Weihnachtskleid sew along – Panik

I am calm. I am happy. No tears. No panic whatsoever.

BUT

Oh dear, there was panic along the way of sewing my dress for Cat’s Christmas dress sew-along.

First of all I have to admit that I am a pragmatic sewer. Well, actually I think that I am a pragmatic person anyway. Therefore I knew I would only have time and passion to make one dress – alas no ‘Probekleid’, it was the real thing from the start. PANIC!

Plus I am not a very experienced sewer. Little things here and there, sure. But a Christmas dress is a different pair of shoes. So PANIC again!

So those were my general points of PANIC, but of course there were also some others which jwere created during the process.

PANIC No 1:I was so clever to choose a wonderful fabric with a very distinct pattern and only 20cm more than the amount of fabric recommended on the pattern. And somehow I thought that “allow extra fabric to match plaids or stripes” wouldn’t apply to me, because my fabric is neither striped nor plaided ;-(  So cutting the pieces were more than a little challenge, but somehow miraculously after lots of shuffling around I was able to cut all necessary pieces from my fabric with virtually no leftovers – puh!

PANIC No 2:Despite all the shuffling around of the pieces on my fabric and despite a lot of hard thinking on my behalf, there was more panic related to the distinctive pattern of my fabric. First of all: how would the darts look? Answer: surprisingly good except the one I show you above, but that is the one which is almost completely hidden by the wrap. Lucky me ;-)

Panic No 3:You surely guessed it – there is more trouble attached to a distinctive pattern. Note to myself: just buy plain-coloured fabrics in future! The skirt's side seams. There was simply no way to adjust them, especially with my mere 20cm extra fabric ;-( Therefore I decided to focus on aligning the front and just ignore the side seams. Pragmatic approach, but to be honest you don’t see the mismatch if you wear them because of the extreme width of the skirt and the flowing nature of the fabric. Okay, then keep on going, no major disaster, yet. No reason to throw the dress into a dark corner and forget about it.

  

PANIC No 4:

Ehhhmmm, such a disaster happened about 2 hours later. When I wore the dress for the first time in front of the mirror to be precise. Pure PANIC because there was no way that I could comfortably close the wrap. There just wasn’t enough fabric. Or too much boobs (which I doubt). Anyway, my pragmatic me decided just to extend the fabric in front my adding the contrasting front band the instead of sewing it on top of the wrap part. Thank goodness I had planned for a contrasting band like in view A anyway. And hurray, it worked beautifully.

Panic No 5: Compared to the other PANIC moments, this one is almost not worth mentioning. At a new round in front of the mirror I discovered that there was a big hole in the front of my dress. Close to the newly attached sleeve, which I was so proud of to have mastered. To cut a long story short, I had to detach the sleeve again, open the seam, close it properly (with a lot of backstitching!!!), attach the sleeve again. And voila, a mere hour later or so the hole was history ;-)

Oh girls, I hope you have had less PANIC moments in the course of your Christmas dress sewing (or at least solved the big and little problems by now) and I cannot wait to see your dresses on Friday!!!

Weihnachtskleid sew along – Sewing

Cat, I couldn’t agree more with you. Without the pressure of the creative challenge Christmas dress sew-along I would never finish my dress. But so the deadlines hang right next to my desk and ‘remind’ me that I really have to get to work with this beautiful dress. So here is the update on my Christmas dress:

I am not finished (hoho, not even close).

I am not nearly as far as you, Cat (Probekleid? Auftrennen? Einsetzen? Kragen? Oh, not yet sir)

BUT

I have finished all the annoying bits last night: buying all supplies, cutting, bordering all raw edges and so on. Which is a big thing, because once these things are done, I am enthusiastic about sewing and manage to finish the dress in a couple of hours. Or days?

When I read on the pattern it was easy, I thought: okay just a couple of hours.

Then I read through the instructions and counted the necessary steps (57!!!) and thought: oh no, days!

Then I counted the number of pieces, which need to be sewn together (8), and thought: hours!

Then I thought about the lining, which I need because the dress is mainly off-white and thought: days ;-(

Oh, well there is no point in further trying to do the maths. I just have to start. So without further blahblah and just a quick look over to your dresses, I am off to my sewing machine.  Keep your fingers crossed that I have something to show you next week ;-)

Weihnachtskleid sew along – Cut

Although I had the best intensions I am already falling behind in the Christmas dress sew along creative challenge. The reasons are manifold of course (job, little one, lovely husband, other crafting, Christmas decoration,...), but the real reason is...

