a bear-y cute geranium dress

Two blog posts in one day?? What's going on around here?!? Well, I had intended to space them out a bit but I was just too excited to show you c's new geranium dress which I just finished last night.

Crazy cute, isn't it? I just love this pattern by Rae and wanted to sew one up right away. But life got in the way and now I feel like I'm late to the party. So I won't go into too much detail about the actual pattern and sewing process because there are literally a gazillion adorable Geranium Dresses and reviews out there for you to admire and read about. 

To make it short, this is a fabulous pattern and it was super easy to sew up. I chose the simple scoop neckline, with the pleated skirt and side seam pockets. I made the dress in a size 4 but lengthened it to a size 5 for my super tall almost-4-year-old. I think the fit is perfect! The only change I made with to top-stitch the bodice to the skirt since my top-stitching was much tidier looking than my 'stitch in the ditch' which was recommended in the instructions.

The fabric (which c picked out herself) is a lovely organic cotton from the Camp Modern collection of Birch Fabrics. I first saw this bear print used in a dress over here and thought it was adorable (actually the dress is pretty fabulous too and is high up on my to-make list). So maybe I subconsciously directed c to this fabric at our local fabric shop.. or perhaps it's just because she loves polar bears (she has about 4 polar bear stuffies). But regardless, I'm glad she picked this fabric because I think it's perfect for this dress. The lining is Joel Dewberry's Woodgrain that was in my stash. A touch of pink to offset the cooler grays and blues.

The dress is nice and roomy without being balloony and closes in the back with 3 buttons. I was excited to dig into my vintage button stash to pick out these sweet white buttons. LOVE!

And that pink toque? C picked it out at a shop yesterday and pretty much hasn't taken it off her head except to change clothes and at bedtime, although she was convinced she wanted to wear it to sleep as well. I think she looks like Strawberry Shortcake when she wears it and it makes me smile :)

melissa x

sleeveless tova

This is my second time sewing the Wiksten Tova, the first, which I'm realizing now, I never actually blogged about (but if you want to check it out, it's over here). It's a fantastic pattern and overall, a pretty quick and simple project to sew up. I had finished this sleeveless version about a month ago, but didn't get around to taking pictures until a couple of weeks ago. And then, well, I got side-tracked and blah blah blah... So anyways, here it is.

 

I used an off-white, light-weight fabric I bought at a fill-a-bag event put on by Our Social Fabric (I had also meant to do a post about this not-for-profit organization whose goal is to keep fabrics out of landfills, but I never did get around to it. If you're interested, Tasia of Sewaholic did a great post about it over here.) I thought it was cotton at first, but it doesn't seem to wrinkle very much so I'm now thinking it's a blend of some sort (I haven't ventured into any burn-tests to figure that out though). Anyways, it cost next to nothing and has the subtle stripes throughout it so I thought it would make a sweet tunic top. Although I made this Tova in the dress length, the sheerness of the fabric pretty much limits me to wearing it as a tunic over leggings or skinnies and a tank, which is pretty much my daily 'uniform' anyways :)

 

The overall construction of this dress/tunic was very simple, especially having left off the sleeves which aren't all that difficult, but a bit finicky with the gathering and all. To finish the arm holes in this version, I  just used the bias binding technique from the Wikstan Tank pattern which worked perfectly well. The trickiest part of the body is the front yoke which, again, isn't all that difficult if you just sew slowly and carefully when working around the corners. 

 

I made this in the size large (same as my flannel Tova) and didn't do any adjustments to the pattern other than omitting the sleeves. I love how it fits and looks from the front, but am still having issues with the back which is looking pretty 'tenty' (I didn't manage to get a picture of the back yet but trust me, it's not very flattering). I'm thinking I need to add some darts or cinching or something. 

Anyways, I've been wanting to learn more about tailoring and pattern alterations, so I decided to sign up for this pattern fitting course through Craftsy. (They lured me in with the 'we miss you' super promo deal so I actually also signed up for this 'pattern drafting from ready-to-wear' course which I'm pretty excited about!) I also took out this book from the library which I haven't had a chance to really read through yet, but has a nice section on adjusting patterns to your body type. If anyone knows of any other good books or resources for altering patterns or tailoring, please share! I have heard that this Palmer/Pletsch book is great, but I haven't gotten my hands on it yet. 

