Linen Remake - with tutorial / how-to!

Summer is here! As much as I'm starting to get into sewing quick t-shirts from jersey (tutorial coming up!), the best thing to wear on a hot day is loose linen or silk tops. This shirt was handed down to me from my generous husband (who dislikes the fast wrinkling...). It was in good shape, just -well- a man's cut and size...

I know pin-tucks are usually placed closer to the center, but I didn't want to take off the collar and I needed to get rid of some excess width on the shoulders anyway, so I placed them further out than normal. I think it adds a lovely twist with them going over the shoulder and all the way down the back...

It was a quick project and gave me the chance to finally start using some of those pressure feet I never use, as well as some specialty stitches from my machine.

Delicious Lace!

This is a dress I recently finished. My mother-in-law gave me this beautiful brown lace almost a year ago and I finally decided on a pattern! I used the tiered wedding dress pattern Nr. 112 from Burda Style 3/2013 (available for download!), changing the skirt part by making only the top layer instead of going floor length and tripple layer...

The blue fabric is more vibrant in real life than in the picture above. Construction was surprisingly simple! The underlying bodice is made first, I only had minor fit alterations to make, which is very simple now that I finally own a dressform with my measurments...

The Promise of Summer!

This dress is exactly what I needed now. No, not because I can actually wear it right away - for summer hasn't arrived yet where I live (Vienna). Indeed, it is so cold that I almost made a fire yesterday evening. But this dress has a promise, a hope, and even a special purpose for warmer weather. I will be wearing it for my next opening night - it will be on July 18th, a summer festival, and I shall be twirling in it like in the photo at the end of the post. Summer HAS to arrive until then!

I did not make this from scratch. My aunt gave it to me and it looked like this:

Blazer - matching my me-made shoes...

Usually you buy shoes to match an outfit, but this time it was the other way 'round:  I had made these shoes in London and had no jacket to go with them... 
In came CUT Nr. 8 01/13, containing a cool blazer pattern with leather detail on the shoulder, and I just had to make it. Just like in my backpack recently (from the same CUT issue), I was able to use left-over leather from the shoe-course. You can leaf through the CUT magazine here, I am not getting anything for this recommendation by the way, I just really think it's a cool magazine and leaf-through feature... But enough of this linking-galore, on to the pictures!

CUT Backpack with leather details!

When I saw the backpack in CUT Nr. 8 01/13 I immediately knew I had to make one. I have been wanting a backpack for a while now - for all the heavy stuff my left shoulder doesn't want to carry alone anymore. Usually backpacks are quite sportive looking... I love sports, don't get me wrong, but I wanted one that looked cute, cool, city-esque! After all, I won't be carrying it for hours at a time, walking over a mountain, but just for those commuting minutes either on the bike or the subway...

Well, here it is!

What also tempted me to try this pattern is that it is using leather. A material I want to get to know more anyway, and I have plenty left-overs from my shoe-making course in London...

I. MADE. SHOES.

What is a pair of shoes doing on the white linens in my hotel-room?

Well, this is not just any pair of shoes. I had just finished making them. Yep, that's right. I made them...

You might already know, that I have a miniature obsession about wanting to learn how to make shoes. Real shoes. In my self-studies I am still on the level of house-shoe-making, but I took a one-week class in London, which catapulted me forward, far, far forward... ;-)

The London Coat

Another coat?! Yes, another coat!

It's not like I need more coats. But coats are good. Coats are comfy, cozy and make winter more enjoyable. And for whatever reason, coats inspire me. Or how would you say it the other way around... when I see other garments, they often inspire me to turn them into coats. It might be strange, but that's the way it is.

What would you have made from this great 60's number?