And the winner is…

Posted on 10/10/2018 by atelieroursonne

Here it is. Finally. The one and only. Real and official come back post after months of absence. What could be worth it? Let me tell you, it is not a big thing. It is tiny. Well I guess, being big or small actually depends… But anyway, it is a classic left over project. And remember? Actually, one of the most important aims of this blog used to be sharing ideas for left over fabric and yarn. But I am afraid, this can’t wait until next Sunday. It is too amazing.

If you are following other sewing blogs or forums, then you might be well aware of the trend to sew knickers. Or underwear in general. I always found that a bit silly. Don’t get me wrong, I totally love colourful and fun underwear. I just think that underwear needs to be washed at 60 degree and the precious material I am normally using is not made for such high temperatures. At least not according to the manufacturers. And anyway, I always thought self made underwear would be one step too far. Until the day, when I was looking for my next sewing project and couldn’t be bothered to make the 500st T-Shirt for my children….. However, I was very bothered by the amount of smallish pieces of left over fabric and so I decided to give handmade knickers a chance and what can I say! I got totally hooked. I have not taken any pictures of the very first ones and getting them out of my wardrobe and photograph them now, really seems to be a step too far. So let’s just enjoy the few that I have made since.

pattern: Frau Marla by Fritzi und Schnittreif, fabric: various

After a first attempt where I followed the pattern correctly, I decided to lower the waist by just leaving out the added waistband. I quite like this panty style, plus if you want to show off beautiful material, you need some space anyway.

Note: These are all in grown up sizes, not children. Because I will certainly not make knickers or underpants for my children. Just imagine! Bad enough if your mum buys your underwear but if she was sewing it for you!!! I would have to start saving up for that very much needed therapy immediately. Just imagine the embarrasment for them wearing mum-made underpants! They already find it sufficiently embarrassing to see their mum jumping around the house in blue pony knickers.

I am also not making any for my husband by the way. Not only because he wouldn’t be wearing them anyway but as I would never buy his underwear I feel that it is just appropriate to also not make any.

It was a really amazing journey. The first time doing it, it just feels wrong, my husband looked at me and simply asked: “Seriously?”

But then, you put it on and it feels so soft and it is such a beautiful fabric, maybe one that you rather shouldn’t be wearing as a top or dress…. and you just want to try it again. Maybe this time with pink unicorns or little monsters….

And let me tell you, once you open that door and go through it there is no turning back and you get torn into it deeper and deeper. Whilst i still believe in the very strict rule of not making any for my children, I have since made some for my sister (who has already asked for more) and some friends.

fabric: Lillestoff

Remember, when I had made some cute outfits for the babies of two of my friends with laboratory connections? I have realised that the babies have probably already outgrown their outfits and I should have made something for the friends themselves anyway. Sure, beanies would have been an option. But not really – compared to that:

fabric: Experimente by Lillestoff, design Susalabim

And remember, when my son admired my leggings made from this particular fabric and asked me why I had explosions at my bottom? Well, I still quite like that idea…

Remember, I was speaking of two friends. One is actually a male friend….

pattern: John by pattydoo, fabric: Experimente by susalabim, Lillestoff.

I would like to point out that I did ask my husband’s and my friend’s wife’s opinion on this one as I really wasn’t sure if I had already left the path of appropriateness or not …

… bottom explosion here as well.

Since those boxers I have actually lost all the boundaries, I have since made some for random people in my life…

(There are a few more unicorns on the horizon)

Remember, we are still talking about grown up sizes here.

Let me tell you, I really do believe now, strongly, that handmade knickers / underpants are the perfect and personalised gift and I fear, I am only one step from making some for the lovely elderly neighbours and my children’s teachers.

Ok, and with these certainly sensational news about my sewing adventure I would like to officially say: Welcome back to my blog. I promise to post more regularly. At least every now and then.

First communion dress: a question of taste and simple elegance

Posted on 05/04/2018 by atelieroursonne

Yesterday, I went fabric shopping with my daughter. We were looking for fabrics for a dress for her First Communion. She needs to wear white. In other words uncolourful. (I know, the correct term is achromatic, internet told me, but I do not expect all my readers to know that).

We took it seriously and spent ages in the biggest high quality shop in Vienna.

And came home with this:

I guess we can call it a success.

Speaking of achromatic (you should know that by now), in one of my Glueckspakete by Lillestoff, I found a grey french terry. such a nice and crisp texture, perfect for summer.

Since I desperately needed to replace my boring old grey cardigan (without zip and therefore very comfortable for breastfeeding), I made a short Zsazsa coat out of it.

pattern: Zsazsa by Susalabim, fabric: french terry by Lillestoff

I am only partly happy, it suits my needs but I did mess it up a bit. As I am not yet used to my new machine, I struggle a bit with the fine tuning and the meant to be easy and quick seam stretches the hem plus I did not stretch the facing enough so the cardigan looks a bit worn out already. Not enough to undo the whole thing and we will see what happens after washing. I am slightly dissappointed because I could have made a much better use out of this really lovely fabric (even as ~~uncolourf~~ achromatic as it is). But on the other hand, the piece of fabric was really cheap so ideal to try new things.

