Updated on October 6, 2020
Putting the Fit in Outfit
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A weekend alone at home, with stormy weather outside made for the perfect sewing weekend. I planned to make a piece of clothing from scratch, but also a ‘remake’ and some shortening of dresses.
Although the shortening isn’t that exciting, it always gives me a nice feeling that I can make clothing more fitting by just adding 1 seam.
The remake project was about adding some length to a super soft and comfy black sweater I bought from GOAT Organic Apparel. I hoped size M would be long enough to wear it as a sweater dress. Unfortunately it wasn’t. But nothing lost here, if I could just make it longer. Adding fabric is always harder than cutting fabric, especially when you don’t have the same fabric lying around.
That’s why I got fabric in a different color (green). Instead of just sewing some extra fabric at the bottom (which would have been challenging because of the stretchy ribbing) I figured I could add the extra color in the middle of the sweater. And to make it a bit more adventurous, I added the extra fabric in a diagonal line.
The scariest part for me was cutting the, brand new, sweater in half. But once I pinned and sewed the green fabric at one half of the sweater I already knew it was worth the risk. My serger really helped me out here, by the way. I am super pleased with the end result!
Once that was fixed and my wardrobe grew a few new/updated items bigger, it was time to sew my nephew 2 ‘soft’ pants. He keeps asking to wear soft pants, instead of jeans, and I am totally with him! So, in my La Maison Victor magazine collection, I looked for a pair of pants that would fit his criteria and I found the Randy pattern (LMV summer 2014). And in my big pile of fabric stash I found fabric that would combine just perfect. The end result is super soft and I think he can be his jumpy self without having a pair of sturdy pants bother him in his play game.
I hope I can have a date with my sewing machine anytime soon :).
(Oh and here is a picture of the cute dress I made for my niece, back in November. Pattern is Lucy from La Maison Victor 2014-4.)
Zorgen voor de Fit in Outfit
Een weekend alleen thuis, met een storm die buiten raast, maakt het een perfect naaiweekend. Ik plande een nieuw te maken kledingstuk, maar ook een ‘remake’ en een paar naadjes die ingekort moesten worden.
Hoewel het inkorten niet heel spannend werk is geeft het me altijd een fijn gevoel dat ik kleding passend kan maken door 1 zoom te veranderen.
De remake was een nieuwe zachte, zwarte trui van GOAT Organic Apparel die wat extra lengte nodig had. Bij de bestelling hoopte ik dat de trui in maat M lang genoeg zou zijn om te dragen als sweaterjurk, maar helaas was deze net niet lang genoeg. Maar niets verloren als ik ‘m gewoon wat langer zou maken. Het toevoegen van stof is altijd moeilijker dan het wegknippen, helemaal als je niet nog wat van dezelfde stof voor handen hebt.
Daarom heb ik voor stof in een andere kleur (groen) gekozen. In plaats van stof onderaan de trui te naaien (wat sowieso heel lastig zou worden vanwege de boord), bedacht ik dat het mooier zou zijn om extra kleur in het midden van de trui te hebben. En om het nog wat avontuurlijker te maken heb ik de extra stof in een diagonale lijn toegevoegd.
Wat ik best eng vond was het doorknippen van een nieuwe trui. Maar toen ik de extra stof aan een helft van de trui genaaid had, wist ik al dat het het risico waard was. Mijn lockmachine heeft me hier trouwens echt geholpen. En ik ben heel blij met het resultaat!
Toen ik dat voor elkaar had en m’n kledingkast weer wat had opgevuld was het tijd om twee nieuwe ‘zachte broeken’ voor m’n neefje te maken. Hij blijft maar vragen om zachte broeken, in plaats van spijkerbroeken en ik begrijp ‘m helemaal! Dus ben ik in mijn La Maison Victor collectie op zoek gegaan naar een broek die aan zijn criteria zouden voldoen en vond ik het Randy patroon (in het magazine van zomer 2014). Daarna ben ik in mijn stoffenvoorraad gedoken en heb ik een paar leuke stofjes gevonden die goed zouden combineren met het patroon. Het eindresultaat is superzacht en ik denk dat hij hierin z’n actieve zelf kan zijn, zonder dat hij dwars wordt gezeten door een stugge broek.
