Black Trench

This a project I'm proud of. I've recieved tons of compliments when I wear it, and people say they can't believe is homemade, amd tht it my have a label hidden somewhere. That's a nice compliment!

The patter is form a Patrones magazine, although I excluded the front mini-cape, and added the minibelts in the sleeves.

The fabric is a thick black cotton blend.

Worth to mention is my decision of put innerlining all through the up middle half, to give the coat stabilitiy and good shape.

Like it?

Grey Jersey Summer Dress

I've had this jersey in my shelves for years now! It was a beautiful print, but until recently didn't get the inspiration to make this dress. I saw it in Burda, proposed for a non elastic cotton, but also checked, and there... I saw the light. The result (modestly) is awsome.

Animal Print!!

I've always loved this print... it is punk and sophisticated at the same time, and becoming also! This is a light summer cotton. The pattern is Burda's, and perfect for me. This the second version of this blouse, and probably won't be the last one.

Pasley Gauze Skirt and Halter Blouse

I bought this gauze maybe a year ago, it was a cheap bargain and although I did not know then what to do with it, I decided to buy it and wait for inspiration. Some weeks ago I saw this skirt in a fashion magazine and I immediatly thought about my pasley gauze. I did not need a pattern, I simply cut the total lenght of the skirt with all the wide of the fabric. In the first try proved to be to big, so I cut it to fit me.

I really love this technique, sewing parallel stitches (1cm appart) with an elastic thread in the under reel of the machine. The result is similar somehow to the honeycomb pattern but elastic. I sew like 12 cm of this pattern, in the superior part of the skirt. I finished it with a zigzag and burned the remaining littler fringes. Finally, I had to sew an underlining of the same fabric because it was so transparent. I love the feel of the skirt moving sheerly about me when I walk, and the colous are wonderful. There was some material left, so I decided to make this halter blouse with a bow at the side of my neck. I can wear both together in an outstanding outfit. Please check the pants in this picture. It is one of the very scarse occasions where I managed to make perfect fitting, becoming and confortable pants (see Gertie's on the subject...). They are 2010's.

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Nude Embroidered Summer Skirt

I liked this fabric when I went shoppint in Barcelona last summer (see article ON THE HUNT). It was quite expensive, so I bought only 60 cm of it. I used a pattern for the superior part, and gathered the rest of the material to form the inferior part of the skirt. I had to sew a jersey lining under it because it was so transparent. With a carefully chosen black blouse, I was really happy with the final outcome.

A Nightmare of a Pattern and a Dream of a Dress

I have been pursuing this dress in my mind for long. I tried with last sping with this, and although it was nice, it did not have the retro touch I wished. Finally I made it. I boought this promising pattern in ebay: ...and decided to make it with a soft black cotton I bought this summer, with embroidered white roses and little 3D spots. Well... the pattern turned out to be the worst I have worked with ever. First, after careful consultation with the sizing chart, I cut the pattern in mine, only to see in the first trying it was like six sizes bigger than me (?????!!!!). I thanked my luck because bigger is easy to mend, and I blindly cut again, this time the size I guessed would fit me. And it did. Only now the midrif piece was 5 cm longer than its back counterpart, which I could also repair (again, it was too much, easy to rewind).

I am proud of some no-lazy decisions I took that made the dress perfect. First, I ironed interfacing in all the pieces of the body; second, following recomendations from the pattern itself, I put plastic bones in the vertical seams of the body. Finally, I discarded the waist plaited skirt, since in my previous project, I found it to make me too thick at the waist. I opted instead for a full circle skirt (which I made following this instructions in the net), that turned out to be much more becoming and retro-flavoured.

The magic of the dress, though, I copied from a shop in Barcelona. It was a black net undershirt ruffle that gave volume to my dress. I designed it like this (made it double, one skirt over the other):

I was gathering, and distributing it for hours!, but it was so worth it!!

My New Sewing Nest

I am proud and happy to present my new sewing nest.

