Friday, April 9, 2021

Literary Sewing Circle: Amatka Inspiration!

 



It's the first week of our Literary Sewing Circle featuring Amatka! Have you found a copy yet? Have you started reading? If so, how are you finding the opening chapters? 

This week we'll be looking at some of the characters to inspire a project. This story has a wide cast of characters to draw from, and luckily for us, some of their names even match right up with patterns.

We'll start with our main character, Brilars' Vanja Essre Two -- or more simply, Vanja. There's a Vanja Hoodie/Sweatshirt Dress pattern on Makerist, and the cozy warmth of it is just what Vanja might have appreciated when she first arrived in the chilly environs of Amatka. Note: the pattern is in German but looks pretty straightforward. 


Next we'll look at Vanja's new housemate Nina. Being more adjusted to the weather in Amatka, Nina might have already been prepared with this Women's Nina Coat from Shwin Designs. It's a stylish but warm option!


Upstairs in Nina's house we find their older tenant, Ulla. She's a bit of an iconoclast, and very interested in what happened to Berol's Anna and the other residents of Amatka who are said to have died in a fire... She might have worn something unexpected by Amatka's residents, just as she's willing to think unexpected things too. This fluid Ulla Dress by Fibremood could reflect the fluidity of reality in Amatka. 


And speaking of Berol's Anna, how about making this classic Anna dress from By Hand London in honour of this great poet and author of the book Vanja discovers in the library, PlantHouse Seven? 


If you're thinking of something a little smaller to work on, you might consider making something for a child. Nina's daughter Ida could inspire this cute little Ida blouse & dress from Atelier Brunette. 

Or maybe you'll just let Ida inspire you to make a dress for yourself -- like this comfy t-shirt Ida Dress from DG Patterns


Looking outside Vanja's household to some of her coworkers gives us a couple more options. These are especially handy if you prefer to knit rather than sew. First, Vanja works with Anders once she gets a job in the administrative offices in Amatka. The Anders Gilet might be the perfect project, using Swedish yarn as found at LoveCraft! 


And finally, Vanja heads to Amatka on her work assignment in the first place, all because of her supervisor Oydis, who thinks she needs a change. If you're a knitter, you could make this Oydis Sweater by Lina Marveng, and top it off with the Oydis cowl. Both beautiful! 


If you tried, I'm sure you could find more patterns inspired by the names of people or places in this novel. I hope some of these are catching your fancy, but if not, stay tuned for another inspiration post in a few weeks that will be looking at the book from a different angle. 

Happy reading!

9 comments:

  1. I was able to pick up a copy of Amatka from my library yesterday. I hope to get started reading sometime today. Your inspirations started to scare me since the temperature is already in the 90s here and you started with hoodies and coats and sweaters. LOL I hope I find something to inspire me that is appropriate for hot weather. ;)

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  2. I finished this book a little while ago and enjoyed the read. I won't say more because I don't want to spoil it for anyone. But I definitely have an opinion about it. Now to find something appropriate for not freezing temperatures that has some connection to this book. The only thing coming to me so far are bright blue overalls. Or maybe a green shirt.

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    1. I was certainly put in mind of overalls as well...you might just see some in the next inspiration post! And a few more ideas. Glad to hear that you have an opinion on it - we will be having some book talk soon.

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  3. Ah Melanie, just what I need to get back my clothes sewing mojo! Book is ready to collect from the library, so will start this week. A very interesting sounding book, almost abstract.

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    1. Yes, it's quite unusual. I hope it will be an interesting reading experience for you!

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  4. Just finished rereading this and it's as wonderful as I remembered. I'm so excited to make something; there's a lot of ways this could go (but so far no clothes!).

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    1. I'm so glad to find someone who loves this book like I do :) There are definitely some ideas in my head; check out the next inspiration post for more clothing ideas too. I'd be interested in hearing about some of your other ideas!

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  5. I think I have figured out what I am going to make. It turns out I was going to sew a baseball-style jacket out of cotton voile anyway. I think I can make that connect to Amatka because it's a jacket and I purchased a bright mint green voile. It's already in the 90s here and I can't make something heavy for the summer, but I wanted a loose-fitting light weight jacket to wear in the mornings when I take the dog out to keep the mosquitoes off me. It is surprising how many mosquitoes we have in the desert. So... jacket - check. Brightly colored - check. Useful - check. Now I need to find a pattern that is loose fitting and doesn't require linings and facings, etc. One layer is all I want.

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Share your comments, ideas or suggestions here -- I am always interested in hearing from readers. It's nice to have a conversation!