And a pink one too....

The Ottobre Meteore vest I made for A2 was so cute, I just had to make one for A1. In pink of course!

Ottobre 1/2011 #5

One thing I wish I would remember to do, is read my instructions again! I often write nots on the instructions if I do something different, or need to remember to do something. And of course with this I didn't! The inside of the arm holes is a bit messy as I had forgotten I needed to sew further out to make sure I catch the lining in. Practice makes Perfect!

Flower Power Cords!

I fell in love with this fabric when I saw it in the Spotlight catalogue! Thankfully 3 weeks later when I manage to get to Spotlight, they still had some.

This pattern is another Ottobre (1/2010 #13) Puolukkapuuro Cord Pants. The pattern specified 4 pockets, 2 at the front and 2 at the back. I decided not to put the pockets on the front as I thought A1 would just play with them. I am glad I didn't as the pants are a bit baggy for her on the front and I think had I put pockets on, it might have made them look baggier or pull the pants down a bit.

But they are gorgeous! Beautiful soft cord.

Front

Back, you can just see the pockets

Close up of the pocket. I used a cute pearly stud instead of a button.

Meteore Vest!

This is my first attempt at an Ottobre pattern! I have drooled over these magazines for a while and finally got up the courage to purchase a few back editions and a years subscriptions. I was a bit concerned about tracing off the pattern as there are so many patterns on the one piece of paper, but it truly wasn't that bad. I was also worried about adding seam allowances. No better way to learn than practice though!!

Overall I am really happy with the vest. The topstitching is not fantastic, and in hindsight I should have redone it. The zip. Oh my. The zip. I do not know why I struggled so much with the zip. This zip was simply sewn to the seam allowance. Should have been very easy! Anyway, after a few attempts and some swearing I did it. Not totally happy with the zip.

But I am very happy to have gotten over my fear of the Ottobre patterns! I think doing quiote a few jumpers and trackpants from the Kwik Sew books helped my understanding. I don't think I would have really understood the directions in the Ottobre magazine if I didn't understand about sewing stretch.

Pattern - Ottobre 1/2011 #5

Appliqued Jumper

Just for something different! I've appliqued the front of the jumper. It's really lovely! A1 said "pretty flowers".
I can't take credit for the flowers. Well I did draw them, cut them out and applique them, but the idea came from someone's blog! And I'm sorry if it was your blog, but I can't remember where I saw it and I thought I had bookmarked it for future reference.

Fancy Pants!

I am so excited to have finished these pants for A2! I purchased a lovely knitted brown jumper from Target the other week and decided that he needed pants to go with it. I used Oliver + S Sandbox pants pattern. The pattern was great and instructions were really simple to follow. I am really happy with these as it is the first item of clothing that was probably a bit more fiddly than I am used to, but they look great! The pockets are lined and the waist band should have been in the contrast cotton, but I didn't have quite enough of the brown cotton to make the waistband.

And I should take the time to mention, if anyone wants to make this pattern - check the errata on the website for the corrections to the patterns! It took me a good 2 hours to wonder why I was cutting 2 waistbands and it was infact a printing error on the pattern!

Front of Pants

Back of Pants

Another Tracksuit!

This fabric was given to be by my mum and is such good quality! It is so warm and fluffy! It is a shame to use it on the kids. I should have made a tracksuit for myself!

I purchased the little bear motif from the craft shop and ironed and stitched it on, just for something different.

Kwik Sew Master Patten for Toddlers and Simplicity 3584 Pants with added ribbed cuff

Jumpers

The kids really needed some jumpers and I have had so much trouble in finding patterns for simple jumpers without hoods! Hood drive me insane! So I went back to Mum's trusty old Kwik Sew Master Patterns for Toddlers. Here is a link to the book if you haven't seen it before. I tried numerous times last year to make some track suits and jumpers for A1 without success. I find the Kwik Sew patterns too wide and I am hopeless at altering patterns. I decided to have a go again this year with them and just make them. I was surprised! The jumpers have turned out fabulous. A1 is probably more in proportion this year, rather than last year I found the sleeves way too wide for her. A2 is perfect "normal" size.

A2's jumper I made to match the pants from the previous outfit, seeing the jumper from that outfit wasn't so great.

Back of Pants

Front of Pants

Jumper

I LOVE the jumper fabric. I picked it up at Textile Traders for an absolute bargain of $4 a metre. It is such thick and good quality fleece. I think I have about 4m of it! Although, I might be one of the few who actually like it. My husband "doesn't like the brown"! Well I do! I think the brown and pink go really nicely together and is so different from lots of other fabric you see or bought items.

Cute Outfits!

