Tag Archives: Pattern Magic 2

Christmas pressies; a sewing marathon

29/12/2017 3:33 pm \ 31 Comments \

Tim and Kelly…

As usual, I made Christmas presents for my family… I started late October, so I was giving myself plenty of time, or so you’d think!  I’m a fairly efficient seamster, and I still only just finished a few days before Christmas!  it’s been a little intense and stressful, actually; every year I underestimate how busy the lead-up to Christmas is and how I just don’t get as much time to devote to sewing presents as I thought.  Plus, I’m a lot more finicky and particular – maybe excessively so?! about my sewing now too.  I think this is a good thing, but I have to accept that I’m taking longer to make things, and should start sooner!  Or maybe make less?

Anyway, it got done!  *phew

Listing everyting in the order I made it…

First thing to get made was a shirt for Tim… He has a job now where he has to look smart, so I decided to make a business shirt… I bought the really lovely deep maroon, mini-scale gingham cotton shirting from Tessuti’s in Melbourne, and used Burda 6874, my kinda go-to shirt pattern since I semi-retired Burda 7767.  d’you know I made that pattern 37 times… can you believe it?!  that tissue paper was wearing pretty thin in some places and in some other places I’d trimmed off the cutting lines altogether, woopsies!!

what sleeve placket…? of course I busted a gut matching those teeny little checks everywhere, took me two days before I could see straight again…

I made the buttondown version… see how the collar up there buttons down onto the shirt?  This is what qualifies it as a buttondown, folks!  I don’t wanna get all grumpy and pedantic here, being Christmas and all, but the number of times I’m reading about someone’s very lovely, but NOT A BUTTONDOWN shirt erroneously labeled as such and have to hold myself back, because we all hate a little lecture, right? I’m gonna stop right now otherwise I’m going to become that painful lecture-r.

this is the inside of the shirt… I’m pretty proud of my flat-felled seams… and I use the burrito method for the yoke so that’s all nicely enclosed too

All seams are flat-felled, using my own tutorials here and also this one here… yes you can flat-fell every single seam in a shirt! and it’s so much better and nicer… although I’m starting to realise that this is probably why what used to take me maybe two days to make a shirt…  now takes me double that time at the least! but anyway.  My guys appreciate the tailoring, so I’m happy that they’re happy.

Sam’s shirt…

I’m just SUPER happy with how my buttondown collars are looking nowadays!  It’s pretty hard to get that sitting just right and perfectly symmetrical; and I think after all the shirts I’ve made I’ve finally got it down…

Next up; I made a matching top for Kelly.  I’ve previously made matching tops for the two of them and noticed that they wear them together a lot! yes, it’s super cute…  I did a little bit of subtle inquiring as to whether matching clothes were still something they liked before I went there and got a positive response.  Alright then!

I had to be far less subtle about fitting it though!  I’d previously taken Kelly’s measurements for when I made a Kelly anorak for her… it’s impossible to do this without it being obvious! and made a block for her, using my Pattern Magic book to help me.  Yes, this is a pretty involved thing to do, requiring protractors and algebra and such-like! but honestly I’ve always found it to be a hugely worthwhile exercise when drafting new patterns.  Then I mocked up a quick plain bodice, and got her to try it on, and made the necessary changes.  In Kelly’s case, the block fitted but the armhole/bust dart had to modified considerably… the famous full-bust adjustment.  I regret now that I didn’t take any pictures of the mock-up bodice and the changes I made because it was a new learning curve for me that I wish I’d documented!

For Kelly’s top, I’d chosen the asymmetrical cowl top from Pattern Magic 2; the shape of the cowl is dictated by the shape of the facing.  It’s always a bit of a challenge to draft your own patterns, but well I love a challenge! and I knew the shape of this top would be super flattering for Kelly and suit her beautifully…  I cut the pieces on the bias and inserted a maroon invisible zip in the left side seam, so it zips down undone… however Kelly says she can squeeze into it without having to undo the zip which is cool.  I think the bias-cut is what gives it that little bit of stretch.

