Kad kopiraš sopstveni stil

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Ovih dana intenzivno radim na tome da obnovim svoju garderobu. Za nekoga ko mnogo šije, i samoj mi je neobično kad se nađem pred ormanom i pomislim kako nemam šta da obučem. Međutim, realnost jeste da sam ostala bez velikog dela odeće koju sam nekada nosila - mnogo stvari se vremenom ofucalo od nošenja, neki komadi mi više nisu tako interesantni kao ranije, a usklađene kombinacije su se polako rasparile. Ne pomaže ni to što mi se telo blago promenilo, pa mi više ni omiljeni oblik i silueta ne stoje jednako dobro kao pre.
Tako sam pre par nedelja napravila veliku čistku među svojim stvarima, i pobacala ili razdelila mnoge od njih. Ako ne mogu da ih nosim, i samo zauzimaju mesto u ormanu, šta će mi?

Kada sam napravila mesto za nove stvari, zapitala sam se kakvu garderobu želim da imam. Moj stil se nije mnogo menjao tokom godina. Oduvek volim klasičnu garderobu koja prati formu tela, i koja je svedenih linija. Veoma mi se dopada odeća koja ima gotovo strogu formu nalik uniformi, ali me privlače neobični detalji i upečatljiv kroj. Takvu garderobu sam godinama pravila i u njoj se odlično osećala. I to ne želim da menjam. Ono što bih volela da postignem je da imam lepu i interesantnu a udobnu garderobu, u kojoj ne izgledam tetkasto niti infantilno, a koja je prikladna za posao.

Oduvek sam volela da nosim haljine, i verujem da u njima najbolje izgledam, mnogo bolje nego u suknjama i definitivno bolje nego u pantalonama. Međutim, nikada nisam imala mnogo zimskih haljina - uvek sam gledala da imaju rukave, a onda su mi ti rukavi bili prilično neudobni za nošenje (organičen opseg pokreta ruku; ako su 3/4 dužine, obično mi bude hladno, a ako su dugi, obično mi budu preširoki), pa sam zimi gledala da nosim suknje. Ali u suknjama sam često izgledala tetkasto. Danas mislim da je to još izraženije, što zbog novih proporcija mog tela, što zbog mojih godina.

Zato sam se odlučila za solomonsko rešenje, tj. da napravim haljine sa kratkim rukavima, ili bez rukava, koje bih nosila sa rolkama, košuljama ili majicama ispod. Kad sam uzela da smišljam detalje koje bih volela da imam na haljinama, shvatih da sam mnoge od njih već šila. A neki od njih su toliko upečatljivi, da sam sigurna da biste ih odmah prepoznali, poput ovog, ovog ili ovog. Da li bi bilo dosadno da ponovim iste detalje? Možda, ali ko bi, sem vas i mene, znao da sam iste ili slične haljine već nosila? Zato. možete očekivati da ću uskoro objaviti neke nove - stare komade.

U međuvremenu, evo još par modela koji su mi privukli pažnju, i koje bih rado šila, uz poneku izmenu. Neke od njih sigurno i hoću!

 

 

 

Povezani tekstovi

• Haljina sa faltama u obliku lista
• Origami haljina
• Mozaik haljina

When you copycat your own style

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These days I've been working on rebuilding my wardrobe. As someone who sews a lot, I find it quite unusual to stand in front of the closet thinking I have nothing to wear. But the reality is I am left without lots of the clothes I used to wear - lots of things got worn out, some pieces I don't find as attractive as I used to, and the outfits I used to wear are mismatched now. It doesn't help the fact that my body changed so the favorite shape and siluette don't fit as good as they used to.
So I made a major closet purge few weeks ago and tossed or gave away lots of my garments. I mean, if I can't wear them, and they are taking up a lot of space, what's the point in having all these clothes?

Once I made space for new stuff, I starded wondering what kind of clothes I would like to have. Well, my style hasn't changed much over the time. I've always loved classical clothes that fits, and that has a simple shape. I love the looks of uniforms, combined with unusual details and a striking pattern. That was the clothes I've been sewing for years and felt good in it. And I don't want to change that. I would like to have an interesting and comfortable wardrobe that doesn't make me look neither too matrony nor too youthful, and that is office appropriate.

