Green Dress with Heartshaped Neckline

This is my year of dresses and I've made another one :) The pattern is much more involved than the previous sheath dress, with princess seams at the front, a hidden zipper, cut waistline and it also includes sleeves.

My fabric is a type of georgette and the lining is green colored polyester lining. The original dress is designed with a full circle skirt, but I opted for a semi-circle - neither did I have so much fabric, nor was I willing for so much volume.

My major modification was to transform the original front, which featured two separate fronts with real buttons into a single piece, only imitating a buttoned front. The major reason, apart from saving on labour, was that the original neckline was gaping on me and I had to take in some 3 cm in total from the volume. Of course, I could have opted for a solid front without any seams and if I am using more colorful fabrics for my next dress out of this pattern, that is what I plan to do, but the solid color of my fabric prompted me to add some interest to it in the form of the button band.  

  I also made my usual height modifications, which are one of the major reasons I rarely shop ready-to-wear dresses - my bust line and waist line need adjusting for my short stature. I took 0.8 cm of the height above the arm-openings and further 1 cm above waist. Next time I'll raise the waist just a tiny bit more, 0.5 - 0.7 cm would be a better fit, I think, especially if I decide to reduce the size from 36 closer to my 34.

Pattern: Burda #144 11 / 2016

Size: 36, reduced

Fabric: green georgette, polyester lining

Time to make: 1 week

The original pattern in the magazine does not include a pattern of the skirt, only instructions how to construct a full circle skirt, which is fairly simple and everybody knows, theoretically. It does not preclude the fact, that it is additional work, so I used my already cut and printed Vikisews Deniz skirt pattern, which I've been adding lately to most of my dresses.

The dress is lined - the body and the skirt are replicated out of polyester lining fabric.I did not see the point of adding volume to the sleeves, so they are left not lined. The lining of the skirt is also a semi circle skirt, but 10 cm shorter than the shell skirt.

The back closes with an invisible zipper and a hook and eye. I think I like the additional closure the hook and eye provides, however next time I think will go back to placing the invisible zipper right on edge of the neckline and skipping the clasp.

Pchelina 2024

After the leisurely hike on Rudina, husband and I got into the car and drove to the nearby (about 30 min by car) village of Potzurnentzi for our almost annual visit to Pchelina. As I've written here repeatedly, this is one of my most favourite places not too far from Sofia and I absolutely adore staying on the rocks and looking at the calm waters of the lake down.

We do this combined double hike almost every time we drive in this direction, but we had never done it so late in the year. The days in November are definitely shorter and with the winter time, at 15:30 in the afternoon the sun was already low on the horizon.

The place was empty, with only sporadic distant dog barking and bird quacking disturbing the stillness.

Me-made items, worn on this hike:

Husband: men's boxers, Burda Cargo Pants, Burda longsleeve, Hound's Tooth Hoodie

I:  lingerie, Sinclair longsleeve, Hound's Tooth Hoodie

We sat on the rocks, had our small snacks of cheese pie and cold beer and enjoyed the scenery. 

Hike info:

Date: 08 November 2024

Destination: Pchelina

Mountain region: Kraishte

Total length: 7.5 km

Elevation gain: 160 m

Total duration (plus rests): about 2 and a half hours

Average difficulty:  2 / 10

The sun was getting quickly lower and at some point the dozens of ducks started gathering and moving in the other direction of the lake - it was magical!

We stayed almost till sunset, it was so pleasant and relaxing! Next year we plan to take the tent and spend the night at the lake, but in the warmer part of the year.

Rudina Mountain 2024

Friday was probably the last of the Indian summer days this year - sunny and warm, and we had an exhausting but absolutely amazing outing!

First, we drove to the village of Sirishtnik and climbed the small Rudina mountain, one of the many Kraishte mountains. As usual on a work day, the trail was completely empty and glorious under the mild autumn sun.

