More about knickers

Handmade underwear update

It has been about a year since I published this video about how to make your own hand stitched knickers. 
  
In making this video I could expand my knickers collection and now after a year I thought it was time to produce some more. Why? Because the few knickers from the high street, that I did not throw away in case I could not keep up with laundry tasks, are just too uncomfortable in comparison. And I also have a bit of Organic Cotton/Bamboo Jersey left over.

As I am currently experimenting whether working with the machine can come close to the hand-stitched-experience but also to see if I can produce slightly more economic garments with similar effect, I thought I give this project a try on the machine. 
I am writing this post also because some DIY friends possibly did not dare to try to make their own underwear because of the hand stitched madness or not enough time. So now there are no more excuses not to wear the most comfortable underwear ever!

If you watched the video you know how to make a pattern for this project. First you pin the side seams, as in the film, but try to use fewer pins, 3 would do and make sure you pin perpendicular to the sewing direction, you don't want to break the needle. I use a Gutterman sew all thread for the top feed, that is 100% polyester, for the bobbin I use Seraflock, that is a very stretchy thread normally used for swimwear. My machine is a very very old Singer with only the basic stitches. Set the machine to a wide zigzag stitch and put in a needle for stretch material. Let the foot come down so all material is under it, because that avoids problems with the material and thread forming a big knot. Also keep hold of the threads before you start as this helps to prevent these issues as well.
And after a couple of stitches reverse and sew backwards almost to the very edge. Almost because again you don't want to start the argument. Repeat once you arrived at the end of the seam. 

For the leg opening it is a bit different. Use only a few pins like before, and the same setting, but this time don't reverse. The reason for this is that you want no tension between material and thread. (Across the grain you have more stretch.) You know when you put on a garment and it goes ratsch and the thread snapped? So leave about 2 inches of thread in the beginning and then when you went all the way around instead of reversing, overlap the beginning and ending for about 2 inches, before you trim leave some thread. Now bring the hem between your index finger and thumb and stroke around the hem, at least once, you will feel movement between thread and material. Do this until the leg opening feels comfortable when you stretch it, so the thread won't snap when you pull it. Now you can trim.

The elastic band works the same way, only a few pins, 8 should do. Do not reverse but overlap and stroke the finished seam until you cannot feel any tension, trim.

Although it doesn't look nowhere near as good as made by hand - I just love the herringbone stitch, the result is very comfortable and you are prepared and ready to go on holiday in no time ......

Mindful and Tees

Yeah NOW the new series has launched!

I have been very busy and kept quiet for a while. And a lot has happened. But what is nicer to write another post and talk about a new project!

Practicing Kundalini Yoga and teaching it made me very aware of the power of words. One word can change my whole frequency in an instant!

The other thing I really love is comfortable clothes. Clothes that I do not feel, that look nice and are of good quality. That is i can cu.

So I combined the two and my new series of Mindful Tees was created. I know for myself how good it is to be reminded of mindfulness and being mindful. And to have a mindful word on a comfortable Tee is just the perfect thing to me.

PEACE was the first word chosen. And funny enough the carving for the print was created under the most un-peaceful circumstances you can imagine, having a bunch of kids run around being excited about Easter. 

LOVE had a similar challenge and having finished those two prints made me really happy. 

In this series I combined sewing by hand and sewing with the machine. Having spent hours with thread and needle and a garment on my lap I have a learnt a lot and trained my feeling for the right tension or better lack of it, construction and most comfortable design to be able to offer a more economic version. Only constructed by machine I added a reinforcing decorative stitch by hand (as usual). Living on a Hand sewn wardrobe for years I will tell you that the quality is so very high and my organic material choices made each piece last a very long time. This might be against the times but I love to have fewer pieces I love and wear them until they dissolve one day.......

So with this fusion I can be sure the comfort is excellent and the the embroidery gives the additional unique look.

Ok, there is so much more to do.

Peace. Love.

For him

Hallo Valentine!

This morning when I finally started working I had to discover it was already past lunch time. Great.

