Freedom Backpack

Earlier this year, while we were still in Spain, the lovely Amy from Niizo contacted me and asked if I was interested in trying out one of their bag patterns and kits. After having read Lauren’s review of the Freedom backpack last year, they were already on my radar and so I said yes straight away. I love their modern designs, and making a bag from a kit meant that I was way more likely to make one than if I had to source all the materials myself.

I chose to make the Freedom backpack (man that choice was hard to make…) in the Iron Grey colour and here is the result!

I was quite nervous making this bag. There were a lot of pieces, and I had never made such a complex bag or backpack before

His and her hoodies

About a month ago we arrived back home in Sweden after a 6 month adventure in la Alpujarra in Southern Spain. Writing this post and editing the photo’s was a bit tough – I miss it so much already. The walks on the mountain, the clean air, the exercise from constantly walking either up or downhill (my arse will never look that good ever again…), all the amazing people we met. And that VIEW.

But being home is great too. I am working for one! Having spent the last 2.5 years mainly studying and travelling, a full time job provides some much needed structure. And money. But it definitely means less time for sewing.  So while my sewing machine is mostly sleeping soundly in it’s box, here I’ll be sharing some photo’s of two of the last pieces I made while in Spain: his and her versions of Burda 6718.

Red Kelly

Where the hell does time go? It was just Christmas wasn’t it? We have two and a half measly weeks left here in the Alpujarras, and then it’s back home to Sweden. Back to work, finding a house and… reality. Bleurgh. Although moving slightly closer to civilisation will be nice. Closer to fabric shops if nothing else!

My latest project, the Kelly Anorak by Closet Case Patterns (love their rebrand and website overhaul by the way), was a slow project in every sense of the word. I took ages selecting the fabric and hardware, and for once actually made a muslin before sewing up the final product. And I am so ridiculously happy with the end result. 

My Black Gingers – a success story

My sewing projects are progressing slowly up here on the mountain. For obvious reasons, I didn’t bring a huge fabric stash with me from Sweden, so my projects tend to be well planned in advance and I’ve only bought fabric online for a few specific projects. So when I was cutting the pieces for my second pair of Ginger jeans and cut two front right pattern pieces, I cried like a pathetic little baby.

Karen over at Did You Make That published a brilliant list of fury inducing sewing f*uck-ups – and cutting out the wrong pieces with no fabric to spare should definitely be added to that list. I’m sure a lot of you know the feeling, and I was so close to just chucking the whole project in the bin after having spent ages on the floor cutting. But, with a low fabric stash (and also pretty limited funds to spend on sewing), I got over it and started thinking about solutions. Enter: Dylon Fabric Dye….

Greetings from Spain: Tamarack

I’m back!

‘Tis been an inhumanely busy summer, culminating in Dan and I getting married (best thing I ever did), and schlepping all the way to the south of Spain for a six month honeymoon/working holiday adventure. I have worked my ass of this year (finishing my master, running a B&B, taking my driving license, planning a wedding, moving from Sweden to Denmark, maintaining two part time freelance jobs…), and going from that to not doing much…. Well, I kind of crashed when we got here. Turns out ‘relaxing’ doesn’t happen by simply flicking a switch. But I’m getting there, and the amazing surroundings here in the Sierra Nevada mountains are definitely helping. As is the twice weekly pilates class with the old ladies in the village….

Having not been able to sew properly for six (!) months, I’ve started back slooowly. I managed to bring a decent sized sewing kit with me to Spain since we drove down here, including some new patterns I haven’t worked with before. And first up on my sewing list was the Grainline Tamarack Jacket.

Refashioners 2016: House moving chic

Hi guys! Loooooong time no see. I’ve been insanely busy doing all the things, which has unfortunately meant no sewing. In fact, as I write, my sewing machine is boxed up in storage together with all our furniture. But I’m hoping to sneak it out as soon as possible. The withdrawal symptoms are severe.

I did manage to put together my contribution for this years Refashioners however! You can see the result over at Portia’s blog (I have included step-by-step instruction on how I made them…). Below is a little sneak peak. Jeans/denim is great to work with, and I’ve used my dungarees to death since making them.

As always Portia has masterminded an amazing refashioning series – with stunning contributions from everyone taking part. Follow the party on #therefashioners2016 and find out about the community challenge here!

Ciao!

Scrap buster: Wallet

I’m sure no one’s managed to avoid noticing the Fashion Revolution campaign on social media this week. Such a brilliant campaign, and I hope it reaches a lot of people. I don’t think us sewers are necessarily the main target audience (that would kind of be preaching to the converted), but I think we’re good ambassadors in terms of communicating the value of sewing skills, and also emphasising the hard work behind, and also the value of a piece of clothing.

Although we can still try to pull our weight in terms of choosing fabric that’s been ethically produced, and also avoid waste. In the spirit of this, I’ve decided to work through my massive pile of scraps, starting with the fabric I had left over from my latest Inari dress. I used to make loads of zipper pouches and make-up bags for my now closed (not sure if it’s temporary or not) Etsy shop, and they are great as a smaller scrap busting project to do in-between making clothes. My favourite tutorial is this open wide zipper pouch from Noodlehead.

This time I decided to make a new wallet for myself, as my old one had been dying slow death for some time. Here is the result.

Splash Inari

Recently I’ve been a bit stressed out over my pledge to make everything in my wardrobe. Two years since taking my no RTW pledge, sewing has become a bit of a necessity rather than something I do purely for fun. And that’s fine.. But the fact is that I am really shit at making basic clothes, like simple singlets to wear under clothes for example. I also find jeans quite exhausting, and the end result is never as durable as RTW ones. Anyhoodle – I was really inspired when I listened to Seamwork Radio’s latest podcast with Jacqui Palhegyi, blogger at Birds of a Thread. She is a sewing blogger, but also part of the ethical clothing blogosphere which I was pretty oblivious to (I mean, I thought our online sewing community had the answer to everything!). So, I’ve started checking out her Ethical Shopping guide with a mind to perhaps let myself do some shopping going forward…

With all this in mind, I’ve recently ‘allowed’ myself to make a bit more fun, unplanned pieces for my wardrobe, this crazy Inari dress being one of them…

Easter Marthe

Happy Easter guys! Am over in Sweden visiting family and the sun has been shining for a few days now. I’ve been impatiently waiting for spring for a few weeks already, so it’s nice to at least get a preview…

There are very few patterns that I tend to repeat. The Linden Sweatshirt is definitely one of those patterns (as you must know if you follow my blog…), and the Marthe Blouse from République du Chiffon is shaping up to be another staple. I love the silhouette, and the oversized shape works quite well on my 6ft frame*. Here is my latest ‘spring‘ version. 

Sewing for small people: dungarees

I’ve recently discovered how incredibly fun it is to sew clothes for babies. I love making lingerie because of the teeny tiny pattern pieces (no lying and breaking your back cutting out massive PDF patterns and fabric pieces on the floor), and baby clothes are equally small and easy to handle. Also, making baby clothes as gifts for friends and family is pretty special and a lot of heart goes into it. Gifting handmade clothes is definitely more fun that RTW ones, and small clothes like this won’t break the bank.

Actually I think what I’m about to show you are my favourite pieces of clothing I have made yet.