FLIP THIS PATTERN . FREE FOR ALL!

I am so happy to be, once again, part of Flip this Pattern! This is such a fun and inspirational series and Emily and Ashley are making such a great job by adding new challenges all the time...

So this month's challenge is to use free patterns. Great challenge, right? There are so many fantastic free patterns out there that, for me, the biggest challenge was actually choosing just one or two. So today I am showing you a tunic and a skirt but I must admit I have sewn also a pair of pajama trousers, a tee and an infinity scarf. I will try to photograph and blog about these projects next week so stay tuned!
But now let's get back to what I have to share with you today...

PATTERN: Simple Skirt by MADE for the skirt. Dana's simple elastic band skirt was my first ever sewing project so I had to make a skirt like this for Flip this Pattern! Though I wanted to keep it simple, I did add a couple of details to the original pattern for a little bit of extra fun factor. So not only the skirt is lined but also has deep side pockets. Never the less it was an easy and fast project.
Sweet Tea Tunic by Shwin & Shwin for the tunic. As soon as I saw the pattern for this tunic I felt in love! Such a simple but great design! The deep neckline at the back is so lovely... Though I haven't actually flipped this pattern I did change a bit the construction of the tunic, omitting the lining on the yoke, as I wanted the neckline and armhole to be finished with piping. I love the loose fitting of this tunic and I can't wait for warmer days to arrive so Ines can wear it without the turtle neck.

FABRIC: The skirt is made of bright red corduroy and lined with white and red polka dot chambray. I had just a little bit left of this corduroy so, to make it work, I had to cut it cross grain for the pockets. Sometimes these "challanges" make the garments look even more special (though you can not tell from the photos as it is such a small detail. Sorry! Better photos next time, maybe...)
For the tunic I mixed a bit of very lightweight denim with a beautiful printed linen from MissMatatabi (leftover from this project I made last September.) I love these two fabrics together! The piping was bought in Lisbon and it is vintage. I was going to buy simple red piping but them I spotted this one and knew I had to change my idea.

Thank you so much Emily and Ashley for this invitation!
And, I almost forgot, I have a couple of free tutorials too. Don't forget to check them out!

REFASHION MONTH AT HOUSE OF ESTRELA

It’s Refashion Month at House of Estrela and I am really happy to be, once again, part of this series. Last time I made a top for Teresa with a shirt I used to love and this time I am sharing a shirt for me made with a piece of nice cotton from a bed sheet I bought several years ago. (I told you on my last post you were going to see a lot more selfish sewing around here, right?)

Pattern: View B from the Japanese book Stylish Dress Book. I love Japanese sewing books! I love the design of the garments, the styling and even the instructions. But I still don’t know if Japanese clothes really fit my body type… (I hope they do!) Anyway, I had to try this pattern as the sleeves looked so cool… Before hemming the shirt I decided to try it on and it didn't feel quite right. Though the shoulder line was spot on, the shirt was so big, long and wide on me! I decided to cut almost 10cm/4 inches in length and a 5cm/2 inches on each side of the bodice. I don’t know if this was the right decision… I don’t know if the fitting is better this way… I have so much to learn when it comes to women’s clothing! (I have a lot to learn about children’s clothing, too, I must add!)

 

Fabric: White woven cotton from a bed sheet I bought at Zara Home. Good quality bed sheets (bought for nice prices on sale!) are great for clothes too! They are especially good to make “wearable muslins” (here is the first one I made and still wear a lot.) Since I am just starting to make clothes for me and never know if a pattern is going to work, this is a great way to try a pattern without ruining my best fabric but still getting a nice piece of clothing. One more detail about the shirt: the bias tape on the neckline and sleeves is store bought and I had it on my stash for years. The original design doesn’t feature bias tape on the sleeves but they were so short I thought they would look nice this way.

 As you can see, unlike Teresa and Ines, I don’t feel very comfortable in front of the camera… These were the best photos I could pick and I hope you like them more then I do!

Today is just the first day of Refashion Week so stay tuned for all creations that will pop up at House of Estrela during the week.  And don’t forget to head over Pequeno Mundo a 3 and see what Patricia has refashioned…

SEW JAPANESE SERIES . NUTTA (TAKE 02!)

Today I am visiting for the second time this week my friend Shino, in Japan, for her great series Sew Japanese. And I am taking Ines and her new outfit with me!
Oh, and how I love this outfit!

