Tag Archives: Named Pattern

Helmi

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February is over. Short month. My sewing goal this month was to sew a blouse (see project sew it). I do not own one single blouse until now. Sometimes one should try something new I thought. I tried, i really did. I made good resolutions, I bought the Helmiblouse pattern by named. I had my eyes on this one since it released last fall. For my Blouse sewing plans it was maybe not such a smart move. There is a dress version included as well. You can feel my dilemma, can you? Yes, you can see the result. I couldn`t help myself and went for the tunic version. I got a beautiful Helmitunicblouse. Ha. For me that totally counts! Oh how I love it!

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Clean seamlines, the hidden button planket. The mandarin collar. The beautiful shaped hemline. Nothing too much. So my style.

By the way, Named just released the Spring Summer 2017 collection today. Check it out!

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The fabric is special! It`s a double-faced one. On the inside is a nice grey cotton and on the outside there is this really soft and warm wool. I bought it from `in the beer`in Belgium. Marte visited this store with me. She looked at this fabric when I pulled it out from a big staple and just said, a real Nina fabric. It is.

I wanted to sew the whole dress with this fabric. But luckily it wasn`t enough. So I picked this beautiful sand-crepe out of my stash. It has a lovely weight and drape. I had just enough for the skirt part. It was meant to be!

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A dress without Pockets. Doesn`t work for me. I never know where to store my hands. I used a piece of the wool as pocket lining. Cold hands, not with this dress. For a bit of visual interest I added some rivets. They were black, but lost their color after the first wash.

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The hem is finished with a facing. I`m addicted.

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To make up a balance. It`s not really a blouse, when a blouse is defined by the length. But at least, I made a garment i truly love and perhaps is more in use, than a piece of garment i was not sure if it would fit into my wardrobe so well. I call it a success.

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Pattern: Helmi Tunic and Blouse by Named Patterns

Fabric: From in the beer Belgium (Bodice) Skirt fabric bought locally.

Kielo Shift Dress

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This dress was lying in the darkest edge of my closet for nearly a year. It looked a bit different back then I`ve to admit. His story starts back in 2015, I was in need of a dress i could wear for Christmas. Nothing fancy. I was pregnant, my belly was already uncomfortable big, let`s call it huge. Maternity patterns are most of the time… hmm. (how can i say that in a friendly way) Just not that much my style. I thought the Kielo Pattern by Named would fit the bill and have enough room for a big belly. Specially, when sewn in a knit fabric. It actually could work, though. But not in this particular fabric. There is nothing wrong with the fabric. It`s a beautiful double-knit. Firm, heavy with not that much stretch, great recovery. Not the attributes you would name, if you search for a good match with the Kielo pattern. I don`t know what drawn me to this fabric, probably I just felt like being comfy, cozy and warm. With the result, that I looked even huger than I actually was. Any way you looked at it, it was just not flattering. When i was back in shape after pregnancy i gave it a change again. It was hopeless. I just picked the wrong fabric for this project. Sad dress went back on the shelf.

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Until a day, I found it again. I felt a bit ashamed when I saw the dress in my closet. I hate it when something isn`t working out how i imagined. And having wasted that beautiful fabric felt even worser.

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The fabric. Most of my projects start with the fabric. A fabric should work well with a pattern. And then it occurred to me. Heavy, good recovery, little stretch. This fabric has to be a shift dress.

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The Shoulder, neckline and the sleeves fitted very well. Everything I had to do was lay it on top of a well-fitting knitdress and trace the shape from under the armpit to the seamline. I reused the straps of the Kielo, attached them to the waistline and I was good to go. 15 minutes guys.

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I ended up with the most beautiful and well-fitting shift dress I ever owned. It`s so sexy without being loud. So casual but still so chic on the same time. I love versatile clothes. That`s probably what describes my style the best. I love clothes that can be worn in any situation. Being with kids, Business, friends, going out. Everyday. Clothes i want to wear for all the opportunities. That`s one of those genius dresses.

