There are two main versions, one with flared-leg trousers and one with tapered-leg trousers with added variations. You can play with the length of the trousers and turn both versions into either culotte-length or shorts length (like a playsuit). Optional in-seam pockets are included and I never thought I’d say this but I LOVE pockets on this pattern. And there is also an optional tie belt, which cinches you in at the waist and provides more shaping. As for the sleeves, you can either opt for 3/4 length or short.

This pattern was named after the gorgeous Abi of The Crafty Pinup, whose unique sense of style and love for timeless, easy to make clothes, inspired us to create a jumpsuit that is comfortable to wear and easy to style for every occasion.

Since making my samples last month, I’ve been wearing them non stop. Having a jumpsuit out of jersey fabric makes it the most comfortable thing to wear all day (hello secret pajamas!), especially for days like these where the weather is a bit cold and it’s been raining non-stop, so the summer dresses have to stay in the closet.

The fabrics for our samples were very kindly sponsored by Minerva Crafts and Girl Charlee and I know that many of you would want to get them, too, so here are all the links to them along with a small presentation of the different versions we made.

I am totally in love with this colorful jumpsuit. The fabric is the softest and it’s screaming “Athina!” from miles away! It is Version 1 with the flared-leg trousers and the fabric I used is an Art Gallery jersey that you can find here.

The next two samples are Vesrion 2, with the pleats at the waist and the tapered legs. My fabric was again Art Gallery and you can find it here, while Hattie’s fabric is a denim-look jersey that you can find here.

And then we went all glamorous with two jumpsuits (version 1) with the flared-leg trousers, styled with gold accessories for a night out. Both are made with Art Gallery jersey, mine is available here and Hattie’s here.

Last but not least, we have two floral jumpsuits (of course!). Mine was made out of this textured jersey fabric, but I have to say be a bit careful if you choose it, because the sleeves came out too tight on me, as it didn’t have enough stretch. If you make them shorter, you’ll be fine. Hattie’s version was made using this jersey and it’s just beautiful!

So, if you like the Abi jumpsuit you can get the pattern by clicking here. If you already own the Samantha dress, you can purchase the add-on pack that includes only the trousers pattern pieces. But, if you don’t have either the Samantha dress nor the Abi jumpsuit and you want them both, we have an amazing bundle offer for you, that you can find here.

I really hope you love this pattern as much as I do!

Until the next time, happy sewing,

Athina

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. For more information, please read our Privacy Policy.

The post Say hello to the Abi Jumpsuit! appeared first on Athina Kakou.

VLOGS I ENJOYED WATCHING

I didn’t watch as many vlogs as I wanted to last week, mainly because I was extremely busy with arranging everything for our big SMYLY photoshoot. But, I managed to squeeze in some catch up with my favorite seamstresses and these two videos were my favorite:

• Sewisfaction: One year on; my My first year running a fabric and sewing business

Saying that I loved Sheona’s video is an understatement. It resonated with me so much that there were moments where I was down to tears. It was so cathartic to hear another small business owner talking about the every day struggles, about the terror we so often feel when we invest our time and money into the unknown. It’s so rare to hear people talk about these things, usually they only like to talk about their tremendous success, which often makes me feel like I must be doing everything wrong. Definitely go and watch it of you are in the same place.

• Lucy (Sew Essential): My handmade wardrobe (#memademay2018)

I’ve been following Lucy’s sewing journey since last year and I always enjoy watching her makes videos. She gives me the impression that she puts so much time and energy to make each garment as perfect as possible and I find her very, very inspiring.

PATTERNS I LOVED

We are already in the middle of June and I haven’t been able to spend much time sewing other people’s patterns (the joys of owning a pattern company, haha!) but a few releases are on my radar and I can’t wait to give them a go.

The Tabor V-Neck top – Sew House Seven

This is the latest release by Sew House Seven. I’ve always been a fan of Peggy’s work and I think she nailed it one more time with a simple and beautiful designs. I can see myself making many versions of this in various colors, such a wardrobe staple!

Lucia top – Sew over it

Another top pattern that I really really liked! Lucia is an off-the shoulder top with a fun frill and I just love the idea of throwing it over jeans and turning a simple outfit into something glamorous!

