My Chardon skirt

Hi guys! 

Thank you so much if you've voted for me for Sew it up.. Unfortunately I was eliminated from the competition.. At least this gives me more time to relax and sew at my own pace, I do perform best under deadline stress, but there's only so much stress you can take before it gets too much.. I did find something great as a thank you for one of you, so check back for that next week..

I still wanted to show you my Chardon skirt which I made to pair with my Bombshell swimsuit. I've had this pattern for a while but just didn't get around to making it. The fabric I picked comes from Paris and I originally wanted to make shorts out of it. It is cotton and the right side has a very soft (almost velvet like) feel to it. I'm super happy that I chose to make a skirt, since it's very wearable and a great wardrobe staple. 

My hip measurements put me between 36 and 38, so I cut a size 37. I either did something wrong with the pleats or I should have cut a size 38, since it was getting veeerrry snug around my waist. I let out the seam allowances as much as I could, but this does lead to the pockets creating slight drag lines. Which I don't really care about, but I'm going to add some cm's to the pattern next time. 

This was the first time that I actually made belt loops, don't know if I attached them correctly, since now you see two stitch lines on each side. But they work and I really like that you can add a a belt! I didn't interface the facings, since the fabric is already quite thick and sturdy and I didn't want to add extra bulk.

Chardon in action

 It travelled with me to Italy and I've worn it soo many times already! I love the way it looks with a tucked in shirt, def going to be a summer (probably a year round) staple! I actually went fabric shopping and found two gorgeous fabrics which I'm going to giveaway to one of you, as a thank you for being so awesome/voting for me! The fabric is currently still in Italy with my parents, but once it gets here (next week) I'm hosting a giveaway :)

I finally made a Bombshell! Sew it up week 3

For this weeks Sew it up challenge (you can vote here!) I made an outfit inspired by the artist Ted Parker. It was the perfect excuse to get my act together and finally make the gorgeous Bombshell swimsuit pattern from Heather at Closet Case Files.

First the video I made for you guys :) The water was still super cold!

And my inspiration:

www.ted-parker.com

I’ve had this pattern ever since it came out last year, but when my black lining fabric wasn’t delivered in time for our trip to Bali I kinda forgot about it (also because it was winter ofcourse..)

So when I read that we had to make an artist inspired outfit, I ran to the copyshop to get my Bombshell pattern printed!  I found some black and white (gingham?) swimsuit fabric, and it is actually more fabric like then your normal lycra. Which gives it a real 50’s vibe for me.

 It was a lot of fun to make, I followed the sewalong, which is super detailed! The only thing I messed up was when I decided to serge the back seam about 5 times, which made it really thick. After spending 3 hours to unpick everything it was smooth sailing from there on. I find that if I serge seams that get a little bit of strain on them the stitches really show on the right side. I guess it’s a tension thing with my serger, but so far I haven’t figured it out yet.. Any tips?

The dreaded back seam.. 

Fit wise I graded from a size 6 on top to a size 7 around my waist and hips. The first two times I put it on I actually heard a  very soft ripping sound, but now I don’t hear anything and I don’t see any torn stitches, so I’m hoping I’ll be fine!

  My skirt is the Chardon skirt from Deer and Doe. Which I will blog about a bit later :)

Do you have any specific summer sewing plans? I’ve been spotting Lladybirds new bikini on Instagram and immediately thought: I have some black lycra in my stash! I’ve been tempted to buy it right away as Papercut Patterns now also has pdf downloads..  But then there’s also the Nettie pattern, which I could make out of leftover fabric from this Bombshell.. Aargh the temptation!

Shane is getting tired of modelling

If I can be very annoying once again and please ask you to vote for me here? I’d be forever grateful!

Shane by Ted Parker

Lovely suprises from the mailman

Look what I found in my mailbox after two days (and one night) at work?

I had ordered three patterns from Deer and Doe, the Airelle blouse, the Datura blouse, and the Chardon skirt. I am really excited to try out the lovely patterns from Deer and Doe. I already have some fabric cut out for the Datura blouse, it is the cotton fabric that I painted last week while making the napkins-gone-wrong.. Luckily the fabric came out better looking than the napkins!