I've always loved wearing dresses, as I think I look my est in them, better than in skirts, and definitely much better than in pants. However, I've never had many winter dresses - I used to make them with sleeves which always felt quite uncomfortable (they limit the hands' movement range, if they are 3/4 sleeves I am often cold, and if they are long sleeves, they are often too wide for my liking). And so I used to wear skirts at winter. But the skirts would make me look too matroney too frequently. I think even more so now, due to current body proportions and my age.

So I opted for dresses with short sleeves or no sleeves at all, which I would wear with turtlenecks or shirth beneath. I've been thinking of the details I would like to incorporate, and realiyed I have already utiliyed many of them. And some of the details are so bold, I am sure you would recognize them straight away, like this, this or this one. Would repeating the same details make my clothes kind of boring? Perhaps it would, but besides you and me who would know I had the same or similar dresses before? So there you have it - you can expect to see some old - new garments soon over here.

Menwhile, here are several more models that caught my eye and that I would love to make. Some of them i definitely will!

 

 

 

Related posts

• A dress with leaf shaped pleats
• Origami dress
• Mosaic dress

U saradnji s Elnom

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Dragi čitaoci, Štepalica je počela da evoluira kao blog, a ja se nadam da ga vodim u pravom smeru, koji će meni, kao autoru, doneti nove sjajne prilike, a vama obezbediti zanimljivo štivo za čitanje i pristup informacijama koje vam trebaju.

Pre nekog vremena me je kontaktiralo srpsko predstavništvo Elna šivaćih mašina, sa ponudom da uspostavimo saradnju koja bi svima mogla biti interesantna. Moram priznati, bila sam prilično uzbuđena zbog ovog poziva, i jedva sam čekala da čujem kakav vid saradnje su imali na umu. Osmislili smo nekoliko načina da udružimo snage, među kojima se najbrže iskristalisala ideja da testiram različite modele Elna šivaćih mašina, i pišem kritike istih ovde, na blogu. Kritike bi trebalo da vam približe različite modele iz Elna programa i daju vam sve potrebne informacije koje vam mogu zatrebati ukoliko se odlučite da sebe častite novom mašinom.

Postovi ovog tipa će biti sponzorisani, ali će njihova sadržina biti pisana iz moje vizure, i na osnovu mog iskustva tokom korišćenja modela mašine o kom pišem. Kako bih što realnije pisala o modelima, napraviću po nekoliko odevnih predmeta na svakom od njih, koristiću mašinu oko mesec dana i na osnovu toga dati svoje mišljenje i preporuku.

Meni će biti posebno interesantno da isprobavam različite modele mašina, jer sam navikla da radim na staroj mašini, koja je otprilike moja vršnjakinja, pa nemam mnogo iskustva u korišćenju novijih i savremenijih modela.

ELNA 120

Prva na redu je osnovna mašina za šivenje, model Elna 120.

Kod ove mašine me trenutno zaintrigiralo to što je veoma lagana. Naviknuta na staru, metalnu mašinu, prijalo mi je to što Elnu 120 mogu da nosim jednom rukom, što je veoma zgodno ukoliko nemate kutak za sivenje, već mašinu morate da odlažete nakon korišćenja.

Mašinu sam testirala duže vreme, tokom kog sam sašila tri košulje, dve suknje, dve haljine, kao i dekorativne zavese. Reklo bi se da sam mašinu istestirala temeljno, i koristeći sve operacije koje se najčešće upotrebljavaju.

Elna 120 ima veoma kompaktno kućiste, u kom je skriven osnovni set prateće opreme: paralica, kalemi za donji konac, papučice za rupice za dugmad, za skriveni rajsferšlus, za cik-cak bod, kao i za slepi bod, pločica za slobodan vez. Dužina, širina i vrsta boda se lako menjaju, rotiranjem odgovarajućih dugmića u potrebnom smeru.

Moram da napomenem da uz ovaj model dobijate samo jednu iglu, i to debljine 90, pa preporučujem da odmah uz mašinu dokupite i igle svih debljina.

