drape drape 2: no. 2 dress (long sleeve version)

This dress is inspired by drape drape 2 (by Hisako Sato), but I made my own pattern using my t-shirt sloper and the sketches in the book. The sleeves are extra long and can be pushed up for a crinkled effect. I added a bit of shaping on the side seams but I don't think this is crucial. The rayon knit I used is rather heavy but very drapey and this prevents the dress from being too bulky or shapeless. Again, this dress is flat and only drapes once you wear it.

In The Loop

I usually have two knitting projects going on at the same time: one that I knit at home and an easy one that I take on the train or plane. This was my last traveling project: a scarf, knitted in garter stitch with two rows of cables. It's a loop, the ends are crocheted together with red yarn.

drape drape 2: no.4 drape top

My collection of Japanese sewing books is not extensive, but I own Pattern Magic 1-3 by Nakamichi Tomoko and drape drape 1 and 2 by Hisako Sato. These books are a great inspiration, even though some dresses are a bit too eccentric for my everyday life. This shirt however blends perfectly into my wardrobe. It's taken from Drape Drape 2 and the cool thing is that the one piece pattern is flat and the shirt only reveals it's draping magic once you put it on. This makes it easy to store and great for traveling.

Pics by my sister.

i-cord for my i-pod

I just recently discovered i-cords. Or I should rather say: I just recently learned how to knit i-cords without a knitting spool and that this type of cord is called i-cord... I had a knitting spool (Strickliseli, as we call it in Swiss German) when I was a child and I don't know how many meters of cord I produced. So when I discovered this awesome tutorial on ravelry, I was thrilled. It only took me 2 or 3 hours to knit it up and it gives a sort of vintage feel to my earbuds - which is a great match with my vintage i-pod;-).

Bias Cut Denim Skirt

This bias cut denim skirt gets a lot of wear because it's a perfect partner for my work wardrobe - casual but with a twist. In winter, I often combined it with this jacket and brown boots. The pattern is self drafted based on my A-skirt sloper that I use for all my skirts. The back looks a bit weird in the pictures because my derrière is a bit curvier than the one of my dress form:-)
Just a note on sewing denim on the bias: I reinforced the center seams with fusible stay tape to avoid bubbling after topstitching. And I fully lined the skirt, cutting the lining on the straight grain. With these measures, the skirt has kept it's shape pretty well.

Small Talk Starter

Inspired by this shop, I made my own tape measure lanyard. I use it at work and it gets a lot of attention - not a day goes by without someone asking me if I am on a diet (and am apparently obsessed with measuring my waist several times a day or so?), if they could order suits or if I would hem their pants! It's a great tool to start a conversation about sewing and why it's not only your grandma's favorite passtime:-) The lanyard is fairly easy to make: I just purchased a regular tape measure, shortend it as needed, added the swivel hook and fastened everything with a rivet.

In My Purse

It disturbs me when things are floating loosely in my purse. Therefore, I keep my stuff in an assortment of little bags and pouches. One of them is this one - the bicycle print is from the 2009 bicycle coalition winter fest and the outer and inner fabrics are from my stash. Following this tutorial, it took me maybe half an hour to make it. Next time, I might add some interfacing to provide more stabilty but over all, I'm pretty happy with the result.

Stitches and Needles

We spent the last weekend in Hamburg and I found this board in a junk shop in the Karolinen Viertel. It shows several types of hand and machine stitches and a history of sewing needles, from ancient bone needles to present time sewing machine needles - present time meaning around 1930, according to the dealer. Love it.

I'm back!

I realized that I really missed blogging!! So I decided to give it another try...
On one of the first weekends after being back in Switzerland last fall, I made a trip to the lovely Emmental to stock up my stash of yarn and fabric. Among other things, I bought this bright red Bernetta Lana Sport to knit a cover for this footstool which had some stains on the original cover. I worked in rounds, knitting two strands of yarn together in garter stitch to get this rather chunky look.