Tuesday, November 26, 2013

new book : new look

i love a trip to the city, so much inspiration to store away for future grey days, not to mention catching up with my blockhead sister. apparently when we are chatting it's just like me in stereo, talking twice as fast as usual! my shopping was quite restrained until we took a trip to Yarns on Collie, where my sister became an enabler to my yarn addiction, "helping" me choose some skeins of colourful sock yarn and some interesting summer denim bamboo.

after a leisurely coffee on Freo's cafe strip, we went to the New Edition bookshop on High Street for a browse. i already have a couple of Japanese sewing books from Yoshiko Tsukiori, so i was happy to find Clothing for Everyday Wear on the shelves. these patterns are so different from what the big pattern companies offer, somehow girlish and ladylike with interesting details. when i got home i rummaged through the stash for some lightweight cotton and cut out pattern X a "drop waist funnel neck dress with pockets".


summery cotton


the other two books i have from this author are distributed by Penguin Books and the sizing has been updated for western figures. this book, although translated into English, retains the original Japanese sizing, so i had to grade up one size for my European hips. luckily these styles are accommodating for all shapes with their easy fit and gentle shaping, so all was well at the try on!


ladylike under the patio


i love this dress, it has a vaguely retro feel about it because of the drop waist, and when i wore it out today i got a lovely comment on how beautiful it is. i think it will be a valuable dress when the sticky heat sets in later in the year. there's still 25 more lovely garments to make from this book and when my daughter saw my dress she put in an order for one as well. i've got a feeling this was an excellent purchase, thanks to Di, and i've ordered some more Japanese sewing books as an early self Christmas pressie!

Tuesday, November 5, 2013

pattern magic in grey marle

i've had some questions about what's happened to this old blog lately and it's not that i haven't been doing anything, i just haven't wanted to blog about it. but in the interests of sisterly love (you know who you are), i'm going to make an effort to share what i've been making.

to start off, something a little odd. it seems i'm late to jump on the Pattern Magic bandwagon, but jump on i have, with gusto! my first few projects were made using the slopers provided in the book, but i quickly realised i do not have a Japanese physique, so these got passed on to my beanpole daughter. after trawling the interwebs, i noticed most people worked off their personal blocks to make the patterns, so i am doing the same.


normal front view

back with hoody section

this top is from Pattern Magic 3 for stretch fabrics and it is very quick and easy to draft and sew. i'm not entirely sure if i got the fit right because the back is not shown in the book. i might still take a smidge off the overarm/hoody seam to reduce the fullness in the back and pull the front neckline lower. i used some mystery remnants of soft grey marle jersey and the top is very comfortable and feels quite "normal" to wear.


saintlike

assassin

 i couldn't resist trying out the hood as pictured in the book, but posing in my own special way! stay tuned for more pattern magic soon, this is too much fun to stop.