Rusty accident, New Moon & a New Top!

New Moon on the wrong day ....

Why is that? I have a moon app and I was really very sure that New Moon was yesterday. I even did my Moon fast yesterday. But then this afternoon I read weird posts on facebook concerning the moon and checked my app and had to find out that New Moon is today, never mind.

A good timing for this post. I worked on a new order, a men's vest and because it is still school holiday I had to squeeze it in somewhere and found a gap. So I developed the pattern and checked and double checked and then when I was happy I started cutting the fabric, wow, this is running smoothly.

Pinned and stitched I put it on my tailor's stand, which is not accurate because it is a men's vest but as it is for a size S, I could at least see its shape and collar. It looked nice. Good that I had a similar vest to compare sizing because it was far too wide.

How did that happen?

I haven't done a top all summer, so I might be a bit rusty but intuitively, I added a bit to the pattern being used to making ladies clothes. I know my patterns and know when I need to cut a bit wider so there is more room for drape and change and fine tuning, so this might be why it happened. 

This vest has a similar cut like my Hand stitched favorite Tank top, just with a men's shape, as in smaller armholes, smaller cut for front and back neckline, and it is a bit less tailored at the waist. 

So no chance for adjustment here unless I changed the pattern and create instead of a one-seam top a 3-seam-top. But the really comfortable thing about this one seam is that it feels fantastic on the body, because no seam is bothering you anywhere and the one seam that holds it together and gives the shape is on the back. So the answer was no, I had to check the pattern again, make sure that the pattern was super accurate and then concentrate to cut it at the line without adding anything.

There was enough fabric left, I started again. 

And what to do with the unusable top? I tried it on had to find out that it looked really nice on me. I never thought of using these differences on a ladies top. That is why I probably like it. The neckline is a bit higher than I would normally go. But because men have wider shoulders there is more space at the sides of the neck and this makes the whole décolleté very interesting and loose. And as men's waist is less accentuated than women's it floats nicely down my sides without touching and comes to an halt at my waist where it drapes. 

I shall finish it and take a pic.... Nice to have a new order and a new top for myself at the same time!

Happy New Moon!
x

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.

Look, what I found in my mailbox...

Retreat in Northern Cyprus

Sometimes I love receiving emails. A friend informed me about her new retreat, have a look......
Villa Sophia is waiting for you!

Enjoy a special week of yoga and meditation at this beautiful villa within the olive groves of Northern Cyprus.......

New Grounds - Drape & Shape

How you do it, it's right!

The other day I made my son a sandwich and he came back to the kitchen crying to break hearts. When I asked him what's wrong he said I did not make a sandwich as in half it and fold it on top of each other. I am sure if I would have done exactly that it would have been wrong as well. I am not questioning this behavior but I also can't blame him as I am not very different. 

I need things to be my way. Or maybe that is not true, I just don't want to feel uncomfortable, and sometimes things need a long time to be reduced to the max. When I had an outing to browse the High street I could find nice clothes, but looking closer or trying them on I could only find issues. The material was wrong or seams uncomfortable, it might have looked nice but it was hardly wearable and so on. I had to leave it and cannot call myself a customer anymore, even if I try very hard.

And now I am designing my own clothes I am not different at all. I might be very pleased with a new design but I need to put it to the test and only if I still like it then it will be part of my collection. This might be a too different approach as we live in a throw away society. But I always loved the garments worn to death the most and even when they were beyond it. 

The collection is completed and I am up to new grounds. In the collection I worked a lot with one-piece designs. The idea is that it is more comfortable to wear and a challenge but looks very different too. This time I wanted to drape more. This is even more of a challenge as drape and one piece is not easy to solve.

The top has one seam on one side. The other side drapes. Not too much as I still prefer plain cuts but enough to be a decorative element and shape around the body differently. The leggings are even more comfortable than the Hand stitched Yoga pants as there is hardly any contact to the body. 

Now in test phase and still only a first attempt in a new direction I am sketching and designing already more.....

no impact shorts

How to survive the heat

Every move is a mission, the head is heavy and the only craving is ice-cream after ice-cream. But then I remember how unbelievably uncomfortable I feel in the winter how stressful it is to keep warm and all looks different. The green/mate tea is my new companion, fruits are not allowed to run out and the orange juice lolly ice tray must be constantly refilled and frozen.

The latest obsession is to complete my summer wardrobe and for that reason I developed some shorts that are a fusion of my Yoga pants and the skirt that you might know from my movie. I might post about them later. Just to mention that they are in daily use, gorgeous on the bike and still dressed up enough to meet teachers. But they are just too hot to wear at home. So I thought that is the chance to use this nice cotton fabric I found ages ago. It is thin and a joy to look at.



The cut is loose and straight, the seams are only folded over once apart from the waistband. I used red thread and the cross stitch which would not be necessary as the fabric is not stretchy but it helps to prevent fraying and looks good.
And I just looped a bit of leftover jersey through to tie at the front. And some hours later I am running around very happy about my no impact shorts....


