My Cutie Pies

Just wanna show you some photos of my cutees :)

Three photos below were taken 2 months ago, in Rafif's playgroup celebration of Kartini Day. Zakiyya has not attended any playgroup yet. She was just there to accompany her brother and to play in its vast playground







This another three was taken at Ragunan Zoo last week

A Snail Mail for Elke

I joined an e-course, Raining Umbrellas, by Vicki Dvorak, a month ago. It was full of fun and totally refreshened my creative side. And the biggest point is I have a lot of friends from another side of the world.

At the end of the course, Vicki arranged a "handmade gift-exchange". She divided her students into several pairs, and asked each of them to send a handmade gift to another. I was paired with Elke, from Germany. I didn't have any idea of what she likes, except nature, photography and dogs. I was not good at photography, and I couldn't paint dogs, so I guessed that "nature" was my only chance

Then I found a very nice and beautiful fabric lied in my fabric shelf. It was included in this post. I decided to make a handbag similar to this bag, sent it away two weeks ago, and hoped that it would arrive safely in Elke's hands.

And this morning, I opened my facebook, and saw a notification from Elke. I read it and was surprised by the fact that my bag has arrived at Elke's home. This is my bag, in two pictures taken by Elke :





Oh my, she is a talented photographer, isn't she. My bag looks thousand times better in her photograph :D

If you want to make a similar bag, I used this "Dewdrop Handbag PDF Sewing Pattern" from Keyka Lou Patterns as my guide



Keyka Lou is my favorite bag designer. I even collect her patterns. Here are some of my favorites - click each rectangle if you want to know more about it




Image Credits :
Rose-y dewdrop handbag photos by Elke Vogelsang
Keykalou products' photographs by Keyka Lou

This post has been linked up to some of these link parties

Sewing Freebies : Japanese Magazine Scans

How can I not love those freebies ? Real gems. Found those free scans of japanese sewing & DIY magazines/books at this link

For more japanese magazine scans, find them at jmagazinescans blog or Zasshiko website

A sneak peek of Pochee magazine :

DIY Sweet Girl Clothing :

Act and Change : Tatiana Vidi

Hi, people who loves sew ! Time to "Act and Change" today ! This time I introduce you to Mrs. Tatiana Vidi, who had written three famous sewing books in Indonesia, in "Asyiknya Menjahit" series. I guess most of my Indonesian readers have known about her. Her amazing sewing books portfolio includes "Pretty in Pink", "Beautiful Blouse", and "Little Black Dress"


I never find any sewing book in Indonesia that has instructions as clear and easy as Tatiana Vidi's. Her instructions can be followed by the most novice seamstress. She didn't include any sewing pattern in her book, though. You must draw and create it yourself. But, by following her instructions, drawing your own pattern is so easy ! She assures that even a beginner can sew a cute dress or blouse under 4 hours

Here is my interview with Mrs. Vidi (that's how I call her) few months ago (I'm so sorry,it is in Bahasa Indonesia ^_^)

1. Sebagian besar pecinta jahit-menjahit di Indonesia pasti sudah mengenal Mbak Tatiana Vidi. Boleh bercerita sedikit tentang hal-hal yang belum diketahui orang tentang Anda ? misalnya tentang cita-cita masa kecil Anda ?

Cita cita masa kecil saya ..... pengeeen banget jadi arsitek, kayanya keren ya duduk gambar di meja yang besar, trus nanti maunya kerja bangun gedung-gedung yang indah.

2. Boleh sharing bagaimana buku Anda bisa diterbitkan oleh Gramedia ?

Awalnya saya memang menerbitkan buku Beautiful Blouse dengan biaya sendiri. Saya cetak 1000 eks lalu saya jual online melalui website saya (sekarang sudah mati) dan sebagai buku panduan murid murid les menjahit saya.

Sepupu saya mantan wartawan yang kemudian menjadi penulis buku masakan, Fajar Ayuningsih banyak membantu saya dalam menerbitkan buku pertama saya, karena dia memang sudah banyak menerbitkan buku melalui Gramedia.
Setelah buku pertama saya cetak edar,memang lebih mudah masuk ke Gramedia. Pihak Gramedia kemudian mengkontrak saya untuk membuat 3 buku .



3. Sebenarnya apa alasan utama yang mendorong Anda untuk menulis buku tentang menjahit ?

Alasan utama karena banyaknya permintaan dari teman teman saya untuk diajari mejahit yang cepat dan langsung bisa pakai untuk diri sendiri. Banyak teman teman saya yang ingin sekali bisa menjhait lalu mereka ikut kursus menjahit, tetapi sudah 2-3 bulan belum bisa bikin baju baru bikin pola kecil kecil dengan skala 1/4, akhirnya mereka bosan.

