Cuteness overload

A cute kid and pandas in the same picture - it doesn't get any cuter than that!

I'm on a kids sewing binge and I finished this little outfit during my easter break.

The fabric for the dress is of course from Stofdepotet - no surprise here. This particular fabric is not available online anymore, but this is the same quality and really cute too. The fabric is a summer sweatshirt knit and maybe best for sweatshirts and Hudson Pants. Now, in our house there is not a great need for another pair of Hudson Pants at the moment so instead I made a dress and received the mommy of the year award - pink, pandas and spots will qualify you if you are interested:)

The pattern is Onion 20045. It gives you a few variations - among these ruffles. I'm planning to use this pattern again, but next time, I'll use a more drapy jersey instead. The pattern is really simple so don't stir away because of the danish language.

The fabric for the leggings is a remnant from a non-blogged Plantain T-shirt for me. Also from Stofdepotet. You can still buy the fabric here. The fabric is a drapy viscose knit with small dots and a really nice quality. I have been wearing my Plantain T-shirt every week for the last two month and the fabric still looks great. I hope Stofdepotet bans me from their website sometime soon - it's just too tempting...

Here is a flat shot sans kid so you can really enjoy the pandas:)

The good:
The sweatshirt knit was a bit expensive but it's a really lovely quality. The pattern is easy - would be perfect for summerdresses too with short sleeves.

The bad:
I haven't photographed the clothes I have made for myself recently. Why is it such a hazard to get decent pictures? - perhaps a new camera will do the trick? If you will like to follow my journey in clothesmaking more closely, you can find me on Instagram - my username is "sewbluedresses". I hope, you stop by and say hi!

Have you started planning your summer sewing projects yet?


Happy sewing

Mette

Moneta dress - comfy and stylish pyjama

Hello sewtionistas!

It's about time I show you the rest from my winter sewing binge. Especially since this is a stylish pyjama - perfect for work. You can sit all day by your desk without feeling sufficated by your jeans. You can even eat a big lunch and still feel comfortable - comfortable is the number one word in my book!

The Moneta Dress by Colette Patterns is a classic fit and flare dress with a low-ish back sewn in a knitfabric. I chose this nice and quite stable cotton jersey from M is for Make. If you need inspiration for this classic number theres plenty of beautifull versions online. Try taking a look at this or this

The Moneta is easy to fit since its a knitdress. It's quite short though - I'm 1,65 m and I like the length on me.

Here you can see the scoop back neckline.

I have a woolskirt more to show you - and then I switch to more spring appropriate sewing - so stay in tune.


Happy sewing

Mette

Pattern: Moneta Dress from Colette Patterns
Fabric: Cotton jersey from M is for Make

Workstaples - Simplicity 1366 and a knitskirt

Work work work - how can I get away with wearing sweatpants and being comfy all day? Enter the skirtversion of a pair of sweatpants: the knitskirt! I can't begin to express my love for a good knitskirt - and I have made my share in my sewingcareer. Its soft and comfy, looks allright for work and you can make it in an hour. Only thing you have to worry about is choosing a knit staple enough not to show all your lumps and bumps.. This last point gets more and more important every year.. SO, because i'm in my late thirties I chose a thick knit with a subtle pattern from Stof2000. To add a bit of interest I added pockets zippers. Otherwise its just a selfdrafted knitskirt with an elastic waist. Perfect for the day, your collegue brings cake!

You can't go to work in a skirt alone - not in my job at least - so I made the famous Simplicity 1366. There are so many beautiful versions out there - please check this one by Groovybabyandmama and this one by the talented Mixed Emotions.

It's a boxy top with 3/4 length sleeves. Nothing much to say there, except that I love this pattern. I'm not too sure about my fabric choice though. It's a bit too thin and blah. I have actually only worn this top while taking these photos. I'll consider it a wearable muslin and make one in a better fabric.

On another note, I'm beginning to consider making a springcoat - perhaps it's already a bit late for that with my sewingpace, but nevertheless. I had so much fun making my mohaircoat and would like a bit more experience before I make a proper tailored coat for next winter. Any surgestions for a nice pattern? I was thinking about this and this - or perhaps this - what do you think? All from Burdastyle (and if anyone can show me how to copy the pictures from Burdastyle to this webpage, I'll be happy:))


Happy sewing


Mette





Pattern: Simplicity 1366, knitskirt is selfdrafted
Fabric: Knitfabric purchased locally at Stof2000, the rest unknown from stash

Clover Dress - Papercut Patterns

This is the Clover dress by Papercut Patterns and I like it! Yes this is me liking a garment. It's a versatile dress easy to tone up or down depending on shoes (always shoes!) and lipstick. A bonus about this little number is, that it's really comfy - nothing worse than a too tight dress right?

I made this dress without worrying about making a muslin. It's really loosefitting and it's got raglansleeves - nothing to worry about. The only thing tricky about this dress is the "V" in the front. I first had a vision of a delicate lace insert - but after trying it on, I decided the world would be a better place without me showing "my girls" at the dinnertable.. Perhaps tall girls don't have this problem? To solve this little issue I simply added a piece of black voile on the backside of the lace so it isn't see-through anymore. I lost the effect I was after, but I'm still quite pleased about this dress.

