Clairey Sews

The Katie bag

2012-01-14T19:38:00.003+11:00

I probably sound like a broken record but I just love, love, love Echino. If I was limited to only buying/sewing with one type of fabric for the rest of my life I'd choose Echino, and die a very happy woman.

My little Echino collection is growing rapidly, thanks in part to my little sister who recently found some for $9/metre while in Japan. And although I could stare at it all day long, it's wasted in my sewing cupboard, so I'm trying to use it where I can.

I discovered a great little site a while back called I Think Sew. She has beautiful patterns - mostly handbags and shoes - and I was drawn to her samples, especially as many of them use Echino.

I bought few patterns, including the Katie Bag. I'm not usually a bag sewer but I really liked this one, and thought it would look great made up in some of my favourite fabric. The pattern came together beautifully. It's fairly simple but the result is fantastic. The bag is supposed to have a belt on it (which I love, it's what drew me to the pattern) but I felt the fabric was too busy for the belt, so included some wooden buttons as a focal point instead.

So on to the pictures... I really love the finished product but realise it's not everyone's cup of tea. I actually made this for my sister-in-law but am going to make another for myself.

The finished bag - front (looks a bit gaudy in full sun!)

Front detail

The back - a little bit more pink!

Lined in a grape coloured cotton canvas with a magnetic closure. I included a small pocket made of the exterior fabric.

The buttons I included instead of the belt. I stitched these with coordinating cotton.

Christening gown for my baby

2011-12-18T15:57:00.003+11:00

We had our baby girl's Christening this morning. It went really well and I feel like I can relax now - so much work for such a little person!

Most of that work has been sewing. I made Baby A's Christening gown and while I'm really happy with it, it was a lot of work, especially while juggling a baby, 2yo and 3yo. It's made from satin and lined with silk. I'm looking forward to never working with satin again. That fabric has a mind of its own.

The pattern is a modified Oliver + S bubble dress. I didn't sew the bubble, instead opting to lengthen the skirt and lining to create a long dress and pettiskirt. I edged both skirts in a gorgeous tatted lace. The bodice was also finished with the same lace, and I had a ribbon sash at the back.

We incorporated a little history with some 100 year old lace sewn into the sash at the back (from Baby A's great grandmother's Christening gown). The buttons were from Baby A's paternal grandmother's stash (she died before Baby A was born and left me her buttons and sewing machine) and I also made little mock bows to cover the buttons. Baby A wore her great-grandmother's 100 year old crocheted bonnet.

I also made a little pair of shoes for her. The Ottobre Tepsukka pattern, but with the pintucks omitted.

The kicker - I had to do all of this twice, as I also made a dress and shoes for my niece (kind of) who was also Christened today. Early to bed for me tonight!

The finished dress

Front bodice. Love those cap sleeves and am looking forward to making the bubble dress in cotton.

Love this lace

Mock bows on the back bodice...

... covering the buttons

I omitted the pintucks and used the lace instead. Finished with a pearly snap.

Dresses x2 (headaches x 10)

Everything old is new again

2011-12-06T14:37:00.003+11:00

I developed a bit of an obsession a few months ago for vintage sheets. The colours and designs really appeal to me - some of them are so ugly they're beautiful!

I started collecting them a few months ago and after my baby girl was born started a vintage sheet quilt for her (which I really need to bind). I am particularly in love with one of the designs, from an old pillowcase, so decided to use the leftover fabric to make baby A a little romper for Summer.

The pattern is Kwik Sew 3776. The sizing is spot on and it looks cute, but the construction left me scratching my head at times. Next time I will make a few changes to make it a bit neater, both inside and out.

All in all I'm happy with it. Baby A looks so cute in it - just like the little ray of sunshine that she is. And at $2 for the pillowcase, it's super cheap an original.

The front. It has a crotch opening for nappy changes.

Simple placket at the back.

Oh how I love these thighs!

Pitter patter of tiny feet

2011-11-09T12:14:00.002+11:00

I have a bit of an addiction to baby shoes. Baby A owns around eight pairs a the moment that she'll outgrown in a matter of months. I can't help it, they're so cute and dainty, even if they're not all that practical.

I think I have mentioned before that I had three friends due to give birth around the same time as me. Well, two of them had little girls too, so I decided to share my love of all things cute and dainty by making them some little baby shoes.

The pattern is from Ottobre magazine - they're the Tepsukka Slippers. I adore them. They're a MaryJane style but with sweet little pintucks and a curved strap. I used a couple of fabrics that my mum brought back from Japan and plain cotton lining. I adore them! Baby A will be getting several pairs over the next year or so.

The construction is fairly simple, although they are teeny tiny, and there are some very small curves to sew. I reduced my stitch length quite a bit to make life easier. This pattern is also intended to be used with corduroy, so I made my pin tucks slightly wider than usual to accommodate the thinner fabric.

I also made one friend a matching hat after she commented that she couldn't find a sunhat small enough for her daughter. I used the pattern from the Oliver + S book, Little Things to Sew. The smallest size was still too big, so I reduced it down to 90%, and it worked really well.

Pair for baby AM. I love the pink lining with the pistachio green outer.

Pair for baby S. The lining is actually pale blue, this photo is a bit dark.

I made the tucks wider than I usually would to allow for the thinner fabric.

LTTS hat, reduced to 90%. This gives a circ of 41.5cm, as opposed to 45% (I kept the half inch seam allowance).

Hat and shoes set :) The shoes are sz Eu17, which is about a US2 (I think).

Long time between posts

2011-10-22T15:35:00.003+11:00

It's been ages since I've blogged. It's actually been ages since I've connected with the online sewing world, apart from late night browsing on my phone.

But I have the best reason, a gorgeous wee six week old baby girl.

I can't begin to describe how much I love our little possum. She has filled a gap I didn't know existed, and she fits so beautifully into our family. She looks just like her big sister and is one of of those 'easy' babies I had heard about before but never experienced. My husband has said that if all our babies were like her he'd be keen to have a dozen more (but we won't, as we have also experienced what it's like to have a baby of the non-sleeping, poor-feeding, reflux-medicating variety!).

Our tiny wee girl has also been diagnosed with a permanent hearing loss, in both ears. It's been a stressful few weeks but we feel a bit better having some answers now. Her hearing loss is mild, which sounds fairly benign but she will need hearing aids to learn to speak and get by in life.

It's not what I want for my little girl and it's not what I'd choose for her - we all only want the best for our kids don't we? But I am not silly - I know many parents face far worse diagnoses than this, and I am really positive about her future. If anything her diagnosis has made me even more grateful for what we have. There have of course been tears and sadness, but we are moving forward and overall we are doing well. Many positives have come out of this too, especially the support I have received from my amazing friends, both online and in real life.

I don't share pics of my kids online but trust me when I say she's a little cutie. Dark hair, fat little cheeks, big blue eyes and a rosebud mouth. She's soft and gentle and always has a smile for me. She really just melts my heart.

I could go on all day, but won't, as this is a sewing blog. I only started sewing when my oldest child (another daughter) was 2 years old, so I have never had the pleasure of sewing for a baby girl all of my own. That's about to change! I have a few projects on the go and many more patterns earmarked to make for baby A over the coming months.

For now, I'm going to share an outfit I made for my 3.5 year old daughter a few days before giving birth. It's the family reunion blouse and puppet show shorts, both from Oliver + S.

I've made the shorts before but this was the first time I've sewn the blouse. As you would expect from O+S it's a great little pattern that is cleverly put together. I sewed it using a French floral fabric I got from my local fabric store a year or so ago. It's finished with my favourite pierced wooden buttons and coordinating lilac embroidery thread.

The shorts pattern is a favourite. It is out of print now but O+S have recently released it as a downloadable pattern - hurrah! If you take a look at the O+S Flickr group, some versions of these shorts don't have much gathering around the leg opening. Early versions of this pattern had a mistake in the leg binding - the errata is on the O+S website. If you own this pattern I really recommend checking it to see if it's affected by the mistake, as the leg gathers are just so cute and really add something to the shorts.

That's all for now. I hope to be back blogging regularly soon with some sewing for our tiniest family member.

The finished outfit.

Tab and pintuck detail. I threaded the buttons with lilac floss.

I used the same buttons down the back.

Happy birthday baby!

2011-08-31T13:23:00.005+10:00

My wee boy turns two on Friday and I can't believe it! It really does feel like he was born a few months ago. I'm feeling it even more acutely with the impending arrival of his little brother or sister in a few weeks.... I think he is too. Last night after his bath I wrapped him up in his towel and gave him a big cuddle. He rested his head on my cheek and said 'I'm mama's baby'. Eek! I think we are in for a few interesting months ahead.

I really wanted to make my little guy something special for his birthday. I wasn't sure about his initial request for a 'cookie monster dress', but I let him choose some cute Kokka cars fabric from my stash which he just adores, and decided to turn them into some shorts for him. He hasn't seen these finished yet, but got very excited when he saw me sewing up the fabric. He should love them.

They're pretty much the same as the helicopter shorts I made recently. O+S Sketchbook pattern, without the pleat, with a flat front, and two rows of topstitching on both sides of the fly, up the rise, on the pockets and up the outer seam. A few minor alterations that gave me the casual look I was after.

I also wanted to make him a shirt, and as usual turned to my O+S Sketchbook shirt pattern. I've made this several times now and am always looking for ways to make it a bit different. In the past I have monogrammed and also embroidered the pocket. This time I decided to applique a little dinosaur peeking out from under the pocket, as my wee guy loves dinosaurs, and I was keen to avoid using a dinosaur print (I love novelty prints, but need to draw the line somewhere!).

I sketched the dinosaur freehand onto some vliesofix then blanket-stitched it by hand onto the shirt. The eye is satin-stitched. All in all it only took about 20 minutes and I really like the lift it gives the shirt.

I also used the spotty fabric I used for the dinosaur on the inside of both plackets and the underside of the collar. It's not immediately obvious but peeps out hen the shirt is being worn.

All in all I'm happy with this shirt. The fabric was a bit of a nightmare though. It's lovely to look at - a very fine striped aqua and white cotton, but it's very, very crisp and creases so easily.

I'm wrapping these up for the little guy to open on Friday. Happy birthday baby!

Dark and blurry sorry, but here's the finished shirt.

Dino detail! T should love this.

The inner plackets and under-collar both have the same spotty fabric I used for the dinosaur, to tie everything together.

T's brm-brm shorts.

I did two lines of top-stitching on both sides of the fly, pockets and outer seam (plus the rise, which you can't see here).

Japanese jumprope

2011-08-27T22:37:00.006+10:00

A year or so ago my mum bought back a whole heap of fabric from a trip to Japan. One of these fabrics was a $4, 1.1 metre remnant that I fell in love with instantly. It was a lilac-grey linen and cotton blend with little bunches of deep pink and red flowers and strawberries scattered all over it. I knew as soon as I saw it that it would eventually become an Oliver + S jump rope dress.

I made view B of the jump rope last Summer and it was hugely popular with Sweetpea and me! In fact I think that dress may be one of the most favourite things I have ever sewn.

This year I sewed up a size 4, which has a fair bit of growing room for the rest of the season. I also added a wee bit of length for my beanpole.

The plackets, sleeve tabs and pocket trims are made up in a hot pink pure linen. Gorgeous fabric but it has a life of its own and slipped all over the place when trying to sew it.

Not much more to say about this - love the pattern and love the fabric, so am pretty happy with this dress. I am still sewing & nesting like mad, and now have two new baby girls to sew for ASAP before my own baby arrives in (hopefully not less than) three weeks.

Sorry for the shocking photo... here's the dress!

MOP buttons (which I think are a little too big?) and pink topstitching on the collar.

I think the pockets really make the dress.

My mum is fab: she watched the kids for me a few weeks back, and when i came home she had folded a flower hairclip out of the dress scraps.

Otto shorts

2011-08-23T12:54:00.004+10:00

One of the hardest things about sewing for boys is the lack of variety. There's just so more choice when it comes to patterns and fabrics for girls. Having said that though, there's a lot of brilliant stuff out there and I can usually find inspiration on other blogs or Flickr.

I'm still trying to get most of my Summer sewing done and that includes lots of shorts for my little guy, who wears little else over Summer. I have a few patterns, but am reluctant to buy more as they're all just variations on a theme. That's why I like Ottobre magazine so much, lots of boy patterns every issue that I probably wouldn't purchase individually, but really appreciate.

These shorts are from Ottobre 3/11. I like the way they're a bit shorter than most of the other patterns out there, and the little cuff detail is something a bit different (to be honest I wasn't sure about it, but was itching to do something 'new', and I really like the end result).