melissa x

field trip cargos

Hey, did you hear? It's Celebrate the Boy time again, hosted by Rae and Dana. Since I usually end up making dresses (and dresses and more dresses), I figured now would be a good time to start working on my poor boy's wardrobe. Another thing that's been bothering me lately, is that about 75% of my kid's 'basics' (being jeans, leggings, and tees) come from the Gap. After reading this book and all the reviews and commentary that's been floating around the web (here, here and here to name a few) I decided that this is the year I'm going to end my dependence on The Gap for basics and start making more myself. So this is what I've started with:

These are the Field Trip Cargo Pants by Oliver + S. And first off, what a freak'n awesome pattern this is! I made these up in the size 5 but lengthened the leg to the size 6 (for my tall and skinny 5 1/2 year old). I sewed these up over the weekend, a couple hours here and there with many internet and snack breaks in between.. So maybe 4-5 hours total not including sewing prep (tracing the pattern and cutting out the fabric). I'm so bad about keeping track of my sewing time and am easily distracted so projects usually take longer than they should. Anyways, even though I've only sewn up a couple of Oliver + S patterns and I have to say, the design and instructions are genius, well written and so very easy to follow. They include lots of fabulous details like knee darts, a faux fly, belt loops and snazzy top stitching. And I love the fit of these 'homemade pants' which, aside from my fabric choice (which I'll get into in a bit), don't really look 'homemade' at all (at least not to me..) 

So about the fabric.. I found this organic cotton twill at my local Fabricana and although it's supposed to be 'charcoal', it looks a bit more brown to me than gray (and sorry for the crappy pictures taken in seriously bad lighting). The weight and feel of the fabric is great. They are soft and comfortable, but they kind of 'shine'. I realized after making these that most store-bought cargo pants are probably made with a brushed twill/cotton so that they look more 'worn in'. These kinda look a little too 'new' if you know what I mean, so I'm going to try tossing them in the washer a dryer a few times to see if they will look a little more 'worn in'. 

Overall, I'm super happy with the look and fit of these cargos (and yes, C likes them too!) I'm going to try to make these again in a brushed twill or maybe even a denim without the cargo pockets so they are more like a simple pair of jeans. 

Next up will be a basic tee. Thinking of either the Flashback Skinny Tee or the Hipster Henley..

melissa x

another sweet little dress

We are currently going on day 5 of being housebound with a summer virus, and we are all starting to go a little stir-CRAZY. While the kids have been getting crafty with paints (finger painting, painting wood pieces for a birdhouse, painting themselves in the process...), I've been working away at more sweet dresses. Here is my latest one.

I am so in love with the fabrics in this dress. They are both from a Japanese fabric line called Sevenberry. I had seen fabrics from this line on a blog a while ago, but never really heard of or seen much of it since. Then a few weeks ago, I stumbled upon a few prints it at my local Fabricana and I have to say, the feel of this cotton is amazing. It feels like a cross between a fine, lightweight quilting cotton and a shirting. And after pre-washing the fabric, there were barely any wrinkles! So awesome! Anyways, I scooped up the remaining 3 meters of the striped fabric and some of the coordinating black floral and whipped up this dress. I absolutely love the delicate pastel flowers mixed in with the bolder black and white stripes. Folksy classic with a bit of an modern edge.

Lil C was definitely not in the mood for pictures today so this was the only semi-decent shot I got. This is a size 4 with a few modifications (slightly larger width and length of dress and a longer neck elastic). I'm also thinking of adding a pocket or two.. 

And since it seems I'm a little obsessed with making these sweet dresses (6 so far and counting..), I've actually signed on to become a licensed maker of this dress and will be listing a handful of these in my shop very soon. 

x melissa

sweet little dresses

Last week I made a sweet little dress for a sweet little girl who just turned one year old.

The pattern is from Leila & Ben and it really is a darling little dress. I had seen it around on other blogs and Flickr for a while and it seems to be a staple pattern in every KCWC. I had some of this hot pink chevron in my stash and I think the bold pattern works well with the simplicity of the dress. With only two pattern pieces, this dress was super quick to sew and the instructions were clear and offered some great tips on making this simple dress even easier to sew. Love that.

I also recently got my hands on some of Martha Negley's Farmington Feathers in pink (I LOVE this print and this colourway) so I thought I'd sew up a sweet little dress for lil C.

I made the size 3T to test out the sizing and I'm thinking these dresses are scaled a bit on the bigger side, or at least are designed to be nice and roomy. Lil C is generally wearing at least a size 4 now and this fits pretty well overall. I did add some length to the elastic around the neck and arms, but I think next time, I will add a wee bit more (maybe 2" total on the neck and 1" on the sleeve cuffs) so it's a little more relaxed.