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By the way one little side note about my shoes. They`re new. You may now that I`m a bit of a sucker for Doc Martens. I wear their boots like all the time. The same pair since 8 years (winter version) and 10 years (rest of the year version). Emm, yes. I like to invest in quality that lasts for a long time. This year i thought it`s time for a more grown up version. Still have to get used to them. They work with a dress as well as with jeans. Win.

So here i`ll leave you with a last view on the nice backdarts of the Kielo that gives the dress such a nice shape.

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Pattern: Kielo by Named with the free long Sleeve. (Modified)

Fabric: Double knit, bought locally in Freiburg (Germany)

Kielo

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Summer rain in the backyard, warm heavy drops in beautiful sunlight. The smell of the ground after a hot and sunny day when the first drops fall down. Nothing to compare!

A light and fluent maxi dress on a day like this, perfect!

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The Kielo Dress by Named Patterns was not love at first sight. It took some time, until I got around, that this could work for me.  Actually, it`s  a genius construct. It has a lot of room, but once it`s tied up, it gives a beautiful silhouette. I felt in love.

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This pattern works for woven or knits fabrics. Just be aware, not to choose a heavy one. I tried and it was not really flattering around the hips. Go for a lightweight fabric with some nice drape and you`ll get a gorgeous maxidress, you dont`t want to take off anymore!

And here we get to the point. How to breastfeed a baby, in a fitted woven dress with a high neckline, without getting undressed in public. Yes you`re right. Not possible.

That`s were my fast sewing project started to get time-consuming. No, not the yoke I added. Let me tell you the story…

The dress was blue and white once. Nice for Summer i thought. At first I tried a buttonplanket, to get rid of the nursing problem. But didn’t like the look. So I cut it out and went for a buttoned yoke instead. Tried it on and felt so disturbed by all the stripes running in different directions cut up by the darts and ties. It was too nervous. No way I got to like it this way. It would have injured my pride to give up and call it a fail. So i thought, maybe it`s better to dye it dark blue and the stripes wouldn`t be so visible anymore.

Im not an expert in dyeing fabric. First try was a complete fail. It was a light baby blue with dark blue stripes. A pain for my eyes. I tried again and as I didn`t now better, declared it as good enough.

A two-hour sewing project that turned out to be hard work.

It was worth it, though.

 

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Pattern: Kielo Dress by Named Patterns

Fabric: Bought locally

La dolce vita

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We spent a few days in bella Italia. In Lucca, I found the casa del tessuti by F. Casini. A small fabric shop, with a nice selection of fine Italian fabrics. I bought this gorgeous wool. Finest merinowool fabricated in Italy. Lightweight with a nice drape, perfect for a summer dress.

Perfect for an other Inari (See my first version here).

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I wore this dress for the whole day, before I managed to take a few pictures. It doesn`t crinkle! The quality is just amazing!

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This necklace is handmade by an artist in Florence. I bought it in a small studio, where she sold her work. I would love to give her credit and mention her name. But unfortunately, I totally forgot to take her business card. I`m so in love with this collar. Grey with yellow. It`s like made for me.

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I embroidered the dress with a few running-stitches. Just because the special fabric deserves this little effort.

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Beautiful days always fly by.

La petite robe noire

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I`m so nervous! Tomorrow I`ll be on the way to Paris. What`s special about that you may ask. A few moths ago I got a mail in my inbox from Annika of Näh-connection, asking me if I want to join a few amazing bloggers for a weekend in Paris. How exciting is that (and I still ask myself why i got this invitation!).

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This weekend i`ll not be able to hide myself behinde a screen. I was in need of a dress that is comfortable yet stylish. I sewed a Inari Dress by Named Pattern. I really love this dress! If you like to go out in 2 hours and wanna wear a new dress, it`s for you! It`s an easy sew and the result is stunning!

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A close up of the fabric. It`s a traditionally woven yarn dyed fabric from Japan. I bought at Mondaysmilk. Soft and beautiful.

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This meeting is just possible because a few lady’s made an incredible job and spent a lot of time organizing everything. I`m so thankful that I can be part of it. Especially if you look at the line up.

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14 very talented women from 9 European country’s. Stay tuned, details coming soon. There will be a huge give-away going on.

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Paris here we come!