I could make that!

There seems to be a lot of chambray shirt dresses in the stores at the moment - and with good reason! A 3/4 sleeve shirt dress is a fantastic Trans-seasonal item. Here a just a couple available in the Australian stores right now.

@ Sussan

@ Colorado

I especially love the styling of the Sussan version - even though when you look closely at the picture it is  more of a tunic dress rather than a shirt dress. Some ballet flats, leggings and a lovely scarf.

It is amazing what you find when you go looking - as I have had it in my mind that I would like a nice casual shirt dress pattern in my collection for a while now - but had not come across anything I really liked. But when I was looking for something completely different - I found this:

Simplicity 2246

And Spotlight just happens to have Chambray cotton on sale right now for $7.95 per meter.

Megan Nielsen Perfect Nursing and Maternity Top - Pattern Review

Find it here

I bought this pattern along with the Nursing Lingerie set also by Megan, a little while ago, however, my lack of expertise in sewing stretch fabrics had me leave this one on the shelf until I could find some stretch fabric cheap enough to make it worth my while giving it a go. Jersey fabric in Australia is not all that cheap and I didn't really want to spend $40 only to make a huge mess.

I'm glad that I made that choice and waited until I found some clearance Jersey for $5 per meter.

This is a nice pattern - don't get me wrong - and very easy to sew up - but there are a few things I would change if I were to make it again.

The first thing would be the fabric choice. The jersey I bought was a very fine slinky jersey and while beautiful - just too light for this pattern. The nursing modesty panel shows very clearly through the front panel because of how thin the fabric is.
 The fabric choice also didn't handle the construction method of the neck line and modesty panel very well and I don't think it will stand up to the test of time and wear when feeding frequently. All of this is purely down to fabric choice. I think it needs a nice sturdy ITY Jersey or cotton lycra. Whatever the choice - it needs to have a bit of weight to it.


The second thing I would change (and this is just a personal thing) is that I would use a cover hem on the neckline, hem, sleeve hem and modesty panel neckline - purely to increase the sturdiness factor and increase the amount of stretch in the neckline. I have a Serger that can do a cover hem - however - I have yet to master it.

The last thing I would alter is the width of the middle panel. This is what gives the top the length it needs to cover the growing bump - but - it is just a bit too wide for my liking - I was left feeling as though I hadn't followed the pattern instructions properly - but on review it seems I did. I feel as though it could be half the width and make the bottom of the top the same length longer.

On the positive side - it is a very flattering top and not all that difficult to sew. I didn't use my Serger to set in the sleeves as I have never made anything with set in sleeves before and wasn't all that sure about this step. The sleeves are fine though having sewn them with just a straight stitch. I finished off the raw edges with the Serger after sewing the sleeves in.  If I could find the right fabric I would give it another go - it is just that living in a relatively small city I am quite limited in my choice of fabric stores and Jersey/knits are something I like to  feel before purchasing.

I made the Large size and I normally wear a size 10 - 12. With this particular fabric I may have gotten away with the Medium. One my milk comes in the 'top' part of the top will fit fine, but the middle panel and bottom of the top will swamp me when I no longer have a bump.

So how am I going to make this better? I am toying with the idea of cutting out the modesty panel and using this one as a night shirt with easy feeding access or simply wearing it with a white singlet underneath. I may also have a play with folding the middle panel in half and understitching it somehow - purely to have a play.

This is a nice pattern and has fantastic instructions - I was just glad of the opportunity to make a muslin of sorts.

Another UFO bites the dust

I am slowly slowly working my way through that UFO basket and today I finished sewing the binding on the biggest of all the UFO's - the Quilt I started for the H boy over 2 years ago.

 

Given that this was my first quilting adventure I am really quite happy with the end result. There are a few mistakes and some of the squares don't line up but it is a quilt for my boy and it is finished.

While quilting is not my favourite thing in the world when it comes to sewing, I am already planning the next quilt project - a quilt for the new baby. Partly because I discovered a whole lot of precut squares that I had obviously planned to make a quilt with at some point. 

I do like that most of the projects in the UFO box are simple finishing off jobs and so they are usually quick - no doubt things I had just lost passion for at the time I started them. So I have been able to have a project that I am interested in as well as  some quick but satisfying sewing going at the same time.

Pattern review on it's way tomorrow!

And - completely on another topic - can I just declare my secret love of Turkish Delight... can't describe exactly what it is about the pink sugary goodness - perhaps it is just the prettyness factor but it is just heavenly!

 

and I just discovered Turkish delight ice cream...mmnnnn

I could make that!

There are quite possibly a million Little Black Dresses out there available - but hey - they are useful!

A great LBD will take you through many seasons and can be dressed up or down to meet the needs of different events!

This one from Banana Republic caught my eye.

Banana Republic LBD

The ruffle detail is cute but not over the top. The Banana Republic version is a Rayon blend. It took me a while to find a pattern that could make this work.

But I think this McCalls M6024 could work nicely.

