Saturday, August 23, 2014

The body-shaping slip: a woman’s best friend!


For our latest woman magazine we made a beautiful vibrant blue dress from techno jersey. This firm interlock knit combines viscose, polyamide and elastane to form a dense heavyweight yet breathable fabric. It’s very easy to sew and if you’re in a hurry you can even skip any seam finishes because it doesn’t fray.
The dress is unlined and our model is wearing a body-shaping full slip underneath it. This slip is truly a woman’s best friend as it smooths the tummy, lifts the bottom and shapes the bust. It is sewn from lightweight, silky viscose single jersey and is not only flattering but very comfortable to wear. You can sew it with a regular sewing machine or a serger.



The body of the slip consists of two layers; the inner layer is cut slightly narrower than the outer layer to provide the supporting and shaping effect. The layers are joined together with horizontal rows of three-step zigzag stitch just under the bust and below the hips then Framilon® clear elastic tape is stitched along the bottom hem to ensure that it stays in place. Framilon® tape comes in several widths and thicknesses and can be used for various purposes including gathering and stabilizing. For this design we are using it as a stabilizer so we’ve used a slightly thicker tape than we would for creating gathers. 

The shoulder straps are threaded through rings and sliders (bra accessories) so they are adjustable and we also stitched Framilon® to the wrong side of the straps which keeps them securely on your shoulders and gives them just the right amount of stretch.

You’ll find the patterns for both the slip and the dress in our latest OTTOBRE woman magazine, Autumn/Winter 5/2014. 
You can browse the magazine here and order single issues or subscribe to the magazine via our website.

Thursday, August 21, 2014

OTTOBRE woman 5/2014 is here!


Our new autumn-winter Woman magazine is bursting with fantastic new designs for you to sew! Wether you are romantic or sporty there is something for everyone and a pattern for almost every occasion. You can browse it here.

It is currently being delivered to our subscribers and will soon be available in the shops. The official release date is the 26. of August.

MORE COLDLY BLOWS THE AUTUMN BREEZE
Sew fabulous winter classics from the warm wool and viscose fabrics and knits of the season. A cocoon-shape tweed coat and a sweet hoodie from merino wool knit. Also a spaghetti-strap top, a lovely mélange zipper-front hoodie, a viscose shirt, a bell-shaped skirt, a tunic, a jersey top, jeggings and narrow stretch-velveteen pants. 

SMALL-TOWN GIRLS

Comfortable, casual clothes for daily and leisure wear. We designed two nice dress patterns and made three different dresses with them. Pleated skirts are back in fashion and ours is paired with a raglan-sleeve blouse. A bright lightweight quilted jacket, workout pants and a wool knit jacket for outdoor activities. Much-requested patterns for a body-shaping full slip and for a women’s version of our popular Flycatcher tunic. 
















Saturday, August 16, 2014

If you go down to the woods today...


Autumn is great time of year to pick mushrooms. 
They are everywhere, on the sides of footpaths,  sprouting under the trees, clinging to stumps... Some of them are delicious and edible and some poisonous. So it is good to know them before you pick and eat them.
Yesterday we ate soup made of chanterelles. It was delicious – fresh, tender, bursting with flavour and far tastier than those you buy from the supermarket. So...go down to the woods!

You find the patterns and instructions for our "mushroom soup" here:


German : 
https://www.dropbox.com/s/c15gh41f0flopx7/Mushroom_DE.pdf

English : 
https://www.dropbox.com/s/k2m74fbcy51dpe0/Mushroom-EN.pdf

Spanish : 
https://www.dropbox.com/s/w0ydy40fohe3jzs/Mushroom-ES.pdf

Finnish : 
https://www.dropbox.com/s/wr0n4iuwmgvw6o2/Mushroom-FI.pdf

French : 
https://www.dropbox.com/s/9n1f6c2zmh22hyc/Mushroom-FR.pdf

Dutch : 
https://www.dropbox.com/s/se40o55dm1b9s0s/Mushroom-HO.pdf

Swedish : 
https://www.dropbox.com/s/d9h23usyl1jvy8l/Mushroom-SE.pdf


Have fun!