Another Tova Top For Family Trip To Jakarta & Handmade Wardrobe Vow 2015

I made another Tova Top. My trusted pattern which I would sew up whenever I'm in need of a new top and not having the luxury of time. This is my fourth one so sewing it is really easy for me by now.

**Please excuse all my crappy dark & grainy photos, they are all from my phone.

We were going for a family trip in Jakarta and I wanted to wear something comfy and good for nursing Baby E on the plane. Just few months back I made this Tova in size XL (post baby) but now that I have lost some weight (after going back to work fulltime hahah) I made size Medium and it fits good except for a slight tightness around my bust area. That problem will go away once I wean Baby E from nursing, which will be in less than 4 months. The yoke opening makes this top perfect for nursing.

I made this using a sweet pink Art Gallery fabric designed by Bari J. I love the feminine color. At first I was afraid it might look a little to little girl-ish but hubby likes it on me so that's all that matters :)

I was rushing so I omit the neckline binding and finished the neckline using my sweet bias tape I purchased in Daiso. This makes making the top so much easier and faster to finish!

The pattern recommends 2.5 yards of fabric but I managed to squeeze this size M on 1.75 yard of 44" wide fabric yeay!! I love using Art Gallery fabrics for my garment sewing so this is good as the fabric is really expensive and being able to save on valuable yardage is a big plus point.

The Jakarta trip was fun especially when it involved fabric shopping. Photos above shows the textile shops in the huge Tanah Abang market. Love it, just my kind of happy place :D

This is my small haul for my Handmade Wardrobe 2015 sewing. Yup, I vow to sew a handmade wardrobe this year with the exception of jeans and perhaps work jacket. I will especially focus more on blouses as I am building my work wardrobe too. These consists of rayon challis and soft cotton lawn. These are perfect for blouse sewing as I love drapey fabrics for my tops. These are really great quality fabrics and you just can't beat the cheap price of fabrics in Indonesia. I mean look at that elephant fabric, isn't it cute?! I wish I can buy them all!

So here's to a successful year of handmade wardrobe, thanks for still reading my friends!

My Natalie Top by Liola Designs

Last week, hubby and I attended a reunion where the theme was red and black. I did not have any red dress that fits in the closet and really did not want to buy any. So I decided to sew up a top to wear to the event. I made the Natalie top a pattern by Liola Designs.

Please excuse all my out of focus photos...my girls were behind the camera and I don't  expect them to know how to operate the dslr. I'm lucky they got me centered in the pics lol 

I love the top so much!!! Made in a beautiful Alexander Henry cotton print I have stashed since 2009, perfect for the event. The pleats in front of the top is a lovely feature, and the fit is perfect on me. I did not modify anything at all from the pattern. I did omit the pocket and the sleeve tabs though.

I used a pretty floral bias tape to finish the neckline of this top. I purchased it at Daiso, they are so pretty, reminisce of the Liberty prints. (will update the process photo later)

I wore the top with a black maxi skirt. The design and length is perfect for my work wardrobe and as of now I already wore it to work. Looks great under my work blazer.

Pattern : Painted Portrait Blouse by Anna Maria Horner

Fabric  : Alexander Henry - quilting cotton (lighter pima cotton weight)
Size      : L
Mods   : Omit pocket & sleeve tabs

Another Tova Tunic!

Yep, this is my 3rd Tova Tunic by Wiksten, my favorite tunic pattern!

I made this in half a day, just few hours before a movie date with darling hubby ;)

I love the fabric I used this time, it's a beautiful green print from the Collage Collection by designer Carrie Bloomston. Those criss crossing newspaper print collage is so unique, love it!

I decided on this pattern again mainly due to my larger size now :'(  After baby number 3 I just am not able to shake off these excess pounds, it's heartbreaking! Nothing in my wardrob fit! So I have no choice but to make new clothing...Another reason  is that I am still breastfeeding baby E, so the open placket in front of this tunic is perfect for nursing! 

I forgot to snap some pics of me wearing this, but it fits me great! I made the top version but I lengthened it by 1.5 inch, just nice for me to wear with jeans.

Till later, bye! 

Tova Take Two!

I told you am gonna make another one! I still don't have the courage to cut into my precious voile, so am practicing on an equally slippery fabric, a linen blend + contrasting full moon polka dots from Amy Butler.

