Ell-issie in Wonderland

** Om deze post in het Nederlands te lezen, klik hier **

Stories without endings, the new fabric collection by the Belgian textile designer Lotte Martens, is coming to the stores!

I work for Lotte a day a week as a job student and I love it soooo much. Actually, my working day is my favorite day of the week ;-) Lotte prints her fabrics by hand and they are all gorgeous. Look at this ombre knit, isn't it just too cute?

A major advantage of working for Lotte is that she needs someone to sew tests with her new fabrics. Well, how could I say no to that? ;-)

The new collection offers loads of different fabric types, like scooba, plissé, woven basics and mohair that looks like you've knitted it yourself; all with the handprinted Lotte Martens touch. For this post I chose for the Aronia Pink jersey knit and an Issie top by Sewpony.

The Aronia jersey has an ombre print and the pattern pieces of the Issie top invited me to play with the stripes and color differences.

I also made a skirt to go with it. One of Lotte Martens' main principles is that the more 'extravagant' fabrics of her limited editions always combine easily with her basic collection. For the skirt I used Spacer Limonium Rainbow, a funky knit fabric which I already used here in the silver color way.

I added a little butterfly to the skirt, which is an application also designed and handprinted by Lotte. Her Pimp It collection is a set of DIY-packs for easy embroidery so you can add a LM-touch to all your bags and garments!

I sewed this outfit for Ellis, a cute little two-year-old with loads of imagination. Stories without endings? She just invents them herself!

Her story itself is a brave one, since Ellis is fighting cancer. She is a little girl whom I got to know because she was in the same hospital as I was during my illness. At first I had planned to sew an Issie for Liv (the 9-year-old I babysit and mostly sew for), but the day after I got the invitation for the Issie blog tour Ellis’ mom asked me if I knew an easy-to-sew pattern with ruffles. I told her about Issie and she was very enthusiastic yet a little scared to start sewing with knits, so I promised her I’d sew an Issie for Ellis first. She bought the pattern right after we took the pictures and she already sewed an Issie herself too! Check it out here.

After being ill myself I have a strong desire to mean something to other people going through similar misery. I remember getting depressed of the grey ugliness of the hospital, so I tried to brighten up their day with a colorful outfit! 

The knit fabrics will be distributed to all the Lotte Martens stores (you can find them listed here) within the coming weeks. Keep an eye on Lottes facebookpagina for the exact dates! The skirt fabric is already for sale, as is the Issie pattern. The code ISSIERELEASE10 gives you a 10% discount.

T-shirt pattern: Issie top - Sewpony - size 18mo
T-shirt fabric: Aronia Pink - Lotte Martens (I used 50 cm)
Skirt fabric: Spacer Limonium Rainbow - Lotte Martens (I used half a panel)
Butterfly application: DIY pack Zinnia 003 - Lotte Martens
Model: Ellis, almost 3 yo

More Issie inspiration?

MONDAY 23/10: anaaisID//frl.love//naaisgerief//

WEDNSEDAY 25/10: VINK//amore//MeToezie//

FRIDAY 27/10: Beletoile//Flaflinko//Froleintilia//Ariane//

MONDAY 30/10: Riddersenrozen//128//

WEDNESDAY 1/11: WithlovebyEva//ByDagbjort//Stannel//

FRIDAY 3/11: Nah-connection//DoGuincho//Groovybabyandmama//liiviundliivi//

MONDAY 6/11: Pistolwhip//Mendandmakenew//Kneesocksandgoldilocks//

WEDNESDAY 8/11: Creativecatoo//Justaddfabric//Casennina//

FRIDAY 10/11: Enjoyfulmakes//Kaatjenaaisels//Larth//Whileshewassleeping

A last summer outfit

** Om deze post in het Nederlands te lezen, klik hier **

The Belgian fabrics brand See You At Six just launched their second collection, a mix of cotton lawns and sweater knits in beautiful prints. The Australian web shop Maaidesign stocks them all AND she ships internationally! I already bought some french terry to sew an Autumn sweater for myself, but first I want to show you something I made with their previous collection.

A beautiful cotton lawn in copper and rust with which I sewed an easy-peasy gathered skirt.

