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Inspiration

KnipMode February 2012

1 February 2012, 14:26

The February issue arrived a week or so ago, and thankfully it’s a lot better than January’s lackluster offering!

The first feature in the magazine teams blue with a bunch of other colours. I especially liked this blue & orange combination since orange is just SO hot right now. I quite like a lot of these separates but I love the seamed jeans!

Ooh, four basic trousers – I really like the first three (the last, not so much)…

This little cropped jersey cardi reminds me SO MUCH of one that was published in the Jan 2010 (#11) issue that I actually traced off at the time but then didn’t have enough fabric to make….

Here’s another shot of those trousers I like so much, plus a jacket which uses a border print really well. KnipMode may have stopped using the reader-models, but I’m glad they’ve continued using a mixtures of races and ages – I think this older lady is just stunningly beautiful and poised (it doesn’t hurt that she’s using an old PowerBook, either!)

Another of their “best basics” selection – four black jackets. I only liked these two, and especially the idea of making a blazer in leather…

On the Plus side of things, this parka pattern looks totally RTW and the jeans with the front leg seaming are just excellent! These are the sort of patterns I never seem to see in Burda’s Plus sized offerings…

And finally, since it’s Carnival time, there were a bunch of costumes for children and parents, but the difference here is that they’re all pattern-free – you get diagrams and measurements of rectangles and you can draft the designs based on this. Most of them are quite simplistic but I was impressed this kimono and cheongsan were only made of rectangles!

Coming up – my Burda February dress! The first version, anyway!

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KnipMode January 2012

19 January 2012, 14:39

I’m totally bored with this issue, so I apologise for going through the motions here. KnipMode have really taken a turn for the dull over the past few months, as far as I’m concerned, and this issue really just highlights what’s wrong with the new leadership at the magazine.

This issue is almost entirely comprised of “mix & match” garments – if you’re familiar with the Simplicity Project Runway patterns, then it’s the same concept here: choose a bodice, choose a collar, choose a sleeve, etc, and put together the garment you prefer. In principle, this is a great thing, and I’ve been enthusiastic when they’ve done this with cocktail dresses and blouses in the past.

The problem here is that every single one of these garments is b-o-r-i-n-g to start with, so choosing between several boring customisation options just doesn’t make it any better. It’s like someone at the top heard the concept was popular with readers, but didn’t actually go so far as to make sure the underlying patterns were desirable before running away with the concept…

Case in point – the jackets. I’m not particularly a jacket person anyway, but I swear KnipMode have already published princess seamed jacket patterns for every single one of these variations in the past six months anyway. And the sleeves – changing the length is NOT a variation, as far as I’m concerned. I mean, why aren’t they changing the sleeve cap to gathered, or making one a wide cape sleeve, or a cap sleeve on one or something?? There’s so much you could be changing here but they’ve just missed the opportunity.

Dresses – again, those bodices and skirts are just not different enough. This is the same freaking dress across all the options.

Trousers. These are all wide-legged trousers, and tucking them in at the ankle does not hide the fact that it’s the same damn trousers pattern over and over again! Seriously, there was way more variation in their January 2011 “Trouserpalooza” issue than in this.

Complaining is really hard work. I’m just going to post the rest of the mixes and let you fill in the rant.

The only part of the magazine that wasn’t mix & match was the “Take 5” feature, where they show a pattern made up in five different fabrics. But I’m not even fond of the top or skirt here, bah.

In fact, the only reason to buy this issue is to get the enormous, fold-out, poster of all the tech drawings from 2011 (this scan is just a very small portion of it)

They started this in 2010 and it’s a really useful reference – already I’ve seen some patterns from early 2011 that I’d forgotten about, and it’s nice to see everything categorised by garment type rather than issue.

My subscription still has about 7 or 8 months left, so I still hold out hope that KnipMode can turn things around the way Burda did at the end of 2011 after an entire year of “Blah”. I mean, the February 2012 issue is amaaaaaaazing!

UPDATE: My February Knip just arrived this week, after writing this post but before it went live. February’s issue is a little better, thankfully.

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Manequim November, December 2011 and January 2012

16 January 2012, 15:17

I’ve got a bumper stack of Manequim magazines to show you! A few turned around the same time in December due to the holiday post office disruption, and then the summer styles didn’t really inspire me to review these right away, and then the flu struck me down for a full fortnight… but it means you get to see a bunch of Brazilian summer fashions all at once!

