Today we continue on our Sewing Around The World Tour and I am very happy to present you the contribution from Sasha from Italy. Sasha has chosen the sewing pattern Anna Dress and was inspired of the current Valentino collection: long, fluttering dresses in wonderfully coordinated colors determine the spring / summer collection of the Valentino designers Pierpaolo Piccioli and Maria Grazia Chiuri. In particular, this dress by Valentino had done it to Sasha …
For her contribution Sasha has chosen three different-colored viscose fabrics from Lara of 1000 Stoff, and extended the length of the Anna Dress pattern. Our “schnittchen-Anna”, a relatively simple, A-line-shaped denim dress, has become a superposh, color-blocked, summer maxidress! The three colorshades – lilac, dark blue and a kind of taupe – fit together so wonderfully and the longitudinal stripes give the dress even more length. We are very enthusiastic!
How Sasha converted the Anna Dress patterm exactly, you can read on her blog. Anyway, I would very much like to recommend Sasha’s blog. Sasha has an incredible feeling for the combination of cut, fabric quality, color and patterns and is taking photos – as she wrote me all alone (!) – that are all a joy!
If you want to know more about Sasha – we have also sent her our little interview (see end of this article). Thank you, dear Sasha, for this wonderful contribution and your great outlook on spring and summer and also a big thank you to Lara of 1000 Stoff for the generous support!
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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! I’m Sasha, a fortyish artist with the attention span of a five year old. I live in northeastern Italy and as about three quarters of all fine arts and design graduates I earn a living as a freelancer. I design stuff … right now it’s motion graphics. That is, when I don’t sew, knit, spin and blog at secondopiano.space
When did you start to sew and why? How did you learn to sew?
I stumbled upon sewing blogs totally by chance about four years ago. Until then I never thought you could make, at home, clothes that you can actually wear among other humans; that do not scream happy hands at home Sunday project. On the contrary! So I taught myself to sew and fell in love with it. I then enrolled in a Master in Fashion Design program that I just completed. I am absolutely fascinated with alternative, sustainable ways of production.
What are your favourite clothes? Do you have a fable for something?
My favorite clothes are the ones I just made. I can jump from pants to dresses, from minimalism to Victorian like a “pro”. I love to experiment with cuts, fabrics and techniques and ultimately with looks and personas.
What is the sewing project you like the most?
That’s easy … It’s the next one.
Do you only sew for you or also for other people (husband, children, …)?
I am a very selfish sewist but occasionally (i.e. once a year) I make something for my niece and nephew – they’re too small to truly appreciate it. I also sew for my man. Shirts and pants. It’s a bribe really … so he closes an eye to my ever growing fabric “collection”.
From where do you get your ideas? Do you buy patterns or do you invent your own ones?
… everywhere, I guess. And yes I do buy patterns but I also drape and make my own. I enjoy very much working with fabric on a dress form and the math and spatial thinking involved in pattermaking but if there’s a pattern I really like or I’m curious about I will buy it … or maybe just because I think it’s good design and I want to show my appreciation to the designer that made it.