Igla ima dva polozaja u kojim može štepati: središnji i krajnji levi položaj, što je odlično za lako određivanje širine dodataka za šavove, ali i za precizan prilaz liniji šava. Mašina podržava rad sa dva konca i duplom iglom, ali ista ne dolazi u osnovnom paketu, pa je morate dokupiti.

Mašina ima samo jedan mod brzine boda, koji se reguliše pritiskom na papučicu. Ukoliko ste početnik, ne morate da brinete, mašina štepa normalnom brzinom, a papučica je prilično osetljiva na dodir.

Odlična karakteristika ovog modela je platforma za rukav, koja omogućava lak prilaz šavu u slučaju da šijete uske cevaste oblike (poput rukava i nogavica). Nisam imala prilike da isprobam rad na platformi, ali već mogu da zamislim koliko bi mi ona olakšala krpljenje nogavica ili prišivanje zakrpa na rukavima. Bez ovog dodatka, šivenje je znatno teže, ponekad i nemoguće.

Elna 120 je izuzetno tiha (pogotovo naspram moje stare mašine), što je milina za uši prilikom rada. Mačina radi glatko, motor ima odličnu vučnu snagu, što znači da mašina može da podnese i rad sa debljim materijalima, poput teksasa. Kada sam šila suknju od debljeg kepera mašina je bez poteškoća štepala i one delove gde se preklapa po 6 slojeva materijala.

Posebno me oduševilo kako mašina sije rupice za dugmad. Postupak se obavlja u 4 jednostavna koraka, a uz korišćenje odgovarajuće papučice ste sigurni da ćete napraviti uredne i simetricne rupice za dugmad. Ukoliko i pogrešite, rupice možete relativno lako da oparate, a da pri tom ne uništite matetrijal. Moram da priznam da će mi najviše zbog ove opcije nedostajati Elna 120.

Papučica za rupice ima podesivi klizač koji određuje dužinu rupice za dugmad. Prilikom testiranja mašine shvatila sam da se klizač ne može fiksirati, zbog čega je prilično teško napraviti više rupica za dugmad tako da sve budu iste dužine. Međutim, uz malu i jednostavnu improvizaciju se i ovaj problem može rešiti, a ja vas častim tutorijalom koji će vam skratiti muke. Naime, iza klizača stavite komad šibice ili čačkalike odgovarajuće dužine, i selotejpom ga fiksirajte kako ne bi ispao. Drvce će poslužiti kao graničnik i fiksiraće klizač na mestu, a rupice za dugmad će biti identičnih dužina.

Mašina nema kofer u koji bi se mogla zapakovati, pa savetujem da je zaštitie nekom prekrivkom, koju možete i da sašijete.

Takođe, mašina stiže obilno nauljena, što je odlično za negu uređaja, ali ume i da trajno ufleka konac. Zbog toga savetujem da prvo isterstirate rad mašine na nekom komadu tkanine, koji vam ne treba, i koristeći beli konac štepate po tkanini sve dok konac ne postane snežno beo. U suprotnom se može desiti da vam mašinsko ulje ufleka i tkaninu na kojoj radite.

Uz mašinu stiže i detaljno ilustrovano uputstvo za upotrebu, na srpskom jeziku.

Sve u svemu, ova mašina je odličan izbor za sve početnike, kao i za one kojima je potrebna kvalitetna i stabilna osnovna mašina za kućnu upotrebu.

Collaboration with Elna

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Dear readers, Štepalica is evolving as a blog and I hope I'm taking it in the right direction that will bring me some great opportunities, and that will provide you some interesting and useful information.

Some time ago I was contacted by Serbian brunch of Elna, with a collaboration proposal. I have to admit I was rather excited about it and I couldn't wait for us to meet and discuss about possibilities of working together. So we thought of several ways we could join forces, but the most prominent one was having a column here on the blog, where I would write about different models of sewing machines they offer. The reviews would provide all the necessary information about numerous sewing machines that you minght find useful when buying one.

The reviews will be sponsored, but their contents will be written by me and according to my experience while using each of the machines. In order to make my writing as accurate as possible I will sew several items with each model, I will use each machine for at least a month and I will give my recommendations based on the experience I get during this time.

