Sewing is something I like to do in my spare time. As I get older I'm actually starting to make more pieces that I am happy to wear outside of the house. I think that must be because of a combination of things - I'm slightly better at sewing, I'm better at choosing the patterns and fabrics I work with... or maybe it is just that I'm more realistic about these three things... or I have lower expectations. Either way, I'm not going to retire my sewing machine any time soon.
I came across Jenny Gordy of
Wiksten via
flickr some years ago. I think I originally came across her work via her friend
Elly who I also discovered on
flickr. Both ladies have a simple and lovely style about them and their work. Jenny designs clothes and has produced a few sewing patterns over recent years. Two of these I have used and I have another waiting for the warm weather to come back to our southern hemisphere.
The first Wiksten pattern I used a few years back was for a tulip skirt. The pattern came in the first issue of
Stitch magazine which I picked up on ebay at the time. The skirt, in a light denim (or is it a chambray?) from
Tessuti Fabrics in Sydney, has had a number of wears and is still going strong. There are plenty of other versions that people have posted on the net to give anyone thinking of sewing this skirt some inspiration. Contrasting buttons and topstitching are something I am thinking about if I ever get around to sewing another one.
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| My Wiksten tulip skirt - pattern from Stitched Magazine. |
More recently I purchased another Wiksten pattern from Jenny's
website. (She sells paper patterns or you can download and print them yourself at a cheaper price.) The
Wiksten Tova shirt (named after Elly's daughter I think) always looks comfortable when I've seen it sewn up. A quick flickr or internet search will bring up plenty of finished versions to browse. This one of mine was meant to be a 'test run' made out of cheap gingham from Spotlight. It has turned out to be better than a test and is on high rotation in my wardrobe. I've already cut out two more versions for sewing. Both will have winter-friendly long sleeves rather than three-quarter sleeves and I am going to make one of them dress length. I'll let you know how they go.
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