Everyday Fashion Sewing

For the past few days I've been totally obsessed with sewing! I'm starting to enjoy the actual process of sewing more, even though the finished product is still the main thing about it. I bought a book called Everyday Style by Lotta Jansdotter because for a while now I've had the idea that I would like to sew myself some practical and nice looking everyday clothes. That was one of the reasons I originally bought my sewing machine and serger about 1½ years ago, but back then my sewing experiments didn't amount to anything I would wear in public, and I didn't use any actual sewing patterns, either. During the long hiatus I'd forgotten most of the rudimentary sewing skills I used to have, but after making a couple of project bags I had refreshed my memory enough that I knew how to operate my sewing machine again.

I'm very happy with my sewing machine, a Bernina 330, that I bought from a local shop (warmly recommended for my Finnish readers). It sews like a dream, working through four layers of heavy denim like it's no big deal. I also love some of the handy features like the needle up or down option. It has a ton of stitch patterns, even if 95% of the time I'm really using the basic straight stitch. For edge finishing I mostly use my serger, a Singer Heavy Duty 14HD854, so I don't even have a lot of use for the zigzag stitch on the sewing machine most of the time. The serger is also highly recommended, even thought I have nothing to compare to since it's the only serger I've ever operated in my life. It's simple to use, reliable and sturdy. There is something about using machines that I really love, as a contrast to the hand-powered knitting.

The shirt pattern is called Esme and it has several variations, two of them shown here. The only modification I made was to shorten the 3/4 sleeves a little to compensate for my short limbs. The skirt pattern is called Tedra, and while I love the basic shape of the pattern, the details left room for improvement. I did not like the original finishing touches, or the lack of them, and particularly the black version of the skirt has several modifications which are not apparent to the outside. For example I changed the way the waistband is lined. I will probably be using this skirt pattern again, but with my own modifications. With both the shirts and the skirts it was a constant learning curve to me, since I'm very much a beginner when it comes to sewing. I'm learning how the type of fabric has a huge effect on how the piece of clothing turns out. I've also learned that I really like working with denim!

I have a lot of ideas what I want to sew next, but I think I need to get back to knitting to touch base with my signature craft.