So these were from Simplicity 3852. I like the pants, just simple tracksuit fabric. I made the tops to match before I had purchased any other t-shirt stretch fabric. So the arms are out of fleece too. The problem with that is that there is not enough stretch in the arms and they are difficult to get on and off. I ended up adding a band to the bottom of the yellow one for A1 as it was a bit short. I think the top pattern would work really well in t-shirting like stella or equivalent. I am waiting on a co-op of Stella and might give it a go again. Althought there are some really nice long sleeve t-shirt/top patterns in the Ottobre magazines that I want to try too!

Jumpsuit for the little man

This jumpsuit is lovely. So simple and easy to make. From a Simplicity pattern 9455. I made one in a size I thought was suitable, but turned out that A2 was too big for it! So I made him another one in a bigger size and gave the smaller one to a friend. Making things like these, I really wish I had an embrodery machine to tizzy it up a bit, but there is no room in the toy/computer/sewing room!

Cord Dress

I purchased a pattern from Footloose Fancy Free Etsy's store. My first go at a PDF pattern. Great thing about PDF is the fact you get the pattern straight away! Which is a bonus to me, considering I live in the sticks and getting patterns is difficult. The onyl thing I don't like about PDF patterns is the fact they are difficult to store once you have put them together. The paper is so thick! I really should trace off on to vylene and store that. Would be much easier!

Anyway, this is the result.

It is meant to be reversible, but I didn't make it this way as I didn't think corduroy on the inside of a dress would be particularly comfortable!

It looks really nice on. I wish I had done the top differently, and the strap around the other way with the back coming over the front.



Tracky Dackys!

Just some pics of the trackpants I have made for the kids. I've tried my hand at being a bit fancy with them and adding braiding and tape to the sides. I'm really happy with the results. This pattern is Simplicity 3582 with some modifications! The pattern uses a cuff and I simply extended the pattern piece. It is one of the narrower trackpants pattern I can find. Either the patterns are really wide or my kids have skinny legs!

These are super cute on A2

A1 showing off my sewing!

I love this braid. I purchased at a local small craft store not for any reason and was so glad when I realised I had enough to put on these pants.

Pj's galore!

So now the cold weather is here, I have made some more flanelette pj's for the kids.
I am really happy with how A2's have turned out. I probably spent more than I normally would on the fabric, but I just couldn't resist!
A1's fabric came from Spotlight and is not that great quality, but really only need to last the winter. After a couple of washes they have gone really fluffy.
Both of these are made using Simplicity 3584. A1 seems to be tall and skinny, so I made a size 2 top and lengthened by 5cm on sleeves and body, but A2 seems fine in a 1/2 size.

Tutu fun!

I had a great idea of making A1 a tutu to dress up in. She's only just over 2 years, but still I thought it would be fun! Obviously I was wrong. After spending a number of hours searching the internet for ideas on a tutu I stumbled acrsoss Clairebear's Blog that had a tutorial on making a tutu. Her sewing is lovely!

So I went and bought the tulle and notions for sewing the tutu. I decided instead of putting the gathered tulle on a leotard, that a pair of shorts would be easier for A1 to put on herself. I just used a pair of shorts from Target as I hadn't managed to get to Perth at this stage to build up my fabric stash!

So here is the tutu.

Outside of tutu

Inside of tutu

And so.....she's worn it twice and every time I ask her if she wants to wear it, the answer is no. So as heartbroken as I am, I've put it away for a while!

Pj's for A2

My little boy is growing so quickly! Much faster than A1! So I bought some gorgeous fabric from ScruffyQuilts on Etsy, but before I made Pj's from that fabric I wanted to make a trial pair. I used a Simplicity 3584 pattern. It was my first attempt at applique too. I think I can improve quite a bit on the applique, but I am happy with the results!
So here they are.

Felt Food

I had a thought one day to do some sewing or crafts, so off to Spotlight I went. I came home with this Simplicity Pattern and a pile of felt. Over the next few weeks I turned it in to this!

I think my favourite has to be the eggs and egg carton. So cute! A1 wants to play with them, but I did think about making more and selling them. I haven't finished all the items in the pattern yet as I go stuck into sewing some clothes for A1 & A2.
I also purchased other patterns off Etsy to make other felt food items, although I am not as happy with the patterns as they are more for handsewing...something I have not yet perfected!

The start of my sewing blog!

So, it's not quite 6am and I've been awake for almost 2 hours with A2. Little ratbag didn't want to go back to sleep. So while he's happily watching the Wiggles, I decided to start my sewing blog! I have been inspired by all the other sewing blogs I've been trawling for weeks!

I'm a very novice sewer, but learning as I go and having plenty of fun making things.