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The Sister I never had

15.4.15

Well, I never had a sister, but I do have a brother. A talented guy who is the designer of Nina Kraviz's albums artwork (how COOL is that, I´m so so proud of him I had to share this!)
Well, and I never had a Sister mini quite like this too. The pattern is by Vanessa Pouzet and it is traffic stopping. Plus, I want that hair.

http://www.vanessapouzet.com/fr/les-patrons/194-sister-mini.html

Don´t be fooled if you think this is just a plain skirt: there are 8 darts in total (4 exterior fabric, 4 lining) and really worked curves on the waist that go down to the hips to accomplish that fitted effect.
As I'm trying to build a well fitted and balanced wardrobe, I'm trying to get out of my comfort zone and sew things I normally wouldn't buy, but by adapting them to my personal style, so i feel compelled to use them.
I found some suiting fabric I thought would be suitable for this, because jacquard like that in the picture is really hard to find here in Portugal, unless you go to a tapestry and decoration fabric store, but I wasn´t sure about the weight and finished effect of it, so decided to start light. Besides, I don´t want to go walking down the street and hear "Hey, i have a chair with that fabric !".





First considerations: the pattern is easy to assemble and there is no cutting, you just join the sheets of paper as they are (meaning you have printed them 100%). The hardest part for me was to get all my darts exactly the same; as you now, I´m a steam power fan and my iron is always on when I´m sewing. This is definitely a pressure point and should not be rushed.
There is interfacing required for the waist line and along the zipper. I used a medium weight one to go along with the fabric, but either the fabric is too light for this or the zipper is too heavy, because I got a wavy effect along that line. Darts don´t look exactly the same either (though I measured and they were apparently equal!) so I got some pointing effect.
The zipper is separable and though in pictures it may seam like it will open, it doesn´t. I already test drived both of the skirts and it remains closed so no embarrassing moments expected, and you can use it backwards as well!



On a more personal note, my husband would like to thank Vanessa Pouzet for that ingenious zipper feature: easy on, easy out. Men.
It seams I only talked about faults here, but don´t be mistaken: the construction faults were my own, darts are no easy business, and I don´t expect perfection but wearability. If I saw it in a store, would I buy it, even with those little fitting issues? Hell yeah.

13 comentários

  1. You are rocking this big time! The skirts look amazing on you. And yeah those darts must have been a pain to sew, but with practice comes perfection! :) Gorgeous you! Thank you for introducing me to Vanessa's patterns, I love her style.

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  2. Thank you Inês! I'm loving it! I was feeling so lost in terms of style, especially after beeing a mother, now i feel I'm getting my mojo back! 😁😘😘

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  3. The skirt is so cool! Looks great on you! You are so funny to read! I always laugh with your posts... :-) You go girl, estas a ficar com um armario fantastico!

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    1. Thank you Rita! I try to keep the posts "light" for an easy reading ;) (e estou mesmo a fazer limpeza profunda ao roupeiro, sabe tão bem!)

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  4. Beautiful skirts! My pattern wishing list keeps getting bigger... I'm having the same problem has you regarding my style, so it's easier to focus on the kids clothes. I started the achitect wardrobe challenge help me define my style and I think it's working!

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    1. Thank you Di! Architect wardrobe is great, I lined up a few bullets of want/don´t want, need/don´t need and focuse on the fabric (if i´ll really wear it or is it just cute)

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  5. You looook ammmmazing! Adoro esta mini, já a tinha visto no IG montes de vezes e ando-me a roer para a fazer. I'm a bit like your husband, I like practical and after all I'm a mother of two now... dress and undress fast are some of my priorities ;-)

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    1. Thank you dear Patricia! Lol it´s quick to dress/undress i can assure you, no time wasted there, and you´ll look gorgeous too, great combo! GO-FOR-IT

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  6. Ficaram giríssimas e ficam-te lindamente �� acredito que tenham dado trabalho, mas valeu a pena. Well done!!

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  7. Que molde giro. As saias ficaram-te mesmo bem. E sabe tão bem ter-mos orgulho naquilo que fazemos, com ou sem defeitos. Eu não sou do mais perfeccionista, principalmente quando sei que quando compro, mesmo em lojas de maior renome, existem falhas, mas é como dizes, wearability. E quanto aos zippers, eu devo de ser meio homem, porque desde o inicio do post que pensava o mesmo... lol...

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    1. Obrigada Magda, o molde é simples mas faz um efeito mesmo giro. Também não sou perfecionista porque sei que não tenho ferramentas para o ser, tanto a nível de conhecimentos como materiais mesmo. Lol agora antes de comprar qualquer coisa ponho-me maluquinha a olhar para as costuras!

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  8. If I had a skirt flattering body shape, this is the skirt I would like to wear on that body that I always imagined having, you know that body that can rock a skirt with a long zip, erm! like yours perhaps.

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