Category: Inspiration

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Inspiration

Postbags of Fun

I’ve been ill the past few days with some crappy bug that’s going around, and it appears that the postman has either a) been following me on Twitter and reading all my “bluergh I feel awful” tweets, or b) canoed alongside the boat and has been peeping in our windows watching me. I know I’d definitely prefer a).

But in any case, he definitely knew I needed cheering up, because look what arrived within the span of two days!

That’s right, the June Manequim magazine, the July Burda, and a bunch of StyleArc patterns I ordered a few weeks ago (they’re getting SO much faster at turning these around!!)

You’ll see my reviews of Manequim (awesome!) and Burda (pants!) next week, but the new additions to my growing Style Arc hoard are:

  • Audrey jacket, which just looks perfect for Fall to me

  • Pamela dress, which would be really great for taking on our big Mexico trip later this year

  • Emma dress, which is just way Too Me to pass up!

  • and the Freebie for June, Dee Knit Top, which is really cleverly, yet simply drafted

Inspiration, Magazine

Manequim May 2013

Leading on from the amazing April issue, you’d be forgiven for expecting May’s to be a bit sub-par. But oh no no! Manequim have produced another really good issue with at least one “absolutely WILL make” for me, and if you’re Plus-sized, just drop everything and go buy this issue on eBay now.

The first pattern that stood out to me is this amazing Plus-sized biker jacket with gathered sleeves and diagonal zipper! (Also the dress is rather nice, too)

The cover star’s pleated dress has definite potential, but I prefer this sheath dress with piped, angular seams that she wears later in the same feature, even though it’s got an extremely short hem! (which is easy enough to fix, thankfully.)

I adore this blouse!! It’s made with panels of silk chiffon and silk satin, but I personally would instead make it all from silk satin and just alternate the shiny vs matte sides to create texture instead. This means it’s both easier and cheaper to source fabric, and you don’t unintentionally reveal anything in the chiffon sections!

Inspiration, Magazine

Burda magazine June 2013

I’m a tad late with my review of the latest Burda magazine (or as it’s known these days “Burda Style” – but that just makes it too confusing with the other zillion things they do with the same name), but a) it arrived in the midst of my World tour, b) it’s competing with both the April and May Manequim magazines, and c) well, I have made something from it already so I think I’ve earned a pass!

In any case, this is a surprisingly good issue, despite being a summer one!

First up is this sheath dress with angled side panels and hand-stitched details. On first glance it appears quite vintage-inspired, but the sharp seaming in the line drawing actually shows it’s a pretty modern draft!

I chose this next image not really for the batiste skater skirt (which isn’t really my style), but because OMG is this the first black model Burda have ever used?? And I realise this is the “street style” section so she’s not really a model per say, but seriously, I cannot believe how white Burda’s models are, even when they’re showcasing African or Moroccan or Asian inspired patterns they still use white models!*


A bit of an aside, but as I was travelling the other week I saw a massive advert for the German Wings budget airline with three cabin crew ladies: a blonde, a brunette, and a redhead. To which I chuckled to myself “oh, it’s German diversity!”

Next up is a nice figure-hugging knit dress with a cowl neck and gathered side seams. It’s also available as a top, which I think would be an excellent summer basic, or even for layering under jackets.

Inspiration, Magazine

Manequim April 2013 (Oscar dress pattern party!)

I’ve been subscribed to Manequim (direct with their publishers) for going on three years now, and I’ve only had 3 issues go missing in that time, which isn’t too shabby considering the distance. But I’ve never opened up my envelope before to find, uhh, some other random Brazilian magazine!

As it turns out, loads of other people also got the same “Mundo Estranho” (“Strange World”) magazine instead of Manequim, and the publisher said ours would be sent out, but then May arrived with no hint of April. So I have to thank Isidore for alerting me to this review on a Brazilian site showing that April’s issue was not only the annual Oscar special (which I must own!) but it also contained a ton of fantastic blouses! So I grudgingly went and bought it on eBay just so I wouldn’t miss it (that “luma1985” eBay seller was fantastic, btw, and I’d definitely recommend her if you want any one-off issues)!

And you know what? I’m totally glad I did, because IMHO it’s one of the best issues for ages, which you can tell just by the number of scans I took from it here!

Nevermind the photos are of a Kardashian – the top and the curved yoke skirt here are fabulous and Plus-sized!

I really like the idea of using a necklace as an integral part of this top design. It’s a backless bodysuit (therefore, not for everyone!) but I really like the ingenuity and glamour of it here.

