How the hack did you do that? @tendre_harmonie_by_solenn and her #Zahia

SOLENN

My name is Solenn and I'm the mother of 2 little boys. In 2020, a friend introduced me to sewing and I fell in love with her creations. So I took the plunge and a new passion was born! It was the start of hours of intense and fascinating learning on each project. What I love about sewing is that you can take a piece of fabric and turn it into something wonderful. I also love upcycling because of the challenge of making something out of what we already have. I'm doing it more and more because I think it adds creativity to creativity, a story to a sewing project and what's more, it's eco-friendly! I've joined the lovely sewing Instagram community and share my creations under the handle @Tendre_Harmonie_by_solenn. ???? 

SOLENN & HER BLOG 

Tendre Harmonie is a nod to my children, with the T in Tom and the H in Hugo. I was looking for a name that would include them, that would be gentle and at the same time adaptable to all my sewing. The aeroplane in the logo is a nod to my history and that of my husband, as we're big fans of travelling and our story began alongside aeroplanes... 

SOLENN & FIBRE MOOD

I discovered Fibre Mood through the Norma pattern. I immediately loved the world in which I recognised myself through the simple, feminine shapes of the patterns. I spent many a night dreaming of Norma! I saw Norma everywhere, so much so that I started my first hack with this pattern (Norma dress & sweater).  The quality of the Fibre Mood explanations is very reassuring for gradually increasing the difficulty. In fact, the 2 sewing projects I'm most proud of are the Frida jacket and my latest hack ... Zahia!   

SOLENN & HER ZAHIA HACK

I fell in love with the Zahia pattern while leafing through the magazine N°25. I loved everything about it: the shape, the sky-blue velvet fabric and the style! I started by making a quick toile and as I tried on the top of the dress, I realised that in jacket mode it was really cool too! I immediately imagined it in jeans and set myself the challenge of making it from my husband's old jeans. I made a few sketches to work out the colour scheme and off I went! Being tall, I added a few centimetres to the arms. I didn't touch the length of the bust to keep the cropped jacket look that sets it apart from other denim jackets. I simply finished off the design at the waistband markings. An ultra accessible hack! 

SOLENN & HER LOVE OF HACKS 

For me, hacking is a way of getting to grips with pattern making by taking a closer look at patterns to understand how they are put together. I admire stylists/designers makers who make ideas come to life. The desire to be able to create my own one day led me to take a course to learn the basics of pattern making. In a way, hacking is my own personal pattern-making. 

SOLENN & HER ADVICE 

If I had one piece of advice for beginner seamstresses who find a spark with sewing, it would be to dare! Progress comes enormously from practising more complex things. Personally, I never look at the level of difficulty, because when you like a pattern, you enjoy doing it, for hours if you have to. ???? And what a satisfaction it is to be finished! You can also take advantage of the sewing community, which shares its advice and creations via the hashtags created by the brands... an inexhaustible source of inspiration! 

SOLENN & HER NEXT PROJECTS 

My next fibre mood projects will most certainly be the Eza and Soraya tops.

Also want to get started with these patterns? Share your creation via the website or on Instagram with the hashtag #FibreMood + the name of the pattern.