Short for him

I know it's autumn .. but my man wants a short! he said he wants me to sew something for him too so the easiest one is to make him a short for home wear, something he could comfortably wear at home and to sleep in :-). 

So, ladies and gentlemen .. introducing my first clothing for "petits pas homme" or petits pas men's wear -- exclusively for my man! ;-D

Grunge

What is Grunge?. As you may read in Wikipedia, Grunge is a sub genre of alternative rock that emerged during the mid-1980s in the American state of Washington, particularly in the Seattle area. But what I'm trying to say here, is of course about the Grunge Style in clothing. 

Grunge clothing, commonly worn by grunge musicians consisted of thrift store items and the typical outdoor clothing (most notably flannel shirts) of the region, as well as a generally unkempt appearance. The style did not evolve out of a conscious attempt to create an appealing fashion; Sub Pop's Jonathan Poneman said, "This [clothing] is cheap, it's durable, and it's kind of timeless. It also runs against the grain of the whole flashy aesthetic that existed in the 80s."

I found myself attracted to those kind of clothing unconsciously ... as I have checked flannel shirts/shirt dress quite a few .. :)

To me, it's just appealing for its comfort, durable and timeless .. oh yes, and it's gotta be cheap too (go ahead stick your tongue, throw me your disgusted look, I won't care!) ... :p

 

Bias Tape Maker

I first saw this little triangle sewing gadget from the sewing books and magazines that I have. I wonder where I could get one? .. it's from Clover and I couldn't find it in any sewing or fabric shops around Geneva .. until today! what a great coincidence! 

I've often visited Balexert and hung out there with hubby and the kids, well, mostly for the bookstore or the supermarket or the cinema which happen to be in the same place .. there's a post office too in the ground floor, and Mc. D at level one. So, it's kind of one-stop-shopping center in Geneva.

Today I feel like going there to buy some vitamin supply and some kids' underwear. Then I went around until one moment I saw this sewing shop Elna just beside Mc. D .. I can't believe my luck! hehehe ...  

I found this bias tape maker there, only one piece, and I grabbed it like I was affraid someone else will going to have it first .. silly .. but really, I felt I'm so lucky to finally found the thing that I've been searching everywhere.

Back home, I tried it and happy with the result, now I don't need to buy bias tape anymore for my sewing projects, I can use the same fabric to make the tape .. now which project I'd like to start first? .. happy weekend! :)

V-neck tunic

This tunic was surprisingly easy to make. I was just thinking to make one simple top with the fabric I got from the flea market months ago. I already used the fabric to make bows ribbon and blouses for the girls .. and still have large enough to make it into a tunic for my self. Fabric cost me only CHF 3/m and I bought 2 m long. Its width was wide enough (around 145-150m) and that's why it's enough to make 3 outfits.

This weekend the weather got colder, below 20C in the afternoon, it's raining yesterday and at night. We didn't plan to go to any specific place, we just went to a sushi bento bar on Saturday for lunch and went for a walk in the city center (where I've accidentally met a long lost friend, Titin, who lives in Annecy-le-vieux).

Back to the v-neck tunic now, well .. I finished it with a lace ribbon around the waist just like the one proposed in the sewing book, still from "Maman et Moi" book, and I tried it to wear this sleeveless tunic with a halter neck t-shirt and a legging underneath to get the "autumnal" look. I think it turned out just the way I wanted .. :)

pleated blouse/tunic for children

Vive la rentrée!

The first project after kids were back to school. Pattern from "Maman et Moi", Couture Tendresse from Les Edition de Saxe in size 100 for my little one. Like usual, I need to make one more bigger version for her big sister too .. but today my hands are full. One of the kid got sick and I must take her to a pediatrician. So between sewing, fetching the little one from-to school during lunch break, then to a doctor in the afternoon, cooking for dinner, cleaned up the mess from the other night ... my energy all used up and like a battery, it's getting low at the end of the day ..

So I was just able to sew one blouse today ... 

Curtain making

I've been searching for a perfect fabric to make curtain for our bedroom. It's the only window at home that was still "bare" and "naked" ... I wanted something special for our bedroom, something to set a mood, an ambiance, that also feels "modern" and "chic". So, I thought, choosing the right fabric is very important.

The right fabric. Right in texture, thickness, pattern and colour .. and in the right price, off course. It wasn't easy you know .. I looked everywhere in fabric stores, DIY stores, in flea market and in Ikea. Visits to those shops and places took me 5 months before I decided that I should decide which fabric I want to use ..

... and surprise! I've found new fabric stock in Ikea today!. I didn't see this one before, it's NEW and the colour is just exactly what I was imagined .. beige, gray, white .. easy to blend with other colour of our existing furniture and the apartment's white paint. And most importantly, the price is just perfect! CHF 5,95/m. 

I quickly picked the fabric, measured 4m long (it's 1,50m width), cut it and put it in price tag machine .. the machine showed 4,30m .. well, 30cm more than I was intended, but I thought it's better to take 30cm more for hemming, etc. So I went ahead and bought it.

Back home, I cut the length in half, sew the raw edges, sew the curtain ribbon and took it up in window's rail .. et voilà! ... I'm quite happy with the result :)