To match the skirt I sewed a top with a V-neck and flutter sleeves.  I altered the pattern to make the sleeves even wider and I added the V-neck to the back too.

I sewed this outfit back in July when Belgian temperatures were still nice and summery and I wore it so much! Right now the rain is pouring but I can't wait for summer to come back so I can wear this outfit again.

The pictures were taken by my little friend Liv again. She is just 9 years old but her pictures are amazing! I love how she makes me shine.

Stof rokje: Grid Copper, Playtime collection by See You At Six, bought at De Stoffenstraat

Stof topje: beige mêlée sweater fabric and glitter ribbing, both bought at De Stoffenstraat

Pattern skirt: self drafted
Pattern top: Knipmode 

BewarenBewaren

Double gauze softness

** Deze post lezen in het Nederlands? Klik hier **

I love double gauze. It's soft, it's lightweight, it's easy to sew with, and wait, did I already mention the softness? A few months ago I sewed this blouse in Nani Iro double gauze and it's been my favorite to wear on hot summer days ever since.

This fabric was named double gauze on the website where I ordered it (my all time favorite webshop for double gauze: Julija), but actually it's more like the swaddles you can buy for babies. Super soft but more wrinkly than the Nani Iro stuff.

Although I was kind of disappointed as the fabric was not the double gauze quality I had expected, I loved the softness immediately. I draped the fabrics around my neck as soon as they arrived

At first I planned to have something printed on it. Together with a friend I followed an evening class on fabric printing and I would have loved to print on this fabric too. Sadly the postal services messed up with my package so I only received it a few days after the last lesson. Off to plan B: embroidery! I bought some thread and hand embroidered an improvisational design while I was sitting in the sun. This was my first time embroidering and I had no expectations nor a blueprint. The best type of meditation, I tell you!

All seams are French seams finished with a decorative machine stitch (I wouldn't have the patience to embroider all those little flowers by hand!)

Almost 4 meters of softness around my neck. I love it!

Fabrics: tetrastof nude, oker and pale pink at Julija's shop
Pattern: a few simple rectangles, sewn together using French seams
Dress: Mambo Dress in Anna Maria Horner voile, blogged here
Pictures taken by my sister in Lisbon

BewarenBewarenBewarenBewaren

All eyes on me

** Voor Nederlands, klik hier **

About Blue Fabrics has launched a new fabric collection today! The BLOS collection consists of four summer sweat fabrics and I'm very happy to present the eyes fabric to you.

I sewed up a quick T-shirt, no pattern, just loosely based on an outworn but very much loved shirt in my closet.

My friend Liisa and I had some fun head banging during the photoshoot ;)

Don't you think this fabric matches my handbag perfectly? I bought it in Madrid last summer and it looks like the bag and the fabric were just made for each other.

I finished the sleeves with a little rolled hem and added some glitter to the waistband.

Et voila, quick sew, great result! I had some fabric leftovers which I quickly turned into a pair of sports shorts. I used this free pattern by Miasu.

Fabric: Eyes summersweat - Bambiblauw
T-shirt pattern: self drafted
Shorts pattern: Miasu
Handbag: Bimba y Lola 

Launching tomorrow: the Tulip Dress and Top in English!

Last summer I spent hours and hours behind my computer and behind my sewing machine, alone or with my companion Katrien. On the 3rd of August we could finally share the result of our hard work with the world: we launched our first sewing pattern! The Tulip Dress and Top is a pdf sewing pattern  in sizes 1 YO to 10 YO.  It was a great success in Belgium and soon we got the question whether the pattern would be released in English too. Today I've got the exciting task to tell you it is! 

Woopwoop! After working on the English translation of our #tulipdressandtop pattern for weeks, it's almost ready to be launched! Just one more reading to filter all mistakes out. Tomorrow (monday October 3 at 12 am GMT), the English pattern will be available in @kaatjenaaisels 's shop! 😀😀😀😀😀😀😀

Een foto die is geplaatst door Eva (@withlovebyeva) op 2 Okt 2016 om 7:22 PDT

I attended an international school for several years so I feel quite comfortable reading and writing in English, but I hadn't expected "sewing English" to be so difficult! It took me lots of time and effort to figure everything out, but after the last proofreading I can say that I'm happy with the result!