We had a foldaway table in the kitchen we never used, and I had the idea of installing it under a window, next to a very practical piece of furniture with a foldable table for the sewing machine. Yesterday was a saturday and my husband - Karlos- and me decided it was time to do some DIY... we were succesful at the first try, and here I present it:
It has everything you need close at hand. In the black shelves on the right I have my sewing basket, magazines, fabrics, and all the necessary gadgets. I can put my computer on the table, since I like sewing watching American TV serials. I have my machine clos at hand and also, and very importantly, my ironing board. My mum taught me that having your iron near and hot was the best trick at hand to success. And she was so right... I recomend to iron every seam you sew before sewing the next.

And here you can see how my sewing corner looks when I am not sewing...

I am so happy with it! Having a luminous and confortable place to sew is crucial to find motivation to work.

Summer Beige Jersey Top

My auntie gave me this beige jersey which imitates crochet, with little flowery openwork. I decided to make a strapped top to wear it with, for example, short jeans.As you can see, I finished first the horizontal superior hems, both front and back, with a machine zigzag. Then I machine sew circular biased straps that went all around the armhole and over the shoulder, turned them over and sew them by hand with invisible zigzag stitch .These are both pictures of the inside.

Basic Black Dress

I discovered how to gather the body of a dress with elastic thread, putting it in the inferior reel of the machine, and sewing parallel lines around the bodice. I also applied a flounce in the inferior part of the dress. The finishings of the rims I made them with a zigzag, making thus a less "homemade" dress. In this picture, I am relaxing by the river. Like it?

ON THE HUNT!

Last weekend we travelled to Barcelona. Ribes i Casals, one of my favourite shops in textile, had moved, but the new shop was as big as the previous one, and only one street further from the city centre. They had "Rebaixes", that is to say, general big discounts.
I got four cottons: an animal print for a shirt, a black (+2% elastan) for an elegant frock, an embroidered nude for a miniskirt and a black and white polka dot print for a vintage dress. Also, and only for 4 Eur, a black lycra remnat destined to be a long sleeved body for the winter. You'll see them transformed, I hope, soon

Liberty Print Jersey Dress

In this case, it was the pattern in Burda magazine what caught my eye in summer 2009.

Last month I found this blue liberty print renmant in a shop in town. It was perfect, a perfect match.

In the process of making it, I found two problems. Well, three. First, the pattern was for short sizes (I solved this by cutting a longer bodice). Second, I was short in fabric (the solution here, was not to make the second flounce, and having thus only one at the base of the dress, a pity, but enough). The third problem were the straps; the day I wore it for the first time, they kept sliding down my shoulders again and again. I decided to remake them shorter.

Other than that, I am perfectly happy with my new dress. It hanged down graciously, and moved along with my body sweetly, if you know what I mean. Good fabric, soft and sweet to the skin, and an excellent pattern. What do you think??

Ah! I've included this picture of a detail to point to the finish of every rim of the dress. I decided to finish it with a marine blue zigzag all around.

Red Long Dress

I got this fabric in a remnants shop because the tone of red was simply perfect and the composition of the material: soft, with very good fall.
Once at home I had serious doubts about it, because it could become quite tacky, if you know what I mean. The combination or marriage between the design and the material is the most important thing in creating your own clothes, even more important than the actual make or craftsmanship of the pieces, in my opinion, and key to success.
It was my husband who gave me the idea: a long dress, long to your feet. Wow!, I thought, the glamour! Summer was really near, so I decided to save it for now. In the meanwhile, I found this design in a Patrones magazine, and I imagined it a very good marriage with my red cotton/Lycra.

A good tip the magazine instructions gave me was to sew an elastic band along the superior rim at the back to prevent it from falling down with the weight of the dress or the movements of my body. It really worked. Regarding the making, I only regret the gathering under my breasts, which I realize should have been mostly in the center, rather than distributed all along the front.

Once I finished my dress, I had the opportunity to wear in a wedding, and I can modestly say, it was a success. I'm wearing a pair of red really high sandals we bought in the Hustler shop at The Strip, in Hollywood. The glamour!!