Next up! a business shirt for Sam! He has also started a new job which requires business dress everyday… I’d noticed a lot of young men wearing gingham shirts while we were in Melbourne… a good sign that gingham is super on-trend! so hot right now! which is basically why I bought gingham for both my boys in the first place.  It’s a bugger to pattern match though, even worse than stripes! gnnnnnnn  but oh well…

Again I used Burda 6874, flat felled seams throughout, same links as for Tim’s above… aaaaand so not much else to add.  Both Sam and Tim have been working out some lately, so I think I’m going to have to make some small adjustments to their shirts in the future.

Next up!  I made some little things for Cassie, she needs more work clothes so this was another practical gift really.  I made three things for her…. I just want to say here; it might seem unfair that I made one top plus TWO skirts for her, when compared to just one shirt for each of the boys, but it really does even out because the TIME I spent making these three little separates is actually the same as the time I spent on EACH of the boys’  shirts.  I know, crazy right?!  it’s all that tailoring bizzo that takes so much time…

Likewise, Kelly’s top needing a block made, plus the fitting muslin, plus drafting a pattern, also took about the same amount of time as making three tried and true things for Cassie!

Anyway; Cassie had already chosen this lovely crackle-y hand-painted cotton from the Fabric store in Melbourne while we were there, and I secretly bought the mustard gingham printed silk from Tessuti’s while she was looking elsewhere.  So the little top was a surprise!  The crackle print really is gorgeous, it is hand painted in Zambia and has that handmade naturalness to it…  LOVE this but pattern matching those hand-painted stripes was never going to happen!  of course they are all different widths and thicknesses which just adds to the charm of course.  I just shut down my inner-obsessive for a little while and did my best… at least I got the centre back seam to match!

The other little skirt is a cityscape print, maybe New York City by the looks of that Lady Liberty in there!  We’d seen the fabric in the upholstery section of Spotlight, so she’d known this one was coming too…

for both skirts I bound the lower hem seams using some leftover purple pin-striped linen, the leftovers from when I made this shirt for Craig a few Christmas’s ago.

I have also taken to binding the bottom edge of the zip and stitching it down to the seam allowances… often the bottom edge of a zip has a slightly scratchy bit which can be extreeeeeemely irritating when you’re wearing it… so I’ve taken to doing this whenever I made an unlined skirt with an invisible zip.  Such a small thing that greatly increases the comfort factor when wearing the skirt!!!

  

Oh! patterns!  I used the Inari tee pattern for the little top and Vogue 8363 for both of the skirts, and since I’ve made both of these patterns for her several times already they were super quick and easy to run up. For both skirts I added belt loops so she can cinch in the waistline a bit; in self-fabric for the Zambia striped one, and in black denim for the cityscape one.

Next up! a short-sleeved white shirt for Craig! also using Burda 6874 and a white cotton broadcloth from Spotlight, this was intended originally to be the same as this little shirt that I made for him a few years ago and which happens to be his most worn shirt … then just before making this I’d whipped up my little yellow/black&white lingerie set and had the gingham ribbon sitting out, and suddenly had this brainwave as to how I could use a bit more of it! I stitched the gingham ribbon carefully down the button line of the button placket, and used a little bit to trim the pocket.

To match this gingham detail, I lined both the collar and collar stand with some cotton gingham that I’ve had for aaaaages, and used black buttons to finish the shirt.  Note; IT’S A BUTTONDOWN SHIRT!  Also, of course it’s nowhere near a clone of the other white shirt any more but I still think he’ll wear it a lot…

Next up! a pullover/sweatshirt for Craig!  truth now… I was running out of time, and steam! and this fair near killed me!