This is only my second Ottobre attempt. On one hand it's kind of refreshing to have minimal instructions - there's certainly no hand-holding! On the other hand the finish isn't quite as polished as you'd get with say an Oliver + S pattern. I learnt a few new tricks making these though - constructing the waistband without having to thread through elastic on a safety pin was a revelation... sooooo much easier than the way I usually do it!

I sewed them in navy and white seersucker with red topstitching. There's a lot of topstitching in this pattern - two rows on most seams. I love topstitching though, although using such an obvious colour made me a bit more cautious than usual. The seersucker was from my stash (leftover from this shirt) - if I had purchased fabric for these I would have gone with a broader stripe, but I'm trying to chew through my fabric stash at the moment.

I made these in a 92 and they fit beautifully on my big, little boy.

The finished shorts. They've got patch pockets with a little flap, faux fly and a little crossover cuff detail.

*sigh*. This is the best photo I could get of my little guy wearing them. You are growing up too fast mister.

The fly with bar-tacks.

Cuff detail. Didn't like this initially but do now.

Pocket detail. I like the diagonal buttonholes, and chose red and white contrast buttons.

Popover squirrel dress

2011-08-20T19:48:00.004+10:00

I've been sewing Oliver + S for as long as I've been sewing, yet it's taken me until now to sew the (free) popover sundress pattern. Why? I have no idea. I think i just run out of time each Summer, and there is usually a new whizz-bang pattern that takes priority over this one.

This year I have made a head start on the kids' Summer sewing, and was recently given some gorgeous Echino fabric that suits this pattern perfectly.

I matched the Echino with some linen scraps I had left from old projects, and trimmed the yoke and hem with some cotton lace I had left over from making a friend's bridal garter a few months back.

I added a little squirrel pocket to complement the dress. I wish I could take credit for this idea, but I cannot - I took the idea from this Etsy store. Making the pocket was easy. I traced a squirrel clipart directly onto the linen from the computer screen, then fused another layer of linen to the back using vliesofix. I then sewing around the edge using a very short zig zag stitch, clipped around the edges and straight stitched it onto the dress.

This is such a sweet pattern and so quick to sew up. I hope to make a few more, as it suits our hot Summers.

The finished dress. Size 4 with extra length. It's a little roomy, but will be nice and cool to wear.

I love the Echino with the linen and lace. If you haven't seen this fabric in real life, it's a much softer purple than it looks here.

Lacy hem.

Squirrel pocket

Pockets are always a hit with my wee girl.

Nesting, getting a head start on Summer and stash busting

2011-08-13T19:59:00.003+10:00

I've been sewing so much lately, churning out clothes for the kids daily. Part of it must be nesting, part of it is getting a head start on their Summer wardrobes before baby #3 comes along next month, and part of it is stash busting (I have a LOT of fabric on its way to me and need the room! I also have lots of one yard cuts that I need to use before the kids get too big).

These little shorts are one of my favourite recent pieces, I adore them, and so does my little boy.

The fabric is Echino (my mum loves Echino as much as I do and is always picking up bits and pieces for me, this one is no exception) and the pattern is the Oliver + S sketchbook shorts.

I have made this pattern once before, but am much happier with this attempt. This time I made a few alterations:

omitted the pleat to make them more casual
top-stitched the edge of the fake fly and added an extra row of top-stitching to the curve of the fly
top-stitched the rise from the bottom of the fly to the back waistband (again, to make then more casual)
added a bartack to the fly.

I also gave them a flat front this time, with the elastic only at the back and sides. I added a button to the top of the fly (after finding my mother-in-laws old button box - treasure!).

All in all, I love them, and when I next make these shorts will make the same alterations.

The finished shorts. I really like them with the flat fronted waistband and without the pleats.

Fly details, you can just see the extra top-stitching either side and bartack.

The back: rise top-stitched all the way along the seam.

My wee guy modelling them. These are a sz 2 for a very tall almost two-year old. They fit beautifully at the moment. We're not going to get more than a season's wear out of these :-(

My very first Ottobre creation

2011-07-26T21:35:00.004+10:00

I mentioned in my last post that I've finally got brave enough to attempt sewing at knit. As part of this process I discovered that sewing with knit is actually fine, but there are some elements of it that make me want to beat my head against the wall. Like attaching rib binding... that's enough to cause a nice big bruise on my forehead.

I am about 7 weeks away from meeting my new baby, and thought I would get some practice making a little onesie. I chose a pattern from Ottobre 3/2011 (I think it's called Peppermint) to make for my colleague's new baby girl - I made a larger size to fit her in the Summer.

The actual pattern is very simple. The body of the onesie is all one piece, so the only tricky bit was to attach the binding. According to Otto, the binding should be cut to about 70% of the edge length and then stretched on. But when I tested this on a scrap of the fabric it was a hot mess.

After getting some great advice from a few good sewing friends (hello girls, you know who you are!) I felt confident enough to attack the binding. I cut a huge strip of binding and stretched as I sewed - a little less on the straight bits and much more around the legs and arms. I also found using my walking foot was a big help.

When I was finished I was pretty pleased with the results. But when I went to fold the binding over and attach it to the other side, it seemed to stretch again... and I don't know why! I unpicked a few times and tried everything, but still couldn't get the result I was after.

After a few hours I decided enough was enough, and just finished the damn thing, imperfections and all. It looks okay laying flat on the table, but I suspect the neckline is too big, and maybe the legs. I also made the binding too thin, so that the snaps kind of overlap it. And the icing on the cake is that the paint flaked off some of the snaps as I was hammering them in. So I don't think this little onesie will meet it's intended recipient, I am too embarrassed and will make something else instead. If I end up having a girl I will see what it's like on her and she *may* wear it.

I am not completely turned off sewing this type of thing. It's certainly a learning experience and though I have a lot left to learn, I felt I picked up a few new skills. I'm going to attempt a few envelope tees next, as I hope they'll be a bit easier and more forgiving than a onesie like this.

I have also rediscovered Ottobre magazine during this process and am totally inspired. I have been busy tracing out lots of (mainly woven) patterns so I can get a head start on my kids' Summer sewing before this baby comes along.

The finished onesie. See how narrow the binding is? I wish I had made it wider so that the snaps fit better.

The wrap-around style is really cute, but made it hard to gauge how much to stretch the binding, especially around the legs (as it wasn't simply a matter of using the same length binding for the legs).

Hammered in the snaps and the paint flaked off to reveal a rusty snap! GAH!

The Urban Hoodie

2011-07-22T14:35:00.003+10:00

I first bought the pattern for the Urban Unisex Hoodie (from Heidi and Finn) about a year ago now I guess. I loved it as soon as I saw it but have put off sewing it as I've never sewn with knit before.

A couple of weeks ago I bit the bullet and started two new knit projects, one of which is the hoodie, and the other I will blog about soon. And what do you know, sewing with knit isn't hard at all... unless we're talking attaching rib binding, which I'm not... in this post.

This is a great little pattern. It's a fairly simple shape and it unisex, which is a bonus in our house. I sewed this version using a couple of cheap remnants - a blue interlock and a black and grey striped rib knit.

I have read a few reviews saying that the sizing runs small in this pattern, especially around and under the arms. With that in mind I halved the seam allowance and it makes for a really nice fit on my little boy.

The only thing I didn't like about this pattern was that fact that the lining and main fabric at the bottom of the hoodie is stitched together before the band is attached. It makes it kind of clunky to sew. Apart from that, I really recommend this pattern and will be making more for my kids.

The finished hoodie. I wish I had stretched the bottom band on as I'd sewn it. I will next time.

This is the best modelling shot I could get, but you can get a pretty good idea of the fit and general look of the top here.

View from behind. I love the blue poking out from the hood. I also love that my wee boy is hugging his teddy and sucking his thumb here. At nearly two my baby thinks he is a big boy now and getting so independent. It's nice to see him slip back to baby mode once in a while!

The tea party playsuit

2011-07-04T19:48:00.003+10:00

Nothing inspires me to sew like a friend having a baby. Baby E was born eleven days ago and is just delicious - super chubby cheeks and loads of thick, dark hair. Cluck cluck!

I decided to make him a tea party playsuit, by Oliver + S. My motives were largely selfish - I wanted to try it out as I've never sewn one before, and I already had most of the pattern pieces traced and cut from making the tea party sundress last year. I am nothing if not lazy!

This is a size 6-12 months, so intended for baby E to wear this coming (Australian) Summer. I used some of my stash of Kokka robots for the bodice, and a really lovely, super light, striped linen for the shorts. The bodice is also lined in the linen. The linen had a beautiful drape, but was so hard to work with. I swear it was alive... it just moved - my seams were all a bit uneven because of it. In the end I overlocked each piece before sewing, which gave it some stability and meant I didn't have to finish the seams post-production (again, lazy!). The piping is one of the many green Kona solids, and while I was initially worried it was too bright, I like the pop of colour it gives the playsuit.

Construction was straightforward. I used snaptape for the crotch and am pretty happy with the way it turned out. It seems kind of bulky against the light linen but I'm sure with a cute little nappied baby bum in there it will be fine. In any case the snaptape was so much easier than worrying about whether regular snaps are aligned properly.

The finished product. The left left looks wonky here but it was just the breeze - I promise :)

The bodice is lined in the same linen as the shorts, which gives a very clean finish to the inside.

Bodice detail.

The buttons, hand stitched with green floss. My initial linen covered buttons were a disaster (you could see the aluminium button through the linen on my first attempt, then when I interfaced it it wouldn't snap in on the second attempt). I didn't remember I had these buttons until I was fishing through my button box. I bought them on a trip to Hong Kong last month for the lovely Nicole, who was searching for them. If you ever are in Hong Kong, go and visit Sham Shui Po. It's home to the craft district and is absolute heaven - so many treasures at very cheap prices.

Something a bit different

2011-06-30T15:10:00.001+10:00

I've never been one for embroidery, but over the last couple of weeks I felt like I needed to do something creative, and sewing wasn't going to cut it (something about being pregnant and uncomfortable and in love with the couch... and my sewing room being too messy to inspire any creativity).

I discovered this embroidery through a sewing forum I belong to and fell in love. It's a pattern called the Princess and the Pea, designed by the very talented Nicole from Follow the White Bunny.

Despite not really ever having stitched before, this was really enjoyable and I quite looked forward to stitching away in front of the tv most nights. I only knew the basics, so had to learn split stitch, French knots, lazy daisy stitch and chain stitch from the internet. They weren't as intimidating as I thought!

My wee three year old has taken a shine to it so it will hang in her 'new' bedroom, which is getting a big of an overhaul before the new baby comes along in a few months.

The end product is far from perfect, but I like it, and I enjoyed making it. Maybe even enough to stitch a few more over the next few years.

The finished product. Ignore the bumps, I shoved all the excess fabric under the hoop for the photos.

The princess and her blankets.

The middle mattresses.

The bottom layers, including the bedskirt and the pea!

Goodbye to a good friend

2011-05-05T15:39:00.002+10:00

Today has been a sad day, we had to say goodbye to my dear friend and her family. Her daughter is one day older than Sweetpea and they've 'known' each other since they were five weeks old. They're thick as thieves and see each other at least four times a week.

So apart from saying goodbye to my dear friend, I've also been trying my best to help my little girl, who is 'lots of sad, not just a little bit sad' to say goodbye to her best friend (they're moving more than 1000km away). It's really heartbreaking. At 3 years old she can't fully understand what's happening, only that she won't see her friend anymore.

We wanted to send J off with a little gift, and after a bit of thought decided on some hair clips (Sweetpeas's idea) and a little purse to hold them in (my idea). Sweetpea choose the fabric and I got to work.

I based the purse on a tutorial from Noodlehead Sews. The example in her blog is divine, so check it out. Ours is made using a small scale Japanese deer print, linen, and red canvas for the 'J' applique and lining. It's very simple and quick to sew.

The clips are made using my stash of small scale prints I keep especially for making hairclips.

I also bought both girls a storybook about two best friends who move away.

So goodbye J, Sweetpea will miss you. And goodbye for now to my dear friend, you know I'll miss you too x.

The purse. The 'J' applique looks wonky for some reason - it isn't in real life!

Peekaboo!

The clips :) My favourites are little red riding hood and the big bad wolf.

Schools Days coat take 2

2011-04-30T20:38:00.004+10:00

I finished my last post talking about the O+S school days coat I was making for my son. Well it's finished, has already been worn to death and is dirty already!

