Bronte dress

Here it is. My Bronte dress.

I have had the idea of the design for long now, but couldn't decide on the fabric I was going to make it from. When I saw this woolen fabric I knew it will be perfect for this - and it really proved so.

I love the dress. It feels so comfortable yet it is feminine, desirable and romantic.

That's due to the open neckline and the lovely collar which is ruffled a bit.

At first I wanted to make long sleeves, but just couldn't imagine the dress with such and I left it with short sleeves. Like it better this way.

Just as an afterthought. Many of you may wonder why the "Bronte" dress.

I have this insatiable desire to name my projects no matter whether it concerns clothing, a piece of jewelery or a plain napkin. I believe it gives them character and creates special feeling about them - and in the end - it's just funnier and cute that way! I am sure you all know now why it is "Bronte".

A belt destined with an emboidery

A couple of posts ago I mentioned buying several fabrics and I am happy to announce that all three planned dresses are 'almost' finished. Almost referring to the velvet one, which although being the first to be completed got stuck with its belt, because on the spur of the moment I decided that the belt should be embroidered with nothing less but a silver floss yarn. I am doing a slow progress and I swear I am not procrastinating.

To support this here is a sneak peek of the embroidery.

I hope to finish this soon.

The Magic of Christmas Cards

The month of December is very exciting for us all. Especially the children. The most joyous event for my children is decorating the Christmas tree and the buying of Christmas decorations and Christmas cards. The latter are the reason for this post.

I remember myself as a child burning with excitement when opening the mailbox and finding loads of beautiful and colourful Christmas cards inside. The joy and the magic of the moment as well as the sincere and genuine wishes for good health, love and prosperity they conveyed had made me fall desperately in love with the essence of sending and receiving these cards.

Understandably, I started collecting them. I have a pretty large collection as you may assume.

I also tried to continue this tradition with my children and they've taken the bait. When Christmas time is over, we take out the box with all the cards and before filling it with the new ones we go through them all, one by one, admiring the pictures, reading them, enjoying the good vibes.

What magic shall they bring this year?

Rose bolero tutorial

I have had this sweater for a couple of years now, but with every wash it shrank bit by bit and it got so small I didn't want to wear it simply because I felt uncomfortable in it. On the other hand I didn't want to throw it away because it was pure wool. So I decided to refashion it by making a bolero with roses for decoration. This is how I did it.

Step 1: You need a sweater or a cardigan desperate for a refashioning. Start by cutting it down the centre.

Step 2: Next take the edge of it and start gathering it (roll it, twist it) to shape it into a flower. You should gather it up to the neckline (at least I did).

Step 3: When you acquire the desired look of the flower, pin it and try it before sewing it on.

Step 4: Sew it in place.

Optional: I thought it will look richer if I add other flowers. You could decorate it with ribbons, sequins, beads, the lot.

Well, now this is a different story. Much better than before.

Burgundy cape

After two weeks of strenuous and stressful load of translation I wanted an easy project that shan't require much deciphering patterns and counting stitches.
For the easy project I had in mind I decided on this ball of coarse wool yarn that I bought simply because I liked the colour and I knew that whatever I make it will look a bit raw. And it does, but little do I care. I feel nice with it on my shoulders.

Thus, I present the Burgundy cape. It was too easy and plain even for my taste so I embellished it with a braided neckline after deciding that making a lacey edge is too much work and that it will not turn out that glamorous with this type of wool.

Golden leaves

Induced by my last refashioning, I wanted to try and make a blouse with a stand-out collar. The quick visit to the fabric shop yesterday yielded in dark navy velvet, light pink cotton and mustard-yellow blend which I had noticed on my previous visit there but was not eager to buy it then.
As soon as I got home today I set to work and an hour later - this is what I made myself.

I love the way the sleeves turned out!

I like the design so much I now want to make this into a dress.

Refashioning a Hidden treasure

 

I have had this dress since I can remember. Its place was in the last drawer of my mother's wardrobe, discarded with other clothing not considered fashionable any more, yet not thrown away due to beautiful memories of past times. 

This dress was not my mom's - it was one of my aunts'. How it ended at my mother's nobody knows. I know for sure that it was made for a kind of a special occasion and not much worn afterwards.

I remember wearing it a couple of times as a little girl when dressing up with my sister -pretending we were princesses (don't tell me you didn't do that!) and I wore it once to a costume party (being a fairy queen)- pity I don't have the picture at hand.

And suddenly rearranging my stuff of old - oops!sorry! - I meant vintage clothing, this 'beauty' emerged and I instantly saw its potential and knew exactly how to redo it. 

Here it is BEFORE

The design does not deviate much from what was fashionable in the '70s. The material is not flattering at all - it's a synthetic blend and it's sturdy. The only thing I like about this dress is the cowl. I LOVE it! And that sturdiness of the fabric makes the cowl stand out. 

Here it is AFTER

 

How I refashioned it: First it was too long and too big for me. I shortened it, cut out the sleeves (urg!) and tightened it at the side but I also re-sewed the front darts. The cowl was left intact. 

 

I thought that it could do fantastically with an obi-belt, so I made one and I think I was right about that. So now, what do you think? 

Personally, I fell in love with it! I am even set on making another one with the same design but of course in different fabric.

The greatest compliment I received was from my daughter. While I was preparing the camera for some pictures, she tagged behind me saying; "Wow, mom - you are soooo beautiful" and she just kept repeating that..... My sweetheart! (Eva's the photographer of all the photos! She was so proud of making a fantastic photo session I didn't have the heart to just put one or two photos!) Thank you for the lovely photos honey!

P.S. Update: After posting this refashioned dress at Burdastyle, it was chosen to be featured. Thanks Burdastyle! 

Fabric from Tunisia

This is the fabric I bought on our visit of the Tunis medina.

The shops were amazing and well-stocked.

I bought mostly cotton and linen which seduced me with the designs and the quality of the fabric. Not to mention the gorgeous colours.

If it hadn't been for the weight we were allowed to take into the plane I know I would have bought lots more.

Washed, ironed and ready to indulge into new projects.

What will all this fabric be?

I already have some ideas but am not so willing to start sewing.

I think it will do my studio good if I finish those couple of projects I've started.

The most pleasant surprise was from my husband.

He bought these two Berber covers while I was in the other shop buying something else. He couldn't decide which one so he bought both.

I love them!

But I am not going to use them as covers but would love to make a piece of clothing because the cotton is one of the softiest I've touched.

Look at its border! So perfectly webbed!

My new blouse

If you remember the post about Eva's leggings then you know that I have a lot of this fabric left, so I made myself a cute blouse. Again I didn't use any pattern because I couldn't make up my mind whether I want a simple sweatshirt or a tunic. So I simply drew on the fabric and this is what it turned out. I didn't make any sleeves, but I made arm warmers if I feel cold in it.

The fabric is sooo soft and cute (although I have never been much in love with stripes -hated them to be more accurate in expression - however this condition curiously starts to change and these changes include a lot of other things I didn't like in the past -hmmm-) I am thorn between the desire to rush to the shop and buy some more and the reason that I don't actually need tons of it.

Trousers remake

One of Eva's favourite pair of trousers. The time has come when they cannot be worn any more, because my girl has grown a lot since last winter. We both agreed to keep them and make something out of them. And the most suitable solution was a skirt.