And although it was already sooooo late, I had another idea that I absolutely had to follow in that very moment, so I lost another hour or so on top. And yesterday I probably should not have made my mala instead of working on this order as I had planned... But those shiny beads were just calling.....

I think I mentioned it before, I love it when someone asks me "could you make ...." These are my favourite projects as I love to find a solution. Saying that, before I start I have the greatest doubts and ask myself, why why why do I say yes to the weirdest projects when my time is already so limited. And by the way, why did I ever start sewing by hand. I just love my job!

So it feels all this avoiding and distracting gathered that much energy that I could realise this project in one go.

Yesterday I did squeeze some time in to make the pattern and do some thinking and today I made the prototype.

What is the project?

Very comfy underpants for a special Valentine.......

The test showed that they are comfy and nice to wear, whether the Valentine is happy.....I do hope so!

Now or never, for MEN only

Once upon a time...

It has been a long time and I only have a minute! 

So ATTENTION this is a new Hand stitched Top available for MEN, made of Organic Bamboo/Cotton Jersey. The photo shows the vest but it would not be a problem to add sleeves. The classic version is black or white, colours can be ordered on demand.

Made to order, the pattern is ready for size S, any other size requires grading, which would only mean the production takes a little longer.

The material is very soft and due the sewing by hand only the spoiling effect is enhanced drastically. Easy to care for and breathable, which means airing is often enough.

PS You don't have to be a Yogi to wear comfortable clothes ;)

210 days of Bound Lotus and the Hand stitched Onesie

Harvest time

You might think I have started expanding my work and specialize in toddlers clothes. No I haven't. Although I would not mind it at all designing a girls dress or a baby jumpsuit or any children's clothes, really.


This time I worked on an Hand stitched Ladies Onesie. The request was to replace a range of jumpsuits with the mission to be more attractive at home. Also wearable all year long, with and without any other layers to wear, and very comfortable were included in this order.

I must say I am very happy to have been approached. It is nice to have my work noticed. And I love this kind of approach. Can you make me...is my favorite.


I would not have designed a onesie in near future, so it is nice to have expanded my collection. But now as it is accomplished I would not be upset at all if the customer would not like it, as I fancy one myself.

It is the ultimate of comfortable so far! The cut is very feminine but there is enough drape to feel good if you know what I mean. The waistband is looser than for the Hand stitched Yoga pants as it should just gently sit there, which is also an important factor for hot summer days. The legs of the pants only touch at the very end so the only points of contacts are on the shoulders, a touch on the waist and at the bottom of the legs. The conic shape allows to pull them up higher when you wish to have cooler ankles.

I have the feeling she might ask for other colors once she received it and will not wear it only at home. I guess I can start making another one ...... ;)

I called this post harvest time. This onesie was quite a challenge as it has a lot of folds and must really sit perfectly. And looking back I can tell now how much I have progressed with my work. 

I recently had a similar experience with my daily Bound Lotus practice. I noticed a shift before but now I can see the difference. It is hard to explain but this posture seems to be part of my body now, in way. I am still far from reaching my toes but I feel comfortable and notice what this posture gives me.

The warmer days seem to be more frequent and I am thinking of shorter and airy......... 

Time to make Dandelion Honey and a Hand stitched Jumpsuit (Ladies)

Oh DEAR

I just looked at the date of my last post. It has been a month! And where has time gone? And what have I been doing this last month?

Anyway it is May and I am happy for some sunshine. My kids are still coughing and I wish we could see the sea more often, not only because it is my favorite place to be but I would love to get some sea breeze into their lungs. Instead, we went to the park, whenever it was not blowing a gale or raining, and picked lots of dandelions before they are gone and made some honey.

I guess time also vanishes as our youngest son has to be taken to school since Easter. This makes three journeys to school each day, as he only attends half a day.
 
I experimented on rare occasions of having a working day or two on a Hand stitched one-piece top made of pointelle (ajour) which I loved already when I have seen my nanny wearing it. At that time it was rather used for vests. I found some white organic cotton ajour and it turned almost into a tunic. I also extended the short sleeves (t-shirt) of the one-piece top with white organic bamboo cotton jersey and I love to wear it.