... that copying the pattern is my least favourite part of the whole dress-making process. And I am glad to read that I am not the only one who thinks that. Anyway, I therefore procrastinated it as long as possible (as you do with things you don’t want to do or as I do at least :-))

Anyway, I am very proud to announce that I have taken that hurdle.

Voila, that is the visual proof.  8 pieces of pattern copied in the right size. Well, I hope it is the right size, since my measurements seem to fit with none of the suggested sizes: breast medium size, waist medium to small, hip largest size. I guess that is what you call an hour glass figure ;-) Anyway, I decided to make the biggest size and then make the dress tighter in special areas if necessary. And after all it is a Christmas dress – so it should still fit even after a month of great food, sweets and no sports.

Additionally to copying the pattern which I only ‘survived’ due to a glass of red and Hector und die Entdeckung der Zeit, a great audio book , I managed to wash my fabric. So since I have a few days off at the end of the week, I am positive to catch up and show more of my soon-to-be-Christmas-dress next week. Although this not even one of Catherine’s deadlines. Which means I might even be ahead of the class ;-) Hurray!

So, I am off now to have a look at what you have been up to.

Weihnachtskleid sew along – Fabric Choosing

Oh dear, only the second round of the Christmas dress sew along, my favourite creative challenge at the moment and...

... I already have to draw the PANIC card. And that is supposed not to happen until the 19^th December ;-(

found here

Choosing the pattern was easy, but choosing the fabric seemed impossible. My lovely readers Doris, Christiane and Wiebke suggested ‘Viskosejersey’ or ‘Merinojersey’ as ideal material for my pattern and so the decision was made: I am going to sew my first jersey dress.

And then I had a look around and all I found was...

... cheery stripes...

... weird camouflage patterns...

... cute children patterns...

... and boring unis.

All fabrics found at Stoff & Stil and believe me those were the ones which were still quite okay. I want to spare you the horrible flower, batik, punk-style jerseys which I found elsewhere.

No fabric for an elegant, vintage-inspired Christmas dress ;-( Unfortunately I also haven’t had time to go to the Stoffmarkt or Berlins Welt der Stoffe, so I had to turn to my beloved stash –  full of fabrics which I simply loved without having a project in mind. And guess what I found. The perfect fabric. Right there before my nose.

It isn’t jersey, unfortunately, so there will be lots of ironing involved in the making as well as the wearing process, but I am willing to deal with it. I LOVE this fabric, because...

... it is elegant (the black and white is a bit Chanel, n’est pas?)...

... it is a tiny bit ethnic (if you look very closely you can see little chamois bucks jumping out of the tendril pattern)...

... it is unusual (not something you could find at H&M and the like)...

... and the pattern will look gorgeous with it. Ummmh, well I hope it will look gorgeous and I hope that I can refrain from swearing during the sewing process, because white fabrics means, I will have to make a lining dress as well, I am afraid. Oh well, it is a challenge after all ;-)

Ahhh, I cannot wait to see what fabrics you have chosen. And I am particularly curious whether Friederike has decided to do the same dress like me or not. I hope she did, because I would love to see which fabric she has chosen and how the same dress looks in two different variants. So I am off to browse...

Weihnachtskleid sew along – Pattern Choosing

Decision made. It was not easy but it is done. I have decided which will be the pattern of my Christmas dress in the Weihnachtskleid sewalong. It is a pattern that I wanted to do for a long time.

First I didn’t had the pattern. I almost ordered it in the US, but luckily asked my sewing girls-friends whether I should order something for them as well in order to make it worth the international postage. And guess what? My friend J. had exactly the pattern I wanted and she offered to borrow it to me. Not only that, she even sent it to me by mail. How cool and lovely is that?  Now she is in Minnesota for 9 months and you can read here what she is experiencing there. Thanks again J. for lending me the pattern. I will treat it very well and when you are back you can choose one from my stash of patterns.

Ok then I had the pattern, but I hadn’t had time to get started: work, baby, blah-blah...

And then Catherine came along with her brilliant idea of the Christmas dress sew along. And then there was no doubt, it had to be this dress.

Now the next challenge is choosing the right fabric. It needs to be soft and swingy but not too thin and transparent. And I need to buy new fabric (what a shame ;-)) because in my huge stack there isn’t one of 3m lengths. And that is what you need for the circular skirt.

Butterick suggestes the following fabrics: crepe, matted jersey (too casual for my liking!), soft linen (too summery, I also want to wear the dress with tights at Christmas), soft faille (not sure what faille is ;-(), crepe de chine, cotton (too much ironing!), cotton blends...

