Happy Anna in a Anna dress

Pattern: Anna dress by By Hand London

Size: size US8 for shoulders and bust, graded to a size US10 at the waist.

Alterations: I didn't use the 7-panel skirt of the pattern and opted for a gathered skirt with in-seam pockets.

Fabric: locally purchased viscose

WHOA. Two weeks without blogging. That hadn't happened in a while. I find it a bit silly to apologize since this is not a job for me and I'm sure you have plenty of other sources of entertainment, but still, I hope you missed me a little bit, because I was sure starting to miss my little space here.

Anyway, I'm back with a very, very happy dress!
I finally got around to make the Anna dress by By Hand London (which means that no, Sallie, you weren't the last one in the blogosphere!). Just like the name we share, this dress is very understated and lady-like. And just like my name, I wasn't completely in love with it at first glance. It was very beautiful, but was it a good match for me?

It took a few years of my life to accept the name my parents had chosen for me (I was actually supposed to be named Caterina, they tell me) and it took me a few posts from loving bloggers (especially from Roisin, no surprise there) to really fall in love with this dress.

And now I want a hundred versions of it! But let's speak of the one I've already made...
First of all, I had a bit of a freak-out when I traced this pattern. Marie came to my help on Twitter (thank you!) and I quickly realized I was seeing things... I blame it on the thin paper this pattern is printed on, which is the only thing I dislike about the otherwise gorgeous By Hand London packaging.

The first muslin I made was a practically perfect fit, I didn't even had the gaping at the back neckline that most people who blogged about this pattern seemed to have. If I'll ever make a V-neck version, I'll probably have to go back and make a FBA on a smaller size to avoid a gaping front neckline, but for the high neckline, it was perfect.

Then, I probably started seeing things again while cutting the fabric, because when I finished stitching the bodice and tried it on, I realized I had about an extra 10cm to remove. I seriously could not believe my eyes. I tried the muslin on again and it was still perfect, so I have no idea what happened. The fabric I used for the muslin is a teeny bit heavier than this viscose, but not so much as to justify a 10cm difference.

Maybe the fabric is haunted? I bought it at a fair and the guy who sold it to me told me it was salvaged from a warehouse destroyed by a flood. Jeez. But it was sooo inexpensive, and drapey, and the print was gorgeous... Maybe it came with a price? Just kidding. I hope.
Anyway, since I had French-seamed the sides, I ended up taking all the excess from the back seam. Not the proper way to go, but it worked, and with the dark fabric you don't really notice that the back darts are too close to the zipper. There's some gaping left at the neckline, but I'll live with that.

Anyway, I'm really in love with this pattern now, and not only can't I wait to make more Annas, I also really want to try the gorgeous Elisalex dress.

In conclusion, after mentioning my own name so many time in this post, I urge you to pleeeease click here and listen to the Italian pronunciation of the name "Anna" (unless you're German, then it's practically the same), just for the sake of it. It always makes me smile how differently it's pronounced in French- and English-speaking countries, so different from what I'm used to :) 

Backstitch: New Look and Competition

When I shop for indie patterns, I usually purchase them from Europe, in order to reduce shipping costs and waiting time. So far, my go-to store has been Backstitch, so when recently I was contacted by Alice, the owner, about the launch of her new and improved site, I was immediately in. 

Alice is having a very tempting competition with some amazing prices:

1st Prize: £50 off first order and 20% off all subsequent orders for a whole year

2nd Prize: £25 off first order and 15% off all subsequent orders for six months

3rd prize: £10 off first order and 15% off all subsequent orders for three months

The competition is open to everyone. All you have to do is place an order, via account (as opposed to via guest checkout) within the month of October.  You will be entered once for each time you place an order, so multiple orders equal multiple entries.

You can enter as many times as you like into the draw. More details here.

Alice has also offered a discount code to my readers: using code WLPAU at checkout, you will get a 10% discount off all products. I mentioned patterns, but Backstitch also offers a variety of beautiful fabrics, so you have plenty to choose from.

The voucher code expires on October 20th at midnight (inclusive of this day).

Good luck!

Burdastyle Magazine 11/2013

Let's do this!

I'm putting this pattern first because it was probably the one that caught my interest the most.

The point is, I absolutely hate these pants and you would need to pay me in order to make me wear them. Much like harem pants, I find them ridiculous and incredibly unflattering on any body type. But the truth is, a lot of girls are going to like them. In fact, I showed them to two friends who have completely different taste in fashion than me (think edgy and modern) and they asked me to make them for them (not gonna happen).
They're trendy, they're (ugh) cool, so they'll probably have a lot of success. I'm VERY curious to read what you guys think of these.

