Zierstoff ANIKA Dress

Zierstoff Anika Dress by thisblogisnotforyou.comZierstoff Anika Dress by thisblogisnotforyou.comZierstoff Anika Dress by thisblogisnotforyou.com

Zierstoff Anika Dress by thisblogisnotforyou.com
Zierstoff Anika Dress by thisblogisnotforyou.com

Zierstoff Anika Dress by thisblogisnotforyou.comZierstoff Anika Dress by thisblogisnotforyou.com

Hello there!

These pictures make me feels like autumn is already around the corner! But it’s actually really hot and summery here at the moment. I took these pics two weeks ago when the weather was quite cool and windy after we had a week of rainy days. Right now there’s nothing that could make me wear anything long-sleeved!

Let’s talk about the pattern!

The pattern is the ANIKA DRESS by ZIERSTOFF. Zierstoff is a German indie pattern company who recently started offering some of their favourite patterns in English. They have some really awesome women and kids wear patterns, you should really check them out if you don’t know them yet.Zierstoff Anika Dress by thisblogisnotforyou.comZierstoff Anika Dress by thisblogisnotforyou.comZierstoff Anika Dress by thisblogisnotforyou.comZierstoff Anika Dress by thisblogisnotforyou.comZierstoff Anika Dress by thisblogisnotforyou.comThe Anika dress is a really easy and quick to sew pattern that comes in two versions: you can either make it with a collar or a hood. Both collar and hood cross over at the front which looks really cool if you ask me.

I decided to make the hooded version, because, you know, if you can make it with a hood, make it with a hood!

In terms of sizing, the pattern runs slightly on the larger side. I cut the pattern without making prior changes and the fit was pretty much ok. As I said, it’s slightly large at the sleeves and waist, but that’s how it looks on the envelope as well. Obviously if you wanted it to be more fitted, you could simply take it in a bit.

I love that it’s not too tight. I have a lot of tight knit dresses and I’ve found that I prefer baggier, comfy clothes during the colder seasons.

This will definitely become a wardrobe staple for my autumn sewing!Zierstoff Anika Dress by thisblogisnotforyou.comZierstoff Anika Dress by thisblogisnotforyou.comZierstoff Anika Dress by thisblogisnotforyou.comZierstoff Anika Dress by thisblogisnotforyou.comZierstoff Anika Dress by thisblogisnotforyou.comThe fabric is a gorgeous teal one-way stretch knit fabric, courtesy of Zierstoff. The lovely ladies over at Zierstoff headquarters offered to send me some of their fabric so I was able to make the exact same dress as the one in the sample pictures.

This is by far one of the more comfy dresses I’ve made and I love wearing it. It’s the perfect dress to wear at home. The version with the wide collar would also make a really nice comfy dress for the office.Zierstoff Anika Dress by thisblogisnotforyou.com

Are you already planning your autumn wardrobe or are you still caught up sewing summer clothes?

xx

Charlie


Happy sewing!
ā™„

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Knitting and Sewing Souvenirs from Iceland and the Faroe Islands

Iceland Souvenirs by thisblogisnotforyou.com

Honestly, after a couple of weeks of vacation and laziness, it’s hard to get back into crafting, photo-editing and blogging mode.

So as not to overwork myself I’ll start by sharing some of my souvenirs from Iceland and the Faroe Islands with you! Apart from two books these were all sewing or knitting related (of course!)

Icelandic and Faroe WoolFirst of all, the wool! You won’t find many craft shops on the Faroe Islands, but when you find one it’s a knitter’s dream! Most people live on sheep farming and as you can imagine, Faroe wool is pretty awesome. I bought a 100g ball of 100% sheep’s wool in a natural colour in a little shop call Igloo, in Torshavn, the capitol of the Faroe Islands.

In this shop I also got these super cute knitting needles, Russian doll scissors and crayon buttons. Don’t ask me what I’ll make with these, I just couldn’t leave without them. But I’m pretty sure they’ll be put to good use.

I got the blue 100% wool in a supermarket in Iceland. If you’re planning a trip to Iceland, I can really recommend supermarkets for wool-shopping. Generally, I found Iceland super expensive, but the wool in the supermarkets was the same as in the craft shops and even cheeper than what I’d pay here.

