New Simplicity Patterns

The new pattern collection by Simplicity is a real let down. There is not one pattern I want to buy. I mean they are not all horrible, but even overall they are a bit meh. And I am really disappointed that there are no new vintage patterns.




This wedding dress is a bit too simple in my opinion. I mean, I have nothing against simple wedding dresses, but you could take any dress pattern and make a wedding dress out of it. For this I don't need this pattern. And I hate shoulder free tops. But I have to say the strap design is really nice.


The new Dottie Angel pattern reminds me a lot of the aprons my Grandmother wears. Although I have to say I like it better than the last one. And the fabrics on the cover are really nice.


Doctor Who seems to be a huge topic at Simplicity. I have one of their releases from last year (the one with the corset and long skirt). I am not really sold on this design. I like the idea, but for my taste it is not costume-y enough. I would not identify the Dalek right away. The dress design is nice and would make a cute vintage inspired frock.


To be honest I think this is ugliest Doctor Who pattern I ever saw. Maybe it is only the photo, but I saw some much more nicer female Doctor versions on the internet. And I am a bit tired of the Simplicity formula corset top + skirt/trousers + maybe a bolero jacket = female version of anything nerdy.

I have no dog and I am not a huge dog fan either, but somehow I think these are cute, especially the one with the fez.


Again the corset and skirt formula. The styling on the cover is horrible. What is it with the red hair? I fear the storm trooper would be unrecognizable as a costume. And again I saw a lot of better versions on the internet.


The DC Bombshell patterns are cute. I especially like Wonder Woman. At least I can identify the characters. Maybe it would be possible to use the pattern to make some vintage inspired pieces.


This pattern is cute, but I bet you could find a tutorial for free somewhere. Or simply make it yourself.



These two are my favorite patterns from the new collection. I like that they are true costume patterns and no strange versions of well-known characters. I really would like to dress up my boyfriend as Joker.

Outfit of the Day - Dirndl

Last weekend was the annual fair of my boyfriend's gun club. Gun clubs here in Germany are really traditional with uniforms inspired by traditional men's clothing and so on. So I took the opportunity to wear my dirndl out. I bought this dirndl second-hand, but it was not worn by the former owner. Although blue is normally not my color, I really love it with this garment. The pattern and the color give it a more modern and youthful touch.

Sometimes I wish I could wear dirndls more often, so I had a reason to buy more, but here in this region of Germany it is not really common. What a shame!

Weekend Inspiration No. 3

Clockwise

1) Airmail Zipper Pouch by BlueQ

2) Free Summer Postcards Printable 

3) Artistic Return Address Tutorial

4) Envelope Stamp

Weekend Inspiration No. 2

Clockwise:

1) Shaving Cream Rain Clouds

2) Free Rain-Drop Softie Pattern

3) You cannot be Cirrus Cloud Necklace

4) Free Rain Wall Art

Sewing Fiasco

Somehow this project was a failure from the start. I had the idea to sew the little one and myself a matching sailor outfit. A shirt and shorts for him and a dress for me. I had this cute boy's sailor shirt pattern for ages. It was the first Ottobre magazine I ever bought. For myself I had planned a 50s style dress with a simple sailor collar. So where did everything go wrong?

First the fabric I ordered was a far lighter blue than I wanted. On my screen it looked much darker and so I was a bit disappointed when it arrived. But well, I did not want to order more fabric from overseas and my local fabric store has not so many nice cottons, so wanted to work with what I had.

So I traced the patterns, constructed a sailor collar for myself with the help of a vintage pattern and began cutting the fabric. Somehow I really did not think enough about pattern placement, because of course I had problems that I did not have enough fabric. And it was all my fault because I made some stupid decisions while cutting. But well, in the end I had cut out all pattern pieces and could begin sewing.

Next my overlock machine hated me for ten minutes and I had to fumble with all the threads, but that was a minor problem. The shorts were easy to sew. It was very basic and I had no problems with it at all (okay, except that the waistband did not fit entirely on the pants, but that was an easy fix). So then I began sewing my dress and the shirt. For the dress I used a pattern from Gertie's Ultimate Dress Book. The designs in this book are amazing and I will do a review about it hopefully soon.

For the collars I wanted to sew on some white stripes. But of course I had no ribbon on hand and neither did I have a blue zipper. Ok, so a trip to the fabric store was necessary. The ribbon hated me and so I skipped it. Solid blue collar? Why not?
Somehow I was able to mess up the collar placement of the boy's shirt and of course only realized it, when I already finished the neckband. The collar on my dress looked also a bit strange, but not horrible. But when I tried on the top of the dress it was far too small in the waist, although I fit the measurements exactly. I let out some widths of the darts, which was okay.

So at this point I was a bit exhausted and unnerved, but had the will to go on. But then came the final straw. When I had sewed on the sleeves of the dress it did not fit at all. The arm holes are way to small. I have no big arms, so I do not understand, how this could happen. After I discovered this, I gave up. I was just tired of this project and had no desire to make all the fixes necessary. So I am honest, I put almost everything in the trash. Only the shorts and the skirt pieces are still alive. At least the shorts are wearable and I guess I can make something out of the skirt pieces (although it is not my color at all). I am not sure what I will do with the Gertie patterns. The projects in this book are really cute and maybe I will fix the patterns, so that I can make some of them. Because I really love the concept of this book.

So as you can see, even after years of sewing, sometimes things will not work out in the end. But to end this with a quote from one of my favorite movies:

As somebody once said, there's a difference between a failure and a fiasco. A failure is simply the non-present of success. Any fool can accomplish failure. But a fiasco, a fiasco is a disaster of mythic proportions. A fiasco is a folktale told to others, that makes other people feel more... alive. Because it didn't happen to them.

Drew Baylor in Elizabethtown

Soot Sprites Headband

I love the movies "Totoro" and "Spirited Away" and in both these cute little creatures called soot sprites play a (not so important, but who cares) role. These creatures are ghosts or spirits that are made out of soot (who would have guessed), hence the name.

I stumbled upon this tutorial and had to make my own headband. It was really easy. I used a glue gun for almost everything except the eyes, which where self-adhesive.

Now the only question is, when will I wear this?

Weekend Inspiration No. 1

Clockwise:

1) Plate by Ingela P. Arrhenius

2) Personalised Funny Fox Print by Ketchup on Everything

3) Framed Origami Fox DIY by How About Orange

4) Fox socks pattern by Girly Knits