Now, the rest of the magazine didn't really wow me nor disgust me. I'm kind of in the same "meh" zone I've been for the last few issues.
This jacket, for example, is very, very cute, but am I amazed? No. Maybe I will be when I look back at the issue in a few months, which seems to be happening quite a bit to me.


Again in the outerwear department, a really stunning jacket that fails to impress me only because I feel I've already seen it from Burda. Still gorgeous, though.

Super basic cowl neck tank with a shrug. Nothing special, but you can never have too many basic patterns, right?

Much like for the jacket in the last issue of Burda Young, I was so disappointed when I saw the technical drawing of this top. I thought it was a knit top with some awesome draping at the shoulders, but it's a woven top with a shrug (filling the "rectangle magazine" quota of the month). Wah wah waaah.

This looks cute: a pencil skirt with some design elements to add interest. Although maybe those pleats are not best friends of a pear-shaped girl like me... 

Designer patterns of the month, by Alessia Giacobino... I personally don't like the skirt, but the blouse is interesting. Those sleeves look very chic.

And now, an array of dresses!
I like both of these quite a bit but all those panels leave me scratching my head.
Did you notice that Burda is doing a lot of this multi-paneled dresses lately? To me they look like a lot more work than regular darted pieces and I find them a bit intimidating for alteration (meaning: how do you make an FBA on this kind of bodice???).

I like the sheer yoke and sleeves, the keyhole in the back with the little bows and the French darts, but I don't like the fullness at the back and the length.

I want to like this dress but it just screams bad '80s to me... The photo does not help AT ALL. Maybe without the puffy sleeves?

The plus-size patterns of this month are particularly beautiful, especially these two dresses above. Plus-size girls, you might want to take a look at this one!

I'm extremely curious to know your take on this issue... Keep it or leave it?

Minerva Blogger Network : Wrap skirt and T-shirt

Look at me, I'm Minnie Mouse!

Eheh, I realized how cartoonish these two garments look together just when I was putting them together, but I'm not at all bothered by this. It's a three colours I wear a lot and can remix with plenty of stuff in my wardrobe, and I think they look very cute together.

You can find more details on this outfit in my post at Minerva Crafts, but these are a Sewaholic Renfrew t-shirt (in a size 6) and a Miette skirt by Tilly and the Buttons (you can see another one I made here).

I originally wanted to use the Cascade skirt pattern by Megan Nielsen, but I did a stupid mistake while cutting my fabric, so in came the Miette pattern to save the day. Whew! It was a real "make it work" moment in Project Runway style! And I'm really satisfied with how it tuned out.

Now, the only thing I'm not very happy about this look, is that it goes along a kit on sale at Minerva Crafts. I kinda bombed it this month... First of all, the red linen-look cotton I used for the skirt is too lightweight for October. It's gorgeous, but it's starting to be really cold here and I won't be really wearing this skirt for much longer. Secondly, I included too much fabric for the t-shirt. Unless you want to make a knit dress or multiple t-shirts, I can't really recommend this kit in good conscience, but the single components are great. You can find the polka dot jersey here, the linen here and the Vilene bias tape (that I used to reinforce the shoulder seams of the t-shirt and the back openings of the skirt) here.

I learnt a few things from these first 3 kits and I hope the next ones will be better.
Do you have any suggestions for me? Anything you'd like to see more of?

Liberty Mae blouse

Pattern: Mae blouse by Bluegingerdoll

Size: size 10 for shoulders and bust, graded to a size 12 at the waist.

Alterations: none!

Fabric: Liberty Tana Lawn in "Emilia's flowers (C)", purchased locally (at a fraction of the cost, thankfully)

I had mentioned this blouse in passing in my last post, when I actually asked you guys to give me a hand with a competition, an you made me win the second prize!

Thank you so much, everyone, you are the best! Now I have a sweet voucher to spend at A Fashionable Stitch.

Now, let's talk about this blouse.
It was made using the Mae pattern by Bluegingerdoll. This pattern attracted me immediately for the scalloped neckline, it's such a beautiful feature that I had to try it.

The whole thing came together relatively quickly. You definitely need to take your time with the scallops and the buttoned back can be a little time consuming, but that's it, the rest of the construction is really easy.
Mae is marked as a beginner pattern, but I wouldn't recommend to a complete beginner, you need a little bit of experience under your belt to make it.

I only glanced at the instructions, but they're well written and have helpful illustration. Furthermore, Abby had a Mae sew-along on her blog, where you can find more tips on constructing your blouse.