M7754 – Mc Calls

I am a recent convert when it comes to big 4 patterns and this one caught my eye! I love the scalloped waistband, it’s such an unusual detail and it is definitely on my list!

PODCASTS I LIKED

Oh, I’ve been so enjoying listening to podcasts lately! This week’s choice is an episode from Blogtacular with Kat Molesworth. It is called “Standing out when you are starting out” and Kat is giving us advice on how to stand out from the crowd and have a unique online presence.

FABRICS I ADORED

This week’s fabric choice comes from Harriet’s shop, Sew Me Sunshine. It is a light pink floral viscose that I can already dream as a top.

MAKES THAT INSPIRED ME

Aaaaaand, it’s time for the makes that I absolutely loved! From left to right (clockwise):

• Louise (@oh_liverpool_lou) made me feel very jealous with her stylish polka dot Flint trousers
• Nateida (@naturaldane) made a beautiful Claire Wrap Dress and I love her fabric choice for it
• Emmanuelle (@zoubizoubisou) made my dreams come true with her blush pink Highlands Wrap Dress.
• Carme (@ateliercarmesi) made a gorgeous Kimono by Sew Over It and styled it perfectly too!

I really hope you enjoyed the second “Sewing Corner” post. If you have any suggestions on what else I should include in this column, please leave a comment below.

Until next week, happy sewing!

Athina

Disclaimer: this post contains affiliate links. For more information on that, please read our Privacy Policy.

The post THE SEWING CORNER – VOL 2 appeared first on Athina Kakou.

My personal sewing couldn’t be an exception. In fact, I was receiving so many comments on the amount of clothes I manage to sew every month and how do I organize my projects, that last year I decided to launch a planner aimed specifically for sewists, called “My Ultimate Sewing Planner” (you can read all about it here).

A few weeks ago I stumbled upon a conversation in a forum where seamstresses were talking about sewing planners. Some of them were big fans, while others were saying that the don’t see the value of keeping a sewing planner and how it would help them in their personal sewing. And that made me think.

So, here are my 10 reasons why you should be using a sewing planner. Ready?

1. The first and most obvious reason is of course to organize your projects. Even if you do buy fabrics with a specific pattern in mind, there are so many “temptations” out there, that you will often find yourself feeling overwhelmed. Let’s say that you bought a lovely floral cotton fabric to make this X dress pattern. You go home, open Instagram and one of your sewing friends has just posted her latest make, a gorgeous cotton skirt. Your fabric would be ideal for that project and now you are desperate to make this! So, you change your mind. The next day a new pattern is released. It is a beautiful dress, ideal for cotton fabrics, too. What? You want to use the fabric you bought yesterday to make this one instead? Ok. You get the idea. Of course, if you wait a few more days, you’ll end up forgetting what you initially planned to do with that fabric. Am I right? We are so exposed to inspiration these days, that it is hard to stay on track. Writing down our ideas in a sewing planner is a great way to keep ourselves accountable.

2. That leads me to my second point, which is to use your sewing planner to plan the projects you NEED in your life. Planning your sewing and actually writing everything down is a great way to see the bigger picture and identify what garments you are missing from your wardrobe. Let me give you an example: if you are planning to make 5 cocktail dresses, but in reality you will never get a chance to wear them, isn’t it a sign that you should be focusing your sewing energy elsewhere? Wouldn’t it be better to make one cocktail dress and throw in a few simple T-shirts to replace the old ones in your wardrobe? And what about making a pair of black trousers that you always wish you had in your handmade wardrobe? Trust me, it’s so easy to fall into the rabbit hole and just make whatever inspires you in the moment. But I think you’ll agree with me when I say that you’ll enjoy sewing much more if you make stuff that you’ll get to wear every day, because the fit your lifestyle and personal style as well. Take it from someone who’s learned from that mistake (I’ve been so bad at this, that I wrote an entire book to share my new method of planning my sewing. You can read more about it here, but be sure that it changed my life and helped me start planning the handmade wardrobe of my dreams).

3. A sewing planner is a great way to keep track of your WIPS (works in progress). Especially if you like to change between projects, so that you don’t get bored. My planner also includes a specific page for social media challenges, where you can right down the ones you plan to participate in, what you are going to sew and when their deadlines are.

