Butterick B6296 Pyjamas for Matilda

 Please be aware of a moving slideshow in this post, take care if you are photo phobic. 

Oh, Lisette pyjamas, how do I love thee?

I do enjoy piping so I love sewing fancy pyjamas.

When you think about the amount of time we spend in pyjamas they are completely worth the time is takes to make them.

Tilly needed new japamas for Show camp. On a shopping trip in Mt Gambier I popped into Lincraft and, serendipitously, they were having a huge sale. I picked up this brown, irregular dotted flannelette for $3/m. I purchased 5 metres which enabled me to cut a full set of long sleeved/legged pjs plus a bonus pair of shorts.

This fabric is bonkers, it is so thick and soft. Think the Amy Butler flannelette of past, soft.

Originally we were going to do black piping but a last minute swop to white pleased everyone.

Once again, I piped every seam that I could pipe.

As usual, I neatened the back yoke and seat seam before adding the piping other wise it is an uneven sew.

I also interface the cuffs, facings and pocket tops as well as stitching down the front facings. It keeps it neater after laundering.

I do like to enclose the cuff seams too, topstitching from the right side.

Job worth doing and all that!

We do have to shorten the legs for us wee Kellers but that is not a hard fix.

Such a nice pattern and a super sew.

Thank you for reading xx Nicole 

Lekala #2379 Short Blouse for Matilda

 Please vote for me here

(Thank you for your votes on my last post, I came second and won three patterns)!

More camp sewing.

A very snappy casual blouse from Lekala. Custom fit, of course.

Tilly chose this pattern, and at the time, I thought it a bit ordinary. After sewing it I have changed my mind.

I used the rest of the taupe linen/cotton I purchased from a Lincraft sale (the leftovers from Tilly's peasant blouse and Zara's Style Arc blouse to be blogged) and Tilly chose faux tortoiseshell buttons.

The neck, front and back facings and the sleeve and bottom hems are all interfaced and then finished with double layer so that they sit nicely.

I chose to top stitch the facings down. It finishes the garment nicely as well as making the garment easier to launder.

Matilda has a similar body shape to me, narrow shoulders with a full bust. It can make clothes shopping tricky.

The bust darts on this blouse give her breathing room without extra bulk.

The shoulder fit is spot on!

~My Verdict~

Another very nice Lekala pattern.

A rather boring looking blouse that will in fact be reached for often. Lidia has already borrowed it (although more cropped in style on her) and it looks equally cute with distressed jeans as a tailored skort.

The extra deep hems could be left un-interfaced if using a more draping fabric, like a rayon or silk but I like the structure with this weight of cloth.

The blouse is very neat and comfortable to wear and also has good sun coverage (Matilda has very fair skin and many moles and HAS to cover up).

I would definitely recommend this pattern and I think I will sew it again.

~Matilda's Verdict~

First of all, I LOVE how it works with everything. It's simple but gorgeous and goes with any outfit, due to its neutral colour. I love the tortoiseshell buttons as I am a big fan of tortoiseshell. They are not too small and not too big so they don't take over the piece.

Next time I would like the sleeves a bit shorter as if I have a short sleeve top I like the sleeves short.

I like the neckline as it shows off my necklaces. It was a wearable muslin but I really like it and am pleased with how it turned out.

Thank you so much Mumma!

You have to be happy with that!

Thank you for reading xxx Nicole 

Lekala Blouse with Tie Collar #2346 for Matilda

 Please vote for me here  , thank you! (Edited to add)

I came second and won three patterns, thank you so much.

Camp sewing.

In the Keller household, it has become a tradition.
New clothes, new underthings (purchased) and a big ol' batch of biscuits are almost mandatory.

Tilly was very prompt in pulling her patterns and fabric.

Tilly really wanted a peasant blouse and I suggested Lekala #2346

I saw this sew as a 'wearable muslin' in some leftover cotton/linen, and I am glad I did as I made a very silly mistake.

I gathered the back yoke.

If you scroll back to the pattern diagram you will see it is NOT meant to be gathered.

Le sigh.

Lekala can be a little intuitive with their instructions. I should have looked at the diagram a few more times,

The gathering should have all been on the sleeves.

Tilly has narrow shoulders but it even pulls back a bit on her.

Tilly says she likes it but I think she is just being sweet.

This may be donated or given to a smaller friend.

I am still glad I made a muslin. It is a very pretty blouse but could do with a few more tweaks to make it work better for us.