This pink linen had been in my stash for so many years. I just didn't know what to use it for. I bought it mainly because I love this blush color & I tend to wear a lot of muted dusty pink or brown. When picking fabrics for my 2nd Tova I saw it and thought ok, a top it is. Mainly because I have enough yardage for this pattern as all the others that I'd love for this top fall short. For this top length I need 2.5 yards.

This time, it took me around 2 hours to make the Tova top (previously I lost count as I carried the project over a few days). It is still not perfect to me because there are some tiny pleats on the sleeve caps. And you can see on the neckline stitching, my obvious mistake of using white threads (some wonky stitches there too). I am just too lazy to change the thread and I blame it on my impatient self. I rushed through this project very early in the morning so that I could wear it to the library! Lol!

Me in my 2nd take on this pattern. I just returned from the library and  typical of linen, it gets all crumpled up. But I love this crumpled look so it's ok to me. Sorry for the blurry pictures, my 10 yo Aisha took the picture & the lense I'm using is not on auto focus.

I just love this pattern, I think I could just use this one pattern over and over to fill up my wardrobe. Think of all the possible fabrics I could use! And the top length is great, not too short nor too long. The perfect length for me. I hope I will not bore you to death with my future posts of more Tovas! :D

My First Tova

I have been so inspired to sew for myself lately, I found myself constantly looking for inspirations on Flickr. Last week as I was browsing in the current Made by Rae's Spring Top Sewalong entries, my eyes caught some very cool tops/dresses made using a pattern called Tova by Wiksten.  One thing led to another, I found that there is an ongoing sewalong over at verykerryberry, from there I found that the pattern is available as pdf download, yeay!

So, I made my first Tova. I wanted it longer and chose the dress length. I used a very cheap lightweight cotton from Kamdar which I think I bought to make baju kurung for my lil Hanan, thus explains the little flowers lol...but I need to test the pattern fit, knowing how adult patterns can be tricky and usually I need to modify them especially at the hip area. I was pleasantly surprised that the pattern fits me perfectly, no need to modify anything. So let's just say that this is my wearable muslin now :)

I absolutely LOVE the pattern styling and details, exactly the type of top/tunic style I love to wear and perfect for us covered girls :) Overall, the pattern is pretty easy to sew with the exception of the front placket/inset. I found that to be most difficult especially trying to get my sewing right at the corners. I had to unpick twice as the fabric tend to get caught and pulled in as I pivot the needle. I found Kerry's tips in her sew-a-long post very helpful in getting this part done. After that, everything else falls into place beautifully. I even found the set in sleeves a breeze to make! :)

I wore the tunic to the library yesterday. I absolutely love my Tova, am now already selecting fabric for my next one. I really wanna make it in a designer voile I've been hoarding. This time I will make one in shorter top length, I think it would look good paired with my other straight or boot cut jeans. Till later, have a great day friends! :)

Me and My Devon

I love my Devon! And I love it even more in this precious Loopy Vintage print. Both are of course from Sis Boom, you know I'm a big fan!

I sewed this top for myself many weeks ago but only got to model it yesterday. That was my Aisha behind the camera and I think she didn't do too bad getting mommy in her Devon shots.... I am at the moment struggling with my weight....almost 21 months of study leave combined with the stress of school + meeting orders dateline...you get the picture.....mindless nervous munching + free flow of coffee..bad mommy, bad! 

Oh well, school will be over in May when I'll be back to my old full-time-working-mom mode. I have 2 more months to work on fitting into my old clothes again... I've been working out (home workout videos lol!) and trying hard to control my late nite binges....hmmm...wish me luck!

Meanwhile, let me me be content at admiring my Devon...it's the easiest pattern ever! I sewed size L and cut a 27" finish length. It took up 2 yards of fabric. Any longer than 27" you need to have more than 2 yards of 44/45 inches wide fabric (for L size). I didn't change anything about the pattern and am lucky coz the fit is spot on. I chose the elastic (faux drawstring) option. I've kept this pretty fabric for so long and now so happy I get to keep it to myself as a top.

I am revved up about sewing for myself, I think I'm gonna do this more often. It helps me to upgrade my dressmaking skills too...especially on adjusting/fitting patterns to my own body shape. I have already cut another Sis Boom pattern, the Patricia Tunic, will blog about it once I'm done. I am also right now waiting for a few Lisette  patterns to arrive so that I could sew some of those really, really pretty patterns!

Thank you for reading friends, have a gorgeous day!