Monday, December 8

summer bits and pieces


it's a little bit late for this kind of a post right now
since it's almost winter
and there is a big chance it's gonna snow tomorrow night..
but, what the hell
lets pretend it's summertime, all over again
..
so, this summer
nikola and i have spent a month traveling trough herzegovina
and dalmatia..

we swam in ice cold water, at kravice waterfall
(in handmade swimsuit, of course)


and hiked a bit, with our croatian friends




 
visited medieval town of počitelj



and spent a week or two wild camping
at mouth of river neretva








since we came back from our trip
i've made ridiculous amount of clothes
but somewhere along the line, it stopped being fun to blog about that..
while i enjoy sewing, and sew every single day
taking photos of garments and writing about those garments 
or generally, writing about anything
became such a drag..
so.. dunno.. maybe it's just a phase
it's been a hard year (apart from that one month spent traveling)..
maybe next year brings blogging mojo back
..
mokosha








Monday, October 27

caramel and charcoal




cardigan - (burda 10/2014, #113)
dress - (burda 4/2013, #109, 
modified using pattern magic musubu dress diagram)

this cardigan is probably the cosiest thing i ever made
it's soft and warm and feels like wearing a blanket
(maybe even a security blanket of some sort)..
i'm always moody and cranky when fall is in full swing
all i wanna do is cover myself with mountain of blankets
and spend my days reading books..
and live off of roasted chestnuts and pumpkin cakes
..
of course, i can't really do that
as i barely see my home these days,
but at least now i can wear my blanket everywhere i go
without looking like linus van pelt
..
mokosha


Friday, October 17

transformer jacket







crazy jacket, right?
i guess bunch of people won't like it
as it's not tailored or fitted or lined
no hand sewing or pad stitching involved
..
and frankly, i hated it at one point too..
it started with burda's long cardigan pattern from october issue
well.. 'pattern' is a bit strong word,
as it's basically two long rectangles
plus sleeves,
but i loved the design anyways
and wanted to try it out
..
pattern is meant to be made in drapey knit fabric
but as usual, i ignored what they say
and went for thick wool knit fabric instead
not a drapey stretchy kind of knit at all,
so it ended up looking really funky at the back
(well, it still does
as you can see in pictures)





wasn't a fan of that look at all
but at some point
i got an idea to try the jacket upside down
and that totally transformed the look
into cool rather than the odd one
(to my eye, at least)
..
also, it looks way better on my friend sandra
so we bartered, she got the jacket
and i got one fabulous ring (sandra makes jewelry)
..
here is the pic of collar before i added lining to it
when it only had wool trim:


..
jacket closes with large black sew in snaps
(and can be closed in few different ways
to create different silhouettes)
but you'll have to take my word for it
cause i added snaps after we took pictures
..
and isn't it hilarious how that flag photobombed almost all pics?
haven't even noticed it, until i got home and saw pics on my computer
and at that point it was too late to go back and take photos again
and i was too lazy to try removing it in photoshop
..
mokosha



Friday, October 3

rooftops







dress and top - self made
skirt - sun skirt

yes, these are some silly photos,
but we just couldn't be serious for one second..
and how can one be serious
standing barefoot on a rooftop
'modeling' 
and in my case holding a stone in palm (why?!)
..
i always feel really awkward taking pics
and hate every second of it
but, damn, clothes look way better on a human
than on a hanger or a dress form
so i keep on taking pics anyways
..
and because i made these two garments
using the same fabrics and piping
and they are similar in style
i figured it would be the best to picture them together
so i asked my friend sandra to model the top 
..
dress is from october issue of burda
and top/sweater or whatever one wanna call it
is made using pattern from neue mode magazine
(from april of 1981)
both are made out of same wool
and with silver faux leather piping
..
mokosha


Wednesday, September 24

birdies





dress - self made

it feels like these pics were shot ages ago 
while it was more like a week ago
while we were still traveling..
they were shot in dalmatia
in the village where my mother was born and raised
..
a week later
i'm back home
back to a month of piled up work
and weather went from indian summer to full on november 
so.. i'll be sewing trench coats and wool jackets any day now
but today, i wanna share my last summer dress of the year
..
it's made using burda's pattern 
(from august this year, no. 116)
i had 1.3m of fabric, while burda calls for a bit over 2m
hence the center front and back seams
but i don't really mind the seams
since the pattern is quite bussy 
..
i used french seams (except for the waist 
where i sewed a regular seam, with elastic added to it)
..
not much to say about the dress
it's a  really easy one to make
no zippers, no lining, no facings..
also, it's my first ever mullet skirt
and i really like the way it looks
so might give it a go again
(maybe make a shorter version)
..
mokosha

Monday, September 15

travelers






top - self made
pants - self made
sandals - second hand

i'm on vacation for almost a month now
traveling through herzegovina and southern croatia
(gonna write a post about the trip, once i'm back home)
and my nikon broke right before the trip
so 10 years old olimpus point and shoot had to take the lead
..
made bunch of casual comfy clothes for the trip
there was lot of camping involved, so it's all just really simple stuff
racer back tops and jersey shorts
that kind of thing..
and one dress, just in case we get to go somewhere fancy
..
 made another pair of my favorite pants for the trip
(burda magazine 7/2011, mod 102
previous versions here and here)
this time in super light and wrinkle free fabric
some sort of man-made fabric, but comfy and soft nonetheless
..
not much to say about the top 
(or tops, since i've made 3 using the same burda pattern)
it's so simple and fast make
and although it doesn't look like much
i wore it a bunch, and it's one of my favorite tops to date
..

mokosha

Friday, August 15

working out






top and shorts - self made

and got me thinking of all the activewear i made in past months
..
never even considered to post pics of my activewear..
although they are fun to make
(especially if you have access to an industrial coverstitch machine)
i kind of find those makes  a bit boring..
but hey, they may not be as boring to you
so i decided to post a few pics anyways
..
i started working out over a year ago
 got real hooked on to it
and still work out 6 days a week
(i switch between insanity and t25)
..
i workout in my living room
so can get away with minimal amount of wear
without feeling uncomfortable about it..
no way in hell i'd go to the gym dressed like this
(but, then again, i've never set foot into a gym..
i just hate the idea of working out
among bunch of unknown people)
..
mokosha



Thursday, August 7

navy is the new black








dress - self made

i wonder why i never wore any navy colored clothes..
it's less harsh and easier to wear than black
it's neutral and pairs well with so many other colors
plus it looks great against ginger hair
(you can't see that in these pics, cause my hair is wet
and appears way more dark than it is..)
..
i also wonder why i newer sewed with jersey suede before
i love working with jersey, it's super easy fabric to work with 
and great to wear.. but is too plain, and to my eye it never really looks cool
but this suede kind has that fabulous textured finish
that plays beautifully with light
and take simple jersey dress to another dimension
..
mokosha