My little boy's coat is super soft pale blue cashmere, lined with a tangerine elongated dot from the Freebird by Momo collection (the actual print is called 'eggs' and the colour is melon). I really wanted a contrast lining, and this looks so lovely on my little guy, who has strawberry blond hair. I had initially wanted to use one of those cute Japanese prints for the lining, but decided not to in the end as a) I wanted a contrast and most of the boyish ones were blue/green, and b) most of my favourite prints were canvas weight, and I thought that would make the jacket too bulky, especially as it's only a sz 18-24 months.

If you're making this coat, I really recommend checking out one of those bead shops to find the leather cord. I looked everywhere and was about to use a leather shoelace, before mum told me where to look. The shop I went to had leather and a man-made leatherette cord in a heap of colours, including many brights. The leatherette would be a good choice if you plan to dry-clean your coat, and the dry-cleaning process can often make leather stiff and crackly. The man-made option is also very soft and super strong.

There's not much else to say that I didn't say in my last post. Except my son loves his coat too, and both kids like wearing their matching jackets together. They recently stood the test of a cold Melbourne escape and got a lot of positive comments.

I feel like my sewing is stuck in cement lately, so much inspiration but so little sewing time. I am itching to get sewing for the new baby, and to make a few more Winter garments for the kids.

The finished coat. The colour is a bit off here - the photo below is much more accurate.

I love the lining :)

New Winter coat

2011-04-14T15:26:00.003+10:00

My mum and my sister have a fabric business and one of the perks for me is cheap fabric! On their last buying trip I asked them to look out for a few metres of wool to make the kids new Winter jackets. Typically, they couldn't settle on just one, and shipped back more than a dozen metres of gorgeous wool/cashmere and plain wool. Heaven!

I have had the Oliver + S School Days Coat pattern for a while but have never tried it out due to not having had the 'right fabric'. Now I do!

The jacket was surprisingly simple to make. It's a lot of work (if anyone knows of a company that will trace off and cut our your pattern pieces for you, please let me know) but all very straightforward. The instructions also had a few tips for working with wool, such as grading the seams and having a wider topstitch, and they gave really nice results.

I was intimidated by working with wool but it was so forgiving. Lots of ease so setting in the sleeves was a piece of cake, and it was even nice to cut out.

The lining is a quilting cotton by Sandi Henderson - medallion bloom from her Farmer's Market collection. It's one of my favourites but I wasn't sure about using it for the coat. In any case Sweetpea decided she had to have it, and I'm pretty happy with the result, even though I would have preferred something to contrast with the pink wool.

The jacket fits really well, with enough room to layer a jumper underneath it. Sweetpea adores it!

I'm working on my son's coat now and am really excited about it. I love that's he's still too little to have any say in the fabric choices, so his jacket is just how I want it.

The finished coat. I choose to use toggles and leather cord rather than buttons.

The coat has the option of concealed snaps or velcro. I chose velcro as it's easier for the kids to mange on their own.

The lining. Sweetpea's choice but it's not too bad at all.

The jacket has lots of topstitching. I followed Liesl's tip and made mine a quarter inch, and love the results. I pre-treated the wool by hand-washing it in woolwash then laying it flat to dry. I plan to wash the coat in the same way.

My monkey's new monkeys

2011-03-27T13:29:00.002+11:00

Winter is fast approaching, and my little boy is not so little anymore, so it's time for a new sleeping bag to keep him toasty at night.

I have made sleeping bags before, using my own pattern. This time around I was a bit too confident, especially after such a long break from sewing, and made a bunch of stupid mistakes, like forgetting to add seam allowances, stuffing up the zipper etc. But, we got there in the end!

I really love the fabric I used. It is from David Walker's Boys Will be Boys collection. I loved it as soon as I saw it (online) and when my local fabric shop had it at 20% off I jumped at the chance. However I couldn't bring myself to use it for clothing - as much as I love novelty fabric it's a bit much, even for me. I eventually decided to use it to make pyjamas, but prefer my kids to wear something with a bit of stretch to bed, so canned that idea. I finally had a lightbulb moment when cleaning out my son's cupboard - he needed a new sleeping bag and this would be the perfect fabric! It will get regular use, so we'll both get to enjoy it often.

The fill is a double layer of cotton and bamboo, which should be very warm and has the added bonus of being low-allergy (my little guy has asthma and eczema and is constantly breaking out in hives after being irritated by something). The lining is a soft white and blue polkadot flannel, for extra warmth.

If it looks stupidly long, that's because it is stupidly long. I married a giant (6'8") and my kids are taking after their daddy. I made this to fit for at least another year. He is currently 18 months and still in a cot, and I'm in no hurry to move him to a big bed. Luckily we have my daughter's old cot for the new baby.

My little boy has given it his seal of approval and will wear his new 'monkey sweeping baggy' for the first time tonight. Even though the colours are traditionally boyish, I think it has pretty broad 'toddler' appeal and baby #3 can wear it too, regardless of its gender.

You know those gorgeous blog pics with handmade clothes hanging on a funky clothesline surrounded by lush green gardens? This is not one of them.

The arms and neck are bias bound with a coordinating print from the same collection.

Super soft flannel lining.

Monkeys! I love these little guys and am glad I finally found a good use for this fabric.

Double-gauze ice cream

2011-02-19T14:10:00.003+11:00

My poor neglected blog! I can't believe it has been more than a month since I posted. But I have a fantastic excuse in the form of a teeny tiny wee bub making its home in my belly and making me so sick and tired in the process. My sewing machine has been gathering dust and I don't think I've ever spent this long without stitching.

But things are looking up! I'm on anti-nausea meds and I've got my sewjo back with lots of little projects planned.

I've posted about Oliver + S's ice cream blouse before. Great little pattern. I've also posted about my love of double-gauze before too. Now the two have finally met.

When my little girl had nothing to wear to a party recently I decided to make her an ice cream blouse as the pattern is so quick and simple and I knew I could finish it within a couple of hours. I thought the double-gauze would compliment it perfectly, and it does.

We had a few problems though. If you've ever worked with double gauze you'll know that it has a very loose weave. This makes it lovely and cool, but is also means that it can move out of shape a bit. In this case, the nature of the fabric meant that the two halves of the notch on the yoke wanted to go in different directions. It looks fine, but I have to be very careful when washing it. I think if I was to make this in double gauze again I would reinforce/interface the notch (same goes for any other stress areas on other garments).

On the whole though, I'm happy with this top. Here are some pics:

The completed top. The fabric is from Cosmo textiles.

Button from my stash.

Sweet pea after the party. This is a size 3 with added length, for my little giraffe :)

Queensland floods

2011-01-13T21:52:00.004+11:00

You've probably heard about the horrors happening up in Queensland at the moment. It's almost beyond belief.

Toni Coward from Make It Perfect has arranged for the sewing community to run auctions on their blogs with all proceeds being donated to the Flood Relief Appeal.

I'm in.

I'm auctioning off a replica of the journal and cover in the post below. The stats are: A5 spiral bound, unlined journal, with a hand-made cover. The cover basecloth is 100% linen and is has a floral design appliqued onto it. The applique is hand cut and pieced fabric from the Echino Fall 2010 line.

The journal and cover will be very, very similar to the one pictured below. I will get cracking on making it this weekend.

How the auction works:

Bidding will start at $1 (Australian).
You can place a bid by leaving a comment on this blog post with your bid amount and email address. Please make sure that your bid is higher than the previous bidder.
Your bid must be in whole dollar increments.
This auction is open to everyone, I'll cover the postage.
The auction begins NOW and will END at midnight on Monday 24th January 2011.
At the close of the auction, I will contact the winner (please make sure your bid comment includes your email address). The winner will pay the winning amount directly into the Premier's Flood Relief Appeal and send me proof of payment via email. Once proof of payment has been received, I will post your journal to you.
Thank you for participating and happy bidding!

New journal for a new year

2011-01-06T14:36:00.002+11:00

I'm not really one for keeping a diary, but I do have a little journal that I use to keep all my sewing ideas. It has everything from my wishlist of patterns to buy, to fabric combos I like, sketches for clothes I want to make, my always growing 'to do' list and lots of little inspiring pictures ripped from magazines.

I also have a huge stack of fabric from the Echino Fall 2010 collection that I just adore, and look at at least once a day.

I've been wanting to make something for me out of the fabric, but wasn't really sure what. I'd like to reupholster a chair, but haven't found the perfect chair yet, and I haven't yet found the 'perfect' bag pattern to suit the fabric, so a handbag is out for now too.

I eventually decided on using some of the Echino to make a cover for my sewing journal. It's only a small journal (A5) so completely covering it in Echino seemed way too busy. Then I remembered these gorgeous cushions I saw on Flickr and used those as inspiration.

I made a template then cut small petals from the fabric and fused it to some lovely soft linen from Kelani Fabric. I then backed the linen with pellon and quilted the petals with a big spiral, before sewing it into a journal cover.

I'm chuffed with the results and am thrilled to have something just for me, especially as I can get my fix of Echino every time I use my journal.

All done! If I had my time over I would have used a lighter-weight pellon. You can still see my chalk quilt markings too - need to give it a good dust-off.

Sigh - I love Echino. The pattern wraps over the spine and around the back of the journal.

The journal opened out flat. 'My' pen (aka the only pen in the house that isn't dried out/chewed on/missing its lid) has a bright orange shell with purple ink. I've had it artfully arranged on top of the journal all morning! I'm such a nerd...

More apples for Christmas

2010-12-23T14:38:00.004+11:00

I blogged about a week ago about a dress I made my almost three year old for Christmas.

My little boy now has a matching shirt in the green colourway of the same fabric! It's my usual shirt pattern (sketchbook by O+S) with pearly snaps instead of buttons. I made the collar and placket cream so it's extra matchy (and naff!) on Christmas day.

When I went to cut out the shirt I found I had nowhere near as much of the green fabric as I thought. The very lovely Emma came to my rescue with some yardage from her stash - you can check out her amazing blog here. Thanks Emma!

Merry Christmas everyone, hope you all have a happy and safe holiday.

Shirt for my 15 month old. He'll wear it with some store bought shorts as I ran out of time to make some. They're beige with apple green trim.

To match this dress for my nearly three year old.

Robots for Christmas

2010-12-20T22:41:00.004+11:00

Just finished another night's Christmas sewing. This time it's an O+S sketchbook shirt and a MIP lazy day hat for my nephew.

If you read this blog often you'll know that I've made both of these patterns before and love them both. They're simple and look great.

The fabric I used is by Kokka - I have used it before in a different colourway to make shorts for my son. I really love it. I think it might be a bit busy for this shirt, but if anyone can get away with a busy shirt it's an 18 month old.

The only thing I did differently when constructing the shirt was to cut the collar interfacing along the collar fold line (a tip I got from the Oliver + S forums). This makes the collar much easier to fold, especially as I used quite a thick fabric.

Excuse the dodgy photos, they were taken at night, using a flash, as I need to wrap and post this present first thing.

The finished shirt. Quite busy, but I like it!

Inside. Constructing the yoke is fiddly but the results are so neat.

The hat. This pattern is really well suited to cotton canvas.

Fabric detail - because I love it!

A few of the robots got a head transplant where I attached the pocket.

Apples for Christmas

2010-12-17T14:43:00.003+11:00

One week til Christmas eve - hurrah!!!

I wanted to make my kids something to wear on Christmas day. Using overtly Christmas prints on clothing isn't really my thing, but I still want them wearing clothes that are festive on the big day.

I have previously made view B of the jump rope dress by Oliver + S, and loved it (everytime DD wears it we get asked where we got it). View A has been on my wish list for a while, so I thought I'd make one up for Christmas.

I had a couple of yards of Sandi Henderson's apple dot in red in my stash, and the colours suit my DD and Christmas, so I decided to use that. As the print is quite busy I constructed the placket and collar in a plain cream cotton to break it up and frame DD's face. If I had enough fabric I probably would have made the sash up in cream too... But I didn't, so apples it is.

The pattern was just what you'd expect from O+S - clear and easy to follow. This is quite an involved pattern though, lots of little elements that take more time than you expect (the placket, sleeve tabs, pockets etc). This dress took me three nights to make (one night cutting and another two nights sewing) so I am pleased to have it finished.

I need to make my son something for Christmas now. I am considering a sketchbook shirt in co-ordinating green apple dot fabric. What do you think - too naff? I am so tempted.

The dress! I think this fits the brief of being Christmassy without being *too* Christmassy.

Placket and collar constructed in cream. The buttons are the same white plastic button I used for the Swingset tunic.

The pockets. I think I should have made the top part up in cream...

The sleeve tabs are made up in cream too, and finished with the same style of button as the placket, but smaller. I love these sleeves, so cute. They'd work well on a boys' shirt too I think.