There actually should’ve been a fourth issue here, too, but the other November issue (629) never turned up, and was presumably lost in the post. Bummer. I don’t really understand why Manequim always do two issues in November, but it seems that this one was lost for a lot of people – when I requested a replacement, they didn’t have any more in stock, so my subscription was extended instead. I’ve since seen that Melissa‘s copy of this issue was also lost but turned up months later, so I still live in hope! In any case, if you want to see photos, you’ll have to check out her review…

November 2011 (630)


I quite like this teeshirt with the draped hem, though I have no idea why they decided to hide its defining aspect by tucking it in…

I really like the cut of this relaxed tee, especially the shoulder seaming, but I’d love to see this in an unexpected fabric, like a silk crepe or linen instead of the usual jersey.

Manequim and Patrones tend to produce a fair amount of bikini patterns each year, but I hardly ever see interesting one-piece patterns – I really like the gathered detail on the straps here, though I think most women would want to raise the neckline a bit.

And finally, I really like the asymmetric mesh insert on this otherwise basic teeshirt pattern – it’d be a great use for swiss dot or stretch lace, too (like I’m so fond of!).

December 2011 (631)


The way the model is standing pulls this sheath dress in a rather distorted way, but I like the sleek lines in the tech drawing.

If it were hot and summery here now, I’d be all over this floaty, chiffon top with its cute ruffle sleeves…

These look like a great pair of basic trousers – I’ve not tried any of Manequim’s trouser patterns yet, but the fact that this one is multi-sized is a big plus, especially for anyone who’s different sizes at the waist and hips!

Speaking of Plus, the larger ladies get some amazing evening gowns in this issue, and omg one of them is actually a free download, too!

January 2012 (632)


This issue is actually my favourite of the three!

In the “Inspired by soap stars” section, I rather like this Grecian-styled draped dress, and unlike a lot of maxidresses, I think this one could be shortened without ruining the look.

I really like the tech drawing for this little blue sheath dress. The feature was entirely miniskirts, but it’d be really easy to extend the hemline on this to add some extra coverage. I mean, how many of us really like our cheeks bare when we sit down? (if you’re keeping track, I’m in the “Not me!” camp!)

The Designer inspiration this month is Celine, and I quite liked the linear colourblocking on this top, though the sleeves/bands remind me a lot of the original sleeves on the Burda September cover dress (which I made twice and loved, but I never used the sleeve flap/bands).

This skirt remind me a lot of the La Mia Boutique pleated skirt I made last year – it’s even got pockets hidden in some of the pleats, too! The main difference here is that the front is open, though, but it’d probably give more walking ease than my LMB skirt.

This one-shoulder dress is by far my favourite pattern in all these magazines! I absolutely love the way the back extends over and the pleating and overlay hide the seam. I’m sure it doesn’t hurt that the dress is is the same muted, pale gold colour as my high school prom dress, either! This is only available in a 40, but it would be pretty straightforward to morph the shoulder detail onto a size 44 dress elsewhere in my magazine archive, even adding a standard strap to the other side if I wanted!

And finally, this blue top doesn’t look like much until you check out the tech drawing – the sleeves are ever-so-slightly different, but I think it’d be enough to really dress up your average pair of jeans.

Phew! That was a lot of Manequim! Next up, I’ve got some updates on garments, both in-progress and coming up, plus a quick rundown on the January KnipMode.

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Patrones 309 & 9

5 January 2012, 13:52

Happily, I got a chance to catch up on my magazine scanning over the holidays (expect to see a boat-load of Manequims and a rather boring KnipMode as well), so I can finally show you some highlights from the two Patrones issues my inlaws very kindly picked up for me while they were holidaying in Spain at the end of last year.

First up is a new(ish) issue, full of fall and winter fashions!

Patrones 309


I think this Cos coat is really interesting, though with it open on the model and a vague tech drawing, I’m not really sure how the finished coat would look. I mean, I like asymmetry, but does this mean one thigh would always be cold?

I love the cut of this motorcycle jacket and mixing the leather and tweed together like this, but omg did they have to use just a cheap and nasty pleather here? I can practically smell the petrochemicals from here, and the sleeves just make me want to cry! Still, how nice would this be in good leather?

