Eva skirt

I'm blending into the flowers.

I've been taking photos of my daily outfit every day for about half a month, as I'm joining Me-Made-May'14 as usual. I'm feeling very happy and also super busy!

At Me-Made-May'14 Flickr group, I try to leave comments, "like"s or anything similar on other participants projects as many as possible, but it is quite difficult to commit it as much as I'd like because the party is huge. I think I need 50 hours in a day if I try to do everything I need/want to do in my life at this moment. My other blog, photo maisonette, with Carolyn is importantly having the final month for uploading our photographs too, and it makes me feel that time flies like a shooting star. I hope I am not going to be burned out like a shooting star, by the way, it is just a silly figure of speech. I love my silliness.



*
I sewed a skirt using my newly bought Eva dress pattern from Tessuti. I was planning to make a dress at first, in this African wax print fabric, but I failed to make adjustments of the Eva's bodice in this kind of fabrics. FYI, Eva calls for softer fabrics and I am not saying that the pattern is difficult to fit using right fabrics. After making 6 unsuccessful toiles of bodice in similar firm cotton to my African print, I gave up a dress and made this skirt from Eva. I simply sewed the skirt and put casings for elastic at waist so that I can pull it on. I made a tank top blouse with remnants too. I'm very happy with the result! Eva's skirt is cocoon-shaped and I think it is very charming and worthy of special mention!

Happy sewing to you, friends!

Love,
yoshimi

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Skirt: Eva from Tessuti
Tank top: old pattern
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I finally had an extreme ironing session(fake)

season's transition

Hi!
I recently sewed a coat and a pair of knit pants for autumn. Yay for the cooler weather!

The coat.
The fabric I used for the coat is something very special, as well as somewhat peculiar, I describe. It was basically a double layered fabric which had a slightly sparkling nylon organza covered (totally and throughly glued) over a base fabric of blue-ish plaid stiff polyester that would remind you of parachutes. The fabric is meant to be soaked in the water after sewing, for the purpose of washing away the glue, and then is expected to have separate layers of organza and plaid in its end products.

Though it was very stiff like a cardboard before washing(no exaggerations), I thought it would make a pretty jacket/coat that I can use as a windbreaker. A pretty plaid coat fully covered with sheer organza for windbreaking-purpose! It sounded pretty exciting to me.

The construction of the coat was not so difficult and done quite smoothly despite of the cardboard quality. I used my usual pattern for very plain boxy half coat, and just omitted the collar and lining to make it even simpler. I think I could have those sleeves shortened by about 10cm/4inch, design-wise. Having said that, I'm wearing it with rolling up the sleeve hems as in the pictures and will be doing so whole this autumn anyway. I'd leave the sleeves as they are, since the contrasting piping in my rolled-up sleeve hems may amuse people's eyes by the whiteness.

My previous coats from the same pattern can be also seen in this post.

The pants.
I sewed Anita pant from Tessuti for the first time. These were a wearable muslin, like all my first makes are. I wanted to know how they would fit on me, and I think I know it now. Though I have a couple of small issues to remember, I'm pretty happy with this pair, which I made in a heavy denim jersey in indigo blue. (It was difficult for me to find the correct length of the elastic band for waistline. I had to try three times before finding my snug fit, and I'd write down the number for the next time so that I don't have to cry any more. And also I had a minor problem with the balance of front and back crotches.I'd take some 5cm/2in from front crotch and leave the back crotch as the pattern is, next time.)

I really like the pattern, because these pants are quite pants, but not leggings! Some are really good at pulling off leggings, but I usually prefer pants on me and I'm so loving this pattern from this point of view. I hope you can see that they are pants but not very leggings in this photo below.

It was very difficult for me to take the pictures that could show their texture and such. Failed, I think. (But I'm not so unhappy. Because you have inexhaustible imagination to see what you would like to see, don't you.)


That's all for now.
Have a great day!!

love,
yoshimi

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The coat.
pattern: 3023(boxy half coat: discontinued) from anneecotton*, size 40(down graded to 38)
collar and lining were omitted.
most hems were executed with contrasting bias piping.

fabric: polyester/nylon blend. very synthetic. stiff. mid bodied, not very flexible, light, fairly creaseless. consists of a plaid polyester plain woven fabric and a silver-white sheer nylon organza.

The pants.
pattern: Anita ponti pant from Tessuti (PDF)
shortened the crotch height by following the lines that pattern indicates, and shortened the legs by about 3cm as well.

fabric: cotton denim knit fabric. dark indigo blue. stretches moderately. thick. hard. heavy.
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knee-length mermaid skirt

I made a denim skirt for a newly purchased sweatshirt.

When I was much younger, I had one rule. It was that I'd buy one new garment which can be a key item for the next season very very ahead of the time. It was usually a tee in the middle of shivering winter. And it was mostly a wintry sweatshirt under the summer sun. When this habit started, I was really young but couldn't afford expensive clothes except something casual like T-shirts and cotton sweatshirts. Though I had to wait for months before I could actually put them on, I really loved my silly tradition and I remember I always looked forward to the next season for the sake of the single item I already bought, every year and all year round.

