January Burda Challenge. Cushions.

My Burda Challenge, January edition is still in work. I need 4 more hours to finish it and also I need to find buttons but hope there is something in my stash. I am making a blouse 105 from Burda 01/2002.

Burda Challenge, January

But this was not the only one project on my sewing table, of course. I finished second cushion for a couch, the first one was done in the end of December. I saw once in IKEA or maybe in web cushions which look like sweaters so I decided to buy some XXL second-hand sweaters and make these cushions myself. I had some big pillows which I got for free on freecycle.org(very nice site indeed! I recommend it, I also got a box with some sewing stuff  there).

During sale in Value Village I bought 2 big cotton sweaters for 5$. The sewing was pretty simple%) Only the buttonholes troubled me a little bit. And now we have nice cushions!

Buttons from freecycle

Facts:

• Fabric: sweaters from thrift-store
• Pattern: none
• I saw cushions somewhere and decided to make them.
  
• Notions: thread, buttons
• Time to complete: 3h10m  (the most time I spend for buttonholes)
• First worn: December 2014.
• Total cost: 5 Canadian $ for sweaters, buttons were free  = 5C$ per both. I checked in IKEA, they cost there 20C$ each.

I still have sleeves from these sweaters and I am looking for ideas what to make from them%)

Butterflies T-shirt

This is long time since my last post about finished project. I have checked right now - it was one year ago!! Oh no! I made a lot of garments but didn't blog them, I should improve this situation.

I finished a t-shirt in this June. It was half done so I didn't spend a lot of time with it.

Summer Butterflies Top

The pattern and fabric were bought in Tampere, Finland during short trip with my aunt. She attended the conference and I visited the city and fabric shop%)) Also I visited some fabric shops in Helsinki and bought this butterflies knit print there.

Finish shopping made last year

I bought Ottobre magazine, issue 02/2013. I like their designs, the patterns are pretty basic but with nice details and interesting cut. So I choose the pattern number 2 - Summer Basic Top. This is loose knit top with short kimono sleeves and additional draping in the bottom.

Ottobre 02-2013-02

It looks the same as tech drawing

It seems to me that I cut size 36 but I am not sure%)) Because the instructions were in Finnish I cannot say anything about them but for this simple design you don't need instructions. The sewing process was very easy,maybe the only problem for me was to bind the neckline and not to stretch it.

I like how this top looks, it was very comfy to wear during hot days. I like the neckline, pretty feminine. I think I make more such tops, maybe one version with more draping on the bottom and one just straight.

Facts:

• Fabric:  1m (width 1.55m) of rayon knit from Finland. I have pretty big piece after cutting. maybe for cami.
• Pattern: Ottobre 02/2013 02
• Fabric was bought first because of nice print.
  
• Notions: thread, twin needle 
• Time to complete: 3 hours
• First worn: June 2014 for walking.
• Wear again:  Yes! Already.
• Total cost:  6 euro for fabric + 1.8 euro for thread + 9 euro for magazine  = 16.8 euro. This is pretty much for t-shirt but I plan to make more from this magazine so this increase the cost%)

Also you can see my pattern review.

PS. The skirt I worn was refashioned by me, it was too long and looked boring so I cut it and worn a lot this summer.

Refashioned skirt with me-made t-shirt

More of June creations

I made a knit skirt for my friend. She is a big fan of stars so when I saw this fabric in a shop I knew at once whom should had it%))

The most difficult part was to find simple black knit fabric for belt!!Sewing was very easy because this is pretty simple skirt.

Skirt for a friend

Also I made a shopper bag, now this is my favorite one. I made it from my lovely cargo trousers which I bought in the ancient 2004 or may be even 2003%))) I wore them out to the death but couldn't just throw away! So now I have nice bag with pocket for keys and wallet.

Shopper bag

From dress to skirt: quick refashion.

Sometimes I want to make anything pretty quick especially when I am struggling with a project%))  This was the same case, I was sticking in my maxi skirt project and decided to finish a dress-to-skirt. it seems to be the easiest refashion project!%))

I bought this dress from ASOS pretty long time ago and worn it just once for new year celebration.  It had too deep decollete and the straps at the end were too wide so the knot looked pretty big and ugly!

ASOS dress

I liked this dress so decided to change it into something more wearable for me. At first I decided to change the top of body, maybe by shortening the straps, adding buttons etc. I realized in process that for changing a body you had to cut new one, eh!

