Tuesday, August 5, 2014

100 followers giveaway! And my second attempt at bramaking


Hello!
I have been really busy in the past 3 weeks with beeing on vacation, and am therefore a few days late in my celebration of 100 followers of The Handstitched Files. Bad blogger. I have also been quite busy with this and battling off weeds.


(We bought a summerhouse, my boyfriend and I. Despite it being barely 40 square meters, I find it quite overwhelming. Funny how something that should be quite simple and actually quite exciting can turn into something hard to manage for reasons not really related to the thing itself. Buying a summerhouse turned a few things upside down for me, but it's settling down, I hope. It's also been much more work than expected. The previous owner left everything in the house, down to dessert spoons and rusty pot hangers, wich is both a blessing and a curse. I have lost count of how many times we filled our car and drove to the landfill. At the same time, it is nice not having to buy a thing. It's been lots of work trying to clean the house while repairing a leaking roof, but I think I'm starting to get on top of things. And having grass between my toes while drinking my afternoon coffee is a quite amazing feeling!)

Anyways, it is never too late to celebrate!

I did not have to think really hard to decide what I would be offering. I want to celebrate the joyfullness, the creativity and the open-mindedness of this wonderful little community that we have. And what better than an indie pattern to do that? So I am offering a pattern from my favourite pattern company, Deer and Doe. (I am not affiliated to Deer and Doe, by the way, I just really love Eleonores designs!) My love of Deer and Doe is recorded here, and I have a Belladone and a Centaurée, both already worn several times, still to be blogged (bad, bad blogger). So up for grabs is the pattern of your choice from Deer and Doe's catalog. The giveaway will be opened until sunday the 17th of August, and I will draw a winner on the next day. To enter, simply leave a comment on this post. Why don't you tell me what you have been up to this summer?

Ok, back to sewing! I have LOTS of unphotographed/unblogged projects, but I have been really excited about lingerie lately, so I wanted to share my second bra. This is also Pin-Up Girls Classic bra, although I modified it quite a lot this time. I changed the fabric straps for elastic straps (and this alone would make a world of difference for the sexiness factor of the bra!). I also lowered the rise of the cups. They still provide good coverage, but feels much prettier. Finally, I changed, ever so slightly, the curve of the cup seams, flattening them a tiny bit, which made quite a difference in the final shape of the cups. I am much happier with the fit and feel of this bra, compared with the first. It is very comfortable, too, and way prettier! I have happily put it in my lingerie drawer and use it regularly. The fabric and findings are from a kit I purchased at Sewing chest. It's a great kit, with nice fabrics, and it includes everything for a bra, including lace, powermesh and stable tricot, as well as all the elastics and trimmings. It even has tiny ribbon bows! I find it hard still to judge the quality of lingerie fabrics, but these felt quite nice, and were nice to work with. I did not realise when I purchased the kit, but the materials are not enough for a matching panty, these are sold as a separate kit. Just something to keep in mind! I struggled once again with attaching the hooks and eyes tape, anyone has tips or suggestions? I also had some issues with bulkyness in a few places. Maddie recently suggested hammering down bulky areas, so maybe I'll try this next time.






24 comments:

  1. It's lovely! I am always so nervous about the idea of sewing bras. Gathering all the material is a daunting task, but if you just buy kits then there isn't anything left over for the next bra!

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    1. kits are just so practical, because there are so many bits and bobs to gather for making bras. i think they are a great place to start, then, with time, i'm sure i'll start stashing all the findings too!

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  2. I am really impressed by your bra, it looks great!
    This summer I have been busy getting our flat ready to sell and getting ready to go back to work after a year of maternity leave. I've done a bit of (slow) sewing, making a gathered skirt.
    Thanks for the giveaway, I really love the Robe Belladone and have seen some lovely versions online
    (sorry if you get 2 comments from me, I think my first one got eaten)

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    1. thank you! i'm really pleased with it. it sounds like a busy summer for you! lots of changes ahead i seems :) good luck with all!

