mocha

dress - burda magazine (12/2015, #109b)

mocha colored version in quilted jersey 

is actually version #2

as i messed up my version #1 dress in yellow wool (see pics bellow)

..

but #2 i like..

i only had 1.2 m of fabric

and pattern calls for 2.1 m

so i had to piece my sleeves from scraps

and i really like how they look now

with those horizontal seams

..

#1 has a lot of issues in shoulder area

as it's way too tight on me

and sleeves are oddly shaped and too wide,

but most of the issues are my fault

as i was lazy, and decided to sew sleeves in flat

rather than sewing them in the round

(and then i even overlocked the seams

before trying the dress on

so i can't fix it now)

..

so, lesson learned.. from now on

no more muslin playing with fancy wool fabrics

..

for the #2 i sewed the sleeves 

the way they are intended to be sewn

so that, and the fact that i used slightly stretchy fabric,

helped with most of the issues

and the dress fits way better

..

here is #1

in all it's oddness..

i tried to make up for the mistakes

by hamming everything by hand

but it's still a mess

i've also finished knitting my barndom shawl, by westknits

it's huge and super soft and drapey

(and it's also version #2

but this time not because i messed up #1

but because i made #1 for a friend

and then i had to have one myself)

..

mokosha

cowls

made bunch of colorful cowls in chunky yarn..

all are knitted in round, to avoid seaming,

so i had to modify stitching a bit

..

blue one is in trinity stitch

red is a stitch from book '400 knitting stitches'

called mock english rib 2, or something like that

bubblegum pink, in linen stitch

green in flat knot stitch

orange, another one from 400 stitches book

not sure witch one

this one is not in chunky yarn

it's fingering weight variegated yarn

but i used 7mm needles

(it's linen stitch again, i'm crazy about it)

..
i've also made dress with big blue dots
and the top from last photo
..

mokosha

trench

trench coat - burda magazine 12/2013, #101

finally made a trench coat

that i had on my mind for nearly two years

ever since the pattern came out

..

almost made it last fall

as i had the pattern traced

and all the fabric and notions sourced out,

but then i stumbled upon perfect '70s trench coat

in my size, and for the price of one euro!

so why bother making a brand new one

..

a year later, i finally sewed it!

made my usual size 38

with no changes to the pattern

(except skipping the pockets and back vent,

print is already really busy

so i wanted to simplify the coat as much as possible)

..

pretty pleased with how it turned out..

and will be even more pleased

when i get back to my ironing board

and steam the hell out of that hem

so it ain't that wonky anymore

..

mokosha

golf course dress

dress - bodice: burda magazine 01/2012, #114 (modified a bit)

 + half circle skirt

found this printed cotton twill with golf course print

and no matter how crazy it looked

i just had to have it

..

since the print is pretty insane

i chose to make a really simple dress

and tried to eliminate as much seams as possible

so the skirt is cut as one piece..

and it ended up being way too short,

but no way i can fix that now

..

struggled a bit with how to cut the bodice

and not end up with one of those sand traps

creating funky paramecium-like patch on one of my boobies

and accidentally ended up with 'hole' positioned right where my heart is

(while two guys and their golf bag

are standing suspiciously near my crotch area..

so.. it ended up being kinky dress instead of funky

and has a bit strange opinions on

 how should a way to woman's heart look like

or at least where it should start)

..

mokosha

high neck

dress - burda magazine 10/2015, #111

don't remember that i've ever before waited

for new burda magazine to hit the stands

as with this issue..

few minutes after i got my copy

i was in studio, tracing pattern for dress #111

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fabric is a remnant box find

some sort of rayon blend, with a bit of stretch

and it actually has two good sides

(the other side looks like a negative of the one i've used)

..

i've already traced and cut the pattern

when noticed that stretch is lengthwise

not crosswise, as i thought

but was too eager to start sewing

that i decided to ignore that fact, and go with it anyways

so the dress ended up being a bit snug at the hips

(if i ever make it again

gonna go a size bigger at the hips

or chose the fabric that stretches in right direction)

..

not being a fan of waist tucks

i turned them into double pointed darts

which simplified the look a bit

..

mokosha

summer bits and pieces

there are three lakes at the edge of nikola's hometown

and this summer

instead of traveling abroad

we bought an inflatable kayak

and went to explore them

..

lakes are artificial 

created on river uvac

when three hydroelectric power stations were built

they are pretty narrow and pretty long too

perfect for paddling

..

needless to say we had the best active vacation ever!

we would explore one lake for couple of days, 

then deflate kayak

pack it up and hike to the next lake

and do it all over again..

..

now if i only can sew us some warm paddling outfits

so we can go paddle all year round

..

mokosha

lbd #4

dress - burda magazine 06/2015, #123

i had a wedding to attend few weeks ago
and had big plans for the dress for event
but in the end, because of work,
i had only few hours to sew a dress
so i chose this simple burda pattern instead
and then made it even more simple by making it in jersey
..
didn't even managed to finish the dress
as i had to catch a train and go back to excavations
so i left it in the studio, and tea hemmed it for me (thanks, tea!)*
..
don't let the pics fool you
it's not a dark gray dress, but proper black one
and doesn't actually look like this wrinkly mess
but i guess black is a hard color to photograph
..
*we share a sewing studio from march
and we spend crazy amount of time there
sewing, chatting, getting wasted, eating sweets
and even brewing our very own beer..
sewing is even more fun when you have a sewing soulmate!

last photo shows a giant cardigan/kimono

that my friend ivana made for me..

how cool is this print?
i feel like wearing one of giger's paintings every time i slip it on
..
mokosha

swimwear

 some time ago i made a mini swimwear collection,

and then went to spend a month on excavations

and totally forgot about it

(once you're in a hole, hanging out with skeletons,

fashion kind of slips your mind)

..

so.. here is the collection, modelled by my two lovely friends..

i used modified pattern from burda magazine from the '70s

(don't remember the exact issue

but will look it up if anyone cares to know)

..

mokosha

  

  

wrinkled

dress - burda magazine 10/2014, #127

not much to say about this one

as i've made this pattern few times so far

(well, 5 times, to be precise)

and i love every single version of this dress

..

this time i used navy metallic linen 

and scraps of bronze linen for sleeves lining
and i love how metallic linen looks almost like leather
(irl at least, the dress is so damn wrinkled in photos
that you can hardly see that)
..
love this shapeless sack kind of dresses
i know it may not be the most flattering shape
but i still find it to be really elegant
plus it's super comfy and great for the heat
..
mokosha