McCalls M6024

As you can see the pattern offers a number of variations. The pattern back shows that the ruffles go the whole way around the neckline - and you might like this more than the original version - but with some crafty measuring and altering of length you could easily make it the same at the Banana Republic version. A devolumed flutter sleeve like in view A and a No-Frill skirt - like in View C - and you'll have yourself a pretty similar cute LBD.

Freezer Paper er... Contact Paper stenciling

I have wanted to try Freezer paper stenciling for a while now but haven't wanted to spend the money on getting a roll of freezer paper from the US only to have it not work out.

I have searched and searched and as far as I can tell, freezer paper is not available in Australia unless you are paying $20 or so for a roll - that is too much money to spend on something that may or may not work out!

So I have been thinking and thinking about how I could do it using something as an alternative to Freezer Paper.
 I even Googled it - and nothing (however I am not very good at good Google searches!).

I was thinking about it again the other night and I thought about the principle behind the whole process of freezer paper stenciling - the waxed paper sticks to the fabric and therefore doesn't slide around when you put the paint on.

I thought to myself - what else would do this?

I came up with Contact - the stuff you use to cover books with. It has a paper side that you can draw a pattern onto, and a sticky side that you can adhere to the fabric - and it is cheap enough that if it doesn't work then - oh well!

So yesterday I gave it a go - and guess what? It works!

I'm sure my technique needs a little bit of work and that I may need to concentrate on really sticking down the edges of the design but hey - it is better than nothing!

 

This was my trial run and as you can see it turned out OK! I did find that you have to stick to fairly small designs as the Contact paper can be a little tricky to lay down on the fabric but a little bit of lifting and re sticking did the job. So because it was so easy and the trial run went so well, I decided to venture onto stenciling onto a baby onesie. It was a little more difficult. The cotton rib fabric was harder to work with than the stiff cotton and I attempted a different design. It turned out looking a little 'homemade', rather than cute and crafty. I didn't remember to get a before shot. In remedy, however, I thought I would sew some fabric applique to the onesie and see if I could make it look better. Which I think I managed to achieve -

I am still thinking about whether I like the whole look of the freezer paper stenciling - perhaps I just need to do a few more and get more of a hang of it.

I could make that!

I am sure that anyone who can sew frequently sees garments being sold for exorbitant prices and thinks to themselves - I could make that!

Well - I am going to try and do a regular feature on that very thing. Each week (or as often as I find inspiration) - I will post an item of clothing available for purchase along with a pattern that would give you a similar version for a fraction of the price.

Fun right!

Want to play along? let me know and I'll set up a linky tool for next week.

But for now, last week I saw this *hot* little red number available at Ginger and Smart.

Ginger and Smart Dash Dress

One look and I saw the pattern in my head - McCalls 5845

McCalls 5845

It is listed on the McCalls website as being out of print (Boo Hoo - why do they do that!) - but hey you might be lucky at find it at you local pattern supplier/fabric store.

If you want to see it made up there are a number of reviews on Pattern Review.

Before you say - Ugh! External darts - What on earth were they thinking - take a deep breath and give it a try - they are a really cute feature!

I have made up this pattern in a Stretch Sateen and it sews up beautifully. I did make a muslin and had to take in the hip curve a little as well as drop the neckline about 1" - I think I could have taken it more. Sorry - I have zero pics of this one as they were all taken on someone else camera and being 8 months pregnant I can't go and try it on. But I promise that once it fits me again I will do a proper review!

Now I want to make it in red!

Gratitude with toddlers

Good manners and being considerate of others is something that I value highly and thus it is something that I want to instill in my children as being important.

The little H boy has developed a charming habit of saying "No Thanks" when he is asked questions sometimes.
It is actually pretty cute - for example - "Is it time to get out of the bath now H?" to a reply "No Thanks!".

I do wonder though how long it will last.

His Birthday Party on Sunday was an event that wouldn't have gone anywhere near as smoothly without the help and love of some of our family members and of course his (and our) friends who brought him some lovely gifts.

So yesterday I made him some colouring pages that we could turn into thank-you cards that he could send to all of his aunts and uncles and friends.

Download Here

We sat down yesterday afternoon with a brand new packet of *washable* felt tip pens and he scribbled away all over the colouring pages - I printed out as many as I needed plus a few more.

Being a 2 year old colouring is really just a mass of scribbles but that was kind of the look I was going for.

Then I cut out around each of the Thanks! messages leaving a small margin, and we glued these to a bought set of blank yellow cards.

 

I think that it is important for these cards to not look overly 'done' as they are supposed to be coming from a small child.

I hope that small practices like this which we can talk about and have fun with as he is growing up will help him to appreciate and value when other people do nice things for him.

If you decide to have a go yourself - I hope you have fun!

How do you show gratitude in your family?

Linked up with:

H Boy's 2nd Birthday

There is a reason that Valentines Day doesn't register very highly with me these days - that is because 2 Years ago this little boy came into our lives on V-Day eve.

 

So today we celebrated his 2nd birthday with a construction themed party. I will apologise in advance about the quality of the photos - I am unhappy with the performance of our new camera - especially outdoors.

I created some ambiance with some  construction tape from a local hardware store and printed off some construction site signage pictures from Seton.

