Showing posts with label Blouse. Show all posts

The Bellah blouse

It was love at first sight. Relaxed casual fit. Small pleats at shoulder seams. Slightly shaped silhouette. Subtle hi-low hem. The sleeve length, the neckline... The minute Annika showed a photo of the Bellah blouse pattern she was adding to her shop I knew I was going to sew it.


MaaiDesign Tour: see you at six

I enjoy looking through my old sewing projects. I am still proud of some, others make me cringe, but I learned something from each and every one of them. One of the things I have learned is that the choice of fabric can be crucial.


When Maaike asked if I would be interested to join her blog tour promoting the new range of fabric in her shop MaaiDesign I did not hesitate to say yes. I have purchased fabric from MaaiDesign before, and I was always happy with it.
 

I miss summer

It is not even winter yet and I already miss summer! So please allow me to share one more summer project before I have to accept the reality that the heating season has started :)

A few months ago Marte from Compagnie M was just about to launch her paper patterns. Marte wanted to make sure everything was spot on before sending files to be printed. I was happy to help her test the Mara blouse pattern again.


Guest posting... But where?

Hi guys,

Just quickly popping over to let you know that I have made something new for my daughter... But what is it? Visit HERE to find out!



Flip this Pattern - Vintage beauty

A couple of months ago I received an invitation to participate in the Flip this Pattern series run by Ashley and Emily, the lovely ladies from Frances Suzanne. I was so excited, so of course I said yes!

My version of the Croquet Dress pattern by Oliver + S was revealed yesterday. Please visit Frances Suzanne to see what three other competitors have made. We all did our best and would appreciate your votes. Each person has one vote. Voting opens on the 25th of July at 5 am CST time (that is 8 pm AEST time) and closes on the 26th of July at 11 pm CST (which is 2 pm on the 27th of July accordingly). The winner will be announced the following Monday. You can VOTE HERE.

In case you missed my creation I am re-publishing it here. And since we are among friends I thought I would tell you how my flip nearly ended up being a flop!


Secret Squirrel sew-along - November

When I first read about the Secret Squirrel sewing challenge organised by An of Straightgrain and Suz of Sewpony I thought the idea was simply brilliant. I just love it how all the participants use the same five acorns of inspiration to create something truly unique. That's creativity at its best! If you have not heard of Secret Squirrel before, please take a couple of minutes to read about it. Trust me, this challenge is a lot of fun! You are welcome to see how I interpreted previous acorns of inspiration delivered by Secret Squirrel here, here and here.

The acorns for November were:


1. Polka dots; 2. Pumpkin spiced latte; 3. Clock; 4. The Princess Bride; 5. Watercolours

While she was sleeping I made a new outfit for my daughter and managed to incorporate all five acorns of inspiration!



Yes, my little girl loves her cars! She takes them to bed with her, and looks for them first thing in the morning. We have to take cars with us everywhere we go (as well as a few trains and a couple of dinosaurs). Little Monkey's dolls don't get anywhere near as much attention.


Little Monkey was unwell at the time we took these photos. She also skipped her afternoon sleep for a few days in the row. To say she was not interested in smiling for the camera would be an understatement. Oh well, nothing a yummy ice cream couldn't fix! Look at the difference one serve of Rainbow flavoured ice cream can make!


Luckily we took a few photos before Little Monkey decorated her new outfit with ice cream!

OK back to the acorns. One of the acorns is The Princess Bride. Have you seen the movie? I have and it nearly put me to sleep. I think I represent the minority of people who do not like this movie. Still, I had to use the acorn. So I did. When people hear 'bride' they usually imagine a pretty girl in a white dress. I had this beautiful embroidered white cotton that I thought was perfect for the occasion. And I think my girl is pretty. So in the spirit of one of the latest marriage trends we had a 'trash the dress' photo-shoot.

Just over a month ago Marte of Compagnie M released the Mara blouse pattern. The moment I saw it I wanted it. There was one little issue thought - my husband. You see, I have purchased a few patterns lately and I was worried my marriage might not survive one more pattern related transaction. To my absolute delight I won a copy of this pattern (thank you Marte). I just could not wait to use it. Secret Squirrel seemed like a good opportunity to make a Mara blouse for my daughter.


Piping is my drug of choice. I was going to use some store bought bias tape to make piping to highlight the yoke on the blouse, however my bias tape was not wide enough. I could not find wider bias tape in the same shade of pink, so I decided to give flat piping a go. I am not sure if I have just made up a new term! Pink piping, pink love heart shaped buttons (that got a huge tick of approval from Little Monkey) as well as soft colours on the main fabric I used to make gorgeous tulip shorts and a reversible bucket hat represent watercolours.

You may have already spotted another acorn - polka dots. I used yellow fabric with polka dots to line Little Monkey's new hat and shorts.



When Little Monkey saw the buttons on her new shorts she said (and I quote), 'Mummy! Mummy! Look at the buttons! Look, mummy! I love those two buttons!' Ah, nice to know I get it right every now and then.

Pumpkin spiced latte was a tricky acorn. Secret Squirrel likes to make one think! I don't drink coffee so I have no idea what pumpkin spiced latte tastes like. However the image supplied by Secret Squirrel was enough to get my creative juices flowing. Who cares about the taste of this mysterious latte! Look at that cream! It sits on top of a mug like a hat. So I made a hat for Little Monkey. This was my first go at making a hat. I must admit it is far from perfect but Little Monkey loved it! In fact, even my husband said it was cool. Thank you sweetest.


Secret Squirrel tried to be tricky offering clock as an acorn that had to be used in an outfit. Easy! Can you see small buttons on Little Monkey's new hat? There are four of them sewn on it. They represent a clock with buttons positioned on 3, 6, 9 and 12 o'clock.


Little people are very creative. Using fingers to get ice cream from deep down inside a cone is genius!

Towards the end of the photo-shoot and Rainbow flavoured ice cream the colour scheme of Little Monkey's new outfit (and face and hand and legs) had transformed significantly.


Oh, and if you were almost having a heart attack seeing what I let my daughter do in her new white blouse, here are a couple more shots to make you want to scream!


There is no better testing ground for a new outfit than a playground!


If you are really worried about the fate of the while Mara blouse I am happy to let you know it is white again.

Will you accept the challenge and make an outfit for a special little person in your life incorporating the five acorns of inspiration left by Secret Squirrel?

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