why oh why

is cotton  such poor quality now? pj pants desintegrate after 6-7 washings . mind you  i wash in cold water and line dry. 

totally fed up i ripped the last pair, made a pattern and am now using my mother in law's  bed sheet cotton fabrics. can't get that quality now. think these ones will last.

fyi i made the pattern front and back together, saving sewing  the outer side seams as well as fabric as i only need to cut two pieces. sewing is also easier.

neki desu

 

four years

in labor and at last it's done. but wait! still needs a button hole and hem   ¯\ ( ツ) /¯

happy to have rescued the fabric.

definitely, i'm wearing it this summer.

neki desu 

 

a fact of life

this dress was not going to get anywhere. ever. here's a refashioning  using a sport wear type of zipper 

to make a skirt.gosh it looks enormous! ,but i'm size 42eu which is  average standard.

still have to decide on the waistband whether a curved facing or your regular waistband. never ending story, hope i can wear it this summer. geez it's already mid may. ಠ ಠ 

neki desu

 

clearing little bs

amazing how when you clear your brain of all the little bs you can get a lot of work done.that's the purpose of holidays.

this number however resists. the fabric was bought 4 years ago in japan. it took a couple of years + pandemic to find a  dress pattern which resulted in a minor fup and was put away. got it out again because the fabric is pretty gorgeous.still working on it and success is nowhere to be seen. maybe i should refashion it as a skirt. giving it this week,

neki desu

 

done

the pants. always surprised at how huge they look.very please with how they turned out

the color in the photo is off they're a dark royal blue, almost but not quite navy.

i still have some fabric left over for a top, but will have to knit the sleeves as the fabric is not  enough for them. will be a fun project. yes something to qualm my ads bcse i still havent pieced  together the gillet. ಠ ಠ 

working my ads with a daily wordle.

neki desu 

 

this baby

is going to turn into a pair of beautiful pants.  the pattern finished. 

the fabric is beyond awesome , a wool knit lined with a light cotton knit so that it's not scratchy on the body.

inevitably i  go short on fabric  when i buy so i can't make the japanese  jacket  pattern to go with the pants.

too little for the jacket too much as a remnant. thinking about making a dress. the skirt will be the remnant the bodice knitted.

it is an exercise in irony sewing all these clothes with a pandemic and its corresponding lockdowns going on.

neki desu 

 

a little detour

they look enormous but they're size 42 eu which is average size. found them in the proverbial drawer  and why not draft the pattern?

so here i am in such an elegant procrastination mood instead of sewing the pants with the pattern i have.

neki desu

 

unfolding

new project, although questioning the utility of it all. fabric bought in helsinki before we got into this absurd loop.

wool lined with cotton to prevent itchiness and ruined hosiery will make a pair of great pants with its corresponding topshirt. 

it's going to take time bcse the japanese paterns to be used need to be traced and seam allowance added.

⋋__⋌  

neki desu 

    

kosode

 

using a woven silk fabric,yarns previously dyed, gave a nice collar  to this cotton kosode .

well, let's say kosode-ish. 

 

anyhow pleased with it as it is going to serve as an ideal summer wrap for these cool  summer evenings.

Y'all start learning html those who  are not familiar w/it. if you are not you're at loss w. the new blogger interface. are they pushing us away to make space for those who monetize their blogs? C'mon google, you can afford to have  free blogs.you're huge and hardly pay taxes anywhere. ಠ ಠ

neki desu

 

stop making those masks!

      

here's a good confinement project.
 have a good weekend








neki desu
 

sleeping beauty

had this linen knit from my trip to japan 2 years ago.brought it out to contemplate it and get illumination on what to sew. a loose flowy number?a langelook baloonish or tulip shaped?

the fabric is sovery awesome that whatevet i make needs to be simple in order to showcase it.

while i am typing this i hear kids playing on the street.normality.seems that the worst is over.

neki desu
 

who is the best dressed in the supermarket?

garment 3.heavy knit fabric bought 2 years ago at nippori fabric town in tokyo.still have a somewhat important fabric stash. next will be a fabric i bought this fall in helsinki, haven't decided whether to make pants or a dress.

btw best dressed me,me,me (*^▽^*)

neki desu
 

again

this pattern has become the uniform. tops and dresses have been made from it.

the fabric is a gorgeous linen from a dress i made years ago when i was svelte and young.（＾▽＾）

 i want to knit it now, but need to work on transferring the shape to dak knitting program. no small feat when you're learning the program.







neki desu
 

tailoring

 pleats look a lot better 

 

than gathers. now it needs hemming. the white stitches will be eliminated.

making a list of things that i've learned during confinement.

i insist in using that word bcse to me lockdown  sounds very abstract and does not convey the situation.

people in lockdown go out for walks,take fresh air and exercise.

today i was supposed to fly to amsterdam for a week.

luckily hotel and airline have come through and i have been given vouchers for both to be used within a year.

if we're still around. 

neki desu
 

a date

every day, since confinement started, at 8 o'clock people meet outside their windows or balconies to give a round of applause and cheering in appreciation of the effort the medical personnel is putting out. touching because this also has propitiated seeing neighbors who you didn't know they existed. it is also a good exercise in building  community .the whole country at 8 o'clock.

since vanity cannot leave this building i am finishing this to wear next time i join the applause (ಠ_ಠ)

was debating whether to leave a gathered skirt or make a pleated one.But gathered looks elephantine 

therefore box pleating is the way to go.
 while everyone is threatening with jail w/out trial if you mention weight gain after all of this is over i am so weird that i am actually losing weight.go figure.




neki desu
 

first week of cofinement

down. however last night we were announced that instead of 15 days we're going to be in for 30.

sewing this top from a gorgeous linen recouped from a dress that doesn't fit anymore.the bliss of time.

already getting my japanese class homework and don't feel like doing it.

i am studying really hard watching all those doramas on netflix and rakuten.

seriously, with the dictionary app by my side pausing the vid and looking up the word that i do not understand.

apple trees in bloom from one of my windows.
distance makes the heart grow fonder.












neki desu
 

but before

there's some sewing to be done. taking advantage of japanese class yasumu and using that gifted time wisely.
also there's going to be rain all week long so very little, if not any, walking happening.
the fabric was one of the purchases from helsinki, but it is from  merchant and mills  from their japanese imports. pattern is also japanese.







neki desu
 

future sewing

my favorite fabric store in helsinki is a small venue but with interesting unusual fabrics.
proof of concept , the above agorgeous textured wool with cotton backing so that it's not scratchy.

a japanese cotton with some faint seersucker texture.

i'll start pattern hunting. as if i didn't have pending sewing projects.

neki desu
 

yet some more sewing

scads of  short narrow handwoven fabrics which cannot make a whole garment.what to do,what to make? found some narrow linen that i had bought in nara which could be pared with the silks ,but had no further idea.so grateful for pinterest. thanks to it will be drafting a pattern for a pieced top.

here's yet another one  this time re purposed linen from a much loved  dress. the skirt was box pleats so i'll have enough for something else.let's see what i find in pinterest   <(￣︶￣)>

neki desu
 

sewing or so

last year's 6 meters of cloth finally turned into clothing.pretty chuffed with the turn out.
god it looks enormous, but it's optical illusion i'm size eu 42!
just needs hemming and we're done.



neki desu