Little stockings for little elves

2010-12-12T14:27:00.004+11:00

I adore Christmas. I really, really love it. I event wanted to give my daughter 'Christmas' as a middle name, but my husband vetoed it (much to the relief of pretty much everyone I know).

Growing up, Christmas was a big deal in my house and we had a heap of little family traditions. One of my favourites was digging out our Christmas stockings on Christmas eve and leaving them out for Santa.

My childhood Christmas stocking was beautiful. Mum made it by hand and it's gorgeous. I have brothers either side of me, both very close in age, and we each had our names appliqued onto our stockings and I thought it was just wonderful.

When we were a little older, my little sister was born. I always felt very sad that she didn't have a Christmas stocking made by mum (mum had enough to keep her busy with 4 kids under 6). She did get her own special stocking from I think Disneyland of all places, but I always felt a little sad for her on Christmas eve. I don't think she ever cared, especially as her stocking was bigger than ours.

When I had my first baby in 2008, I remember being very excited about being able to make her a stocking and starting our own little family tradition. Back then I had never used a machine, so decided to make her a stocking by hand. I ended up spending close to $100 at the fabric shop - I bought enough fabric to make a stocking for my little girl and 3 potential siblings!

I stayed up late each night for a month, hand embroidering the baubles and stiching silver ribbon down the stocking. I loved being able to use it for her first Christmas.

My son was born last year, in 2009, and to my disappointment I did not get the chance to make him a stocking before his first Christmas, due to him being a refluxy baby who needed to be held for every.single.sleep until he was 4 months old.

This Christmas I have a 1yo and a 2yo and they now each have their own, personalised Christmas stocking. Now that I can sew (hurrah!) I made my son's on the machine, and it's all machine embroidered. Much faster!

Hopefully, in 2011/2012 I'll have another little elf to make a stocking for. I'm already planning what it will look like (little gingerbread men, perhaps?)

Merry Christmas!

The finished stockings. The one on the left is made my hand (inc applique) and the one on the right is done by machine. Both are fully lined.

Their names are blanket-stitched using silver thread. I traced the font directly from my computer screen onto vliesofix. The font is Cooper Black.

My daughter's stocking is decorated with Christmas baubles. I used Donna Hay cookie cutters to get the shapes. The neck of each bauble is appliqued with thick silver ribbon, and each is 'hung' using narrow silver ribbon. The cutters are no longer available but you can get a similar set here.

My son's is decorated using different sized snowflakes, some stitched in silver, others in red and white. Even though they were machine appliqued it took a long time. A definite labour of love!

Double gauze for Summer

2010-12-08T15:23:00.004+11:00

Yet again it's been a long time between posts. I've been busy altering and hemming bridesmaids dresses (the silk chiffon nearly drove me to drink) and have quite a few little outfits on the go, which I just need to sit down and finish (you know - hems and buttons and all the fiddly bits).

But on to my latest project.

My friend recently asked me to make a new top for her daughter. As she is very fair-skinned, she wanted something with long sleeves, but still cool enough to wear in the heat.

Oliver + S's 2+2 blouse has never been my favourite pattern, but I did purchase it recently to make a short-sleeve version for my little girl this Summer. I thought the gathers and relaxed neckline of the 2+2 would be perfect for a Summery top for my friend.

I decided to use double gauze for the main fabric. I own perhaps 10 yards of double gauze but until now have never sewn with it (oh the shame!). For this top I used the blossom print in blue from Cosmo textiles. I adore this fabric, and raced out last week to buy the same print in a different colour for my daughter.

The double gauze was extremely soft and lightweight. It was lovely to sew (although it does have a life of its own at times) and it irons beautifully. If you are using it I would recommend drying it flat. Mine stretched a little on the clothes line.

I am really happy with the finished top - in fact I love it and am now a 2+2 convert. I really enjoying constructing it, I feel like my sewing IQ is a bit higher after seeing how the neck opening was formed.

I decided to leave the ties off this version, finishing the neck binding as per the back, and keeping it unfastened so it falls open like a kaftan/tunic.

I also made a Sunday Brunch skirt (also by Oliver + S) in navy cotton to match the trim on the blouse. The pockets are lined with the double gauze. I love little hidden details :)

Finally, I made a sunhat to finish off the outfit and keep her little face protected from the sun. The pattern is the Make it Perfect Lazy Day hat, which I have made before and just adore. I was worried the gauze might be too floppy for the hat, but with a stiff-ish interfacing adhered to it it worked beautifully.

The complete outfit.

Blouse detail. I left the ties off. When worn, the neckline hangs open a little like a kaftan/tunic.

The Sunday Brunch skirt. Can't wait to make lots more of these - have some cute ideas for my daughter.

Little detail: the pockets are lined in the double gauze.

Fully reversible sunhat.

Reusing some much loved fabric

2010-11-18T14:28:00.005+11:00

My daughter received the most beautiful dress for her first birthday. I loved it, particularly the fabric. Unfortunately, it was way too big, and by the time the next Summer rolled around she was too tall for it.

Since then it's been sitting in her cupboard, as I loved it too much to throw out. It's been waiting for daughter #2 to show up, but there's every chance I won't have another daughter, so last weekend I decided to cut the dress up and put the fabric to good use as a new top for my little girl.

I've wanted to make Oliver + S's Swingset tunic for a while. I love the structured look of the bodice compared to the floaty main panel. I used the recycled fabric for the main panel. It's printed floral voile and so sweet. I used a plain white quilter's cotton for the bodice.

I also *finally* got around to making some puppet show shorts too. I have long admired these and am really pleased with how they look and how easy they were to sew. I wanted them to match the Swingset tunic, so used the same deep raspberry colour that's in the top, to make the shorts.

The shorts are made of voile, which is super sheer. I ended up using a double layer of the voile for the main part of the shorts (so no-one has to be subjected to my little one's Dora knickers!) with a single layer for the pockets, waist and binding.

I really, really recommend these shorts. They look so cute on and are quick to make.

The original dress

A few hours of unpicking and sewing later, turned into this. Hurrah!

I love the structured yoke with the floaty gathers. Liesl from O+S is a genius :)

The back is buttoned with three white, glossy plastic buttons.

The finished shorts. The colour is washed out here, it's a deep, almost red, raspberry colour.

The shorts have a cute gathered pocket, and gathers at the cuff, which make them bloomer-ish.

The finished ensemble.

Monogramed shirt for Baby Z

2010-11-13T13:30:00.004+11:00

A little while ago I posted about this set I made for a baby shower. Well, on Thursday morning my friend delivered a beautiful baby boy. Eeeee!!! I'm off to meet him in an hour and cannot wait.

He arrived a little early and I was completely unprepared with a present (especially as I didn't know his gender before he was born). But I knew I really wanted to bring something to the hospital, so I pulled out my well-used Sketchbook Shirt pattern from Oliver + S. I have made this four times now and it gets easier every time.

I didn't have time to go fabric shopping, so I used some blue and white seersucker from my stash. I was very tempted to use one of the many cutesy boyish prints I own, but I think the stripes work better for this shirt, especially as it is sized 12-18 months (for next Summer). In any case this little man is going to get a zillion gifts from me over the coming months so I can use some of the cuter fabric for those.

I have never sewed with a narrow stripe before and it was challenging. It shows up every little mistake. You have to be so precise with your cutting and that is hard with seersucker!

I knew I wanted to personalise the shirt, but didn't know how. I thought about an embroidered pocket like I did here but that wouldn't really work on the seersucker. I eventually decided to play around with the stripes and applique a 'Z' monogram (first letter of his name) using horizontal stripes on the vertical pocket. I'm really happy with it. It's kind of subtle, but funky. My husband thinks I should have stitched it on using navy thread... I'm undecided. It would have made it stand out more, but I kind of like it the way it is.

I used navy snaps instead of buttons - I didn't have anything appropriate in my button box.

Time to grab some lunch and then get to the hospital. Can't wait to meet you Baby Z!

Finished shirt. Size 12-18 months.

Monogramed pocket detail.

Close up. I picked a font I liked on the computer, enlarged it and flipped it. Then I traced in directly from the screen onto some vliesofix. After ironing it onto the fabric I cut around the Z.

The back. The yoke is cut across the grain. I thought about chevroning it but I only had a few hours to make this shirt, so decided not to.

J'adore!

2010-10-31T20:02:00.006+11:00

I'm a bit of a blog and Flickr junkie - always looking for something new to inspire me. A few months back I saw the most gorgeous little top on Flickr and fell in love. After a bit of investigating I discovered a range of kids' patterns I had never seen before. Uh-oh... Dangerous. Within half an hour I had ordered one of the patterns to try it out. Nothing wrong with that, except that it cost $35 and it's French. As in all the instructions are in French.

Fast forward a few months and I finally got brave enough to give it a go. I actually studied French for a number of years as a child but typically, it didn't come it handy when it came to deciphering the instructions. However, the pattern was fairly straightforward and intuitive, and I was able to bluff my way through (using some of the techniques I have learned from Oliver + S patterns). I also relied heavily on other blogs to figure out things like whether the seam allowance is included (the jury's still out). I also learned that the sizes run small, so knew to upsize for my daughter.

Speaking of sizes, these patterns start at sz 2 and go up in 2s, so I made a sz 4 for my (very tall) 2.5 year old. It fits, and with plenty of growing room.

The pattern itself it very simple. I read somewhere that Citronille patterns are like cooking a very basic meal, but with top notch ingredients, and I have to agree. The lines of the top are lovely with everything sitting 'just so'. The pattern was interesting in that it didn't have a lot of the sewing marks I'm used to, like fold lines/grain lines.

I used some of my precious Liberty stash for the yoke. My husband gave it to me for mother's day. It's a seasonal print called GiGi Garland and I adore it. I matched the pale blue stripes of the print with a blue cotton ticking. The top has a simple button down placket at the back.

The pattern is called Apolline (it can be made as a tunic or dress) and the company is Citronille. I like this company very much, quirks and all, and will buy a few more of their patterns. They also have knitting patterns, patterns for babies, women's patterns and a small range of (lush) fabric. Their website is in English (although again, the patterns are NOT!)

The finished tunic. I do own an iron, I just don't like it very much.

I matched the blue in the yoke to a blue ticking for the bodice.

Yoke detail. I adore adore adore this Liberty print.

The armholes are finished using a very narrow bias binding.

Sweetpea - she likes it!

Sketchbook hippos

2010-10-27T19:36:00.003+11:00

I have two new newborns in my life to cluck over! Babies Max and Curtis were born to two very good friends just two weeks apart in July & August.

Shamefully, I have only just finished their presents. I rather uncreatively made them the same little outfit - an Oliver + S sketchbook shirt and shorts, in size 6-12 months for this Summer.

I've made the sketchbook shirt before and really love this pattern. I've not made the shorts before as I was a little turned off by the pleat in them, but the finished garment is really lovely. I especially love the fake fly.

I used a print from Daiwabo's Tip Top canvas collection - hippos in grey. The shirt is a Kona solid in a coordinating blue.

I wanted to 'tie' the two pieces together, so I made the shirt's inside yoke using the hippo fabric, and embroidered a hippo on the shirt pocket (I sketched it on then stitched it a few times using a very short stitch). I'm really happy with the way the pockets turned out.

A few things I learned during this process:
1) I get bored very quickly making the exact same outfit twice
2) My sewing has improved since July when I started these outfits. On one hand that's great, but it irks me to give a gift that I think could be 'better' than it is.
3) I really should have tried harder to match the thread to the Kona.

Some pictures:

I thought the pleat was too preppy but I am really happy with these.

Fabric close-up. I matched the blue puddles to the Kona I used for the shirt.

Full outfit (you can just see the other one peeping out in the top left corner)

I used the hippo fabric from the shorts on the inside yoke, to tie the two separates together.

Detail of the embroidered hippo - my favourite part of the whole outfit.

New blouse for Summer

2010-10-17T11:06:00.003+11:00

A little while back a couple of the big fabric companies put out new collections that weren't quilting cotton. Hurrah! These fabrics have the gorgeous prints that I love in quilting cottons, but a lighter weight, which is perfect for summer clothing. Lecien released a range of voiles, and Alexander Henry did a range of cotton lawn (although some sites are calling it voile - who knows?!)

I snapped up some of both ranges.

I have made Oliver +S's music class blouse before, but not for my daughter, so I decided to make her a lovely floaty blouse for Summer.

The fabric I used was Lecien's Memoire a Paris, which is a very light voile. I spent ages choosing which colourway to get (they are all fabulous) and in the end decided on black. I don't usually like to dress my little girl in black but this particular fabric is covered in little pink and purple flowers, so I made an exception. It reminds me a little of Liberty.