This result could have never been achieved without the help of our great proofreading team. Thank you so much Emi, An, Olga, Jenya, Sara, Maria, Suz and Maria! Your feedback was so helpful!

Tulip is a pattern that stands out because of its special design: two tulip-shaped petals that overlap on the chest and a gathered skirt that peeps from underneath them. The pattern gives you the option to choose between a top or a dress version and a closure with a hidden zipper or buttons. It comes in sizes 1 YO to 10 YO. Detailed instructions and step-by-step pictures guide both beginners and experienced seamstresses smoothly through the sewing process.  

The Tulip I'm showing today is actually the first Tulip I ever sewed. I sewed it up in June when Katrien and I were still working on the fit of the pattern. The fabric is very lightweight and roughly woven, with a feel somewhere between linen and crepe. This is the size 10 for Mila who turned 10 in January. At first the dress was too long, and while shortening it I suddenly decided to make a high-low-hem out of it. I love the way this turned out. It is not an option included in the pattern, but not that hard to add yourself ;-) One of our international testers was planning to do the same, I'm very curious to see what she did with it!

What can you expect when buying the Tulip pattern?
- a pdf file, to be printed in A4 / A0 / letter size
- the pattern in 12 sizes, from 1 YO to 10 YO
- option to only print the desired size
- detailed instructions with clear pictures, both for the zippered and the buttoned version
- basic sewing techniques like stitching piping or adding a hidden zipper are explained, so the instructions are easy to follow for beginners
- short instructions for experienced seamstresses

Tomorrow at 10 am GMT the pattern will be launched in the Kaatjenaaisels-shop! The launch of the pattern also marks the start of the blog tour. A team of international seamstresses will show you their interpretations of our Tulip pattern. At first I felt a little uncomfortable to contact them, since most of them are ladies I secretly admire. But they were all so kind and helpful! The coming days you'll find Tulips on the blogs of these talented ladies:

3/10⎮StraightGrain ▲ The Itinerant Seamstress 

4/10⎮Fairies, Bubbles & Co. ▲ Liivi & Liivi

5/10⎮Leven met Liv ▲ Coffee + Thread ▲ Sisko by Mieke

6/10⎮Just Add Fabric ▲ Sewpony

7/10⎮While she was sleeping ▲ Made by Sara ▲ Le labo d'Isa

Katrien and I will provide an overview of the participants on our blogs each day to make sure you won't miss any of their beautiful Tulips. One more night until we start, I'm so excited! Mila and I are already looking forward to the tour and to your reactions :-)

My first pair of ladies pants

Being busy launching my Tulip pattern, first in Dutch and in a few days in English as well, I somehow neglected Project Sew It. The challenge I set for myself was sewing one garment with a self drafted or modified pattern each month. My last entries can be found here. Since June I've added nothing new to the list, except of course my own Tulip Dress & Top pattern, but now I'm starting again!

My contribution for today is a special one, since I've feared sewing pants over over 6 years now. But when I received this extremely soft chambray from Georgette, I wanted to cover as much of my body  as possible with it. My eye fell on this high waisted trousers pattern from Burda 04/15 (model 129).

I didn't make any adjustments to the fit of the pattern, I just added details. I like the overall fit of the pattern although next time I'd make some changes to the back since there is a little too much fabric there.

Concering details, I added a strip of leather on the side of one leg.

Also I made piped pockets. One for real...

And one fake one! I added a scrap of the leather behind it for a special touch.

The waistband, not foreseen in the pattern, consists out of different tunnel parts with a piece of glitter elastic that runs through them. The elastic I bought is not from great quality, so I only attached it to the fabric at the zipper part. This way I can easily replace it when it stretches out. Although I hope it won't because the color is just perfect!

This make is actually a guest post for the Belgian fabric shop Georgette. She sells this extremely soft chambray by Les Trouvailles d'Amandine, alongside with lots of other GOTS-certified biological fabrics. So if you'd like more pictures, hop over to the Georgette-blog! The guest post is only in Dutch, that's why I wanted to do some translation here, but I'm sure the pics will speak for themselves. Go see them here!