I See Pink

Crazy for cats

2011-06-12T04:22:00.000-07:00

A is crazy about the idea of cats. Actual cats, not so much. She had a bad experience with one a few months ago, and now just prefers to look, and squeal. Cats aren't that crazy about her either... mostly due to the squealing. She was delighted with this cat dress. So much so, that when she found the bib unsewn with the cat on it (where I'd left it after stitching the nose & mouth), she carried it around and got it dirty before I sewn anything. That normally happens within 3 seconds of something being put on, but it usually safe before it gets finished.

I didn't get the fit very well on this one. I got overly confident with my sizing estimates, and made it too small. I also didn't like the applique that much... too wonky around the edges. I don't usually do blanket stitch, and I now see why. It's hard to get a smooth curve. But, my customer is very pleased with herself in it, and it seems comfortable. It's a great pattern, and one I'll try again.
Pattern: Ottobre Design 01/2011 Design #8.

Pinafore...

2011-06-05T00:44:00.000-07:00

This pinafore is from one of the oldest issues I own...#15 from 03/04. I love sewing pinafores - they're so simple, and great for toddlers to wear - no waistband issues. A loves the pockets. You can see a slight bulge in the pocket - that's Strawberry Shortcake being taken for a bounce.

A loves hats, so I thought I'd try this beret from 06/08. I think it needs a pompom, but don't have any wool suitable at the moment,

Bag Lady

2011-06-04T03:43:00.000-07:00

I decided to make goody bags for the SIX year old birthday this year. The guest list ended up being considerably longer than I'd intended, and I'm not sure how it happened. Not only did we invite more than I'd planned, they all came. That wasn't something I was expecting - usually there are at least 3 kids who can't come. Maybe it's different now they're school age - nobody was on holiday.

So, long story short, I ended up making 13 of these bow purses (sans bow) for goody bags, and four drawsting bags (2 of which made the photo which had to get cropped to hide my feet, and the feet of my 2yo assistant). The cutest thing was one of the boys loves red, so he really wanted one of the purses. So my 2yo assistant got a drawsting bag, which she loves.

The pattern is Ottobre 03/08 #28. It's very easy, although I got very sick of doing the gathering because you need to gather the purse part to the band 4 times for each bag. Totally over bags now.

Sewing Challenge Day 2 & 3

2011-05-11T00:53:00.000-07:00

Day 2: sewing the pants up until the waistband. Day 3 - the waistband. Yes it took a whole hour to sew one elasticated waistband. Actually only about 5 minutes was productive sewing. The rest was taking up with breaking a needle (zig zag and zipper foot are alliterative, but apparently that's all they should have in common), unpicking, measuring, unpicking, chopping and scowling. Maybe there was more than scowling going on.

Anyway, these pants are from Ottobre 3/2008 #3. I've converted them to inset pockets, and an attached elastic waistband, and have made this pattern several times now.

Here she is with big sister, trying to prove that they're crazy. Big sister is modelling a mockingbird nightgown from 06/2009.

Sewing Challenge Day 1

2011-05-10T03:56:00.001-07:00

I like the idea of the Kids Clothes Week Challenge organised by Elsie Marley, so I thought I'd unofficially give it a go - I don't generally get much time during the week to do any sewing, so I'm not sure how far I'll get.

Here's Day 1:

I already had this pattern traced out for another shirt, so it was just cut & sew. It's the Puffy Blouse from Ottobre Spring 2008. I've made it quite a few times, and I think it's a super-cute pattern. It only goes down to 98, and A is a very narrow 92 (well, actually shes about an 80, with 92 for length), so I down sized it by folding out about 1cm from each piece.

Babushka

2010-10-19T00:09:00.000-07:00

I haven't done any sewing since my last post, but I have managed a photo, albeit complete with a rather large dribble!

This is the Babushka Pinafore from Ottobre Spring 09. I've made this pattern before, and it goes together really easily. It's made from scraps from the linus overalls I made last year.

