A Festive Party Outfit – Two Ways

LaLinna Schnittgeflüster and Sew Over It Pencil Skirt by thisblogisnotforyou.com

LaLinna Schnittgeflüster and Sew Over It Pencil Skirt by thisblogisnotforyou.com
LaLinna Schnittgeflüster and Sew Over It Pencil Skirt by thisblogisnotforyou.com

LaLinna Schnittgeflüster and Sew Over It Pencil Skirt by thisblogisnotforyou.com

LaLinna Schnittgeflüster and Sew Over It Pencil Skirt by thisblogisnotforyou.com
LaLinna Schnittgeflüster and Sew Over It Pencil Skirt by thisblogisnotforyou.com

LaLinna Schnittgeflüster and Sew Over It Pencil Skirt by thisblogisnotforyou.com

Classy Comfort

Happy New Year, everyone! Hope you all had a great start into the new year. In Germany we say ‘Have a great Rutsch‘, whishing you a lovely skid into the new year… I’m starting 2018 by sharing my Christmas and NYE outfit. I sincerely hope you guys are not too tired of hearing about holiday outfits by now!

Isn’t this a beautiful combination of patterns? Before I get into too much self-praise, let me tell you how this outfit came together.

Last December I was approached by the lovely folks over at Stoffe.de (also known as myfabrics.co.uk) offering to sponsor my holiday outfit. Yup, December and I didn’t already have one. I’m a classic last-minute sewer, so I had neither an outfit nor plans for one (yet).

I wanted to create a festive look that would work both for Christmas and New Years Eve. But how to do formal and casual in one?

I went for quite festive fabrics, combined with a more minimalist and casual cut. Well, you know I love my pencil skirts for every occasion. They can be worn two ways – top tucked in or left out. It creates two very different looks.

I paired it with a jumper pattern – mostly for comfort (and to have enough room for all the holiday meals).  I’ve followed the newly arisen velvet craze and wasn’t too big a fan at first. Velvet can look outdated very, very quickly. But I thought I’d challenge myself a little and use fabrics I hadn’t used before: animal print plus velvet. If this isn’t stepping out of your comfort zone, then I don’t know what is.

LaLinna Schnittgeflüster and Sew Over It Pencil Skirt by thisblogisnotforyou.com

LaLinna Schnittgeflüster and Sew Over It Pencil Skirt by thisblogisnotforyou.com
LaLinna Schnittgeflüster and Sew Over It Pencil Skirt by thisblogisnotforyou.com

A Pattern Dream Team

Let’s get into all the details, right? Pattern-wise I combined an old love with a new one! My beloved, fitted-to-death  Ultimate Pencil Skirt pattern by SEW OVER IT, which I loooove to pieces. I stopped keeping track of how many I made so far. Roughly ten, I guess. I suppose I could sew it in my sleep now. I won’t go into too much detail, as I’ve been gushing over this skirt for years now. Well, it’s a classic and therefore qualifies as perfect base for any two-piece outfit.

Since moving back to Germany, I slowly make my way around German sewing blogs and indie pattern companies. There are so many amazingly talented people out there, it’s unbelievable. I wish I had the time to follow more and try more patterns.

For this project, I tried the wonderful LaLinna jumper pattern by SCHNITTGEFLÜSTER (‘pattern whisperings’), who’s made it her goal to create super minimalist, basic patterns for all sizes. Their patterns range normal to plus size and are available as PDF-Download. They’re also very affordable and easy makes for beginners. As an advanced sewer, I had a lot of fun to use this cut as a foundation to add some fun details. Man, they have just SO many gorgeous patterns to gush over, I bet from now on you’ll never hear the end of it. I see a whole Schnittgeflüster year coming. Brace yourselves, I warned you.

LaLinna is perfect tucked in or casually worn over the skirt. The batwing-sleeves are very comfy, add to a beautiful drape and look quite elegant with narrow cuffs. I changed the neckline to a boat neckline and lengthened the cuffs to make them appear even narrower. The hemline drops down at the back, adding even more volume and creating a gorgeous silhouette. The jumper looks great worn over skinny jeans, too. I wouldn’t mix it with really wide-fitting trousers or A-line skirts, though.

LaLinna Schnittgeflüster and Sew Over It Pencil Skirt by thisblogisnotforyou.comLaLinna Schnittgeflüster and Sew Over It Pencil Skirt by thisblogisnotforyou.comLaLinna Schnittgeflüster and Sew Over It Pencil Skirt by thisblogisnotforyou.com

LaLinna Schnittgeflüster and Sew Over It Pencil Skirt by thisblogisnotforyou.com
LaLinna Schnittgeflüster and Sew Over It Pencil Skirt by thisblogisnotforyou.com

LaLinna Schnittgeflüster and Sew Over It Pencil Skirt by thisblogisnotforyou.com

Who Said Animal Print and Velvet Isn’t Cool?

Let’s talk about these fabrics now, shall we? I really went for something I haven’t tried before and picked a crushed stretch velvet in antique silver (HERE‘s the link for you German folks) and a leopard print stretch jacquard in black (which appears to be out of stock, unfortunately!). Both fabrics are courtesy of Stoffe.de (also known to UK folks as myfabrics.co.uk).

Despite having heard many horror stories about sewing with velvet, this wasn’t one of them. The velvet sewed like a breeze and wasn’t sliding around at all. It’s got a very lovely soft texture with an elegant shine.

The leopard jacquard is perfect for sewing close-fitting skirts (or trousers) as it has a nice amount of stretch. I used a stretch lining fabric (link for Stoffe.de) to go with it. The jacquard has a nice sheen and matches the velvet perfectly.

