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!

March update

 

 This week I had a mini photo shoot with my favourite little model. I will include more photos another time - but for now enjoy the cuteness!

 For the shoot I sewed up the following patterns: Peekaboo Pattern shop's Gentleman's jacket (above),

 2 geranium dresses (above and pink dress 2 below),

 Long bodice with a zipper dress of my own pattern,

Straightgrain's bubble dress pattern and some unrelated sewing....

Some gorgeous little newborn baby pants (pattern by Brindille and Twig and review coming soon)...

Because this week I became an aunty again! I am so in love with this beautiful little soul. I was lucky enough to get some good long cuddles in last weekend. She is such a perfect little person. Her big sister seems pleased and stops to kiss and stroke her new little friend. 

Project Run & Play Week 2. Movie inspired.

I have been sewing along with Project Run and Play, found here.

First week's theme was 'Winter Wonderland' and I submitted a green pond weed hooded jacket.

This week I thought about a few different films that would be fun to sew. Some ideas included:

The Secret Garden

Despicable Me

The Book Thief

And Miss Potter (2006). Which I decided to go with.

Here are some inspiration screen shots from the movie.

The movie was set in the early 1900s. 

Lots of skirts, petticoats, over skirts, high neck lines and buttons were in for little girls.

Here is what I came up with:

Both pieces are heavily altered Geranium Dresses. You can buy the pattern here. 

I included a little bit of hand embroidery to make it more authentically 'Potter' related.

The base dress is fully lined. I altered the bodice making the buttons in the front, adding a stand up collar, sleeves etc. 

The collar was very easy to do and I love how it turned out. Would be so nice and snuggly with tights for winter.

Buttons detail. Unfortunately I did not have 4 the same. 

The over dress is a bit of an apron/play cover. The pieces are pretty similar - I took about 4" off the length of the skirt and about an inch off the back bodice so it would sit nice and open to show the dress underneath. My machine did not really like sewing this fabric - it was too soft and fine. I am glad I used it though as it has been in my stash quite a while and it will be such a nice lining for the dress.

Thanks for reading along!

If you would like a tutorial on adding sleeves to your geranium as well or adding the collar or putting the buttons on the front please let me know in the comments below.