The blouse is the Maya Blouse from Spring 08. I didn't realise it was 3/4 sleeves until it was done - you couldn't really tell from the magazine picture. It doesn't matter though, because it's for spring, and she shoves all her sleeves up to her elbow anyway.

The fabric is from spotlight, and is a print of patchwork. The same collection of fabric also included some of the prints, so I got as many of them as I could find.

In her hands is a matching dolly I made from the applique - just added a seam allowance around the edge, made a back and stuffed.

She's also into hats in a big way, which is great... it was always a complete battle to get her big sister into a hat, but A doesn't think she's properly dressed without a hat and gumboots.

Pink Pant-her

2010-10-14T01:28:00.000-07:00

These are the #31 Butterfly Corduroys from Ottobre 04/09, except that I used a stretch denim in a colour which features quite a lot around here. I thought the pattern looked quite slim (a good thing), and even though I traced 116 for width and 122 for length, they're still quite big on E. I added buttonhole elastic as well because she has no waist, and took another 2 cm out of each side seam, and they're still big on her. I don't think she'll grow into them either, because she seems to have only grown upwards in the last 2 years.

The blouse is #15 "Vaahtokarkki" gingham blouse from Ottobre 01/10 which I made in this cute but wrinkly cotton from Spotlight.

It's quite a simple blouse to make, but I made it really difficult. I had to cut 3 collars to get it right.. the first one was too small because I'd had to make the neck edge a bit bigger due to a clipping misadventure. So I decided to cut another one, but got all confused and made it smaller... because surely the way to resolve the issue of the collar being too small is to make a smaller one. Grrr. So I made a 3rd one, and it fit perfectly.

I also had trouble doing a narrow hem around a sharp corner on the frill, so they are as wonky as they look in the picture. I would have fixed it, but I didn't notice until I was sewing on the buttons, and at that point I deemed it inoperable. The elastic on the sleeves however, turned out really well. That was the one thing I got right!

I'll try to get some pics of the other things I've made recently. My problem is remembering to photograph in that tiny window of time when things are on and clean.

Lost in translation

2010-07-30T04:08:00.000-07:00

My favourite Ottobre issues are Spring & Autumn. This is because I'm in the Southern Hemisphere, so I get instant use of these issues. The Winter & Summer issues I usually wait 5-6 months before I can use them. The latest issue - Autumn 4/2010 is really lovely. I've already made 4 items, and have a 5th on the go, and I've had the issue about 1 month.

First up is the #1 "Papana" raglan T-shirt, for M. I often like to work out what the name is in English, but in this case, I'm really not sure it's the best idea... Papana is apparently rabbit poo!

This is made from a merino mix fabric - the kind that sports wear is made from. It's odd because it doesn't feel like merino, but when you get it wet or iron it, it has that woollen smell.

I was drawn to this style because of the ribbon trim - anything for an excuse to use my farbenmix ribbons. E helped pick out which ones to use. In reality, this meant that she took all the pink / flowery ones away to admire, so I used what was left!

Next is the #5 Loikka raglan t-shirt. Loikka apparently means bounce or stride. I like this name more!

It's not only made from the same fabric, but 4 of the 5 pattern pieces are the same as the Rabbit Poo t-shirt. I use snaps instead of buttons, and had a bit of trouble with the placement, and had to remove the first set... luckily that was on the "facing" side, so not visible. I left off the topstitching because my topstitching isn't very good, and I usually have to unpick it - this fabric doesn't like that kind of treatment... it pulls a bit.

Again with the ribbons...

Last up is #3 Rusakko sweatpants. (Rusakko = Hare... maybe the owner of the papana?)
I love the fit of these pants. The panels were a bit fiddly to do... really hard to get the gathering anywhere near even with a slightly bulky fabric. I wasn't that happy when I'd finished them, but they look cute and comfortable when on, so I've warmed them. Less warm about the fact that they've been worn once, and already have some miscellanous blue stain on them.

