Finally, the first pattern from our Maker’s Wish Contest is online! We start with the winner, the beautiful bustier dress from Marta from Spain, which got the most votes in our online voting. We were very happy to send Marta the first prize, a great Elna Excellence 680 sewing machine!
Dress Marta is a summer dress with a corsage and narrow straps. The A-shaped skirt is composed of several parts and has two obliquely inserted welt pockets in the front side parts. Bustier and skirt are gathered in the middle by a narrow waistband and the dress is closed with a button facing. You can sew the dress “only” as a skirt! All the necessary pattern pieces as well as an illustrated sewing instructions are included in the pattern.
Marta Dress is a little bit tricky to sew, which is mainly due to the fact that there are many different pieces that have to be put together. This can initially confuse you, but if you follow step by step the illustrated instructions, it should be to be mastered well with some sewing knowledge. For those who need more support – on 26.07. we start a sewalong for the Marta Dress, where we guide you step by step through the instrcutions.
Marta, who has designed this charming dress, also send us some pretty drawings. This was for her pleasure because she loves dresses and as a graphic designer drawing goes quite simply from her hand.
The other three chosen Maker’s Wish drafts are already finished and will be released soon. You can be excited, because next will be the Anoush Pants by Annett from Germany, then follows up the top Misuzu from Misuzu from Japan and finally the Cocoon Dress from Trine Schroeder from Denmark.
But now back to Marta, whose creations you can admire best on Instagram. We asked Marta a few questions, which we also send to the Sewing Around The World contributors. Enjoy reading and have fun with Marta!
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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, …)
Hello! My name is Marta and I am from Valencia, Spain; I am 26 years old and I’m currently working as a graphic designer at a digital agency.
When did you start to sew and why? How did you learn to sew?
When I was around 20, I started collecting vintage dolls and toys. I’ve always loved tiny clothes so I quickly started sewing clothes for them, and bought my first sewing machine, which was a very basic cheap model. I loved designing and making little coordinates so much that I decided to start selling them on etsy, to great success. It was my main source of income during my student years, and now I keep making them as a hobby. I have sold handmade doll outfits all across the world which I find really cool! One day, I found some sewing blogs about human dressmaking and I was curious. At that point, I was very good at sewing, but didn’t know anything about the techniques used to make real clothing. I took the plunge and tried making my first dress from a Japanese sewing book, which was not great, but I was hooked 🙂Right now, I am on a mission to only buy the clothes I can’t make. My next thing to learn is underwear!
What are your favourite clothes? Do you have a fable for something
I am a lover of clothes. My favorite garments are dresses, because it’s a whole outfit in one and easier to get dressed in the morning when you are too sleepy to think about coordinating separates. They are also my favorite to sew!
What is the sewing project you like the most?
As I mentioned, I love sewing dresses, but sometimes I prefer a more involved project, like a coat or jeans. Those have been the most satisfying projects for me so far, because they require precision stitching, accurate fitting and specific techniques. I love learning new sewing techniques and different orders of construction.
Do you only sew for you or also for other people (husband, children, …)?
I am mostly a selfish sewer, but I have made a few garments for my mother, and very recently I made my first men’s shirt for my boyfriend’s birthday. At first I didn’t think I would enjoy it so much, but sewing for your loved ones is really nice and enjoyable.
From where do you get your ideas? Do you buy patterns or do you invent your own ones?
I usually work from patterns, sometimes as is, other times as a starting point for my own ideas. I also really enjoy pattern hacking! As a design engineer, I’m really drawn to the technical side of pattern drafting. I have been practicing tracing a couple of my self-drafted patterns on Adobe Illustrator just for fun, and I’ve really enjoyed it!