Retro Tie-Collar Blouse

My sister had this fabric for a long time. It is a shifon-like and probably polyster-made from 70's. She had 3 meters of this fabric and asked me to sew a dress. But I suggested to make a blouse, because the print and colours are quite bold and a dress would have had far too much horde!

I had this design in my mind for a while; a V-shape neckline blouse with tie collar which is only attached to the back of the neckline in order to be playful and versitile.

For this blouse, I used my own pattern. I sewed it using my mum's old Hosqvarna sewing machin. I used French seam technique and snaps for front and cuffs closur.

The tie tails are loose in front and can be palyful.

You can leave it in a care-free catual state:

Or make a tie close to neck:

Or, at the side of neck:

Or, a tie away from neck like a Vshape neckline it is:

You can also twist the tails together and make a rose flower:

Alternatively, use a ring to hold it on place:

Possibilities are endles!

The construction is quite simple; I cut the tie on bias and attached it only to the back neckline.

I am very happy with the result and my sister seems to like it too.

Cheers!

Fruitful January

2014 started for me being very creative and active and I take it as a sign of having a year full of art and craft ahead of me.
In January, while I was back to my home country Iran, I made one blouse, one skirt, two tunics, two trousers, two dresses, and knitted one hat. Not bad, I guess!
I used my mum's old Husvarna sewing machine which only did straight stitches; and as I had no access to overlocker, I attached most pieces using french seam. Also, instead of normal bottons and buttonholes, I used snaps.

Unfortunately, I didn't take the chance to photograph all those projects; but here are some:

I shall have seperate posts with more photos of each project soon!

This is ruby 2012!

Finally, the exciting moment when you put your finished project on, and it brings a big smile to your face!

This is very warm and cosy. Although the winter is almost over, living in London I am sure I would wear it through spring.

I used a couple of short rows to give the collar the perfect shape.

The fit is right.

Now, I am looking forward to finish the knitting project I have already started!

wool red jacket is finished

I finally finished the jacket I was knitting.

It took me almost four months to knit it. I made a swatch first, Based on that I casted on the required stiches for my neck line and worked the way down. I didn't use any particular pattern, and as I went I designed it. I finished it by a series of triangles at the hem and sleeves edge.

After that, I grabbed a row of stitches from the neck line and knitted the collar.

I was very happy about the whole project until I realise that I made a mistake! In one of the triangles, I used the wrong stitches in a row.

I searched the internet to see if there was any way to fix that. To my surprise, I could not find anything. I had to find a way myself. That's what I came up with:

  

I believe this is good enough. In fact, after blocking the jacket, I could not even spot the mistake.

In general, I am very happy with this jacket. I sewed the buttons and it is ready to be worn!

I will post more photos soon.