Craig with a much much smaller Sam and Tim…

So, once upon a time, nearly twenty years ago, we went on a summertime camping trip down south and it was blooming’ freezing, our tent nearly blew away, we got rained on, hailed on and fair near froze to death!  In pure survival mode, Craig drove to the nearest town bought a red sweatshirt that he has since LOVED and worn about a million times, almost to bits since it’s getting reeeeeeally worn and threadbare now.  At some point he asked me to make a clone of the famous sweatshirt…

Of course it’s easy to clone a sweatshirt, but the challenge is in finding suitable fabric! I found this blue marled French terry in Spotlight, and while the colour is a teeny bit blah and the texture is not as nice as his original sweatshirt, it’s going to make a reasonable stop-gap until winter rolls around, the winter fabrics come into the shops, and hopefully I can find something nicer.  I busted a gut finishing off all the seam allowances off beautifully inside though… imitating the exceptionally beautiful finishes that were in the original.  For the pockets and bias binding I used some of the leftover navy/white gingham that I used for Sam’s shirt, above.  The pockets are French-seamed and the rest of the seams have an interesting amalgamation of HongKong bound AND flat-felled seams… not sure if my method is the same as in the original but I worked out a way to do it and took a few pictures along the way.

First, stitch the seams, then figure out which way you want the seams to be stitched down and apply bias binding to the topside of the seam allowance… ie. to stitch along the same stitching as previously you will be pinning/stitching along the UNDERNEATH,

OR alternatively you can save yourself a step here and stitch the bias binding on at the same time as you’re stitching the seam; your choice.

Press the garment seam allowances open, then press them to the side where they will be felled, with the bias binding on top.  From the other, right side, of the garment, pin through all layers.

With the right side facing up, topstitch the garment to the seam allowances plus binding, through all layers, just to the side of the garment seam…

view on the inside…

Keeping the bias binding free and clean, trim and grade the garment seam allowances…

Turn under and press the raw edge of the bias binding down so as to encase the seam allowances of the garment, pin in place.

With the bias binding facing up, and following the previous stitching as a stitching guide, topstitch the pressed edge of the bias binding down.  Since you’re using the previous stitching as a guide, the width of your double-topstitching will be nice and even from the outside.

Voila!  Such a nice neat finish!  at first I thought it might be overkill, but it is rather classy, if I say so myself; looks pretty good both inside and outside.  I will definitely be using this one again!

As seen above, I also applied bias binding all around the zip tape and stitched it down with double top-stitching the same way to match… this really does make a nice, neatly finished look when the zip is down.  Which it will be, most of the time.

And, last but not least!  I also made a few more little hardback notebooks… just fun little things, however I do know that the recipients do actually use notebooks regularly so I know they will be useful too!  I used mostly a mixture of leftover and old papers; from old scrapbooks, some with the children’s scribbles still on them!  I’m sentimental that way  😉 , various papers, musical paper, some pale coloured wrapping paper, writing stationery; just lots of different stuff.

The notebooks are covered variously with linen, velvet, printed cotton.  The one I made for Mum is covered with raw silk hessian.

So! Yes, it was quite a lot of stuff to make and I was working on it all like billy-o from touching down after Melbourne right up until I finished right on the wire only two days before Christmas…  I’ve been thinking about this… why am I taking longer to achieve less nowadays?  and I think it’s because I used to be happy and content with a slightly more unfinished approach… slapdash is maybe too strong a word? whereas now I am far more, possibly excessively? finicky and particular about perfect finishes on the insides.  I think I’m ok with this…  I feel like well-finished clothing is what I’m into right now.

However, to avoid the Christmas stress maybe I need to start making Christmas presents a LOT sooner!  Each year I start way ahead of time and think by doing so will relieve the stress, each year I get super stressed out and have at least one “I CANNOT DO THIIIIIIS!!” moment.  But I did.  And now for a break from deadlines!!

