Exit Sewalong

When I was trying to catch up on Sherry's Sewalong, I discovered it was a bit too complicated for me. I have never sewn a jacket before, and with all the alterations she uses it took me too much time figuring out how to apply them to my patterns. So, I resigned from the Sewalong and now just follow Burda's instructions. Here's where I am so far:


The wool is not easy to work with, it frays like crazy and it won't iron nice and flat. I still need to sew the sleeves and make the lining, but I think it will be quite pretty when finished! I really like the pointy lapels. I've put it aside last week to make place for another project, which turned out to be my new favourite pants. More on them later this week!

Sewalong #1

Lets's get started! I'm already lots of posts behind schedule, but this week I've managed to pick my pattern, dye my fabric and get some pretty lining. This pattern (I'm not sure which version I'll make yet) is from the last Burda Easy (spring/summer 2011). The only difference seems to be the lapels.


I'm going to try the €1,- wool on this, although it still smells a bit like sheep (our dog found it very interesting). I chose sunflower yellow, a nice spring color. I am now definitely not using any rules anymore when it comes to colors. As you can see below, it turned out lighter than the dye because it's wool. I found this pretty light cotton at the market to use as lining, and for the lapels. It'd be a shame not to show these cute flowers, right?


I'm hoping to start pattern making and cutting my fabric this week! Stay tuned...

Make it fake

Last weekend was our big Sinterklaas swap. We each held a sales-pitch, explaining what we had brought and why. Remarkably, the most common reason was: "It's a nice shirt/dress/vest, there's nothing wrong with it, but I just don't wear it". Which goes to show, again, that you really need to think before you buy something. Luckily, I could pass on most of my items to my friends.

I have a 'Things to sew'-list, and on it was a blue (fake) leather jacket. Much to my delight, one of my friends brought exactly such a jacket for the swap. Hurray! It gives this jacket a second life, and moreover, saves me a lot of work. I also swapped a blue vest, which matches my formerly-XL shirt. Anyway, the eye-catcher in these pics should be my new bag! I made this simply because my other big bag was worn out. I had a mental image of this new bag since I accidently made a nice combination of fabrics while rummaging about in my fabric suitcase. The tough brownish wool makes a nice contrast with the little beige flowers. All I had to add was the fake leather. It closes with a magnet. My other bag had no closing at all, so I felt no reason to make an elaborate one on this bag. The inside holds a pocket for small things such as pens and my phone.

But the most handy feature is the special key pocket. Anytime you go out, no matter where you go, at some point you need your keys. I guess we've all had that moment when you're back home, a bag full of stuff and your keys are always somewhere at the bottom of your bag (or to make matters worse, you also really need to go to the bathroom). I could use the pen-pocket for my keys, but the most convenient place would be in the corner, where I can reach them anytime. I guess you could make a pocket on the front, but I don't like the idea of my keys being on the outside.


I love how much I learn with each thing I make. It was the first time I made a big bag like this, and the first time I used fake leather. It's not as fancy as real leather, but it works just as well. I think I'll be using it a whole lot more!