There was a pretty funny feature in this issue with rainwear, though on closer inspection it was mostly trenchcoats (I’ve got too many patterns for already!) and capes/ponchos (bleck), but I rather liked this traditional, hooded raincoat.

And finally, there were a lot of great pencil skirts in this issue, but my favourites were these two, which I could equally see myself wearing!

Patrones 9


This is one of the “greatest hits” issues which reprints patterns from earlier issues.

It’s difficult to see in the photo since they used black fabric, but the tech drawing here shows this little sheath dress has some amazing angular seaming in the front. I can see this would be so flattering, and can you imagine how lovely this would be if you did an ombre effect with slightly different shades of fabric for each piece? (Shame the “coffin back” is so boring, though, but that could be easily fixed by extending those seam lines around…)

File under: Things I’ll never sew, nor wear, but just like to admire.

Whereas this is something I have made, holy crap! Look, they’ve reprinted the Toypes top I made in purple silk back in 2008! (back then Patrones could name the designers…)

Now this is probably my favourite design of both issues – I just adore the draped insert panel here, plus the weird pleating. I’ve shown the pattern pieces here as well because I found them really interesting, and not at all obvious from the tech drawing or photo.

And finally, just for a laugh, I had to include one photo from this awful, stereotypical 90s Versace-style photoshoot. That hair! That makeup! The excess! You can almost be forgiven for overlooking the rather classic coat pattern hiding under all that…

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Comment [3]

Happy 2012!

1 January 2012, 13:44

As is traditional, I like to take the opportunity at the start of a new year to look back on what I’ve sewn in the previous calendar year.

Somehow I keep getting more and more prolific each year… and it’s a bonus that you get to watch my hair grow as you skim downwards, ha!


(Click the above to en-biggen, or right-click here to open it in a new tab to get a better look

You’ll notice a few at the bottom that I haven’t shown you yet (seriously I only just finished the maternity maxidress with mere hours to go!), but all the rest can be seen by clicking the Gallery link on the top left of the site, then clicking through to the full article.

To make a few statistical analyses of my own, by my count:

Plus, I err, work a full time job that has nothing to do with sewing, we spent the majority of weekends from May-Dec doing “galley slave work” converting the hold of our boat, and according to my running site, I also ran just over 2000km this year (whoa!). And I cook dinner from scratch most nights and bake at the weekends, too (but no matter how I say it, that either sounds like bragging, or something that everyone should do anyway without even mentioning. hrm.).

Biggest disappointment was the Burda draped suit jacket. Blah.

Favourite and/or most worn of the year:

Wow, this was really difficult! I could’ve picked about ten things here, easily!


The Burda September cover dress, both winter and summer versions. LOVE both of these. In fact, I’d probably venture to say this was my pattern of the year, even though it was published in 2010 (whatever!).


The turquoise and silver motif dress, which took hours of handsewing all around France. True to my word, I wore this all summer long, and the prickstitched lining made me smile every time.


My entire March mini-wardrobe! I’ve worn the jeans, bolero, leather skirt, and silk blouse more times than I could count. I pulled out all the stops on this, and I’m still kinda amazed I finished it all in under a month and got such amazing wear out of everything.


I wasn’t even sure if I even liked my foldover wool trousers when I first tried them on, but slowly but surely, I began to love them. It didn’t hurt that being underlined in silk made them my most comfortable and warmest trousers ever!

Colour of the Year:

Most definitely grey! From the grey lace dress to the grey leather skirt to the charcoal grey sheath dress and vintage skirt, three separate knit tops, plus an entire suit, I think my love affair with the most underrated neutral is plain to see!

I’m not a “resolution” person, so I won’t be making any bold claims for 2012 – all I ever do is look to the near future and sew what I like. With a bit of luck, sometimes I even like what I sew!

If you’re curious to see how 2011 stacked up to previous years, you can have a look at previous roundups here: 2010, 2009, 2008, and 2007.

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Sewing Christmas Gifts

30 December 2011, 21:06

I know this is sure to shock you (ha!), but I received a fair few sewing-related Christmas gifts this year…

The Colette Sewing Handbook – I’ve only cracked the surface of the content here, but I love it already. It’s so comprehensive and ends up being greats for beginners as well as old hats like me. And how chuffed was I to see FehrTrade.com in the Recommended Reading List??