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Knots

11/03/2013 7:30 am \ 67 Comments \

I’ve made a dress, utilising the design on p52 of Pattern Magic, by Tomoko Nakamichi.
This appears to be a fairly plain dress on a casual glance.  But it is not.  It has a “feature”:  a feature that like many Pattern Magic features, seems to the casual, non-sewing observer to be a superficially simple thing, like “so? what could possibly be difficult about that??” but in actuality, getting to the nitty gritty of it, is a fair dinkum epic saga to put together seamlessly and successfully.  In this case, the feature is that the bodice explodes out into an incorporated posy of entwined knots that looks sorta like a statement neckpiece, or maybe a 3D sculptural bib.  Prof Nakamichi describes it as “By bringing together several knots that resemble tiny bells I have created a unique garment that evokes the sounds of bells ringing”
This is achieved by the front being six pieces… four of these end in a long strip; which is later tied into knots which you weave together as artistically as you can.  Counting from a shoulder; sections 1 and 6; and sections 3 and 8; are each one piece; comprising two sections joined by a bridge, so these joining bridges have to be knotted before you can sew the top sections to the rest of the front. 

I made my dress using a light stone coloured, linen/silk mix, bought from Fabulous Fabrics about four years ago.  Yes! a long time ago!  This was another length of fabric previously Too Good To Actually Use.
Due to the nature of the design; some of the strips are cut on the bias and some on the half bias.  To save fabric and add stability I cut all the facing strips on the grain.  I faced and turned out each strip separately, and then later sewed on the bodice facings.  When it came to facing that front neckline, I sewed each section at a time and checked each obsessively for a smooth finish before proceeding to the next one; shoulders first and finishing at the centre front.

front bodice facing

The back is four pieces; interestingly in a princess seamed arrangement.  The dress closure is by invisible zip in the centre back seam, and the back neckline is a modest V-line.  I added deep, inseam side pockets, and attached a self skinny belt in the side seams to tie at the back.  This adds a bit of shape to it, and provides some visual interest at the back, which is otherwise rather plain.  The ends of the belt are tied in little knots, a tiny design echo of those knots at the neckline at the front.

This is probably one of the top ten most difficult makes I’ve ever attempted.  Vogue Advanced/Plus Difficile?? pfff, Pattern Magic farts in your general direction!*
However I am, in inverse proportion to the degree of difficulty involved; stupidly pleased with it.  I think maybe I am a sewing room masochist, deriving a perverse enjoyment from the torture of difficult dressmaking challenges.  What a weirdo, huh?  But I’m thinking of something easy next.

* Monty Python of course!

Details:
Dress; adapted from the design on p53 of Pattern Magic 2 by Tomoko Nakamichi, light brown silk/linen
Shoes; new! for autumn!!  c/o Misano

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Aquarius

31/01/2013 10:00 am \ 76 Comments \

… the water bearer!
So this dress incorporates the design from page 56 of Pattern Magic 2, by
Tomoko Nakamichi.  It is described as “a flip turn draped design tie appears from the
slit in the front bodice for a complex and beautiful effect.”
When I was playing with ideas for the Aquarius theme I had in my head; I imagined that front panel as a swimmer shooting out of the watery waves that are embroidered around the hem of the dress, up the front of the dress, and diving back into the water at the neckline.  Yeah, I do occasionally have an overactive imagination….  🙂

To represent the Aquarian waves I embroidered a running stitch sine wave around the lower hem of the dress, and on the full-length front panel.  I originally had lazy-daisy water droplets going down the side of that front panel too… but the family veto-ed that one,  thought they were naff.  Hmf!  😀
I do like the visually peaceful hypnosis of sine waves.  Design-wise I’ve used them before.
And Aquarius is sometimes represented with a waves vaguely reminiscent of sine waves too.
The deep blue fabric is slightly rough and slightly crinkly cotton from Fabulous Fabrics.  I absolutely love this stuff.  It feels like it’s going to be so comfy and easy to live it.  When I found it in the store I bought some in each of the four colours!  This blue is the first piece to go under the knife scissors  🙂

I really like this longer length too.   I’ve already got a few short dresses and I wanted to go with something different this time.  I think it’s quite elegant, and the proportion of skirt to bodice lend the dress a more graceful and refined silhouette.

