New Banner/Header!

So I made a new header for this blog. The grey one had been a bit bland to me for a long time, since the “grey phase” I had for a while has been gone for a looong time :D But now everything is new and fresh and I’m happy.

The background for the banner is a weird necklace/headband thing that I crocheted using a sort of popcorn stitch. I haven’t quite decided if I want to wear it or not, but I like the texture.

I also considered using an embroidered flower I did on a kimono I made, but while taking photos of it I realized that I only ever teased that project, but never showed finished thing.

So here’s the kimono (been used as a dressing gown for a while now, so not really in prime-posting-condition, but…):

I used the same tutorial as Catherine Daze, adjusted to my measurements. The fabric was less than ideal though, a bit too stretchy.

The embroidery itself was based on something I found by googling “traditional Japanese embroidery” (seriously pretty stuff, by the way), or something along those lines. The end result was good, though in hindsight I can’t really think of why I decided to use so much time on something so everyday as a dressing gown :D But I suppose it was good practice, at least. I should do more embroidery anyway, it’s very relaxing.

– Sadie

The Last Skirts of 2013

Hi!

Skirt #1:

The first skirt is a simple blue 1/2 circle skirt with pockets. I made it out of a fabric left over from my grandma, which turned out to be one of those tricky 70’s polyesters that wants to melt when ironed. Luckily I did find a temperature that didn’t melt it, so the seams are fairly nice and flat.

I’ve used this skirt a lot, and I adore the colour, so it was a good use of grandma-fabric.

 

Skirt #2:

The second skirt is a 3/4 circle skirt (I’m going through a bit of  a circle skirt phase right now, I admit) with patch pockets and a machine embroidered stag beetle on it. The fabric was a cheap polycotton I had in my stash.

The beetle was for our machine embroidery course at school, where we had to design an embroidery pattern and test it. I chose the stag beetle because they are really fascinating, and quite beautiful as well. Wouldn’t want one crawling on my pillow, but in pictures and nature documentaries they’re great.

I made a separate underskirt (again, 1/2 circle) out of a fabric I found in a charity shop at a ridiculously cheap price. I think it’s probably viscose, and it has a very soft and luxurious feel to it. Perfect underskirt material then.

 

I also made a simple bias camisole from the same fabric. The pattern for this was interesting (inspired by an example in Pattern Cutting by Dannic Chunman Lo), since while the camisole itself is on the bias, the seams are on the straight grain. You can actually see one of the seams in this picture, but it’s a bit hard to spot. Maybe I should just do a tutorial on how to make one of these camisoles or something since it’s pretty cool.

So there you go, my last sewing projects of 2013 :)

Also, an announcement:

A friend of mine is getting married this summer, and I’m making her the dress! It’s not going to be a huge ballgowny type thing, more like a 50’s tea dress, but still, SUPER EXCITED! I actually get to make two dresses for her, since the actual wedding will be in California, but they will have a smallish pre-wedding party in Finland as well, which also requires a dress. So be prepared to hear about that as summer gets closer. Be prepared to hear a lot about that, in fact :D

Embroidery Sneak Peek

A peek at some of the embroidery I’m doing on a kimono I made (a little crazy, since its basically just a dressing gown, but at least it’s good practice!)

Crappy picture, but yay, stylized flowers!

 

– Sadie