in the mail: HOME SEWN

Last night my copy of HOME SEWN (from the NZ Fashion Museum) arrived, well the card to say that it was down at the post office arrived; so this morning I raced down to the post office to pick it up.  As soon as I got into the car I ripped open the packing and started flipping through the patterns. 

The book is about the same size as a Japanese pattern book and comes with ten free patterns. In one size only.  And each pattern is a different size with no obvious consistency.. which is a bit strange, but all the patterns are pretty simple and not overly fitted so I don't think they would be too hard to adjust.  

The book is divide into 3: a history of home sewing in NZ, profiles plus a pattern from ten NZ fashion designers (including the Miss Chalmers Skirt from Papercut Patterns) and a 'how to ...' at the back also written by Papercut Patterns.

Now for the designs, here are some of my favourites:
I really like this one, although it's now really my style... but you never know!

A cute little skirt which I might make.

A cute little top which looks sooo super easy. This I will definitely make when I'm looking for a quick bit of sewing gratfication.

 I think I'll make this top too.  I can see it working winter or summer.
This dress - the feature on the front is probably the most interesting of all the designs. I'll be keeping this in the back of my mind. I don't have an occasion to make this yet, but again, you never know.

If I'd seen this book in a shop and had a chance to flick through the patterns, rather than just buying blind over the internet I probably would have still bought it.  It has a lovely aesthetic, it supports NZ fashion and there are enough patterns in there to keep me interested. Usually if I make one pattern from a book I think that's a good buy, although that is probably a low benchmark! I've certainly spent $40 on less interesting pattern books and having the Miss Chalmers Skirt in it is definitely a bonus.


5 comments:

  1. Oooh, what a nice book! That papercuts skirt looks ace! I love its simple silhouette but cute gathering/yoke stylings. Look forward to seeing what you make from them xxx

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  2. Thanks for reviewing this book - I'm still not sure whether I should pick it up. What sizes are the patterns (dimensions) and is there a pattern summary or line diagrams etc?

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  3. The papercut skirt is in 4 sizes and one tshirt is in 3 sizes, but the rest are only one and they vary. Some are size 10 and some medium and one 12. Even the 10's have different dimensions.. for eg: the sugar tee which I just made is for bust 87, waist 67, hips 94; whereas the abstract top has hips 97cm. The instructions are simple steps. A bit like the Japanese pattern books.

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  4. Cool thanks! Just went and bought it. Also bought a grading book (I already had one-which I spent two weeks without groceries for XD but that was in Imperial not Metric and it was doing my head in XP..) so this'll be a good way to test the instructions in the grading book. XD
    Thanks for all the info by the way, it helped me in making my decision to purchase. Something tells me I'm going to get a lot more out of this book than I did out of either the Collete or Burda books (nothing sewn from either). Not even bothering with the Gertie book-they all seemed aimed at beginners and vintage loving indie chicks XD

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  5. I really hope so and that this too doesnt go into that pile! I agree with you on the other books that I havent seen anything I would make yet.

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