Details:
Dress; partly self-drafted, based on the flip turn design from page 56 of Pattern Magic 2, by Tomoko Nakamichi, blue cotton
Sandals; la soffitada Gilde, from Zomp shoes

Construction blah blah blah…
I drafted the dress a little differently from that suggested in the book… in this case I gave the dress a long darted true A-line skirt with satisfyingly deep deep inseam pockets.  To fit the back skirt to my slight swayback, I sewed modified darts in the skirt, and folded pleats in the bodice at the same position.  This allows the bodice to blouse out nicely from out of a fitted waistline.  The front skirt and bodice have the same dart/pleat thing happening.  This is a waist-slimming trick  😉

It is photographed here on Bessie who is bigger than I am, so it does blouse out more blousily on me.  The back of the dress is quite plain…

The dress is put on and taken off with a long invisible zip in the left side seam, and that long front panel is invisibly stitched down to the dress at the waistline.

The front neckline has to accommodate the flip turn tie, so I finished it with a narrow hem.  The back neckline and armscyes have interfaced facings.  The bodice slit has been finished like a letterbox opening, with a hemmed rectangle of facing fabric.  Like a welt-less and pocket-less welt pocket, if that makes any sense.  After wearing the dress for a few hours the pokey-out end ceased diving obediently into the water, and instead kept slipping sneakily back inside the dress, so I anchored it firmly in position on the inside along the sides of the letterbox opening.  It’s not going anywhere now!

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Wearing a triangle

03/11/2011 8:25 am \ 19 Comments \

First impressions can be deceiving.  And one’s first impressions of the “Wearing a Triangle” design from Pattern Magic 2 might just be that it is one of the least wearable designs in the book.  That was my own naive silly first impression anyway… I admit this photograph of the garment did not endear me to it one little bit; it was a disturbing reminder of the freaky monster shape the rather dishy (in those days, sigh) Alec Baldwin transformed himself into in Beetlejuice. 

(Alec Baldwin at right, in not-so-dishy mode)

I had a bit of a crush on Alec Baldwin way back then, and this apparition when it appeared in the movie was like a bucket of water over my girlish daydreams…

But the more I though about the Wearing a Triangle design, the more I started to think that it did have great potential to suit my style… if a few seams were left unstitched, and in a light flow-y fabric… hmmm, so I went and found some really light flow-y fabric.  Fortunately for me, Fabulous Fabrics had this sheer, ultra-flowy, navy blue muslin-y stuff on their super cheapo bargain table… I bought quite a lot.  Hangs head in shame at the utter failure to stash-bust there… “but it was so cheap”, she wails unconvincingly.  You might be seeing something else made out of this fabric, hehe…  But this particular fabric was just the ticket.  And I’m so happy with the result!  This project may well turn out to be a surprise favourite from the book, so far the odds are good…
I love the long, pointy handkerchief hems, and the vaguely hoodie shape hinted at with the top point of the triangle.  The drape-y, sharply A-line folds of lightweight billowy fabric are lovely and easy to wear, and I think quite flattering.  The very light and loose nature of this garment makes it a perfect summer cover-up.  I’m planning to wear this faux hoodie-of-sorts to the beach over shorts and over my wide-leg white linen pants on hot evenings.  The lightness and looseness will keep it cool, while the long sleeves will keep me from getting sunburnt.

Details:
Top; the “Wearing a Triangle” design from Pattern Magic 2, by Tomoko Nakamichi, made of navy blue muslin
Camisole (underneath); Country Road
Shorts; Burda 7723 modified to be flat-fronted and flared,  made of yellow embroidered cotton, details here
Thongs; Mountain Design

flat view
back view

Dressmaking details (for diehards who are interested in the sewing nitty gritty)
The design was quite time-and-resource consuming to draft.  This is because there are several stages…  cutting the triangles of fabric and making up a sort of half-stage fabric muslin, and then cutting armholes and using that much fabric again to draft the pattern with sleeves.  At this stage I was (uncharacteristically) not confident about the size so I went on to make a trial garment as well…  I used up practically half an old sheet just on the drafting of the pattern stage.  To my naturally very stingy frugal nature using up so much fabric, even “waste” fabric, for just one little top pattern was like torture.
The seams are sewed and overlocked to finish, the lower and neck edges overlocked and then folded in once and top-stitched.  The sleeve ends were finished with a “lettuce-leaf” rolled hem on my overlocker, I really like this slightly romantic finish to a casual long sleeve.
The design calls for the lower hem to be stitched closed partway along each end of the bottom edge of the triangle; I left these parts unstitched, which to my eyes improves the design immensely.  Ya, I know it doesn’t look so much like a structural “triangle” now, but I’m very OK with that.  And; final analysis, using up that half an old sheet on toile-ing was totally worth it!
side view

