Off-the-shoulder top + voucher for your own Dutch Label Shop labels!

October 15, 2017.Reading time 2 minutes.

Off the shoulder top by thisblogisnotforyou.com

GOODBYE SUMMER

Hello everyone! We had a super warm and sunny weekend here in southern Germany – I suspect it’s gonna be bye bye summer clothes from tomorrow on for good. Before I get into the mood to get out all the knits and wools I want to share this cute little top I made this summer.

I made this top with less than 1 metre of cotton fabric and it only took me around 30 minutes to make! I followed Elisalex’s tutorial for drafting a very quick little pattern.

Instead of making the full-length dress I decided to go for a little top. I made quite a few dresses last summer, but found that I actually prefer wearing separates at work and at home. This is why I made a bunch of tops and jeans this year.

Making this top requires only a minimum amount of fabric. I used less than 1 metre plus some trim and elastic. This top has very few seams and doesn’t necessarily require hemming if you hide the overlocked raw edges under a cute trim. No darts, no fitting! This is the perfect Sunday morning project.

Off the shoulder top by thisblogisnotforyou.com

I love how this top works both off and on the shoulder. The fabric I picked is fairly stiff, even after a few washes. I’m definitely going to make this top again, but probably a drapier fabric next time.

I really love the lace trim at the bottom! It makes this top so much prettier. Off the shoulder top by thisblogisnotforyou.com Sew Over It Silk Cami by thisblogisnotforyou.com

You seemed to really like my new labels, so the lovely folks over at Dutch Label Shop have a discount for you all to use if you want to create your own! You can use the code “thisblogisnotforyou15” to get 15% off your purchase in the next 30 days!

Have a great week everyone!

Charlie

Happy sewing!
♥

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New clothes labels & SEW OVER IT Silk Cami

September 26, 2017.Reading time 5 minutes.

Sew Over It Silk Cami by thisblogisnotforyou.com

Summer is almost over and I haven’t even shown you any of my summer makes yet! I made a couple cute summer tops this year I’ll share nonetheless, because they’re just too cute not to.

This one is an oldie but goldie! You all probably know the Sew Over It Silk Cami by now. I’m pretty late to join the party – but as I said, better late than never. I always knew this little pattern had massive potential to become a wardrobe staple in many ways, but for some reason it took me a couple of years until I finally bought it. I have no excuses. I probably thought this pattern was too basic to spent money on, but these are actually the patterns you want to invest in! A basic, well-drafted pattern is perfect to first get to fit right and then use as base for endless variations.

The Silk Cami comes together super quick and is perfect to show off really cute prints that don’t work well with garments that have a lot of seams, darts and pleats.

So this top was the right companion for this super cute fabric I have had in my stash for a few years now. I bought it at the first SewBrum Meetup in Lauren’s shop, Guthri & Ghani in Birmingham. It’s 100% cotton and was something around 18£/metre. I normally don’t spend that much money on cottons, but the print was love at first sight. I kept it in my stash for ages, because I was waiting for the right project to come along.

For me, the longer a fabric sits in my stash the less “valuable” it becomes. At first, I hesitate and dare not cut into the more expensive ones, but give it a few years and I will use them for wearable (well, mostly wearable) muslins. I know this makes no sense.

Well, this is why this gorgeous cotton ended up being used for my silk cami muslin. And guess what? It doesn’t fit! Good thing is, it fits my best friend perfectly and she’s more than happy to take it off my hands.

It’s just too tight around the bust and gaping a bit at the back neckline. I adapted the pattern accordingly and the second and third top I made are a great fit. But I have to say goodbye to my bear-behind-a-tent-fabric. Life is tough!

Sew Over It Silk Cami by thisblogisnotforyou.com

Another great thing about this top – it colour-matches perfectly with my new labels. I’m so, so happy about them that I had to give them some more screen time on the blog. Here we go! Sew Over It Silk Cami by thisblogisnotforyou.com

These wonderful labels are courtesy of The Dutch Label Shop who kindly approached me and offered to try out their costum-design labels. I was getting tired of my old ones that I’d been planning to update for a while, anyway.

I picked a sew-on label with very practical end folds – so I could use these as a coat hook for lightweight cardigans, as well. I’m very happy about going back to the sew-on type. I had some iron-on ones made a few years ago by a different brand, that come loose after a few washing circles.