Now I have an order to design a Ladies jumpsuit and I am looking forward to this. 

It is really nice to see that finally some people around me start to notice what I am doing. And also that they get interested in wearing it themselves.......

Comfortable drop crotch pants and a one piece T-shirt

I am ready for spring!

Where have I been? Weeks have past by but it is still not spring.
I could not care less as I am completely into spring and absolutely denying that I am freezing cold. I also had to fight a bad cold which made me even more ignorant to cold!

But, but, but I progressed in my comfortable Hand stitched 
T-shirt project. The last version posted was a drapey one with one seam at the side. This drape was not very comfortable and also not tummy-friendly so I worked on a legere version, which is fun to wear and comfortable, very. Might post pics of this one later.

But now I have moved away one step. This Hand stitched top is made in one piece, meaning I folded the fabric at the shoulders and cut a hole for the neckline. Consequently there are no seams on top of the arms either. This way the jersey is gently hanging on my shoulders. Again words seem not to be able to describe what I mean. Compared to a normal sleeve, the lack of seems in this area makes an enormous difference.

The side seams have only a touch of batman wings. This gives more freedom of movement to the arm but also relaxes the armpit.

I chose Organic Cotton/Bamboo jersey, which feels gorgeous.
This prototype is short but works for layering with a tank top, but I started already a longer version....

Now to the very comfortable Hand stitched Yoga Pants.
I have posted the white version earlier. 

I have made the experience that wearing white only works if I feel comfortable. So I started to design my Kundalini Yoga outfit. I started with leggings, as it was winter and the need of layering required a simple cut for the pants. But now the layers are about to be reduced or vanish, so I could experiment with the shape of the pants. Saying that this drop crotch version is so comfortable that I might stop wearing leggings!!!!! I wish you could try for yourself. The no impact comfort makes such a difference. Additionally there are 4 tucks on each side, which is a nice element and again adds to the comfort.

So I am switching between designing for Yoga and adapting for urban life or designing for everyday life and creating a white Yoga version......

As I did with the grey Valentine's cardigan ....there is now an off white Yoga Version.


Well I am ready for spring.
Actually skip spring, I am ready for summer.

The New Collection on the Beach

Finally ready to let go of 2013 . . . .

I am soooooo tired - But it was a good day. 

The last weeks I did nothing else but finishing off my NEW Collection - BASIS - and today I was ready to take all the pieces with me to the Beach to take some pics. Obviously it was freezing cold but the sun was out and we chose a rather sheltered corner. So filled with my excitement of being at the Beach - home! - but also because I finally can show the collection and offer it in my shop, I felt almost warm.

Just after a couple of hours I could not feel my toes anymore and we had enough shots captured and could drive back home, where we shot the rest of the details and voilà: my first listing is online!

The collection is the Best of ONE year work. There are Yoga pants, three different styles of Long sleeve Tops including a Tunic and a Tank Top and ALL pieces are Hand stitched. I offer size S, M or L and the fabric is either Organic Bamboo/Cotton Jersey or Organic Cotton Jersey in black, white and colours. (I will show the colours available but will have to order them on demand according to availability.) For the seams there is a choice of contrasting Red, or a similar colour to the tone of the chosen material and you can state your wish at the check-out.

There is still much more to do but I can feel a chapter is finishing and I am ready for the New of 2014! 

Bob and the hooded Tunic

I probably should be stressing about ...

It is all a bit hectic and busy. If I could I would be on a sunny warm island, watching the kids dig in the sand right now. 

Off school, Birthdays, Christmas and little parties are making december an interesting month. I am very busy but not very christmas-y so I just do all I need to do and try to take one step at the time. Before diving into some child-minding days I had one working day to myself and was very successful.

I avoided to get to town to get the fabric that I had in mind. So instead of using a fleece and creating a winter tunic that includes a hoodie to warm my head instead of a hat I found some very nice wool-mix in midnight blue in one of my boxes. I don't know why hoodies are on my mind at the moment but I guess it is the desire to hibernate and some japanese influence.