 

Overall, I think this is a pretty darn awesome pattern and will definitely be making more. I'm already picturing all the different fabrics and combos I want to try making it in.

And lil C seems to like it. Bandaged knees and all :)

x melissa

kcwc days 3/4/5 - Ayashe Blouse

Ooh! I'm so in love with this blouse!

A few months ago, Shelly and Daniela of Figgy's Patterns/blog hosted a sew-along for this blouse, one of their debut patterns. I was all psyched up to join in but then life got in the way and I didn't end up sewing along. So, the first thing I thought when I signed up for this Spring's KCWC was that I would make this blouse, and I'm so glad I did!

I've used a few of Shelly's patterns before and really do love them. This blouse has such beautiful details like the front bodice top-stitching and the gentle gathers on the yoke. I would actually love to make a blouse like this for myself! (Shelly & Daniela, if, by chance, you're reading this, please make an adult version of this pattern!). Here are the details:

Pattern - Ayashe Blouse from Figgy's Patterns, size 4/5. I made the short sleeve option with the mandarin collar, and left the bottom hem straight without the elastic or drawstring.

Fabric - AMH Little Folks Voile, Little Honey in Gold. 7/8 yard (with some to spare)

General Thoughts - Again, I love how this blouse turned out mostly because of the sweet little details that make it so professional looking. The pattern instructions were good although I did get stuck putting in the yoke facing. I was going on very little sleep that day and was determined to put in my hour of sewing. Luckily, I remembered the sew-along and went to check there for extra tips. Got it all figured out the next day after a good night's sleep (it actually wasn't hard at all, my brain just wasn't working that night). I also made the size 4/5 for my big (just turned) 3 year old, and it fits well with room to grow in the body. However, the neck hole for the 4/5 size was too small and I couldn't get it over my daughter's big beautiful head :). So I just picked out a few stitches more (about an inch) down the front seam and tack stitched the bottom of the opening to secure it. The collar was easy to sew in although I had to adjust the length a bit to fit nicely. The sleeves were also pretty easy to sew in (I usually hate fitting in sleeves), but I still have to figure out how I want to finish those seams (I did french seams for the rest of the blouse but couldn't do that when joining the sleeves. I'm thinking of finishing this with bias tape so the inside of the blouse stays all neat and tidy.) 

Overall, I really enjoyed making this blouse and will definitely be making more very soon!

a japanese pattern book GIVEAWAY!

It's been a little damp and dreary over here on the West coast so I thought I would shake things up a bit with a 'chase-the-November-gloom-away', 'pre-holiday-celebration', 'thanks-for-reading-my-blog' GIVEAWAY!!

If you've been reading this blog for a little while, you may know that I have a bit of a thing for Japanese sewing pattern books. Aside from the lovely, creative photography and detailed, (relatively) easy to follow instructions, I find the actual clothing style to be the perfect balance between classic folksy and ultra modern. Oh, I love it so!

Back in June, I was super excited to find that Vancouver actually has a used Japanese book store that sells a small selection of these books (which I blogged about here). Although there are now quite a few places that sell these books online, it really is nice to be able to flip through the pages and kind of 'size-up' the patterns to see if they are actually doable. Some are definitely more detailed and easier to follow than others. So during my last trip there, I came across this awesome book (which is apparently now out of print).

I already own this book (picked it up the last time I was there), but loved it so much I thought it would be pretty cool to buy this one to offer as a giveaway. Now I admit, I haven't actually made anything from this particular book yet, but sereral patterns are on my to-sew list (which is getting pretty long..). The instructions (words are written in Japanese but there are a LOT of diagrams/pictures) look very clear and detailed and I think this would be a great book for an advanced beginner sewer who has had some experience sewing simple garments. The size range is from 90-130cm which would be approximately a size 3T to a 6 (if I'm wrong and someone knows the actual conversion, please let me know!), and there is a good mix of patterns for girls and boys (yay! more cool boy patterns!!) There are 26 patterns in total. And although this came from the used bookstore, it is in pretty perfect condition with the pattern sheet still intact and unopened (I'm thinking this was just purchased from somewhere as overstock..)



So, are you in? To enter, simply leave a comment below. Anything (nice) will do but make sure I have a way of contacting you if you win :) One entry per person (with the exception of the 'hoop-jumping' below..) I'm going to leave this contest open for a little while until end of day Sunday, November 27th (as I'll be a busy bee for the next week and a half doing last minute sewing for this market) and will have the good old Random Number Generator pick the winner on the following Monday. This is also open to anyone, anywhere in the world (with a legit mailing address of course).