These labels might certainly be quite an investment for some, but the quality really shows compared to other brands.

What I really love about the ones from Dutch Label Shop is that you can upload your own design, costumising fonts and colours as well. This made it possible to incorporate parts of my blog’s design into the labels. Don’t they look fantastic?
Sew Over It Silk Cami by thisblogisnotforyou.com

I have 200 labels now – I’m probably not anywhere close to having sewn 200 garments over the years – so these will last me a looooong time! I already started to sew these into some of my older handmade garments, just to take off some of the pressure, hehe.

Falling leaves or not, I’ll share some of my other summer makes soon!

Have a great week,

Charlie

Happy sewing!
♥

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SEW OVER IT Ella Blouse & Burda Culottes

September 3, 2017.Reading time 4 minutes.

SOI Ella Blouse and Burda Culottes by thisblogisnotforyou.com

Hi there! It’s been a while. We’re back from our summer vacation and the weather is finally cooling down enough for me to be able to use my sewing room again. (The drawbacks of having a very light space…) I did get some sewing done, though!

Today I’m sharing one of my most recent makes plus one make that was finished two years ago but never got any blog time.

I made these fabulous Burdastyle culottes a while ago. They turned out really neat, but were way too tight at the waist, although I had made a muslin before I started. So I had these really neat culottes that I couldn’t wear. Two years later they fit me well enough to be put on and photographed, but the fit is far from perfect. I won’t be wearing them any time soon.

The pattern is Burda Style Midi Culottes 04/2015 #113A. If you’re interested in a more detailed review of the pattern, check out the wearable muslin I made. I used a medium-weight midnight-blue cotton, that was a breeze to sew with. I overlocked all the raw edges and used some purple satin bias binding to encase the edge of the seam at the waistband.

SOI Ella Blouse and Burda Culottes by thisblogisnotforyou.com Oh, and check out my new amazing labels! (Courtesy of The Dutch Label Shop – there’ll be another post giving more details soon!) I had them match my blog layout, which I’m super happy about. I’ve got so many of them, I seriously need to up my sewing game now! But winter’s coming, so there’ll be plenty of time spent in doors way too soon!

But now on to the blouse!
SOI Ella Blouse and Burda Culottes by thisblogisnotforyou.com

That second little pattern is the wonderful Ella Blouse by Sew Over It. It’s a pattern they’ve released quite recently. It’s a fairly simple and super quick little project I cannot recommend enough. It doesn’t use up much fabric and a nice cotton or rayon fabric will do the job just fine. Another plus, no inserted sleeves, no zips or buttonholes! Which makes this project extra quick and pretty much fail proof.

I’m really happy with the fit. I was a bit concerned about gaping in the front, but there’s been no nipplegate yet. The only drawback I find is that you need some super high-waisted trousers or skirts to match with it, otherwise it’s not appropriate for work. Unfortunately, most of my high-waisted skirts are patterned, so I will have to make more plain skirts or more plain Ella blouses. I guess, I’ll end up making both!

SOI Ella Blouse and Burda Culottes by thisblogisnotforyou.com

So…what’s next on my sewing list?
I’ll certainly make a few more Ella blouses, just because they are so easy to make, but as I said, I need more matching skirts! Also, there’s a Sew Over It Juliette Blouse already cut out waiting to be sewn and a few more Silk Camis planned. So quite a few SOI patterns! When I’m done with those, I have some really great autumn patterns lined most which are mostly going to be from Burdastyle magazine. (And there’s knitting to be done!) I definitely won’t be bored!

What are you sewing at the moment?

Charlie

Happy sewing!
♥

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Giveaway Winners!

August 2, 2017.Reading time less than 1 minute.

Knit Noro Accessories 2 review & giveaway by thisblogisnotforyou.com

Congrats to Ros and Joy!!!

You are the winners of the giveaway!

Ros, you’ll get a copy of KNIT NORO 2, and Joy, you’ll receive a copy of 60 Quick Knitted Toys!

The lovely folks over at Sterling Publishing will get in touch with you soon, to send you the books. Have lots of fun knitting!

Thanks everyone for your lovely comments!

Have a great week everyone!

Charlie

Happy knitting!
♥

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Winter Is Coming! (Amazing Knitting Books Giveaway!)

July 16, 2017.Reading time 5 minutes.

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

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:

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!

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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