After looking back at my 9 favourite makes of 2019, I realised how difficult it was to remember everything I had sewn during the year without organising it as I went along. I had photos in chronological order, but had not taken the time to photograph everything... So I thought a little monthly round-up of my finished makes would be nice, both to jog my own memory and to share my ideas, tips and discoveries with you...
Here I am, starting with the projects I completed during the previous month.
December 2019 round-up.
In December, I really wanted to stay warm, and I had fallen in love with making sweatshirts back in the spring. Those who know me will know that when I love something, I really love it, even at the risk of seeming a little obsessive 😉
So I sewed 6 sweatshirts: 4 for myself and 2 as Christmas gifts.
For me :
1. A Bloom sweatshirt by La Maison Victor, from the May–June 2017 issue, made in size 34.
While browsing Facebook, I discovered a lovely online fabric shop called Lulu la luciole. I found some lovely jerseys there and fell for 4 remnants. I was not at all disappointed when my parcel arrived. It was a wonderful discovery, and I will probably shop in their lovely store again.
Bloom sweatshirt - Image from LMV
Remnants from Lulu la Luciole
So, my first sweatshirt was in blue-and-white floral jersey with white ribbing (yes, we are not afraid of stains!), bought at the haberdashery shop Chipote et Papote in Etterbeek (do take a look at my article about Brussels haberdashery shops).
2. My second sweatshirt was the Lana design from La Maison Victor's January–February 2019 issue, also made in size 34. For this sweatshirt, I used:
- for the body, a textured black jersey with a large star print from tissus Toto (brought back from their Colmar shop)
- for the sleeves, a fabric featuring maneki neko (the Japanese cat that waves and brings good fortune to the shop outside which it stands). I had expected it to be a little thicker, but as I used it for the sleeves, that was not really a problem.
- black ribbing from Lulu la luciole
3. My third sweatshirt resembles the first two: I combined the top of the Lana pattern with the bottom of Bloom to keep the raglan sleeves while shortening and slimming the design. I used the rest of my black remnant from Toto and black ribbing from Lulu la luciole.
For the sleeves, I used a fine floral jersey, similar to the maneki neko fabric, from the same shop. I really fell for this pretty, feminine, country-style floral print; it reminds me of the countryside where I grew up 😉
4. The fourth is a Bloom sweatshirt in fine denim-blue floral jersey, which will be more suitable for spring–summer 2020. I bought some lovely matching sparkly ribbing at Chipote et Papote.
For gifts :
For my younger sister, I made a Bloom sweatshirt by La Maison Victor. She had fallen in love with my jungle-print version. I was lucky enough to find an end-of-roll remnant of that fabric at Veritas, and was delighted, as it is unfortunately no longer produced.
The matching green ribbing also comes from Chipote et papote, which has a magnificent selection.
Mine
Claire's version
For my dad, I made the Chess sweatshirt from La Maison Victor's January–February 2015 issue, also available as a paper pattern. I chose burgundy sweatshirt fabric and matching ribbing, both from Chipote et Papote. I cut a size XXL and shortened the sleeves and body by 7 cm to suit his build.
That brings my December sweatshirt craze to a close.
My dad's version
As for the other pieces, I have already introduced my circle skirt, made for the festive season, in a previous article. I will leave you to discover it if you have not read it yet.
I also made a lovely blue hooded bath towel from my own pattern as a new-baby gift for my colleague's son, Viggo.
The towelling comes from Chipote et Papote, and the fox fabric from scraps left over from another project. Viggo has adopted it, and my colleague says he loves cuddles and massages with the towelling, which is just the right size.
I also sewed the first skirt design from "Passez votre CAP couture avec Artésane" by Christine Charles. I will not show you the photos just yet, as I will write a full article about this make.
The last make to share, which you may already have seen in an article, is my set of placemats, made from my own pattern to brighten up my Christmas table and, above all, use up scraps; an excellent way to end the year in style.
I cannot wait to show you the first batch of 2020 makes.
See you soon,
Eugénie
