in the front looks just veeery awkward. Too bad!

Tilda Miette Skirt by thisblogisnotforyou.com

 

When I ordered my fabric I also asked the lovely White Tree Fabric team to add some Tilda ribbon to the mix:

SEction

It’s the Sally Blue Green Tilda ribbon. I wanted to add it onto the skirt hem or waistband, but although it’s basically the same print (if you look closely you can see it) it just looked really odd on the skirt, so I had to discard that idea. Luckily, I have a bit of the fabric left and will make a cushion cover with it and will use the pretty trim to embellish it! (You can look forward to more Tilda action!)

Tilda Miette Skirt by thisblogisnotforyou.com

White Tree Fabrics just annouced that they now have all the By Hand London patterns in stock, whoop, whoop! Guess what I will be making next? I’m really looking forward to my next White Tree Fabrics make and already started planning 🙂

What are your thoughts on the Miette Skirt? Have you made it? Are you planning to?


Happy sewing!

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A very autumnal Malvarosa Dress

Malvarosa Dress by thisblogisnotforyou.comHi ya, fellows! Hope you had a great week so far. After a few very stressful shifts at work this week and last weekend I am now even more happy about having a week and a bit off – my first official annual leave since I started my new job. My best friend is coming to visit me here in London (whoop, whoop!) and I hope to get loads of sewing WIPs done, as well.

By the way, did I mention that I started teaching sewing workshops at work? I work in a large psychiatric hospital and many of our patients are on home leave on the weekends, so it’s a bit quieter on these days and I have some time to squeeze in a workshop every now and then. The first one went really well and was great fun for everybody.

Another great news: Tomorrow my blog turns two years old and shhh… make sure to pop by; there will be a giveaway you surely don’t want to miss!

Now, let’s get back onto the subject: I hate to say this, but it seems as if summer has come to an end. I am finally forced to think about my autumn wardrobe. I tried to avoid this for as long as possible (we can wear sleeveless dresses in autumn as well, can’t we? Long love cardigans!) Well, but then I came across this fabric.

Malvarosa Dress by thisblogisnotforyou.com

The fabric:

It’s a beautiful peachskin polyester, courtesy of stoffe.de. It was end of roll fabric, but I loved it so much and got 1.1m of it. I thought it would be enough for a blouse or a mini shift dress. It’s a love it or hate it print and I love it (the Mr. does not so much). The fabric is lovely to wear, very light and soft and drapes really well. It was also great to sew with. Although I hate ordering fabrics online, I really liked my ‘shopping experience’ on stoffe.de (they’re called myfabrics.co.uk here in the UK!) They’ve got a massive choice of fabrics which are sorted very well and it’s easy to find what you’re looking for. The fabric is described in detail so what I thought I would get was actually exactly what I got in the end (which often isn’t the case when I shop online).

Malvarosa Dress by thisblogisnotforyou.comMalvarosa Dress by thisblogisnotforyou.com

The pattern:

The print is quite large and I thought too many darts and seams would ruin it. Browsing through the Pauline Alice patterns website (there was a 20% sale for their first anniversary!) I came across the Malvarosa pattern and thought the cut would be perfect for the fabric I had. I wasn’t sure whether I had enough fabric (you needed at least 1.5m), but I thought I’d figure something out anyway. In the end I shortened the skirt a bit and did not cut it as wide as suggested in the pattern. Thus, I have a few gathers less, but I could squeeze the pattern onto the fabric. I even had enough for the pockets (which actually sold the pattern to me!)

Malvarosa Dress by thisblogisnotforyou.comI love pockets! Pockets are great!Malvarosa Dress by thisblogisnotforyou.comMalvarosa Dress by thisblogisnotforyou.comThe fit:

I really like the fit of this dress. The pattern describes the Malvarosa as

“babydoll dress [which] features an A-line bodice, low waistline, full gathered skirt, boat neckline, bust darts and drop shoulder sleeves.”

 

And this is exactly what it is. The dropped waist makes the fitting of the dress really easy and it’s very comfortable to wear. I actually think the wider fit is quite flattering. I never got so many compliments at work!

The only thing I am not so sure about are the ‘sleeves’. I really liked the long-sleeved version, but obviously had not enough fabric. I thought the cut of the sleeveless variation was very interesting and unusual, but after wearing the dress I am not sure whether I am a big fan or not. They don’t bother me, but I don’t think I like the shape too much. It is a good shape to wear at work though, as the shoulders are covered.

Malvarosa Dress by thisblogisnotforyou.comMalvarosa Dress by thisblogisnotforyou.comMalvarosa Dress by thisblogisnotforyou.comMalvarosa Dress by thisblogisnotforyou.com

Have you tried the Malvarosa pattern? I’d love to hear your thoughts!

I’m pretty sure I’ll make this dress again, probably with the long sleeves. I also bought the Carme Blouse and Ninot Jacket pattern, make sure you check these out, too!

xx
Charlie


Happy sewing!

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The Megan Dress – Stitching My Way Through Tilly’s New Book

Megan Dress by thisblogisnotforyou.comTwo weeks ago I got Tilly’s Love at First Stitch in the mail and on the same evening read it from cover to cover. Although I love Tilly’s blog, I had my doubts about buying the book. I have so many sewing books that cover all the basics and as I consider myself an advanced seamstress by now, I thought this book just wasn’t for me. However I saw all these gorgeous Megans, Lilous and Mimis popping up over the interwebs and wanted to get a hand on these patterns myself.

Even if I don’t like the book, I thought, it would make a perfect prezzie for a novice sewer. All I can say is I wasn’t disappointed. Quite the opposite! Although the book covers all the basics more advanced sewers will already be familiar with, it’s super entertaining to read. I love Tilly’s voice in there and you will find her distinctive style on every single page in the book. I even found out that my cheapo-machine has a thread cutter, which I had never noticed before. Win!

The book itself is absolutely adorable and I won’t be giving it to anyone. I will keep it. Forever. HA! But I might get a second copy in the future, should I ever need a sewing-related gift.

Megan Dress by thisblogisnotforyou.com

Megan Dress by thisblogisnotforyou.com

Since I was eyeballing the Megan dress from the beginning, this was the obvious first choice. I traced the pattern before even knowing what fabric I would use. I found two fabrics in my stash which were leftovers from previous projects.

Basically the same fabric in different colours. I don’t quite know what fabric it is though. It’s quite heavy-weight, but stretchy and seems to be a woven. It’s probably a blend which definitely contains polyester. Any ideas?

I used the navy fabric for my Audrey Hepburn dress and the green fabric was leftover from my wiggle dress. Stash diet ahoy!Megan Dress by thisblogisnotforyou.comMegan Dress by thisblogisnotforyou.com

The dress was stitched together in just a few hours, with no alterations. I cut out a size 3, which according to the measurement table should’ve been rather wide, but it ended up being a bit too tight, although the fabric is quite stretchy. There’s a bit of gappage at the back when I lift my arms, so I have to keep reminding myself to pull the dress down every once in a while.

I started the dress the night before the John Lewis Sewing Bee and still had to put in the zip in the morning. But I managed to finish it on time and wore it that day.

Megan Dress by thisblogisnotforyou.comJohn Lewis 150 Sewing Bee // thisblogisnotforyou.com

I actually wore it twice already, on a hot sunny day last weekend but I noticed that it’s a bit too warm for those incredibly warm days outside. I will probably sew it again using some light-weight cotton.

Oh, and a Lilou pattern hack is on its way 😉

Are you planning on getting Tilly’s book or have you already tried some of the patterns?

xx
Charlie


Happy sewing!

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