Kemudian saya mulai mengajar beberapa teman dekat saya dengan cara saya sendiri dan menurut mereka cara saya mengajar amat mudah dan gampang diikuti. Akhirnya saya coba coba bikin buku panduan menjahit step by step yang dilengkapi foto, seperti buku masak yang luar biasa banyak dan bagus bagus itu.



4. Apa tantangan terbesar Anda dalam menulis buku menjahit ?

Tantangan terbesar .... tidak ada buku sejenis yang bisa dipakai sebagai refensi dan untuk di contek !
Jadi saat pertama mau membuat buku tutorial menjahit ini saya benar benar tidak tahu apa yang harus saya tulis. Padahal begitu banyak yang ingin saya kemukakan.
Akhirnya saya beli beberapa buku pola dan buku menjahit. Tetapi buku buku itu tidak ada cara menjahitnya, kebanyakan hanya cara membuat pola. Dan itu juga cukup sulit dipahami kalau hanya dengan membaca saja

Langkah pertama saya adalah memilih model apa yang akan saya buat, setelah itu saya kembangkan polanya menjadi beberapa model. Setelah itu saya membuat pola, dan cara saya membuat pola tidak sama dengan buku buku lainnya. Cara saya lebih mudah dan pasti enak dipakainya.

Selanjutnya langkah yang paling sulit, membuat step by step setiap langkah menjahit. Dengan bantuan teman saya yang baik Adli Novia (nino), kami membuat "kanvas untuk pemotretan" yang sangat membantu dan bisa mendapatkan hasil yang saya inginkan.
Setelah semua bahan bahan dan foto lengkap saya serahkan ke desain grafis Nino untuk dibuatkan bukunya.
Dan hasilnya, buku pertama saya ... Beautiful Blouse

Buku kedua dan ketiga, Little Black Dress dan Pretty in Pink, lebih mudah pembuatannya karena saya sudah mempunyai konsep dan cara membuatnya mengikuti buku pertama




5. Buku anda penuh dengan foto-foto tutorial step by step, wow !! Sebenarnya menghabiskan waktu berapa lama untuk menulis satu buku ?

Untuk satu buku foto step by step nya dengan fotografer profesional bisa memakan waktu 3 hari penuh dari jam 9 sampai jam 9 malam ! Tetapi sebelum pemotretan dengan fotografersaya mencoba dulu setiap langkah dengan kamera pocket saya dan itu bisa memakan waktu sebulan ... hi hi ... Kadang kadang saya ketemu jalan buntu, pengennya nerangin step tertentu, tapi kok fotonya berbicara lain. Jadi memang harus di kerjakan pelan pelan, karena itu tadi, tidak ada buku referensinya



6. Di Indonesia, jarang sekali ditemukan buku menjahit yang simpel, menarik & disertai pola. Menurut Mbak, kriteria buku tutorial menjahit yang baik dan menarik itu apa saja ?

Kalau menurut saya, kriterianya :
1. Bahasanya harus mudah di mengerti terutama untuk para pemula
2. Dilengkapi dengan step by step, dan foto untuk lebih jelasnya. Karena ini kan bentuknya buku, dan menjahit tidak semua orang pernah melakukannya
3. Pola jangan yang terlalu rumit
4. Modelnya juga jangan terlalu kuno. Banyak buku menjahit modelnya sudah tidak uptodate lagi


7. Banyak orang berkata "Menjahit itu susah & butuh waktu". Bagaimana menurut Anda ?

Sebenarnya menjahit tidak susah. Mudah dan menyenangkan menurut saya, kalau ada panduannya yang mudah.
Memang selama ini buku mejahit menerapkan cara-cara yang rumit kalau untuk pemula. Sedangkan kebanyakan wanita hanya ingin bisa yang simpel saja, tidak kebanyakan model

Dengan panduan buku seri "asyiknya menjahit" menjahit tidak lagi susah, tetapi menyenangkan dan membuat teman-teman ingin bikin lagi. Terbukti kalau ikut les menjahit di tempat saya dalam waktu hanya 3-4 jam sudah selesai membuat blus, dan bisa langsung dipakai.
Bisa diintip di FB asyiknya menjahit

8. Buku-buku Anda telah menginspirasi banyak orang di seluruh Indonesia. Apakah harapan dan saran Anda bagi orang-orang yang baru menekuni dunia jahit-menjahit ?

Jangan cepat putus asa, karena menjahit adalah ketrampilan. Semakin sering dicoba maka akan semakin trampil

Thank you Mrs. Vidi for this nice interview. How about you now ? Have you feel thrilled ?

And I almost forget to state that Mrs. Vidi also teach a one-day sewing class. You can contact her using facebook. Or maybe we can ask her to teach us in a sewing meet-up ? That won't free of charge, but that will be fun ! Anyone interested ?

Photographs of the books by Citra
Images on the book are Tatiana Vidi's intellectual properties

Thank you Puriii.....!!

Finally, I really won something from a giveaway. I won twice from two contests (from Elsa) but never win anything from a randomly-picked giveaway, ha ha ha...