Any suggestions from your side regarding the perfect fabric are very welcomed!!!

Weihnachtskleid sew along – what a great idea!

A new creative challenge – that is exactly what I need. A reason to get off the sofa and onto my sewing machine. Fortunately Catherine provided me with exactly what I needed – a charming, challenging, creative kick in the b***. Thanks so much for the inspiration, Catherine.

So, let’s start making something beautiful for us, girls. I know we tend to craft 24/7 for our loved ones and most of the time they appreciate the time and effort we put into making Adventskalender (advent calendars) and presents, but... we deserve something beautiful, custom-made and unique as well. So, for a change, please just think about yourself and take part in Catherine’s big creative challenge: “Christmas dress sew along”.

I already have a very special pattern in mind which I would like to make, but since I still have a week to decide on the pattern, I will start looking around for inspiration right now. So, see you later...

Highlights of Me Made February

Me Made February was really the greatest blog initiative I have ever taken part in.

 It was FUN: especially trying to take photos of myself, without automatic release, without tripod, but with dark winter skies, a clingy 9-months-old and a splotchy mirror ;-)

 It was INSPIRATION: new blogs, new creative people, new things on my to-do-list e.g.
 Vintage fashion like Catherine’s

 A ‘real’ or ‘fake’ underskirt like Dana’s

Print with stamps cut from old ‘isomatten’ as seen at Paula

Looking for fabrics in second hand shops (not matter what size or style the clothes have) as seen at Sanne

It was amazing SUPPORT: I have never expected so much positive feedback, so many encouraging comments, so constructive criticism and even a birthday present from a lovely reader

It was a KICK IN THE BUTT: to start dressing up again (even if you are just going to playgroup), to get some unfinished projects finally done and to start and finish new ones and to post on this blog EVERY day

It was a SUCCESS: I have posted one me made piece every day and finished one new me made piece every week. Here they are:

2 hairpieces

+

2 belts

+

2 skirts

+

3 brooches

+

4 earrings

+

7 necklaces

+

4 re-stylings of my favourite me made jeans dress

+

4 new me made accessories

So mission completed! Challenge met! Hurray!!!


Thank you so much, Cat for inventing Me Made February. For organising it. And for being our head. Our inspiration. Our shining star. Looking forward to our Me Made Mondays or Wednesdays. I am definitely in!

Me Made February – Finale: Hat

Finale – the last day of Me Made February. And to mark this special occasion I wear today...

... my brand new me made hat.

Pattern: me made, inspired by a hat I bought on St.Kilda’s Esplanade Market

Fabric outside: lightweight Prince-of- Wales- Check (Glencheck) fabric – gift from my friend N.

Fabric lining: pink lining fabric from the Neuköllner Stoffmarkt

I am really proud of it and therefore I saved it for the finale of my Me Made Challenge. It is the first time that I made a pattern myself and after only a few tweaks it now looks like the original. Only better ;-)

I love hats per se. But this hat I simply adore.

I love its style. It is chic yet practical (it is warm and covers both your ears completely plus you can just fold it up in your bag when you go inside). It is traditional yet quirky (I love tweed, but feel that I am not eccentric enough to wear the English-landlady-style from head to toe).

Therefore I knew I had to make a similar hat like this when I first saw it. And I am proud that I managed to do so before the long German winter is over. So now I have two of these wonderful hats to alternate for the rest of the winter. So bring on the -10Cs ;-)

And now ...

... that’s it! I cannot believe it. That was my last post and last item for this Me Made February :-( So, before I start to become all melancholic, I better go and have a look at your me made posts. For the last time – sniff!

Me Made February – Tiger Lily Jeans

Today I am going to show you the last transformation of my beloved me made jeans dress. You have already seen it here, here and here .

There are many more combinations I can think of and have worn before, but Me Made February is almost over and I wanted to show you one last challenge: Tiger print:

In my opinion animal prints are always tricky. No matter whether you are big or small. Young or old. Blonde or brunette. Over- or under-weight. It is so easy to look cheap. Or dowdy. Or rich-south-African-on-safari. Or ich-Tarzan-du-Jane.

I think they look great with the jeans. Like Sanne. Therefore the only animal prints I own are on this scarf-turned-into-belt and these ballerina flats.

Anyway, for me fashion is about having fun. About trying new things. About rediscovering old things. About expressing oneself. About taking risks. Risks to look stupid. But also gorgeous.

Therefore, I am heading over to your posts now for some gorgeous me made fashion!

