Creating and sharing unique, blog-worthy, Instagram-ready garments to inspire others – the sew & blog combo is totally in. And since the number of Sewist(a) bloggers only continues to grow, Fibre Mood regularly features a Sewist(a) with the unique pattern hack they’ve come up with for one of our Fibre Mood patterns. This month, you get to meet Saskia from @saskialecluse and her #Harmony pattern hack.
Hey there, my name is Saskia! I’ve been around for 44 years now, and for 44 years I’ve had a creative yen just looking for a way to get out and paint the town. When I was little, the sound of my mum’s fabric scissors would send me into a flurry of excitement. And I was ready to find out how to tame that old-fashioned sewing machine whatever it took.
During my teenage years, that yen took a back seat to my inner social butterfly, when I was always out and about exploring the wide world. I absolutely have to be surrounded by folk I can bounce ideas off of and chat with. Mix those two traits together, and you’ll have no trouble understanding how I was born for the expanded sewing community! But those sewing lessons continue to be the highlight of every week, too – going on 14 years now!
My sewing projects have been up on my Instagram account for the past few years, @saskialecluse, and I also ran an active blog for several years at issews.blogspot.com. But that’s been on the back burner for ages.
It wouldn’t be wrong to say that Fibre Mood transformed my personal hobby into a family affair. Every time I get to preview Fibre Mood’s latest patterns, I have to schedule a powwow with my two teenage daughters. The girls browse through and pick things out, but they leave the rest to me. The gears in my head whir a few days on overtime until it all takes shape in my brain. And yep, the occasional pattern hack does make an appearance. But it’s not a must; picking out the right fabric for the right pattern is also a tempting challenge.
There’s an endless stream of ideas for new sewing projects in my head, and the list in my head just gets longer by the day. It’s a good thing that I’m also pretty forgetful! The sewing community doesn’t need to do much to get my creative juices flowing.
I’m currently working on a very colourful Susan dress for my youngest. I promised to do it over a year ago now. Whoops... Looks like the cat’s out of the bag. Procrastination does get the better of me occasionally.
A guide to my Harmony pattern hack
At our place, the Harmony top turned into a Harmony dress with a retro vibe.
I shortened the bodice a fair bit; to do that, I mainly recommend putting it on and testing it out. That was followed by two flounces. The top flounce isn’t much wider than the top itself (multiply by 1.2). The gathers are mostly created by a super narrow elastic band in the waist. Sew this flounce to the top with a 1.5 cm seam, which you can press up and then stitch shut to create a casing.
The bottom flounce is 1.35 times as wide as the top flounce and has gathered stitching.
Did you also spot how we went for short puff sleeves and a narrower sleeve trim?
Strike a pose with a pair of white trainers and you’ve got the look! I can’t wait to see loads more Harmony tops and dresses!
Fancy making your own unique Harmony? Buy the pattern!