I also feel, that I let down the really nice pattern so may I please remind you of my first Zsazsa made almost exactly a year ago?

Oh, I do feel better now. But the grey cardigan is not going to stand out from the beautiful creations on RUMS this week.

A story about explosions on my bottom and why I really need mustard tights

Posted on 08/03/2018 by atelieroursonne

As you may have noticed by now, I do have a mild addiction for Lillestoff fabrics. Back in September, they announced this beautiful fabric which I absolutely needed. 3 months later (yes 3!) they finally released it – Can you actually “release” a fabric? But anyway. In a moment of shock I ordered 3 metres and quickly changed it to 4. I was planning big things and those fabrics sometimes sell out within hours, believe it or not.

When it finally arrived, I was understandably very nervous. With trembling hands I put it in the washing machine and with still trembling hands (lots of tea got spilled in the meantime) I hung it on the laundry rack. And then, finally, it was time to cut it. But I couldn’t. I was far too nervous and suddenly I had doubts about the main project and how it would be received by others. Would they like it? Or find me ridiculous? I decided to make a pair of leggings as a warm up.

My son was fascinated and kept staring at my legs from various angles and asking questions about it. Resulting in: Mum, why are there two explosions on your bum? What an unexpected question! What was I supposed to answer? What would you say:

DSC_0162 (2)

This is how I see it:

pattern: leggings Lillian by pattydoo, fabric: Experimente by Lillestoff, design by Susalabim

To be honest, the intense interest by a 6-year-old, who really kept examining the design, made me wonder a tiny bit if it was actually meant to be a design for grown ups.

So, to compare age groups, I made two pieces for babies for friends of mine who happen to be a chemistry teacher and a pharmacist. The friends, not the babies.

Babyshirt from Kinderleicht by Pauline Dohmen (klimperklein)

Knopftunika and leggings from Babyleicht by Pauline Dohmen (klimperklein)

Okay, okay, I know this looks cute. But seriously, have you ever seen a set of baby clothes that did not look cute? That doesn’t actually mean that the fabric is not initially meant to be for grown ups and very mature persons. I could show you zillions of examples, I just don’t feel like it right now.

Since I am usually dressed very elegantly, I wouldn’t be able to wear the leggings anywhere outside the house. That and the fact that I still had about 3m of fabric left made me overcome my doubts and go back to the initial plan to make a beautiful, elegant and yet comfortable dress.

pattern: Gloria by Milchmonster

The darts at the back make it a bit too tight. Only time will tell if I am going to lose that pound or the darts. And it is not cut badly out of the grainline I just haven’t pulled it down properly plus the dress has a A-line skirt with a round hem.

As you can see in this picture, I did manage quite well to match the stripes (which vary a bit in width unfortunately), however, as said before, the stripes aren’t ideal for a round hem. But it is certainly not a reason not to combine the very flattering and practical Gloria (breastfeeding friendly) with this fabric made for me.

So, I am really happy with my combination of fabric and pattern, even though there will be ~~ignorants~~ people who wouldn’t consider this to be the perfect match.

If only I had mustard woolen tights to go with them… Or should I just make myself a pair of mustard leggings? But will I win that direct competition with the cute baby girl? Hmm.

But for now over to RUMS, to share and see what others have made.

What you all have been waiting for. Or haven’t you?

Posted on 16/02/2018 by atelieroursonne

Right, this is a knitting blog, remember? No? Well, at least I do remember. When I spent my 4 weeks no sewing machine detox rehab I started a new knitting project, a scarf for my mum. As I had high ambitions, I meant to write down everything I did to release a new pattern. Well, I started writing everything down from about the middle so I meant to think hard and write down everything I had done from the beginning to the middle at a later stage. And I can proudly say, the scarf is still not handed over. Finished and blocked since Christmas but still not handed over. Because I meant to write down everything, remember. And even more proudly I can tell you that I finally got the a kick in the derriere to sit down and think and calculate and reknit the beginning and wonder about funny numbers in the original half written down pattern and recalculate and say “i knew that can’t be right” and type up everything and add some wise and clever thoughts and really rubbish pictures and voila, here it is, the latest addition to my wide range of easy patterns.

Elaine – a simple scarf with a slip stitch selvedge edge and eyelets for a touch of glamour.

If you want to knit this scarf too, hop over to ravelry and download the pattern for free.

And you know what, this is not the only thing I have been up to.

Atelier Oursonne

handmade for you

Category Archives: Uncategorized

And the winner is…

First communion dress: a question of taste and simple elegance

A story about explosions on my bottom and why I really need mustard tights

What you all have been waiting for. Or haven’t you?