Ever since I finished my sewing room, I’ve been sewing like a woman POSSESSED! On Friday evening I finished this tunic top from the March 2007 issue of Burda WOF magazine, and on Saturday, I cut out and nearly finished another tunic top (I’ve just got the hem to go – watch for it later this week).
This weekend I finally got a chance to properly play with my new toy and whip up a few knit tops to see what this baby could do!
First up was BurdaStyle’s Sadie top (with the added cowl neck) using some lovely Pucci-esque printed knit which you may remember from last Spring’s tunic top. I was really just keen to use up the stash fabric on something very quick and easy, and also in case something went horribly wrong on my first serger attempt and the whole thing became a wadder!
Luckily no such thing happened and I got a decent summer top after an hour or two…
Back in September I laid out my plans for my fall and winter collection, and for the most part, I followed through with the plans (though I did make some midseason changes). This was the first time I attempted to SWAP (sew with a plan), and, while I appreciate the focus it gives me in concentrating on pairing fabrics to patterns and thinking about what my wardrobe needs, I really didn’t enjoy such structured sewing for such a long time. The problem with loving pattern magazines is that you get a constant influx of new patterns that scream “make me now!” and take your attention away from your best laid plans… And if I feel like the sewing is controlling me instead of the other way around, it stops being fun (which is the whole point of all of this!).
So with all those things in mind, I’ve laid out my summer sewing plans. I’m not imposing a strict set of rules on myself, but it’s a way for me to focus a bit more and make the most of some of the fabrics in my stash…
So without further ado, I present, the FehrTrade Summer 08 Collection!
(or click here to open it in a new tab so you can refer back while you read along!)
Back when I got the pillowcases for the famous IKEA skirt, I also bought a Tanja shower curtain that caught my eye from across the store and was conveniently marked down to a fiver.
It’s stayed in my fabric stash ever since, just waiting for the perfect project, which presented itself in the form of this Burda WOF 60s dress from the May 2007 issue. It turned out to be the perfect fabric for this dress, considering that Glastonbury is coming up in a few weeks and I’ve been wanting something special to wear (and let’s face it, if the famous downpours happen again this year, this dress is ready for them!!), and because the pink piping matches my hot pink wellies perfectly.
After a bit of hard labour with some power tools and brute force, I was able to clear three of the little hotel rooms on our boat two weekends ago. One became a walk-in wardrobe, one will very shortly become James’s office, and the third blossomed into my (temporary) sewing room (all the little hotel room walls will be ripped out to make way for our living room, two bedrooms, and two en-suites. The fate of a sewing room in the new plans is still unclear!).
But let’s move on to a tour of my sewing room, since this is probably the tidiest it’ll ever be…
Here’s the overview shot of the whole room. It’s about the size of two single beds side-by-side, with light coming from two halogen lamps and the porthole (which puts out a surprising amount of light during the day).