Ideal for summer pjs too....

summertime

Funny times. So long have I waited for the warm season and now I feel stressed by all events around me. New school, new projects, planning, dealing with other peoples issues, trying to stay cool, scouting for the best summer recipe. 

So apart from being extremely busy it is time to announce summertime. Time to enjoy the warm weather, relax into a stress-free body and gather all new ideas. 
I hope you enjoy your summer too!

Stay tuned, xx.

Bikini Top (Pattern)

Change the fabric and seam colour and have a new Bikini Top whenever you need it!

Once again this project started with a need. To go aqua running I needed a Bikini Top that is safe enough to wear and not to worry.

I usually find sportive bikinis too thick in material and not feminine enough, so I decided to create one myself. But it also seems that I want to be surrounded by handmade only. This is the second one I made for myself and they are both in constant use and test and I love them! But see for yourself.

If you enjoyed watching this movie please do't forget to share it. Thank you.
♥ handmade

If you watched the movie you can start now! All you need is Lycra, buttonhole Thread, a needle (sharps NO4), thin pins, fabric scissors, paper and paper scissors for the pattern (to repeat), a mat and a rotary cutter (optional).

The pattern is a fusion of a Bikini and a Tank Top. You can use a bra or bikini Top for reference (cup size) or just measure how wide the cup needs to be so you will feel safe. I cut the opening as low as possible but again not too deep to keep it safe. You will need 1 cm seam allowance. The band around the ribcage is 2 cm wide and 2x folded, which makes it very comfortable and strong enough to pull it tight.

The first version I made is black with a pattern and red seams, this new one is grey-ish with yellow seams, both very thin and comfortable. If you ask me now where are the pants for the Bikini Top I have to confess I had no time yet. But I guess you made your own Hand stitched knickers over and over again so I am sure you will finish your Bikini pants in no time and before I do ;)

blowin' in the wind

A Beach Experience

It has been about a week that I have waited to make it to the beach. The car was unavailable, or it was too late or it was raining, or something else was in the way.
Today should have been our 'family' day, which means we try to put work into the background :) but we spent it doing the tax year, which is not very nice in itself but when it is done it is done...anyway, the sun came out, the car was parked in front of the house and the kids helped nanny cooking and we managed to sneak out and drive to the nearest beach about 35 minutes away.
Being sunday afternoon we thought to find the beach heaving and were relieved to find it empty. On the path through the dunes we understood why. A gale was beating us with sand and it was hard to see at all. I got really upset but still as I made it here I wanted to at least see the sea. There was no chance to take the camera out of the bag with the wind full of sand......
But on the beach the sand stopped beating.
It was still rather freezing but determined to finish what we started, we went ahead with the shooting....
Mad.

June or April

Meant to be a Summercardi

No matter what kind of summer it is I always love to carry a thin cardigan around with me. I can use it as a pillow for a power-nap on the bench or in air conditioned rooms but also today when I ask myself whether it might be April. Being versatile to mix and match it also needs to look nice even after a day in my bag.

I was flirting with this rib-knit for a while now but never found time to approach it. Somehow avoiding the next project (to get ready to sprint like a cheetah) I grabbed one opportunity and started cutting this fabric and got very excited as I found out I had just enough of it to make this long thin summercardi I had in my head. I chose this material because of its light airy-ness and the color is just right for sunshine and picnics. And there it is with a bit of sunshine between buckets of rain.

bikini dreams

It was Saturday..

and like through magic I had a babysitter and went to the Swimming Pool. I arrived early enough to organize a member's card, chose a locker and changed. I had forgotten my costume. I went back to the reception and tried my best to find a solution, they even let me ring home as I did not have my phone on me, only to find out that there was no solution but going home. I know I had not slept the last nights due to little people kicking and crying but I was shocked how advanced my sleep deprivation had come. Walking back I really wanted to let go of being annoyed with myself. There I stood in front of the red door ringing the doorbell as I did not bring door keys either. And strangely enough magic lingered on. My mother in law suggested to take the kids to town to see the big ships at the docks. O wow. I had the afternoon off, workout and a nap. 

Tonight I try again. This time I will wear my costume on the way to the Pool. And it is a special one too. I designed a new Hand stitched bikini top and take it to the test. 

It is developed from my Hand stitched Tank Top design. I wanted to have a comfortable feminine top, sexy enough but also secure to survive a session aqua running without worries. 

I hope I succeeded or you will hear me scream.....

How-to sew a Hand stitched skirt

A DIY-sewing project by i can cu

Now, after practicing the Cross stitch ;)it is time to start the first project. It should be the season of showing more leg but it is also nice to wear one over leggings or tights, a skirt. This project is easy and can be repeated over and over again, shorter, longer, softer, brighter . . 