I can wear this lighter version with layers and probably all year round. The hood is disguised in a scarf and still warms my head in this freezing weather. This Hand stitched Tunic is made out of one piece and the hood. Slightly V-shaped is leaves enough room for layers. Off to test it I still might venture to get some fleece for a second one, after the holidays. 

I really love projects that go fast and are simple but still have nice details. I guess when the kids are both in school that will change. Working on the model I was thinking for ages that a wrist pin cushion would be handy, as I do not want to have to get another scan in case I swallow a pin. So I was searching for DIY ones. Also handmade pin cushions crossed my search and I was about to get one when I remembered another idea I had. 

I can get quite annoyed that things take so much time. 
The kids have grown out of babyhood and I got rid of a lot of things but kept the best of. Either to find a baby that I could give it to or ebay but as a lot in my life it just stood there in a bag on the landing prepared to be dealt with. And today I was glad I did not give it away. I found what I was looking for. An early learning sock for newborns, with a rattle in form of a bug. And voila, 10 minutes later I had my wrist pin cushion, Bob.

I cut the rattle out, put a bit of plastic on the bottom as protection from pins and sew it back together. The sock I just cut off into a wrist band and sew the seam down to secure it. 
The kids obviously want it now I have it on me. But it is mine!!!

Namaste Ringo Starr

The rain stopped for a minute

One day I will look back and think How did we do all this?

Kids seriously changed my life. I am not sure how other parents do it and whether kids get pressed into their life or parents give up their life for the kids. Or is there a secret of how to do it? In our case it is two self-employed parents obsessed with their work sharing this pleasure of raising two little boys and this can take funny routes. While we keep arguing about our working time the boys began to copy us and say they are busy working now or ask us to print out the pictures they have just taken. It is a dance to meet everybody's needs. And then one day they are both off to school and I will miss the chaos and my working days might seem endlessly long until they are back home.

I guess it is the end of the year that makes me pensive. I am waiting for some new fabric to test and to finish the collection with, meanwhile I finish orders and presents. 

Yesterday I took all my energy to drag us to a photo shooting. It was in my head and needed to get out. But it rained. The solution was a warehouse with a roof, so the photos could still be taken. Nice location, but the picture in my head was a different one and this morning it did not rain. The car was available, so we packed the two kids and the camera and took off to school. While one was playing in school the other one was screaming in the car, a lorry in his hands watching me warming up to do some sun salutations. Time is precious, so half warmed up I posed barefoot in front of Ringo Starr's Birth House. 

It is not a nice area to walk on your own or to walk at all but I love those abandoned streets. I am not spending my time scouting around Liverpool but I do hope we will take more photos at interesting locations like this. 

Sneak Preview: Hand stitched Yoga Pants, Tank Top and Tunic

Auditions and a Hoodie

Warming news from the attic

Sometimes I really regret that I have turned on the computer during my working day. I get distracted and consequently lost and that is what I ended up watching last night: x got talent

Anyway, after seeing lots of auditions were you could never guess what you will hear I felt even more excited that my hoodie turned out so nicely.

I like hoodies, they are great to hide in. But usually the hood is very small and when I turn I have the feeling I am being slightly strangled when I twist my head. 

The one I have just created was developed out of the woolly vest mentioned earlier. It is a gorgeous versatile piece this vest, light and very warming. But I forgot that it is getting even colder and I have the wish to hibernate also indoors, mainly after I have brought the kids to bed and I am half asleep myself or when the heating gets randomly turned off.....

Obsessed with simplicity I had to fiddle about quite some time to solve this puzzle. The vest was created with a panel who's  size is determined by half of the body width. For the length I took all material I had. I used the edge of the woolly fabric so there would be no need to sew a hem. 

This time I have included the hoodie in this panel. I marked the position of the shoulders and tucked the bottom of the hood in, creating two pleats. The hood is wide but also vanishes when not used. 

This fabric is warm and light and very nice to wear. Sadly I have used it all now and after loosing my favorite cardigan to the fairies I hope this one will stay longer with me.

I really have to go now ........

Woolly Vest for a Cool Land

Warming

I like cool but this is definitely too cool for me. 
As always I understand things much later than they occur, so I wonder how long until I understand what am I doing in this country? I know I have a family here. But if this is the only reason then it is really time to grab them and find a warmer home.