4. If you tend to make lots of alterations to your final garments or if you like to hack sewing patterns, having a place to write down all the alterations you made will be extremely important. I can’t tell you how many times I made alterations to a pattern without writing them down and when I wanted to sew it again I couldn’t remember what I had done the previous time. I know, I know. You have a strong memory, you don’t have to write them down. Trust me, after you sew a few more garments or if a few months pass by, you will have no idea what you did.

5. Use your planner to catalog your fabrics and patterns. My Ultimate Sewing Planner has dedicated pages for these, where you can cut and stick swatches of your fabrics, write down how much length you bought, how much it costs and any other notes you want to remember. Same goes for the patterns. That way, you can have a look at your stashes all at once and plan your next sewing project without having to unfold your fabrics or go through your pattern folders on your computer. Easy peasy!

6. Use your planner as a reminder of stuff you want to buy. That can be notions for your projects (which we always tend to forget), patterns to add to your wishlist, a book that you saw online, a gadget that a blogger reviewed and you liked, a Christmas present for your sewing friend and so on.

7. It is a great way to gather inspiration. Especially if you are old-school, like me. You can print images you like and have them as inspiration to look at. You can draw sketches of your dream outfits or, if you can’t draw, you can print the line drawings of the patterns you like and add them to your project planning pages.

8. If you are a blogger or a YouTuber, you can use your planner to schedule your upcoming posts. Being a blogger myself, I’ve taken care of that. There is an extra add-on pack to the Ultimate Sewing Planner, designed especially for you. It has pages for social media planning, pages to keep track of collaborations, expenses, income etc. I got you covered!

9. A sewing planner like mine is something between a regular paper planner and a bullet journal. In the first case, a printed paper planner has its limits. You can’t change the order of the pages. You can’t leave out pages that you never use. And if you use all the space, you’ll have to buy a new one. On the other hand, bullet journals are fully customisable, but who has the time to create all those pages from scratch? And even if you do have the time, what if you can’t sketch? So, if you buy a planner like mine, which is a printable PDF file, you can print only the pages you want. You can make it as a full size (A4) planner and use a ring binder or print the pages in half and make a small booklet to carry in your handbag. You can change the order of the pages, too. And the best thing? It never runs out. If your fabric stash keeps growing, just print more fabric stash organization pages and add them to your binder! You will have it forever

10. And my last point brings me to the tenth reason: your planner is a diary. It is a keepsake. You will be able to go through it and see all the things you made in the past, all your ambitious plans, all your beautiful fabrics. It is something worth having, isn’t it?

I hope you found this blog post helpful. There are so many nice planners out there and I definitely recommend using one, it will change the way you approach your sewing. If you want to use mine, you can get the BUNDLE that includes the Ultimate Sewing Planner and the Add-On pack  or you can also buy them separately if you want.

Happy sewing,

Athina

The post 10 reasons why you need a sewing planner appeared first on Athina Kakou.

I’m not yet sure how often I’ll be posting on “The Sewing Corner”. I aim to do it once a week, but I can already tell that this is quite ambitious and a biweekly schedule might be more realistic for me right now. As for the day, I think I’ll go for Fridays, but please let me know what you’d prefer in the comments below. I would love to here your thoughts!

And now, let’s move on to the more exciting stuff.

Vlogs I enjoyed watching

• The Crafty Pinup: My first dress and why I almost gave up sewing

Not only did Abi share with us her first dress that she made years ago, but she really moved me by everything she said while describing it. I can totally related to those feelings of joy and pride when you wear something you made with your own hands, even if it’s full of flaws and errors.

• Threadquarters: Come shopping for sewing inspiration with me

I always find Suzanna’s videos inspiring, but this one is one of my favorites. She takes us along to the shops, where she tries different types of clothes to see if the style fits her, before investing time and money into sewing similar patterns. I’ve been sewing my own clothes for almost two years now and I haven’t been to the shops in almost a year so I’m very curious to do the same “exercise” as she did. I can’t wait to see how my approach on the fit of RTW clothes has changed as my sewing keeps evolving.

• Mimi G style: Blue collection recap

If you read my book, you know I’m a big fan of sewing in collections. So naturally, I’ve been admiring Mimi G’s latest posts. In this video she is sharing a recap of her blue collection, which I loved!

Patterns I loved

The sewing pattern companies have been spoiling us with amazing releases lately. Here are the three patterns that I fell in love with, the minute I saw them!

