Favorite Things: Hello Lover

Links: 1 // 2 // 3 // 4 // 5 // 6 // 7 // 8 // 9 

Oh my gosh, how I'm loving this spring weather! It's been sunny and gradually warmer all week, and we're expected to hit +20 degrees Celsius next week. Hello Spring, I'm so glad you are here! I always feel a sense of relief when the days start getting longer and the days become warmer. It's like a weight has been lifted, and I can breathe again. I love the new energy that every new spring brings.

This makes me long for slow days spent drinking coffee on a terrace, walks along the beach, holding hands on a park bench, late nights spent dreaming, and garden parties with friends. Luckily, I get to do all of those things in the coming months, and I'm so looking forward to it. Actually, we're going to a birthday party tomorrow, so I'll get started on that list.

I hope you're having a wonderful weekend, my friends!

Refashionista: Knit skirt into dress

I'm very excited about today's refashion. Why? Well, I've done my share of refashions over the years, and I feel like I tend to repeat myself all too often. I mean, yes, every project is a bit different, but sometimes I just think to myself "Adding lace, again, are you? How original!" I love lace, by the way, and it certainly sneaks it's way into a lot of projects, but it's a great feeling when you think of a solution you haven't done before. And this dress is it. For months I just looked at it and my mind went blank. I thought about leaving it as is and wearing it as a strapless dress, but those just don't want to stay up if you're as flat chested as I am, and I knew I wouldn't be wearing it much.

Then, one day, as I was going through my to-refashion pile, an idea came to me. I picked up this skirt and suddenly I knew what it wanted to be!

As you can see, I drafted a top bodice for it using a delicate mesh fabric. It was rather flimsy to work with, but I love the contrast between the knit and the mesh. Since the skirt is knit in a lace pattern, the whole dress has a sort of airy feeling which I love.

Construction details: I used an old Burda pattern I'd used before as my guideline for cutting the mesh. The one construction detail you might not notice is that I cut the front lower edge of the mesh (aka the seam-line connecting with the skirt) with an inward curve. If I'd cut it straight, the seam would have sat right in the middle of my boobs (yes, I said boobs), and that's not very flattering. I wanted it to be just above the bust, just like the skirt worn as a dress would look. This alteration also creates the slight high-low effect at the hem.
I used the original waistband of the skirt to bind the neckline, and pre-made bias tape to bind the armholes.

I'm totally loving this dress. It's very comfortable to wear (I mean, it's a knit), yet it's so pretty (like wanna-go-to-a-party pretty). What do you think? Are you as psyched about this refashion as I am?

P.S. You can find the tutorial for the necklace here.

His and Her Style: The perfect weekend

Hanna's wearing: Houndstooth jacket - hand-me-down from Elle // Jeans - Miss RJ // Scarf - really old // Shoes - Carmens with custom me-made laces (tutorial here) // Earrings - made by me (tutorial coming)

 

Rein's wearing: Trousers, Jacket - thrifted // Scarf - Reserved // T-shirt - refashioned (post coming)  // Shoes - Kangol

We've had perfect spring weather all weekend. Warm, sunny, and quiet - everything you could ever wish for. So, naturally, we haven't done anything useful all weekend. The only reasonable thing to do with this weather is to enjoy it!

Friday was spent being lazy. You know the days when putting on anything other than PJ's seems completely pointless? That was Friday. On Saturday we met up with Rein's Mom to plan my wedding dress. She's a talented seamstress, so I'm trusting the making of my wedding dress into her hands. Later we met up with some friends and enjoyed pancakes and ice cream (overkill, I know). Today we took a stroll along the seaside and it was heavenly. I haven't been on a swing for ages, and I think I found my favorite ice cream for the summer. Perfection.

How was your weekend? Did you enjoy being lazy or did you get things done?

Refashionista: Blouse turned into a zippered jacket

Happy Monday, my friends! It's time to dive into another refashion. But first, I'd like you to meet my flatmate Mari Krõõt, the girl in this post's pictures. She's usually the one behind the camera, but today she's doing a little modeling. This was my first time sewing something for her, so I was a little nervous about whether it would turn out the way she likes it. It's so much harder to refashion for someone else since you don't know their style or taste as well as you know your own. And what seems like a fabulous idea to you might result in blank stares by them. So, I tried to consult with her as much as possible on this project.

This started as a cute blouse. The blouse was ok to begin with, but it didn't fit her and wasn't really her taste either. But, we both loved the color, so I knew it had potential. She didn't like any of the ruffled parts, but I convinced her to leave the sleeve heads as is, since they would need a complete reconstruction otherwise. We decided on a front zippered jacket-like look and I set to work.

As you can see, I made a lot of alterations. First, I deconstructed the front bodice, detached it from the back, and removed the hem elastic. Next, I took in the sleeves from the underarm seam, and added darts to the back bodice. Then it was on to the front bodice. I added shoulder darts to take in the extra fabric from the gathering, and to add some shape. I still had to alter the neckline - take off a couple of centimeters from the shoulders and lower it in the center. Finally, I added the zipper and re-hemmed the bodice.

This one was a lot of work, and we had to do a million fittings to get it to look good. I must say, it's still not my best work, but I think it turned out pretty great. This project taught me a lot. I'm so used to sewing for myself that making something for someone else with a different body type is really difficult. I know what looks good and work on my body, but with different proportions, these things don't apply anymore. I've already promised to sew her an evening gown this summer, so I'll get more practice then.

I think the jacket/blouse suits her, and I'm still in love with the color. I also love the new, more modern look that the zipper adds. Also, the puffy sleeves add a touch of femininity. So, it's balanced and pretty.

