La Mia Boutique 01-02/2015

This morning I woke up feeling like giving some unrequested opinions on something, so I figured there was no better time to write a review :)

The good people of La Mia Boutique sent me a PDF of the new issue, which was not only very kind on their part (saves me A LOT of time in scanning the magazine), but it also shows they're not afraid of criticism, which impressed me quite a bit (they actually told me they do read my reviews and try to take notes, wow).

That being said, I'm afraid it doesn't make me less of a bitch harsh critic.

First of all, it's almost Carnival in our little corner of the world, which means dressing up in costumes, especially for children.
I know I usually skip the children patterns altogether, but I find costumes' patterns especially useful to have around (they're highly requested by relatives and friends, in my experience, and can be rather complicated to draft on your own) so I wanted to show them.
Furthermore, I've been working in a children store in the last three months, so I'm becoming less and less allergic to kids related stuff by the day.

This first strawberry costume looks really adorable, and quite easy to make as well.

I found this incredibly cute in its semplicity. I'd personally replace the floppy headpiece with a simpler headband with ears.

Mmph. Good idea, not liking the execution. It needs some major embellishing and accessorizing to work as costume, because it's a little sad as is.

I wouldn't have used an out of focus photo on a national magazine just because it's a jump shot (come on!), but ok.
I find this costume hilariously bad and outdated, but maybe it's just me.

Again, so sad!
If you go for American Indian, a feather headpiece is a must.

Awww, such a classic! But also, very cold! This needs a lot of layers if you want to avoid your kid going into hypothermia, so what's the point?

A Burberry print doesn't exactly scream cowboy in my opinion, but ok... Again, this needs more accessories and props to work, like, I don't know, a cowboy hat?! Presentation is everything, people!

This one is definitely my favorite although I seriously don't get the braids attached to the hood of the cape. When the hood is not on, they look really weird.

But wait, there's more! Costumes for adults!
This one, I find quite sad, and definitely not appropriate for a Morticia look... Maybe a vampire?

This one is quite beautiful, and it also includes a pattern for the headpiece.

The shiny poly fabric is a turnoff, but it's an otherwise very cute costume.

Ok now, real life clothes!

After the plethora of costumes, I decided to only includes pattern I more of less like. So, of course I included a coat. I don't like the styling here (popped up collars give me physical pain), but everything else works for me.

Two basic patterns, but quite cute ones. They also work quite nicely together.

Again, basic, but cute. Looks like instant gratification. Not much more to say...

Ooooh! Love this cape with the contrast bands! Love, love, love.

Aand, finally, a pretty cute outfit. I would gladly wear every piece here, although I'll use them more as an inspiration rather than using every single pattern here.

If you want to take a look at the rest of the patterns included in this double issue, here they are:

Aand... My job is done, I'm out! :)

Louisa dress pattern by Compagnie M.

Hello, everyone! Guess who's still alive? :)

I'm emerging from my loooong silence today to introduce to you a wonderful pattern for little girls, the Louisa dress by Compagnie M.

As per its description, the Louisa dress is "a vintage inspired pattern with a modern twist. Unique pockets and three back options make this a versatile pattern. Add lining according to the season and enjoy this pattern the whole year round."

The pattern includes sizes: from 1y to 10y.

Source

Compagnie M. and I teamed up to translate this pattern, (understandably) their best seller, into Italian (the Louisa dress is also available in English, French, German and Dutch).
I really want to help spreading the love for indie patterns in my country, so I feel it's almost my duty to give my contribution as a trained translator.

And this week the Louisa dress pattern is touring around some amazing Italian blogs to celebrate its new language!

I was supposed to present to you my version today, but as I'm a very bad, disorganized blogger (as you might have noticed in the last few months), I didn't manage to finish the dress I was making for my niece Caterina in time, so that will have to wait. In the meantime, enjoy the wonderful creations by the other Italian bloggers included in the tour so far:

Dotta Sews - My Cute Sewing
 Mademoiselle Chou Chou - Mamma Craft
Mamma 190

So good, right?

Although I have nothing to show, I can't recommend this pattern enough. The design is just adorable (with that vintage touch I just can't resist), the instructions are extremely detailed (meaning: beginner friendly) and once you print this huge pdf (only downside I could find), this project is guaranteed immediate gratification.

If you want to celebrate with us, you can purchase the Louisa dress pattern with a 10% discount until tomorrow using the code LOUISA-INTRO.

(And if, like me, you're not too much into kids patterns, just know that Compagnie M. just started releasing women's patterns, like the Lotta skirt pattern... just sayin').

Cucù! Indovinate chi è ancora viva?

Oggi riemergo dal mio luuuungo silenzio per parlarvi di un meraviglioso modello da bambina, l'abito Louisa di Compagnie M. 

Quest'abito viene descritto come un modello d'ispirazione vintage con un tocco moderno. La forma unica della tasca e tre opzioni per il dietro lo rendono un modello molto versatile. A seconda della stagione, si può aggiungere una fodera e utilizzarlo tutto l'anno.

Le taglie incluse nel modello vanno da 1 a 10 anni. 

Source

Compagnie M. ed io abbiamo collaborato per tradurre questo modello in italiano (che, non a caso, è il loro best seller). L'abito Louisa è disponibile anche in inglese, francese, tedesco e olandese.

Diffondere l'amore per il cucito e per i modelli indie nel nostro Paese è una causa che mi sta davvero a cuore, perciò dare un contributo in quanto traduttrice mi è sembrato davvero di dovere.

E per festeggiare il fatto che adesso Louisa parla italiano, questa settimana il modello sta facendo un bel tour in alcuni dei più bei blog del nostro Paese.

Oggi vi avrei dovuto far vedere la mia versione, cucita per la mia nipotina Caterina, ma essendo una blogger cattiva e disorganizzata (come forse avrete notato negli ultimi mesi), non sono riuscita a finirla in tempo. Nel frattempo, vi lascio riempire gli occhi con le creazioni delle altre bravissime blogger incluse nel tour finora:

Dotta Sews - My Cute Sewing
 Mademoiselle Chou Chou - Mamma Craft
Mamma 190

Bellissime, no?

Nonostante non abbia nulla da mostrare, non posso che raccomandarvi questo modello con tutto il cuore. Il design parla da sé ed è decisamente adorabile, con quel tocco vintage a cui io proprio non so resistere, le istruzioni sono estremamente dettagliate (e quindi a prova di principianti) e una volta stampato l'enorme pdf del modello (unica pecca di Louisa, a mio parere), si tratta di un progetto veloce e gratificante.

Se volete partecipare ai festeggiamenti con noi, potete acquistare il modello dell'abito Louisa con uno sconto del 10% fino a domani usando il codice LOUISA-INTRO.

(E se, come me, non siete estremamente interessate ai modelli per bambini, sappiate che Compagnie M. ha appena iniziato a vendere anche modelli da donna, come ad esempio la gonna Lotta...)