Looky here, nothing for a year, then another post after only two weeks!
I have just come back from an amazing trip to Finland…a huge thank you to Pete and Raisa who were kind enough to show us around, feed us and let us into their Finnish family for a few days.
Going away always gives me a creative kick- my brain has time to wander without the obstacles of work & home and I find myself with stacks of ideas…however I can be guilty of letting the mojo run dry, the ideas stay on the trip and never make it back. So this along with some other sprouts elsewhere is me keeping the dream alive.
I am trying some new methods to help fit in more sewing and more points, means more prizes!
For me sewing ticks a lot of boxes and making more time for it, means I am getting more of the creative/ practical/ ethical/ meditative/ stylistic enjoyment it provides…no brainer really.
As per my last post, I saw I had gap in my wardrobe for nice tops- my work environment is casual, so jeans and a t-shirt are totally acceptable but some days it really feels as if when I finish at work I could go home and clean the gutters- I wanted the type of top that didn’t look out of place with jeans and at the same time would not be suitable for any DIY tasks.
I’ve been a subscriber to Seamwork since the get go and love their patterns. When the online mag first launched I blindly downloaded everything, knowing some patterns would never see the light of the cutting table. When they introduced the new points system, I thought it was great, making me more considered and actually think about giving the Seamwork patterns a place on my sew list, also having the ability to use credits to buy patterns from the main Colette collection is awesome too!
When I saw the Loretta blouse I was unsure. I never really fancied anything too flowy, like Loretta’s angel sleeves but the styling of the pattern sucked me in. I was weary that having a bit of volume in the cut, plus the sleeves could result in a rather plump uniboob…which it did a bit, but who flipping cares eh?
I knew I was going to make the blouse version, but I loved the checked fabric of the tunic version. I think having a fabric choice with a linear element really helps balance this top and makes it feel modern. I had a drapey checked viscose in my stash from eBay, that I think cost about £3/m. I had originally intended to make it into a dress, but the task of pattern matching left it firmly in the pile and I thought this shape would cover all kinds of sins.
The pattern comes together really easily with just a few pieces and the most complex was the elastic casing, which to be honest wasn’t that complex at all. This pattern give you the option of wearing off the shoulder, but as I knew I probably wouldn’t be doing this I made the elastic quite ‘tight’ to keep over the shoulders.
I took this top on my trip to Finland for its inaugural outing. We spent a Saturday afternoon on the island of Suomenlinna, just off the Helsinki coast. After a short ferry ride we spent the day wandering around the island which is part settlement, part military fort.
They have a submarine there and I thought what better location for an impromptu blog photoshoot than next to a submarine?
Fuck Off Bunting. 