Sew it up week 1, dreaming of Tokyo..

Hi guys! 

For the first challenge we were given a pattern that we had to work with. The pattern was for a Chanel style jacket. It was as if Caroline and Hanne (the organisers) had read my summer to-sew list.. 

But since it’s impossible to finish a proper Chanel style little black jacket in two weeks (for me at least as I wanted to use couture techniques) I decided to take a completely different approach for this weeks challenge.

I’ve been inspired by Japanese sewing and embroidery techniques for a while now. I think I made about 4 Drape Drape projects in the last 2 months.. So I knew that this would be the perfect opportunity to combine a couple of them.

My jacket is made out of a lightweight linen and I chose to add embellishments in the form of Sashiko embroidery. Sashiko means little stabs in Japanese and it is a form of embroidery that uses the running stitch to create geometric patterns. I stitched them onto the linen after sewing the shoulder seams together. For a clean inside I added an extra layer to disguise all the stitches.

Stitches? Which stitches?

For the pants I used my own drafted pleated pants pattern. It’s quite a simple pattern but I think that the pleats just give it that something special. I also added pockets, just because you never know when you might need them. The pants are made out of a very soft stretch cotton and they are so comfy that I don’t want to take them off anymore!

To complete my outfit I knew I had the perfect shirt. I’ve made this shirt from the silk fabric I dyed in the Itajime dye class while I was in New York last year. I really like the pop of colour that it adds to the outfit.

I hope you like my creations for this challenge and I can’t wait to show you what I’ve been planning for the other ones..  I do have some pretty cool ideas, can't wait! 

If you've got an extra minute (or seconds maybe even) please vote for me! Here's the link:

Sew it up