Iceland Souvenirs by thisblogisnotforyou.comIceland Souvenirs by thisblogisnotforyou.comIceland Souvenirs by thisblogisnotforyou.comIceland Souvenirs by thisblogisnotforyou.comI was really looking forward to my trip to Virka, Reykjavik. It’s one of the larger fabric stores in Europe (or so they say on their website). Once we arrived in Iceland and were shocked by prices, I knew I wouldn’t leave with a massive pile of fabrics. But when we actually got there I was even more disappointed. The shop was absolutely wonderful and a seamstress’ dream, but pretty much everything was entirely unaffordable. They had really nice fabric, but most of their range I could’ve bought online or in London for at least a tenth of their price. I guess it’s due to Iceland being an expensive country and having to import everything overseas.

Iceland Souvenirs by thisblogisnotforyou.com

I couldn’t leave without getting a little something and after rummaging through the remnant piles, I found a nice piece of stretchy lace; enough to make underwear. The Burda patterns were actually quite cheap. I got this super cool jumpsuit pattern, which really is two patterns for separate trousers and a top.

Iceland Souvenirs by thisblogisnotforyou.comThey also these super cute hooks and eyes in different colours. I haven’t seen anything like these before. They’ll be nice on a keyhole closure or dress.Iceland Souvenirs by thisblogisnotforyou.com

Since coming back I made a couple of things, including handsewn leather baby mocassins!

xx

Charlie


Happy sewing!
ā™„

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Introducing WeaverDee.com

weaverdee_BLOG_
Hello, my sewing friends! Today I wanted you to get to know WeaverDee.com, my new sponsor!
WeaverDee.com is a brand-new sewing & craft online shop which only launched this month.
WeaverDee.comĀ is a family runĀ business that isĀ primarily online, but customers will have the option of booking machine demonstrations by appointment,Ā whichĀ would take place at theirĀ location in Middlewich, Cheshire.Ā This advice of course is also on offer by phone or online, I especially love the Sewing Machine Jargon Buster A-ZĀ  and Ā the Sewing Machine Buying Guide that you can find on their website. This is really super helpful stuff if you want to buy a sewing machine.
weaverdee_BLOG3
WeaverDee.com stocks items like
  • Gutermann sewing and embroidery threads
  • Sewing machines, Embroidery machines, Overlockers: Brother, Janome, Husqvarna Viking, Elna, Bernina
  • Feet and accessories for machines
  • Sewing Patterns (over 4000 designs): Simplicity, Vogue, New Look, McCallā€™s, Kwik Sew, Butterick, Burda
  • YKK zips
  • pins, needles
  • HORN Sewing furniture
  • Fabrics
  • Buttons
  • Various quality sewing tools such as; marking tools, tracing tools, awls, seam rippersā€¦
  • Dress forms / dressmakersā€™ dummies
  • Ribbons
  • Bias bindings
  • Elastics
As the shop is super new, the range will expands more and more over the next months.
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They have a 20% sale and free UK deliveries until tomorrow (Monday 18th) at midnight! So pop over and have a look around! If you can’t make up your mind that quickly (sorry for the late notice!) then there’s still time to enter the prize draw to win a Bernina sewing machine (what a sexy lady!) until 31st May!
I got a few sewing supplies(just in the nick of time!) and some lovely cotton which will either become a summer top or casing for one of my handmade notebooks (will blog soon!).
Happy shopping (and sewing)!
Charlie x

 

My first pair of (Ultimate) Trousers

sew over it - ultimate trousers by thisblogisnotforyou.com

Hallo, meine Lieben! You won’t believe it! After so many years of sewing, I’ve finally made my firstĀ (wearable) pair of trousers! (Not counting any shorts I’ve made.) Traumatised by hundreds of very unhappy experiences shopping for well-fitting trousers I decided at some point that sewing trousers was very difficult and frustrating and certainly nothing I wanted to try.

After testing one of their patterns, Lisa from Sew Over It kindly send me her Ultimate Trousers pattern which promised to be a super easy sew, so it went on my to-sew list. About a year later, I’ve finally given it a try and even went as far as making a muslin (a step which I happily skip more often than not). The muslin was a bit meh and I made a couple of very simple changes here and there and suddenly I ended up with some lovely trousers that actually fit me. Who would have known.Ā sew over it - ultimate trousers by thisblogisnotforyou.comsew over it - ultimate trousers by thisblogisnotforyou.com

The Pattern:

As mentioned, I used the Ultimate Trousers pattern by Sew Over It, which is available as PDF(Ā£8.50) or paper patternĀ (Ā£14).Ā I think it’s well worth the money, as it’s a simple, classic cut that it very easy to fit and which could be used as a base if you want to draft something more complicated. I’ve got a feeling that this will be my TNT trousers pattern for many more projects to come.

