Patterns – Hopefully Creative

Simplicity Naaimode Project Update

In the first post Simplicity Naaimode Project, I explained my current quest with trying to find the original pattern numbers of patterns published in the Dutch Simplicity Naaimode magazines. I’m proud to announce that after many hours of googling, reverse image searching and cursing, I’ve finally found all of them!

I got a subscription to the magazine a few years ago, so I didn’t have to look for them in the bookstore anymore, they would just arrive in my mailbox. I’ve been diligently trying to find all of them but up to today, 3.5 patterns were still illusive. These were from the first magazines I owned, so they must’ve been quite old. Out of 491 entries, that was still about 99% percent, but it was bugging me. So I buckled down and got to work. I found one via reverse image search, one via normal search and two via ‘related search’. I’m so happy to have my collection complete!

So, if you want to know which patterns you can find in copies of Simplicity Naaimode (that I own), you can check the Simplicity Naaimode pattern conversion.

Simplicity Naaimode Project

You may have noticed that lately when I’ve used patterns from Simplicity Naaimode, a sewing pattern magazine in the Netherlands, they also have an ‘original pattern’ listed. This is because at some point (June 2019 maybe?), I decided that it would be a wonderful idea to try and figure out which patterns were actually included in all my copies of Simplicity Naaimode. This led to at least three days of relentless googling of ‘simplicity sewing pattern top/skirt/blouse/pants/dress’ in all kinds of combinations. I have now achieved 95% completeness.

Since then, every time I buy another Simplicity Naaimode, I will try to find all the patterns inside. I’ve been keeping this list in an excel file on my computer. Yesterday, I decided that it would be a good idea if I had this list accessible to not just me, but perhaps the rest of the world too. So, if you want to know which patterns you can find in copies of Simplicity Naaimode (that I own), you can check the Simplicity Naaimode pattern conversion.

More Paper

Ski Rex!

The first set of Dinosaurs only gave rise to more paper things. I started with Ski Rex, the same dinosaur, but now connected to Skis. You turn the crank and it skis over the top of the box. It’s wonderful and since I printed a blank dinosaur on blue paper, it’s blue! The original was Pink and that just wasn’t going to happen. This pattern is available here.

Globe!

Afterwards, I started on a Globe & Moon set. This was not an automata and doesn’t have a crank, but it’s pretty cute. Apparently the Moon is to the scale of the Globe. You can turn the globe if you want to, and I wanted to.. This is the link.

Double Giraffes!

Last but not least, I made the double Giraffe automaton, twice. With the first one, which is at the end of the video, I did not make the neck holes large enough, so the necks get stuck in there. Then I also placed the giraffes too close together so their heads bump all the time. The second version works much better and is so Giraffy! The pattern is here.

I still have a bunch of goats printed but not cut or assembled, we’ll see when I get to those.

Thrifting

I’ve been trying to find carders at an affordable level to further continue on the journey of the homespun scarf (or something similar). In order to do this, I’ve been wanting to visit second-hand shops to see if they have them there. Since they are available new, but they cost >50 Euro and I am not willing to spend that kind of money on an experiment.

There is an online ‘vendingplace’ where people can sell their stuff, but I haven’t had much luck there either. There is a lot of demand and little supply, so classic economics teaches us that the price will be high. This is sadly the case. So the second option is those second-hand shops. One pesky little objection to this brilliant idea is that they are generally open from 10-5 on weekdays on limited or not at all on Saturday. Since I am at school each weekday from 9 to 5, this is making it difficult to visit second-hand shops.

However, the other day I was able to go to the one in the next ‘city’ over. They didn’t have carders, or knew what they were, but they did have some patterns that I liked. Although I don’t really wear dresses, I like the pictures a lot generally. I also tend to choose patterns for the pictures (yes I know that this is logical), and ignore those with terrible fabric choice. I can find it difficult to see past that. I found 3 dresses/skirts and 1 men’s shirt that I had a plan for (that failed). They were 25 cents each, which I figured I could spare. Anyways here are my patterns:

I really like this skirt/blouse? combo because the picture looks so happy. I think that only the skirt is a contender for making, but I like to look at the happy girl.

The men’s shirt that I don’t think I’ll really ever use. However, I like the dress. I hate the ruffle on the right line drawing, but I like the left one a lot. I find that kind of neckline interesting, and I’m curious to see what the pattern piece actually looks like.

I also really like the idea of this wrap skirt. I think it looks nice, and keeps movement possible. Also the vest thing I like. It would be interesting to try. While I’m not very interested in the boxyness of the jacket, I do find the sleeves fascinating, so maybe there will be some sort of incarnation of that someday. Hopefully I’ll be able to find some carders someday.

Tag: Patterns