Saturday, May 16, 2015
Name tags
Finally I've ordered my personal name tag/ label from Dortex. It took me a long time to think about the ideas. It wasn't too expensive - 46 eur (50 name tags for me + 50 name tags for my daughter). I haven't used any of them yet. I don't want to put them on my old clothes but I want to create something new. So this would mean 50 + 50 new clothes. Gosh! :) I hope I won't wait for too long. My daughter's name tags were also intended to mark kindergarten clothes.
Saturday, March 14, 2015
Free sewing patterns on-line (updated 8/1/2017)
Here is a list of some of my favourite internet sites about sewing. They are written in random order and updated from time to time.
- Burda in English - http://www.burdastyle.com/ (absolutely my favourite magazine and site to look at for ideas and inspiration)
- Burda in German - http://www.burdastyle.de/ (Burda is absolutely my favourite magazine and site to look at for ideas and inspiration, I prefer the German site even though I'm not good at German)
- Making: beautiful crafts for your home - http://www.craftsinstitute.com/making/projects/patterns-and-templates.aspx (Making magazine, look under patterns & templates, lots of sewing projects, no instructions)
- Love sewing - http://www.lovesewingmag.co.uk/(great patterns, you have to type your e-mail address to get them)
- Inspired to make – sewing - http://inspiredtomake.com/zone/sewing-world/patterns (a great source of sewing patterns, there are no instructions but I don't need any)
- Sew daily http://www.sewdaily.com/ (wonderful page, you have to log-in)
- Papavero.pl (Polish page, you have to log-in, I usually choose English language even though I never read the translations because they are strange, look under ˝wykroje do pobrania˝) - http://www.papavero.pl/
- Handmade kulture http://www.handmadekultur.de/schnittmuster (in German but also great, kostelose Schnittmuster = free sewing patterns)
- Magazine avantages http://www.magazine-avantages.fr/creations,10.asp2#xtor=cs1-11-[accueil]-[1]-[do_it_yourself]-[menu_entrees] (in French, also interesting collection, look under DO IT YOURSELF)
- Peppermint magazine http://peppermintmag.com/sewing-school/ (great patterns & instructions)
- sew mama sew http://www.sewmamasew.com/category/tutorials/ (interesting)
- Russian page - http://materials.tell4all.ru/gotovye-vykrojki-odezhdy/ (it's in Russian, just click around and you'll find something)
- fabric.com - https://www.fabric.com/creativity-headquarters-free-pattern-downloads.aspx (it hides lots of free patterns from HOT PATTERNS)
- Buttinette - http://blog.buttinette.com/ (DIY, buttinette is also a nice fabric shop but they deliver to Austria and Germany only)
- Stoff & stil - http://www.stoffundstil.de/Information/Tjenester/Monstre_gratis.aspx (in German)
- Kleidung selber naehen - http://www.schneidern-naehen.de/bekleidung-naehen (in German, useful)
- Schnabelina - http://schnabelina.blogspot.de/p/tutorials.html (great ideas for sewing for children and much more)
- Martha Stewart - http://www.marthastewart.com/274544/your-sewing-projects-home-decor-and-pill/@center/326405/how-to-sew
- Sew home & style- http://www.sewmag.co.uk/free-sewing-patterns
- The Purl Bee - http://www.purlbee.com/category/sew/projects-sew/garments-projects-sew/
- Free Japanese sewing patterns - http://www.japanesesewingbooks.com/2013/05/20/free-japanese-sewing-patterns-seria/ (a wonderful page, a bit exotic because the patterns are in Japanese, it's a completely new world of patterns)
- Craftideas - http://www.craftideas.info/html/finnish_star.html (like the name says - ideas about crafting)
- Sew Magazine FREE download - http://www.crafts-beautiful.com/forums/topic/36602-sew-magazine-free-downloads-find-them-all-here/ (interesting free sewing patterns, I'm still not sure how this works but you can find lots of free patterns, but no instructions)
- Sewdifferent - http://www.sewdifferent.co.uk/category/designer-inspired/ (a great page, a great sewing enthusiast)
- Ottobre Design - https://www.ottobredesign.com/en/print/index.html (Ottobre magazine, I think this is a Finnish magazine, interesting, great, useful, colourful)
- Grosgrain Fabulous - http://grosgrainfabulous.blogspot.com/ (intresting page to browse around)
- Matthew Williamson kaftan - http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/gallery/2009/jul/05/kaftan-make-your-own (an unexpected source of a free pattern - a newspaper The Guardian, but the pattern is wonderful and it belongs to a designer)
- GBSB (Great British Sewing Bee) - http://www.hardiegrant.com/uk/quadrille/sew-your-own-wardrobe (One of my favourite TV shows, and now you can get patterns for free; There are really just patterns, no instructions but if you type the key words in Google you can find some pictures that help putting the garment together)
- Sew it all - http://www.sewitallmag.com/patterns.html (lots of free sewing patterns and projects)
- Bernina's page - http://blog.bernina.com/de/section/sewing/ (a wonderful page in German or in English. Lots of interesting things about sewing: free patterns for clothes, techniques, ideas. I'm in love with bernina, my sewing machine is bernina – bernete 75. So I'm biased. The machine is nothing much, I know they make far more better machines nowadays but it's my first and only for now because it works well. My first sewing machine was actually my mum's Yugoslavian Bagat Danica. It was heavy, old but not bad at all. I'll write a whole post about my sewing machines once. Anyway, when on this page look under ˝nahen ˝ and ˝zeige alle freebies˝ )
- Sew News - http://www.sewnews.com/online_projects_and_downloads (take a look)
- one more Russian page - https://vk.com/shop_zigzag (You can actually find and download quite a lot of free sewing patterns that actually belong to Ottobre magazine – for kids or adults, not kidding, klick around and you'll find interesting things. Look under pictures where you can find ˝pdf˝. I don't understand Russian, I wish I would.)