The embroidery around the neckline of this sheath dress is just stunning! It’s almost like a motif, but the pattern has you do the design yourself from some chiffon yardage. It’d be a lot of work, but in my experience, things like this are great for long car journeys!

Inspiration, Magazine

Sewing World magazine May 2013

I meant to post this last week while I was away on my world travels, but I found it hard to tactfully review bits of it without adequate sleep (and even with more rest, I may still have failed!).

Sewing World is a British general-sewing magazine with a mix of garments, crafts, embellishment, with a definite skewing towards beginners, but with the odd advanced article thrown in, too. It’s one I’ve picked up and flipped through in newsagents over the years, but never really felt compelled to buy more than once or twice. In recent years they started publishing a pattern sheet insert in the magazine, which IMHO makes it a million times easier to sew projects from instead of drafting from instructions or scaling up from a grid.

My sole reason for buying this issue was to get Tilly’s skirt pattern (see below), but I figured it was worth sharing the rest of the magazine with you since there are probably a lot of you who are unfamiliar with it.

The first article is all about how to tweak a teeshirt pattern to make it fit properly, which is definitely a Good Thing, and is often something that sewists ask about, especially since most FBA articles require some form of darts. I’ve got no problem with the tips offered in the article, but as I flipped the page…

WHAT IN THE NAME OF….? IS THAT A NECK FACING? ON A TEE SHIRT???!

And with that, dear readers, absolutely every shred of respect I had for the article’s author and the entire publication went flying out the window. What. The. Eff.

Look, I know the Big Four put facings on knits, and I scream in horror at the sheer ugliness, stupidity, and enforced crappiness of theirs, too. That someone who purports to be an expert would do this to poor, unsuspecting sewists is just unforgiveable, especially when a folded, sewn, and topstitched neckband is a) simpler to achieve, b) simpler to draft, c) better looking and d) …actually, no D. Just don’t.

Moving on… deep breaths…

From the awful to the sublime – the real reason I bought this issue is to get Tilly’s Marielle skirt! I just love the pencil skirt shape, and the asymmetric buttons and trim, just lovely!

Inspiration

Melissa's World Tour Week

So, I’ve uhh, been a little busy the past week. I know a lot of people say they’re busy, but I’ve seriously been busy. Wanna see exactly how much?

Let’s start at the beginning of last weekend, 17 May, when I flew from London to Copenhagen, so that I could run my second marathon on Sunday morning (19 May). This was months in the making, and something I’d been building up to for a long time. I’ve posted my full race report here if you want to see all the details, but the short version was that it was cold & wet (yay!), friendly (double yay!), but I didn’t get the time I was after (boo!), but I did learn a lot and I’m reasonably happy with my finish of 3:52!

I also ran the race in leggings I sewed myself, from my own leggings draft and two colours of Suziplex. Like in Amsterdam, they were 100% comfortable, stayed in place, and no chafing. They did soak up a fair bit of rain, but then so did the rest of me.


(This is the Before photo!)

After a whole lot of food, an ice bath, a hot shower, and a fine cup of tea, I rushed back to the airport that night to fly back to London (Flight Number Two, if you’re keeping track).

The next morning (20 May), I flew out to Mimi for a short-notice work trip (that’s Flight Number Three). I got 45 glorious minutes of beach time on Tuesday (which I sorely needed, body and soul!), and the meeting went well.

Inspiration, Magazine

Patrones 324 & 26

I haven’t bought Patrones magazine in a while because I’ve been busy sewing other things, but the lovely Tg33 picked these two up when she was visiting Spain recently and sent them to me as gifts! How nice is that!?

So I can show you my picks from both, while I’m currently away on business in (not so sunny) Miami. Let’s feel the hot, summer, ocean vibes!

Patrones 324

How nice would that tiered top from the cover be really nice in a lightweight silk? Because the tiers all start at the shoulder (rather than being connected to a base at intervals), you could even use a semi-sheer fabric and get lessening coverage as you go down…

There’s an entire feature solely on jumpsuits and playsuits (how many does one girl need?!), and regular readers will know I’m not particular a fan, but I couldn’t help but love the seaming on this one!

Inspiration, Magazine

Burda magazine May 2013

Here’s my “one liner” review of this issue – if you’re looking for Spring sewing inspiration, you probably won’t find it here!

I’ve felt the last few Burda issues were a bit lacklustre and this one is even worse. There are a few nice patterns, but most require alterations in order to make them wearable for most people, or are things we’ve seen before. I’ll leave it to Paunnet to tear apart all the horrible rectangle “patterns” in this issue!