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Pattern Magic 2; wearing a square

05/09/2011 5:51 am \ 29 Comments \

This was one of the earliest garments in this excellent book to catch my eye, and as it turns out probably the easiest.
Only one or two basic measurements and very few seams…
While the design is called “wearing a square”, well yes, the pattern piece is a square.  That is if you can be bothered drafting a pattern piece, which I did not…  I just measured straight onto my fabric, marked with pins, and cut out using my big old quilting ruler and rotary cutter to get the straight lines, yes, it is that easy.  However the fabric piece is actually a rectangle; a double square, on the fold. 
My only advice?  Check your forearm circumference measurement, I “drafted with my own measurements” as recommended, but allowed for a few extra centimetres on my sleeves and I am glad I did!  I do not have big arms, but I am guessing there are very few who would be comfortable with a 20cm sleeve on their forearm…  
I find little cardigans very useful, so am very pleased with this one.  The draping on the back and the very subtle drape on the back neckline caused by the straight lines of the garment  are both flattering and unusual.  I decided to go for an open-ended zip for closure at the front, so it can be unzipped all the way if I wanted it hanging open.  But I tried this out and probably won’t, as it has a tendency to slide off my shoulders if it is left open…
It’s a cute little thing, no?  I just love it!  The fabric was given to me by my friend C, part of her late mother’s stash so I’m not sure of the composition.  It is quite thick-ish, and looks stretchy, but is only very slightly stretchy, and has a tendency to fray.  So I finished the lower edge and sleeve hems by overlocking the raw edges, turning under once by 1cm and stitching down, and the neckline edge has a 4cm hem. The fabric has this blue, grey and white marle on one side whilst the other side  is a grey and white marle.  I have plenty left, so might make something with the grey marle on the outside next time…

Details:
Cardigan; the “wearing a square” design from Pattern Magic 2 by Tomoko Nakamichi, made of blue/grey mystery fabric
Dress; Burda 8511 modified to be fully lined, made of tobacco coloured wool mix
Tights; Kolotex
Boots; Andrea and Joen, from Uggies in Dunsborough

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Pattern Magic 2; the Vanishing Scarf

11/06/2011 6:48 am \ 32 Comments \

I’ve made my first project from Pattern Magic 2, by Tomoko Nakamichi; the vanishing scarf top.  Looking through this wonderful book I really couldn’t decide which project to make first.  I’m not just saying that.  I really couldn’t decide; so I got Craig to choose one for me.  He chose this one.  Obviously, hehe.   If you’re interested, the dressmaking details are below…

Details:
Shirt; drafted from Pattern Magic 2 by Tomoko Nakamichi, of polyester stuff I dyed myself with iDye for synthetics in Brown, done here
Skirt; Vogue 7303, lined, in bottle green cotton velveteen, details here
Tights; Metalicus
Shoes; Francesco Morichetti, from Zomp shoes
scarf “under” at left, and “over” at right

