KCW Day 2: Red Riding Hood and the Lollipop Swirl Review

No that's not some kind of crazy new book title you haven't heard of, I'm just killing two birds with one stone with this blog post.  Yes it is part of KCW and again inspired by a childhood favourite.  I feel a bit like I'm cheating with this one really.  I loved the classic fairytales as a small girls and I now enjoy reading them to Miss M, I had several large collections of fairy stories and loved each of them for different reasons.  Usually at that young age the pictures drew me in as they really bring the story to life.  When the Red Riding Hood fabric line was released by Riley Blake I fell in love and it is this that I've used here in a skirt for Miss M.

This post is doubling as my pattern review for the Lollipop Swirl Skirt from My Treasured Heirlooms and while I received a copy of the pattern from the designer to do this review the thoughts and comments are entirely my own.

This cute bias stripwork skirt comes in sizes 12m-10y and has 3 different waist options (elastic, buttons or zip/button).  While I loved the look of the 3 button closure as Miss M is all about independence at the moment I went with the elastic waist for ease of dressing for her.  First impressions are that I was really impressed with this pattern.  It is very clearly laid out and for someone like me who has a bit of a love/hate relationship with printing and taping patterns there is the added bonus of very few pages to print - woohoo.  The grain lines are clearly shown on the pattern, which is particularly important if you want to cut your bias panel from a directional print like I did.  There are also clear instructions included on how to lengthen/shorten the skirt as required.  While I would usually have made a size 3 with 4 length for Miss M, I decided that since I was doing an elastic waist I could get away with making straight size 4 and adjusting the elastic length to suit her :-)

This skirt net together really well, the instructions for overlapping the bias strips for sewing were well described and accompanied with clear pictures.  I realised as I went to sew mien together that I had cut them all out with my pattern up the wrong way which means that my skirt 'swirls' in the opposite direction to the ones on the pattern, I'm calling it a design feature, lol.  Also I decided to topstitch the panels to give a clean finish.  The only slight issue I had was that my waistband was slightly smaller than my skirt waist when I came to attach it.  I'm sure this was user error on my part (probably some of those joining seams had a slightly smaller seam allowance than they should have) so I ran a quick easing stitch around the waistline and eased it in as required (there wasn't a lot of difference).

The verdict?  This is a really sweet, quick wee skirt with simple lines and the added interest of the bias panels.  Miss M loves it and so do I :-)

KCW Day 1: Happy Prince Pants

I have decided to sew along with Kids Clothes Week once again, I did this back in January as well and it was lots of fun.  This time the theme is Children's books/stories and my love of kids books really drew me into the challenge.  While the link to kids stories may be quite tenuous in some, if not all, instances I have enjoyed making my projects reflect some of the books and stories I loved as a child or love to share with my children now.

First up for me this time around are a pair of trousers for Miss M which I've called her Happy Prince Pants.  The Happy Prince is a story that I used to listen to on the radio as a child.  Before weekend kids tv we used to have a sunday morning radio show of kids stories and songs and it was a treat to lie in bed on a Sunday morning and hope your favourite stories would be on that week (boy just writing that makes me feel old).  I had lots of favourites but one that stands out is the story of the Happy Prince.  Yes, like many others I would cry when I listened to it, but isn't being so emotionally involved a true sign of a fabulous story.

To be honest Miss M needed new trousers (she has grown a lot lately) and I have loved this bird cotton fabric for ages, but it didn't take me long to draw the connection between the birds and the colour of the fabric and the bright blue sky and the swallow of the story.

The pattern I used is from Ottobre 1/2014, pattern number 18 "Snappy Happy Pants".  I used view A as a base but I omitted the drawstring and knee patches.  I also managed to cut these out without adding a seam allowance - OOPS!  So I got a little creative and found some aqua wide bias in my stash and used it to add a stripe down the side in an attempt to compensate for the lack of seam allowance.  It seems to have worked fit-wise and I'm actually pleased with the added lift the stripe gives them.  I made a size 92 with 98 length in the leg and rise and didn't have to make any other adjustments at all in sizing.

