SEWRENDIPITY

Kimono sleeve dress with tulip skirt & pleather trims | RTW COPY
HANDMADE WARDROBE

Kimono sleeve dress with tulip skirt & pleather trims | RTW COPY

I don’t know about you guys, but I find it quite hard to define my style in a few words. I try to go for modern minimalist, but not sure if that always comes across. However, I can easily tell you what my signature look is. Anything with a little bit of pleather on it.  Man, I love faux leather and I could literally add it on to anything! Case in point, the pleather sleeves here and here, the pleather chiffon dress here, more pleather inserts here and more sleeves here. So you would have thought that I got this…

23 October 2017
18 Comments
Embracing the autumn palette | Burda Style Oversized V-Neck Jumper
HANDMADE WARDROBE

Embracing the autumn palette | Burda Style Oversized V-Neck Jumper

My train arrives in Manchester at 12.30 on a very cold, but sunny Saturday in January 2017. I am literally chomping at the bit to get off the train. With a brief, absent-minded kiss to my husband, I rush as if hypnotised out of the train station. Never mind pedestrians, traffic, Saturday tourists. I am dragging my minuscule suitcase after me at an incredible speed. I almost run, filled with giddy excitement. It feels almost like a date, my heart rate is up, my cheeks are flushed. And finally, I arrive…

16 October 2017
16 Comments
Simple make for when everything else is chaos | Seamwork Astoria
HANDMADE WARDROBE

Simple make for when everything else is chaos | Seamwork Astoria

My living room floor is currently covered with the ENTIRE content of my sewing room! It’s complete CHAOS! (Psst, don’t tell my husband, he’s away for a few days and I hope to have it all back to perfection before he gets back). And it all started with getting my eyes checked and having pupil dilation drops put it. Wait, what? Lately, I have been thinking about overhauling my sewing room more than I do about new sewing projects. I am really grateful to have a sewing room – our spare bedroom – but that leaves us with the issue…

3 October 2017
14 Comments
Black & White Triangle Back Blouse | Burda Style Magazine 04-2016 #114
HANDMADE WARDROBE

Black & White Triangle Back Blouse | Burda Style Magazine 04-2016 #114

Sometimes you just need a short and sweet little make in your (sewing) life. Something that sews up quickly and it’s also satisfying, and if it happens to be a wardrobe filler, well, then, that’s a Brucie bonus. You would not believe that this little top ticks all those boxes, buy my oh my, it so does.  I had a completely different idea when I first picked up this pattern but in the end, I just left it as it was and super happy with it.

18 September 2017
8 Comments
High-low cocktail strapless dress | Orange Lingerie Esplanade bra hack
HANDMADE WARDROBE

High-low cocktail strapless dress | Orange Lingerie Esplanade bra hack

Like the last of the summer wines, the last of the dresses I’ve been sewing for the summer are making their way on the blog. Even if they do come with the sprinkling of goose bumps for accessories… I’m so happy to be showing you one of my favourite makes of the year, which brings back amazing memories of my wedding in the Caribbean and another awesome wedding I attended in Italy in May this year. This is a hack of the Esplanade bra pattern from Orange Lingerie into a glamorous dress. Also, I have tales of jeopardy and crazy…

11 September 2017
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Fabric shops in Copenhagen | A mini guide
MY FABRIC SHOPS GUIDES

Fabric shops in Copenhagen | A mini guide

Don’t know about you, but I have a little ritual of visiting at least one fabric shop when I’m on holiday abroad and buying even just one little remnant. Though usually it’s actually much much more, woe betide my luggage allowance! I might have mentioned that all my Romanian family now live in Copenhagen (don’t ask, it’s a long story), so it’s not exactly a holiday destination anymore. I usually see the airport, the suburb where my sister lives, and then the airport again. Would you believe that in over 20 visits, I have not been to any fabric shops…

4 September 2017
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High-low shirtdress with bell sleeves| Sew Sew Def Katie Dress Review
HANDMADE WARDROBE

High-low shirtdress with bell sleeves| Sew Sew Def Katie Dress Review

When I first saw Mimi G wearing Sew Sew Def Katie dress, I was immediately in love! And I knew I must make one right away. Then came the perfect excuse too: the #SewTogetherforSummer Instagram Challenge that Sarah (from Sew Sarah Smith), Monika (@rocco.sienna) and Suzy (@sewing_in_spain) have hosted earlier in the summer. I did finish it like Cinderella by the stroke of midnight on the 21st June to take part in the challenge and wore it the very next day for my birthday. But what do you know? Yet another project that I made ages ago and did not get…

29 August 2017
21 Comments
Red Knit Jumpsuit | McCalls M7444
HANDMADE WARDROBE

Red Knit Jumpsuit | McCalls M7444

I feel that I definitely did not make enough jumpsuits this year! And as you guys know, I absolutely LOVE them. I had planned this one for ‘Jumping into June’ challenge, but I didn’t even get close to finishing this one in by then. So here I am showing this red knit jumpsuit in mid-August, but with my track record and the backlog of unblogged projects, this is really not too bad. So, as I was saying, I’m a sucker for a new jumpsuit pattern. And I was looking for a new summer TNT pattern for a while, as an…

14 August 2017
18 Comments
Raglan tunic dress in lilac crepe | Burda Style 10-2014 #127
HANDMADE WARDROBE

Raglan tunic dress in lilac crepe | Burda Style 10-2014 #127

As I wrote in my previous post, August is #TributeMonth in the #sewcialists world. I wrote on the Sewcialist blog about 5 inspirational bloggers and instagrammers, 5 ladies whose style and attitudes I love. But there are so many more sewists I get inspiration from. So I want to dedicate my first post in August to some more of my favourite sewists. As you already know, I love Burda Style Magazine, in spite of the copying sheets bonanza and dodgy instructions, so I take a lot of inspiration from sewists like Mokosha and Chris from Said and Done, who bring…

7 August 2017
16 Comments
La Maison Victor UK issue #1 | Sewing Magazine Review
SEWING

La Maison Victor UK issue #1 | Sewing Magazine Review

I’m not one for the regular sewing magazines, as I never actually have the patience to actually read the content. The only ones that do attract me are the pattern magazines. I do love Burda, with all its limitations, and I feel I get so much for my money because of the tons of free patterns, but they also have such great styling and photography. To be honest, I had seen other pattern magazines, like Ottobre, but I was never convinced, they just did not catch my imagination in the same way. Though I keep an open mind and I…

27 July 2017
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