And because I haven't got any modelled pictures yet, here is a picture of a previous item:

The top is also Ottobre, 06/2008... it's just about too small now.

Tulip shaped skirt

2010-07-24T03:09:00.000-07:00

More rubbish photography. The light wasn't great by the time I got around to doing this. The gathers are a lot more even in real life, but it's quite hard to gather cord across the details / seams. I got this fabric from Spotlight earlier in the season.. whenever I see printed cord fabric I buy it because we don't get much variety down here.

E chose this pattern - I gave her the choice between this one, and another cute skirt pattern in the same magazine, and she chose this one. I think because she liked the flower. I finished it last night, and she's worn it ever since.

I stuck very close to the pattern which is from Ottobre's (of course) Autumn 2010 issue. The applique is made from scraps of cotton and velour. I followed the pattern quite closely, but added some buttonhole elastic at the back because this is a very tall, slim child. It was reasonably easy to sew - waistbands always give me a bit of a headache.

The top is also an Otto design, made almost 1 year ago, and still fitting nicely!

More catching up, and something new

2010-07-10T00:41:00.000-07:00

This dress doesn't have an asymetric hem - that's just my super photography skills. This is another left overs project... also involving a new design feature - in this case the ribbon around the bottom which hides a seam which was necessary because I made a big mistake whilst cutting.. I'd laid the pattern out, then decided to flip one of the pieces to save fabric. Which it did, but mostly because there was a 2 inch bit missing from the bottom of one panel. I came over all Tim Gunn and tried to "make it work" by making it a separate panel. The pattern is #6 Dolly Dress from Ottobre 06/08. I like the retro feel of this dress. I think I'll try it again in a better fabric.

I made this from jersey - the pattern says you can use a firm single jersey. I wasn't sure how firm "firm" should be, but I think it should be firmer than this - because the gathers in the front are practically invisible.

And here it is modelled - turns out I could have not bothered with the panel on the bottom - it's plenty long enough.

I got this cord fabric on a recent work trip to Brisbane. It's a bit more colourful than I'd usually go for, and was a real pain to get matching velvet ribbon for.

I had a small bit of ribbon in my stash, but I really wanted to put some around the bottom as well, but I couldn't find anything that would match anywhere. No idea where I got the original from.

The pattern is from 06/08 as well - it's #16, the Tammy Skirt. I've made it before, and I think it's quite a sweet skirt for little girls.

Finally, here is another baby deer pinafore from the left overs of the above skirt.

This has been cut out for ages, but I couldn't work out what fabric to use as the lining. In the end I went with the pink spots, and I now think it looks fine. I was needing to hurry up and get it done as it was about to be grown out of!

Very slack...

2010-07-10T00:38:00.000-07:00

There hasn't been much sewing done around here lately. Even less photographing, and less still blogging! Here's a small catch up on the photographing & blogging.

I made this pinafore for A from leftovers from this dress

I didn't quite have enough fabric, so it ended up with a centre back seam. The pattern is from Ottobre 1/2008 I have another in progress - also from scraps - I have to hurry up, but A is growing up and up at the moment. Although, this dress looks super cute over pants as a tunic anyway.

These velour pants are a modified version of #3 from Ottobre 3/2007 I altered the pockets to a hip yoke kind of pocket, and applied the waistband a bit differently (although still used an Ottobre method - sewed the elastic to the waistband, then attached the whole thing to the pants).

I'm pleased with both of these items - and they've both been worn several times.

Retrokukka dress

2010-04-23T01:25:00.000-07:00

Here's the latest item I've finished for Amelia. It's the Retrokukka dress (#4) from the Spring 2010 Ottobre issue.

Front:

This was a bit more complicated that I thought it would be - I struggled with the back and the lining, but eventually it went together OK. The instructions were fine, if a typically sparse, but I'd not done a placket like this before, and got myself horrible confused. I unpicked the centre back seem at least 4 times. The inside is a little less (well a lot less) than perfect... but nobody but me is ever going to see that.