Jenny Overalls – Closet Case Patterns

I’d never thought I’d be a fan of overalls, but when I saw this pattern I knew I needed it in my life. I bought it immediately and I’m so excited to tell you that I’ve already made it in a gorgeous fuchsia pink denim! Eeeeek! More details very soon

York Pinafore – Helen’s Closet

Helen’s latest pattern release had me swooning! I love the simplicity of the design and I can’t wait to make it, it would be the perfect wardrobe staple for me this summer.

Podcasts I liked

I’ve never been a huge fan of podcasts in general, I prefer having something to watch instead of only listening to, but this has been changing lately. I discovered that I can listen to them on our TV, so whenever I have some massive cutting out to do on our dining table, I put a podcast on to keep me company. My favorite is of course the “Love to Sew” podcast with Helen and Caroline and the episode I really liked this week was the one featuring the lovely Tilly and the Buttons. It was soooo inspiring, I definitely recommend that you listen to it.

Fabrics I adored

As a fabric addict, I couldn’t leave this column without talking about my favorite fabric, right? My pick for this week is without a doubt this yellow striped Art Gallery jersey from Minerva Crafts, that I recently used to make a sample for our upcoming SMYLY pattern release. It is the softest, most gorgeous jersey I’ve ever worked with!

Makes that inspired me

Last but not least, I wanted to share with you these gorgeous stuff that members from our sewing community made. From left to right (clockwise):

• Rachel of @houseofpinheiro made a gorgeous pink jumpsuit using a simplicity pattern
• Rachel of @shesewsvintage posted this outfit for Me Made May. Both the skirt and the top are self drafted and I LOVE them!
• Bianca of @vintageontap made the Simplicity 1166 and I can’t explain how jealous I am of this total outfit
• Monika of @rocco.sienna made her own Samantha dress from SMYLY patterns and now I need this polka dot version in my life, haha!

I really hope you enjoyed the first “Sewing Corner” post. If you have any suggestions on what else I should include in this column, please leave a comment below.

Until next week, happy sewing!

Athina

Disclaimer: this post contains affiliate links. For more information on that, please read our Privacy Policy.

The post The Sewing Corner – Vol 1 appeared first on Athina Kakou.

As you can imagine, I got very jealous! And I decided to create some printables for myself, because I am in the process of adding some color to my sewing room as well. Plus, I love using beautiful quotes inside my sewing planner pages or print them and give them as cards to my sewing buddies. One thing led to the other and I was left with more than a dozen designs! So I thought I’d share them with all of you, in case there are more quote fanatics out there.

The sizes

There are 10 different designs that you can choose from and they are all available as instant downloads in 2 sizes. The standard A4 size (or US letter) and an 8×10 inch file. All of them are high definition files, ready for you to print as many times as you want (for personal use only). And of course you can always scale the images down if you want a smaller size or ask me for a custom size, I’ll happily make it for you!

The bundle

Each printable is sold separately, in case you only want one, but for those of you who would love a whole collection of them, there is currently one amazing bundle with a discount of 55%. Yes, you are reading correctly This one will be available for a limited time only, so make sure you grab your printables if you like them! I will be adding more designs to appeal to every taste, more minimalistic and I’m also thinking of offering personalization, so let me know if you’d be interested in that.

I hope you enjoy these printables as much as I do

Happy sewing,

Athina

The post Launching my new line of printables appeared first on Athina Kakou.

I originally wanted to make a long lightweight jacket/coatigan for months and at the time it seemed ideal. The thing is, when the day came to actually sew it up it was already April and I knew that I wasn’t going to get much wear out of it. The fabric I chose was a gorgeous brushed cotton from Minerva Crafts, which is a lightweight fabric, so my coatigan would not be suitable for the really cold weather. As a result, I decided to go for the short, jacket version. And I’m really glad I did!

I chose to line my jacket, too, to give it a more professional look on the inside. It was a labor of love and quite confusing at first, but in the end I managed to do it right.  I also omitted the buttons because I wanted a more cardigan-type jacket. I won’t talk about the process in much detail, because you can read about everything on the Minerva Crafts Blogger Network. So, head over there to find out what I did and why I won’t be making another Artemis soon

I hope you liked it!