The patterns in Pattern Magic 2 really are concepts, rather than lead-you-by-the-nose patterns, meaning there are no specific directions for finishing off these garments, or even how to make them so one can even wear them.  These sorts of details are up to the seamstress/seamster; this is why I really feel these books are aimed at the advanced seamstress.  Or seamster; whatever.  You guys know that when I use the term “seamstress” I referring to all of us peops, male or female, handy with a needle, right?  I just use that term because I would never apply the term “sewer” to myself; eeewwwww!  and “dressmaker”, while very gender acceptable, implies that one is only making dresses.  So I kind of like “seamstress”, when applied to myself.  But I digress…
This shirt as presented in the book had a few clues as to how the designer intended for the garment to be finished, including a central back zip, to be opening from the lower hem, up; and for a narrow front edge band to finish off those top front edges.  Both of which I incorporated, but I would do it differently next time around.
For a start, I would recommend drafting a wide front edge facing which folds around the front edge including the neckline opening and enclosing the collar seam allowances, and attaching at the shoulder seam.  I think this would make for a cleaner finishing look.  See in the collar close-up below how you can see the inside edge of that narrow right front edge band?  I don’t really like seeing that, and wish it was wider, and therefore invisible from view.  I would have done this if I had more fabric to play with… but with the scarf in place it isn’t really too obvious when you are wearing it.
Plus, if I was making this again, I wouldn’t have the central back zip, as funky a feature as this is.  Instead I would have the shirt open at the front and incorporate a hidden button band for closure at the front.  These are just my personal preferences for finishing off this shirt, and not a criticism of the design at all, which I love.  I looove how the vanishing scarf looks; how it is part of the shirt at the front and worn tucked around one’s neck to disappear back into the shirt.  LOVE it!

I used the fabric that was an unloved remnant from my friend C, that used to be pale pistachio green and which I dyed using iDye for Synthetics in Brown, here.  My fabric was limited, so I used strips of bias-cut black cotton for an interfaced lower edge facing.  It is understitched and invisibly slip-stitched to the garment.
Because my shirt is unlined, and because I sometimes find the bottom edges of invisible zips to be quite irritating when against the skin, I hand-sewed on a little square of lining fabric to cover up the lower (upper?) edge of the teeth.

I also added sleeves to my design; well with a scarf as part of the shirt I figured it to be more of a winter-y garment, therefore sleeves would be more the go than a sleeveless thing.  My sleeves are quite plain, and for a little military/trench coat touch I added tabs with large tortoise-shell buttons.  Well, tortoiseshell; they’re actually plastic, but I’m using the term “tortoise-shell” as a description of their colour.  I do not advocate depriving a tortoise of its shell in order to provide me with a button, no sirreee.
So, waddya think?

oh oh oh, you may be thinking I’ve forgotten about my son’s birthday sewing, but I haven’t!  It was actually finished, and wrapped up and presented to him.  Then I thought of a few little improvements, which are now in the works.  So when I’ve finished finished, I’ll get him to model it in its really finished state for this ol’ blog here.

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It was inevitable…

30/05/2011 8:00 am \ 11 Comments \

… and was simply a matter of when my self-discipline would falter.  I’m classifying this as a belated Mother’s Day present to myself.

Actually, I’m supremely excited about this second instalment in the Pattern Magic series by Tomoko Nakamichi, why? (well apart from the obvious one that the designs are unique, interesting, beautiful and magical!) but also partly because the majority of the projects are shirts.  Something of which I am somewhat short in the handmade department.  And such wondrous sculptural projects, the like of which I have never come across before; exercises on wearing a balloon, wearing a circle, wearing a square and wearing a triangle in one section; not to mention another very enticing section, the “vanishing” features.  Some of which I am giving you a little taster here;
the vanishing tie;

the vanishing scarf;

and the vanishing lapel;

another section deals with cowl experimentation;

I barely know which wonderful design to select first…  and yes, in case you are wondering, I think having the English translation is going to make things a lot easier.  Obviously, for a start one can understand the what-goes-where, which helps.  Additionally though, most of the designs come with a brief note written by the designer, touching on her thoughts and inspirations behind these unique design, and these are a real pleasure to be able to read.  These little snippets are sometimes purely informative, sometimes lyrical, sometimes take an unexpectedly poetic turn-about in a few short words.  Like a haiku.  For example: “I increased the depth of the shadows by rotating the fabric and then flipping it over like the flip turn of swimmers in a pool”
Swimmers flipping in pools; a lovely visual moment with which to finish, yes?  I can’t wait to get started…
(all pictures from Pattern Magic 2, by Tomoko Nakamichi)

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