Birdie tunic

after making something very very similar as a christmas present for a little girl i know mademoiselle e. ordered 'one the same'.

as her every wish is my command i obviously obliged.

the pattern is based on the square necked yoke dress pattern from Homemade Kids Book II but I shortened the length to make it tunic style (mlle e. is "off" dresses at the moment).

the fabric is a very soft corduroy with a brown background, cute turquoise birdies and pink flowers with various green coloured leaves. there is an opening at the back which fastens with two heart shaped buttons which you can just make out on the photo below if you look hard. the yoke section is fully lined with a turquoise cotton which I also used to bind the bottom section of the back opening.

as it is november i had envisaged the tunic being worn over a long sleeved tee but it was warm last weekend and mlle e. cannot abide being too hot so it was worn as is.

i love this fabric and there is still some left but i'm not sure it would look so cute on me!

Sink.......or make yourself a dress?

What do you do when you are sinking in sewing projects destined for christmas presents with the only dry land in sight being a very steep and slippery, gloomy and imposing rock (the winter coat project)?

That's right - you get your head down working slowly and meticulously through your projects in an ordered and organised fashion.


Yep - you guessed - I tossed reason to the side, pulled out some of this

cotton plaid fabric from Etoffes des Heros

rifled through these to find a suitable pattern

decided on this

Dress E from Japanese Pattern Book - Stylish Dress Book 1

and made myself a dress

I cut a size 9 and followed the pattern directions completely except for omitting one of the pockets and adding some piping at the top of the pocket to give it some definition.

Black piping at top of pocket

After wearing the dress for a day, I basted the pocket closed so that it doesn't gape. (This also means that little hands can't put random things in the pocket which is an added bonus!)

Sewing for others and grown up proper projects are all very well but once in a while a bit of instant gratification is needed!

Tiered cord skirt

I made this skirt a couple of weeks ago as Mademoiselle L apparently had nothing to wear to a party she was invited to.

The pattern is home-made  - three gathered tiers and a simple elasticated waist. But it does twirl - a necessity for 'party skirts'.

I didn't manage to get any photos of her dolled up for the party (that's what happens when you are still hemming 5 minutes before she is due to be there!) but I did get some the next time she wore it.

Party skirts are also, apparently, good for hiking!!

Cord dress

A simple corduroy dress on a yoke with a back fastening. The yoke is faced with a beige wool that matches the pattern on the dress fabric and the section just below the closure at the back is finished with bias made from the same beige wool.

Two heart buttons provide the closure and I actually used elastic to go round the buttons for ease.

This ensemble was worn today for school with the red boiled wool jacket. And very smart she looked too!

Project Runway Challenge- at last!

Remember this post?

Well, after a couple of weeks that haven't been very condusive to sewing or blogging I have finally got round to photographing what happened to the shirt and the jeans (more to come at a later date on the skirt).

The Shirt

The shirt lost the collar and yoke and then I cut two front sections out of the front panels of the shirt, a back section out of the back and two sleeves out of the upper sections of the dismantled sleeves. Add a bit of liberty bias and some brightly coloured "sweetie" buttons, a bit of elastic shirring round the neckline and ta dah!

The Jeans

The jeans were cut into strips. One section went into making this marble bag. I had specific instructions on what a marble bag should be - square or rectangular, with a closure so the marbles don't fall out and the strap should go round the body enabling the wearer to carry it without it hindering other playground activities such as skipping, clapping or playing hopskotch. Job done, I think.

The remainder of the jeans is currently being used in another project - watch this space!

Birthday outfit for a Mademoiselle

Mademoiselle E is 5 today and I thought that deserved a special outfit.

She has been coveting a denim skirt that her sister has for a while so I decided to do something similar but with a coordinating blouse.

The blouse pattern is from Homemde Kids pattern book and has a gathered neckline with two buttons (or I used press studs). The arms have a gathered frill at the bottom, which suits Miss E perfectly. The fabric was bought early in the summer whilst visiting my sister and is a kaffe fasset cotton. I trimmed the neckline with red bias binding. The finishing touch is a fabric flower in denim and blouse fabric over the press stud.