Back

The fabric was from Spotlight. It doesn't really go with much else in her wardrobe, but I just loved the fabric. I nearly bought it the first time I saw it, but talked myself out of it, but then the next week there was a 20% off sale, and it was still there, and I still loved it, so I reasoned that fate wanted me to have this fabric.

Underskirt

I love the length of this dress. She was charging about like a mad thing today, and it never got in her way, but I probably need to add some bloomers or tights for out in public - so far it's just been worn around home.

Charging around:

Long time between posts...

2010-04-17T04:05:00.001-07:00

I've haven't posted what I've been working on lately because my photographs have been diabolical.. fuzzy, wrong colours and generally looking like something completely different. I have a really good camera, so the fault is with me.

I made this pinafore for Amelia to wear at Easter. It's from Ottobre 06/07, #9. I made 68 in width, and 74 in length. It is a touch long to be practical - as you can see from the eyes shut picture, the hem is down at the front... this is because when she's clambering about, it gets under her feet.

I made it from some printed cord from Spotlight... I was quite pleased to find something dainty this year - last year all their cords were really bold, which were also cute, but it's nice for a bit of variety.

I have some more things to share... but the model from these pictures is currently roaring in her cot.

Baggy pants!

2010-02-28T00:17:00.000-08:00

I made these pants from Ottobre 2/2004, which I back-ordered this issue last year. The pants have a cute wrap around at the top - one side closes with a button & loop, and the other side is tied, although with the elastic, you don't actually need to use it.

I made 74. A is a rather small child, but even so, these are HUGE. The mag says they are 3/4 pants, but you can't even see her feet... more 5/4 pants, or 1 and 1/4 pants. I will shorten the frill a bit to make them a bit shorter. That's the problem with nap-time sewing... you don't get so many fitting opportunities.

I also finished this dress from the same magazine a while ago, but took a while to get decent pics. I think I used size 68, with 74 for length. It fits really nicely. The fabric is a cotton seersucker that I got from spotlight last year for a top that never got made. It's such a lovely cool pattern and fabric for the hot, humid, sticky weather we've been having.

Fan-fairy-tastic

2010-02-20T18:46:00.000-08:00

E got invited to a "Fairies & Pirates" birthday party. I tried to convince her to go as a pirate, but she wasn't having a bar of that. Her fairy dress that she has had since she was 2 was looking very very short, so we made another one.

I used a McCall 4887 pattern that I bought ages ago in one of those 3 for 1 type sales. The fabric is mostly some kind of super fraying satiny stuff which is appalling to sew, and allergic to irons. So that was fun. However, it went together pretty quickly really.

I took some width out of the vest by folding about 1cm out of each pattern piece. I did the same with the under-dress, but should have taken more out, so I finished the top with elastic. I left off a few layers of mesh from the skirt too. I didn't bother making the wings... that seemed all too hard when you can get them from $2 shops.

The party was great fun. She tried 10 pin bowling for the first time, and got very aggressive with one of those shark games where you bang the shark with a hammer. Who knew she had that much attack hidden inside!

Linus overalls

2010-01-28T02:04:00.000-08:00

I'm not sure which Linus these overalls were named for, but I'm going with Linus van Pelt, because the owner of this version of the overalls is a blanket carrier too.

These are from the latest Ottobre - 01/2010, and are called "Linus Overalls". I'm not usually a fan of denim for little kids clothes, but this is quite a light weight, and the pattern just seemed to need something like this.

I followed the pattern very closely, which is quite rare for me. I changed the order of doing things slightly, and also on the lining I put the pintucks on the wrong side of the fabric so that the lining was flat, but otherwise they're quite close to the instructions.

They're quite time consuming - particularly as there are 22 pintucks, or if you are like me, and realise that the pintucks you have finished are so wonky they will annoy you for all time, 33 pintucks. I also spent a lot of time changing cotton - blue for internal seams, pink for topstitching.

