This week an article about my sewing room was posted on the Bernina Benelux blog It's in Dutch, and since Google Translate has the habit of throwing all kinds of oddities in the mix when translating sewing terminology, I thought it would be a good idea to share an English version on my blog. So here it is, a long overdue post with snippets of what I've been up to recently. Hi! I’m Marianne, born in 1957 and dressmaker since 1977. It started with hippie dresses during my days at Uni, followed by power suits and a wedding dress in the 80s, baby clothes, children's wardrobes and lat ..read more

Sleepwear with statement sleeves? Yes please! Several years ago I discovered the fun of sewing my own sleepwear and I find it extremely rewarding. It's the part of my wardrobe that I wear 30% of the time, and the first thing I see in the mirror when I get up. Once I started looking at sleepwear as a serious part of my wardrobe it made sense to incorporate my favourite colours, prints and style elements and create a comfortable and pretty nighttime collection. And bonus: it's a nice way to try new silhouettes, like in this case a t-shirt dress. Ottobre 5/2018 The pattern is from ..read more

This blouse started out as a multi-purpose experiment. I wanted to check the fit of Burda patterns on my ever changing shape and I wanted to work with a variety of fabrics to get to know my new sewing machine, a Bernina 570QE. Slippery striped silk gave me the opportunity to test the built in dual feed vs the walking foot and I figured twelve buttons would give me plenty of practice in the buttonhole department as well. The pattern is Burdastyle 11/2016-131, with shoulder princess seams, puffy sleeves and cut-on ties. The fabric is silk that I bought for a steal, in fact is was cheaper ..read more

Don't you love the tradition of looking back on the sewing year that just came to an end? So let's dive into my best 5 makes, my top 5 misses, and.....o, wait. Who am I fooling? I only documented the grand total of 5 garments here in 2019! The picture above shows what I added to my winter wardrobe, a Knipmode sweatshirt and a Knipmode designer dress. Both big hits and often worn. And here's my summer output: a Zadie jumpsuit, a summer version of the Blackwood cardigan and a Burdastyle top. Again all incredibly popular wardrobe additions! And, although ..read more

We have been spoiled with a few glorious September weekends, pushing all thoughts of autumn sewing aside. So, just before putting my summer clothes and sandals away, I'd like to share one last breezy summer top I've made. The pattern is from the Burda plusmagazine, spring/summer 2019. It's a very good one in my opinion. For this edition the designer collaborated with a German Plus size model who specifically asked not to hide but to highlight her curves. The result is a very nice and balanced collection of tops, pants, skirts, dresses, jackets and a jumpsuit. When I was younger I neve ..read more

One day I woke up with the urge to sew something yellow. Don't ask me why, as I hadn't worn yellow in ages, but I'm glad I listened to that inner voice. This sight made me smile everytime I entered my sewing room. The only fabric I could find in a shade that worked for me was a lightweight cotton jersey. So the fabric determined what I would make: Blackwood cardigan #5. Blackwood cardigan by Helen's Closet I started with big plans. The long version with trumpet sleeves, or ruffles? When I draped myself in the fabric the amount of yellow was ... overwhelming, so I decided t ..read more

Hi! It's been a while! In my previous post I was standing in the snow having zero intention of putting this blog on halt for over six months. But then a string of unrelated medical issues interfered with my plans. I kept sewing, but it's not hard to imagine that when you're on a diet of painkillers and antibiotics taking selfies is not high on the list. I'm as good as new now and happy to be back! At the beginning of the year I promised myself to make 2019 more adventurous sewing wise. Ah, little did I know... Well, I did manage to make a few unexpected choices in recent months. Who knew I ..read more

It's only the first of February and I've already matched last year's dress production! And what's more, I've made an A-line dress (last worn by me in the late 70s) and I used a plaid fabric. I've checked my wardrobe and this is officially the only plaid garment I own. So, quite adventurous for someone who made too many safe sewing choices in 2018. In retrospection I worked on automatic pilot last year and got a little bored by my own sewing. For instance, that one and only dress I made last year was my sixth version of Vogue 8379. All the more reason to do things differently this year! &nbs ..read more

Winter is here! And what better time to model your new sweater than during a snow shower? When the January issue of Knipmode arrived there was one pattern that immediately attracted my attention. It reminded me of one of my all time favourite sweatshirts and I had not seen anything like this pattern in the last decade. At the same time I noticed many RTW brands carrying this type of half zip sweater, which was reassuring as apparently the style was on trend and I was not just recreating an image from the past. KM1901-15 is online available as pdf or printed pattern in the Kn ..read more

And the winner is.......................................Mary-pdxsquared. Congratulations Mary! Time to roll up your sleeves and start tracing! If you contact me on foxglovesandthimbles@gmail.com the January Knipmode magazine will be shipped to you as soon as possible. The winner was selected by numbering the comments from those of you who wanted their name in the hat, in chronological order. The randomizer did the rest. Thank you all for your comments ..read more