Big skirts for summer!!

It really feels like summer now and for that reason, I've unearthed some of my favorites of last summer.

When I made this skirt, it was partly to get rid of that big piece of bright red cotton taking up space in my stash. It's a full circle, with a deep pleat at front and back added to that. It has a double waistband, one straight and one curved and I've only just realised I can accesoirize it with a belt. The top is a recent refashion.

I know seamstresses are supposed to be planning ahead, taking into account how much time it can cost to actually make something, but ehhh... What can I say? Somehow, the new season always hits me by surprise. I guess the long 'in between' periods we tend to get here in the Netherlands could, in part, be blamed for that. Right now, I'm itching to get started on dress nr. 2 from my line-up, in teal cotton. With a huge skirt. As I mentioned before, I feel like making loads of big skirted retro dresses this summer (and I know it's not per se the 'in' thing right now, but go look if I care...)

Weekly outfit nr.19

Back to regular posting. This is my outfit picture for this week. It seems that ever since making the green skirt and orange top, I keep thinking colour. I have been sewing a colourful dress (more about that tomorrow) and looking at colourful fabrics.

Here, I'm wearing the brightest not-summer skirt I had before the green one. It's bright red wide wale corduroy and I made it about two years ago from a pattern I made myself. With it, I'm wearing a cardigan, which is one of only two succesfull attemps at knitting I've ever made. I kind of made it last year, but at a gauge of 3,5 mm, it took me forever and it lived for quite some time as a UFO with the body pieces and one sleeve done. I am happy with the result though, and have been wearing it quite a bit on warmer days this winter. The t-shirt I wear underneath was recycled from an old plain t-shirt of my boyfriend's and painted with white fabric paint (two years ago)

Weekly outfit is back! Eh, nr. 18 right?

I actually planned to do several outfit-pictures today, showing off various recent creations. However, I managed to have my eyes closed on all but one picture, and by the time I noticed, it was too dark for new once.

So, just one for now, and I'll try again on Friday.

Here I'm wearing (they just go with everything) my lightly flared charcoal grey trousers with my latest creation, a top with a draped neckline. What makes this one quite different in my wardrobe is, of course, the colour. I found this fabric on sale and it was just so woolly and soft and drapey that I just had to buy it. I figured I could always dye it if the colour was really no good. But it's kind of a burnt orange which actually goes surprisingly well with my hair colour and skin tone (at least, I think so...).

I bought all the fabric left on the bolt (about 3m, the sellers at the market always start making offers you can't refuse when they get to the last 4m on a bolt), so there will be one or two more pieces made from it.

Weekly outfit nr.17

Black trousers, an old favorite which I made about two years ago, a store-bought black turtle neck and the cardigan-thing which I made a while ago from one of my boyfriend's old sweaters worn with a thin belt.

By the way, I did read some comments on the colour (or lack thereof) of many of my outfit. I think I should try to give a bit of explanation on that point.

First of, I'm just one of those people who believe that everything looks good with black. My old 'uniform' (before I made all my clothes) used to consist of a skirt in a colour and a black top (or jeans and a black top, but that was just too boring).

I also used to love 'standard' romantic goth clothes. My first succesfull sewing creation was a read satin skirt with a black lace overskirt (which I wore with black tops, of course). Although my style has changed quite a bit, some of the esthetic is definately still with me.

And I went to art school. Studying photography. Art folks and photographers are still a little more prone to wearing black than the 'average person' (who doesn't exist, I know).

Also, it's still winter here. I wear black all year round, but I tend to pair it with much brighter colours when the sun is out more.

The last, but not least, reason is deeply practical one: I can't really afford to spend a lot of money on fabrics at the moment. I'm lucky to have my sources for very affordable jeans, plain cotton, wool and jersey, but the supply of colours is limited (often to black, grey or dark blue, and some ugly, very bright colours). It is very hard to find nice lighter weight fabrics (for tops) as well as anything to matching or complementing a coloured fabric or a good print. It is not just a money-thing either. If I go to the fabric store, I don't like most of their prints and very little of their colours. And, to make it harder, I prefer to sew with natural fibres.