Both blouse and shorts patterns come from the Japanese book Handmade Little Girl's Clothes by Yuki Araki and this was the first time I actually sewn with original Japanese instructions. (Ok, I admit almost all my Japanese sewing books are English or French versions. I am a cheater! This book was gently borrowed by my friend Carla. Thank you!) Not fully understanding the instructions wasn't such a big deal as the diagrams where great but, for the size chart I had to get some help from the great sewing dictionary at Japanese Sewing Books Blog...
Though I love the shorts - they are super comfy and have the cutest pockets at the front - I have to admit I am super proud of the blouse as it was made with linen thrifted from my grandmother's old bed sheets!
Courtney from Sweeter then Cupcakes is also sharing a super cool knit jumper so Ines is in great company.
Head over Nutta and check out all the details! And, if you have missed it, you can check out the blouses I shared Wednesday here!

SEW JAPANESE SERIES . NUTTA (TAKE 01!)

This week my kids and I are traveling to the other side of the world to visit my good friend Shino from the Japanese blog Nutta and be part of her first series: Sew Japanese.
Today I will be sharing a couple of tunics from the book Girls Clothings by Akiko Mano made with a lovely Japanese linen I bought at Miss Matatabi. (If you don't know yet this etsy store, you should check it out! It has the most incredible choise of fabric and great shipping rates to Europe!)

Now don't forget to head over Nutta and read what Shino has to say about this book and its author. It is super interesting! Plus, I got to answer a couple of questions about Japanese Sewing Books myself... Plus, we will be in great company as Teri from Climbing the Window will also be sharing a lovely piece of clothing!
And feel free to come back on Friday as our journey is Japan will continue!

DOGUINCHO AT NAH-CONNECTION

Hoje estou no blog alemão Nah-Connection com uma entrevista e dois vestidos novos feitos com o molde Stellar Tunic da Figgy's.
Passem por lá!

Today I am at Nah-Connection. There is a small interview and two new dresses made with Figgy's Stellar Tunic Pattern (Ho boy, I am in love with this pattern!...)
Check it out!

FROM WHEN WE WERE YOUNG TO PROJECT RUN & PLAY AND KIDS CLOTHES WEEK

Hoje trago de volta a casa o vestido que fiz para a série "When We Were Young" organizada pela Suz do blog Sew Pony.
Este vestido enquadra-se na perfeição no tema desta semana do concurso Project Run and Play: Design your own Fabric; e também no tema da edição de Primavera da série Kids Clothes Week: Mini Me; por isso não podia deixar passar esta oportunidade...

Today I am bringing back home the dress I made for Sew Pony's wonderful series "When We Were Young".
You know why? Not only because I actually am very proud of my creation - it took me ages to make those bodice stripes... - but also because this dress fits to perfection this week's Project Run and Play theme: Design your own Fabric; and Kids Clothes Week spring edition theme too: Mini Me.
I could not miss this opportunity, could I?! 

Hi! I’m Marta from DoGuincho and I’m thrilled to be at Sew Pony sharing with you my “When We Were Young” project! Thank you Suz!

 Where were you born/where did you spend your childhood?
I was born in Lisbon, Portugal.  I spent my childhood in Miraflores, a suburb of Lisbon.

Who did you grow up with?
I grew up with my parents and my younger sister Ana.  

Did you have a childhood ambition?
When I was a child, I don’t think I had any of those crazy typical ambitions… I think I only wanted to be a “maker” and maybe that’s way I became an architect and then a seamstress.

What did you like doing when you were little?
I liked making things more than playing with dolls or other toys. And I loved being outside riding my bike with my friends!

Do you see any similarities between yourself and your child/children?
I definitely do! Teresa and Ines are really crafty. Teresa is only 5 (almost 6, actually) and she already knows and likes to make embroideries!

Do you live far from where you grew up?
No, it’s a short car ride from my parents home to where I live now .

Where do you live now and who with?
I live near Cascais, a nice fishing village just outside Lisbon, with my husband and our two daughters: Teresa and Ines.

When Suz invited me to be part of this amazing series I thought it would be super easy to chose and remake one of my childhood dresses. I couldn’t imagine how wrong I was!

