Skirt for V and her doll

Even though I've been sewing less I've still managed to fit in a little bit of sewing for others. For my nieces V's 3rd birthday I whipped her and her doll Penny matching layer skirts.

I used the free tutorial from Dana MADE It as a guide. I cut the fabric just under twice the required width for a nice full gather. I used some treasured liberty fabric paired with the same denim chambray I used for her a skirt for mum, my sister.  I sewed up the two layers and hemmed them. I then attached them together at the waist with a wrong side of one layer meeting the right side of the other.

It sounds counter-intuitive but you can then hide this upper waist seam inside the waistband by turning down both layers as appropriate and sewing them together at the lower waist seam line.  I think the skirts turned out super cute and V and penny look pretty darn cute in them.

Itty Bitty Baby Clothes

My sister and brother-in-law recently had twin girls! I wanted to make something for their arrival and the free Made by Rae Itty bitty baby dress pattern came to mind, along with the free MADE diaper cover bloomers. There are so many free patterns out there for kids, but especially for newborns to 12 month old's. Aren't we aunties lucky?!

I made two 0-3 month old dresses using small pieces of liberty of london fabric and bias binding I found in my stash with contrasting pink and white gingham cotton I cut from an old dress that I no longer wear. The cotton is lovely and soft. The dress came together very quickly! Baby clothes are so quick to sew, being tiny and all.

For the bloomers I used the old MADE diaper cover pattern as I already had it printed. However, the pattern and tutorial have since been revised to improve the fold over leg holes that the leg elastic is threaded through. I made the bloomers as per the instructions except for adding a few strips of ruffled fabric on the backsides. I cut stripes around 1.5" by 10". I used my overlocker to finish the edges before attaching.

Congratulations parents Steph and Damian, and big sisters A & A,  on you're two beautiful new daughters/little sisters!

Christmas Gifts For Nieces & Nephews

Another installment in Christmas gift sewing 2014. This time, the gifts I sewed for some of my nieces and Nephews.

For my youngest niece, V, I made the free Pleated Playsuit Pattern by Elegance & Elephants out of some left over quilting cotton and bird linen from her mum's Alice top. I cut a size 2 and followed the instructions baring two changes: I extended the short cuffs so they could be folded up and tacked down and used two rows of 1/4"elastic instead of 1/2"elastic because that's what I had on hand.

I love this pattern and will definitely make it up again some time. If only it cam in my size!

I made V and two older nieces, A & A, drawstring skirts using Melly Sews tutorial. I've made up this skirt before and I think it's a great pattern to sew for kids who you don't have the exact measurements of. The drawstring means they can always draw the skirt tighter or looser.

I made the girls skirts in various cotton drills and poplins from spotlight. They are super bright and fun. Hopefully the girls think so too. I especially like the way the folded over pocket flaps look on the stripey version. V striped down to get straight into her skirt during Christmas lunch. She seemed particularly keen on the pockets.

My nephews J and R received new MADE Kid Shorts as they have grown out of last years versions. I have definitely gotten my moneys worth from this pattern. I think I would've sewn at least 30 pairs now. 

I made these shorts from some cotton drills (green stars and black and white geometirc print) and cotton poplin (hot air balloons). I asked Tim to come help me pick out the fabrics for the boys as I really struggle to see "manly" fabrics among the sea of floral's, pinks and purples. I'm not sure if we hit the mark, but we tried.
 

Like last time, I added welt zipper pockets for the boys shorts in addition to back patch pockets. I used fabrics left over from Tim's Pooch PJ Shorts for the pocket linings so there is a little bit of fun in each pocket! I also added cuffs to J's pair of shorts as they are popular at the moment and I thought he might like them.

Thanks goodness another year of Christmas sewing is over! While these are all simple patterns they do take a bit of time to come together each year from planning to gifting. It is super fun sewing up clothes in such bright and sturdy fabrics though and I love seeing the kids in their gifted clothes during the year.

Some Selfless Sewing

I haven't felt much like blogging lately. I've a few things I need to get photos of but I've mostly been focusing on selfless sewing as it tis' the season afterall. So, I have a few bits and pieces to share with minimal text.

First up, my niece has out grown the MADE Kids Shorts gifted to her last Christmas so I whipped up a few more pairs from fabric scrapes. Dotty chambray, green cotton, and pineapples with yellow mini pom poms. They were all well received, most of all the green pair. I know I'm bias, but isn't the above photo just ridiculously cute?!

I've been wanting to try Melissa's drawstring skirt tutorial since she posted it. I made up a size 2 in some really fun fabric. My niece loves this skirt and I'll definitely use the tutorial again and again for her as well as my older nieces as the tutorial goes up to a size 16 girls. I'm not always a fan of tutorials that require maths, measuring your self/ child, or drafting pieces but this one really couldn't be easier. A sizing chart is even provided. 

I made much smaller pockets than suggested ( I cut 5x6" rather than 6x9"). I also find the drawstrings a little tough to tighten through the single hole so next time I'll make two button holes, one for each end of the drawstring.

Finally, I promised one my sisters a simple loose fitting summer top for her birthday. We have the special linen put away while we try out a few pattern styles and sizes. First up is the Marilla Walker Maya pattern which I made not long ago for myself. I cut the smallest size but I could see from the measurement chart that it may still be too large.

