My First Pattern Mash-Up

I often read about bloggers doing pattern mash-ups to get just the look they want but I'm sorry to say that I don't usually have enough vision or imagination to do so.
This all started yesterday at my sewing workshop when my overlocker started seriously playing up, as in one of the needle threads wouldn't work at all.  Thankfully I was sewing wovens (will share later) so 3-threads was fine for finishing but it meant no knit projects for me until it was sorted.  I was kind of dreading facing it today.
Fast forward to 3am when I couldn't sleep and got a lightning bolt of inspiration that I HAD to try.  This morning after much persuasion and talking nicely, and lots of cleaning out and new needles, my overlocker was back to full strength and I couldn't help but drag out the drafting mat, a couple of patterns and some fabric.
So what was it that I HAD to make.  I have made no secret of my love of the Raindrop Tee from Gracious Threads, and then recently shared my version of her new pattern the Petra Dress/top.  Well now isn't it obvious, that gorgeous shaped raindrop tee NEEDS those wee puffed sleeves of the Petra for certain.

After checking the armscye shape of the two patterns I found they would be compatible so that made life a lot easier.  All I had to do was draft the size 3 sleeve of the Petra and then I cut it at about shorten it by cutting approx 2" from the top of the underarm seam.
I chose some cute striped cotton/lycra I picked up for next to nothing as it's a second and I'm loving the result.

This is the size 3 base raindrop tee with size 4 length, I did lower the front scoop about 1" as Miss M is long in the body and it showed quite a lot of tummy last time I made it.

So this would have to be the simplest pattern mash up EVER!  All you need are the Raindrop Tee and Petra Dress/Top patterns from Gracious Threads, but you all need those anyway so no problems there.
Give it a go, I'm thinking this will be my 'go-to' everyday tee for our upcoming summer.

FO: Petra Dress/Top

I was very lucky to get the opportunity to test the new Petra Dress/top pattern from Gracious Threads.

This pattern is fabulous because it is quick and easy to sew up but the result is something pretty special.  I'm a complete sucker for knit patterns, I think they are really comfortable and easy to wear and I love sewing up knit fabrics.  In this case there is the added bonus of 'twirl', what more could a girl want.  This pattern incorporated both a long sleeved top with soft puffed sleeves or the dress version which I made.

I used some gorgeous euro cotton/elastane from Janeas World that I've had in stash for ages waiting for the perfect project, and I teamed it up with some matching aqua jersey I had in stash.  I opted to make a straight size 4 since we are heading into summer (supposedly) and I wanted it to fit next winter, but I probably could have easily made a size 3 with 4 length.

 And on the girl herself.

 Check out that twirl, it's a 6-gore, full circle skirt!

I found this pattern really easy to print and piece together and the tutorial is so easy to follow, plus it takes you through the neck binding step-by-step if you are feeling a little intimidated by that.  Miss M loves her new dress so I'd say it's a winner all round.

FO: Doll carrier

This is the last post in the catch up from my sneak peeks a couple of weeks ago here.  The beginnings of this project came a few months ago.  Miss M loves to walk up to school to pick up Mr A whenever we can, she also likes to take along a baby for the walk AND collect every 'interesting' flower/leaf/stick along the way.  This means that by the time we arrive at school I'm usually carrying a doll plus a handful of flowers which I'm not allowed to put down under any circumstances, the joys of small children.
It rapidly dawned on me, after having to improvise a wrap from a doll blanket, that a baby carrier was required.  I use to baby wear Miss M a lot as a baby, first in a Moby wrap and then in a Manduca SSC, so I loved the idea of her 'wearing' her baby as well.
Roll forward to Miss M's birthday and I finally got around to making this up.  I found this pattern by LittleKiwisCloset some time ago and I love that all the details make it so reminiscent of the 'real' SSC I used for Miss M.
I chose a pink cotton that I had in stash for the outer fabric and a coordinating stripe for the lining.  As usual with Lydia's patterns I found the tutorial really easy to follow.  I would rate this a beginner pattern but you do need to keep your wits about you a bit (I almost sewed one of the clips on backwards).  Also if you can't source the clips/webbing there is an option for fabric straps and velcro.

I think it is fair to say that it was a big hit come birthday morning :-)

 And it worked well for our first test run - check out all those flowers and she's still carrying baby as well - whoop whoop.

I love this pattern, there are lots of nice details which I haven't got decent photos of like topstitching on the straps and waistband.  I may even end p making a couple as gifts in the future.

