Amélie's Tour of French Sewing and Knitting Blogs

Today we are so lucky to have a guest post by Amélie of My Daruma, a fantastic French fashion blog (conveniently translated for English readers in each post) who recently posted a lovely interview about Magpie Patterns. Amélie had the fabulous idea of introducing us to the world of French sewing and knitting blogs, so this is our first (but hopefully not last!) peek at all the creativity that France has to offer.

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Hi, my name is Amélie. I'm a french blogger living in Lyon and I'd like share with you a humble introduction to the French sewing and knitting blogosphere.

First, I really should mention that the French online crafting community has grown tremendously in the past couple of years. There are so many talented people out there that it is sometimes difficult to keep up with the newcomers. Another characteristic of this community is its collective spirit. There are several very active collective blogs. Some are centered on sharing experiences on a given pattern company like Citronille (Fans de citronille), C'est Dimanche (C'est Dimanche Addicts) or the numerous and resourceful Japanese pattern books (JCA). Others focus on specific challenges, like J'ai rien à me mettre with its semestrial challenges on a given theme like "the little black dress" or "the holiday season."

But let's get back to the individual talented French sewing and knitting girls out there and let me share with you a few of my favorite craft blogs.

Octobre Rose
Satine's world is graphic, poetic, vintage and slighlty eccentric. It's the blog that got me into sewing three years ago. Her beautiful daughter Elle gets to wear the most beautiful outfits with ruffles, incredible hats and glittery shoes. It's kind of like living in Alice in Wonderland...but in real life. Very inspiring!

Les petits grains de Maïs
Ivanne's sewing is just beautiful. It's got that French touch many of us are after—subtle colors, thoughtful details, and a classic and modern look at once. But be warned: do not expect daily or weekly posts. It's not that kind of blog. But when Ivanne does post, it's a whole collection of clothes she's sharing—with sometimes as much as 10 pieces, all beautiful and all matching. One last thing, Ivanne loves Liberty fabric but has her own way of using it—with "classe"—and it's really worth a look. Even if you don't read French, the pictures will get your imagination rolling.

Dis bonjour à la dame
Carole is a friend of mine living in Lyon. A very good friend to be exact. Her blog has a big audience in France. She's a prolific and very generous blogger and has produced several tutorials to share her practice.  Carole likes Japanese pattern books for their endless resources but also favors C'est dimanche patterns. And she can knit, which is quite mesmerizing to me because I simply could not knit a row for my life. She has agreed to teach me next year. How cool is that? Carole is also co-founder of Bik Nok, a foundation whose motto is "A little sewing for big achievments." Bik-Nok particpates in funding a school in Vietnam relying in part on the French sewing community. Check it out!

Henri et violette
Hélène has a style of her own. Her sewing is all dark or block colors. Don't look for bold prints or designer fabric at Henri et Violette. But trust me, it's just as well. I think Hélène has a "roaring twenties" look. Maybe somewhat of a retro parisian look. She often alters Japanese patterns and the results are very unique.

The sewer cat
Delphine can sew and knit and her blog is of the aesthetic kind. I love her knits and the colors she carefully selects. Everything looks soft and comforting on the Sewer Cat. It's definitly a nice resource even if you don't read French. I'm sure you'll enjoy her pictures and craft.

I hope you enjoyed this little tour of France and rememeber not to let the language frighten you.
The pictures are sometimes enough for our crafty minds, don't you think?

A bientôt!
Amélie