Happy sewing,

Athina

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. For more information, please read our Privacy Policy.

The post My Artemis jacket by I Am Patterns appeared first on Athina Kakou.

FIND THE ROUNDUP OF MY FIRST WEEK HERE

May 8th

I went full on “Tilly and the Buttons” that day. Wore my trusty denim Cleo dungarees with a spotty Agnes top -and of course tights! Fun fact: this was the dress I made last year to celebrate the first day of Me Made May and I still wear it a lot in winter (not so much with bare legs though, because it’s a bit short for me)

May 9th

I love this photo that Jim took that day. I usually take all my photos on my own when I do it at home, but when we are outside I make him snap a few shots of me. He certainly doesn’t enjoy it and it’s extra hard for me to find a single one that I can actually use, because he always makes me laugh so much. That day for example, I was trying to jump and take a funny pic, but it was just not going to happen. My dress was rolling up, I was out of breath and every shot was either shaken or out of focus. But who cares, right?

For the sake of documenting the challenge, I am wearing one of my first ever jersey makes, a Sew Over It Molly top, which I love and worn to death!

May 10th

The first newly made garment of the challenge, an Artemis jacket by “I Am Patterns”. I made this one for Minerva Crafts (you can read the review here) and paired it with my yellow Astoria top and a pair of RTW boyfriend jeans.

May 11th

I really wasn’t feeling it that day, as you can see from my photo. Didn’t put any make up on and barely got off my pajamas in the morning. Wearing my Gable top by Jennifer Lauren Handmade and a Mabel skirt by Colette.

May 12th

I wore my Lily top by Sew Over It, made in a gorgeous Art Gallery rayon from Minerva Crafts and my RTW jeans. One thing this challenge has already taught me, is that I need to sew a pair of jeans ASAP, because all my store bought ones have a mid-rise waist and are not good for all the cropped tops I made this year.

May 13th

Sundays afternoons are usually dedicated to lunch with my parents and out for a coffee afterwards, so I wore my beloved Samantha dress by SMYLY patterns. Every time I put on one of my Samanthas I say to myself that it is my favorite, but the truth is I love them all! It’s the perfect dress to feel beautiful in, while being extremely comfortable at the same time. This fabric is still available at Minerva Crafts by the way, find it here.

May 14th

The funny one, or “what happens when your photographer tells you to jump as high as you can”. Wearing my beloved Aldaia dress from Pauline Alice made in a grey ponte from Minerca Crafts. This was already washed and folded to go into storage along with my other winter clothes, but… it’s still too cold! Full review on the dress here.

And this was the roundup of my second week. I hope you liked my choices

Until the next time, happy sewing,

Athina

Disclaimer: This posts contains affiliate links. For more information about them, please read our Privacy Policy.

The post My second week of Me Made May 2018 appeared first on Athina Kakou.

I have made 3 collections during 2017 and early 2018, which you can see in my book, and I am now ready to start working on my next one, for spring and summer. Knowing myself -and if I manage to find the time- I’ll probably squeeze in another one in the next few months, but I make no promises right now, haha! I wanted to sew a collection that really speaks about my personality and my style and if anything characterizes me is that I am a very girly girl. Think about a hopeless romantic, who loves anything floral and pink. Although I’ve changed so much over the last few years, I still love embracing my inner child. I am also starting to notice that my style is slowly changing and evolving and that some of the clothes in my wardrobe don’t make my heart sing anymore. So all these things provide the perfect ground for me to work on a new collection of garments.

The Theme

As you probably imagine, my summer collection is going to be pink-themed. I know that Mimi G made a pink one recently and I have no intention to copy her, it just happens that we love the same color, haha! It’s also no secret that I find her truly inspiring and an amazing person, so she has influenced my choices (as you will see, many of the patterns I chose are hers). I’ve already gotten my fabrics and paired almost all of them with patterns. It is really exciting to plan your sewing makes according to a theme and I find this stage even more fun than sewing.

To organize my time and plan everything, I am using my Ultimate Sewing Planner. The project planning pages are made for this work and I just love having everything documented and in one place, to keep myself accountable and stay on track.