I made the top from stash fabric: the front is a white and navy voil from spotlight and the back is a lightweight cotton from The Cloth Shop. Unfortunately the fit is just too large, even for a boxy top. Next time I will fold out some width at the centre front and back before cutting into the fabric. My sister also asked for added length. I added 1.5"on this version but next time I'll probably add around 3"total. Bedsides some fitting issues, it's a very sweet top and hopefully it will get some wear. 

Next up is some sewing for me (yay!), probably following my Xmas sewing. I'm sewing some Katey and Laney patterns and hoping to also get some photos of previous makes this weekend. So, who else is sewing Christmas presents out there? Only for the children in your life, or adults too?  

Merry Christmas & More Hand-Made Gifts

Merry Christmas! Yesterday I celebrated Christmas with Tim and my side of the family for lunch and his side of the family for dinner. It was a lovely day of family, food, spoils, and more food!

Eight pairs of MADE kid Shorts

This year I decided to make some Christmas gifts for my youngest nieces and nephews. In total I made eight pairs of MADE Kid shorts in a few variations and one Craftiness Is Not Optional reversible wrap-around top. I'd successfully sewn up the shorts pattern three times before for my niece but hadn't previously used the CINO top tutorial. 

Js Jedediah &Army Shorts

For two of my nephews (J and R) I made 2 pairs of shorts each, all in size 7. On three of the pairs I inserted zips as there had been a special request for shorts with zipper pockets to keep precious treasures in. I used the Ikat Bag tutorial to insert zipper welt pockets. The pockets aren't perfect but they'll do fine for the life of the shorts. For J, I made one pair up in left-over fabric from Tim's Thread Theory Jedediah shorts. This pair has a side zip pocket on the front and a back pocket (no zip). I also made J a pair shorts in army-man fabric with front pockets and a zipper pocket on the bum. I made R a matching pair of army-man shorts. They are a very similar size so two pairs mean there wont be any arguing over who gets to wear them. I also made R a light summery pair made from an old work shirt of the J and R's father (my BIL). I cut the back shorts piece where the shirt pocket was to act as the back pocket.

R's Army & Work Shirt Shorts

I made my youngest niece, V, two pairs of flat front MADE shorts, size 18 months. I lengthened both pairs about an 1" as her previous pair showed a little two much leg and looked more like bloomers than shorts. The lemon (or are they limes?) pair has front pockets. The second pair was made from a thin soft polka dot fabric (don't remember the exact type). I underlined the fabric with another one of my BIL's old shirts which my sister said was actually his wedding shirt!  

V's Polka-dot & Lemon Shorts

I also made V a matching reversible wrap around top using the CINO tutorial and free pattern which is posted on Birch Organic Fabrics. The top turned out really great. The written tutorial was quite brief but the photos filled in the gaps. The pattern in available in a few different sizes so I imagine I'll sew it up again in the future. 

Matching Shorts & Wrap-Around Top

I made two of my older nieces (A and A) a pair of shorts each using the flat front variation to go with a small gift I'd purchased at a recent crafts market. I used opposing fabrics for tags and to line the inside of their pockets so their shorts match just a little bit.

I can't recommend the MADE Kid Shorts pattern and tutorials enough! The size range is huge (1-10 years, boys and girls) with flat front and racer variations. It's also a really quick sew. I'm sure its a pattern I'll use time and time again. It would be great to make up as board-shorts or even summer PJ boxers/shorts.
The nieces and nephews seemed quite pleased with their gifts which is especially nice when you give young kids clothes!

I'm now ready for more selfish sewing! Speaking of which many thanks to my Mum for buying one of the items on my wishlist, the Colette Sewing Handbook. And thanks to all my family for gifting Tim and I some really special gifts and spending such as lovely day and evening with us.

Mini Measuring Tape

I got this cute mini measuring tape in a Christmas bonbon. Well, actually, Tim won it, but he generously swapped it for the shoe horn I won... Merry Christmas!

Skirt with built in bloomers

My nieces 1st birthday is in a few days. My sister had been requesting I make her a skirt for some time, preferably with a built in nappy cover/bloomers and I had some great fabric (bought by my sister probably 6 months ago, whoops).

I didn't have a pattern handy so I improvised. I used two fantastic tutorials from MADE to create the skirt (Dana is an authoritative on all things sewing for children!). 

First I downloaded the FREE diaper cover pattern and made up bloomers but left out the waistband elastic. I then followed the Simple Skirt tutorial, being careful to cut the skirt fabric to pattern match with the bloomers. I made up the skirt completely apart from the waistband. Rather than creating a waistband on the skirt I created a tiny top hem (to cover the raw edges) and then gathered the skirt making sure the width of the skirt waist and bloomers matched. I fitted the skirt about 5/8th below the top of the bloomers and attached the skirt around 1/2 inch below the top of the skirt. When this was complete I inserted the elastic into the bloomers waistband and you're done!

The Skirt is is a little too big as I made a size 18 months - 2 years for room to grow. I look forward to seeing Violet in this skirt for many months to come! Today we came together with family and friends for a joint birthday afternoon tea. My sister is turning 30-something the week after next, I turn 25 on Friday and my niece will be 1 Tuesday. I'm really happy with how the skirt turned out and so seems Violet. 

It's great to be able to find, use and adapt amazing online patterns and tutorials to create something just right AND for free.

Now Violet can flash away whilst maintaining her modesty. She gave it a try!

Happy Birthday Nat and Violet!