I did have a few misadventures... like putting the snaps on the wrong way on the bib and sewing the straps up, then realising the interfacing was on the outside. That's just the fun you get when you sew late at night!

Here are a few more pics - hopefully I'll get a modelled photo soon.

Back view: that's a casing on the back... you make a piece of elastic with 2 tabs on either end, and thread through the casing. There's a close up on the next picture.

And 11 of the 22 pintucks (the other 11 are in the lining)

and the cute knee darts:

and the straps:

Ottobre makes me hungry...

2010-01-18T17:35:00.000-08:00

My new ottobre magazine arrived in the mail today, and it's lovely! I was intrigued by the names of some of the patterns, so I starting checking them on Google translator. After the first couple, I couldn't stop.

Here are some of the pattern names:

1. Piparminttu jersey pinafore dress: peppermint
2. Kamomilla T-shirt: Chamomile
3. Anis jersey pants: aniseed
4. retrokukka cotton dress: retro flower
6. Pinaatti T-shirt: spinach
7. parsa polo shirt: asparagus
8. Selleri velour vest: celery
9. Kumina sweater knit jacket: cumin
10. Pippuri lined overalls: Pepper
11. pumpulipilvi voile tunic: cottonwool clouds
12. Vadelma pinafore dress: raspberry
13. puolukkapuuro cord pants: lingonberry porridge
14. variksenmarja cord coat: Crowberry
15 .vaahtokarkki gingham blouse: marshmallow
16. suklaatwist velour tunic: Chocolate twist
18. ruusunnuppu leggings: rosebud
23. pikasalama denim overalls: quick flash
26. nopsa anorak: nimble
27. huomio worker pants: attention
29. vappu voile tunic: Finnish equivalent of May Day
30. tipitii: Chirpy chirp .. this one has an interesting wiki entry. It was the Finnish entry in the Eurovision song contest in 1962!

I felt rather hungry after finding all those names. Time to go all hobbitty and have 2nd breakfast I think.

A top topic

2010-01-15T14:11:00.000-08:00

Here is the detail of Eleanor's tshirt from the last post. The colours haven't come up very well in this picture - it's more pink, less orangey in real life.

It's the Rosalind T-shirt from Ottobre Summer 2009, with the print for free applique.

Next up is a Cecile jersey blouse from the same issue for Amelia. This was made from scraps - didn't quite have enough for matching sleeves, so I used a pink contrast. This is the 2nd of these I've made, and it goes together really quickly, yet looks a bit different from a regular tshirt. I add a row of shirring at the very top of the shirred panel piece to get the neck band on.

Envelope neck tshirt for Amelia from my favourite Ottobre magazine - 1/2007. If I make this shirt again, I will flare the bottom a bit - it's a great fit at the top, but a bit tight around the tummy.

Close up of applique:

Some of the sewing

2010-01-11T22:56:00.000-08:00

I did a bit of sewing between Christmas & New Year's. We were supposed to be in Christchurch on holiday, but Amelia got chickenpox, so we had to shift our flights. We went a week later instead. The week's delay was actually very nice - we did beaches and much mucking about. I made Amelia 2 tshirts, 2 pairs of tights, and Eleanor 1 tshirt. I haven't got much of it photographed though.
This blurry photo is Amelia's tshirt.

This is the puffs tshirt from Ottobre 03/08 Summer. I added the applique from the print for free section.
Here is a picture of it being worn with the leggings from Ottober 03/09 Summer. I made 2 identical pairs as the first got involved in a garden adventure, and are now only fit for home wear.

One day when Eleanor's tshirt is clean, ironed, and the camera is charged I'll take a better pic of her tshirt too. When she saw Amelia's, she decided she HAD to have one too. I made it in fabrics to match her swap skirts.

Christmas dress

2009-12-13T23:28:00.000-08:00

Yay! Finished Eleanor's Christmas dress today. Despite it's very summery appearance, it's actually from the Winter Otto 06/2009.