It will be especially interesting to me to try out the different models since I am used to working on an old machine that is almost my age, so I don't have much experience with sewing using more modern machines.

ELNA 120

The first machine in a row is a basic sewing machine model Elna 120.

What immediately intrigued me about this machine is that it's really light. I am used to the old full metal sewing machine, but it felt good being able to carry Elna 120 in one hand. This is especially conveninet when one doesn't have a sewing room and needs to frequently dismantle the machine and put it away after using it. I tested the machine during for a while, and made three shirts, two skirts, two dresses and curtains using it. I think I tested the machine thoroughly and I used all of the most commonly used operations.

Elna 120 has a very compact case which stores a basic set of equipment: seam ripper, bobins, pressing feet for sewing buttonholes, invisible zipper, serging, and blind stitching, and there is also a special plate for free motion embroidery and sewing. Stiches and their withth and length is easilly regulated by rotating corresponding buttons in the desired direction.

I have to add this machine comes with one needle only, and that's the thickest needle you can find, so I recommend buying a set of needles in all sizes.
The needle can be set in two positions: central and left, which is great for determining the width of seam allowances or for easier access to the seamline. Also, the needle has two lifting positions for thinner and thicker fabrics. The machine supports sewing with two threads and a double needle, but this needle isn't included in the basic toolbox so you need to buy one additionally.

The machine has only one mode of sewing when it comes to setting the speed. If you are a beginner, there's no need to worry about this, the machine has a normal speed of sewing and the pedal is rather touch sensitive so you'll regulate the speed quite easily. 

A great feature of this model is the sleeve arm that enables accessing a seam on narrow tubular items (like sleeves and legs). I haven't had a chance to try out the arm, but I can imagine how useful it would be when mending knee holes or attaching albow patches. Without the sleeve arm the sewing is so much more difficult and sometimes even impossible.

Elna 120 is rather quiet (especially when compared to my old machine), which is great when working. The machine runs smoothly, the engine is rther strong and can pull heavy fabrics quite easily, which makes the machine perfect for sewing thick fabrics like denim. When I was making a twill skirt, the machine ran smoothly even when stitching over 6 layers of thick twill.

What made me love this machine were the buttonholes. The sewing is done in 4 simple steps, using the special pressing foot, which enables making identical buttonholes with such an ease. Even if you make a mistake while making a buttonhole, it can be easily ripped of without destroying the fabric. I think I will miss Elna 120 mostly because of this feature.

The buttonhole pressing foot has an adjustable slider that determines the buttonhole's length. While testing the machine I realized the slider cannot be fixed in a position, which made making the buttonholes with the same length quite difficult. However, with a minor imporvisation this problem is easily resolved, so I made a short tutorial that will demonstrate my point. Place a piece of toothpick behind the slider and fix it in place using ia piece of adhesive tape. The piece of wood will serve as a stopper and will fix the slider in place, thus making the buttonholes that all have the same lenght.

The machine doesn't come with a suitcase, so I advise you to make a cover that you can make yourself.

The machine is heavily oiled, which is great for maintaining it. but the oil might stain your thread and fabric. Therefore I reocmmend testing the machine using a white thread and a piece of cloth and keep stitching until the tread becomes snow white.

The machine comes with detailed and illustrated user manual.

All in all, I think thi model is a great chioce for beginners, as well as for those who need a quality basic sewing machine for home sewing.

U potrazi za promenom

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Minulih meseci sam bila prilično tiha na blogu. Ako izuzmemo par kratkih postova koje sam napisala u maju i julu, nisam se mnogo bavila Štepalicom, i neko vreme sam osećala veliku grižu savesti zbog toga. No, i pored želje da u kontinuitetu pišem, nisam fizički uspevala da se posvetim blogovanju, pa sam napravila neplaniranu pauzu. I moram priznati da mi je jako prijala!

Tokom februara i marta sam promovisala kroj za Zlata suknju, što me prilično iscrpelo, jer sam svakodnevno pisala po dva članka (po jedan na srpskom i engleskom) sa obimnim instrukcijama za šivenje. Tokom ta dva meseca sam bila toliko uposlena, da sam često radila po 8 sati dnevno na blogu, a potom još jednu smenu radila na dnevnom poslu. Nametnula sam samoj sebi ritam koji sam jedva uspevala da ispratim.

