I'll sew you

      To complete the combo: this is the denim-skirt. Just a simple over-the-knee pencilskirt, with a nice detail at the bottom. I've used the inside of the fabric to make a contrasting band at the bottom and the white, frilly edge of the fabric to sew between top and bottom, so it contrasts with the light- and darkblue of the fabric. This is not a completely new idea. I've made this same skirt years ago and I remember wearing it a lot. So I thought, why not remake something that once was very useful and succesful in my wardrobe. Denim can be worn with a lot of other pieces which makes it a great wardrobe-partner. Besides that, denim is great to sew with.   I am very happy with this combo and I already wore it on different occasions. It's great for work. (I just wish my boots weren't behaving so badly. They are blue, which I love, and when I don't wear them they are long and have a smooth line. But when I put them on and walk a few meter...

Wow. Has it really been 5 months since my last post?? I just don't know what to say. Working fulltime does take up most of my time, but there are still moments I could have written a little post and showed you some pictures. Now that we're enjoying the Easter-weekend (I also had a day off from work on Friday) I feel that it's time (or should I say I háve the time?) to show you what I've been up to sewing-wise. Luckily I made the pictures earlier or else there probably wouldn't have been a post at all today... KnipMode August 2008 - Top 3b This is my third attempt to make this sweater. The first one I made (seen here)  got great response on my blog. (The picture was even shown on someone else's blog and I found out it got on pinterest) But unfortunately the fabric felt horrible on the skin and I never wore it. Then I tried again in a white soft knit. But that turned out to be rather see-through, so I never wore that one either. Sad but true. Now....for this...

Hi there, In the period I was unemployed I didn't buy much fabric. It wasn't so much that I didn't have the money for it. It was more a matter of prioritising my expenses. I have enough fabric lying in piles, to last me a long time so there was no actual need of buying anything. It wasn't necessarily hard to be on a fabric-diet, it was just not much fun. As you will probably all understand. Finally, last weekend I treated myself on a trip to my local fabricshop. I just love to go there. The shoplady is very sweet, the choice of fabric is great and, as it is a rather small shop, the visitors always end up in a little group chatting with each other. It's cosy and it's fun. There was this little girl - she looked not much older than 8 or 9 years - who asked the customers "Can I help you?". And she did. She was very helpful and seemed to know quite a bit about fabric and notions. As I wondered what her relation to the shoplady was (I assumed granddaug...

That's right. Finally the moment has arrived that I can say: "I got a new JOOOB!" After this weekend I'll start working as an executive assistant, at a regional education centre, which includes 20 schools that provide Preparatory and Secondary Vocational Education and Training. (For my Dutch readers: it's an ROC). The jobdescription is just my cup of tea. I already met a few people and I am really looking forward to working with them. There's another executive assistant I will be working with closely (we share an office) and I have a feeling we will be getting along just fine. It's only 25 kilometers from my house and the building is just beautiful. I hope this will turn out to be a long-term job. But these days, who can tell. I'll start fulltime (40hrs) but there is a chance that some hours will be eliminated after a certain period. Ah well, I just can't worry about that right now. At this point, I only want to count my blessings. It wa...

This is a pattern from KnipMode July 2012. One of the patterns that, through the years, I immediately fell in love with. Again it's an example of simple with a 'twist'. The ruffles are the real center of attention here. The assymetrical neckline also does its best to attract attention. I like the 3/4-length sleeves. It makes it perfect to wear after summer. Great transitional wear so to speak. I am rather proud of how evenly the ruffles are divided. I took my time to get it right and it really payed off. There is one flaw in this pattern. Once the top is sewn, the shoulderlines are no longer aligned. (See the yellow lines in the picture below.) Probably because of all the pulling that is going on. I assume you can change this by extending the diagonal neckline at the shoulderpoint, but I am not gonna try this. I already have to take off 3 cm of that same neckline at the other side, to prevent it from hanging too loose. I don't think adding length...

Months ago it was announced : Knipmode was going to get a make-over. Main change was gonna be an adjustment in the range of sizes. Each pattern was going to be offered in sizes 34 to 54. And as it goes with everything that is announced far in advance, suddenly the day has come that you find the new magazine in your mailbox. In this post I would like to give my opinion on the changes that have been made. Feel free to disagree.  From: KnipMode Magazine - September 2015 The first thing you notice is the size of the magazine . I didn’t measure it but I think that it’s about an 1/2 inch larger in width and 1 inch in height. Does that matter? I think it does. Apart from more room for larger pictures, they used a larger font size for the descriptions, which is easy on the eyes. Next thing  is the cover . The previous covers were made of shiny paper. Now it’s matte, firmer and more solid. Nice! Altough I cherish my old issues of KM and Burda, more th...

It's been a while since I last showed you some newly purchased fabric. Recently I visited the weekly market near my town and I didn't had the intention of buying any new fabric. There is more than enough to work with at home. But you know how these things go, don't you? Once I have a piece of fabric in my hands, I just need to buy something. It's like an addiction. Let me rephrase that: it ís an addiction. Normally I don't like buying stuff without a plan. All the orphans in my stash are the ones of which I thought I could find a matching pattern. For most of them I'm still searching. But when you are at a stall with remnants costing no more than € 2,50 a piece, it's hard to withstand the call of fabric. So I dived into the piles and found myself 4 nice pieces to take home with me. Let me introduce you to: nice blue cotton with tiny dots, probably for a late-summer or fall blouse jersey with a very, very soft feel to it. ...