What you need
. Stretchy Jersey (anything that drapes nicely)
. Bottom seam of a T-shirt or a fold-over elastic band
. Thin Pins
. Gutermann Buttonhole / Top Stitch Thread in colour(s) of your choice
. Embroidery Scissors
. Milward Sharps Needle No4
. Cutting Matt
. Plastic Ruler
. Tape Measure
. Rotary Cutter
. Tailor's chalk or an erasable pen
. Fabric scissors

Measurements
First measure around your waist, your hips and around the widest part of your bottom.

Ready?
Half the fabric, align it and cut the edges straight (on one side, which will be the raw end of the skirt).Choose the length of your skirt, mark it and cut again.Cut the fabric in half now along the grain line using your fabric scissors, which leaves you with 2 halves of your skirt.Take one half and half it again along the grain line. Transfer the measurements taken earlier starting from the edge: first the waist measurement, leaving a 10 cm gap, then mark the hip measurement, leaving again a 10 cm gap and then mark the last measurement.Connect these 3 marks with your chalk or erasable pen, add 1 cm for seam allowance and cut, using your rotary cutter. Repeat the same for the other half. Half this half, transfer your measurements leaving a 10 cm gap between them, connect the marks and add 1 cm seam allowance and cut. If you don't like the angle and it would make your skirt too wide or too narrow, slightly adapt it but leave the waist measurement at the original point or very close to it, otherwise your waistband will have to accommodate too much fabric and this will make it very wavy.

Assembling
Now you can start pinning. Assemble both skirt halves, right sides facing each other, pin both ends first, which helps to align the fabric and then pin the rest, repeat for the other side.

Take about 2.5 skirt lengths of your thread and cut it in an angle to thread your needle  easier. Make one single knot close to the edge and make a double knot about 7 mm further up. See here and here for knot details.

Start sewing with making a loop (up through the fabric, around the edge and up through the fabric again right next to the previous hole) and continue in a straight line a straight stitch, try to stay about 8 mm from the edge and keep the stitches even.

When you reached the end run your fingers along the stitches finding the right tension between fabric and thread. Finish with a loop and knot off, first make a double knot close to the fabric using your nails to gently push it there and a single knot a bit further away, trim.

Repeat on the other side. The single knot, the double knot, loop around the edge, the straight stitch, adjusting the tension, the loop, double knot, single knot, trim.
Turn the skirt to the right side and fold one seam to the back and start pinning. On the other side fold the seam the same way, so they both face back and pin too.

The Cross Stitch
Thread the needle, make a single and double knot and loop the thread around the edge of your fabric. Choose to loop through the folded seam (thicker). Come up again through the fabric (below the created line) making the first bottom part of the cross stitch. 
The top part of the cross stitch is exactly the same but moved to the right. You always come up again where the last stitch ended.

Down and through the fabric for the bottom part, come up again to finish the bottom part where the last top stitch ended and move to the top part and through the fabric again, up and so on. Finished one side, make a loop and the knots, trim and repeat on the other side. Keep the top and bottom part of your cross stitch in a line, so the stitch looks regular. If you have to restart with a new thread make your knots and continue. More details for the cross stitch here. 

The Waist Band

Use as much waist band as comfortable around your waist and add 2 cm for overlap. 
Start pinning at the back, half the elastic band, and pin again. Quarter the elastic band and pin. . . Pin you way around, and keep checking that the fabric is fully tucked in while stretching it.Start sewing a cross stitch next to the overlap (so you go over the overlap in the end). The first few stitches can be tricky but as soon as you moved along it will be easier to find a rhythm again. Do the cross stitch all the way around so the last stitch meshes the first. Knot off, trim. Finished!I hope you enjoyed making this skirt, here is the movie this project is referring to. Thank you and see you at i can cu!

the movie. . .DIY-skirt

I did it!

This is only the proud announcement that I finished my first movie! I almost crashed my computer and have increased my coffee intake drastically but it was a lot of fun too! 

More about this project later! See you at I can cu . . .

some things take time

Funny, I finish one thing, what a birth! and my head and heart are already bursting of excitement for the next project to be realized. 

It seems I am always trying to develop a no-feel wardrobe, which is simple, classic, feminine, comfortable, . . . The Organic Cotton Jersey is supergorgeous and a dream to wear, so I am aiming for an Organic wardrobe!

This black Hand stitched dress is short enough to wear with layers but also long enough to wear it on its own. There is one seam at the back and two at the front, which makes it both comfortable on the body and catches the eye. 

I can't wait to see the shop running and invest in those nice Organic Cotton Jerseys with breathtaking dyes!

dress time

Well it was there in the air for a long time . . . . and finally . . .

Somehow I do not have many dresses and only wear them for special occasions. They always feel too complicated or I feel too un-dressed. So I rather have tunics. 

But I wanted to change that for a long time. 

The first spark of creating a dress had to do with an announcement of a special occasion and I thought I need a dress for that, but I am optimistic summer will come soon and the wish to wear a dress with it.

So now you might know why I chose the name favorite Hand stitched Yoga Tank Top because this dress is a variation of this favorite top. Favorite because the lack of side seams is so gentle to the waistline and the panel in the front makes it feminine and interesting. For now only in my wardrobe but soon in my shop available!