My mother was great at keeping my dresses (my daughters wear lovely vintage dresses all the time) but not so great at taking photos with me actually wearing them!
Looking over my old photo albums, all I could find were fancy smoked party dresses or terrible every day clothes that I didn’t felt like remaking!
Then I came across this red and white knitted dress my mother made me...

(Here I am with my uncle, how was also my godfather)

My mother doesn’t like to sew (back in the 70’ we had a professional seamstress coming to our home once a month to sew our clothes) but she loves to knit. Since I don’t like knitting, I thought it would be nice to remake my old dress using fabric.

 I picked some plain red fabric from my local store and decided to make the stripes with white cotton ribbon. This way I could chose where I wanted the stripes to be and, at the same time, have a more textured look. For Teresa’s dress I’ve sewn 12 meters of ribbon! Can you believe it?!

As for the pattern, I´ve used Carla C’s Precious Dress. I loved the pattern and its clear and accurate instructions. (Thank you for the help, Ana Sofia!)
I’ve made two major changes for the dress to fit nicely Teresa, how is a lot older then I was when I wore the original dress. I’ve made a longer body and added a big sash at the back. But I was able to keep all the stripes!
Teresa loved her new dress! Hope you like it too!

MAILBOX SURPRISE . PETIT PAN BUTTONS AND PIPING

A série Mailbox Surprise chegou ao fim… Mas eu ainda tenho algo para mostrar.

 

Mailbox Surprise Series has come to an end... But I still have something to show you.

Além do tecido que usei para fazer estas blusas, a Marte enviou-me mais uma serie de coisas tão giras que não podiam ficar guardadas na gaveta.
Com o vivo e os botões forrados com o mesmo tecido fiz duas saias para as miúdas. Duas saias que, tenho a certeza, vão ser usadas de sol a sol durante todo o verão. Sabem porquê? Porque ao vivo e aos botões da Marte, juntei um dos meus tecidos preferidos: crepe de algodão com riscas, e um molde incrível: Ayashe Skirt da Figgy’s.

Besides the lovely fabric I used to make these shirts, Marte has also sent me some neat notions I could not leave forgotten in my very messy sewing supplies box.
So, with the piping and matching fabric covered buttons I made couple of skirts for Teresa and Ines. Two lovely skirts that I'm sure will be worn from sunrise to sunset throughout next summer. You know why? Because, to the piping and buttons, I added one of my favorite fabrics - striped seersucker - and an incredible pattern - Figgy’s Ayashe Skirt.

A saia da Inês foi feita primeiro e segui o molde à risca. Mais precisamente, quase à risca... Como a saia tem elástico ajustável na cintura, os botões da frente são falsos (detesto fazer casas de botões!) mas ficam bem na mesma, não ficam?

I made Ines skirt first and followed the pattern to the letter. More precisely, almost to the letter... As the skirt has adjustable elastic waistband, my skirt’s front buttons are fake (I hate making buttonholes!) This way the skirt is really easy to put on and looks great too!

Para a saia da Teresa já não tinha nem botões nem vivo suficiente para a carcela, resolvi fazer uma versão batoteira do molde original! Omiti a carcela, substituindo-a por um macho central, e usei o vivo e os botões nos bolsos. Ficou mais simples e se calhar vou ter que desencantar uma forma de lhe juntar um cinto, mas acho que não está nada mal.

For Teresa’s skirt I didn’t have enough buttons or piping to make the placket, so I’ve cheated a bit more! I omitted the placket, replacing it with a central inverted box pleat, and used the piping and buttons I had left for the pockets. The final result is a very simple and wearable skirt I am in love with. I think I will only have to find a way to add a belt to make it look perfect...

Estou fan incondicional dos tecidos e retrosarias da loja belga Petit Pan! (Estaria com toda a certeza arruinada de vivesse lá perto! Mas a loja on-line tem sido uma tentação...) Óptima qualidade com cores e padrões incríveis que não se encontram facilmente. Passem pela loja online e vejam com os vossos próprios olhos!

 A Ayashe Skirt é a minha segunda experiência Figgy’s – a primeira foi uma versão reversível do famoso SunkyDress – e não poderia estar mais contente com este molde. Acho que o vou repetir muitas e muitas vezes! Adoro o estilo da Figgy’s, mais radical e prá-frente (o “cool” e “edgy” do último post, lembram-se?) e parece-me que, à medida que as miúdas vão crescendo, os seus moldes vão ser um sucesso cá em casa.

