scandinavian style sewing series

November 12th, 2013

floral skinny pants on elsie marley

When Stacey asked me to be a part of her Scandinavian style series, I jumped at the chance. But what is Scandiavian style? I don’t think I could have summed it up better than Mie, who is Scandinavian herself. She said Scandianavian style is clean lines and cool vibes.

polka dot jacket on elsie marley

And I have to add, bold prints! I have always admired how those northerly folk embrace the crazy and make it look so natural. It’s not easy to mix and match bold patterns. But I think my daughter pulled off polka dots and flowers quite well.

polka dot jacket and floral skinnies on elsie marley

let’s start with the pants:

PATTERN: the skinny pants pattern is from Happy Homemade vol 5 (did you hear vol 2 is out in English?! post on that awesomesauce coming soon). I made this pattern in orange a few years ago for my middle son.

FABRIC: this floral fabric is amazing. It’s cotton with some spandex in it, not a lot, but enough to give it some weight and some give. I was hoarding it for myself, but it was too perfect for these pants and I had to cut into it.

floral skinny pants on elsie marley

SEWING: I muddled around with the pattern a lot trying to make sure the pants would be skinny, but not skin tight. I would actually like them to be skinnier than they are, but maybe this way they will fit until the spring. 

polka dot jacket on elsie marley

now for the jacket:

PATTERN: the nituna jacket pattern from Figgy’s

FABRIC: I think it is quilting cotton, which I don’t sew with very often, but the polka dot pattern was just so right.  I lined it with soft, gray fleece.

polka dot jacket on elsie marley

SEWING: the sewing went well until I got to the welt pockets. I usually like the super concise style of the directions in Figgy’s patterns, but I could not for the life of me figure out what they wanted me to do. The internet was, oddly, not that much help either. After much frustration, I forged my own way, which involved a fair amount of jamming through the machine and seeing what happened.

polka dot jacket on elsie marley

Except for my welt pocket meltdown, this outfit was a joy to sew. Polka dots have a way of making you smile. And how could crazy flower pants not make you happy? I think those Scandinavians might be on to something.

floral skinny pants on elsiemarley

See all of the Scandinavian Sewing Series on Boy, Oh Boy, Oh Boy.

Posted in sewing clothes.

16 Responses to scandinavian style sewing series

  1. Stacey says:

    Seriously in love with those floral pants. That fabric is amazing! And I love the way you paired the polka dots and bright flowers. This whole outfit makes me happy. Not sure if it’s the same throughout Scandinavia but the Danes were crazy for the chucks. Red to be exact. So you’re spot on there as well. Thanks for sewing along with us Meg!

  2. Karin says:

    Love everything about this.

  3. Venus says:

    Love-love-love it all!

  4. Mie says:

    Oh YES! Perfect! Love the jacket and floral pants as individual pieces….but together…BINGO!

  5. kristin says:

    Oh yeah, I love this! The polka dot Nituna is amazing (sorry about the welt pockets, those stinkers can be tricky) and the floral pants are fantastic too! Fun series.

  6. Lucinda says:

    Such a great outfit!! Love how you took that pattern and made them into skinny pants. I may need to try the same thing . . . would you recommend using fabric with some spandex in it? Love the jacket too – I’m a fan of Figgys:)

  7. AprilAllYear says:

    AWESOME — the outfit and the adorable and talented model.

  8. Jenya says:

    The outfit is wonderful! The pants are super cool, but I am totally in love with the jacket!

  9. erin says:

    Such a cool outfit! I am loving the jacket especially, the navy with polka dots is so chic and I am intrigued to know that you sewed it with cotton and lined it with fleece. I am exploring fabrics to sew a jacket for my daughter who is studying in Adelaide and I have never sewn a jacket before and where we live (singapore) it is too warm to wear jackets anyway. I am glad to know that i don’t have to sew a jacket with wool, which is going to be difficult to find locally here.

  10. Leah says:

    Oh, these are great! I love your blog and your realistic approach to sewing! Here’s a link to a welt pocket tutorial: http://oliverands.com/blog/2013/10/tutorial-how-to-sew-a-welt-pocket.html
    I honestly haven’t used it but everything Liesl explains always seems to makes sense. Keep up the great work!

  11. Tara says:

    this is definitely a cool outfit. Love the floral and dots together. Gotta go check out this happy homemade in english business too….. The first welt pocket I put together recently went amazing. I bought the art museum pattern from O+S almost just for the lesson on welts. The detail of instruction was so good that I didn’t have any WTF moments or mistakes.

  12. mrsrobinson says:

    Oh my… just gorgeous! The polka dot jacket is a delight!

  13. Anja N says:

    This could definitely be a Danish girl going to school ;) It’s really fresh and Scandinavian. I really love this outfit!!

    Best regards from
    Denmark :)

    http://www.byspangen.blogspot.com

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  15. Sarah Helene says:

    A-M-A-Z-I-N-G outfit . . . the floral pants are FAB! Looks like a perfect ensemble sewn with hours of LOVE from Mom. I’m sure compliments abound whenever she wears this! “Clean lines & cool vibes,” INDEED! Great photo shoot also! Sarah Helene, Minneapolis, MN