Worn with my black Kelly skirt

I really like this blouse. I've tried it both tucked in a skirt and untucked, with jeans, and I definitely prefer this second option. It's just a little uncomfortable for me when it's tucked in a skirt, because I find myself wanting to yank it down every time I move my arms. I think this is mainly caused by the fabric: Liberty tana lawn feels AMAZING against your skin, but I definitely prefer fabrics with more drape for blouses, especially those you will want to tuck in.

Paired with jeans, it makes a very cute, comfortable outfit and because it's very fitted, I also find it quite flattering.

Bluegingerdoll patterns are rather pricey, but they're printed on sturdy paper, the packaging is extremely cute (and functional) and they offer free shipping, which is great.
So far, I've been very happy with Abby's patterns (see my Billie Jean dress here). They just released a new pattern, the Peggy skirt, which you can check out here.

Last of my Summer Sewing : Tania culottes

Pattern: Tania culottes by Megan Nielsen

Size: size M

Alterations: lengthened about 10cm

Fabric: inexpensive dark blue viscose with mini white flowers, purchased locally and absolutely perfect for the job.

You know how last summer everyone went crazy for Megan Nielsen's Tania culottes?

Well, I didn't.

I was lucky enough to be a tester for this pattern, but when Megan sent it to me, we had spoken of something completely different, so I was a bit set back. I liked the idea of wearable, modern culottes that look like a skirt, but I was somehow perplexed by the actual pattern. Very full at the hips and very short... features I usually stay away from.
When I made my culottes in the fabric I always use for muslins (a lightweight plaid cotton, because I have a bolt of that stuff and "real" muslin doesn't exist here), it looked absolutely horrible on me. It made me look extremely wide and it was much MUCH too short for my own comfort.

So I wrote back my notes to Megan, telling her that everything went great with the construction (because they were very well designed), but this just wasn't the pattern for me. I was a bit heart broken, too, because it was the first time one of her patterns didn't really work for me.

But anyway, the pattern was released and many cute versions started to pop up (like Lauren's, Andrea's, Nette's and Sophie's, among others). Everyone adored this pattern and girls and women of all shape and sizes all looked great in these culottes.

Could it be that I was wrong?

Well, yes, I was. Oh, I was wrong BIG TIME.

It turns out I only needed to lengthen the pattern and use a fabric with much more drape!

I'm so happy I gave this pattern a second chance, because this is the garment I wore the most this Summer (together with my Bleuet dresses).

I especially loved it with sleeveless button-ups, but it worked perfectly with tank tops and t-shirts as well.

Of course the best thing about these culottes is that when someone tells you "Ooh! What a cute skirt!" (and someone WILL tell you), you get to to this:

It's so much fun, I think I did it to at least ten people.

A few notes on this pattern that many other people already made:

- These culottes give you more modesty than a skirt in most situations, but that doesn't mean you won't be able to flash A LOT of leg. Beware of wind... I speak from experience.

- Constructing these culottes is extremely quick, but leave them hanging overnight before you hem them, because the bias will cause a lot of distortion. You can see from the side shots that the hem of my culottes is not perfectly even, but I did what I could with this fabric.

- If you have a serger, a rolled hem will save your life. Seriously. I was so grateful I didn't have to hem those giant panels!

And that's (finally) it for my Summer projects!

In the next photos, you'll see cloudy weather, leaves on the ground and, of course, that tan is completely gone and I'm back to my pale old self. Yay, Autumn!

La Mia Boutique 10/2013

Yes, yes, yes! Another very good issue of La Mia Boutique!

As usual, you can find it half here and half on Silvia's blog, with comments by both of us in every post.

Let's get started!

The first patterns of this issue (and my favorites) are by Italian designer Makola, whose gorgeous 50's- and 60's-inspired creations were the main attraction of the beautiful May issue.

Anna: First of all: I get that having an Audrey Hepburn-inspired photoshoot makes completely sense and it actually goes great with the clothes. But when you bring such an humongous icon into play, you need to do it right. I mean, DAT HAIR is hideous. Together with the model's perpetual duckface, and the LMB stylist inexplicable preference for heavy jewellery, it kinda bombs these photos. 

Anyway, at least the dress is very, very cute. A basic shift dress that looks great on almost anyone and a perfect beginner project. Because it doesn't have darts in the back, it could also be a cute jumper.

Silvia: Not a new pattern if you have been seeing the latest issues but I wonder if you can have an issue on Audrey without a shift-dress pattern.

Anna: Lovely outfit! Perfect for a formal occasion, chic and put together with that touch of retro that I love. The coat pattern is almost identical to one included in the May issue, but that's ok.