- Initiative Handarbeit - http://initiative-handarbeit.de/anleitungen-kategorien/naehen/ (interesting, in German, about sewing, knitting and crocheting)
- Camelot
fabrics -
http://camelotfabrics.com/crafts/projects/apparel-costumes.html(It's a fabric shop but it has some nice free patterns, look under ˝cropped jacket˝ - it's so cute and other things are also nice) - Crazy Patterns: Hakeln, Stricken, Nahen, Basteln - https://www.crazypatterns.net/de/kostenlose-naehanleitungen (can be in German and in English, a lot to browse around; look in the right top corner and click ˝Kostenlose Anleitungen˝ - free instructions)
- Molly Makes -
http://www.molliemakes.com/(interesting, all kinds of creative things but for me there's too little of sewing) - Ralph Pink - http://www.ralphpink.com/free-sewing-patterns/ (obviously a designer, British, a lot of free patterns, a real treat for sewing enthusiasts, click on the picture of the clothes and you'll get compressed (zipped folder) to save on your computer)
- schnittchen - http://schnittchen.com/category/kostenlose-schnittmuster/ (in German, very interesting, you can get some things for free from time to time so check it out)
- Simply Sewing - http://www.simplysewingmag.com/ (interesting, a lot of free patterns, you can get free patterns for clothes & crafts but not the instructions, look under templates and pattern sheet)
- marie claires idees - http://www.marieclaireidees.com/fiches/technique=10#?technique=10&frai (in French, look under ˝fiches creatives˝ and ˝la boite a idees˝, some things are to be paid for)
- Vera Venus -
https://veravenus.com/diy-things-to-make-tutorials-patterns/(a great page, check it out, a qualified designer, I love ˝French knickers˝, have to try them once) - Marabu - http://www.marabu.com/creative/instructions/ (I think this is a German supplier of creative materials, look under ˝instructions˝ and ˝inspiration˝, you can find some templates and different ideas)
- Mood fabrics - http://www.moodfabrics.com/blog/ (I first heard of ˝mood˝ when I started watching Project Runway with Heidi Klum. They have some great tutorials there.)
- Clothes for dolls - http://www.molendrix.com/galerie1.html (what an interesting page, I used to love making Barbie doll clothes when I was a young girl, so this page is absolutely wonderful. Look under ˝patterns˝ or ˝gallery˝, wow, really amazing, I was stunned the first time I saw this and even now I am)
- The Thread Fabrics-Store - http://www.fabrics-store.com/blog/category/tutorials/ http://www.fabrics-store.com/blog/category/tutorials/ (wonderful site, it got me excited about sewing again, it's mostly about linen, but it's great and useful, look under ˝tutorials˝, my favourite thing to make is˝black linen culottes˝ http://www.fabrics-store.com/blog/2015/07/20/black-linen-culottes-tutorial/utm_source=facebook.com&utm_medium=referral&utm_term=Photo&utm_content=Cynthia&utm_campaign=Thread
- Pech & Schwehel - https://www.pechundschwefel.eu/kategorie/tutorial/ (in German, look under˝tutorials˝, lots of free patterns for clothes as well as other things)
- Make it today - http://www.makeittoday.co.uk/template (you have to log-in, lots of free patterns, look under ˝templates˝, then you can download templates for each issue, and there are some interesting things under ˝projects)˝
- De.Dawanda - http://de.dawanda.com/do-it-yourself/kleidung-selber-naehen/ (dawanda is a place where you can buy handmade things BUT you can also get free sewing patterns - look for ˝kostenlose anleitung˝ and ˝gratis vorlage˝, also great for crocheting = hakeln and knitting = stricken and creating = basteln)
- Edel Books Verlag - https://www.edel.com/Schnittmuster/index.html (it's in German, they publsh books about sewing but you can also find free patterns = schnittmuster zum download)
- OZ Verlag - https://www.oz-verlag.de/ (chek it out, it's in German but nevertheless) Look under nahen. Also ckeck out https://www.shop.oz-verlag.de/fashionstyle-downloads/ ; https://www.shop.oz-verlag.de/downloads/ ; https://www.shop.oz-verlag.de/fileadmin/Files/Downloads/Vorlagen/knippie/KNI16004/Kni_Mod41_Top.pdf ; https://www.shop.oz-verlag.de/fileadmin/Files/Downloads/Vorlagen/knippie/KNI16004/Kni_Mod43_Kleid.pdf ; There are so many things there to check them out that I don't know how to explain. Go to OZ shop and look under downloads (look under Vorlagen and Korrekturen) - it's just interesting how much material one can find there.