Obrigada a todas as participantes e à minha amiga Marte que a organizou comigo! Petit Pan fabric and notions made these skirts look very special. This Belgian shop has great quality products, with incredible colors and patterns and I’m sure I would be ruined if I lived nearby! (On day I will lose myself on their on-line shop...)Check out their online shop and see with your own eyes!

Ayashe Skirt is my second experience with Figgy 's patterns – I’ve made a reversible version of the famous Sunky Dress last winter - and I could not be happier with it. I think I will sew lots of Ayashe skirts this summer... I love Figgy’s cool and edgy style! Head over their shop and delight yourself with their great patterns!

Thank you so much Marte for putting together this series with me!

And a big thank you to all the participants! You all have made a wonderfull job!

MAILBOX SURPRISE . BEHIND THE HEDGEROW

É sexta feira, ou seja, dia de Mailbox Surprise!
Hoje a Laura, do blog Behind The Hedgerow, está de visita à Marte. Aqui fica uma fotografia do avental de jardinagem que ela fez só para abrir o apetite. Vejam mais fotografias e todas a historia por trás das maçãs aqui.

I

It's Friday again and that means Marte and I have another great Mailbox Surprise guest post on our blogs! 
Today the great blogger and seamstress Laura, from Behind The Hedgerow, is visiting Compagnie M. with this lovely Gardening apron. Check out all photos and the story behind the apples here!
And don't forget to take a look at Laura's creations - she sews for super stylish garments for her and all her family - in her blog...

MAD MEN . TAKE ONE DRESS SEWALONG

Em Fevereiro participei na série Take One Dress, organizada pela Victoria no seu blog As It Seams, com esta túnica que fiz para a Ines. Mas também lancei um desafio à Jenya, a participante do mês de Março: fazer um vestido inspirado pela série Mad Men, mais precisamente por este vestido da Miss Holloway.

Last February I've been visiting Victoria and her blog, As It Seams, for her wonderful series Take One Dress. I've shared with her readers this tunic I made for Ines and also set a challenge for Jenya from While She Was Sleeping, this month's contributor: make an outfit inspired by the great TV series Mad Men and this vintage dress Miss Holloway is wearing.

Gosto tanto do estilo do guarda roupa da série que não resisti a fazer um vestido Mad Men para a Teresa... Será que a Sally Draper teria um vestido assim no seu armário?

I just love Mad Men's wardrobe, so I couldn't help myself and I made a little vintage dress for Teresa. I wonder if Sally Draper would have a dress like this in her closet?!

O corte é ultra simples. Basicamente é um vestido trapézio bastante estreitinho e curtinho, ao estilo Mod.

I drafted a very simple a-line dress, quite narrow and short, like the 60' Mod dresses I love and added a nice geometrical detail to make it special.

 

O tecido foi comprado agora mas tem um toque vintage. É azul muito escuro e, embora tenha bastante elasticidade, é algo grosso. As fitas que formam as riscas são em algodão branco (com uns 7mm de largura) e foram aplicadas com ponto zigzag - tal como já fiz neste vestido e neste outro vestido também.

The fabric was bought recently but has a vintage felling that suits this project perfectly. It is dark blue and, although it is a bit stretchy, it is also quite thick. The stripes are made of simple white cotton ribbon (about 7mm wide) and were sewn to the fabric with zigzag stitch - a technic I adore and have already used on this dress and this dress.

Devo confessar que demorei mais tempo a aplicar as fitas do que a coser todo o vestido! Comecei por tentar cose-las prendendo-as apenas com alfinetes, como faço normalmente. Acabei por aplicar entretela no lado de dentro do corpo e alinhavar as fitas antes de as coser à máquina. Foi a única forma que encontrei para "estabilizar" o tecido e evitar que ele esticasse à medida que ia cosendo as fitas.
O forro foi feito com uns bocados de camisa de homem - quase poderíamos pensar que seria uma camisa do Don Draper! - e o botão das costas (igual aos que usei nesta camisa) é antigo e veio da minha caixa de botões.