Basically, I do have a lot of black in my winter wardrobe. For a large part, I like it that way. However, I'm definately on the lookout for some great colours to add to it, but finding them might prove to be quite a challenge.

Weekly outfit nr.16

I know I've skipped a week, but it's too late now to correct that. So, without further ado, I would like to present to you this week's weekly outfit:

Here, I'm wearing my flared jeans (made last year, and already shown in an earlier 'weekly outfit'), the anatomical heart T-shirt I made the week before last and my black boucle 'cape-bodied' jacket. I made that last winter. It has normal, jacket-style, two-part sleeves, but a fairly short and widely flared body with round lower lapels and a stander at the back of the neck.

Weekly outfit nr.15

It's still cold outside, so trousers just tend to be more practical for now. These are the flared ones which I made recently, worn with a black poloneck and a blouse/jacket which I made last summer. It is fairly short, has a collar with rounded lapels and puffy sleeves (it is also, embarrassingly, the one item in my wardrobe which closes the wrong way, left over right instead of right over left. I didn't notice my mistake untill after I had slashed the buttonholes). I never quite liked the look of it in summer, but as soon as the temperature had dropped, it seemed to come into my comfort zone.

Weekly outfit nr.14

Of course, after all the excitement of the holidays, it is now time to return to normal life, and as far as this blog goes, that means a return to regular posting. So here is my first 'weekly outfit' post for 2010.

I made this bias cut skirt in December 2008 (I remember wearing on Boxing Day that year) and the sweater a bit later. Oh, and yes, the checks on that skirt do match at the seams.

I really like the look but I hardly ever wear this skirt outside because knit lining I used, tends to stick to thights or stockings and the hem has a habit of snagging on any kind of extremity on my shoes.

By the way, if you are new to this blog, and have come here through Burdastyle, fehrtrade, Dress a day or any of the other great blogs which link to this place now: welcome! I hope you'll like it here.

I have to confess straight away that I'll be very busy until the 20th of January. So, despite my resolutions, I don't think I will have time for elaborate how-to's very soon. Regular posting will continue though.

Weekly outfit nr.13

This skirt was the first item for which I drafted the pattern myself. I made it when I was taking a course in pattern making with M 2,5 years ago. It has a high waist and curved pieces set into the sides. The fabric was a wool remnant I bought at the fabric store. I wanted some good material for my first real own garment and it is. However, that also meant I had to make do with a small piece and was limited to making a fairly narrow skirt. It really is a winter skirt and I still love it.

The cardigan is one of a pair I whipped up last year from what was then a mystery fabric, which I had been able to buy very cheaply. On closer inspection, it turned out to be cooked wool knit. It's warm, a bit bulky and it doesn't fray or curl up. For those reasons, this cardigan is one of very few of my creations to have unfinished edges.

Weekly outfit nr.12

A picture in a different setting this week.

So far, apart from a few days in early November, we hadn't had much in the name of cold weather here in Holland, this winter. Until this week that is. The first part of the week was cold and bright, with midday temperatures around freezing point. Then, yesterday, there was snow. Lots of it, in the northern provinces. Where I live in The Hague, in the southern half of the country and close to the sea (yes, it's a small country, but for things like snow, a few miles can make all the difference), it got to about 5cm. Which is a lot by the standard of recent years. We tend to get between two and four days of snow here. It's here now, but that's by no means a garantee for a white Christmas. In fact, just a single day of frost around the clock is enough the make skating enthousiasts dream of marathons on the canals.

For me, the weather offered the opportunity to show off the city I live in in unusual garb and to show you some of my warmer clothes. I made the coat in late winter, two years ago. So late in fact, that I could hardly wear it anymore that year. It's an A-line coat in thick black wool with broad leather edges. It closes with covered buttons. With it, I'm wearing my wide, belt pleated tweed trousers and a simple black shirt, both made about exactly a year ago.