This has taken me quite a while (over a week I think... can't even remember when I started) because I've been struggling to find time when I've got any energy left! That time of year - Christmas shopping, dancing concerts, pre-school concerts, Christmas parties etc.

I was starting to think that it might not get done, but it's not like she doesn't already have other nice outfits she could wear.

I like the sleeves on this - they have a small bound key hole, and the cuffs turn into ribbons to tie.

Eleanor picked out this fabric herself from Designer Textiles. It's quite sheer, so I used plain white cotton to line the bodice instead of just facing the neckline per the pattern.

I also made the cuffs narrower.. but this was because I didn't add seam allowances. I've no idea why I didn't do this (think I may have assumed that these were bindings, rather than cuffs, and usually have allowances included), but I'm actually pleased with the narrower cuffs - not sure that I would have been able to tie the shorter bows up.

Other than than I just made my usual thin child adjustment - traced 110 for length, 98 for width, and used the overlocker narrow hem to hem the frills instead of hemming.

It's an easy enough dress to sew... not nearly as time consuming as I managed to make it!

As you can see from the pictures, it has the Eleanor stamp of approval.

Finally another modelled shot from the Otto swap

2009-12-12T23:19:00.000-08:00

I finished this outfit ages ago, but somebody had issues with the "squares", so while the skirt has been worn a lot, this the first time she's worn the top, and she actually dressed herself this morning. So in honour of the squares being OK now... here's a pic:

I am working on her Christmas dress at the moment. Hopefully I will have something to share soon... well at least hopefully before Christmas!

Finally some sewing to share!

2009-12-10T16:12:00.001-08:00

I finished this a while ago, but have only just got some pictures. It's the Alicia dress and Hennina pants from Ottobres 03/09 issue.

I made the size 68 (she's one, and quite small), but it's a bit long for crawling in... she kept her knees stuck in the bottom. I think it would be better shorter for the smaller sizes - more a tunic length. I used a bow instead of the frill on the pants vent because my fabric is pretty busy.

Here's a close up of the first pic - you can sort of see the stitched pleats at the neckline.

On a roll...

2009-11-06T21:43:00.000-08:00

I actually got some sewing time today because my husband took Eleanor to the Glenbrook Railway to the "Day out with Thomas". Amelia and I had such a lovely quiet time! And while she had her afternoon sleep, I made this new top for her from a leftover scrap. I only just had enough fabric for it. It's the Cecile Jersey Blouse from Ottobre 03/09.

Here is the neckline detail. I added a row of shirring right at the top too to get the binding on.
And here it is modelled:

I think I will make more versions of this pattern. It went together during one afternoon sleep (hers, not mine), and I think it's a cute style.

The pants are the Viikara sweatpants which have been worn and washed a few times now.

So much to do... so little done.

2009-11-05T11:59:00.000-08:00

Not much sewing has been going on over the last month. I have only finished 2 things. We've been busy with colds, throat infections, visits from Great Nana and Grandma, work, crawling and lots of making mess.

This is the redondo skirt for Eleanor, made from left overs from last season.

Because Amelia is now crawling, we needed some more sweatpants to make life easier on her knees. These are Viikari sweatpants from Ottobre 06/07. I made them quite a bit narrower than the pattern suggested, by folding out some of the width.

It took me nearly 3 weeks to finish them, and in that time they went from "plenty long enough" to "just barely long enough".

Obviously pockets on pants for a 11 month old are just for decoration, but they were still the fiddliest part of the pants! I really like the ribbing as a waistband - there is no elastic, just the ribbing. The pattern suggested a drawstring as well, but I decided against that as the ribbing works just fine.

Another skirt done...

2009-10-01T00:00:00.000-07:00

I finished another skirt for Eleanor's summer wardrobe today. Typically it's already in the wash awaiting the summer weather. The skirt is from the Ottobre 01/07 (spring) magazine - "skirt with flounces".