And now for the 'hoop-jumping'..

For up to 3 more entries you can:

-follow my blog

-follow me on twitter (I'd love it if you tweeted about this post but not necessary for the extra entry)

-follow me on facebook (same as above, I'd be super happy if you shared this post but it's not necessary for the extra entry)

For each additional entry, please leave an extra comment below so it gets counted.

And there you go.

(and for all you local folk, another little reminder about this market coming up very soon on Nov 26-26!! Hope to see some of you there!)

a laptop bag for L

A friend of mine commissioned me to make her a laptop bag for a 13" Macbook. I've never actually made a 'real' bag with inset pockets and cross-body straps etc, but I love a good crafty challenge so I happily agreed.

After searching patterns, I decided on this laptop bag pattern by Leah of Sew Spoiled. This pattern can be made as a simple laptop sleeve (for a laptop up to 17") but also comes with a few add-on options  like a front pocket for the power cord and/or mouse, a cross-body/shoulder strap and a short handles.

For this bag I added the front pocket and the cross-body strap (this strap actually is meant to be adjustable, but my local fabric and supply shop is rather lacking in hardware and so a tri-slide piece was not available to make this strap adjustable). For fabric, I used the same vintage textured cotton as these zippered pouches and the ever so awesome Dumb Dot in teal by Michael Miller for the lining and front pocket.

As with any new sewing project (especially when it's for someone else), I was pretty nervous working my way through this bag. Because of the thickness of the bag (it has a nice squishy layer of fusible fleece inside), I definitely didn't want to have to whip out the seam ripper to fix mistakes (stitches just seem to sink in and disappear in the thickness). Luckily, the instructions were clear and detailed with lots of pictures. The only time I got a bit confused was when it was time to install the front outer pocket. I've never done this before and was feeling a bit anxious. Leah from Sew Spoiled was super sweet in answering my questions and even directed me to a couple other tutorials on how to do this step. For those of you interested in adding a zippered or slip pocket to a bag/pouch, check out this and this. I found these tutorials to be really helpful.

Overall, I'm really happy with the pattern and how the bag turned out and now my brain is buzzing with all the other bags I could make with my zippy pocket/shoulder strap skills! 

Here you go L! I hope you (and your laptop) love it :)

xo mel

Kids Clothes Week Challenge

I've been following the Elsie Marley Blog for a while now, and there is never any shortage of sewing and crafty inspiration to be found there. This year, I've decided to join in on the fun and take part in the Kids Clothes Week Challenge (kcwc). Basically, I've committed myself to spending at least one hour a day sewing clothes for kids for an entire week May 9th-15th.

Now I think I'm already putting in an least an hour of sewing every night, so I'm going to give myself a few additional challenges. Along with my fabric stash, I have a pattern stash (sewing and knitting). My goal for this week will be to make clothes from these patterns (the ones I had every intention to use when I purchased them, but they somehow fell to the wayside). My second personal challenge will be to sew at least two pieces of clothing for my son (or possibly start knitting a sweater for him which will NOT be finished by the end of this week but will hopefully be done by the end of summer..). Every time lil c prances into the room in a new, freshly sewn dress, Big C very kindly smiles and comments on the lovely 'princessiness' of the garment, and says how nice she looks. Sometimes he asks where his new dress is and I feel so awful.. So this week, we are going to even up the score a bit and crank out some boys clothes! My final personal challenge will be to try sewing with knits. I'm typically a woven (non stretch) fabric kind of gal when it comes to sewing, but there are so many great knit patterns out there and they look oh-so-comfy! Time to give it a try.

Like I've said, I have a huge stack of pattens I would love to get to, but here are my top few items to get me started:

Dapper Dillinger Trousers - Patterns by Figgy's
Tee for Two (raglan-style t-shirt) - Patterns by Figgy's
The 90-Minute Shirt - Made Blog Tutorial
Princess Leggings - Heidi and Finn
Maya Yoga Skirt - ModKid by Patty Young
Ice Cream Dress - Oliver + S (I'm thinking I'm not really going to get to finish this one, but I would be happy to at least cut out the pattern and figure out what fabrics I'm going to use. I LOVE this dress!)
Classic Raglan Pullover - Jane Richmond (knitting pattern)

Wow, that's looking like a pretty ambitious list! Wish me luck!
Anyone else want to join me in the challenge?