Weekly outfit nr.11

Tonight, my boyfriend's band, Apparition (he plays the bass guitar) is performing for the first time in months. So, of course I'm going along to show my support. Which is, at least partly, the reason for this outfit.

T-shirt: Apparition-bandshirt (first version girly shirt ;)

trousers: black jeans I made about two years ago. I believe these were my second pair of self-drafted trousers, sporting my first set of bound pockets.

'winged' cardigan: made this summer. I posted a how-to on Burdastyle.

weekly outfit nr.10

Ok, I know I'm cheating a bit here. I should have posted this last week, but I was busy with other things and the weather was so hidiously gray and dark that there just wasn't enough light in the house to take any photographs.

If I swear I wore this last week (on friday, to be precise), had it on a chair in my bedroom for a few days, and put it on to take this picture before putting it in the laundry, would that make any difference? ;)

In this picture, I'm wearing the new dark grey trousers I wrote about before, a cooked wool cardigan I made about a year ago (I posted about it on Burdastyle back then) and a very simple black top from H&M which I have owned for at least 2,5 years (this is one of a very few RTW staple items which I still wear a lot).

Playing catch-up (and weekly outfit nr.9)

I'm afraid I got a bit behind on posting this week. In part, the weather is to blame for this. For most of the week, it's been raining so much that there was hardly any proper daylight. Not good for taking pictures...

I'll try to make up for it now. First of all, a new 'weekly outfit'.

I made the top last week, and wore it for the first time this week. It is made from woolmix knit and was my attempt to make kimono/batwing sleeves work on me. Roomier ones require a different kind of figure, with breasts... This particular shape probably wouldn't work in a woven fabric (too confining) but it's fine in a knit. For added interest, and to have an excuse for a center back seam (and thereby saving fabric) I made a fairly deep V at the back. The trousers are one of the first things I made using my new sewing machine, somewhere back in June. I still really like the fit-and-flare shape, the topstitching details and the pockets with flaps.

It occured to me that this top is hardly the only recent creation I haven't shown yet. So, I'll show the rest as well.

I made this dress last weekend. Unfortunately, the picture isn't very clear, but it has a smocking detail at the front under the bust. I kind of like it, but it's a style I have to get used to. I've been wearing it with a little bolero jacket in black jeans. Both for warmth, and to give it a bit of an edge.

For this blouse, I used the first pattern for a top I ever made. I only changed the collar. I'm not that happy with it. I love the original blouse (which is black and has a larger and floppier collar) and have worn it a lot. When I bought this gray cotton for one of E's shirts, I was convinced that it would be a good colour for me too, and so I bought extra fabric. Yet, I'm stuck with a blouse which somehow doesn't look or feel quite right to me... I think it's mostly a colour-thing and I wouldn't be surprised if washing it helps with the rest(that will take the starch out of the fabric). Lately, even my crazier plans usually work out, so I'm a bit surprised at the being disappointed by what seemed to be a very safe project...

Well, better next time.

These trousers, I finished just this morning. I realised a while ago that I didn't really have any good trousers anymore, excluding the jeans. The pair in black stretch twill I've had for two years are pretty faded by now, so no longer good for more formal occasions. I used the pattern I made for that much loved pair and made a new one using thin charcoal grey woolblend. Flared legs, scoop pockets at the front, single welt pockets at the back.

I bought 4 m of this fabric, so you're going to see more of it. I'm slightly addicted to making jackets (although I try to keep that in check, I don't wear jackets that much...) so there will probably be one of those. And I'm sorely tempted to try and make a pair of belt pleated trousers. Which could be either great, or a total disaster. I'll keep you informed.