You can't imagine how hard it was to sew those stripes! The fabric kept on stretching while I was sewing them! It was awful! I end up adding a bit of interface to the wrong side of the bodice and I had to bast (by hand) the stripes to the main fabric before sewing them. This was the only way I was able to stabilize the fabric and make it work.
The dress' lining is made out of an old man's shirt - it could even be Don Draper's shirt, couldn't it? - and the anchor button on the back is vintage and came from my ever growing button collection (I've got these buttons in different sizes and already used the small ones on this shirt I made for Ines last summer.)

A realidade é que o facto de ser feito com tecido elástico faz com que este vestido seja super confortável e a Teresa adora-o! Mas não sei se não lhe estará um nadinha curto...

Teresa loves her new dress especially because it is made of stretchy fabric. It is so comfortable! But I don't know if it isn't just a little bit too short for her...

 

Não se esqueçam de ver o vestido Mad Men que a Jenya fez para a sua filha aqui e, se o tema vos inspira, participem no sewalong organizado pela Victoria!

Don't forget to check out Jenya's Mad Men creation here and, if you fell inspired by this tv series, feel free to sew a nice vintage outfit and share it at Take One Dress sew-along flirck group!

TAKE ONE DRESS SERIES . AS IT SEAMS

Hoje trago de volta a casa o vestido que fiz para a série Take One Dress organizada pela Victoria do blog As It Seams.
A ideia da série é super original: todos os meses uma bloger apresenta uma criação inspirada numa roupa escolhida pela bloger do mês anterior e, ao mesmo tempo, escolhe algo inspirador para a bloger do mês seguinte.
Espero que gostem da tunica que fiz para a Inês!

Today I am bringing back home the dress I made for the great series Take One Dress hosted by the lovely Victoria, the blogger behind As It Seams.
This series' idea is super original: every month a blogger presents a creation inspired by a garment chosen by the previous contributor and, at the same time, picks a nice outfit to inspire next month's participant.
I hope you like the tunic I made for Ines!

Last month Natalie, the girl being La Gang a Nat, not only made this lovely outfit for her little girl but also choose a superb vintage dress to be an inspiration for my creation.
Natalie’s dress had lots and lots of details I could use, but I decided to pick my favorites: color combination (pink/blue), big box pleats and contrasting zipper.



I’ve started by drafting my ideas on my sketch book (I knew from the start I wanted to use a lace zipper) but then a package from my friend Constanca arrived with these great vintage patterns she bought in New Zealand… One of them was just the right one for my outfit! Lucky me!

And I also already had the right fabric to make my Take One Dress outfit: a blue and white polka dot fabric from my grandmother’s stash. But this was not any polka dot fabric. Actually I had two pieces of fabric: one with “condensed” dots and another one with fewer dots per square meter. But the two of them together looked great.
As the fabric wasn’t enough to make a dress I decide to sew a tunic instead and match it with a pair of basic pink corduroy shorts (using the same self drafted pattern I've used for this denim shorts). I have to say I am in love with this outfit! It has just the right amount of vintage felling but it is also super comfortable! And now I fell like adding lace zippers to all my clothing!

Unfortunately Ines was not in the mood for a photo shot. These photos were taken under my bed sheets as this was the only way I could make her have fun while I was trying to take photos of her new clothes…

 

 

Well, choosing a dress to inspire Jenya, the great Russian/Australian blogger from While She Was Sleeping, was a lot harder than I thought. Especially because Victoria and Natalie had made such a great job choosing the previous dresses…
So I e-mailed Victoria asking her to give me some directions and she told me it could be anything! In her own words: “I don't mind what the next garment is, just as long as you think it's inspiring, it can be something you own, but I did also think it could be a historic outfit or film costume or anything really!”.
A film costume would be great, I thought. But a TV series costume would be nice too… I immediately though about Mad Men! Besides liking a lot this series, I love the vintage but modern filling of the costumes. So her it is! This is a dress for Miss Holloway (in a great illustration by Stanley Chow) but, Jenya, fell free to check out other Mad Men costumes and be inspired by them.

Já podem ver aqui o vestido que a Jenya fez para a sua filha.
Entretanto eu não resisti a fazer algo inspirado por este vestido da Miss Holloway... E, se tudo correr bem, amanhã estará aqui no blog.

You can check out here the gorgeous dress Jenya made for her daughter.
And you know what? I couldn't help myself and also made a Mad Men inspired outfit for Teresa. The dress is finished and I hope I can blog about it tomorrow. Stay tuned!