"Give me a closet* and I will fill it"

...the famous words of Picasso (*okay, so he was talking about a museum, not a closet). 

Where the early 20th century artist had Montmartre, we have Liberty!

I got to hang out at Liberty with my mom recently, when she was visiting.  We spent the afternoon wandering  wide eyed from floor to floor, inspecting the stitches on the stunning outfits on the fashion floors, dreaming up designs, gushing over the fabrics on the haberdashery floor and then replenishing our blood sugar with flourless chocolate cake, scones and cocktails in the cafe.  (All part of the experience, we told ourselves.)

If Picasso were a 21st century home sewer maybe he would have picked up this artist-like paint splatter Melly Tana Lawn (incidentally also purchased by Almond Rock around the same time - can't wait to see what Amy does with it).

I bought about a metre of fabric so I made this boxy summer blouse with a loose peplum, slightly longer in the back, and petal sleeves.

I went for a snap closure on the shoulder to avoid a centre back seam.

The petal sleeves are lined with self facing.  I didn't line the rest of the blouse, to keep it light and summery.

A final photo paired with my scrapbuster collar.  Too much? ...maybe... but can't a sewer be eccentric too?

At least temporarily...  

Garden Party Dress Pattern - FREE!

Well, hello everyone!

Fancy a sewing project  this week-end?  How about your very own Garden Party Dress?!   I'm so excited to finally be able to post this pattern!  (Remember versions, 1, 2 and 3?) It's been a super fun project, the only glitch - my printer breaking down at the last minute - but what's life without a little drama?  I hope you all like it as much as I do.

Download the pattern here, and the instructions here

Please print on A4 paper and check that your printer is on 100% scale (not scale to fit)

Before you cut your fabric, please read these two tutorials:

1. Customising the sleeves.  The GPD has a very fitted bodice designed with little ease, especially in the sleeves.  You may find these too narrow - it's a good idea to measure the sleeves and adjust them before you cut.
2. Moving the skirt band.  This tutorial shows you how to adjust the location of the skirt band, especially important if you plan to use lace!

Why I love wearing it:

• It's a simple and modern dress, but with a bit of vintage about the silhouette.
• It's an all-in-one outfit.  No cardigan or shawl needed.
• It's versatile and multi season. You can wear it with heels, boots or sandals for a complete look, either casual or dressy.   Sew in a warm wool for cooler days or lightweight cotton with short sleeves for summer.
• It has SIX style options, on the skirt, bodice and sleeves. 

That's why I love it, but why not see for yourself?  I'd be endlessly grateful, if you do sew it, if you could send me a little feedback to designhonig[at]gmail[dot]com.

Starting Monday, I'll walk you through how to tailor the sleeves to your own fit and how to change the location of the skirt band (version 2) and hem band. (As it's an a-line skirt, not a rectangle, you'll have to trace off the new band location and add seam allowances accordingly.)

I've also tried to make the .PDF experience as painless as possible!  Please refer to page 3 of the instructions for details on what you need to print.  

I really hope you enjoy making this and would love to see your versions if you do.

Until Monday, have fun and happy stitching!

Elise

When the crowd say "BOW"...*

Surprise! It's another bow...

*husband made me use the cheesy title...

Here's a project I made a few years back when I was tiptoeing into do-it-yourself patterns.  It's an A-line skirt with two pleated rectangles sewn together to make ----- 

a Giant Bow.  

The fabric is a silky soft medium weight grey wool with

yellow pinstripes - a steal of a find found in the remnant bin of a fancy shop.

 

The source of inspiration was a grey wool below the knee length Jill Sander skirt which I can't find a photo of now but I'm pretty sure was in an issue of Stylist, a free magazine handed out here in the UK at tube stations every Wednesday and also happens to be my midweek tonic / source of commuting sanity.

 It's an easy project with endless variations, and size of the bow certainly makes it a statement piece. I may try it on a pencil skirt next...(if I didn't have 50 other project whizzing around my head that is!) 

 Have I mentioned how much I love the colour grey?

 

 

Gosh I feel like I've only blinked and suddenly we're in the second half of November.  

 I haven't had time to sew anything new lately I have been lucky to be spending my free time taking another one of my beloved pattern drafting classes, which has been sucking all of my creative energy - in a good way! Hope to share some projects soon. 

 

Keep warm everyone x

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



Chameleon

I have a commitment problem.  At the start of a new sewing project I often find myself staring desparingly at a beautiful uncut, unblemished blank canvas piece of fabric and lamenting the fact that I have to pick just one design for it - just one?    

At the same time I find that lately, the question of how to get the most out of my fabric and how to get the most wearability out of my garment is something is weighing more and more into my sewing decisions.   This project is one that started to change my thinking on how I approach a new sewing challenge.  I found 1.7M of this sparkly charcoal weave just before Christmas at the bottom of a remnant bin in the kind of shop where I only pretend to be interested in the full price merchandise and spent many evenings after work draping it around me - is it a dress, a blouse, what can I get out of it, how can I use most of the fabric, will yet another garment fit in my suitcase? (I was about to leave town for the holidays) Eventually I had my Eureka! moment - why commit to one or the other when you can have three!

This is plan gave me the flexibility to use the amount of fabric I had to the best of its potential and took some of the bulk out of my suitcase, a new experience for me when it comes to packing!  I wore all three versions through Christmas and New Years and was quietly proud that so little of it ended up in snippets under my sewing table.  "Problem" indeed.