I received a slew of novels and cookbooks from my WishList, amoungst those were the sewing-related novels Pleating for Mercy and The Seamstress of Hollywood Boulevard. I’m just hoping they’re better written than Laura’s Handmade Life, which I struggled to even finish earlier this year and is now on the charity shop pile (god knows why it has so many 5 star reviews on Amazon – it was so bad it was almost insulting)…

I also received a really cute ModCloth spool headphone keeper – it’s made of silicone to look like an oversized thread spool, but to keep your headphones tidy (my earbuds are tucked inside).

And I got a tiny travel speaker to use in my sewing room – like the one Karen was going on about, only mine’s green!

But that wasn’t enough – then I went and bought a present for myself! I’m enrolled in Morley College’s weekend course on the Pattern Magic 2 book in February! Tracy attended the first class and I was so jealous that I just had to sign up for the second. And at less than £50 for the whole weekend course, it’s much more reasonably priced that other courses out there (which tend to be around the £300 mark).

As far as sewn gifts, you’ve already seen Rory’s waistcoat, but other than that, the only other sewn gift was another pair of PJs for James, this time in the striped jersey I bought at Saeed’s in Walthamstow. I won’t put him through a photoshoot, so you’ll just have to believe me when I say I aligned all the stripes nicely.

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Before New Year's...

17 December 2011, 14:26

… I want to make:

I’ve got to go into work on the 27th-29th, but I’ve still got a lot of days off to hole up in my sewing cave. Most years I end up making a coat over the Christmas break, but I don’t really have much need this year so I thought I’d focus my attentions elsewhere instead.

I haven’t included my vintage midi skirt here because it’s 95% done already (just the hem to go!), and a Christmas present for my nephew I whipped up yesterday (just the buttons to sew on yet), because these are already done in my mind, even if I haven’t documented them here yet!

And no, I haven’t forgotten the few bits left on my Fall Sewing Plans – the sleeveless are deferred til warmer weather, and some of the others I plan to make in the new year. I really want to focus on using up my stash before moving into my new sewing room once it’s built.

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Burda's Roland Mouret "Macha" knockoff dress pattern - detail photos

14 December 2011, 12:58

First of all, thank you all so much for all your comments and praise on my Charcoal pinup dress! I knew I really liked it, but it’s nice when so many others agree.

One thing that I hadn’t realised in the magazine discussion, nor sewing, nor wearing it out, however, is that this dress pattern is a very close knockoff of the Roland Mouret Macha dress, which was shown in his Spring 11 RTW show!


(Photo from Style.com)

Really, the bodice seaming is all identical, but there are a few differences:

The original dress looks to be available in black, tan, and fuschia pink – the latter most recently worn by Heidi Klum on Project Runway this summer (not that I’d know – we don’t get the episodes in the UK until years later!). But frankly, this is all close enough for me, considering mine cost me about £3, and the cheapest I could find his, deeply reduced and “past season”, was £500+!

I do think it’s funny that I’ve inadvertently made a Roland Mouret dress almost exactly 5 years after I made another Roland Mouret dress (that time using Vogue 8280 to knockoff his Galaxy dress!):

I still wear that dress fairly regularly, too!

I don’t normally add photos after the main photoshoot, but the details weren’t very crisp in the earlier photos so we’ve gone back and taken a few more so you can clearly see the seamlines and more of the lining.

Has anyone else got this in their sewing queue now? And does it make a difference to you if it’s based on a designer pattern, or do you generally like a pattern on its own merit?

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Revisiting my John Lewis JL Mini sewing machine - a review for beginners

7 December 2011, 13:52

I’ve noticed that there’s a lot of talk online about sewing machines for beginners (especially with Christmas coming up!), and I’ve been asked several times online and in person about my opinion on the John Lewis JL Mini sewing machine and I realised I’ve never done a proper review of it.

I’ve had my JL Mini machine (in red – they change the colours a few times a year, but right now it’s offered in white, red, yellow, pink, blue, and purple) for nearly three years now and I’ve recommended it a lot for beginning sewers. On our moorings so far we’ve got my red one, a purple one, and a mint green one! I use mine as my travel machine (I originally got it when I was going into hospital so I could sew through my transplant!), but it’s a good, sturdy machine made by a good brand (Janome), and it has enough features that you should know in a year or two whether you’re into sewing or not and you can upgrade to a machine with more features. Or if you decide sewing’s not for you, you’re not out much money.

