Hi! My name is Elske van der Sluis (bij_els) and I live with my husband and four children in a small village in Friesland. I work as a visual education teacher at a secondary school, which is where I can put a lot of my creativity! I also like to paint, but most of my free time is spent behind my sewing machine... so I also sew a lot for my family.
Where did the name "bij_els" come from? And why did you choose it?
I chose my insta name bij_els because I am a real busy bee... (bij is also Dutch for bee) … I prefer to make everything myself, and I just can't sit on the couch. In my visual work I use beeswax ... so you already understand that the name bij_els fits perfectly! (Not to mention the bee on my sewing machine and my breakfast every morning with a bun with honey ;-)) I also try to stay close to myself, to Els(ke), by sewing only what I really like and can use. That way I try to put together a sustainable closet for myself and my family with all my favourite items!
How long have you been sewing?
I started sewing bags and ruffles behind my mother's sewing machine as a child. I taught myself to sew and by just doing, I keep learning new techniques. When I was 22, I sewed my own wedding dress. I am still proud of that. At that time I sewed almost without patterns, but that has changed now. The Fibremood patterns teach me many new techniques and tricks, because everything is very well explained with lots of pictures. I am a visual person so that is ideal for me!
Why did you choose this pattern from the Special n°2?
I chose the Dahlia because I could use a nice pair of shorts for summer. The pattern caught my eye because of the pleats in the front, and I really liked the wider legs.
I immediately thought of a beautiful linen fabric for this project. I often get a picture in my head, but I am also very much into trying things out and seeing how something turns out. Therefore, I am not afraid to unpick something and redo it until it is to my liking.
Have you made any adjustments, and which ones?
I started by measuring to determine where I wanted the waistband to be. I wanted it a little lower and looser than on the sample. Based on the size chart, I decided to make Dahlia two sizes larger. A bit exciting, but I thought. better too big than too small ;-)
I made the pleats according to pattern... one big pleat on each side. In the end, I found that didn't drape so nicely because of my fabric choice; the pleats didn't press well into the linen fabric. The solution was to make it into two smaller pleats. The fabric is better distributed that way, and I found that draped better.
Though I really liked the hemlines at the bottom, I was afraid that, again because of the fabric choice, this wasn't going to work.... I had the image of a kind of trouser skirt in my head. Therefore, I lengthened the legs about 12 inches and omitted the hem bands. I didn't decide on this until I had the shorts otherwise completely finished.
To finish off the shorts, I put belt loops on the shorts, and made a belt out of the same linen. I used a buckle from a belt I had lying around.
Do you have another golden tip for beginning Sewistas regarding this pattern?
My tip really is: measure where you want the waistband to be! The tables in the pattern are so helpful for that!
Any Fibre Mood sewing projects on the horizon?
From the special I also made the Giti. And my Augusta dress is almost finished! Then I know I will find wonderful inspiration at the link party for the next project. I suspect that is going to be one of the children's patterns...one of the girls is up next I think :-)
Can't wait to get starten on the Dahlia shorts yourself? You can buy the pattern here.