I used a sandwashed viscose from Stof og Stil for this dress. It's nice and soft to touch but not delicate like silk. You can wear this to a party without worrying about drops of wine on your dress as it can be washed in the washingmachine. I like. The shape of the dress is a bit sack-like and it does come with the obtion of making a fabric belt. I just used a regular leather belt I had in my closet.

Here you can see the lace close up.

I think this might be the last winterdress from me this year. In spite of the snow in my garden I'm stubbornly hoping for spring very soon! How about you - have you started sewing for a warmer season?

Pattern: Clover Dress from Papercut Patterns
Fabric: Sandwashed viscose from Stof og Stil, lace and black voile from stash

Happy sewing

Mette

Coats - the mother-daughter-theme continues..

The mother-daughter-theme continues on this blog... Especially since my remnantpieces is just enough to make something for miss 4. So I present to you, The Mother-Daughter-Coat-Collection:)

I have been watching all the gorgeous coatigans both in the shops this season and all the loveliness made by trendy sewtionistas online and decided I needed one for myself. This coat is not warm enough to be a regular wintercoat - at least not here in cold scandinavia - but it's a trusty friend, when you need to look slightly more elegant than you do in a parka coat.

This coat is made using this burdastyle pattern. I altered the pattern slightly since the coat pattern doesn't allow for buttons. I altered the frontpieces to do a small overlap allowing for me to make a row of big snaps to close the jacket. I left out the pockets from the pattern - but now I regret it a bit - where do I put my keys, pepples and papertowels?

Here you can see the coat up close. However, the fabric hide the beautifull line drawing giving a bit of shaping to the front - please take at look at the burdastyle webpage to see the line drawing. The coat has a coatlining adding a bit of stability to the rather lightweight mohair wool.

I made a small tag to add a bit of everyday luxury.

And now to the mini-me-coat.

I "drafted" the pattern for this coat myself using a sweatshirtpattern one size too big, slicing it down the front, adding a bit to the frontpieces to allow it to overlap and drafting a new lining. It sounds harder than it was, but do give it a try. Childrens clothes is quite forgiving to make. Since this was a remnant piece I wasn't too worried to ruin it. I made small pockets too adding a (bought) crochetted flower to one of them for decoration. I used a remnantpiece in a light rosy collar to stabilize and use as a button placket for the sew-on snaps.

Since the coat is quite open around the neck, I asked my mother in law to knit a scarf - and she knitted one in just the right colours for this little number. Thank you!

These coats are not very practical but they were a fun sew and I use mine quite a bit for work. I would like to learn more about tailoring and make a proper wintercoat - perhaps next fall? Have you made a warm woolen wintercoat? Can you recommend any books on the tailoring?

I have a few more winter sewing projects to show you but I'm looking forward to start sewing for spring. How about you - have you started planning your spring wardrobe?


Pattern: Burdastyle Magazine 12/2012 # 117, and selfdrafted
Fabric: Stofdepotet. Lining purchased locally


Happy sewing

Mette

Wool sweater and bonus baclava

We are going skiing in Norway soon and my daugther really needed a new baclava to keep her warm. I bougth a meter of wool felt and squished a sweater and the baclava from this. I had to make a center back seam in the sweater, but thats allright.

She is almost looking like a snowleopard when wearing both the sweater and the baclava:)

The baclava is drafted by me. I used a light rosy remnant for the lining. I'm thinking about adding a pompon in the same colour as the lining - what do you think?

For the sweater I used my beloved Onion 20047. I had to add a centerback seam due to the shortage of fabric. I made a dipped hem on the backside to make it more interesting. The content of the fabric is a soft wool mix. Perfect for baclavas - would be lovely as a coatigan too. Maybe I should buy some more and continue the mother-daughter-theme on this blog:) :)

Pattern: Sweater: Onion 20047, Baclava: selfdrafted
Fabric: Stofdepotet

Happy sewing

Mette

The mini hudson gang

I love these simple makes. Literally you can make two pair of cool sweat pants in two hours! These were a welcoming break after fitting my blue frankendress of disaster.

These are the famous Mini Hudson Pants and they deserve all the credit they get. It's an awesome pattern. I've made two pairs for myself (unblogged)and they are my go to weekend uniform.. Perfect for lounging around the house but also appropriate casual cool pants to wear doing your saturday shopping. When the talented blogger Kelli from True Bias released the pattern for small people I bought it immidiately. Then I got to lazy to stick the pdf papers together - then I got the brilliant idea to ask my daugther to do it (not the daugther on the picture;)) And here they are: the pants of awesomeness!

The pants come toghether quite easily. Kelli provides an excellent tutorial. I especially like the neat way the waistband is constructed.

I think the style of the pants suits both girls and boys. And these two both love their new pants. My son prefer to wear sweatpants everyday to school. He thinks they are cool and prefer to wear something soft to make it easier to play football and climb the trees - these activities result in a neverending demand for new pants..

The fabric for these pants both came from stash. I can't remember where the fabric for my son's pants came from, but its a terry knit. I chose to use the back side for the details by the pockets, the cuffs and the waistband.

The fabric for my daughters where a tiny remnant from this make. I really like the quality, but unfortunately I have now used the last bit, and Stofdepotet doesn't have it anymore.

I foresee many more of these pants to come in the nearfuture - maybe in a week or so, when my sons are ruined:/

Happy sewing to everyone.

Mette