Sewing for my nieces Winter wardrobe

The last few weeks I have been sewing up lots of new Winter items for my nieces (3 and 3m). Check below for the information regarding each item and pattern information. 

Sofia loved her Mara blouse pattern by Compagnie-M. I was lucky enough to win this pattern for free. The pattern is amazing and comes in A1 printing option or regular A4 printing. I went to Officeworks and had the A1 print done. I have never done this before but it really made everything easier. I sewed up the size 4 so she can get plenty of wear out of it. She loved both of her Mara blouses - I am pretty sure I will just be making her these in the future as it is hard to please her. 

Her other 'woodland animals' Mara blouse was so loved we nearly had to quit the photo shoot because she really did not want to take this off. 

I got this gorgeous organic cotton knit from Remnant Warehouse online and it is perfect - ridiculously soft and silky. I made Sofia a size 3 Raglan Tee pattern by Peekaboo patternshop. The neckband is some really stretchy grey ribbing - I didnt really like this so won't be using it for this again.

This is a self drafted size 3/4 cotton long sleeve tee. The fabric is a bit thinner then the organic cotton but is still very soft. I got it from the Remnant Warehouse as well and previously made Sofia some leggings out of it - It would make a great Skater dress!

Sof also scored some organic jammies. The top is the same self drafted pattern as used above - the fabric is a luxurious organic cotton purchased from Bloom Fabric Shop. She loved these jammies - the pants are too small though so will make her a bigger pair and try again.

This is the Whimsy Couture Hooded Jacket pattern in size 5. The lining fabric is just a quilt packing vined/floral green cotton and the main fabric is a felt wool fabric - snuggly for Winter. On the head is an owl face appliqued using zigzag stitches. I bought the wooden heart buttons on eBay and love them on a jacket. Sofia really loved this jacket and it will fit her for at least another few years.

The last dress for Sofia I did not make - it is one I bought from Welcome to the Mouse House clearance second hand sale. It is a size 4 and has lots of 'twirl factor'. She was so in love she did not want to take it off... It may have helped that we called it a 'dancing dress'.

Twirl factor in motion. 

Now for Amelia's new clothes.

Mostly Amelia got Geranium dresses (one of the very few patterns available in small enough sizes). This one is in a cute cotton poplin from Spotlight. It is on the small size but hopefully Amelia will get some wear out of it.

(Whatever we were looking at must have been good!!). This is one of my favourites of the lot - a linen cotton blend with little blue flowers. Also a geranium. All of these dresses have little flat mother of pearl buttons up the back.

These are leggings from the Baby Basics pattern set by Shwin Designs. My new go to baby leggings pattern though is the FREE pattern by Go to Sew. The fit on the legs seems better and the rise is more suited to cloth. This pair barely contains this cloth nappy. The fabric is from my own artwork and printed by Spoonflower.

Now for some baby photos with my wife and I.

How a 3 year old sees the world

After taking lots of photos of Sofia (3 years) and her sister (3m) Sofia wanted a turn with the DSLR. Turns out she is pretty good at taking photos and many photos had very cool composition. Great insight into what is seen from her perspective.

The Franken-Indie sewing contest (Alder Skirt meets Caroline Dress)

Welcome to my first entry into The Monthly Stitch. This month it is all about Indie patterns - which I love and use 90% of the time anyway.

I chose to 'Franken-Indie' the Alder Skirt by Imagine Gnats with the Caroline Dress by Welcome to the Mouse House. 

Here is what I came up with. After the leap I will tell you what I did. 

Basically I used the princess seamed bodice of the Caroline dress (With high neckline, next time I will make it lower), with the pockets and skirt length of the Alder.

Changes made: basically I made the bodice first and then used the measurements of the side panels to be my founding length of the pockets. This means that the seams line up and looks quite neat. I then just used gathered rectangles for the front and back of the dress.

Conclusion: Alder Skirt pockets are the bomb. Also this is a great dress to wear to work.

Fabric used: Cloud9 Organic cotton in Straw Hat - Gray (Lined in Straw Hat Pink). 

I used to do more then just sew..

Before I began my obsessive sewing journey I was studying a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Visual Arts. Art and creating, making, imagining has always been a part of my day to day life. It has been a while for most of these activities... But I used to sculpt;

Make dolls;

Paint (sometimes with a politically geared agenda);

 And come up with unique, sweet characters to brighten up desks. 

I will do some more posts on more of my work as none of this is current or in my preferred style of fine lines, delicate features and water colours. I hope to find some more time to create not sew. 

The Caroline Dress by Welcome to the mouse house

This week I sewed up the Caroline dress  by Welcome to the Mouse House after seeing a few and making a split second decision. 

 This gorgeous pattern easily sews up professional and well finished dresses complete with princess seams on the front and back. Bonus: it is designed for someone 5'5" (my size).

It is not at all a fast sew but it is a rewarding one that you can get plenty of wear out of. I cannot wait to sew more but cannot decide on fabrics. There is also an option for 3/4 sleeves and long sleeves which I really want to sew up.

The pictured dress is a quilting weight cotton and sits beautifully and holds well and is lined in cotton lawn which is lovely against the skin.

Go get yours here OR buy this dress here.*

*After sewing this dress up I had hoped my other half might like it but unfortunately it was a miss. Which is okay - but if she doesn't like it I decided I won't wear it enough. So someone please take it off my hands and give it lots of love. 

The Alder Skirt by Imagine Gnats

I was lucky enough recently to pattern test for Imagine Gnats' Alder Skirt.

This is such a great and straight forward pattern. The angles in the pattern means I can just fold the pieces down to size instead of tracing everything - that is also incidentally my favourite thing about raglan tees. My favourite feature of this skirt is the pockets - so easy to install and very handy for all of the things we need to carry around.

Having a short torso with longer legs I found the skirt fit me better as a high waisted skirt - very easy just needs tighter elastic in the back. As a shortie (5'5") I had to remove 3" off the length to have it sit in the right spot. I love how you can play with contrast fabrics in the pockets and the waist band and the great details of top stitching. 

 Go get your copy today HERE.

Improvisational Pleating and a baby geranium dress.

I was pretty excited to sew up this dress for An from Straight Grains competition, admittedly I was more excited to get squishy cuddles from this one and her big sister!  

I used the Geranium Dress  pattern in size 0-3m for my little 6 week old niece. As this is an improv pleating exercise I used the method Faux Seams - you can find the tutorial here.

I love how this turned out and will definitely be using it more! I already have 3 more in the pipeline for the next size up.

The rest of the information:
Very sweet tiny mother of pearl buttons down the back.
Top of the bodice is a quilting cotton in a pumpkin colour - lined in some orange floral that I am not sure of a name.
Skirt piece is Cloud 9 organic floral from their Garden range. 

The pants are organic jersey knit in 'Gelato'. Pattern found here.

And now for some other cute baby photos!

 Her squishy cheeks are coming in. 

 Behind the scenes: Spit up and a big yawn.

 But seriously, this face?

I mean seriously! 

And a kiss from the big sister.

Thanks for stopping by!