Paralelno s tim, na dnevnom poslu mi je postajalo sve teže i teže, i bilo je dana kada sam se jedva nosila s pritiskom koji sam osećala. Nisam nikako uspevala da se odmorim, i počela sam da vapim za promenom, koja bi mi olakšala život i umanjila stres. Nisam ni slutila da me promena (zapravo, više njih) čeka iza ćoška.

Maziću je, paziću je, i zvaću je Đole

Prvi, krajnje neplaniran, novitet nas je zadesio tokom kratkog puta u Crnu Goru. Išli smo na more početkom maja, ali nas vreme nikako nije poslužilo - bilo je ledeno hladno i padala je kiša, pa smo tražili razonodu obilazeći crnogorsko priobalje. Tokom jednog od izleta, na magistralnom putu smo primetili malu krznenu lopticu, koju smo zamalo pregazili kolima. Zaustavili smo se da pogledamo šta je to, i shvatili da pred nama leži mače staro svega par dana. Bilo je potpuno bespomoćno, musavo i gladno, a mame mačke nije bilo u blizini. Ko zna kako je ovaj mališa završio na putu, i koliko automobila ga je pukom srećom zaobišlo?

U sekundi smo rešili da povedemo sa sobom i zbrinemo malecno mače. Kod veterinara smo se raspitali o tome kako i čime da ga hranimo, svesni da je mala šansa da će preživeti bez majke i majčinog mleka. Međutim, mačence je bilo veliki borac, a mi veoma uporni, pa je brzo raslo i napredovalo. Nazvali smo ga Đole, ubeđeni da je mužjak, da bismo par meseci kasnije shvatili da je zapravo ženka :).

Budući da je bila tako mala kada samo je našli, prvih mesec dana smo imali pune ruke posla oko nje - hranili smo je na svaka dva sata i danju i noću, morala je stalno da bude ušuškana kako joj ne bi bilo hladno. Kada je počela da lunja po stanu, imali smo problem da je spazimo, onako malu, jer se potpuno stopila sa žutim nameštajem i oker parketom.

Đole je porasla u pravu lepoticu. Jako je živahna, razigrana i veoma voli da grize! Sada ima pet meseci i vrlo je pametna. Nikada ranije nisam imala kućnog ljubimca, a sada ne mogu da zamislim dan bez naše riđokose čigre. Đole je, baš kao i ja, raspamećena krojevima, tkaninama i pozamanterijom, pa se u kući redovno vodi bitka oko šivaće mašine.

Beograd - Stokholm

Drugo, opet neplanirano, iznenađenje usledilo je po povratku iz Crne Gore. U to vreme, moj dnevni posao je kulminirao sa zahtevima. Neko vreme sam morala da radim prekovremeno, čak i vikendima, kako bih uspela da ispratim ritam koji se od mene zahtevao. Dodatno me je iscrpljivalo i čudno radno vreme - radila sam od 12 - 20, zbog čega nisam nikako uspevala da organizujem ono malo slobodnog vremena koje sam imala na raspolaganju.

Par puta mi je palo na pamet da potražim novi posao, ali nisam ništa konkretno preduzela po tom pitanju. Ispostavilo se da je posao našao mene - neobičnim spletom okolnosti sam dobila ponudu da pređem u drugu firmu, sa evropskim radnim vremenom i humanijim uslovima rada. Nestrpljivo sam čekala sredinu avgusta, kada je trebalo da zvanično pređem na novo radno mesto.

Odmah po prelasku u novu firmu, otišla sam službeno u Stokholm, gde sam provela dve i po nedelje. Nažalost, nemam ni jednu sliku sa puta na kojoj sam ja, ali uz ovakve razglednice mislim da bi bile suvišne.