The blouse was lovely to sew, and the black is extremely forgiving. I was going to gather instead of making the pintucks, but decided they were such a cute detail that they were worth the time.

The buttons are a dark mother of pearl, which picks up the pink and green in the fabric.

The blouse is a size 3 and is a little roomy, and just the right length (maybe a touch short). I think this is the last year I will be able to sew for my little girl without altering the patterns. She's now nearly a metre tall and still slim, so I'm going to have to lengthen everything from now on :(

Here are some pics:

Finished blouse. This is a rubbish photo but it shows the details... kind of. Black is hard to photograph!

Detail of the top. The buttons are a bit darker than this - they were reflecting the light.

Pintucks! I used Liesl's tip and pulled the threads through to the back and knotted them. This gives clean pintucks without the need to lockstitch or backstitch.

My favourite detail: a little inverted box pleat on the sleeve cap. Bliss :)

The fit. I think this will look cute with a little demin skirt and sandals.

More bees for a mum to be

2010-10-09T13:50:00.003+11:00

Another day, another baby shower! This morning's shower was for a wonderful friend who is six weeks away from meeting her little baby.

I decided a while ago to make her another bumble bub quilt using Melly & Me's pattern from their Kaleidoscope book (I have made two previously) but this time with a few changes. As her baby's sex is a surprise I used gender neutral colours - mainly green and purple. All fabrics are from Sandi Henderson's Farmers' Market range, which I just adore. I have actually seen this quilt made up in these fabrics somewhere, but now cannot find the blog anywhere - let me know if you know the one I'm talking about. I think it may be Scandinavian?

I made this version a little smaller than the pattern. It is 4x5 blocks rather than 5x6. I did this to make it easier to quilt, and it's a really good size for a baby.

The quilting is very simple, I basically quilted around the border of each block. I like it that way as it means that the quilting doesn't detract from the little bees.

I included 'flight lines' from the bees in this version and just love the result. They're stitched by hand using a running stitch and embroidery floss. I think they add to the playfulness of the quilt. The quilt was bound by hand over a couple of nights in front of the telly - bliss! The quilt batting is a 50/50 blend of cotton and bamboo, so it's soft and natural.

I also made a matching bumble bee softie, using the pattern from the book. The only variation I added was stitching some scrunched up cellophane into the lining of the wings to make it fun for the baby to chew and play with. Last night I also appliqued one of the little bees onto a store bought onesie, to complete the gift. I was sad to see this one go as I love it so much, but I know it's going to a wonderful home.

The finished quilt. It is bound using the stripey fabric that the bee bodies are made from, and is backed in the spotty looking lime green fabric (called 'pomegranate seeds')

One of the flight lines. This is such a cute little detail!

Bee softie. The wings are lined in cellophane to make them crackle.

Little appliqued onesie

The completed gift.

Robot shorts

2010-10-03T21:10:00.005+11:00

I have promised myself that I will sew as much for my son as I do for my daughter. So far I think I am doing a good job of this, but it is hard, as there are so few patterns for boys. Really, how many shorts patterns do you need?

It seems that when it comes to sewing for my son I am limited to shirts, shorts and pants (apart from t-shirts, but my knit phobia keeps me from trying these yet) whereas I have enough patterns to keep my daughter in a new dress every week all Summer long.

Because there are so few truly different boys' patterns, I am always looking out for cute boyish fabric. Again, the girly fabric market is so much bigger, but there are a few real gems out there for boys.

I recently saw some gorgeous robot fabric by Kokka, at Kelani (link to the right) and just had to have it. I knew it would transform my boring shorts pattern into a cute and different little pair of shorts.

The pattern I used is Burda 9639, which is a basic, elasticised waist shorts pattern, but with cute patch pockets and flaps on the outside of each leg.

It's a simple pattern, although I used some of the Oliver + S construction techniques to make the finished product a bit more professional.

The robot fabric is on a black base-cloth, so i used electric blue thread for my top-stitching to make the pockets stand out a bit, as they're such a cute feature (and I don't own any black thread).

I'm really happy with the end result. I still have enough fabric left to make my little boy a cute robot hat, or maybe a matching appliqued top.

The finished shorts

There are patch pockets on each outer leg. See how the lines of robots match on my side seam? Let's pretend that was intentional and is the same on the other side.

Detail of the blue top-stitching.

I adore this fabric. These little guys are less than 2cm tall, so the amount of detail they included is amazing.

Jump rope!

2010-09-24T12:43:00.004+10:00

There's lots going on in the online sewing community at the moment. First up, there has been a sew-along for Oliver + S Jump Rope dresses, and secondly, it is kids clothes week over at Elsie Marley.

The sew-along was actually held a few weeks ago but with all that has been going on here (my son has had pneumonia!) I missed out... so it's been a sew-behind for me, rather than a sew-along. Better late than never though.

The kids clothes week challenges people to spend an hour sewing each day, for a week (and for their kids, obviously). I have a few things on the boil but this dress in the first one I have completed.

I really adore this pattern. I bought it because I was completely in love with View A. I thought View B (which I have made, see below) was a bit shapeless, but after seeing some gorgeous View B versions on the O+S Flickr group I decided to attempt that first (and really, my two year is a bit shapeless too, so it suits her!)

View B was also better suited to my fabric. The fabric is by CoCoChi and it's not everyone's cup of tea, but it is definitely *my* cup of tea! It's a soft grey with pink, white and black doilies printed on it, with animal silhouettes scattered throughout. Sounds ghastly but I love it! I used a plain pink cotton for the inner placket, pocket trim and sleeve tabs.

The fabric is a heavy cotton, not quite as heavy as cotton canvas. It was a dream so sew with, the only criticism i have is that it frayed very easily.

As you'd expect with and Oliver + S pattern, it came together very easily. It was a '3 scissor' pattern but the only really involved bit was the placket, where you have to be pretty precise. The collar and set in sleeves have the same construction as the music class blouse and sketch book shirt, so were familiar to me and nice and straightforward.

My little girl has picked out some fabric for me to make view A next. Can't wait to get started.

If you like this pattern, go and buy it now. It has been taken out of print sadly, so is likely to sell out soon. I have just rushed out to buy the larger size range as I love it so much.

The completed dress. I am officially a 'view B' convert!

I adore the pockets.

In action. I made a size 3 for my very tall 2.5 year old.

Testing out the pockets (my little entrepreneur insisted I put money in the pockets before she'd let me take this photo).

More booties

2010-09-24T12:37:00.002+10:00

Not much to say in this post... I have made these booties many times before (they are usually my 'go to' gift for a baby shower or new arrival). I made these last Friday night when I was feeling bored and my hubby was flicking between two codes of footy on the TV. I made them to go with the sleeping bag at my friend's baby shower.

I have no idea of the fabrics. The outer is a really cute Japanese print that mum picked up for me when she was last there. It's hard to tell in the photo but the balloons and animals' outfits are actually glitter. Cute :) The lining is something that has been languishing in my stash of scraps.

Wish they were bigger to show off more of the print.

They close with velcro. Snaps work well too, but are obviously visible on the outside.

Sleeping bag for a baby shower

2010-09-16T10:10:00.003+10:00

I can't believe how long it has been since I last blogged! Things have been busy here, with a new job for me, my little one turning one, four trips to emergency, food poisoning, flu and illness. As I type my 2 year old has chicken pox and I'm waiting to see if the one year old has it - gah!

But in the midst of all that, I have been sewing. I've got a few projects on the go at the moment that I'll blog over the next few weeks as I complete them.

One of my very good friends is nine weeks away from having a baby (actually, two very good friends are 9 weeks away from having a baby - but more about that in another post). I knew I wanted to make her a sleeping bag, but didn't know which fabric to use, especially as her baby's sex is a surprise. But after seeing her nursery, all decked out in an owl theme, I knew the perfect fabric - Alexander Henry's spotted owl. Typically, Hawthorne Threads was out of stock, but the lovely Jen came to my aid by sending me some of her stash (thanks Jen - I owe you!)

I'm really proud of this sleeping bag. I made it up as I went along, which probably doesn't seem that impressive as it's such a simple shape, but I put a lot of thought into how to quilt the outside without quilting the lining, and it was my first time sewing a concealed zip (not sure of the technical name - lapped zipper perhaps?). I also am managed to conceal the zipper tape between the lining and main fabric, and am really happy with the outcome.

I used two layers of ultra soft cotton and bamboo blend inside the bag, and quilted it using vertical lines, two inches apart. Because I used a natural filling, the sleeping bag will take a little longer to dry, but I much prefer natural fibres to polyester, which is used in most commercial sleeping bags.

The lining is a Kaffe Fassett cotton. I can't believe how soft it is - easily the softest quilting cotton I have ever come across. It's a bluey/purple colour and hopefully suitable for a boy or girl. I also used this fabric to bind the arm and neck holes. I hand-stitched these for a neat finish.

I'm giving this to my friend at her baby shower this weekend and really hope she likes it! I really must make some more sleeping bags for my little one, as I really enjoyed the process and it'll be fun to match his sleeping bags to his sheets.

The completed sleeping bag. I made to fit from 6-18 months - so the baby can use it next Winter - and it took pretty much the full length of a yard of fabric.

The arm and neck holes, bias-bound using the lining fabric. I also sewed a guard to protect the baby's neck from the zipper.

I concealed the zipper tape between the lining and outer fabric (for looks and comfort). The inside is not quilted.

I included a fabric 'guard' to protect the baby's clothing from getting caught in the zipper.

My first ever concealed (not invisible) zipper. Hurrah!

Tea party sundress

2010-07-17T21:18:00.004+10:00

This is a bit of a continuation from my previous post. If you have read it you will know that I made my friend's new baby girl a sweet, white lace blouse on her arrival. I also wanted to make her something completely different that was a bit more 'fun', and the tea party sundress by Oliver + S fitted the bill.

My mum has a fabric business and one of the huge benefits for me is the regular buying trips she makes to Japan. She got me a heap of stuff in January - mainly Lecien - for about $4 a metre. Crazy! I would really love to get over there one day, but I digress.

One of the fabrics she brought back last time was two metres of Cosmo Textiles dolly print. It's ridiculously cutesy and girly, with little dolls in Paris printed all over it. I decided to use this print for the yoke and centre panel, with a plain fabric on the outside to tone it down a bit.

The basecloth is actually a really unusual colour, it looks cream, but is actually the faintest blush pink, and it was really hard to match. In the end I chose a cream and red pin-prick polka dot from Sevenberry - another great Japanese fabric company. The red and cream kind of gives the illusion of pink, and I think it works quite well with the dolly fabric.

I decided to go ahead with the optional flat piping and am glad I did. I think this dress really needs it, or it would risk look a bit washed out.

The pattern was a dream. This was one of the first Oliver + S patterns I ever bought (along with the Birthday Party dress) although I have never made it until now. I originally bought it in the larger size range and had to purchase the smaller sizes as I really had my heart set on making it in a tiny size. This one is size 6-12 months.

The dress came together easily, as is the case with Oliver + S patterns. I sewed it in a night, after a spectacularly rubbish day at work. It was so lovely surrounding myself with a gorgeous pattern and lovely fabric, knowing that it would work out. I felt so much better by the time I went to bed that night.

I quite like the flared skirt but think that next time I will tone it down a bit, particularly as I will make it for an older child (my daughter!) next time.

The finished dress. I'm glad I went ahead with the piping as I think it makes the dress.

Yoke detail. I used basic red plastic buttons. I did actually cover some using the Sevenberry dot fabric, but it didn't look right. And that hazy area on the left of the photo is my daughter's fingerprint on the lens. She has a toy camera, but mine is far more exciting.

The trademark O+S faced hem. This was a little different to the faced hem of the birthday party dress as it's understitched. I like it.

Music class blouse

2010-07-17T20:58:00.006+10:00

It feels like a long time since I posted. Life has been busy over the last few weeks, with me returning to work and both the kids and myself getting sick. It's left precious little time for sewing but I've had a few late nights so I can squeeze in some me/sewing time (same thing really).

I mentioned a couple of posts ago that two friends from my mothers group were due with their second babies. Well one of them has now given birth to the most precious baby girl named Ella. She's lovely, with dark hair and chubba cheeks! I spent my last afternoon of maternity leave getting some lovely newborn snuggles from her.

My friend didn't know she was having a girl and was very excited when she was born. She has a home sewing business - making cot linen - so is very aware of all the gorgeous girly fabrics out there.

I decided to make her a couple of pieces using Oliver + S outfits, as they never fail to impress.