Lastly, I've got a museum/city tip to share. Last Thursday, M and I went to the Antwerp Fashion Museum, MoMu. We saw the exhibition about Belgian leather brand Delveaux (handbags from the 1930's till 2000, plus history, patterns and an impression of the atelier), work by incredebly talented first year BA students of the Antwerp Fashion School (I strongly suspect these people graduated from some other art school before starting there, that would explain the level of their work) and at Modenatie (a separate store/galery bit) items from the Yohi Yamamoto winter collection. And, despite the appalling weather, we did some great window shopping along the Nationalestraat (where the museum is located). Now, this exhibit is too small to be worth a long trip, but if you happen to be near Antwerp, or have some way of getting there easily and cheaply, it is definately worth a place on your to-do-list.

weekly outfit nr.8

This is what I meant a while ago, about my old 'interesting skirt, black turtleneck' habit...

I only made the skirt I wear today. At least a year ago, maybe longer. The fabric for it was a remnant from a usually fairly expensive seller and, true to form, I wanted to use all of it. And I really liked the look it had when I just draped the fabric around my hips trying to come up with a design.

When I published it on Burdastyle, several people wanted to know how to make it, but I never got around to making a how-to.

Until now, that is. All you need to make a skirt like this, is a basic pattern for a straight skirt with darts. Then, you have to adept the pattern like this (the dotted line marks the hipline):

The sketch shows an normal highth skirt pattern, mine is high waisted, obviously there is plenty of room for variation there. I also made separate waist pieces (with a gentle curve, no point) at the front, just because I like to make sure the front and back have some kind of relation to each other, appart from being attached at sides.

Keep in mind that the wrong side of the fabric will show at the back drape. When sewing the skirt, you have to stitch the center back seam of lower piece first, with the wrong sides of the fabric facing. If the length of the skirt requires a walking slit, leave a piece at the bottom open. Then, you finish the edges of the drape piece (I narrowly hemmed by hand) and sew the upper back piece together. The tricky part come next: attaching to whole thing neatly. No real trick to help you there, this just takes some careful sewing. Once that's done, you can treat it like any other back-of-skirt.

Weekly outfit nr.7

It was rather hard to take a proper picture of this one, but I assure you: it looks kind of nice in real life.

I made the jeans about a year ago. The shirt is new. It started out as this dress, with which I was happy at first. However, it didn't live up to that in wearing. The big pleat it had made it pull towards the back quite badly and all the buttoned bits made me think of various kinds of old-fashioned hospital wear. So, I cut it short, took out the pleat and decided to see if it would work any better as a shirt. I think it's Ok when teamed with high waisted trousers or skirts and it managed to get my boyfriends sign of approval.

On another note: remember those shirts for my boyfriend I told you about? He mentioned today that a collegue of his was absolutely amazed to hear they were home-made...

Weekly outfit nr.6

If you follow Wardrobe Refashion, you may have seen a part of this outfit already. I posted the cardigan there the day before yesterday, just after completing it. If you don't follow WR, here's the story: my boyfriend had two large sweaters in a tweedy wool-poly rib knit. They were outdated in shape and had been taking up space in our wardrobe without being worn for as long as we've living together (more than 4 years now). So I convinced him to let me have them. This cardy was one of the results.

Today, I've teamed it up with my beloved circle skirted wrap dress and thick ribbed stockings. I'm quite pleased with having found a way to wear the dress in autumn/winter (although I wouldn't wear it on my bike, or when going out for a long walk). I made the dress at the end of summer '08, in an effort to come up with a wrap dress that would work for my body shape (contrary to popular belief, wrap dresses are not universily flattering. they gained that reputation by being flattering for ladies with larger breasts, something which most other dress styles fail at miserably)

Weekly outfit nr.5

... and my latest creation (for myself, that is) and my official iwadd-look. It's a simple dress made from heavy black knit fabric. The seller swore it was 100% cotton, but I've suspected it all along of containing polyesther. Despite of that it is comfortable and makes a nice winter dress. It has pleats at center front and back, a high collar which closes with snaps along the left shoulder seam, and sleeves with puffed tops (I could claim them as leg-o-mutton sleeves, but I believe they're a bit small for that).

This dress was, once again based on my personal sloper. However, if you wanted to make something similar, you could start with a basic fitted T-shirt pattern, follow my how-to on Burdastyle for the 'blue jersey dress with pleats' for the body and visit www.vintagesewing.info for a tutorial on how to make the sleeves.