When I saw a sweatshirt of this gigantic flowery print a month ago, it rebooted something in my head. The brain responded to the sight of it and ordered me to buy it for the coming winter like I was used to do. Though it was not going to be my habit again, I felt it was very refreshing to purchase an item that would make me longing for the coming season. And I realized that I am still that silly too...

...sentimentalism!


Sewing-wise, I sewed a mermaid skirt for the top. I thought its big silhouette would go pretty interesting with the skirt's flare in the hem.
Because I rather like heavy puckering and wearing in cotton denim garments, I sewed a raw denim and washed it in hot water to shrink/crease it after sewing. If you are interested in the shape of this skirt before washing/crushing, you can see it here in my other blog with Carolyn, photo maisonette, too.

Talk to you soon!

love,
yoshimi


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denim mermaid
pattern:  Mermaid Skirt (discontinued) from Annee-patterns
size40, down graded to 38. no lining. washed after sewing.
lengthened by 7cm to achieve under-knee length, flare-ness increased quite much too.
fabric: light blue cotton denim, heavy weight, stretches a wee bit
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Update

Hello!

It's been a while since the last post.
No, I have not stopped sewing.

It's just that, I have made some clothes but I was a bit too shy to show them to you until now. I guess I was intimidated in some way.
Maybe because I often use those old patterns which you don't have accesses for any more. Or maybe because I always use the patterns which have only Japanese instructions. Or maybe because I show you the results but never tell you how I made them. I thought as if I needed more usefulness in my posts.

Well... sounds very silly though.
So I waited for something useful that I could provide in my blog posts for some time, but nothing arrived in the end (oops). I concluded and consoled myself with thinking that's how the most weblogs are primarily and I should be relaxed about it anyway.

I hope some of you can find a bit of inspiration for your sewing plan from my recent sewing projects here. Happy sewing!!

Jodhpurs-y Evan pants

Aren't they funny, I really love them!

crick to enlarge smaller photographs

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Evan pants
pattern:  Evan from TAMANEGI-KOBO (PDF pattern)
size38(JP9). Significantly narrowed only below thigh, panels for upper half and lower half of the pants were cut independently, lined upper half with cupro, lengthened by 10cm.

fabric: Stretch cotton, PU blend, stiff, thick, stretches not very well, parachute-y and sporty texture, off-white.
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V neck t-shirt

I love this print!

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Flowery t-shirt
pattern:  ladies' t-shirt from pumila (paper pattern)
size38(JP9). Sleeves lengthened. Shoulder adjusted(narrowed by 1cm at each side).

fabric: Cotton jersey, light, t-shirt weight, not very well stretching, flowery pattern
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Summery Hatoto bag

Another Hatoto bag

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Summery Hatoto bag
self drafted pattern:  Hatoto bag (PDF pattern)

Cotton blend double layered fabric with creases, ecru white, decorated with white and crystal buttons. Fully lined.
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Lacy Pleple blouse

I used a pullover-dress pattern to make the blouse.

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Lacy Pleple blouse
pattern:  Pleple dress from anneecotton* (paper pattern)
size40. Shortened, an elastic band inserted at hem, V-shaped neckline

fabric: Cotton lace, light, yellow-white
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Love,
yoshimi

Birthday Blouse and Red Jeans

Yes, I'm pretending a punk.


5 days ago, I bought this red denim in Tokyo. As I had been wanting a bold and bright red pair of slim jeans, (I'm not sure if I was sober when the idea hit my brain though,) I was looking for some nice red-red denim in the Nippori fabric district. Despite my frantic search of it, I couldn't find any of red denim other than this dark punk glittery smelly fabric. Because I am a type of person who is very easy to be satisfied with alternative plans, I changed my mind happily and brought it home with a big smile.

And then, my smile grew even bigger when I got home, to find Hélène had sent me my birthday presents. Yes, it was my birthday! She sent me two pretty fabrics, some beautiful threads, and her love. The fabric for the blouse is one of her presents. Punk pants are also here for frightening you in the picture. I guess you are laughing at me thinking how quickly I used these fabrics. Never mind.


Have a good day!



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Birthday Blouse
pattern: 573 high neck sleeveless blouse(discontinued) from anneecotton*
size40, down graded to 38.
fabric: fine cotton lawn, probably least of stretch, beautiful organic pattern
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I love my handmade jeans.
They are the comfiest things ever in my life.

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Red Slim Jeans
pattern: stretch skinny pants from pumila
size 9, lengthened by 5cm, front jeans pockets with a little coin pocket, rear patch pockets.
fabric: stretch denim, black red, glittery, rather hard, thick, stretch moderately.
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Much love,
yoshimi