Remember last winter? I froze half of it and then I made those woolly tops and wondered why I did not think of making them earlier. This year I am much cleverer, I started wearing this gorgeously warm layer already in autumn! I love it. The only thing is, wearing a cardigan or jacket on top, they don't reveal any of my nice Hand stitched Tops.

Somehow I do not own any jumpers. I have one but it is made of thick Organic Bamboo Jersey and I occasionally wear it but it is more a large sweater. I think it is because I don't like thick layers and love to move freely. But it is very cold at the moment. Cardigans are nice but too warm in the house and not enough freedom on the move.

So instead of finishing what I need to finish today I thought there is enough time to squeeze in a new prototype. And this is it, made of two pieces it is warm and light and I have lots of freedom. 

And: this Hand stitched Woolly Vest drapes nicely around any Hand stitched Top I am wearing underneath. I am off to continue my work, but might sew some pockets on later.

To warmer days!

Travel Sewing Kit

Where are you going?

This was the question my husband asked when I showed him my new Hand Stitched Travel Sewing Kit. The answer was sadly, nowhere.

My head is spinning, there is the collection that wants to be finished and presented, there are 2 books to study more sewing and pattern making techniques that want to be worked through and there is already a new project that I want to realize. I could not make up my mind of what to do first, so I had a cup of tea and decided to make a Hand Stitched Travel Sewing Kit. 

Where am I traveling to? Well, I am fed up with thinking of where to put the magnet, especially not next to the computer and also the threads and pins got tangled up. I wanted to make one in the very beginning when I started sewing by hand. But the design wasn't mine and I also questioned the practical value of the design. 

This version is not much designed and thought through but it suits my needs. The scissors are secured, the threads held in place and the sewing needles are in a separate location from the pins.

It needed to be very small in case I really travel as I have to give up any space in a suitcase for toys and extra clothes for boys. I also did not want to have to extra pad it so I put a layer of felt around it. It is made out of a too small T-shirt of the boys and some leftover materials and it is easy to close with a strip of jersey.

So were am I traveling to? From my studio to the living room, to nanny's television room and probably sometimes to the park.

a collection / chapter end

Suffering (;

I knew this would come. 
I have this self-imposed rule that I draw a pattern straight after a new design is born, no matter what. And if I make any changes I transfer them immediately too.

Obviously, there are exceptions. Sometimes I am not sure and think I can draw the pattern later. Sometimes the drawing is very free-style as it is in process anyway. Although I must say through experience my pattern-development got more and more accurate as it just speeds up the process, and although I know by now how to cut what, it is still of advantage to have the pattern finished, named and neatly stored. 

A year has passed. It feels like a chapter is finished and it is time to move on. But before that I wanted to present what I have done in form of a collection. I decided which of the designs will be part of this collection and did the last fine tuning. And I spent the whole weekend to create the final drawings of those patterns, I mean the final final ones, which was quite painful as I had to test and work out if it is all correct, like super correct. Because they will be graded and if there is an error, it will be in every size.... 

(... From now on I am not only drawing the pattern immediately but also do the final drawing.)

Well, now I only have to choose the fabrics and manufacture and present this collection in my shop. What a big event!

Smile! i can cu .....

Another Holi-day entertainment

Some nights ago I had the idea to stamp my logo onto my Hand stitched clothes instead of screen printing it. 

Why now I don't know, but I found a kit online and today it arrived which was really nice as I told the kids that we would do some T-shirt prints and we still had another Holi-day to fill.
























My oldest designed a smiley, we transferred it onto the rubber and after some airplane maneuvers that filled the carving time, he decided which clothes should have a smiley on and voila his first collection:

 

The best part of it was to hear the boys scream and giggle when I lifted the stamp and they found the smiley on the fabric.

Well prepared I transferred and carved i can cu's logo and have already tested it on several proto-types. 

What a nice day!

2 weddings and lots of rain

Show off time

They are married and the sun is shining now.

