Yowza, a dress and a jumpsuit! Meet Kata and her two versions of #Belle

The social media-sewing combo is trending hard. Making unique garments and posting them on a blog or Instagram to inspire others? The growing number of blogger and Instagrammer Sewist(a)s worldwide shows no sign of slowing. That’s why Fibre Mood regularly features Sewist(a)s with their original hacks of Fibre Mood patterns.  This time around, you get to meet Kata of @kat_at_lin. She sewed an impressive two (!) gorgeous hacks of the Belle pattern. Wondering how she got the job done?

Hello Kata!

Fibre Mood invited you to share something with the blog. How do you feel about it? Simply FANTASTIC! Thank you so much! Two years ago, I could never have pictured myself here. And to be honest, I didn't even know who or what Fibre Mood was at the time.

But let's start at the beginning. My name is Kata, and I’m from Stuttgart. I’ve been into creating all kinds of things since I was just a kid. I grew up in Hungary, where I learned a lot from my gran and mum. They made the most wonderful, embroidered pieces and garments. But as a child, learning about that was mostly subconscious; there were other things that preoccupied me a lot more at the time.

It was when I became a mum myself, fourteen years ago, that I started sewing and crafting more deliberately. I wanted to make unique, beautiful pieces for my kids. My own clothes didn't really factor into the picture at the time. From time to time I would sew little things, hardly worth the mention, for myself. However, my projects have gradually gotten more complex with a little gusto and inspiration; step by step, I've found my way. Some technical terms still trip me up though. Everything shifted up a gear when my friends and colleagues encouraged me to create an Instagram account about a year and a half ago. That was when @kat_at_lin said ‘hello world.’. 

I've never taken any formal sewing lessons. But I have got ideas, passion, and ambition. I love switching up patterns. It’s not because they’re bad, but because I don’t see a pattern as just a pattern, or a garment as just a garment. I can picture them in my mind’s eye, where they come to life. I adore experimenting, from small alterations to how the fabric and pattern coalesce into one beautiful, one-of-a-kind item.

Fibre Mood lets me just live out my passion; the first time I set eyes on the Belle pattern, my brain instantly started churning out ideas.

All kinds of hacks automatically sprang to mind. With just a smidgen of skill, you can hack a pattern to reflect part of your personality. I noticed the Belle pattern in Issue No. 16, and that's when my ‘hack flow’ started to percolate. In addition to the blouse itself, I also made a jumpsuit and a dress out of it.

A guide to my Belle jumpsuit pattern hack

Here’s how I hacked the jumpsuit:

• For the bodice, I split the back down the middle in two, and cut them out as two separate pieces. I joined all the pieces, but left an opening at the back for the zip.

• I adapted the trousers based on the bodice of the original pattern and cut them out. I joined all the pieces, but again, left approx. 20 cm at the back unsewn for the zip.

• I then sewed the finished pieces (bodice and trousers) together, finishing by integrating the zip.

A guide to my Belle dress pattern hack

How to hack the dress:

• I didn’t alter the bodice at all. 

• I cut the skirt to have a slight A-line. I divided the length of the underskirt into four layers and calculated the circumference of each flounce. Then I gathered each flounce, hemmed them, and then sewed them together with the circle. 

• Each flounce is sewn to the underskirt, overlapping by 2 cm.

• Lastly, sew the skirt to the bodice, and sew an elastic band into the waist. 

Have fun sewing!

Kata

Feel like transforming Belle into a dazzling party dress or a convenient jumpsuit? Buy the pattern here!