So I decided to make skirt from it, I like the maxi but you need a lot of fabric for them%)) The rest was easy - to rip straps, to cut a belt because it was too wide, to make the skirt shorter because it was too long! So now I have new nice skirt! I think it will have more opportunity for going out%))))

Bad photo, I know%))

 

New sewing list for me!

Only one unsewn item remains in "current sewing list" so I will write the next one! These lists motivate me pretty well!
Really my backlog of ideas, wishing and sewing plans is huuuuuuuuge! Also I have a huge box of different UFOs so I decided to include them too in my current list so not only new projects will be realized.

New projects (from scratch)

• Maxi-skirt from knit - done (22/06)
  
  
  
• Muslin for leather jacket
• Scarf from silk 
  
• Green trousers from last summer - done (27/07)
• Burda sew-along - Raglan Shirt Burda 02/2013 - done! (26/05)
• Knit skirt for my friend - done (28/06)
• Simple bag from linen - need to buy ribbon for handle
• Simple jumper for cold summer nights form finish green fabric 
 

Refashion, changing, repair etc

• To finish summer brown skirt
• Winter dress - need new long zipper
• To fix some technical issues in orange bag
• To finish changing of red Simplicity dress - decided to keep it like this, it is ok!
• To remove pockets on new red skirt (I don't like how they came out) - done (26/06)
• To change Asos dress to skirt - done (05/06)
• To look on the waist of new red dress (belt or alteration?)
• Repair a pocket of the bag - done! (28/06)
• Repair a lining of Semeon's jacket

I have to finish this list quickly because I want to make the next one and sew my coll ideas!%))

From trousers to a skirt!

I suppose that everybody one day does it! I mean making a skirt from trousers%))

These were my corduroy jeans!

I like these jeans, wore them a lot so the bottoms of legs became pretty threadbare. Then I put them in my recycle box going to leave them near garbage bins. This is Russian way for recycling. But they don't want to leave me!  I decided to make a skirt. I wanted to sew new orange corduroy skirt but I didn't  find a fabric of my dream!%)) So I decided that my favorite jeans could work a little bit more for me.

The hardest part was to unpick seams%) Then I just cut extra fabric from inseam, try it one and decided that it would work! I even bought the thick thread for topstitching. Now I know that this is not my favorite part, I need more experience.

The result

Of course, this is not a perfect skirt, you can see some wrinkles, but pretty the same behave my RTW narrow denim skirts. By the way, fabric had some stretch in it, so I don't fill narrowness of the skirt. This is very comfortable skirt and I like it!%))

I made the pictures myself so nobody said
me I should to set the leggings well%))

Rear view%)

Facts:

• Fabric:  old trousers
• Pattern: none
• Notions: thick thread
• Time to complete: about 2 hours plus walking to the shop for thread%)
• First worn: 13 April at home%)
• Wear again:  Yes!
• Total cost:  1.5 euro (but almost all thread stay for the next projects%)

Short report about sewing progress

As always I made pretty big plans, my winter sewing is not a exception!%) I am pretty slow in the execution of my plan. Now I am working on my blue dress, I try to make it almost perfect, he-he!%) I use French seams in my lining also I use bias for the dress's seam allowances. Because of all that my sewing is pretty slow!

Blue dress and remaking winter dress

Mess on my table%)

But I cannot do one thing for a long time so I've decided to make some very-very short project and have made a home skirt to brighten a little bit gray December! This was my old long-sleeve! I am so happy with my skirt, which is not perfect of course but very funny! I think I should make something in orange stripes for summer, but little bit more accurate%))

Orange and stripes!!

Top 5 in my sewing Fall-Winter wish list.

It is little bit later for fall plans but I should post it in any way, just for encouraging and motivating myself%)) So let´s say it is the cold time plan!

I decided not to create too a long list because I know that I can be very sad after not completing it.. But if the list is very long, of course I wouldn´t complete it, I am too slow. Complicated!!!

So....

1. I need to finish some UFO. The first one is grey dress, I started it in the spring then dropped it in the warm times. I need to fix some problems with the darts.
   

   

   Burda 12/2008

2. Next UFO, very long one. Silk dress, I started it very long ago, it is too difficult for me - difficult fabric, pretty thin and slippery, cut  on the bias, french seams! Ohhh! 
   

   

   Burda 10/2004

3. Blue dress from italian wool. I have already made a muslin for it - complete garment
   

   

   Burda 09/2012

4. Blouse for my new orange skirt. I am thinking about model%) - complete garment
   

   

   Cotton for a blouse

5. Free position. May be some dress for New Year?%)) 

Also I should  finish some stuff - change one old winter dress(already cut the length) and finish 2 summer things, I don't want they become UFO%))