The pattern comes with detailed and illustrated instructions and it only took me a couple of hours from start to finish. There are no complicated front fly or pocket techniques to tackle, just a very simple invisible zip that’s inserted in one of the side seams. There’s no waist band, but facing instead.

I didn’t make any major changes to the pattern, just some tweaks here and there to adjust the fit.
sew over it - ultimate trousers by thisblogisnotforyou.comsew over it - ultimate trousers by thisblogisnotforyou.com

The Fit:

The fit was almost spot on, I just had to grade my size up a bit at the hip as I couldn’t close the zip on my muslin. This was quite a simple and quick fix and I didn’t even bother to make another muslin. With all the gradingĀ this pair of trousers is probably something between size 12 and 14, I guess. At first the trousers were a tad tight, but I knew that they would widen a bit after a couple of wears (which they did, yay!), so I didn’t make any further changes.

Would I make any more changes next time? Hm, maybe, maybe not. I’m pretty happy with the result. I think depending on the fabric, I might give a bit more wearing ease next time. And should I be super motivated, I might try a sway back adjustment. But that’s not very likely to happen.

sew over it - ultimate trousers by thisblogisnotforyou.com

I wonder why I ended up with a puckering zip? Maybe I should try clipping the seam allowance at the hip curve. Could also be my inability of accurately inserting a zip when having had too much coffee.Ā sew over it - ultimate trousers by thisblogisnotforyou.comsew over it - ultimate trousers by thisblogisnotforyou.com

sew over it - ultimate trousers by thisblogisnotforyou.com

sew over it - ultimate trousers by thisblogisnotforyou.com

The Fabric:

I actually bought the fabric at Lisa’s new Sew Over It sewing cafe in Islington. I found it in the remnants box and it turned out that it was some fabric that Lisa had used for her own pair of Ultimate Trousers. There was just enough left to make another pair. To be honest, I have no idea what kind of fabric this is, almost looks like linen, but I’m pretty sure there’s polyester involved here. It’s lovely to wear and was easy to sew. It frayed quite a bit, but nothing that my little overlord couldn’t fix.

Sooo. Let’s talk about pattern placement. Or, what happens if you completely ignore it. I thought the pattern was random enough but now I ended up having awkward crotch stripes that could even be interpreted as scratches or hair, if you’re adventurous enough. What can I do about that now? I try to ignore it and hope others do, too.

sew over it - ultimate trousers by thisblogisnotforyou.comsew over it - ultimate trousers by thisblogisnotforyou.com

blouse: Lottie Blouse, handmade
shoes: S.oliver

Will I make it again?

I’m pretty positive that I will. I’m just too happy about finally having a go-to trouser pattern, so I’ll better make use of it.

So, what are your thoughts on trouser-making, trouser-making phobia and crotch stripes?


Happy sewing!
ā™„

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Little Lady Liberty Blog Hop

Liberty hop banner2

Hi everybody! Today I want to share with you a lovely – brand new- sewing book as I’m taking part in the Little Lady Liberty blog hop. In case you haven’t heard about it yet, Little Lady Liberty (or Sew Pretty for Little Girls in the US) just arrived last week – for you to get your hands on it in time for the Easter holidays!

source: http://alicecarolineblog.co.uk/
source: http://alicecarolineblog.co.uk/

 

It’s a gorgeous little book with more than 20 sewing projects for little girls (and everyone who likes sewing for little girls)! 128 pages full of beautiful photos and fabrics.

The projects are mostly easy (flouncy skirts and pillow cases), some are a bit more advanced (quilts and bags and cute soft dolls). The book includes detailed instructions and some pattern – but most projects don’t even require one. There are so many projects in this book that I’d love to make for my niece (or even myself) or to give away as little birthday gifts. My personal favourites are theĀ reversible Mia doll and the quilted Orla pencil case.

source: http://alicecarolineblog.co.uk/
source: http://alicecarolineblog.co.uk/

I haven’t had time to make any of these yet, but they are the perfect project to keep in mind for a rainy Sunday afternoon or when you’re sitting on a massive pile of fabric scraps and don’t know what to do with it!

It’s alsoĀ one of those books and you can keep on your coffee table just to flick through and swoon at the gorgeousness of the photographs!

You should also make sure to check out the author’s blogĀ which is full of great sewing projects all using the most beautiful Liberty fabrics. Alice also sells those fabrics if you want to recreate these projects in detail.

I love the new addition to my sewing (e-)book collection and hope you’ll like it as well! Now I am preparing for the holidays (and a week without my sewing machine).

Ā If you wan to read the LLL posts of the other blog hop bloggers, you can find a list here.


Happy sewing!
ā™„

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