The only issue I had with sewing these up was doing the bottom elastic casing no the legs.  The top three rows of elastic are sewn on before sewing the inside leg seam but then at the end you iron up and sew the bottom elastic casing.  I found the ironing up of the casing a real pain with the other elastic already in place.  In future I would irony hat casing up first, before sewing on the other elastic, and then sew the casing as the end as instructed to give a nice clean finish without the hassle.
A couple of pics showing the cute pockets and bottom leg elastic.

Even though these aren't pink they have been given the stamp of approval and have already been given a thorough testing :-)

Love these and so does Miss M - win:win!

FO: Flutterby Playsuit

A wee while ago I tested the Flutterby Peasant Dress and Top from Little Kiwis Closet and I loved this pattern.  I therefore jumped at the chance of testing the Flutterby Romper version of this pattern.  Like the dress there are a squillion options (truly there are I counted them all), including 7 sleeve options and 4 pants options, optional pockets and you can even use the pattern to make shorts!

I let Miss M choose the fabric for this one from a small selection I made from stash and I'm really pleased with this pink bird cotton that she chose, it's dean up really nicely.  I decided to do the flutter sleeve as Miss M loved this on the top I made her, and shorts (I didn't add the pockets but definitely will next time).

The pattern comes in sizes nb-12y.  I made the size 3 with 4 length and the fit is fantastic.

It stands up to the test of goofing about and dancing....

..and apparently it can't be worn to daycare because it's too beautiful, lol.  This is a cute staple for a summer wardrobe (or any season depending on the option you choose), is easy to put on and take off for dressing and toileting and oh so cute.  Congrats Lydia on another fabulous pattern :-)

Review: Peachy Playsuit by Felicity Sewing Patterns

This is the first time I have been given the opportunity to review a pdf pattern and while I did receive this pattern in exchange for writing this review, all the opinions in this are my own and I don't benefit in any way from future sales of this pattern.

I was really excited to hear that I could review this lovely Peachy Dress and Playsuit by Felicity Sewing Patterns.  I actually had fabric all picked out to make a similar jumpsuit for Miss M from the Burda magazine that I picked up on holiday so this pattern came along at the perfect time, and for that reason I also chose to make the playsuit and not the dress in this instance.

Firstly some pattern info.  This pattern includes lots of different options including pillowcase top or casing with flutter sleeve, dress or playsuit, and even instructions to adjust to a standard pillowcase top/dress and separate shorts.  It comes in sizes 2-14y which is great because many patterns don't cover the top end of that size range, and includes fantastic size charts.  I think this is really important as my children are never a straight size in any pattern.  By carefully checking all the measurements given I found I needed to cut a size 2 with size 4 length of bodice and size 3 length of pants for Miss M, and the final fit was perfect with no adjustments (big win all round).

I need to admit that when I first received this pattern I was a little intimidated by it, in that it seemed quite long and daunting but please don't be put off.  I would definitely suggest reading through carefully before you start and once you have chosen which options you want to do but really once you work out which pages of the tutorial you need the instructions are very easy to follow with good clear pictures and well explained instructions.

So on to the finished article?

The fabric I used is a medium weight cotton with embroidered butterflies which I pieced up at a fabric market last year, I love the vintage feel of it.  I chose to make the version with the full neck casing and flutter sleeves as Miss M finds this much easier for getting on and off herself than a pillowcase style top.  There are instructions for many lovely finishing features in this pattern including adding edgings to the sleeves (these are from Mum's stash),

 adding inseam pockets,

 and you are even reminded to add a tag to the back of the neck, which is fab because I always forget!

So what does it look like on?

 You may notice in this photo that the inseam pockets look low, they are but purely through my inability to read properly and I read cm as inches, oops.  So they are about 1.5" lower than they should be, she can still use them though.

Plus it's been tested for running...

finding things in the garden...

and smelling flowers.

Overall this pattern is a hit here.  I can see that eventually Miss M may ditch the belt as she can't tie it herself and gets frustrated but I love the look of it.  

I can see that I will be making more of these, hopefully next up will be the dress version with the neck frill, it's darling!

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.