Hike info:

Date: 8 November 2024

Destination: Sirishtnishka Rudina (1172 m)

Mountain: Rudina

Total length: 8 km

Elevation gain: 480 m

Total duration (plus picnic and rests): about 3 hours

Average difficulty:  4 / 10

Because of the long period of warmth this autumn, the wild lilacs on Rudina had blossomed in November!

The views from the peak are simply amazing! The trail is called a View to nine mountains and not in vain :)

Me-made items, worn on this hike:

Husband: men's boxers, Burda Cargo Pants, Burda longsleeve, Hound's Tooth Hoodie

I:  lingerie, Sinclair longsleeve, Hound's Tooth Hoodie 

(most of these stayed in the backpacks on the way up, but were needed on the peak and downwards)

We had our long and delicious picnic on the peak, enjoying the sun and the views.

A blooming wild rose:

The village of Sirishtnik - on the way to the car we came upon a quince tree and gathered a handful of fallen ripe quinces. Now we have 6 jars of quince jam - probably the most aromatic jam we've made recently!

Sheath Burda Dress

My latest dress, a sheath dress based on a pattern I've had for years and finally tried.

I've had several attempts at sewing sheath dresses and found them very unflattering on me, so I was under the impression that the type of dress just wasn't my thing. However, this pattern completely changed my mind - I love it and i am definitely going to repeat it, with very minor mods again, most probably with sleeves.

The piece of fabric I used for the dress, was a gorgeous purple georgette, a small 80 cm remnant. It was completely insufficient for a dress, I had bought it just because I loved the color and the fabric, with the idea that I should be able to make something out of it, whatever, anything.

And then I printed the dress pattern and began thinking of some fabric to make a test garment. I took out this piece, saw that it was too short and put it back in my stash. But after some deliberation, I decided that I wasn't going to waste my efforts on unwearable tests and would try to make a short dress.

Once I had finished the dress, I found that it was too short for my taste, but luckily I had a piece of fabric left, from which I could cut strips to attach to the front and the two back pieces. I bought some decorative ribbon and covered the seam of attachment with the ribbon, and then added a second ribbon, just for balance. I like it with these ribbons and I think they actually look organic on the dress.

Things I would change next time - I could take just a tiny bit from the neckline at the back, not more than a centimeter from each side. I would also make the dress 2-3 cm longer and would move the front darts 0.5 cm towards the center of the dress. The main fabric is comfortable, but the lining is a bit stiff and probably needs just a bit of additional width - some 2 cm at the hip area wouldn't hurt.

Pattern: Burda #6890 dress

Size: 17 Height: 154 - 160 cm

Fabric: purple georgette, polyester lining

Time to make: 3 weeks

Kladnitza 2024

The beginning of November was the perfect time for our traditional hike along the southern slopes of Vitosha, in the vicinity of the village of Kladnitza. We've been doing this hike yearly for a while now and it is always a great pleasure.

This year the 2nd of November happened to be a warm and sunny day, with very comfortable temperatures and almost no wind - just perfect for a long hike. So husband and I decided to prolong the long hike with some additional detour to a small peak, which meant 2 more hours and 5 more km of hiking :) - totally worth it!

Hike info:

Destination: round trail Kladnitza

Mountain: Vitosha

Total length: 20 km

Elevation gain: 500 m

Total duration (plus picnic and rests): 7 hours

Average difficulty: 5 / 10

Unlike most hikes, where we go up a peak and then down, this round hike included several climbs and descents along the sunny hills of southern Vitosha. Because the climbs were more or less evenly distributed along long distances, the whole hike felt leisurely and not exhausting at all. The fact, that we are now probably more experienced and trained might also play some role :)

The place was as usual at this time of the year absolutely marvelous!

We had our picnic at the usual place at the Bear's Spring and then climbed up to the plateau - my probably most favourite part of the hike.

Me-made items, worn on this hike:

Husband: men's boxers, Burda Cargo Pants, Burda longsleeve, Hound's Tooth Hoodie

I:  lingerie, Sinclair longsleeve, Hound's Tooth Hoodie

When, at the end of the trail, we found a handful of ripe blackberries, my husband exclaimed that this hike just couldn't get more perfect!