Silvia: To die for! I love the color and the design. Would make it immediately. 

Anna: Ah, this dress! Silvia challenged me to make it, and it's about time I sew something from LMB. I've already studied the pattern and it looks quite interesting and doable.
I LOVE those in-seam pockets (similar to those of the Chloe dress by Victory patterns, but without a tab). The pattern is meant for knit fabrics, but I think it shouldn't be too much of a problem to make it in a woven (I'll add a side zipper). I just need to think it over a little bit and find the right fabric for it.

Silvia: This pattern screams Anna make me! Black and white combo is so cute. And I want the shoes too. BTW did you notice the tattoo on the model’s foot? ;)

There are four more Makola patterns in this issue, and you can see them in Silvia's post.

Anna: I like the idea behind this dress, but you need to have a shop/laboratory/whatever that pleats fabric nearby. That's just unthinkable in my area, so bye bye dress.

Anna: Bad-ass jacket. I love it, but it looks like a pain to construct; the horizontal lines are a leather trim. I also like the buttoned variation, although a jacket without pockets is blasphemy to me.

Silvia: I love the style on this jacket. I never had a leather jacket in my life but I could certainly make the variation in a Ponte Knit or wool.

Anna: This pattern really picked my interest. It's different and stylish, I really like it. I think that shortened, it would also make a nice maxi cardigan.

Sorry if you can't tell too much from the photo... I can't either. I mean, black gloves? Really, LMB stylist?

Silvia: When I read this issue included an Aspesi pattern I immediately flicked the pages to see it. The design is very interesting but it’s not something I would wear.

Anna: And here's the winner for worst product photo in a sewing magazine. Would you ever match the technical drawing to this photo if you didn't have the little numbers? I know I didn't when I was making these collages. So, it's an interesting pattern with lovely tucks on the front. I'm not completely sold on it, especially because of the fullness in the back, so it would have been nice to see how it looks on the model. I know, I'm asking too much.

Silvia: Well, you don’t see much from the picture, but I like the fabric. The pattern is not for me though.

Anna: A nice button-up shirt/tunic, maybe a little boring. Why you would tuck it in those pants and make it look like a completely different garment is beyond me, but at this point it's clear that I'm not on the same wavelength as the photographer and the stylist (and the model too... is she stoned?).

Silvia: I would chop off some of the length from this pattern or lengthen it for a shirt dress look and add a belt.

Anna: I really like the pants, although they're too low-waisted for me. The jacket... eeh, it's cute, but I wonder how functional it can be, with those short sleeves...

Silvia: I don’t know how I would wear a short-sleeved blazer, but I really like the pattern.
Cool fabric [for the pants]! Give me those legs and I will wear the pattern too.

Anna: Very cute dress (although the waist looks quite different on the technical drawing, am I right?) with gorgeous embellishments. These are all adhesive studs; it would have been nice for LMB to give us a pattern for the embellishments or to at least give us an estimate of how many studs are needed. Without any of those two things, it's just a pattern for a very standard dress.

Silvia: It’s a cute dress pattern but it seems too wide and short for me. If I were to make it I would need to make some adjustments.

Anna: This skirt was clearly stolen from Burda, as it's two (slightly tapered at the waist) rectangles of stretch lace laid on two rectangles of jersey with a ribbon at the waist and a zipper at the side. Why would you complicate your life with a ribbon and zipper, I don't know. A 5-year-old can figure out this pattern without having to trace it off and add a seam allowance.

The cape is extremely cute, but once again we're faced with the wise decision of black on black, so we have no idea how it looks like.

Silvia: Very cute capelet! I am really considering making it. Would you, Anna? Any suggestion on how to style it?
Oh a lace skirt! I have some lace stashed away and have been meaning to make a skirt for ages. The only think I’d need to check is the stretch factor.

Anna: Nice basic tunic, at this point I'm maxed out on clever and/or bitchy comments, so I hope Silvia has something to add.

Silvia: Cute shirt, though I prefer stand-up collars.

Anna: The first time I saw this, I thought "ooh, interesting!", but the more I look at it, the more I ask myself "how would you wear this?", unless of course you add some sleeves. Then it would make a very cute coat.

Silvia: Pity there are no sleeves on this pattern. I would muslin the collar to check the look on me.

So, all in all, despite my moaning and bitching, a very good issue. I even added a pattern to my to-sew list, so I can't complain.

As always, there's more on Silvia's blog, so go ahead and check it out. She also started a survey, if you want to let her know which patterns you liked the most, you can find it here.