FO: Flutterby Dress by Little Kiwis Closet

It seems hard to believe but with all my patterns both paper and pdf I didn't own a single peasant dress pattern.  I know shocking isn't it.  Don't panic though everyone LittleKiwisCloset came to the rescue with a tester call for not only any peasant dress but pretty much the ONLY peasant dress pattern you will ever need.  Honestly the options within this pattern are almost endless.  The Flutterby Peasant Dress/Top includes dress and top lengths (both with or without ruffles), and six different sleeve options (including flutter, short, 3/4 and long), all in sizes nb-12y.  I really don't think there is anything much else that could be added in there.
For testing I made up a top out of pink Wee Wander fabric with a contrasting flutter sleeve and a dress from Childhood Memories fabric with short sleeves.  Both Miss M and I love both of these.

I made a size 3 with size 4 length for both of these.  As always with Lydia's patterns this was lovely and clear, easy to piece together and the instructions were simple to follow.  I hope you all enjoy sewing this one up as much as I did :-)

FO: Biddybelle

This is the first test-knit I have done in a LOOOOOONNNNNGGGG time.  I was in a bit of a knitting funk and often a test will help get me out of it because I have a strict deadline and motivation to keep going.  Then up popped this gorgeous wee dress on my Facebook feed and before I knew it I was knitting again :-)  Actually doing this test forced me to finish the hood on this too because I didn't want to start until the hoodie was finished.

So what was the project that took my eye?  The cute Biddybelle Dress by Hollyberry Designs.  This is a sweet wee tunic/dress with either short or long sleeves and colour work border.  There are lots of lovely wee design features that make this special, the wee 'V' at the neck, the pop of colour at the button band no the shoulder and the wide choice of colour work charts to choose from (or the option to do stripes instead).

I worked the size 21" for Miss M and did length to suit her and I love the result.  The main yarn is some I picked up in a Knitworld sale a couple of years ago and I bought a ball of Skeinz Urban for the colour work (this is one of the flower designs)

And just because they are cute :-)

FO: Princess Peplum

Here I go slowly catching up with my testing frenzy.  This time it was a top for me, woohoo.  The schematics of this design caught my eye straight away and I was excited to see it was available in both children's and adult sizes.  Introducing the Princess Peplum by Dandelion's n' Dungarees.

What's not to love right?  Those princess seams, the cute cap sleeves and the gorgeous shaping of the extra panel in the back all won me over.
This pattern is designed for knit fabrics with 4 way stretch and as such requires no zippers or fastenings, woohoo.  During testing there were some gorgeous versions made including many lovely colour blocked tops and even a maternity version!
Here is my take on the Princess Peplum, I used some unidentified rather slinky and very stretchy knit fabric I found in stash.  I did have a couple of issues with this particular fabric being friendly with my overlocker but once I got that sorted this went together quickly and was pretty straightforward.  The neck and sleeves are both bound and can be done using any standard knit binding method.

Excuse the hideous modelling and photos taken by a 7yo and you can see the top is pretty cute right?  I love where the neckline falls and the V at the back adds a bit of interest.  The princess seams are also really flattering and give a lovely shape.  On the whole I love this pattern and will be making more.  The final version of the pattern does include a little added length compared to this version which I also like.  So the Princess Peplum is available in children's sizes XXS-XL and women's sizes XS-XXL (or both patterns as a bundle) so none needs to miss out :-)
So don't be scared of knits and go get sewing.

Miss M Turns 4! (including the birthday dress)

It seems hard to believe that Miss M was just a few months old when I started blogging and a few days ago my 'baby' turned 4!  Yes FOUR!  Well actually she's not that interested in being 4 other than the fact that it means that your are 'nearly 5' and then you can be a big school girl (I'm not sure I'm ready for that but she certainly is).

We had a lovely time celebrating Miss M's birthday.  It started with a  wee party for a few of her friends.  She wanted a 'Frozen' party (like every other girl her age) and while I don't really do themes we gave it a go.  She also wanted to do pass the parcel and dancing to Frozen and that was it.  Mummy provided the tutus for all the girls to dance in and overall I think a blast was had by all :-)

I need to clearly state here that other than the baking I can take virtually no credit for the cake.  The amaaaazzzzing snowflakes are courtesy of my dear friend from Imaginarium Cakes who has more talent than you can shake a stick at (go check out her work it's totally out of this world).  And we bought the figurines so it was pretty simple to pop it all together the night before, and it went down a treat :-)

Of course every birthday girl needs a new party dress.  The brief from the wearer was that it needed to be pink and twirly and I think we ticked both of those off nicely.  For once I actually dug out a paper pattern (I know shock horror).  I used Butterick B4718 and cut a size 2 with size 4 length for a near perfect fit.  The only thing I found was that it was too big around at the top of the bodice so I needed to take in the side seams quite a lot on each side.  The fabric was from stash and the gorgeous rosebud trim I also found in my 'trims box', I'm pretty sure it either came from my Mum or my Gran at some stage.

From there all that was left was the actual birthday.  Miss M got thoroughly spoilt by family and had a wonderful time.

It's hard to believe our wee princess is growing into such a confident, articulate and caring wee girl.  We love you Humph.