The skirt is made in soft denim cotton and has two front pockets and two back patch pockets - all of which have detail that coordinates with the blouse. I also finished the hem with bias made from the blouse fabric. The waist is elasticated.

Happy Birthday Miss E!!

Forgotten Summer Dress

Ok, when I sat forgotten I don't mean I forgot about the dress - I just forgot to blog about it. I had constructed most of it before les grandes vacances but then little people and visits to the river and the pool intervened meaning that it sat half done for about 6 weeks until I found the time to go and get some buttons and finish the hem.

Then once it was done I wore it almost non stop as the fabric was perfect for our very hot August and it added a bit of chic-ness (or so I like to think) to a summer mostly spent in shorts.

The pattern is from one of my Japanese sewing books but I left off the sleeves. I also used liberty bias on the arm holes rather than self bias, out of laziness really.

I had originally planned to cover buttons in the same fabric but then I saw a picture of a dress with wood buttons and thought they would be perfect.

I made a tie belt out of the same fabric but actually mainly wore the dress with the leather and ribbon belt pictured below which, being a wide belt, did a better job of cinching in the waist.

Pink gingham for a girl and a blanket for a boy

Second pink gingham tunic of the week. This time with short sleeves and a button closure at the back.

And a boy blanket. Cotton 'bubbles' on the upper side and light blue 'minky' underneath. Interlined with fleece for added cosyness (particularly as it is on its way to New Zealand).

A matching gym bag completed the set and made a perfect house for the little wooden man!

New tunics

The girls have new tunics.

Big girl's is in pink cotton gingham, self bound with three pleats down the front and an elastic waist.

Little girl's also has the three pleats and the elastic waist but is in a heart, flower and butterfly print and the neck is bound in self made pink and white spot bias.

(Little boy has too but wanted to keep his hoodie on - pictures to come when it heats up).

♥♥♥

Short trousers and a skirt (and a lack of inspiration re a heading!)

You may have noticed things have been a bit quiet round here. A combination of lots of other things to do, potty training little boy and generally loosing the desire to create lovely summery things whilst the weather is so bl°°dy wet and cold.

I have though managed to rustle up two little items. First up a "pantacourt" for biggest girl. If you are in any doubt as to what a "pantacourt" is she can give you a mini lecture on the word, explaining in a very simple (and slightly condescending) way the origins of the word. She is, though, very pleased with herself for working it out!!

The said "pantacourt" are made from the same blue chambray as little boy's shorts and I added a Liberty bias round the bottom

and to the ties at the waist. The back is elasticated but the front can be tightened or loosened with the ties (biggest girl is getting bigger now and you have already heard about my aversion to total elasticated waists after a certain age).

The back has two patch pockets and on one I added a fairy iron on transfer.

Next up is a present for biggest girl's friend whose birthday it was last week. A purple cotton skirt with elasticated back and tie front

and Liberty bias binding at the hem.

I would just like to point out that although both of these items have blue tones they in no way reflect my political inclinations. Thought I should just say that, it being polling day in the UK.

Stripes and pockets

You might remember that I had cut out some linen trousers over the weekend. Well, yesterday afternoon I put them together and here you are:

Overall I'm quite pleased with them, particularly when you consider that they took me very little time to make. There are two patch pockets on the back and, as I said in my earlier post, a drawstring waist. I am now on the hunt for some white linen and maybe some navy to make a couple of other pairs as they are good staple wardrobe items for the summer. Next time though I am going to add some pockets at the side as I have spent all day unconsciously searching for them.

I have also finally got round to finishing my stripy t-shirt. I based it loosely on a basic t-shirt that I already had but added a larger self fabric band around the neckline and also added slightly gathered sleeves that start just off the shoulder. I will try and get a better photo - and maybe one without the slightly menacing hosepipe in the background!!