I made a few modifications to the pattern. Firstly, I left the pockets off because they seemed a bit redundant on this busy pattern. I may yet go back and put them on, but I probably won't. Then I used a proper waistband because I wanted to use buttonhole elastic.

I traced size 98 in width & 110 in length - that made the flounces a bit hard to figure out, but I didn't realise that until I was trying to work out why they didn't fit. I just made the skirt a bit shorter and narrower, and it all worked out fine. Next time I'd trace the largest size of flounces.

Eleanor isn't too sure about it because she really wanted just flowers, and isn't too keen on the "squares". Which is a pity, because one of the ideas behind the SWAP was the gingham girls cut out dolls I had as a child.

It looks very pretty on, but a modelled photo will have to wait until the weather improves!

In which the weather changes the sewing plan...

2009-09-29T15:01:00.000-07:00

The weather is pretty cool here at the moment, and rather stormy. The summery tops I made to go with the sodoku skirt aren't warm enough, so I added a long sleeve tshirt to the plan. I used the Ottobre's Viserrys Tshirt from 04/08. I've made this once before, and it's a nice narrow fit, and I like the neckline... not too high or too low.
I made size 98 in width, and 110 in length. It fits very nicely, although could be a bit shorter for wearing with the skirt. This t-shirt is so fast to make (once the applique was done).

The bird from the applique was based on this gorgeous pattern. I'd like to change the eye for a darker button... just don't have one at the moment.

Anyway, somebody is very happy with the whole outfit:

Swap Progress

2009-09-24T03:55:00.000-07:00

I've now finished 2 more items for Eleanor's summer wardrobe.

The first is the Singoalla blouse from Ottobre 1/2007. I have used this pattern several times before, in lots of different ways... here are some . This is the closest I've come to following the pattern.

I made a couple of minor alterations (not all deliberate). I traced size 92 for width, and 116 for length. The sleeves are a little shorted than intended due to an overlocking misadventure involving one chomped up sleeves and some angry words. I didn't do as many rows of shirring around the waist.

I didn't have any ribbon to match the fabric for the bow on the front, but Eleanor suggested using a bow button instead, which we did. She also decided it needed one on the waist too.

The second was this blouse from Ottobre 1/2006 . This is another one of my favourite patterns.

It's not that easy to see from my pictures, but the front and back have little tucks down the front.

The instructions said to stitch the tucks on the right side of the fabric (as pintucks), but the version I was copying in the magazine definitely has the tucks on the wrong side, so I went with that one.

All we need now is some warmer weather!

Catch ups

2009-09-13T00:53:00.000-07:00

I finished these pants a while ago, but have only got around to getting pics. You have to be very fast to get pictures of Milla in clothes because they're very quickly in the laundry. Dirtiest baby ever!

Close up of the owl applique... it really needed to be a brighter cotton - there's not much contrast.

And here they are being modelled whilst being "hugged" by big sister:

They're rather large on her, but still rather cute. They're another Ottobre of course - goofy pants from 6/2008 (winter).

And here's big sister in her matching outfit..

These are the tulip pants modelled, with the Kaisa blouse from 1/2009 (spring). The top is a little large - I just did her size (110) with no adjustments. Next time I'd take a cm or so out on the centre back & centre front seams. The length is good.

Sudoku Skirt

2009-09-12T02:40:00.000-07:00

I've finished one item from my Ottobre s.w.a.p. Eleanor and I are very pleased with the way it's come out...she gives it high marks for twirlability.

I altered the pattern slightly by not cutting the pieces into different sizes. It didn't seem like it needed it to me, and it looked like a lot of work!

You can see from this shot that it is VERY full - fuller than a circle. To give some idea how full, this is what it looks like from underneath (being modelled by a very compliant desk lamp).

That's a long long way to do a narrow hem, even on the overlocker!