The last two weekends where marked with two weddings and pouring rain. But the rain has stopped both times for the wedding ...

I might get some more and better pics later on but this is a little peak into i can cu's wedding world.

  Hand stitched tie (in church)

 Hand stitched dress

 Hand stitched dress with poncho

Man's World

Tied up

Well I said I do not sew lots of men's clothes but as it seems I have to.

But this is more of an emergency project. I could not bare looking at a bought tie again for a whole evening, or actually invest in buying one. I don't understand the tie-concept and have not seen one I like so far.

There is a special occasion on tomorrow therefore I spent my morning entertaining a very bored toddler and creating a Hand stitched tie. 

At least I can concentrate on my red stitches tomorrow. I might make a toddler's and boy's version with elastic band around the neck as well.

Jealousy and a jacket

Anniversary present

I recently had an unexpected visitor and found myself walking down High street. I do not get there very often and also know why. One reason is that I use any free time for everything else but shopping, and then for example, if I would take my youngest with me I could rather stay at home because we would only end up arguing which way to go. But I must say there is also nothing I would want from there. I thought I give it a go and find an anniversary present but no, no, no.

I had coffee instead and decided to finally make the jacket that I had in mind, already months ago. The fabric waited and I had still some days left before the big event.

I do not particularly like hand-sewing men's clothes also because they are usually very big. But the jacket issue kept coming back so I thought I want to solve it one day. When we lived on the remote Scottish Island our life happened mainly outdoors and we therefore needed to be dressed appropriate but not necessarily designed. Living in the city now, the focus shifted and the outdoor gear should look good too. There are good brands that produce good looking outdoor gear to high prices but the quality just does not keep up. The lining rips or the
water repellent surface does not survive cleaning or seams open or the material is too noisy and would scare wildlife away. 

As it was a surprise, I had to take an existing jacket for size reference and started designing it. I have never made a jacket this big and with lining but it was fun. For fitting I had to reveal my secret but he was still chuffed later when he was wearing it. Made of stretch denim with woolly lining it is warm enough for the cold season but still thin enough to layer it with even warmer layers underneath. The only thing it is not waterproof, so this prototype wont be the one for going fishing.

There was not enough time for pockets but I might sew some at a later stage if they are required. The buttons are hidden under the edge but a part of them can be still seen, which makes it interesting. I used a straight stitch throughout. Because I finished the outer jacket first the lining creates an additional line of stitching right next to the main one, which looks really nice. The advantage of this construction is that the lining does not fight with the outer layer and this is more comfortable to wear. 

But the nicest feedback was that he chose to wear this jacket to the wedding we have been invited to rather than the suit jacket.......

I want one too.

hot pink and Hand stitched

up for vote....

i can cu' s pink extra long Hand stitched gloves 
are up for vote....... 

if you have a minute, very much appreciated, thank you!

(vote icancu2)

http://onfireforhandmade.com/pink-great-finds/

Lotus and the Beach

Yoga in progress

My newest challenge is Bound Lotus. I have avoided Lotus in general the last years as I was either too fat or not flexible enough. But now the Baby-fat is fading and this summer had a good aspect as I had nothing else to do at night than doing my Yoga Set, every day. So Lotus is possible now, Bound Lotus still a big mission though. But I must say after 11 minutes with lots of props and some suffering, I feel really good afterwards, just wondering when will I enjoy 31 minutes without too much pain.....

Meanwhile my Hand stitched Yoga Tunic in natural Organic Cotton Bamboo Jersey is finished. The seam is at the front this time, as it might bother me while practicing kriyas on the back. Also, it is neither too wide nor too tight as I want to be able to do inverted postures without showing my belly. I enjoy being aware of my body but do not want to be trapped like a sausage, so I chose the middle way. 

As you can see on the picture, I took it on an outing and this Tunic is really fun to mix with blue and grey. The material is fantastic to wear (Bamboo!) and with the Yoga Bra, the white feels even better, as it breaks the brightness.

The second Top of this special Hand stitched Yoga collection is also about to be finished, already thinking of variations with different seam colours but I might add some coloured versions anyway, as I am not sure to keep it all white....

I love big projects!