First up we’ve got a retro-style bikini with a cute tie in the front and shirred elastic at the back, and elasticated briefs. I found it a bit strange that this is drafted for wovens, when it’d be much more comfortable in a traditional swimsuit lycra. I also saw an idea online that it’d be really cute lengthened into a dress or top! (PDF Pattern here)

There’s a bunch going on in this page – first a cardigan (rather a lot like Jalie’s new one, but for wovens), trousers that look way too much like pyjamas for my liking, and a quite nice dress (which also has a short sleeved option) if you leave off the cutesy patch pockets. (Cardigan PDF Pattern here)

This twist-top is probably my favourite in this issue, but it looks like it either requires a camisole underneath, or some extensive alterations. And I swear there’s a pattern exactly like this in one of the Pattern Magic books, so it’s hardly original.

Inspiration

My evening in a 19th century Parisian Salon

Last week I had the extreme pleasure of attending The Salon Project at the Barbican, an event we booked tickets for months in advance and one I’d been so excited for that I was jumping up and down all day in anticipation!

Why, you ask? Because it was essentially playing dressup in amazing costumes and attending a modern equivalent of the salons that the Enlightenment made famous.

Or in in the official blurb, it’s explained as:

The Salon Project Revisited recreates the exclusive meetings at the heart of what was French society’s golden age – an era of change, excess and inquiry. Your evening begins with a transformation into full period costume by a coterie of dressers and make-up artists, before you emerge into a mirrored impression of a 19th-century Parisian salon. As you mingle with guests, pioneers in their fields will provoke discussion, speaking on subjects at the vanguard of 21st-century thought on science, politics, technology and the arts. Revel in the Salon’s splendour, contrast it with the present and imagine what the future will hold in this beautifully crafted night of fashion and conversation.

You can also view a a great, short video of the performance experience here to get a better idea of how it happened.

To start with, each of us sent our measurements to the team about a month ago – and it was rather more than just Bust, Waist, and Hips! But it was all worthwhile, because when we arrived, a costume selected just for us was waiting on a hanger with our name on it, along with shoes, gloves, jewellery, hairpiece – the works!

We each had our our dresser to help us get the dresses on, as many of them involved corsets which tied or hooked at the back, and elaborate draped pieces. I squealed with delight to see a sleeveless, corseted, dark grey velvet, floor length gown had been chosen for me! How did they know!? My dresser also found me better fitting shoes when my first pair were too small, and I tried on no less than four pairs of gloves before they found ones they deemed acceptable! The dressing team really did have an amazing array to choose from (way more than what was needed each night) so they really hunted to find the best pieces for each person. Then it was time for hair and makeup – the hair lady curled my entire head with tongs before pinning it back and affixing the jewelled feather piece. We ladies got a few minutes to marvel at each other before the gong sounded and we joined the men in the specially-built salon room!

The men were mostly in 3-piece tuxedos, which was more than James wore for our wedding! Doesn’t he look dashing?? He brought his own pocket watch, which was the envy of the other gents!

Inspiration

Baltimore & DC

Last week we flew over to the States for a week – not in Pennsylvania where I grew up (no offence, but I’m kinda sick of visiting there!), but to Baltimore, with a day in DC at the end. We got a lot of strange looks from British friends when we said where we were going – “Baltimore? Really? Why??”, and we’ve been mounting our own Baltimore Tourism crusade since we got back, because it was fantastic!

The reason we were over was because James was speaking at a prestigious tech conference, but I took the opportunity to meet up with loads of friends and family, including the chance to finally meet some fellow sewing bloggers!

I’ve been speaking to Cidell & Trena for at least five years now I reckon, and even weirder is that I already knew their voices from their earlier sewing podcasts (please bring them back!), and there was zero awkwardness when we met up for dinner! It really was like we’d known each other for years, which I suppose we have!


(Note: Jack’s Bistro did not pay us for their product placement!)

Cidell puts me to shame – she posted about our meeting like the same day!! I was also very excited to get more of the Under Armour Cold Gear fabric she’d previously sent, because during the last few months I’d been doing laundry twice a week in order to wear my Cold Gear leggings on both my Tuesday night runs and my Saturday long runs because they’re seriously the warmest leggings I own. Next winter I’ll be much better prepared now!

But they weren’t the only sewists I met – I’d also planned a run with Kathy in Patterson Park near my cousin’s house in Baltimore, which she’s already posted about here!

We both wore running gear we made ourselves – she’s wearing McCalls 6435 adapted for running as her top and the Jalie sports skirt lengthened into leggings, and I’m wearing my disco top and my new self-drafted leggings with that fishnet insertion from Tissu in the front thighs and back calves, which you can see a bit better here: