I HAVE SOMETHING EXCITING TO TELL YOU

For a long time, my husband has been working on an app. The first version is now ready to download in the app store. The dream with this app is to collect all the sewing instructions, videos, and inspiration from Instagram and my blog on one platform. We are not there yet. However, the first version is now ready. I would be so happy if you would give me input on what you would like this app should include. I do not know if everything is technically possible, but I will bring the best suggestions to my app developer a.k.a. My husband:)

Available in app store the app is called howtodofashion

AN EXTRAORDINARY COAT

A while ago I made an excellent winter coat. It is special to me because I used hundreds of hours, and I mean hundreds. Last year I decided to give myself some homemade clothes with some exclusive details. It could be an embroidery, a handmade button or a handmade silk flower. The most important thing was that it should be something that was extraordinary, something I walked that extra mile to achieve.

This coat turned out to be one of my treasures. I am not overestimating if I said that I used 150 hours. I know that it sounds like many hours for just one piece of clothes. For me, that is the ultimate self-indulgence. I love to challenge myself in my profession and push the limit for how extraordinary you can make an ordinary piece of homemade clothes.

The reason for all the hours is the embroidery I have made onto the collar and the buttons. Along the edge of the collar, I have made a brim of French knots. The buttons are fabric covered buttons also with many French knots in red silk thread. The fabric is a cashmere underlined with Thinsulate and finally lined with a red GUCCI lining.

2018 WILL BE A GREAT SEWING YEAR!

A new year means a new start. I always make a goal for myself at the beginning of the year, a goal about my wardrobe. Last year I made a list of things I would like to sew in 2017, you can see it here. The year before I made a rule about not buying anything from new. And this year I have also made a challenge to myself.

• I would like to spend less money on unnecessary things.
• I would only have high quality
• I would like to try four new to me pattern designers
• I need to be better at document my makes.

So, for this year's challenge, I have made four rules:

• I can´t buy new made clothes, except underwear and socks.
• The maximum pair of shoes I can buy is four (it went a bit creasy in 2017)
• I must use 15 pieces of fabric from my starch before I can buy new.
• All I make or buy for my wardrobe needs to be documented with a photo and price right here. This way I can make a status at the end of 2018. 

THE SALE IS ON

ENDS THE 24 NOVEMBER AT MIDNIGHT

PARIS HERE I COME

Do I love Paris? Yes who doesn't

Europe is full of great fashion exhibitions at the moment. For me, the absolutely must see, the DIOR exhibition in Paris. Time is flying, and in a few month, it is over. Therefore, I have now booked the flight and a hotel room. Now there is only two thing left to do. 1. plan the one, and a half day I will spend in Paris 2. Look forward to my trip.

I am going all by myself, I have not done that for many years, but I love it. It is going to be an ego trip.

Here is what I would like to do when I Paris:

• DIOR of course, this is why I am taking this trip.
• Going to the Musée Jacquemart-André. This museum was a private home until 1912. The interior design and architecture are typical French. It is decadent and extravagant but still with the great French taste. I have also heard that the sea saloon is one of the best in Paris.
• I will, of course, eat a lot of macaroons and pies
• Look at amazing French fashion
• With no doubt, feel taste and breathe the atmosphere of Paris.

If you have any recommendations, not the typical ones like the Eifel tower and Louvre. More in the direction of a fun shop, great cheap food, small French designers a magical café or a secret place. If you have something to share, I will eagerly accept.

OLD HOLLYWOOD

In this post, I wrote about glamour and what I think you can use to glamour op your style.

I love to add plenty of glamour to my outfits especially in the cold months. Here you can see my take on a glamorous outfit. I have added both father, glittery stones, and some glamour’s fabric.

The shirt is made from No. 12 AALBORG and the skirt from the sewing pattern No. 8 SVANEKE

THREE-IN-ONE

It is Autumn, and here in Denmark, that means 10 to 15 degrees Celsius. Therefore, I need some of my warmer dresses. This dress is a hybrid between three of my sewing patterns, the No. 1 Dragør (bodice) No. 6 København (skirt) and No. 8 Svaneke (sleeves) It is a classic and chic style, and I feel so feminine when I wear it.

Would you like to sew one yourself?

Right now, I am working on a sewing instruction for this dress stay tuned.

GLAMOUR UP YOUR STYLE

For me, the winter can be a bit tough to get through. I don’t like cold weather, long and warm boots, and Pantyhose neither do I like the many dark hours. I am not made to live so long at north. However, it is here I am living, so I get the best out of it.

I love to use and wear many colors. My winter wardrobe is not that colorful, and my warmest clothes are in more dark colors. However, I like to dress “loud, ” and one way is to glamour up my style in the cold month. For me, glamour is many things. I have made a short list with what I think can add glamour to the wardrobe.

1. Velvet; For me, this is the most glamorous piece of fabric. You can find some beautiful velvet here in many colors.
2. A hat or a turban. I wear turban almost every day. You can see how I tie my turban here. I also have a dream to own one of the many beautiful hats from BEHIDA DOLIC one day
3. Everything that glitters. Diamants bets it all, however, less can do. My friend Pia has this little Instagram shop with the most amazing pieces. Go check it out.
4. High heels. I know that many prefer footwear that is more practical in the wintertime. However, I dream of a pair of High heels from CHANEL. This will only be a dream I will never afford them. But look, they are some of the most fantastic pieces of boots I have ever seen
5. Fethers. There is something so magical about fathers. A father in the hair or attach to a pin to your outfit can change an outfit to something glamorouse in no time.
6. Red lips and nails. This is some of the essentisl to make a glamorues look. I always use shellak for my nails. And on my lips I like to use MAC retro matte.

MIX IT UP

One of the last summer outfits I made was this. I only used it twice before it got too cold. However, the skirt I have been wearing many times. I know it will be one of my favorite pieces to wear this winter. I have made it in a light wool, and it works so well with pantyhose. It´s made from one of the many remnants form Fabric Minds. I love those; you get such a good quality for a small amount of money.

I made the skirt from the No. 11 Malmø sewing pattern and the top from the No. 9 Rønne. Both made in blue shades. The skirt I made in a checked wool fabric and the top in silk with a Leo print. Both fabrics from fabric minds. I have added a lot of blue accessories. When you make an outfit with many colors from the same shade, you will get a monochrome look. The monochrome look will give you the opportunity to mix different patterns without looking like a Christmas tree.

That was all for today

Have a lovely day.

Best Nanna

WELCOME TO No. 12 AALBORG

WELCOME No. 12 AALBORG

Finally, it is here.

The name of the new pattern is No. 12 Aalborg. Aalborg is a city in the northern part of Denmark. It is the four largest city in Denmark, with around 110.000 people. That might give you an idea of how small Denmark is.

The pattern includes three versions. Two dresses and one shirt. I am so in love with this pattern. I love that it is so easy to wear, I feel great in it and the long sleeves makes me feel a bit safe in it.

I hope you will love it as much as I do.

The pattern is a PDF pattern only. When you buy the pattern, you get both an A4 and A0 file.

Have a lovely day

HOW TO MAKE: MY FAVORITE PAIR OF PANTS!

In this post I will show you how I make extra width in the No. 7 Vanløse Pants I showed you in this post. When sewing them, the first you have to do is to sew the pleat. For the rest you can just follow the instructions here.

Happy sewing

Nanna

1. Work only with the front piece.

• At hemline divide the measurement by two
• By the divided point draw a line with a right angel to the bottom

2. Divide the front piece in two

• Cut in the line
• By the waist ad 10 cm in width

3. Finish the pattern piece

• Draw the pleat in the waistline. Do it by marking 17 cm down in the cutline
• Draw the grainline in a right angel to the center of the bottom-line. You van not use the old grainline.

4. For belt loops and belt

• Make 6 loops and a belt with a finish measurement of 4 cm X (waist X2)

MY NEW FAVORITE PAIR OF PANTS

What do you prefer, pants or dresses?

That is a question, I think is impossible to answer. One does not exclude the other. For me it is all about the fit and style. As long as the outfit I am wearing makes me feel great and emphasizes who I am.

No matter what style you prefer you can wear both. The important thing is that you choose the right fit and silhouette. For me it is a tight shape around my waist and bum and with long and wide legs. I newer choose to go for a pair of pants that are in fashion, so some seasons my pants are in fashion and sometime they are not. However, that does not matter; I feel and look great in them.

The No. 7 Vanløse pants is my favorite pair. I have made them in many different fabrics and in many different versions. Both a sailor version, a pair of shorts and some with pin tucks. The latest pair is a pair with even more width in.

On Thursday I will show you how to make thees lovely pair of wide legged pair of pants.

Have a lovely day

Best Nanna 

ONE MORE DRESS FOR THE SEWING BUCKET LIST 2017

In the beginning of this year, I made a challenge for myself. I made a list of clothes I want to make this year. You can see the full list here. It seems like the challenges itself is not that big. The big challenge it to get the pictures taken.