More Tulip Pants

2009-09-09T03:02:00.000-07:00

Today I finished a second pair of Tulip Pants for Eleanor. I chose this pattern again because I think it's quite "girly", and the fabric I chose (from the $3m table at designer textiles) isn't girly. I also thought they'd be faster the 2nd time around, but that was just wishful thinking! They took just as long, and I had to unpick almost as much! I had project runway Australia on the computer in the background, so I was entertained.

She's a bit worried that they're not pink enough... this is the only bit of pink on them!

My next project is the sodoku skirt from Spring 2009 Ottobre. It's called Sodoku skirt because it's made from 6 fabrics, three tiers and 8 gores... the trick is to get them so you don't have any double ups. Here's my plan:

The Ottobre group suggested doing a SWAP (sewing with a plan) for this season. Most of the group are doing Autumn / Winter, but being in NZ, I'm doing Spring / Summer, and I'm not really following the time guide lines. This will be my first item.

Now I must be off to pin these all together and hide them... can you imagine how tempting all these little bits of pretty fabrics would be for a four year old with a pink fixation!

What a hoot.

2009-08-25T20:02:00.000-07:00

Milla is still sick, but at least more is going in than coming out. She's also got another top front tooth, so now is known as Milla-Pilla-5-Tooth.

Here is another Ottobre project that I've recently finished:

and a modelled shot....

and a close up of the owl.

This is the Elly blouse from Winter 2008. I've made this once before. Mainly I chose it again because I was too lazy to trace something else, and also I wanted something simple. I'd probably choose something with a different neck opening next time, as this is a little gapey (to allow it to get over the baby sized head).

Hello Spring

2009-08-24T05:07:00.001-07:00

Spring is just around the corner, and thank goodness we have fine weather, because this is what I am doing a lot of at the moment:

Poor old Milla has had a tummy bug since Friday, as well as a unfortunate experiment on Thursday in which we discovered she is allergic to eggs. We went to the doctor today, and there wasn't a lot to be done except try to get fluids & food into her...easier said than done. I fed her 1/4C of apple puree tonight, and got back 1/2C.

Tulip Pants

2009-08-23T14:59:00.001-07:00

Finally finished the Tulip pants from the latest Ottobre magazine . The pockets took forever because I am hopelessly in-ept at pin-tucks, which is a shame because pin-tucks are so cute. I also had a few problems getting the zip in just right, but eventually after unpicking it 3 times, it looks fine.

I made size 86 in width, and they are perfect for width, but I used 110 for the height, and they're just barely long enough.

I wasn't too sure how I would like the flares, and considered using the straight legged version, but I rather like them in real life. They seem comfortable too - Eleanor has been roaring around all day in them like a fool.

The back pockets are my favourite thing about these pants:

I used to strip all these time consuming details off my sewing projects, but now I am picking out projects because of the details.

Tiny Feet

2009-07-28T04:50:00.000-07:00

I've been having trouble keeping shoes on Amelia... somehow she almost manages to get them off - usually in the middle of shopping malls. Then you have the whole retracing your steps hunting small shoes... which is just so tedious, and she gets cold feet.

So I thought I'd try some of the patterns on the web for baby shoes. MPL isn't walking or crawling, so the main functions I was after was stay-on-ability and warmth.

These are from Stardust Shoes.

Because I used fleece for the outer & inner, I cut the top and back pieces on the fold instead of separately, so I didn't need the seams (to reduce bulk). Other than that I followed the instructions.

Amelia wore these tonight, and they didn't come off. Yay - success.

Knobbly Knees

2009-07-27T02:32:00.000-07:00

This cheeky little fellow is on his way to Wellington to live ... he's a 2nd birthday present for my nephew Alex. Eleanor decided his name was "Naughty Parrot".

He is from Bean Bag Buddies by Nicki Wheeler, which I got out of the library. He was pretty quick to sew... although the "assistance" from The Pink Princess slowed it down a bit. The Pink Princess was so impressed, that she ordered one for herself. It's a "Mingo"... or a "Fla-a-mingo".

The mingo has longer legs that the parrot, but is otherwise the same. Oh, and it's pink.