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  3. Ooh, that looks like a really nice bra. I love the lace!
    I totally know the feeling of being behind on blogging about newly made garments. My current count is eleven. ;) The heat makes me want to avoid the computer... So far, I haven't had any summer holidays yet, just the occasional free weekend, but I've been doing a lot of sewing and reading, gardening on my balcony (the tomatoes are slowly ripening!) and occasional weekend trips to meet friends or family. And I'll be going on a trip to the (Baltic) Sea at the end of August!
    Also, congrats on 100 followers. :)

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    1. thank you! i don't even dare counting the number of unblogged makes i have... late vacation sounds great! i'm always so eager to take mine, and then regret that the fall is so long...

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  4. It look grate, lace bras are always so beautiful and now you got me dreaming about new ones agin, but that will have to wait because I have a long list of thing to make with a deadline closing in.
    Congratulation to a hundred followers that is amazing. This summer have been a lot of sewing, studying and a short trip to my husbands grandmother, o and I have started knitting agin. Today my sister and I are going to Sweden's biggest amusement park it's only 15 minutes way by bike but I hardly ever go so my expectations are high.

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    1. thanks! you are also one of my inspirations for sewing lingerie...
      i hope you had a great day at the amusement park! which one is it? gröna lund?

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  5. That bra looks lovely!

    Congratulations on the 100 followers! And thanks for the give-away... I really like the look of the Deer-and-Doe dresses, but there's so many pretty patterns out there that I haven't gotten around to buying and making anything from them yet.

    //Karin

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    1. thank you! and good luck for the give away! do try deer and doe, eleonore creates lovely patterns

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  6. I am very impressed with your bra making. I love Deer and Doe too. I've made the Pavot Jacket but have my eye on a couple of others. Congrats on 100 followers, the first of many more to come I am sure. Your photography on your blog is lovely too.

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    1. i am working hard to improve my photography, so thank you!

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  7. Thanks for the giveaway - I really like deer & doe patterns but don't have any yet. Congrats on your summer house, it's lovely!
    This summer I've been enjoying all the London sunshine with my baby, & trying to sew a bit in the evenings - like Kerry I'm also working on a gathered skirt, hopefully I'll get it done before the sun goes!

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  8. Congratulations, but you have at least 101 followers; I use an different RSS reader. :D Thank you for hosting such a great giveaway.
    Despite the cooler-than-average temperatures, it has been a lovely summer. Lots of rowing and bike riding, swimming and walks as well as a trip to Vancouver Island to visit family.
    You summer house looks lovely. Is it far from your home?

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    1. yes, i assume that some people follow through something else than bloglovin, but i have no idea how to look it up? sorry to hear you had a cool summer, it seems like all of the heat was in europe this year ;)
      my summer house is about a 25 minute bike ride from my apartment. it's an area packed with summer houses, there are a few of them in the city. it's a very swedish concept, i would think, but it's great that it is so close to home.

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  9. Wow, congrats on the summer house! What fun! I bet it will become more relaxing as you get more and more done with the house. Love the bra, dude! It's so beautiful! You can leave me out of the giveaway- I just don't have room for any more patterns!!!

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    1. thanks! it's still a bit overwhelming, but i'm slowly getting on top of things :)
      and how can you possibly have too many patterns?? ;)

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    2. I'm nearly out of room in my storage cupboard and I don't have a backup plan! :o

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  10. Working, but will take off time for a sewing week!

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  11. Congrats on 100 followers! Plus that bra is amazing. This summer we (=me, husband, two kids) have visited Denmark and tried various beaches around our house, we've visited 5 different beaches this summer, 4 of them more than once. That's a pretty good record for the summer of 2014.

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  12. thank you! yes, the swedish sumer has spoiled us this year! i have been trying to go to the beach as much as possible, but i'v only been to one: Sibbarp. which beaches have you been to?

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  13. I love your embroidered fox! (It is a fox, yes?) I have been doing a lot of hand stitching this summer, English Paper Piecing has bitten me.... Love taking the time to slow down, thread a needle and carefully weave it in and out of fabric.... very soothing.

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