Friday 7 July 2017

La Maison Victor Malia Top

I'm delighted to be part of a world blog tour to help launch the English edition of Dutch sewing magazine La Maison VictorUntil now the magazine has only been available in French or Dutch, so this will come as welcome news to its many fans. Bloggers in the launch countries (UK, US, Canada and Australia) have each been asked to make up a pattern from the magazine and blog about it. Today it's my turn!


I have to say, I fell heavily for the magazine as soon as I received my copy. It has a modern, stylish feel to it and the projects are beautifully photographed and designed. It's packed full of content too, with eight sewing patterns to choose from: three children's patterns, four women's (two dresses, a skirt and a top) and one men's pattern. There's also a knitting pattern for a short summer sweater.


I chose the Malia Top purely because it looked the easiest to sew and I didn't have a great deal of time to spare. It's a simple, sleeveless tank and as I'm currently on a roll with this style I thought it would be good to add another pattern to the mix. 


Patterns are included in a separate pull-out section in the middle of the magazine and need to be traced as there are several pieces on each sheet. There's a handy information box for each pattern which highlights the pattern pieces needed and the sheets they're printed on. I found this really helpful when tracing the pieces. Seam allowances also need to be added, but as I only had two main pattern pieces (the bias strips for the neckline and armholes didn't require them), this didn't take long to do. Instructions are comprehensive and detailed - refreshingly different from Burda instructions which have always made zero sense to me.


For fabric I wanted something light and floaty and this navy Swiss dot cotton in my stash was perfect. I deliberately chose a solid colour as I wanted to accentuate the bust gathers. The fabric is very light and delicate so I used French seams throughout.  


The only shaping on the Malia top are the bust darts which are gathered underneath. This is a really pretty and unusual feature but I'm still undecided about whether I like it or not. The darts also sit a little too high on me which doesn't help! The jury's out...



The sizing wasn't too bad (I made a size 10), although I could probably have given myself a bit more room at the bust. The neckline and armholes are finished with self bias strips, which fit exactly. This doesn't leave any room for error, so next time I'll be adding a couple of centimetres to both these pieces. Other than omitting the hem seam allowance I made no changes to the pattern, so overall it was a very quick and easy top to sew.


I'll definitely be looking out for future editions of La Maison Victor as the patterns are easy to work with and the designs very wearable. The magazine should be available in WH Smiths and major supermarkets from this week or can be ordered online from this site along with fabric kits for each project. 


That's it from me, in the meantime don't forget to check out the other UK participants blogging their projects this week:

5th July Katie at What Katie Sews
6th July Clare-Louise at The Thrifty Stitcher
8th July Laura at The Petite Passions



A copy of La Maison Victor was given to me free of charge to review. All views my own. 

28 comments:

  1. Dear Jane,
    I am from a part of the world where LMV is already available (Germany) and quite highly regarded. It can actually be sometimes really difficult to get a copy. (To get your hands on older issues is even more difficult.) The last time I found it in the non-german magazine section (because "the title sound so italian"?!)
    Anyway, I was looking at this specific top for some very similar reasons (easy to make and still with an interesting detail in the design). Thank you for your version! It is always inspiring to see, what other seamstresses create with a pattern.
    Greats from Bavaria,
    Anna

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    1. Hi Anna, so glad you liked my version of the top, it really was an easy sew! x

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  2. LMV seems to divide opinions in Belgium a bit, a lot of people absolutely love it but I also know loads of people (myself included) who never sew from it because there are too many mistakes in the patterns or the instructions. I've made some of their more complex designs for shop samples a few times and each time either completely disregarded the instructions (using elastic to gather something that doesn't need to stretch and is only going to be stitched down later? Why?) or had to seriously alter the pattern pieces to make them work.

    So yeah, it all looks very nice but I wish they'd spend more time on the drafting than the styling...

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    1. My only experience of the magazine is the very simple top In the blog post, it would definitely be interesting to see how I fare with a more complex pattern! Thanks for the feedback, much appreciated. x

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  3. Interesting way to handle the darts! I've converted darts to gathers before, but in the side seam where they normally fall anyway.

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    1. I agree, it's a bit unorthodox but I do like it as a feature. I'm still not convinced it's especially flattering for my shape though! x

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  4. Oh, Jane, I love this top on you! I think it is a very interesting design that allows the tank top silhouette without being too body conscious. It also has fullness without making it look like a maternity top. I would really like one for me! Guess I should look for this magazine in the US. And I love the fabric. I think it will grow on you.

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    1. Aw thank you, I hope it grows on me because. I also love the fabric! x

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  5. Your top looks so lovely! The fabric is gorgeous. I've never seen pleated darts before, but they add a good interest to a simple pattern.

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    1. No I hadn't seen them before either, they're a nice feature. x

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  6. Love your top. I've been wanting to get th mag, but the postage on the link is 12 euros and that seems exorbitant!

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    1. I agree, it is exorbitant, I had no idea the postage was that expensive. If you can't get a copy from WHSmiths or supermarkets I've now discovered that you can order issues from www.newsstand.co.uk. The current issue is sold out unfortunately but it's worth considering for the future. The cost including P & P to the UK is £7.42. Thanks. x

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  7. Hi Jane, If this magazine wants customers it'll have to rethink the cost!! €6.99 plus a whopping €12.00 postage plus tax of €1.07, a total of €18.99. So why Euros and not GBP anyway? Too expensive to try it - sorry. I'm a big fan of Burda and would have liked to see this one too. You did a great job on the top though!!

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    1. Hi Jan, Yes, it's a ridiculous amount for postage I'm afraid. The contact they gave us is based in Belgium which is why the cost is in Euros. Have a look at my reply to the comment above - there is an alternative place to order future issues which charges a more reasonable £7.42 (incl p & p) Thanks. x

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  8. Hi Jane, your top looks lovely and the gathered darts are an interesting feature. Do you think it would be relatively easy to lower the darts?

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    1. Thanks Anne! Yes I think the dart could be lowered quite easily, I always use this tutorial: http://blog.megannielsen.com/2012/09/how-to-alter-bust-dart-height/. x

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    2. Thanks Jane, that's very helpful. Now I just need to find a copy of the magazine x

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  9. What's the size range of the women's patterns?

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    1. It's a wide size range actually: from a size 6 to size 32. Measurements are in cms and range from 72 bust, 66 waist, 82 hip at size 6 to 140 bust, 120.5 waist, 146 hip at size 32. Hope that helps. x

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    2. That is fantastic! Thanks.

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    3. I just wanted to point out it isn't quite true. Yes, the size CHART has a large range, but in this issue the Malia top is the only one that goes higher than a U.K. 24 (US 22).

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    4. Apologies, I didn't realise that, thanks for pointing it out. x

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  10. Nice top! I love the magazine in Dutch, and now also available for all the english reading people outside Belgium and Holland.

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  11. This is a lovely top and I will look out for the magazine. Thank you for the preview. I think it might be possible to draft this pattern from the original Sorbetto with a bit of thought. What do you think?

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    1. Yes, possibly, although I'd be inclined to remove the centre pleat as pleats + bust gathers might be a bit much. Would also recommend drapey fabric too! x

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  12. I made this. I am delighted with version 2. On the "as pattern" one the bust dart was too high and the armhole too high and I had lots of material in the small of my back. I slashed the pattern and added an inch above the dart and below the armhole. Perfect. I was drawn by the unusual gathering on the dart. It's a modest tank top which doesn't fall off my tiny shoulders.

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    1. Ah that's good to know. I don't think the armhole was too high on mine but the bust dart certainly was, so I'll lower it on any future versions. x

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