Swim Baby Swim

Exciting news.
We are putting in a pool.
So everyone needs new swimmers.
Lidia's had disintegrated so she went first.
Liddy is tricky to buy swimmers for. She is so thin naturally and after having nasty bout of tonsillitis that actually required an antibiotic, she is even more so at present.
(Although she proudly announced this morning she has gained two kilo in a fortnight)
She has broad shoulders though and is long in the body.

Liddy always loved Zara's and requested a pair.

I drafted a muslin off on pattern interfacing and tissue fit it first.
I had to alter it a lot.
The 12 was a good fit around her chest but impossibly baggy through the waist and bottom.
I ended up taking several inches out. I pinched an inch from the middle and reshaped the sides by over an inch on each edge.

They ended up with a cute boy-leg look.

As part of the construction you sew two casings down the side seams and thread ties through them.
They make a bow at the leg.
It's a very cute detail.

I purchased the fabric off of eBay. It was marked as 'Speedo' and it is certainly fine quality.
We shall see how it lasts.

She loves them.
I didn't get the fit quite right, they are still a little loose but she is eating like a trooper so hopefully she will fill out a bit more.

When you see those shoulders you understand her swimming ability. She is a little fish!

We both love the vintage swim suit vibe the pattern and fabric create.

It is definitely not a competition suit, Liddy prefers a race back for that, but as a fun, pool party look, it is perfect.
I still have a big enough piece left to make her a rash vest and I will try my hand at a KwikSew racer back pattern.

xx N (& Liddy)

A Christmas Ice Cream

Last minute Christmas sewing.

In the shape of an Ice Cream dress for Miss Tilly.
Sewn up in a lurex/muslin cloth I picked up in Horsham Spotlight on our Victorian Holiday 2012.
It washed and pressed like a dream but after being cut it curled and frayed it you thought about looking at it.

Size 2T with the length of a size 5 for my tiny girl.
In retrospect, a bit long. I do find if I size back and add length too much the clothes can lose the nice line.
That almost happened here.

I desperately wanted the 'V'and I have a pretty fail safe method for achieving a perfect notch.
However, after the first pocket disintegrated trying to sew the 'V' I left it off.
It just fits over Tildy's head without it, just!

After tacking the back edges together I used a wee piece of interfacing to hold the fabric together before stitching the yoke to the dress.
I just snipped through it later.

I didn't underline the yoke initially.
Big mistake.
After I had sewn the front in place I could see the yoke was too flimsy to support the dress.
So I cut and jigsawed super soft interfacing in through the opening and then pressed it in to place.
It was a major PITA.

Matilda chose a dainty MoP button which I sewed with gold silk thread.

But when is Mother-of-pearl a bad choice?

The dress seems so very very long, but it works.

The Ice Cream dress is relatively full anyway so there is plenty of ease through the body.

As usual, I lined the dress.

It gives wonderful body and shape and this fabric definitely needed it.

A simple thread chain holds everything in place.

Pockets #2 after my machine ate attempt #1 when I tried to sew the notches.

My poor, sleep deprived brain cut the pocket and edge the wrong way, it should have been a gold main pocket, but I didn't notice until I had sewed it in place.

There was no way this dress would cope with unpicking.

They stayed that way.

Finally, a elegant 'E' for an elegant dress.

And did she like it?

Yes.

Oh yes.

'Mummy, it's sparkly'.

Either is is a bit long or my pocket placement is too low.

'That's okay Mummy'

'I can still dance in it'

Merry Christmas sweet friends.

xx N

Merry Christmas Eoin

I love sewing for little girls.

But sewing for baby boys is nice too.

A teeny Sketchbook shirt for my favourite cousins sweet baby boy.
Sewn up in Liberty Capel who can resist it?

I love this pattern, it is such a quick sew for a baby boy shirt but the neck and collar can cause a few problems.
If you get the seam allowance even a tiny bit out on each seam, the collar won't fit!
May I be so bold as to recommend my tutorial for sewing the shirt.

A wee collar stand is so bonnie on a little man.

I hope it fits!

xx N

Too Small for Schooldays

But she has worn it!

We had a Christmas party last night and it was chilly!
(Chilly for us, 15 celsius, 59 fahrenheit)

A little time back the Oliver+S Blog hosted a sew along for the School Days coat.
I have not joined a sew along for an age and as my baby coat is 17 years old I figured a new one was in order.

I used so oh-so-soft woollen coating that I picked up for under $10/m at a fabric store in Melbourne.
The lining was another bargain. Some silky Lecien cotton sateen I picked up in a bulk buy on eBay.

As always, the coat is another  excellent O+S pattern with all the pieces fitting together nicely.

However, I cannot recommend Deb's finishing techniques strongly enough.
Her ingenious hemming method saved me hours of hand sewing and gave a flawless finish.

Here is Trixie wearing the size 6-12 months at three months of age.
Plenty of room to grow.

Faux timber buttons sewed with red thread funky up the sweetness overload.

That's enough photos Mummy.

Thank you Deb, Carol and Amanda for running a great sew along.

xx N