I also sewed some of these together to make a bunting decoration.

There were Hard Hats and party favours -  little "Authorised Bulldozer Driver" ID tags for each of the kids, which I again made using the customised sign designer on the Seton website.

This is my heirloom to be handmade Happy Birthday banner. I began sewing this over a year ago in preparation for his 1st Birthday. It didn't get done in time for that and then it got shelved in the infamous UFO box. I vowed to finish it before his 2nd birthday. I am really happy with how it turned out and look forward to seeing it through many birthdays to come.

And the finishing touch - the Bulldozer Cake.

 

Not as complex as it looks - although I did use half a bottle of yellow food colouring and it still wasn't yellow enough. Licorice for the wheels and tracks and honeycomb for the dirt out front.

Happy birthday my little one!

More UFO work

I tend to do a lot of sewing at night as that is when I get a good few hours to myself where I can sew uninterrupted. Yesterday evening I went through the unfinished projects box properly and had a general tidy up of the sewing room.

It is one of those 'magical' spaces for the H boy as the inquisitive 2 year old that he is - because the door stays shut all the time - if I happen to leave it open by mistake he will find a way to get in there.

I don't really mind because most of the stuff is on high shelves or in boxes but if I have been sewing a lot there is often pins on the floor or the iron is still out etc etc. I have to try harder to leave things in a tidy state so if he does get in there I needn't worry so much.

Tonight I finished off the quilting on the unfinished quilt project, and I made a little 'sewing toolbelt' or sewing apron. The toolbelt is a project I have had cut out since before H boy was born also. It was one of those projects that got taken over by more interesting and exciting things. However, upon finishing it tonight I can see that I will use it all the time. My cutting table is the dining room table which is at the other end of the house to the sewing space. So I am continually leaving the rotary cutter, the pin cushion or the tape measure at the wrong end of the house. Now I have a little toolbelt I can carry then around with me!

Pics to come when I have daylight to take some!

The UFO pile is getting smaller!

Swaddled Baby Love

So - as promised - here is apic of my first finished quilting based project.

 

Despite the amount of swearing that went into getting it to the finished point I am quite pleased with how it turned out. 

The reason for so much swearing? I sewed the pieces together the wrong way no less than 5 times! I can barely believe it myself! I was having a serious case of baby brain that afternoon!

Then having never sewn on quilt binding before, I followed the instructions in the pattern book for sewing binding. It wasn't as hard as I had in my head that it was and I am a bit annoyed that I have never tried before. It has truly inspired me to go on a finish my other quilt project that has been sitting in the unfinished objects box for almost two years. 

So what is it you may ask? It is the "Swaddled Baby Love" project from the Anna Maria Horner book -  Handmade beginnings.

The idea is that it is a swaddling wrap for the sewn baby doll for an older sibling to be able to have their own 'baby' when the new baby comes along. This is a gift for H boy for when the new baby is born. 

The part that I can't get over is how satisfying is was to sew on that quilt binding!

Watch this space for the next UFO project!

Crazy Pregnancy Sewing

What on earth possesses us to become slightly insane and take on crazy projects when we are pregnant?

Last time I decided to make a quilt for the baby and hand quilt it - when I had never done anything like that before in my life.

That project is still sitting in the box of unfinished objects... I bought the wrong perle cotton for the hand quilting it seems and it turned into the most difficult thing in the world so I ditched it. The resurrection plan is undo all of the quilting done thus far and start over. That is in the pile for when I start maternity leave in 5 weeks and want to do not very much at all except sit on the couch.

There are a number of other things on the list of things to do in that time as well - as you might imagine! They include:

-Practice meditation and calm birthing affirmations
-Sew the remainder of my nursing nightgowns and hospital lounge PJ's
-Finish sewing the two pairs of baby pants that I started when my last baby was very small and by the time I had finished the first pair he had grown out of them.
- Work on some other UFO hand sewing projects
- Go and get my Serger lessons
- Swim
- make thank you notecards
-organise bag for hospital
- Oranise a 'present from the baby' for my big boy.

This last one is what I threw myself into last night. It looked simple enough - a toy 'Baby' with nappies (diapers) and a string quilted wrap for the 'baby'.

I dove into my scraps bin and found everything I would need, I made the baby doll last night, thinking I would finish the rest in H's sleep time today. Well it is now 11pm and I just finished pinning the binding to the quilted wrap.

I have decided that I am not a quilter - do I like the finished product - definitely - but I do not like the getting to the end part. I am going to blame the short freearm on my Sewing Machine and say that it has nothing at all to do with my lack of precision and my need for a finished product to admire. In my defense - my sewing machine does have an exceptionally short freearm and it can be difficult, even to sew  garments with.

But - apart from the hand sewing of the binding edge - it is done and it does look quite nice.

Binding is one thing that I have been scared of for some time now and while it could have been really bad  - it isn't it is just not perfect.

I will share pictures of the finished product tomorrow in the daylight.

In the meantime I think I will still go out and buy the H Boy a Zuzu pet as a present from  the baby. He is a boy after all - although I still think that the baby doll wrap will get some use.