LaLinna Schnittgeflüster and Sew Over It Pencil Skirt by thisblogisnotforyou.com
LaLinna Schnittgeflüster and Sew Over It Pencil Skirt by thisblogisnotforyou.com

LaLinna Schnittgeflüster and Sew Over It Pencil Skirt by thisblogisnotforyou.com

So far so good, I’m VERY happy with this combo. I’ve worn the LaLinna jumper loads since the holidays, mostly with skinny jeans to work and can’t wait to rock that skirt again some time soon.

Did you make something for the holidays? Also, if you have some great pattern recommendations for me to try in 2018, please share!

xx

Charlie


Happy sewing!

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A Very Happy New Year!

Thisblogisnotforyou.com

Thisblogisnotforyou.com

Happy New Year! I hope your start into 2017 was as fantastic as mine. I’m looking forward to a new year of sewing and blogging and creating my own handmade wardrobe. January will hopefully bring some tidiness into the present chaos that is my sewing space. I’m making it sound really passive, but most likely it will be some very active, serious cleaning, sorting and decluttering. It won’t be as annoying as it sounds, as going through my sewing supplies and fabric always inspires new projects.

I’ve kept my sewing New Year’s resolutions really simple this year: SEW MORE and DE-STASH.

What are yours?

xx

Charlie


Happy sewing!

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Valentine’s DIY ideas

Free Printable Valentine's Day Card by thisblogisnotforyou.comHi everyone!

It’s that time of the year again… So here comes a quick recap of last year’s Valentines DIY ideas and articles.

How about some cute Free Printable Valentine’s Day Cards *made by me* ? Check them out by clicking on the picture below.Free Printable Valentine's Day Card by thisblogisnotforyou.com

 

In case you’re looking for a cute DIY idea for your loved one – here’s one! I enjoyed making this one last year and Mr Thisblogisnotforyou loved it!

jar of dates -  valentines gift by thisblogisnotforyou.com

 

 

However, if you’re not a big fan of Valentine’s Day, this article might be for you.

the valentines day alternative

 

Last but not least – for all of you waiting for some more sewing-related posts, be reassured they’re on the way. I had quite a few days off lately and did A LOT of sewing. However, nothing is finished yet since I started several projects instead of finishing the first one. Ooops.

Soo…there will be a cape, one or more dresses, maybe a finished project I started over a year ago and …. yes? MENSWEAR! Yes. Menswear. If I finish to fit that %&$$§%/$ pattern properly. Something is wrong with Mr Thisblogisnotforyou’s arms. That much I can tell you.

Happy Sewing!

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 Soundtrack for today: The Proclaimers – I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles)

 

 

Christmas DIYs

Hi everyone,

In case you missed last years Christmas DIY posts, here’s a short recap! Unfortunately, I haven’t had much time to do anything like that this year, but there will be some sewing projects coming up soon!

If you’re into origami or you’d like to try, check out my 3D paper star tutorial!

 

Two easy candle DIYs!

If you’re having guests staying at your house during the Christmas season, you might enjoy this bedtime candy DIY!

If you want to make your Christmas gift tags look a little bit more special this year, check out this fun idea of printing on cotton!

Everyone loves chocolates! This is super easy, quick and fun and a great present to bring when you’re invited to dinner during the Christmas season. And it only takes 15 minutes to make!

Happy Crafting!

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Valentine’s DIY

Valentines DIY gift by thisblogisnotforyou.comAs you may have noticed, I am not the biggest fan of Valentine’s Day. Well, at least not the commercialised holiday it has become.
Anyway, I love DIY.
I love handmade gifts.
And this one is so much better than just buying a box of chocolates!

What’s even better: It’s simple and quick to make and it’s totally up to you what’s on the “lottery ticket”.

What’s on mine? Truth or dare! Many, many fun, tricky or sometimes embarrassing pretty personal questions for couples and a few pretty fun dares (the pink tickets), if someone doesn’t want to answer a question he/she picked!

The boyfriend got one for his birthday and it’s so much fun picking and answering the questions together. Although I know what questions are in the jar, it’s always a surprise which one comes up next. (Yes, I put some in there, I’d rather not answer !) And you can add new one whenever you think of something fun.

Questions could be like:

– If you were a fruit, what fruit would you be?
– What is an item of clothing your other half has that you wish they would throw away?
– What is the nicest thing you ever did for a friend?
– When a movie would be made about your life, who would you want to play you? (We came up with Zach Braff and Natalie Portman. hehe. Well, just watch Garden State – they go really well together!)

jar of dates -  valentines gift by thisblogisnotforyou

But there are many other sweet ideas, if you don’t like the question thing or are afraid of dares.

You could for example fill the jar with dates! Just think of many different ideas of how one can spend a date night and write them on the lottery tickets. Whenever you don’t know what to do on date night  – pick a surprise!

Or how about sweet little vouchers for your loved one?
What other ideas can you think of?

jar of dates -  valentines gift by thisblogisnotforyou 2

How to fill up the jar

All you need:

– paper & pencil (or printer)
– yarn or tape
– an empty jar
– ribbon/ gift tags & glue
You can use the grid below, click on it, download it and us it as a template. This way all your tickets will have the same size and you can easily add the text in a pretty font in Word or Photoshop and print it out. – Done!If you’re still looking for a Valentine’s Card to go with your jar of dates – have a look at my free Valentine’s printables!

jar of dates -  valentines gift by thisblogisnotforyou 1

free downloadable grid -  valentines gift by thisblogisnotforyou 1