Ik hoop dat ik snel weer een date kan regelen met m’n naaimachine 🙂
(Oh en bij deze ook nog een foto van een schattig jurkje die ik al in november voor m’n nichtje maakte. Het patroon is Lucy uit La Maison Victor 2014-4.)
Posted on February 13, 2020
Say No No
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This green living tip is probably more of interest for the Dutch readers, but in general it will work for other countries as well.
While living in Holland we have always got a sticker on the mailbox that says ‘no’ to advertisement and ‘no’ to door-to-door leaflets and papers (like the free local paper). But about a month ago the sticker fell off and I forgot to put up a new one.
Updated on January 10, 2020
From Rusty to Birthday Present
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A few months ago I was going out for groceries and on my way there I saw different neighbors had placed different old metal items near the side of the road. It was probably the day the scraps got collected.
After passing one house at the end of our road, I saw a fence (looked like new) that could come in handy in our garden. And when I looked at the pile other neighbors had collected in front of their house I saw a rusty pedal-kart with a flat tire. After further inspection I decided to take it home and see if I could let it shine again.
Posted on December 23, 2019
Thankful
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At the end of this year I want to wish everyone all the best for the new year! And I want to share a few things I am thankful for from this year. I know, normally I try to be happy with having less things, instead of more, but in this case I figured it are very special ones and it’s not about having it, but about what we do with it (can you still follow me ;)).
Updated on December 13, 2019
Green Closet
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Before I start writing about my wardrobe, I have to admit I am really not a fashionista. I hate shopping for shoes and don’t own any high heels. I hardly wear make-up and I go to my favorite hairdresser only once every 6 months. I don’t look sloppy in any way (I think ;)), I just don’t put a lot of time in wearing or looking ‘perfect’, because people are already beautiful without all the extra add-ons. Another thing is, I want to feel good in what I wear and be able to get into my crazy moves without having to bother about my clothes.
That said, I do like to wear nice things. But I also don’t want to leave a big impact on the environment or people in a bad way. Here is how I assemble my green wardrobe (with the side note that I can only do my best, I am not perfect).
Updated on November 14, 2019
Shaving Cream – diy
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For a while now we try to make ‘greener’ choices in the bathroom. At first we used bottled shampoo, conditioner and shower gel. But now we buy almost everything in blocks, so no, or just a little packaging is involved. Good that I bulked up on empty body butter containers, because they are perfect to hold the shampoo and soap bars.
Posted on October 13, 2019
Happy Rainy Market
It has been quiet around here the last few weeks. But I had a good reason: I was knitting my fingers off, to finish as much baby hats and headbands as I possibly could before the 6th of October.
Posted on September 2, 2019
Growing some Green Fingers
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With first a few days of rain and now already a week of sunshine, the garden started its second blooming period. As if all the flowers are refreshed and feel alive, they showcase their colors. It makes me smile and enjoy the place we live more and more.
Our edible part of the garden is also giving us its best (well, except for the lettuce – last year we had so much lettuce in our vegetable garden, this year it just doesn’t want to grow). We see the grapes getting more color day by day, a second pumpkin is turning orange, we can pick fresh cherry tomatoes every day, multiple courgettes are growing from one small plant and there is more to come.
Updated on April 3, 2020
Fancy Pants
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The boyfriend asked for yoga pants. Those are basically pyjama pants but made with a linen or soft cotton (at least that is my view on yoga pants ;). I first tried the Martha Stewart pyjama pattern, it’s free on the web. It was OK, but not perfect.
Updated on July 26, 2019
Lavender Bags – diy
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As I wrote here earlier, our house is pretty small. The first floor is the only top floor and has slanted ceilings. Not practical for closets. Good thing our bathroom is big enough to hold two wardrobe closets. With some creative storing, enough for the two of us.
Unfortunately we don’t have something like an attic, where we can store off-season stuff like winter boots or coats. Shoes can easily be put in a box, coats are stored in our closets. That’s how I realized I really need to clean out mine because with these winter clothes stored it almost explodes 😉