- brigitte - https://www.brigitte.de/leben/wohnen/selbermachen/naehen-1053194/ (it's a German magazine, probably for women, I'm only interested in things about sewing, crocheting etc. - selbermachen = made by yourself - https://www.brigitte.de/leben/wohnen/selbermachen/ )
- El Baul de las Costureras - https://www.elbauldelacosturera.com/search/label/Patr%C3%B3n%20de%20Costura%20Gratis (It's Spanish, so I really have no idea about the majority of things that are written there (because I don't speak Spanish) but there are Patrones Gratis and some useful tutorials considering some Burda patterns)
- let's have another Spanish blog De costuras y otras cosas - https://www.decosturasyotrascosas.com/ (I'm not sure if there are any free patterns but there are tutorials about Burda's patterns)
Monday, March 2, 2015
Maya the Bee Carnival (Fasching) Costume
For this year's carnival I made a Maya the Bee costume for my daughter. I gave her a choice, well she's not yet 3, but I gave her 3 options to choose from: a cook, Minni the Mouse & Maya the Bee. I would actually prefer to make her an apron (because she needs one) and a chef's hat but I guess she doesn't care about that whereas she loves Maya the Bee cartoon. I made a super-easy-but-wonderful tulle skirt in yellow (Slovenian link krilo iz tila, English link easiest-tutu-ever, a black & yellow shirt, wings and a head piece.
Almost everything is my own design, except the skirt obviously. It cost me about 30 eur - it's a bit more than a costume bought in store but the materials are of better quality. And it's custom-made and well made.
I'm publishing the shirt pattern (size 98) and a head piece pattern. I drafted them myself.
Almost everything is my own design, except the skirt obviously. It cost me about 30 eur - it's a bit more than a costume bought in store but the materials are of better quality. And it's custom-made and well made.
I'm publishing the shirt pattern (size 98) and a head piece pattern. I drafted them myself.
Thursday, January 1, 2015
Floral peplum shirt
I have made another peplum shirt. The top part is my design and the bottom part is based on Burda's pattern from Burda 8/ 2012. I just love how the tail falls over my behind. And I love the floral fabric. I bought it on line - from tissu fabrics. The top part is the same as in polka-dots peplum shirt, except I did different cuts on top due to the lack of the material. So I might publish it again but there's really no big difference.
Stylish XL- cowl dress/ tunic
I saw this dress/ tunic/ pullover pattern in the last Burda magazine 12/ 2014 (model 121) and I thought I had to try this one soon. Not long after I was looking for something in my stash of fabric and found this almost forgotten material which had been intended for something else at the first place but I think it was just perfect for this one. The fabric is wonderful and the pattern is so very simple but great at the same time. I got lots of compliments for this one.
You can wear it as a dress with leggings or tights and boots or as a tunic over jeans. I would like to make some more but I have to find great fabric first.
You can wear it as a dress with leggings or tights and boots or as a tunic over jeans. I would like to make some more but I have to find great fabric first.
Wednesday, August 6, 2014
Kids jersey shirt - enough of jersey!

![]() |
| Tinkara - 2 y 3 m |
I made this jersey shirt for my daughter but I think this one was a miss. I don't like it and it didn't turn out the way I wanted. And I tried so hard. I changed the pattern from Burda magazine 5/2012, mod. 142, size 98. I made it smaller even though I don't know how to make that. It's not complete yet. I actually wanted to make a pair of shorts because she needs one. I still haven't made them. So the look is not complete yet. It's so funny when you want to make one thing but then you end up making something completely different.
I came to a realization that it might be enough of jersey now. Recently I've been just making things out of jersey. This one was a bit disappointing. I'm already eyeing chiffon as my next material. At least I fulfilled my other standards - the shirt is made of fabric remains. I have a polo-shirt made from the pink one and a dress from the grey one. My husband asked me if I wanted a ˝mini-me˝. Not at all.
| Burda magazine 5/ 2012 |
Sunday, August 3, 2014
Polo shirt - The third
![]() |
| Going home from the seaside July 2014, Delnice, Croatia |
I love this pattern from Burda 5/ 2005, mod. 104, size 38, so this is the third variation of the same pattern and there will probably be more. I think that it's sporty and elegant at the same time. It was made from fabric remains. Recently I try hard not to buy new fabric because I have lots of material in boxes, bags, wardrobes, under the bed and so on. Eventually I'm going to master the polo neckline.
I'm still obsessed with jersey - it's easy to work with, clothes don't need ironing, they stretch with you as you get bigger ...
![]() |
| the 2nd one |
![]() |
| the 3rd one |
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
