The first was the recently released Music Class blouse. I hadn't given this pattern much attention before, so it was nice to have an excuse to sew it. I decided to use a very soft and sheer Broderie Anglaise (eyelet lace) for the fabric, as my little girl had a similar blouse when she was about 6 months old and I loved her in it. A little lace blouse looks so sweet all dressed up with a skirt and tights, or just with a denim skirt.

The pattern was great, similar in construction to the Sketchbook Shirt I made recently, although using a much sheerer fabric made the trickier bits (the collar and setting in the sleeves) so much easier.

The Music Class blouse has little pintucks on the front and back and they're very sweet. I've never made pintucks before and was pretty pleased with how they turned out... although sewing them on the embroidered fabric was a bit tricky. This pattern also has a lovely little inverted pleat detail on the sleeve cap that I forgot to photograph in my rush to get the blouse to its new owner.

I made this blouse in a size 6-12 months, so it's pretty tiny. I didn't want to muck around with tiny buttons, so used press studs (snaps) for the first time. I used ones with a pearly top that mum bought for me in Hong Kong recently, and think they're perfect for the shirt. However one of them shattered as I put it in and there were some tense moments in this household as my husband tried to remove it without damaging the blouse.

I really love this little blouse. I have already bought some lovely turquoise rainspot dobby to make one for my little girl this Summer.

As usual I have waffled on so will create a new post for the other piece I made for Miss Ella.

The finished blouse. It looks very blue in this photo but you get the idea...

Pintuck detail. I love the little snaps I used too - and so much easier than sewing on buttons!

One year on, and a new backpack for my baby

2010-06-27T21:07:00.005+10:00

It's my birthday today, which means it's exactly one year since I got my sewing machine and was bitten by the sewing bug. I'm really loving being able to create beautiful things for my family and friends, especially my kids, and can't ever see myself getting tired of sewing.

This week also marks my last week of maternity leave, as I return to work next Monday. I have mixed feelings about this, as it means putting my youngest in childcare for two days a week. He's only 10 months old and we've never been apart, so it's going to be a huge change for us.

I decided to make him a backpack to take to daycare so he's got something special 'just for him' that was made by his mummy. I know he won't have any clue about that, but it will at least make me feel better!

I used the toddler backpack pattern by Made by Rae with a few amendments: I added a zippered pocket to the front, increased the height by 2 inches and fully lined it. I also added a nameplate to the back. The backpack came together without any fuss and I had fun picking the fabric (cute Kokka aeroplanes) and trims.

This was my first time using a zipper and I was pleasantly surprised to see how easy it was. It was also my first time working with piping (ready-made) - I liked the effect and am looking forward to using it again.

View from the front. I drafted my own patten for the front pocket and am pleased with the result.

Side view. Even though I used cotton canvas and interfaced it, it's not quite as firm as I would like.

Back view. The straps are padded at the top. The bottom section is webbing and adjustable.

The nameplate. I machine-embroidered Tom's name and trimmed it with piping.

I added lining to give the bag a neater finish. All seams are bound with contrast bias binding. You can see the quilted bottom here - it's the same on the bag's exterior too.

And the top view - my two very first attempts at a zipper!

Bumble Bub quilts

2010-06-13T20:43:00.004+10:00

My mothers group is going to grow again over the next six weeks with two of the mums due to give birth again. Hurrah! My 'babies' are now 9 months and 2, so I am looking forward to squooshy newborn cuddles again.

I think I mentioned in an earlier post that we usually chip in and give the expectant mum a handmade present for the new baby. One of the mums has a business making gorgeous cot linen and sleeping bags so the task usually lands in her lap, but as she is one of the recipients this time I volunteered to make the gifts.

I've never made a quilt before. It's never really appealed to me and my mum is a beautiful quilter so I am kind of spoilt in that regard (I own about six gorgeous quilts that she has made me over the years). But I spotted a very cute little baby quilt in the book Kaleidoscope by Melly & Me and just had to make it. Well, I decided to make two, since we have two mums about to give birth.

The pattern is called Bumble Bub and it's a good size for a beginner. The end result is about 38 by 46 inches from memory, so it's a nice size for a cot or a play mat on the floor.

Being a little bit naive, I thought the quilt looked simple and I'd be able to whip a couple up pretty easily. How wrong I was! I started last Monday and averaged about six hours a day to get the quilts finished by last night (Saturday). That includes time taken for mistakes, including an emergency dash back to the fabric shop to buy replacement backing fabric when I didn't buy enough the first time).

While the pattern is straightforward with clear directions, I hadn't taken my perfectionist tendencies into account and I nearly drove myself to drink making sure each block and strip was cut, sewn and aligned perfectly. I was very aware that each small mistake would be pretty obvious, as opposed to making garments where a slightly too-big or too-small seam allowance won't really show in the finished product.

The quilt tops came together well. Each quilt has three super cute bumble bees which took me a bit of time to cut out and applique. I would normally hand-stitch these but being short of time, I used my machine's blanked stitch for the first time and was very happy with the results (the little faces were hand-embroidered however).

I used a very basic quilting pattern, diagonal lines through the centre of each block. My lovely mum - keen to encourage my quilting - gave me an early birthday present of a walking foot and I was very impressed by how well it worked. I did have a few teething difficulties initially though, where my stitches were very short in some areas due to the weight of the quilt pulling it back a bit. I learnt pretty quickly how to deal with the weight and volume of the quilt.

The quilt binding is done by machine - if I had more time I would have preferred to finish it by hand. The pattern also includes a very cute bumble bee softie and I really regret not having enough time to make a couple to accompany the quilts. I may make these before the babies are born and then bring them to the hospital.

The quilts are intended to be gender neutral. I am happy with the colours (I wanted them to be 'fresh', which I think they are) but wish I'd spent a bit more time looking at fabrics as I think there are so many great combinations you could use for this quilt. Four of the seven prints I used are from Heather Bailey's Nicey Jane collection, with some Kokka and Michael Miller thrown in. I used a cotton and wool blend batting.

If you're new to quilting, I can really recommend the Oh, Fransson! blog, which has a great 'quilt along' with great tips and techniques.

I have plans to make this quilt at least a couple more times, as I do love the end result and I think it makes such a lovely gift for a new mum and baby.

The bumble bee blocks, appliqued and ready to be trimmed to size.

One quilt pinned and with quilting lines marked out, ready to be sewn. I'm not sure if it's 'normal' to mark out the quilting lines before you start, but I didn't trust myself to keep it straight otherwise.

One of the finished quilts. This photo was taken in the shade, the actual colours are a bit brighter than this.

Bee detail.

Quilt x 2! I made the quilts identical as I couldn't bear having one 'better' than the other.

The Sketchbook shirt

2010-05-29T21:46:00.004+10:00

My favourite pattern company, Oliver + S, put out three new patterns recently, the ice-cream dress (I have made and blogged the blouse version), the music class blouse and skirt, and the sketchbook shirt and shorts. I was most excited about the ice-cream dress and thought the Sketchbook pattern was 'nice', but on the whole I find boys' patterns a little dull.

However I've just made up the sketchbook shirt and I am in love! In fact I think it may be my new favourite pattern. The resulting shirt is certainly the garment I am most proud of. It just looks so professional and I am still a little bit amazed that I sewed it. I never would have imagined I was capable of it when I started sewing last year.

A great thing about this pattern is that you can mix and match options. I chose a short-sleeve, pocket and regular collar (there is also a variation with a Chinese collar). I think it's the most casual combination.

The construction was straightforward but I did get to spend some quality time with my unpicker, making sure the collar attachment and set-in sleeves were perfect - well as perfect as possible for me.

The finish is great. It's so neat that it could be worn inside out. I've never made a shirt before so don't know if all shirts are like that, but I suspect it has something to do with the Oliver + S clever construction techniques. I added the optional top-stitching to the yoke and collar. I love top-stitch :-)

I finished the shirt with varnished wood buttons. I like them but worry they are a little big. I may change them tomorrow... The fabric is quite heavy so the interfaced placket is pretty thick and looks a bit clunky with the buttons.

Speaking of the fabric, it's 85% cotton and 15% linen by Trefle from Kokka. If you read this blog regularly you'll know I'm a big fan of novelty prints, but I have never before made a whole garment out of one. I think (hope!) this is successful because the colours are quite muted and the basecloth is natural.

The shirt is sz 12-18 months and is currently a little big for my son. I really hope he grows into it soon as I intend for him to wear it to his first birthday party in September, and then over Summer.

I am already eyeing off other fabrics to make a few more of these shirts for him.

The front. Photo taken in artificial light, making it a bit yellow.

The back. Love the little pleat.

Varnished wood buttons. Love the buttons but wondering if they are too clunky on the shirt.

I love the inside as much as the outside. As with all O+S patterns the construction leaves a beautifully clean finish.

Something for my little boy

2010-05-14T15:01:00.004+10:00

I've been feeling horribly guilty that most of the things I sew are for Sweetpea and my little boy misses out. But that's all about to change as he gets older and outgrows the baby onesie/lycra stage. There are also some fabulous patterns and fabrics around at the moment that are very boyish.

I was lucky enough to get the Oliver + S Sandbox pants pattern for mother's day, and already had some corduroy in the cupboard so started on a pair of pants for my wee boy right away.

As usual for an O+S pattern, the construction was a piece of cake and the pants were lovely to sew. To be honest I didn't think I'd learn anything new with such a relatively basic pattern, but I did! When constructing pants I normally pin and sew with the wrong side facing out on both legs, it's a bit cumbersome with so much fabric to get in the way. This pattern called for one pants leg to be turned right way out and slipped inside the other for sewing and it was so much easier and neater than the way I used to do it. Brilliant!

I used a brown cord for the pants and some of Kokka's cotton canvas novelty print 'Animal Boogie' in brown, orange and lime for the trim. Have I mentioned before how much I love novelty prints?! Lucky I have a 2 year old and 8 month old...

I only made one small amendment to the pattern: I reversed the pattern pieces on the back pockets so that some of the gorgeous lining would show on the outside of the pants.

As usual I'm a very happy O+S customer. My son has worn these pants twice this week and both times we have had people comment on how cute they are. That's a winner in my book!

Front view. Sorry this is so washed out, the waistband is blending in with the background.

Back view.

Back pocket detail, am loving this fabric!

Back pockets again. These are my favourite feature.

My son taking them for a spin. Pants are size 6-12 months and he is a large 8 month old. There's still some growing room though with the tie-front waist. Plenty of nappy room too!

The Uptown Girl Jacket

2010-05-08T23:07:00.005+10:00

Well Winter has well and truly arrived. It's been freezing here this last week so I'm pleased to have finished my daughter's new Winter jacket.

It's the Uptown Girl Jacket by Make It Perfect. I have a real soft spot for this as I bought the pattern when it was released a year ago and at the time, had never used a sewing machine or sewn anything more complicated than a softie (by hand). I remember telling my mum 'I am going to learn to sew and will make it for Sweetpea next Winter'. And here I am!

The pattern is deceptively simple. The construction is pretty straightforward and it actually takes longer to cut out all the fabric than it does to sew it up. It has a few lovely design details that really add to the overall look, like the gathers.

As it gets pretty cold here I made a few amendments to make the jacket more practical. Firstly, I used a wool/cotton blend batting instead of the recommended adhesive pellon (thanks Jen for the tip) and secondly, I included fastenings all down the front instead of just one button at the top, to keep Sweetpea extra snug.

I had intended to used buttons and buttonholes as the fastenings but my machine would not cooperate - the jacket was too thick with the batting - very dense - and the cotton canvas fabric I used (more on that later). So after MUCH to-ing and fro-ing, I decided to use magnetic snaps, with fabric covered buttons on the outside of the jacket for decoration only.

The snaps worked really well. They were simple to put in (although they would have been simpler had I decided to use them when constructing the jacket, rather than afterwards, I got to know my unpicker pretty well), they're strong, and they're simple enough for my two year old to do up and undo.

I used fabric from Japanese designer Hokkoh's Market Fresh collection: Market Flowers in Pink for the outer and Playful Dots in morning for the lining. It took me ages to decide whether or not to buy these fabrics. I loved them online, but was worried the pink would be too bright and that the cotton canvas would be too stiff and heavy for such a small jacket. I was really delighted when the fabric arrived. The colours were more muted than expected (in a good way!) and the fabric was really soft, but durable. It washed up beautifully too.

I really love this jacket... So much that I've gone out and bought Sweetpea a parka to wear to daycare, as I can't stand the thought of this jacket getting covered in paint, as her daycare clothes invariably do!

The finished jacket. The covered buttons are decorative only.

I used magnetic snaps (intended for bag making) as the fastenings.

Detail of the snaps.

Love the lining!

Sweetpea trying it on for size.