Novi posao me preporodio i rešio stresa, pa se nadam da će mi dati dovoljno vremena da se bavim šivenjem i krojevima kako sam i planirala. Ruku na srce, vratila sam se u Beograd pre dva meseca, a do sada nisam ništa pisala, ali trebalo mi je malo vremena da se u potpunosti adaptiram na novi ritam rada. Trenutno mi je najveći izazov postalo slikanje, jer se uporno mimoilazim sa D. koji je u poslednje dve godine moj fotograf. No, naći ću neko rešenje koje neće pokvariti kvalitet slika, jer imam dosta stvari da vam pokažem.

Pored pomenutih, čeka me još nekoliko noviteta, o kojima ću uskoro pisati. Takođe, ostala sam dužna i vama i drugarici da završim haljinu sa čvorom, pa se nadam da ću uskoro i nju moći da vam pokažem. 

Looking for a change

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I've been rather quiet last few months. If I don't count several short posts I wrote back in May and June, I haven't blogged much and I've been feeling guilty about it. However, even though I wanted to keep writing, I haven't had the time to actively blog so I made an unplanned break from it. And I must admit I enjoyed it!

During February and March I promoted the Zlata skirt pattern, which exhausted me a lot, as I wrote two articles per day (one in English and the other in Serbian) with detailed sewing instructions. During the two months I was so busy I worked 8 hours a day on the blog, and then worked another shift at my day job. I kept the rhythm I barely could follow.

Along with promoting the pattern, my day job became more and more stressful, and there were days when I would barely handle the pressure. I couldn't get rest and I started striving for a change that would make my life easier and less stressful. I never thought the change (or should I say - few of them) would wait for me around the corner.

I will love it and squeeze it and call it George

The first change came unexpectedly during our short trip to Montenegro. D. and I went to the sea at the beginning of May, but the weather was rather cold and rainy. So, instead of swimming and sunbathing, we spent time sightseeing across the seashore. During one of the excursions we noticed a small furry ball at the highway that we almost run over. We stopped to take a look at it and realized it was a tiny little kitten few days old. It was completely helpless, all dirty and hungry, and it's mom couldn't be found anywhere. Who knows how this little thing ended up on the road and how many cars run by it?

It took us a second to decide to take the kitten with us and take care of it. We informed at the vet's on how to feed it, knowing there was a good chance the kitten would not survive without his mom's milk. However, this little mouse was a great fighter and we were very persistent, so the kitten grew fast. We called it Djole (Serbian equal to Geourge), as we were sure the kitten was male, but few months later we realized it was actually a female :).

Since she was so tiny when we found her, the first few months were busy with feeding her every two hours by day and night. We also had to keep her warm and tucked in all the time. Once she started wondering around the flat, we had a problem spotting her as she blended in with the yellow furniture and the khaki flooring.

Djole grew up into a true beauty. She's very playful and boy she likes to bite! She's six months old now, and she is a smart cat. I've never had a pet before, but now I can't imagine a day without my red-furred whirl. Djole is, like myself, thrilled by patterns, notions and fabrics, and we fight a lot over the sewing machine.

Belgrade - Stockholm

The second surprise came after we came home from Montenegro. At the time, my day job became very stressful. I frequently worked overtime hours, sometimes even during the weekends, trying to keep up with the work demands. I was additionally exhausted by the odd working hours, as I worked from 12AM - 8PM, which made organizing my free time almost impossible.

I did think of changing the job, but I never made a move in that direction. As it turned out, the job found me - I was offered to switch the company which had European working hours and better work conditions. I waited for the mid of August impatiently, as that was the time I officially started working there.

I went to a business trip to Stockholm, Sweden, shortly after I started working, and I stayed there 16 days. Unfortunately I don't have any pictures with me on them, but with such nice landscapes, who needs any other pics?

The new job came as a salvation and I hope it will provide enough time to get back to sewing and pattern drafting. I did  come back from Stockholm two months ago and haven't written anything yet, but it took some time to adapt to a new rhythm. Currently, the greatest challenge is taking photos, as D. and I keep working in opposite shifts, and he has been my photographer in the last two years. But I'll find some solution that will work, as I have a lot of new stuff to show you.

Along with the changes I mentioned, there are some other new things I will talk about soon. Also, I owe you and my friend to finish the knotted dress, so I hope I'll have some new photos to show you soon.