So that’s the upsides, but it does have some limitations:

Common misconceptions about this machine:

My overall feeling is that it’s a great beginner machine because it’s lightweight (you’ll likely be carting it to and from the kitchen table!), cute, and fun, it’ll actually encourage you to sew. There are so many frustrations that beginning sewers face anyway, why make your machine one of them?

(And even if you ignore the above, take one piece of advice from me – NEVER EVER EVER BUY A MODERN SINGER MACHINE. Vintage Singers are great, but modern ones are a total POS trading on the famous name. Awful.)

If you’re after a first sewing activity, you could do worse than making a handy carrying bag for your new machine, like the one I made for my machine! When I taught my beginning sewing friends, I made up a sewing machine driver’s test for them to practice on before threading the machines, and they really appreciated that. So I put it up as a pdf if you want to have a go on your new machine.

Or another option for a beginner might be to buy a vintage machine, as the pre-1980s models were all metal body construction and were built like tanks for everyday sewing. They’re heavy beasts, by and large, but will do all the things you want for a lot less than £100. Even repairs on vintage models are usually under £20 if you know anyone in the family with one they’re not using, or start trawling eBay, Gumtree, or Craigslist for vintage machines (just make sure you can get a manual for it!).

Happy shopping!

Full disclosure – I’m testing out a new affiliate programme, so if you buy through my links, I’ll get a few pence. But I had this post saved as a “draft” for months – well before I joined the programme, so I was planning on posting about this anyway…

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Comment [12]

KnipMode - December 2011

25 November 2011, 14:53

Oh KnipMode. What happened? You were so awesome in 2010, but then these last six months or so have just been so… blah.

If it carries on like this, there’s no way I’m renewing next year, especially as this is by far the most pricey of my three pattern magazine subscriptions (thanks to the exchange rate, it’s almost twice the price of Manequim or Burda).

There was a feature on winter white that had nothing to inspire me, so let’s move on to the pretty party dress feature. Surely there will be something there for me… and yes! This dress with criss-crossed chiffon is lovely, especially in these colours.

This dress, however, is a whole heap of hot mess. The fabric is terrible for this pattern, the princess seams are lumpy, and the colour just looks cheap and nasty on this model’s colouring. Eugh.

You know how much I love lace, right? Well it should tell you something that, in an entire feature on lace, the only thing I liked was this totally non-lace asymmetrical pleated skirt.

I found it disappointing that there were no “real life” reader models in this issue, but I’m glad to see Knip are still at least showing some fabulous older ladies in their magazines, even if it is still depressingly mono-racial this time around. This lady just looks fabulous in all the red clothes in this feature, and my favourite is this oversized jumper. Not enough to make what’s essentially a sack tunic, but I really like it on her.

The other interesting garment in this red feature was a tabbed jacket, and they’ve given photo instructions for it in the glossy section.

Lastly, there’s an expanded Plus section in this issue, with a few decent designs. The twist knit dress is a bit Yawn, but I like the frilled blouse and the faux-wrap tunic, though the model’s pose is cringe-ingly awful.

But the real kick in the teeth to Plus sized Knip fans is that they’re starting up their plus-sized magazine, Knip XL again. This should be good news, but you can’t buy it in stores. Or as separate issues. You have to buy a subscription. And you can only subscribe if you buy it along with the regular KnipMode subscription. What the freaking crap is that about? Did no one stop and think about this? No. Sense. Whatsoever!

I just knew that new editor was up to no good…

Handmade at Hermitage


Attention Londoners! The residential moorings across the river from us in Wapping are holding a special handmade Christmas market for week only (Dec 3-11, though not Friday the 9th) with lots of seasonal food and drink and crafts on sale.


(I can’t find an official events page for this – I was emailed the flyer)

We’re going to stop by on the Wednesday late opening as they’re the “sister” community to ours and we want to go show support, but also to nose around all the nice barges and see how their new Pier House is coming along. Oh yeah, and scope out the crafts! It’s like etsy on the water!

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