When the first edition of La Maison Victor came out this was the first project I started on: the Harlequin dress

I usually like dresses that have a tight fit better than a loose fit. That's why I added an invisible zipper in the back, and darts in the front and back panel. The darts in the back are nearly invisible, but I decided to keep the darts in the front with pleads, to give an extra touch to the dress. Happy with the result!

The first edition of La Maison Victor is still my favorite. By now I have made five items from this first magazine. See below my version of the Venue Top.

It is a silk fabric, which makes it a little harder to put together. Really happy with the end result though. It is quite wide but if I tuck it in my jeans it's perfect.

How did I put this together?

First I started cutting the pattern pieces.

Then, adding interfacing at the parts where the buttons and button holes will be placed. Usually, the instructions of La Maison Victor are pretty clear, but at this part I didn't understand the part of the invisible button row. I bought their instruction video and that worked out perfect.

Some pinning and ironing.

Creating the button holes

Which six to pick??

Attaching the sleeves, et voila, a blouse has been created.

Detail of the pleads in the back.

Have a great day!

xx

This is the fabric that I eventually chose.

Yesterday I cut the pattern parts, and started on the body. It seems a bit small...I wonder if I will be able to make it fit.

Have a nice day!

Today I am starting sewing lessons again at the Naaicafe (sewing café) in Rotterdam. Each Tuesday evening I'll be working together with two of my creative friends on new sewing challenges. This is the project for tonight: The June dress from the third edition of La Maison Victor.

Which fabric do you suggest to use for the dress?

This weekend we had an extra two days off! Yay lucky us.

So on Thursday and Friday we paid a visit to Gent, a fabulous Belgian city, with lots of history and sites to visit.

And Gent even has its own medieval castle, in the middle of the city centre!

Of course we did a little shopping too. Gent has a Phildar store! I was able to control myself and not buy loads of yarn. Instead I bought this crochet magazine with summer essentials.

I added some more to my To Do list ;)

I think it would be fabulous to crochet my own dress!

And a scarf is always handy, for a chilly summer evening.




If you happen to be visiting the Netherlands or Belgium, make sure to pay Gent a visit. Two or three days should do. We really enjoyed ourselves and are already planning another trip later this year.




XX Anne-Marie

Have you seen this month's La Maison Victor by any chance?

As always, lots of nice patterns, with easy instructions. But this time it is even more special, as I am in it :D

Each edition they share some of the creations of readers on the final pages. Including a 'winner of the week'. Which is 'moi' this time.

I created the little girls dress a few weeks ago for a friend of mine. You can read all about it here.



As a surprise I received the latest edition of La Maison Victor. Of course I already put a lot of items on my never ending To Do list. I want to start with this lovely chic summer dress.

I will probably shorten it a bit, to a length above the knee.

Easy pattern.

I also like this long maxi skirt. Lovely for a stroll in the sun on the beach.

And the last item that caught my eye is this simple, but beautiful dress with pleads in the front.

What have you been making lately?

Have a nice creative weekend!

Xx Anne-Marie

Last week I created a new dress with this lovely stretch fabric

It is a dress I have made before in a different jersey fabric. As it has a good fit I wanted to make it again. And luckily, I was able to recover the pattern parts from my pile of patterns, sketches and magazines.

I put the pattern parts on the fabric and started cutting.

I can see the beginning of a dress here!

I created the front and back panel, and sewed them together.

So easy, I just have to attach the sleeves.

Tadaa! Finished!

I am so happy with this dress and the pattern. I want to make lots more of this one. It's an easy pattern, which can be completed in just a couple of hours. Also I really like the 'wrap' in the front. That makes the dress a lot more interesting.

I already started on another dress again (different pattern). Here's a sneak peek of what will be posted soon.

Have a great weekend!

Xx Anne-Marie

More than 500 shoes from the 1900s to modern day all in one place! Who wouldn't want to see that? From Feb 1 to May 11 the Kunsthal in Rotterdam is having the SHOES exhibition, with all these iconic, artsy, designer shoes. From the moment shoes were just functional to the time they were more a fashion statement. As a shoe lover (my walk-in closet is stocked with beautiful United Nudes by Rem Koolhaas) there were plenty of reasons to pay this exhibition a visit.

The exhibition displays about 40 to 50 shoes in one setting. The numbers next to the shoes relate to a big description map with the name of the designer and often the material. The more famous designers like Manolo Blahnik or Jimmy Choo have their own separate spot, where a few shoes (4 or 5) are displayed behind glass.

How cool was it to see the famous shoes of Carrie (Sarah Jessica Parker) in Sex and the City (the movie) in which she finally got married to Mr. Big! As a huge fan of the series having watched all episodes at least 5 times, this shoe was the highlight of the exposition for me. Besides this blue delight with diamonds I also loved seeing my favorite brand United Nude, with a couple of shoes by Iris van Herpen which she designed for UN.

Although I really liked the exhibition, I do think the set-up could have been a lot better. The system where you have to look up every single interesting shoe on a map, just to find the name of the designer was a disappointment. Having the name of the designer right next to the shoe, WITH a story, would have been so much easier and interesting. I truly missed the stories behind the shoes: Who were they designed for? For which event? Who wore them? At what time in his carreer did the designer make them? There also didn't seem to be a storyline for the order of the shoes or the walking route through the exhibition: from 1900 to now? Theme? Culture? 

Lastly, some of the shoes looked old, worn and not taken care of. As a shoe lover I take special care of my shoes to enjoy them longer and make sure they look pretty. Seeing some of the shoes here made me a little sad. Why not give the shoes some extra support and reinstate their original form back by stuffing them with fabric or soft paper?

Besides the SHOES exhibition there was more to see in the Kunsthal for fashion lovers/creative people: A display of Marimekko fabric designs!

Marimekko is a Finnish design company that designs for fabric and houseware. There were lovely designs and inspiration for dresses in the Marimekko display.

And then we saw this sign in the end. A total No-No for a shoe exhibition.

It translates as: Did you come to the SHOES exhibition in your most beautiful shoes? Watch out, you cannot walk in the next section due to the floor with metal grids (and large holes)....



As all ladies turned up in their prettiest shoes, part of the exhibition was a no go area. Shame. I hope Kunsthal makes a better effort next time.



All in all I liked the exhibition and the nice surprise touch by Marimekko. If you are a shoe addict you will probably like it too, just don't set your expectations too high.



And wear sneakers ;)




XX Anne-Marie

This weekend I started on one of the patterns of a new sewing magazine called 'La Maison Victor'. The magazine is a little different from other sewing magazines. It doesn't have as much patterns, but each pattern has an elaborate description with small pictures that show you how to complete your garment step by step. Very handy. Also, they put a lot of attention to the styling of the pictures to show the models.

I started with the little girls dress on the right.

I chose a cotton fabric with lots of colours, flowers and birds. Very girly.
I started with the front and back panel, the pleats, and added some blue piping to the neckline.

I added 4 blue shiny buttons.

Et voila, here is the end result. It's so uber cute. 

Here is a new sewing project I am working on: a balloon dress. For this one I am again using a (very simple) pattern of Burda.

Above you can see what the end result will look like (on the right) and the pattern on the fabric (on the left).

And this is the result so far. I am not totally happy with the elastic in the jersey tunnel at the top, it shouldn't be visible. So I still want to change that and then attach the hem to the lining which will give the dress it's proper 'balloon' shape. It has to be worn with a belt though, otherwise I will really look like a big balloon :)

xx Anne-