Noch nicht ganz April, aber doch schon ziemlich wechselhaft da draußen! Passend zum Regen-, Wind-, Sonnenwetter freuen wir uns sehr heute unser neues Sewing Around The World Projekt vorzustellen. Tea alias teaokereke.blogspot.de wollte sich einen Regenmantel genau für diese Jahreszeit nähen und hat sich das Schnittmuster Parka Amy ausgesucht. Was den Stoff betrifft ist sie bei Lillestoff fündig geworden. Der farbenfrohe und wasserabweisende “Dancing In The Rain” Stoff passt super zum Schnitt und man kann den Regen ganz einfach an sich abperlen lassen….
Gefüttert hat Tea den Parka mit einem weißen Steppstoff und – sehr praktisch! – Tea hat sich noch einen Aufhänger und eine ganz einfache Innentasche in den Parka genäht. Davon, von ihren Vorbereitungen und über das Verarbeiten von dem etwas speziellen Stoff berichtet Tea ausführlich in ihrem Blog.
Teas Blog ist sowieso etwas ganz besonderes, denn neben dem Nähen liebt Tea Musik. So setzt sich auch der Name ihres Blogs aus ihrem Vornamen und dem Nachnamen des Sängers ihrer Lieblingsband Bloc Party zusammen. Und die Titel ihrer Beiträge sind immer Songtitel. Eine wunderbare Idee, denn was gibt es Schöneres als neben dem Nähen Lieblingsmusik zu hören?!
In diesem Sinne: vielen Dank liebe Tea für den tollen, inspirierenden Beitrag und Lillestoff für die großzügige Unterstützung! Und wer von euch Lust hast den Parka Amy zu nähen, aber keine Lust auf kleben hat: wir verlosen 1x den ausgedruckten Schnitt. Schreibt einfach bis morgen Abend (28.3.17) 20 Uhr einen Kommentar unter diesem Beitrag. Viel Glück!
Und auch Tea haben wir natürlich ein paar Fragen zu ihrer Person und ihrer Lieblingsbeschäftigung gestellt und sie hat uns hier einen schönen Einblick in ihren Nähalltag!
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Present yourself a little bit (name, age, children, name of the blog, age, city where you live, what you are doing when you are not sewing, …)
Hi my name is Tea, I’m from Belgrade, Serbia, where I live with my boyfriend Matija, deaf fluffy albino cat Malibu and grumpy African pigmy hedgehog Momčilo.. I blog about sewing at Tea Okereke, but nowadays you can see more of my makes at my ig account @lejditea.. Reason for this shift is lack of time to make garments for myself that are worth of a full blog post.. Sewing is now main occupation in my life.. After finishing studies of archaeology, and spending more than a decade in that world, I was jobless.. Two years ago I started reorganizing my life completely.. The most reasonable solution was to make my main hobby – sewing, the source of income.. I have to admit I was very afraid of that step and it took me some time to get the courage to do it.. Somehow it all fell into place, and now I don’t regret making this transformation.. I’m kinda living my dream life, when it’s all about sewing and making pretty clothes..
When did you start to sew and why? How did you learn to sew?
While I was growing up I watched my mom sew for us girls.. From her I picked up all the basics about tracing patterns from Burda magazines.. When I showed my interest in sewing she just told me a few stuff on how to use a sewing machine and left me to figure out everything else on my own (she loved to do that).. I made my first project during my high school years.. Back then I was in a hippie phase.. Of course I needed bellbottoms which I couldn’t find anywhere in Belgrade, so I decided to sew a pair by myself.. At that point, even in Burda magazines that we had at home I couldn’t find the pattern for what I had on my mind.. Next logical step was to adapt the simple pants pattern to bellbottoms.. Basically, my first sewing project was a pattern hack! After my first success, I made a couple of more pants, skirts and dresses, with my prom dress being the last project in my high school phase of sewing.. Many years have passed with only a sporadic project, until I discovered online sewing community.. That was a turning point in my life.. Being a self-thought sewist I’ve learned a lot from experiences of other sewists and tutorials.. It took me a couple years of practice to gain confidence and actively join the community.. The rest is history..
What is the sewing project you like the most?
As all other sewists, I can’t pick one.. That always changes depending of season, my mood, or whatever’s happening in my life.. Usually, my newest projects are on top of my list.. Right now, this raincoat is my fave! I’m probably the only person around here hoping for a rainy day..
Do you only sew for you or also for other people (husband, children, …)?
At the beginning I was a very selfish at sewing.. I would make clothes only for myself, and sometimes for my sister.. Situations in my life slowly changed my way of thinking.. I was without a job, spending only a few months a year working at archaeological fieldwork.. I realised that I had to make a major change.. Making pretty dresses, skirts and tops become my main source of income.. I still enjoy sewing and creating every new garment.. It’s an overwhelming feeling when you see a happy costumer.. On the other side, you can only imagine how big is my me-made-wardrobe.. I don’t have time and opportunity to wear all I’ve made in last seven years.. I love this kind of a compromise I made.. I can still sew whatever I like without feeling guilty..
From where do you get your ideas? Do you buy patterns or do you invent your own ones?
When I started sewing I used only patterns from Burda magazines.. As the time passed by, I slowly started drafting my own skirts, frankenpatterning, pattern-hacking, and in the end drafting my own patterns with or without basic pattern slopers.. Also, I love details like pintucks, scallops and lace insertion.. They give a unique touch to simple garments.. I still love sewing for myself with Burda magazine patterns.. From indie sewing patterns I tried only a couple of freebies.. Being from Serbia, our budget is the main reason why we stick mostly to Burda patterns.