For me the visual expression is so important and therefor I put a lot of effort into getting the pictures taken. Beside the obvious, the clothes. I have to decide for the styling, find the right location and of course a photographer. One that understand my esthetics and what I think is a good picture. The easiest would be if I could take the pictures myself but I am playing around as the model so that is not a possibility ;)

This means that I am so behind with getting the pictures taken. However, here I will show you one of the 12 dresses I have to make this year, according to my list:)

Have a lovely day 

Love Nanna

• shoes: ZARA
• Sunglasses: Sunday someware
• Basket and belt: vintage
• Hress: homemade from No. 1 Dragør and No. 8 Svaneke

JEWELERY FOR LIFE

I am quit a collector. I have a soft spot for two things. Shoes and jewelry. Shoes I always buy from new. With Jewelry it is a whole other story.

I Love the sparkling rhinestone and of course diamonds, the luxurious feeling of gold and the beautiful crafted silver. The jewelry I buy is either the sparkling costume ones or more classical quality jewels. I really like the Danish silver design from the 1940s and 1950s. My latest buy are this silver earrings from Herman Siersbøl. Two years ago, I saw a pair just like these in an antique store and fell in love. I went home to think about it. When I went back a couple of days later, they ware sold. This Friday I was scrolling through Instagram and then they was there. This time I did not think about it. I bought them right away. Now they are mine. I hope that they will be my daughters someday and that she will be as happy about them as I am.

HOW TO MAKE: A FLORAL DREAM

A while ago I showed you this dress . In this blogpost you will get a guide on how to combine the two sewing patterns No. 5 Århus and No. 6 København.

Have a lovely day

Best wishes Nanna

1. Work with the back piece of No. 5 Århus version 1 (Pattern piece A)

• Extend the waist at side seam by 1 cm. and end in 0 under arm
• Move the small dart parallel towards the CB with 1 cm

You will need:

• Fabric width 110 cm
  • Size EU34-48/ UK 6-20 / US 2-16 3.2 mtr.
• Fabric width 140 cm
  • Size EU34-48/ UK 6-20 / US 2-16 2.2 mtr.
• Interfacing 20 cm
• Invisible zipper 35 cm
• Thread 

Fitting:

I recommend that you always make a muslin before you cut the fashion fabric, to make sure your finished garment will fit you perfectly. Find the fitting guide here and here.

Cutting:

Each pattern piece is marked with a capital letter. On the cutting layout plan, you’ll find the same capital letters so that you can easily see which pattern pieces to use for the
version you’ve chosen

Sewing:

• Finish the raw edges of all side seams on both bodice and skirt.
• Finish the CF seam at Bodice.

Sew the skirt for No. 6

• Sew from point 5 to point 17

Sew with the bodice of No. 5

• Sew from point 11 to point 30

 

A FLEA MARKET TREASURE

Summer is my favorite time of the year. There is so many nice (“hyggelig” is the Danish word, but there is no explanation for that in English) flea markets.

One thing is all the small market places another is all the trips to visit friends in their summer houses. Some weeks ago we went to Tisvilde, a small town north of Copenhagen and there was a flea market with a lot of good stuff. When I go to a flea market I always have a mental list, however I also try to go with the flow.  

At this market, I found one of the thing I had on my list. Ever since I saw Downtown abbey I have dream of a shawl with embroidery and long fringes. You know, the one you can drape over your shoulder, and puff, you look innocent and mysterious at the same time. I found just the right silk shawl in the right color and with a flower embroidery. Now I just need a warm summer evening.

A FLORAL DREAM

Okay, this dress is an absolutely favorite dress. I love everything about it! The tight shirt, the short sleeve and the collar on the bodice. If you know my sewing patterns you have probably spotted that this dress in a combination of no. 5 Århus and No. 6 København.

This is just a little teaser. I will show you how to make this combination soon

Fabric: Fabric minds

Shoes: ZARA

WELCOME

Hallo and welcome to howtodofashion.com

A couple of month ago I decided to split up my website into a DK and a COM. Therefore, for the last month I have been working on the .com site. This site will only be in English. English is not my native languish so bare with me if there is some grammar or spelling mistakes, however if I repeating the same mistake please let me know. Then I can do better.

Now it´s done and I hope you will enjoy it. Please let me know if something does not work and I will fix it.

Best Nanna

SHIRT WITH FRILL

 from the photo shoot with The red dotted outfit
Pia Storm has a frill detail on the placket. Here I will show how you make it.

 You follow the sewing instructions to point 9. Do the following and then continue with the rest of the sewing instruction.

1. You need to make an extra pattern piece for the frill

• Make a pattern piece with the measurement 70 cm X 7 cm
• Cut out 4 pieces of this pattern piece. I have used two different kind of fabric to give a more layered effect; the top layer is a chiffon. But you can also use the same fabric for all pieces

2. Time to sew.

• Hem all frill parts, on one of the long sides. Use this technique.
• Take two of the frill pieces (chiffon) and cut 1 cm off the long raw edge
• Place the narrow part on top off the wide part and gather the frill so it will fit the bodice front edge.
• Place one frill piece on each side of the front piece and sew.