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.

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!

Pinafore binge

This past week I have been getting into the Roly Poly Pinafore . I have not finished my binge and imagine this will be a great way to work through my stash. 

Complete with a sweet little set with some bloomers from Shwin Designs baby basics bloomers. I am sneaking this in as my signature style as it features my favourite elements of the now; organic fabric, wooden buttons, metallic gold polka dots and the right amount of whimsy. 

Baby Sleep sack/sleeping bag tutorial

The last baby born into my family was my niece nearly 3 years ago. Now her new little brother or sister (we won't know till they enter the world) is due in 6-9 weeks. Everyone is very excited and I really wanted to make some nice things that will be useful for baby.

(Sofia 5 days old)

This tutorial and making this in one evening was really brought on by the fact that I wanted to do some embroidery...

But anyway on with the tutorial!!

To begin find a sleepsuit or long sleeve onesie that fits your baby and fold it in half to draft your pattern like this:

You should end up with a shape like this:

You will either need a layer of fleece or quilting batting to make it warm enough for winter. I used cotton quilting batting between my two layers that show.

Proceed to cut out a front piece in the main and lining (quilting batting too if using) before cutting out the back piece. The back piece will need to be higher in the neckline and have the straps approx 2" longer. Cut out the back pieces the same way as the front (main, lining and optional quilting batting).

Sew main to main and lining to lining as shown below. I pinned the batting to the back of the main fabric when I sewed this and it worked. Leave a gap at the bottom to attach the zipper for easy changing.

To sew the straps, arms and neck fold the main and lining in to face each other like this:

To finish sew in zipper, buttons and buttonholes (snaps are fine too).

Then, finished!

Some shots of my embroidery detail on front:

Quick instructions

Fabric used:
Cotton quilting batting
Quilting weight Winnie the Pooh cotton on main
Flannel for lining