The front neck is finished with a facing but it could be lowered a tad.

The arm cuffs are a smidge too tight as well.

Tilly is petite but works on the farm and is quite buff, I need to give her extra bicep room.

The opening is bound with a bias strip so you could leave it open.

Tilly chose faux tortoiseshell buttons.

You can tie the bow but I don't think we will.

As my Mum would have said, 'We are up to pussy's bow tonight'

The embroidered flowers are from deep stash. They were given to me with a bundle of sewing notions and are at least 40 years old.

They worked so well with her fabric that she chose to base her fabric selections on.

The fine cotton pinwale was from Spotlight but it is now sold out.

~My Verdict~

A sweet blouse that I think could be really lovely.

With a few tweaks and the right fabric, it would make a swing-y, cool but elegant Summer blouse.

In a rayon or silk, it would look snappy tucked into a pencil skirt (I would add some length).

I would also suggest lowering the front neckline a little. (You would need to alter the facing as well).

The blouse has very neat construction, with the raw edges caught inside of the neck tie. (I did sew bar-tacks at the seam where the tie meets the blouse neckline to reinforce it.

~Tilly's Verdict~

I love the colour and how it works with my skorts (to be blogged).

I do like how flow-y it is around the bottom. I like the ties left undone.

The flowers were a lucky fine, they work quite well.

The cuffs are a bit tight, done up. The neck is a bit high, it feels too small against my throat.

I don't think I would have another one made, but thank you so much Mumma, it is amazing.

Teeny, tiny Tilly!

I can't wait to share my other sews for camp with you, as always, thank you for reading.... xx Nicole 

Lekala blouse #4293 and Deer and Doe Chataigne shorts for Matilda

*Please note, I have a moving slideshow further down my blogpost, please be aware if you are photo sensitive*

 I am hoping to have family photos taken in June. After a group chat, we decided we would like something a little edgy similar to a cast photo.

Lidia was super helpful and started a Pinterest board tagging my Sister in law, who's business Adelaide Portrait Studios is taking them for us.

Image from Pinterest

Deciding on a colour 'scheme' was next. I felt very uncomfortable 'telling' my adult children (and their partners) what to wear so Elsa suggested choosing a palette, and working from that.

After much discussion in the Keller group chat we came up with the above.

Tilly was keen to wear Lidia's coat and asked for some new pieces to wear with it.

First, a blouse.

Tilly chose the flouncy Lekala #4293 made in a linen/cotton mixed leftover from Trixie's new dress. (To be blogged)

The fabric was from deep stash and I think I was given it from a dear neighbour when she retired from dressmaking.

Thank you Mrs Brady!

The blouse is lovely with lots of details.

It has a seperate front placket, collar stand, tulip sleeves and lots of lovely darts for a good fit.

I love a good shoulder dart!

The underarm seam is finished with binding which you could hand sew in place for a clean finish (Tilly will/is wearing this a lot so I wanted it sturdy so I machine sewed)

The pattern had a single layer for the tulip but I choose to self line rather then have an hemmed edge.

The flounces are supposed to be finished with a machine rolled hem but I just couldn't get it to work. My machine kept eating the flounce!

So I gave up, cut a new one and finished with a very narrow zigzag.

She loves it!

She has some growth room (which is great) but we are very happy with the fit.

For shorts we chose the Deer and Doe Chataigne 

Which I have sewn in the past for Elsa

Lidia wears them now so I had them for Tilly to try on. They were a bit big so I traced the size down.

I used the very last bits of the herringbone wool to make these!

That was one eBay bargain that went a long way!

I decided to line the shorts to make them warmer to wear and guard against any itchiness.

To add a lining I ...

#1 Cut the front lining up to waistband height, did not cut pocket opening.

#2 Under-stitch pocket openings rather than top stitch.

#3 Treat full short lining like a skirt, sew the tops together before the legs and pull shorts over one leg so they can still turn, then pull through and attach leg cuffs.

When sewing the faux flaps, I stitched with the seam allowance turned in and then hand sewed in place.

No visible raw edges.

They turned out so snappy!

These are a great shorts pattern for Tilly.

Liddy is a bit miffed they don't fit her!

Matilda is very happy with the look.

She also put together this outfit.

Which is pretty snappy too.

The waistcoat was made for Liddy

Sometimes hand me downs are good!

I look forward to sharing the other sews soon!

Thank you for reading xxx Nicole