Having made three collections already -and written a book/guide about that subject- I think I have perfected my method by now. Believe it or not, it took me 3 days to plan the garments I wanted to sew and choose the fabrics for them. I still have a few “maybes”, but this has mostly to do with the fact that I bought my fabrics online and a couple of them are not suitable for what I had in mind (for example, my denim fabric is too thick for a summer jumpsuit, so I’ll need to be flexible and make something else with it)

If you want to see all the fabrics I gathered for my summer collection and hear my plans about each one of them, make sure you watch this week’s vlog.

I hope you like my picks and I’ll keep you posted on the progress of this project.

Happy sewing,

Athina

The post Planning my summer collection appeared first on Athina Kakou.

To take part in this challenge, you don’t have to sew a specific pattern. You may choose whichever pattern you like, as long as it is a wrap dress. Faux wrap dresses also count, if they wrap at the bodice. There are so many amazing prizes to be won and the winners are picked randomly, so you can enter no matter how experienced you are. Hattie and I are sponsoring the challenge, too, offering our SMYLY prizes. You can find more details on how to enter at Sarah’s blog.

My favorite picks

I really want to participate in this challenge again this year, so I went through my pattern stash to see what wrap dress patterns I already have. Turns out I own quite a few, some of day I’ve already made in the past, while others I haven’t tried yet. So this gives me the perfect opportunity, if I manage to find the time… I also researched a bit online to find other wrap dresses I might like and I thought it would be a good idea to share with you my favorite picks.

Are you ready?

1. The Samantha dress – SMYLY patterns

I couldn’t start with anything else than our own pattern. The Samantha is a faux wrap dress which wraps at the bodice, so you can perfectly enter it in the challenge. It is a very quick sew and the fact that it is made out of knit fabrics makes it even easier to fit. We have a 20% offer on it until May 13th if you use the coupon code SEWTOGETHERFORSUMMER (and you also get the first issue of SMYLY magazine included in the price)

2. The Eve dress – Sew Over It

This dress and I have a weird history. Back when it was launched, I didn’t really like it. But when more versions started to pop up online, I started to fall in love with the style. Unfortunately, this happened at the end of last summer so I only managed to make one Eve. I’m really excited to whip up a couple more for this season.

3. The 1940s wrap dress – Sew Over It

Another pattern from the same company, which I absolutely adore. I think I purchased it the minute it was launched and I made my dress the next days. I love the style and the little details that make it so special, but keep in mind that it is quite an involved make. It took me 2 days of non-stop sewing to complete it -and I am a fast seamstress- but it is worth every minute.

4. The Erica dress – Seamwork

This is a pattern that I have in my stash and it’s actually already cut and waiting for me to sew it. I have seen many lovely versions online and it looks like a simple wrap dress, so I’m excited to make it.

5.  The Aldaia dress – Pauline Alice

This dress has to be one of my most worn pieces of the season. I fell in love with the pattern just from the line drawings and the fact that it is so so versatile. The different combinations of each version can give you up to 27 different looks. How amazing is that? I really like how the bodice fits in the version I chose and I definitely need to make more soon.

6. The Appleton dress -Cashmerette

I’m so bumped that this dress doesn’t come in my size! Every version I’ve seen online is simply stunning and everyone praises the fit of this pattern, so if the sizes fit you, you need to try it!

7. Reggie dress – Seamwork

Another pattern that I have in my stash but haven’t tried yet. I love the fact that it is intended for woven fabrics and also how it looks on the model shots. But, to be totally honest, I’m not sure how it will look on my figure. Nevertheless, I really like it!

7. Highlands Wrap dress – Allie Olson

The first think that stole my heart when it comes to this pattern is the photos! They look so fresh and stylish. I like all the versions included in this pattern and I might have to break my pattern ban and get it for the challenge.

8. Wren dress – Colette

This dress is made out of knit fabrics and is on my list ever since Lisa Comfort made it for her vlog. It looks fairly easy to make and doesn’t require too much fabric.

9. Lliria dress – Pauline Alice

I’ve been swooning over that dress since it was releasing. Its vintage aesthetic really appeals to me, but so far the weather didn’t inspire me to make it. Maybe the time has come?

10. Dita dress – Wear Lemonade

My friend, Hattie, made this pattern last year and it looks amazing! It wraps both in the front and in the back to mix things up and I really want to make it. It’s been sitting in my stash for months now, which is totally unfair, haha!