A gift for a new baby

2010-05-08T22:36:00.004+10:00

Our mothers' group welcomed its 16th baby last week! We have 11 two year olds and now five babies 10 months and younger.

Little Arabella was the first girl after a string of boys, in fact until she was born all of the 'second' babies have been boys.

We usually give the new babies a cot linen set or sleeping bag made by one of the very talented mums in our group. But as she is heavily pregnant with her own 'baby #2', I put my hand up to make Arabella's gift.

I decided on a little dress - the O+S birthday party dress. Yes, I have made it before (three times, in fact) but I think it is just so beautiful and a bit special. I'm also so familiar with the construction now that it is very fast to make up, I didn't need to refer to the directions. I also made a pair of matching bloomers using Lotta Jansdotter's pattern, and some matching button snap clips. The dress and bloomers are both in size 6-12 months.

As I mentioned above, this is the fourth time I've made this dress so I decided to do a few things differently to relieve the boredom.

First of all, I used French seams rather than overlocking. I only learnt how to make French seams on my last project, so these and still a bit of a novelty to me and I love them! Seriously, they look so neat and I really like that I'm able to finish the seams as I sew. The pattern is pretty well suited to this method of finishing, although I did have to improvise a little when attaching the top facing, which calls for the seams to be opened out.

The second thing I did differently was to use a different/coordinating fabric for the facings. I really love this look and to be honest it never would have occurred to me to do it when I first started sewing last year. The fabric is from Lila Tueller's Soiree range. I used Meadow Paisley in Aqua for the dress and Leaf Confetti in Sun for the facings and bloomers. Both were fabrics I already had in my stash. I was worried they'd be a little busy but think they look pretty good.

Finally, I sewed the pleats in this time round (using a narrow line of stitching at the inner edge of each pleat) and really love the result, it's so crisp and will be much easier to iron. I have no idea why I haven't done this in the past, but will certainly do it from now on.

The finished gift: dress, bloomers and matching snap clips.

The bloomers match the dress's facings.

I secured the pleats with an edgestitch on the inside of each pleat. Really love the crisp finish.

The inside of the dress. My overlocker may gather dust now that I have discovered the beauty of French seams. It makes the dress look so neat and professional.

The O+S ice-cream blouse

2010-04-18T14:12:00.004+10:00

What a difference a week makes! This time last week I was blogging about my frustrations with an Amy Butler pattern, and today I am on top of the world after making one of the glorious new Oliver + S patterns.

I heard about the new O+S patterns a while ago and was really looking forward to their release. The very first garment I made was by O+S and I'm a huge fan. The end results are always gorgeous, the patterns are so easy to follow and I always learn something new during the construction.

I was lucky enough to be given the ice-cream dress pattern soon after it was released (thanks mum!). I already knew that I wanted to make view C - the blouse - first, after seeing this version by Liesl of O+S on Flickr. In fact I am still on the hunt for the perfect border print to make a similar blouse.

I didn't have any fabric in my stash that I thought really suited the blouse, so I chopped into an old top of mine that I haven't worn since my honeymoon, and used a plain navy blue cotton for the yoke. I don't normally use such strong colours for my little girl but I am thrilled with the result.

As expected, the pattern was fabulous. Nice and easy to follow - there were none of those confusing re-reading moments. The construction is very clever and leaves a nice, clean finish.

As I'm still fairly new to sewing (will be my one year anniversary with my machine in June!) I try to learn something new each time I sew. The pattern suggested that this top would suit French seams, so I gave it a go as the fabric was very soft and lightweight. I used my trusty Sewing Book and a couple of online tutorials to learn the technique and am really chuffed with the results. I can see many more French seams in my future.

I really can't wait to get back to my machine and make more of these tops and a few of the ice-cream dresses too. I made this version in a size 3 for next (Australian) summer, just hope it fits Sweetpea well then!

The finished top

With a white cloth above the yoke lining to show off the very cute notch detail. So simple but so pretty. I was really tempted to use red thread for the top-stitching on the yoke but in the end (after 2 cups of tea and half a block of chocolate) decided that there was enough detail there with the notch and busy fabric.

Super proud of my first ever French seam!

Little Sweetpea modelling it. She is a sz 2 and the top is a 3. Hopefully it will be perfect by next summer.

The top I sacrificed to get the fabric for the blouse. Well worth it!

The 'Easy' Empire Waist Top

2010-04-11T13:31:00.004+10:00

Not sure where to start with this blog post, there's so much to say about the top I just made my daughter.

First of all let me say I love Amy Butler. Her fabrics are gorgeous and her clothing designs are lovely. BUT - and it's a big 'but' - the actual patterns and instructions leave a lot to be desired.

I own her book Little Stitches for Little Ones and to be honest it's one of the reasons I started sewing (that and the fabulous O+S patterns that I saw at a market one day and just had to have). It's got so many cute projects with lovely photography and gorgeous fabrics. I've made a couple of things from the book before without too much drama, but this top was really difficult.

First of all, the sizing. The patterns in the book only go up to sz 9-12 months. Disappointing, as my daughter is 2 years and 2 months. I decided to have a go at enlarging the empire waist top pattern for her and was really shocked to discover that the 9-12 months size was actually too big for my 2 year old. Now she is not a tiny kid by any means, she's bang on average weight for her age, and super tall, right at the top of the height chart. Yet I had to shorten this top by 3.5 inches and it still reaches down to just above her knees. I realise this top is meant to be roomy but it would absolutely swim on a 1 year old.

The pattern instructions are really flaky. I read and reread them several times before I cut into my fabric (which I love by the way) but still found them so confusing. I doubt very much the pattern was tested. I persevered with them to construct the bodice but after that kind of gave up and did my own thing. There are very few diagrams too, and the ones that are there are frankly a bit silly and point out the obvious. They don't really help much with the construction of the top.

All in all I'm happy with the finished result, although it's not as polished or well thought out as many other patterns out there. The bodice is quite bulky (6 thicknesses at one part of the shoulder) and as I said before, the sizing is way off. There are some good bits though, the top itself is super cute, and there are some lovely details, such as the slit on the cuff and the double stitching around the v-neck and sleeve.

If you're going to attempt this one yourself, be prepared to adjust the size considerably (especially for a child younger than 1) and be prepared to improvise when the instructions just don't make sense!

I used fabric from Annette Tatum's House collection: Lilac in navy and Garden Vine in lilac. I love it. Blue and purple is one of my favourite colour combinations.

The finished top. The lilac band at the bottom is my own addition to help tie it all together. I took 3.5 inches off the length but added 3 inches to the sleeve to make it a 3/4 length sleeve.

The back. It fastens with a loop and button, which I haven't sewn on yet.

It's got some cute details - I really like the little bow and the cuff slit.

I really like the double stitching.

My daughter taking it for a test drive. She's scrunching it up here - it actually falls to about an inch or so above her knee

Hoppity hop

2010-04-08T15:53:00.002+10:00

I haven't got any new sewing to post, although I do have a few things in the works at the moment and hope to finish them soon.

In the meantime, here are some little felt bunny finger puppets I made using this tutorial over at the Purl Bee. Little Sweetpea found them on her egg hunt on Easter morning. It's nice to be able to give her something other than chocolate (which in all honestly gets eaten by me anyway).

The Ruthie Clutch

2010-03-19T13:40:00.005+11:00

One of my dear friends turned 30 this week so I thought I'd have a go at making her a bag. I've never made a bag before and never really had the desire too either, but I saw the Ruthie Clutch pattern from Anna Maria Horner and it really appealed to me.

My friend's favourite colours are purple and teal, so as soon as I saw the fabulous Alhambra II collection from Patricia Bravo I knew I wanted to use it. Choosing the main fabric was easy, the pattern and colours are gorgeous! I had a bit of trouble choosing the fabric for the top band though. In the end I bought both 'Endless Chain' in teal and 'Granada Arches' in cream - see below.

I had planned on using the cream fabric for the band and the teal as the lining. I felt the teal would be too garish against the purple. However when the fabrics arrived in the post the cream fabric just didn't look right against the purple. The colour was great, but the pattern was too large for the narrow band and just looked wrong. The teal wasn't ideal but looked a lot better than the cream. In an ideal world I would have liked the design of the teal fabric but in the cream colourway. But moving on...

The pattern was easy to follow, lots of pictures, which I always appreciate, and clear instructions. It even gave two options for finishing off the bag which was great for lazy girls like me who would much rather top stitch than blind stitch. The pattern called for heavy doubled-sided fusible interfacing, which I didn't have, but I improvised with a one-sided interfacing and some vliesofix on the other side and it worked out well.

Before I started making the bag I felt that it was way too big, so made a duplicate of the pattern reduced to 75% of the original size. As it turns out the smaller bag is a bit too small (just big enough for keys, a mobile and phone), so it's lucky I also made the full sized bag, just in case! I had more than enough fabric to make both bags, as yet again the pattern called for waaaaay more fabric than was necessary. Why do they do this??! It drives me crazy. I know I've blogged about it before and will no doubt moan about it again.

The bags were finished with a pink shell button (for the smaller one, which I am going to keep and use as an evening bag) and for the larger bag a gorgeous aqua vintage glass button, courtesy of my mum and her love of all things vintage.

All up this was a nice little project and I enjoyed working with fabrics I wouldn't normally use. I didn't find it as satisfying as making clothes for my kids though, so I don't know how much more bag making is in my future.

The finished bag.

The lining - really like this fabric, which I had intended for the band of the bag.

Finished with a vintage glass button - thanks mum!

The clutch with her little sister, I'll call her Ruthette!

The Flipsy skirt

2010-03-10T10:37:00.005+11:00

Two posts in one day, go me!

Here's my latest little project, the Flipsy Skirt from Make it Perfect. It's another reversible project and as usual I spent waaay too long trying to decide which fabrics to use. In the end I decided to use up the rest of my Sandi Henderson Medallion Bloom in pink (gosh I'm boring) along with a print called High Tea from Michael Miller. The tea print was an impulse purchase from the fabulous Hawthorne Threads and I was really pleased when it arrived in the post as I liked it much better in real life than on the web. It really suits my little girl who is always hosting little tea parties and offering everyone a 'cup of teeeeeaaaaa!'. The third fabric I used was a green polka dot from Michael Miller that coordinated pretty well with the other two fabrics.

The skirt itself was very quick and easy to sew, although I didn't have much patience for sewing and then attaching the belt loops (10 in total). They were so narrow that the feed on my machine had trouble picking them up, and then attaching them with the tiny buttons (I used translucent pink) was tedious.

Speaking of belt loops, you'll notice that the belt is nowhere to be seen. I haven't actually made it yet - no excuse other than laziness! It's the same green dot fabric and I have promised myself I'll get it done this weekend!

Side one: medallion bloom by Sandi Henderson. Love this, but I have a real soft spot for...

...this side! High Tea by Michael Miller house designer.

Sweet pea modelling the first side

And the second side. She told me she was 'so cute' in this one, as only a two year old can.

The skirt with the hat I made last month. Just wish I had the foresight to use the high tea fabric for the reverse of the hat.

Lazy day hat

2010-03-10T10:22:00.004+11:00

I'm a bit behind on the blog, this is a hat I made about six weeks ago. I feel terrible as I initially bought the pattern to make for my son, but so far have only made one for my daughter (my excuse - my son's six month old head is growing at a rapid rate and I don't want to 'waste' the cute fabric I bought to make him a hat that he will outgrow before next summer).

The pattern is the lazy day hat by Make it Perfect. It's a great pattern and is pretty forgiving of some dodgy, messy sewing from me. I suspect I'll be using it a lot over the coming years. As it is my daughter goes through about 3-4 hats per week... the ones she wears at home get covered in vegemite/dirt/crayon, and the ones she wears to daycare get covered in paint. The constant washing wears them down a bit.

As the hat is reversible I used two fabrics from Sandi Henderson's Farmer's Market range - the pink medallion bloom and the stripes. I adore these fabrics! In hindsight, using a striped fabric on a round hat was never going to work, so my daughter just wears the hat one way. The stripes do look cute peeking out from the 'lining' though.

I'll definitely be making more of these hats. I am picturing hats to match my daughter's dresses next summer, and of course I have two hats ready to sew for my son next summer, one with little frogs and one with rockets and aliens.

Although it's reversible, my daughter only wears the hat this way. Just love that fabric!

And this is why... those stripes on the round hat make just aren't right.

But they do look cute peeking out as the 'lining'.

My little sweet pea wearing the hat on her way to the merry-go-round on her 2nd birthday.