Thank you so much Puriii, for choosing me as one of the winners of your Cute Ruu giveaway

Leela Dresses by Elsa

Have anyone finished the Leela Dress ?

Elsa from Yellow Life has ! Just look at these adorable pics ! And the surprise was, she made not just one, but two dresses !

If you don't know who is this cute little toddler, she is Dija, Elsa's nephew. She's a famous baby blogger

Here is the first dress : (She used green plaid fabric, green flower fabric, and brown striped fabric)


The second dress is in orange and blue tones :


All of her dresses are reversible, so actually Dija gets four new dresses :D



I love you Dija, and Elsa too *smooocchies*
To see other photoshots, go to Elsa's Yellow Life blog

Image credits : Elsa (Yellow Life)

Sertyan's Balloon Dress

My friend Sertyan from Malaysia made this gorgeous balloon dress for her little princess, from my tutorial

Can you tell me how cute is she ?



Go over Sertyan's Sewing Corner and check out her Balloon Dress post and photoshot

Image credit : Quek Sertyan (Sertyan's Sewing Corner)

My Pinterest : Colors for Summer

My latest favorite album on Pinterest : Yellow and Aqua. Just think of making summer clothes for my kids using this gorgeous color pallete. Just click on each picture to arrive at its link source


Color pallete is created using PHOTOCOPA by Colourlovers.com

Leela Dress Part 3 : Assembling and Finishing

Finally, we arrive at the last part of Leela Dress Sew Along. New readers may follow the previous steps here :
Part 1 : Drafting your own Leela Dress patterns
Part 2 : Cutting

What is next ? Let see... hmm.. we had our pieces been cut. Now prepare your fusible interfacing, and trace the shaded parts of the patterns - I had mentioned them in the last photo of this post

How to trace the fusible interfacing ==> Fold your fusible interfacing right side together, pin them and trace your shaded part on the wrong side. Do not add seam allowance, and cut them. You will have a pair of fusible interfacing.

You must cut 2 pairs of fusible interfacing for two front pieces and another 2 for your back pieces.

Now iron them into their places. If you do it right, you will have these pieces : (It is one pair of front and back pieces - you need to have two pair of those pieces - in my case, that means a pair from blue & green fabric, and another pair from blue and dark pink fabrics)

Meet one pair of your front and back pices. Meet them at the side seams. Pin and sew. Just make sure that the hemlines of those pieces meet :

Repeat previous step for another pair of front and back pieces :

- Turn one pair right side out, so the right side is on the front. Insert it into the other pair, so their right side will meet. Again, make sure their hemlines and sleeves-line meet.
- Pin along the neckline along to sleeve, from front to back or vice versa
- Sew along the seamline continuously (in the picture, you will see some arrows in the green line -- that's how I sew, by following the direction of the arrows)

Backstitch to secure your seams, and trim seam allowance carefully :

Turn your dress right side out. I pressed it by pulling the right side from the bottom of the dress that had not been sewn. Be careful for the corners and press the bodice, oops.. we don't have the bodice, do we ? LOL. I mean the top part of the dress. It is almost done, so be patient :)

Topstitch along the front and back neckline and shoulder at 1/8 inch. You can choose not to topstitch, it is totally up to you. But by top-stitching, we will have a neat piece, so why don't we do it?

How about the hem? Well,it almost become the most forgotten part of this tutorial, luckily it doesn't.
Fold the hem once wrongside-wards along the hemline and press :

Pin along the hemline and topstitch about 1/8 inch from the edge

BUTTONS :

Press the top part once more and prepare your buttonhole maker. Let's make three button holes at each sleeves. You can depend on my photo below if you still confuse where you must make them. I don't have any certain measurements guide for the button hole. I just put the first button hole (the closest one to the neckline) 2 cm from the neckline, and the last one approximately (also) 2 cm from the shoulder

NOTE : You can do this step BEFORE sewing the hemline

And then, sew the buttons !
- the thinner the buttons, the better

Finally, we finish the dress !! XD
If you want to make this dress, what fabric you would like to use ?
Do you have any better idea on how to sew the buttons ? If you have any, please share with us by leaving a comment below

p.s : I would love to feature your finished Leela Dress in this blog. Just let me know what you create, by sending your images via email, leaving your project link in my comment section, or adding it into my flickr pool (if you have any flickr account)

Sponsor Love : Dans La Lune

Let me postpone my third part of the Leela Dress sew-along and let me introduce you to Dans la lune, my lovely sponsor. Dans la lune is a brain-child of Yasuko, one of my favorite children pattern designer. You can meet Yasuko creation on Dans la lune' online shop and etsy shop

The good news is, she has patterns for boys, how lucky ! She also sells some of her children clothing too. Her design is simple and clean, and so are her color choices on her clothings.

Image source : click at each square

Image source : click at each square

Thank you so much, Dans la lune, for sponsoring Innocentia