These were my 11 favorite picks for wrap or faux wrap dresses that you can sew and enter the #sewtogetherforsummer challenge. I hope you liked them! If you made any of the patterns I mentioned, leave me a comment and tell me your thoughts. I would love to hear from you!

For more pattern suggestions, you can also take a look at Helen’s roundup post.

Until the next time, happy sewing.

Athina

The post My 10+1 favorite wrap dress patterns for #sewtogetherforsummer appeared first on Athina Kakou.

This year’s pledge

This year is finding me in a whole different place, both in my personal and in my work life. I don’t know if I’m happier, but I’m certainly different. I was contemplating what my pledge for 2018 should be, because my closet is now 99% handmade clothes, which I tend to wear anyway. But on the other hand I didn’t want to stress myself too much, so I decided to just use this wonderful movement to show love to some clothes that I might have neglected and grab the opportunity to get dressed up every morning. I still struggle with that and I’ll admit there are often days when I don’t even get out of my pajamas. But putting on actual clothes makes so much difference in my mood and in my productivity, that I just need to push myself and try to get better at that.

May 1st

To start off the month, I wore my pink Samantha dress, but I styled it a bit different than usual. May 1st is “International Workers Day” in Greece and hence a bank holiday and Greeks usually grab this opportunity to go out and celebrate spring. We have barbecues, make wreaths out of flowers and go on picnics. This year we decided to stay at home and have a casual day, relaxing and spending quality time together. I worked a bit on my ‘Pink Collection’ plans and Jim had to study, but after that we went out with Malou and enjoyed the sunshine. So I paired my Samantha with my blue Lacoste sneakers, which I love, and it was the perfect outfit. It was also the first time I went out with bare legs this year, hoorayy!!

May 2nd

For the second day, I wore an oldie but goodie. My Coco dress by Tilly and the Buttons, which I hacked a bit to add ruffled sleeves (see Abi’s tutorial on how to do that here).  I made it last year and it is without a doubt one of my most worn garments!

May 3rd

The third day was a bit chillier so the jeans had to come out. I wore my RTW pair of jeans, because I haven’t yet found the courage nor the time to make a handmade pair. It is on my list though, I promise! I paired them with my pink Alex shirt by Sew Over It and a RTW cardigan to keep me warm. I love this outfit so much!

May 4th

For May 4th I opted for a special outfit. This is a jumpsuit that Hattie and I are releasing as a pattern very soon and we both adore it. We were supposed to keep it a secret, but that would have meant that we wouldn’t be able to wear it at all during May. So one day, while talking on the phone, we decided that life is just too short and we should do what makes us happy. So we both wore our versions that day. Mine is the first ever toile I made and it is by no means perfect (I had to unpick it and make adjustments more than 4 times) but I still enjoy wearing it. It is my “effortlessly stylish” look.

May 5th

The next way was the gloomiest, rainiest day of the month. I barely left the house, it was raining all day long and was too cold for bare legs. My Mabel skirt by Colette patterns and Chestnut sweater by Cocowawa crafts came to the rescue. I didn’t even wear makeup that day, hence the cheeky pose with Malou. This shot was taken after I’ve been cleaning the house for 6 hours and I was simply exhausted.

May 6th

And then came Sunday, which was even colder than the previous day. We eat at my parents that day, so I put on make up to look more decent and wore my Ultimate Shift Dress with a red RTW cardigan. And of course the tights were a must…

May 7th

The sun came out briefly today and I had some errands to run, so I took advantage and wore my new jumpsuit. This is the second version of the pattern that we are releasing soon and I think it is my absolute favorite. It is not as fitted as the other one, so it’s perfect for those days when you don’t feel like showing too much of your tummy area. The tie belt cinches the waist and provides shaping and I like to turn over the hem to create a little cuff effect.

And these was the roundup of the first of Me Made May 2018. I hope you enjoyed seeing my outfits. It’s certainly funny for me to see what I wear and how I look everyday, depending on the weather or my mood, but it’s also so helpful to have this “diary” of outfits. You can look back and see what you wear more often so that you identify the gaps in your wardrobe and know what you need to sew next.

For daily updates on my Me Made May progress, you can follow me on Instagram.

Have a lovely week,

Athina

The post My first week of Me Made May 2018 (and a comparison to last year) appeared first on Athina Kakou.