Me Made February – Hairclip

Wow, I am slowly running out of me made things. And I am running out of time to make new me made things. My lovely husband and I are working like crazy on the girls’ room today. Girls that is me and my little one and we are going to share a play-craft-room ;-) We finally finished unpacking our 2 million moving boxes from Australia and the 3 million storage boxes. Hurray!!! Now we are working on the lights and the baseboard. And I am so happy that we are finally getting this done that I cannot stop or even slow down. Therefore I couldn’t put too much effort in my outfit. Or any effort at all, to be honest.

So, today I am only wearing a me made hair clip to stop my former-fringe to fall into my eyes. Oh, how glamorous my life is ;-)

Hope you have nicer things to do today!

Me Made February – Brooch

Today I tried my very best to look like a modern mum. A mum who works, but is still dedicated to her little one. Who is reliable, who is always there if the little one needs her, but who also trusts that other people can care well for her baby. In short, I tried to look like the mum of every child carers’ dream ;-) Yes, I am on my way to an interview, no not a job interview, but an interview at a child care centre. Although Berlin has many child care options, they are in high demand. And under the age of 3 no child has a guaranteed place in kindergarten. I have heard at some special kindergartens you have to send a CV of your child and both parents are invited to an official interview, if the child has impressed with his or her achievements. Crazy! It is not that bad at my child care centre of choice. Officially it is not an interview, but a conducted tour of the kindergarten, but of course this is also the only chance to make a (good) first impression. Hence my dressing up. Maybe I am exaggerating, but I don't want to be remembered as the crazy mum with the lobster brooch ;-)

Now back to fashion and Me Made February, however:

I wear my favourite (bought) pencil skirt with boring aehm classic black shirt, cardigan and tights. Black boots, a warm grey-and-black coat, a warm grey hat and red leather gloves will be added before leaving the house (it is -6C outside!).

The me made thing of my outfit today is the grey brooch. I made it from a beautiful button form the 40s, which I found at an antique shop in Melbourne.

I love the structure of the yarn. Its subtle shine. The shade of grey. It looks so classy. I wish they had more of these buttons. Wouldn’t a row of these buttons stunning on a dark coat? Well, at least i got one of these treasures and so i can add a touch of class to every (boring) outfit ;-)

Looking forward to your Friday outfits!

My creative space meets Me Made February – Belt

It is Thursday and in my blogging world that means My Creative Space – a great blogging initiative initiated by Kirsty from Kootoyoo. Creative people from all over the world show their working space, projects they are currently working on and unfinished projects. I find it very inspiring and the photos that show the work spaces are truly stunning. So here is my creative space today:

I finally started on my hat. I found the right woollen fabric, I bought the matching lining, I even made the pattern last night,... so today I hopefully get started with cutting and sewing. Because I really want to finish the hat this month. In Me Made February. Before gets warmer in Berlin (-10 C this morning!). And because I promised it to Dana ;-)

Since the hat is not finished, yet, it doesn’t count for My Creative Challenge, for which I have to wear something me made or made something new for me every day of February.

Catherine invented the German version of Self-Stiched September by So Zo and now Germany is crafting up a storm of me made fashion items. Have a look here at all the amazing girls.

I wear a green me made belt out of silk with a Chinese pattern today. As you might have recognised I love folk inspired fashion. Especially Asian one. It is a bit hard, however, to incorporate them into your daily wardrobe

a) because even I don’t want to look like I am on my way to a dress-up party every day

and

b) because traditional Asian dress or top patterns are simply not made for an European girl aehm women with an hourglass figure ;-)

This belt is about the only fashion item I have which is green. I am never sure which shade of green suits me, but actually I like this combination of brown and light, non-yellowish green very much.

Me Made February – Skirt

Today is our 5th anniversary! Well not our fifth wedding day, but the day we met at a dress-up party (‘Karneval’) and fell in love pretty much straight away. Definitely an occasion to celebrate. Therefore we are going out for dinner tonight. Thus my contribution to Me Made February is rather glamorous today:

I have made this skirt a couple of years ago. And although I don’t wear it very often, it will always have a special place in my wardrobe.

Because it fits perfectly. Because it has the right degree of chic for me.

Because it has such a nice shade of brown (which I find extremely difficult to find). Because I LOVE the colour combination (who would have believed that brown-pink-lime-green would go together so well?). Because I LOVE the geometric flower pattern.

I made the skirt after a Burda pattern, but unfortunately I have absolutely no idea from which year or number. The fabric is from Bogner, which my mum bought at a fabric warehouse sale in Munich for me.

Looking forward to your glamorous or casual me made pieces of fashion!