The Girly Skirt

2010-03-01T13:44:00.005+11:00

I recently won a $20 gift voucher through Quilthome's 'link of the week' - hurrah! I used my new found riches to buy a half yard each of a couple of fabrics from Tanya Whelan's Ava Rose collection. One of my close friends has a little girl called Ava Rose who is turning three this month, so I thought I'd make something special for her using the fabric. The fabric is lovely, although not the sort of thing I usually go for. I enjoyed sewing with it though, it was beautiful quality.

I have had the Pink Fig girly skirt pattern in my collection for a while so decided to use that. The pattern called for .75 of a yard for the drop waist and hem band but I only needed half a yard (does that drive anyone else mad? So often I waste money buying more fabric than I actually need...).

I'm quite pleased with the results. I've never gathered fabric before and am happy with how it turned out, although it is a little uneven in patches. I think the dropped waist is quite cute too, kind of old fashioned.

Expect to see more and more skirts on this blog, my little girl wears them a lot and I'm looking forward to churning out a few for her over the coming months.

The finished skirt.

Being modelled by my daughter. She is a size 1-2 and the skirt is a size 3, so it's too big on her, but you get the idea!

It's a longish skirt, but hopefully won't be this long on the little girl I made it for.

Birthday party dress, take 2... and 3

2010-02-10T14:25:00.006+11:00

I blogged my last (and first) attempt at the Oliver + S birthday party dress last December. I love the pattern so much that I've since made it twice more, once for a friend's little girl and once for my daughter's birthday party.

This time I used satin ribbon instead of the tabs across the pleats and am happy with the results. It gives the dress quite a different feel and is much more girly. I think I prefer the tabs though, they're a bit different and look so cute.

I made the first dress out of fabric from Lecien's Grandma's Flower Garden collection. I'd seen this fabric numerous times online and loved it, and fell even more in love when I saw it 'in the flesh', so just had to buy it. Although the print and colour were even better in real life, I was so disappointed by the weight of the cotton. It was extremely lightweight, almost flimsy. It was so thin that the pins slipped out on their own as I was sewing.

I also should have thought more about fabric placement - lesson learned for next time.

I used an old favourite fabric for my daughter's dress, Fresh poppies in green from Amy Butler's Midwest Modern collection. I adore this fabric and will really miss seeing it in my sewing cupboard, although I only had one yard of it so it really was a case of use it now while my daughter is still little.

I'm very happy with the end result. It's a very fresh and girly dress, and best of all it's NOT PINK! (I love pink, but we have way too much pink in this household). The dress took a lot of punishment at the teddy bear's picnic we had to celebrate my little girl turning two, and washed up beautifully.

The finished Lecien fabric dress. This photo is a little dark as I took it in artificial light.

Close up of the ribbon detail. Still not convinced I shouldn't have used cream ribbon instead.

My daughter's 2nd birthday party dress

I used pearly buttons down the back. I thought about using pale blue but am very pleased with the neutral colour.

Close up. I sewed the ribbon on before I tied it to prevent it from drooping.

Pencil rolls

2010-01-31T19:30:00.004+11:00

I own far too much novelty fabric, I just can't help myself. A lot of it gets used to make hairclips and buttons, but the rest just sits there prettying up the cupboard. So I was thrilled to be able to put some of it to good use this week by making kids' pencil rolls using the free tutorial over at Little Munchkins.

It's an easy, satisfying project that you can make up very quickly, and the end result is so lovely and perfect to give as a gift.

I made two - a boyish one for my nephew and a decidedly girly one to give my daughter for her 2nd birthday this week. I used Kokka's Toyland in 'natural' with a coordinating yellow cotton canvas for the boy one, and I have no idea of the fabric I used for my daughter as it was a gift and there's nothing to identify it on the selvedge. It's cute though - a black base with flowers, rainbows, animals, trees etc. I don't normally like black for little girls so used contrasting pink thread to stitch it up.

I made up the boy roll according to the instructions but included a layer of thin fusible fleece to the girl's one. I did this because the black fabric showed up through the pink lining. I was worried the fleece would be too bulky but it turned out really well and the roll has a nice feel to it.

I'll definitely make up more pencil rolls in the future. I had fun picking out the fabric combinations and ribbons (green grosgrain with cream polka dots for the boy, and cream grosgrain with black stitching for the girl) and they're so quick and easy to make.

The end products! I adjusted the number of pockets for the yellow roll as the set of pencils I used only had 10 in the box.

I used Kokka's 'Toyland' fabric in Natural. This photo is a bit dark but you get the idea...

Contrasting pink stitching to brighten up the black basecloth.

All rolled up and ready to go. The ribbons still need to be cut to size.

Sweet and simple bloomers

2010-01-22T15:53:00.002+11:00

I have Spring and Summer babies, so they spent many of their early days in nothing but a nappy and a singlet (in fact that's all my son is wearing right now). A couple of friends have recently had babies so I decided to make them some cotton bloomers to cover their nappies and keep them cool.

The pattern is from Lotta Jansdotter's book Simple Sewing for Baby. The projects in this book are sweet and very basic, so suited to a beginner. More experienced sewers would be able to whip up most projects in an afternoon or less.

The bloomers turned out well, although I think next time I will adjust the pattern slightly to widen the crotch.

I used Sandi Henderson's Ginger Blossom fabric for the girls' bloomers. The orange boys' bloomers are from a scrap I found in my cupboard (!) and the blue fabric is from Amy Butler's Belle collection. It also happens to be one of my all time favourite fabrics.

I'll use any excuse to make button clips, so I made a couple of pairs to match the girly bloomers.

Just love, love, love that blue fabric. I have metres of it!

Bloomers and matching clips using fabric from Sandi Henderson's Ginger Blossom collection.

Taking them for a test drive! Bloomers by me, cute tush by my son.

Baby blocks

2010-01-13T11:03:00.001+11:00

I've had an unfinished project sitting in the cupboard for months and finally managed to pull it out and finish it yesterday while my son was asleep. I'm cranky at myself for not finishing it sooner, but I procrastinated on the hand-sewing.

It's a Christening present for a friend's daughter. I used prints from the Moda Urban Chicks collection with a coordinating pink and green solid. The pattern is from Amy Butler's Little Stitches for Little Ones. The pattern was straightforward, although it took me a while, having never used a rotary cutter before.

The blocks are stuffed with cubes of medium-density foam that I had cut at Clark Rubber. They worked out at about $1 per block which I thought was a pretty good price. The foam is a few centimetres bigger than the fabric 'shell', which gives the blocks a nice rounded look.

Hopefully they'll keep little hands busy this Summer!

Oliver + S Birthday Party Dress

2009-12-20T22:09:00.001+11:00

A few months ago I discovered some money in a PayPal account that I'd forgotten about, and decided to spend my 'free' (ie, husband won't miss it) money on some fabric and patterns.

I bought a heap of fabric but my favourite by far was Verbena in pink, by Kaffe Fassett. I'm not normally a huge Kaffe Fassett fan but I just fell in love with this fabric. I think because the print reminded me of my favourite flowers - hydrangeas - but also because I just love the use of colour.

I also bought a few patterns by Oliver + S, including the especially fabulous Birthday Party dress pattern.

I've wanted to make up the Birthday Party dress in the Verbena fabric for some time now, and with a few special occasions coming up I had the perfect excuse to whip one up for my daughter.

I'm pretty happy with the results. The process itself was hassle-free too. The pattern is so easy to follow - it has lots of pictures that help explain each step and I found it easy to follow, even though I am a novice sewer.

Even though I love the dress, I think the pattern lends itself more to a less 'busy' print, so next time I make it I will use a less fussy fabric. I can picture the next incarnation of this dress in a simple cornflower blue fabric with ribbons instead of the tabs across the pleats... Now I just need to find the fabric.

Detail of the tabs and box pleats

The back: I really love the cloth buttons I found

Pyjama pants

2009-12-20T17:06:00.001+11:00

I went Christmas shopping early this December and it was H.E.L.L. Seriously. It was 39 degrees, I had a crying 3 month old and whiny toddler in the back of the car and it took 25 minutes to find a car park.

After an unsuccessful shopping trip I vowed I would buy all of this year's present online, or make them.

My brother and his wife live in a very cold environment, so I decided to make them some cosy PJ pants for Christmas. I found some gorgeous flannel by Valori Wells and snapped it up right away. The flannel is deliciously soft and nice and thick.

It took a bit longer to find a good pattern as I wanted to use it for my ultra-tiny friend as well as my brother and sister-in-law. In the end I decided on the Sleep Well pattern by Favourite Things. I couldn't find it in Australia though, which is a pain in the neck.

The pattern itself was great, very simple. The pants are nice and generous, as PJ pants should be.

A close up of the fabric

I now have my eye on some of the other VW flannels and the ultra cute Little Sleep Well pyjama pants pattern to make my two cuties some warm jammies next winter.

Hairclip holder

2009-12-20T16:49:00.001+11:00

I reckon my little girl have somewhere in the region of 150 hairclips and ties... It's excessive, I know, but I just can't help myself, especially now that I have started making button clips (and anyway, she loses them so often that I can kind of justify it).

Anyway, I have been thinking about making her a hairclip holder for a while now, to keep things organised and pretty up her room a bit. I still haven't gotten around to making my daughter one but I did whip up one for my friend's daughter's first birthday this weekend.

The design and construction was very simple. I trimmed a scrap of fabric from Sandi Henderson's Farmer's Market collection (just love the colourful stripes) into a plaque with rounded corners. I then found a font that I liked (I think it's called Harrington) and sketched it directly from the computer screen onto some aqua polka dot fabric. After ironing on some vliesofix I cut out the letters and fused them to the fabric plaque. I finished it off by back-stitching around it using fine silver embroidery thread.

The plaque is backed with the same aqua polka dot fabric and has a medium fusible fleece inside to give it a bit of structure (otherwise the weight of the clips would cause it to sag). It's finished with a topstitch around the edges.

I used pale pink grosgrain ribbon to attach the clips to and sewed a button and buttonhole at the bottom to attach the hair elastics.

Of course I made a dozen or so button clips and ties too!

Now I just need to make one for my little girl.

Hairclip heaven

2009-12-18T23:02:00.000+11:00

I have been oohing and ahhing over button hairclips on Etsy for a while now, and last month finally got around to making my own. My 22 month old daughter is now the proud owner of about 30 new clips as I had so much gorgeous fabric to use. I suspect she may well add several more to her collection as I find more cute fabric.

I also intend to make her matching button clips and ties whenever I make her a new dress or skirt.

Mrs Perkins

2009-12-18T15:58:00.001+11:00

I bought a couple of Melly & Me patterns last year to make for my daughter and as baby shower gifts. I never got around to using the giraffe pattern (Mrs Perkins) so pulled it out this year when pregnant with my second child.

I didn't know the baby's sex (he turned out to be a little boy!) so chose a fairly neutral fabric - one of Kaffe Fasset's prints in blue with pink, purple and green accents. I found the co-ordinating green fabric in my stash and bought the buttons to match.

The pattern was easy to follow and construct, although making the little horns drove me bonkers. They're so tiny and turning them inside out took me weeks - yes, weeks. I had so many attempts but just could not make it work! Suffice to say I got there in the end and the result is a cute little toy that sits proudly on my son's dresser.

More booties and accessories

2009-12-18T15:48:00.001+11:00

Thought I would blog some of the other booties I have made - this is such a quick pattern to stitch that I usually make a pair for every new baby. I also have lots of fun choosing the fabric to use.

This pair was made using the Very Hungry Caterpillar fabric based on Eric Carle's book. I adore this fabric and bought a heap of it, as it you can turn it into a nice unisex baby gift. I cut out and blanket-stitched the fruit pieces onto a plain white Bonds top to match the booties.

The next pair of booties were made using vintage Japanese kimono silk, so they're truly a one off. They were for a little girl so i also made a pair of matching covered button clips. Cute!

Booties!

2009-12-09T15:15:00.003+11:00

I received Amy Butler's book Little Stitches for Little Ones for xmas 08 and fell in love with it. So many gorgeous fabrics and so many beautiful patterns.

In April 09 my first nephew was born so I decided to put the book to use and make him something. As I didn't have a machine at the time I needed something small I could handsew relatively quickly. I chose the 'cutie booties' pattern.

I think it worked out pretty well - my sister in law was happy to receive them! The pattern itself wasn't too difficult, although like all of Amy's patterns could have benefitted from more pictures. I also found the instructions a bit cumbersome. For example, it said to cut out the main pattern piece in the main fabric, fleece and interfacing, then fuse them together. It's *so* much quicker to fuse them together then cut them out.

I have made these booties several times for gifts since this first pair, and have altered the pattern and method to suit me. Nothing too major, just little changes that I feel work better.