Sunday Spirit: Life through my phone lens

This is how my life looks through my phone camera lens. One of my new year's resolutions was to take on a phone photography challenge. I'm super crappy at taking pictures with my phone. When I finally got a new phone with a decent camera, I was all enthusiastic about capturing my everyday life more. So far, that hasn't happened. So, I did something I should have done ages ago and finally hopped on the Instagram train yesterday. I'm taking on a challenge to post at least once a day. You can follow me @pearlsandscissors, if you'd like. Do say hi, because I'm completely lost in this Instagram world, and I could use your help!

Have a wonderful Sunday and I'll see you around!

P.S! I think my two best friends, Kärt-Katrin and Triin just made their Pearls & Scissors debut. Love you, gals!

Favorite Things: Life is beautiful

Links: 1 // 2 // 3 // 4 // 5 // 6 // 7 // 8 // 9

I took my violin out an played today. That hasn't happened in almost a year. I don't even know why I haven't touched it for so long. I keep meaning to play, but then it gets pushed back again and again. So, today I finally took some time and really played. And it felt so good! I'd forgotten how much I love the sound of the violin. I played for almost an hour and it felt like therapy. Making music really does heal the soul I think.

It's been a beautiful week. Life is good. I've been feeling that a lot lately. Happiness. Content. There are better days, and worse days, but at the end of it all I'm grateful for what I have. A beautiful life.

Have a wonderful weekend, my friends!

Pattern Hacker: Working with leftover fabric

Today I'm starting a new series on the blog called "Pattern hacker". I've been sewing more from scratch lately which I haven't done much of in the last couple of years. I've noticed that I almost never use patterns as they come. I make a lot of modifications along the way - from slight changes in fit to changing the whole look of the pattern, to combining different patterns into one. Seeing the full potential of a pattern is such a valuable skill, and I'd love to inspire you to see your pattern stash in a new light. So, this new series will give you ideas, inspiration and tips to make the most of every pattern.

Now, onto today's hack. The project, like most of my sewing, is fully inspired by the fabric. I got this coral pink lace from a local shop that sells industrial selvedge fabric and sample garments. The lace came in different sized rectangles, which were smaller that 50cmx50cm. Needless to say, I had to get creative in order to make a garment from these fabric pieces. But, I loved the texture and pattern of the lace, and, oh, the color! (Sadly, the worst color to photograph.) I just new I needed to have it. Also, it came with a very good price tag. So, I bought 2 bundles for 2€ each.

Finally, I found a suitable pattern from my stash of Burda magazines. It's model 112 from Burda 04/2009. The pattern had a 2-piece raglan sleeve which fit perfectly with one of the lace pieces. To make things easier, and more wearable, I decided to make the back and line the front with a solid coral jersey I had in my fabric stash. (You might recognize the fabric from my summer maxi. I have a lot of yardage still left over.)

Now, the only problem I still had was the front pattern piece. The only way to use the lace was to cut the front into multiple separate pattern pieces. You can see my alterations on the picture below:

First, I measured the center of the pattern piece, and then drew lines from the outer corners to the center creating 3 pattern pieces. I cut the lowest triangle (nr 1) on fold. The sewing order for these pieces would be:
1) attach 3a to 2a
2) next, attach 3b to 3a
3) then, attach 1 to 2b
4) finally, sew the diagonal seam (only one possible seam left).

Other alterations I made: raised the front neckline by 4cm, and used fabric bands to finish the hem, neckline and sleeves.

I'm so happy with the end result. It's super comfortable, the fit is just what I hoped for, and I'm still very much in love with the color and fabric. I've been wearing it constantly over the past 2 weeks, and that in itself is an indicator of project success. Hooray!

I'd love to hear you feedback on the new series, so leave your thoughts in the comments!

Weekend Favorite Reads

the best cup of joe made by my fiance

This weekend is/was all about relaxing, catching up on some reading, wedding planning and time with family. So, I thought I'd share some of my this week's favorite links from around the web with you.

Blogging and everything related is still pretty prominently in my mind. I've been planning a blog design makeover and thinking of ways to improve this place. I want to enjoy blogging and be inspired as well as inspire you guys, so it's really important to me to grow consistently. Speaking of learning and growing, I've been messing around with Photoshop curves. The top photo is edited using Siiri Kumari's free photoshop curves.

I stumbled on a great blog post over at Aunt Peaches that gathers all sorts of awesome articles and resources for people who want to start or grow their blog. I haven't managed to click through all of them yet, but I did find Dana's article about SEO basics super helpful.

my messy studio waiting for spring cleaning

Spring always sparks the creative spirit in me. I find myself wanting to experiment and try new things. When I read about doing my own gel manicure and trying out false lashes on A Beautiful Mess, I wanted to give it a try. I've got plans to try out false lashes this week. Laura mentioned that her individual lashes stay on for about a week, and I'd love to give it a go. Wouldn't it be great if I could cross out applying mascara and removing it from my daily tasks. And, I think I might invest in nail gel as well. I'll let you know how that pans out.

Oh, and if you've been caught by the spring cleaning bug, you might want to check out this article on Apartment Therapy. I know my home and computer are in a dire need of a deep clean, so I'll try to carve out some time for that as well next week.

Have a fun Sunday!

DIY 5-minute statement necklace over at OEH

I have another tutorial up over at Oh Everything Handmade. This time it's a 5-minute statement necklace. I kid you not, it really honestly takes only 5 minutes to make. Go and have a look!