Click the picture to enlarge it.

Corset

Some days ago I was walking around in Barcelona and I found a store with this wonderful window. I was with my boyfriend and inmediately decided to enter. The shop was full of corsets, and as the very kind girl explained to me, they are all designed and sewn following the same techniques and materials than XVIII century corsets, only with steel instead of whale rods, and also steel courchetes to close them at front.

She kindly allowed me to try one on, with her help, of course, becasue only expert users can adjust them on themselves, and not all of them.

I chose a purple and black one. I put it on, and then she adjusted the inside flaps. Finally she said "are you ready" and in one millisecond I watched myself growing a super narrow waist just in front of the mirror. It was so strange, such a tiny waist on me, that I looked more of a drawn comic with my amazed looking face glued to it. But it was wonderful, specially the craft, how all kind of embellishments were applied to them, feathers, cristals, etc. Wonderful. Sitting with it was confortable, because the steel rods keep it straight, and the figure!

I just need an ocasion to buy myself one of them. Then the question would be the colour, but its possibilities are unlimited. I suddenly understood that a bride wedding dress is only posible with a corset and a big skirt under it, I imagined it with jeans, with short or long skirts, a lot of differents looks possible...

Blue and Black Lycra Dress

This is a pattern from Patrones magazine. I didn't have to change a thing, the result was very becoming and confortable. It combines blue and black patterned lycra with black cotton-lycra in waist and neck. The lycra was extremely difficult to sew with my machine, because it is so slipery, so I had to sew it with tissue paper aplied on it, and then remove it after soaking it wet. I'm wearing it here with my favourite sandals, black Bandolinos, like Barbie's.

1958 Simplicity Pattern

I am really proud with this dress because it took a long time to find an apropiate fabric and pattern. I was really inspired before watching Mad Men, but the TV show only encoured me more to make this vintage dress. I found the printed pattern in ebay (from Canada), and I must say it was perfect and easy to follow, in spite of some complicated parts. The fabric is a thick cotton with some elastan in it, which makes it more confortable to wear, and the pattern is just lovely. I only wish I had a thinner waist, because I don't really feel like wearing a girdle, in spite of the new materials or the celebs revealing them under perfect shaped bodies...(http://www.spanx.com/)
Here I'm wearing it with high Nine West black sandals, really confortable to walk with despite the very high heels.

Blue Gauze Blouse

This blue gauze has small hearts as its pattern. I decided to make a blouse to go with jeans, with a ship-shaped neckcut with a cloth string to tie at the front, and elastic bands at the hips (making a 10cm loose part at the end) and at the end of sleeves. I'm wearing Pons Quintana flat marine blue sandals, very becoming with blue jeans, and confortable.

Empire Waist Mini-Dress

As usual, I got inspired by the fabric. This was a green, black and yellow patterned lycra. To make a whole model in this flashy pattern was excessive, so I decided to combine it with black cotton/lycra and make a dress out of this combination.
I've always been a fan of empire cut dresses (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Empire_silhouette) because they are so flattering to non-perfect bodies like mine ;-)
I found none in my pattern magazines, so I decideI to make a composititon here too. I found a tight bodice empire cut dress, which gave me the bodice and the sleeves (which I made bigger and longer, but kept the part attached to the bodice as in the original pattern). With the skirt i made several experiments. I tried to gather it completely before uniting it to the bodice, but when I tried it on I looked like a ballon. Then I tried deep folds in the middle of front and back, avoiding the lateral parts to avoid volume in that area.
The result is lovely, confortable and becoming, and combines very nicely with different lenght leggins or dark, thick stockings. Here I'm wearing Nine West ballerinas.

Hello!

I like sewing, fabrics, and fashion design. It is a hobby that I enjoy since I was 17, when I started learning to sew with a red minidress -so short, so tight- that my mum would never have made for me ;-)
I endevour in this experiment, without any fidelity or constancy intentions, to share with you my designs, my adventures to find nice fabrics, patterns or all the needed stuff we need to sew in a time when home sewing is a vestige form the past.