My apologies for not making proper links at the moment, but the vintagesewing-site tells me it exceeded its bandwidth limit and I'm not able to find back my own how-to on the new-school Burdastyle site. If possible, I'll add links later.

Vintagesewing-link should be working now.

Weekly outfit nr.4

If last week's featured outfit was a clear illustration of how I used to dress all the time, this one shows how looks can evolve.

The dress is Burdastyle's Azalea (Ok, the pattern was still free when I made the dress...). I made it in the summer before last and although I like it, it hasn't been worn a lot. The jacket is a blazer in black linen which I made this summer (from my own pattern). I also have a black wool jacket, but for indoor wear on a fairly warm autumn day, this one seemed better.

This may not look that strange or spectacular to you, but it's an unusual look for me insofar that I haven't worn this as an outfit before. I tend to go for more structured dresses and wear my jackets with trousers. However if there's anything I like about my wardrobe, it's the chance to play around and try new things.

weekly outfit nr.3

This is a simple outfit, and it illustrates what used to be my personal 'uniform': an A-line skirt and a fairly fitted black turtle neck top. Over the past two years, my style of dressing has diversified quite a bit, but that doesn't mean I can never indulge in my old habits any more.

The top is one of three turle necks I bought last year for winter layering (my old sewing machine wouldn't do knits decently). I sometimes wear it on it's own when it's not that cold yet.

I made the skirt last year. The fabric is a lovely green and raspberry pink tweed which I found as a small remnant on a market stall. At barely 70 cm, it couldn't become the jacket I wanted, and so it languished in my stash for a year. Until I realised it just had to become something I would wear.

The skirt is longer at the back and has a box pleat there. Cutting the back in sections allowed me to use every last bit of the fabric.

weekly outfit nr.2

Not a very exciting entry for this week. Black trousers and a blue top. But things which don't look very special can be very exciting creations for other reasons.

I made the trousers over a year ago. The pattern was based on my personal sloper, which ensures a great fit. They've been worn a lot since then. I often have to pull them off drying line. Actually, I should really make myself another pair.

The top is one of just two things I managed to 'sew' without sewing machine. This one could be made entirely on the serger. And, in fact, this unasuming item of clothing represents a small personal victory to me, a little chunk of progress in my development as a (dare I write it) designer...

Untill this point all tops I made my own patterns for have been fitted to the waist. Flared trousers? Fine! Big skirts? Of course! A-line jackets? Sometimes. But tops? ...

This one is only fitted at the hip, has raglan sleeves and a loose cowl. It's not very wide but there's a reason for that too. I've tried the 'fitted at the hip, big kimono/batwing sleeves on top'-thing, and I can tell you this: if there's one style which really requires a good set of boobs, it's that. My straight and flat frame just seems to be erased by that particular style. So, I made this top in and effort to find a middle road between that and skinny fit T-shirt.

Yeah!! to making your own basics!

Tomorrow, I can finally pick up my sewing machine. I'm really looking forward to it. So many refashion and creation ideas are lined up for that occasion...

Weekly outfit nr.1

I've thought up something new: from now on I'll try to show you one outfit each week. Something I've really worn in that week. Not because I'm so vain and think I've got the best sense. Actually, I'd be very interested in links to blogs where other people do the same thing.

To me, it's not about fashion. It's about promoting making your own clothes, loving them and developing a personal style. I make most of what I wear and my day-to-day looks range from the fairly standard jeans-and-top to eclectic mixes of retro shapes.

Although I make a lot of the patterns myself, I'll make sure to include links for those pieces I did make using tutorials.

Autumn in the Netherlands started yesterday, so it was time to wear thights again. I'm wearing a fitted shirt with pin tucks and a point collar made last winter, from a pattern based on my personal sloper and a short, pleated wrap skirt I made two years ago using this tutorial (only in German). I also made the bag two years ago. I took apart a shop-bought bag which I had used until it almost fell apart and used it as a pattern.