Lekala #4398 for Elsa

Elsa is off to Ireland next year to work as farm labourer/ au pair and was advised polar fleece jumpers and t-shirts were the go!

Once again, we turned to trusty Lekala and #4398.
The polar fleece was purchased from Spotlight.

Elsa chose her least favourite fleece for the first one and I sewed it up, fitting it as I went.
Immediately we could see the pockets would not work to actually hold anything. The opening is at the bottom of the bag. (on my pattern, that is where the notches were)
We made note to lift this on subsequent jackets.

Elsa wanted quite a slim fit so I trimmed 3 cm's from the sleeve tapering down to a scant cm at the cuff.

All the panels help give the jacket a nice fit.

That is the beauty of Lekala, the custom fit.

Raising the pockets was a simple modification and worked well.
Elsa requested vinyl zipper pull tabs.

I was finding this a bit of a tedious sew, so I prettied up the facings with some bias.
I also interfaced all the facings and front strip where the zipper attached, for stability when sewing and when wearing.

A nice fitting sports jacket.
Ready for work.

~Elsa's Verdict~
The sweaters are warm and comfortable, they zip up nicely and are slightly fitted.
The sleeves are slightly shorter then my arms so the hem doesn't get wet while I work.
The colours are great and they will be perfect for work.

~My Verdict~
I am not sure why mu pocket notches were so low, on the diagram they are fine but for a $3 pattern, I am not quibbling.
The instructions were okay for this one, I just don't enjoy sewing polar fleece.


Thank you for reading.
xx N

Lekala #7154 Hooded Jacket

I love sewing for Zara!
She is so enthusiastic and gets really involved in all the details.

She has been wanting a nude hooded jacket f o r e v e r.
Nude unbrushed cotton fleece, have you ever tried to find nude unbrushed fleece?
I googled my little fingers off to no avail.

Then, around Mothers Day, Spotlight had a 40% off fabric, storewide.

Trixie was poorly and wanted to feed all the time so I cruised through the whole website.
Spotlight online is a really crappy website. It is clunky and has a horrid search function.
I found this fabric , washed unbleached coral fleece with the co ordinating ribbing.
Zara loved the colour so we gave it a go.

One nude hooded jacket.

Once again, we returned to Lekala and Zara chose this unisex jacket.
Lekala patterns are custom made, to your body measurements.
Lekala instructions are pretty brief at the best of times, this patterns were pretty much non-existent but I got there.

It sits just on her hips, I felt it could have done with a ribbing waist band but, noooo, she wanted it that way.

I am surprised how much I like it.
The drop shoulder drapes elegantly and the colour is quite sophisticated.
Zara didn't want the cord at the neck, she preferred a clean look.
I have repeat orders for a black, grey and white version, for University next year.

~Zara's Verdict~
This jumper is exactly what I had in mind, from the colour and feel of the fabric to the pattern. It`s absolutely perfect. Thankyou so, so much mum. It is extremely comfortable but still looks dressy. Next a white one please mum : D


Thanks for reading...
xx N

Calvin Klein Shorts for Zara

More fabric from my Melbourne trip.

Super cute shorts for Zara.

~The Background~
My fashion conscious little possum has been obsessing over 'mom jeans'.
These are high waisted, rigid denim, firm in the waist/bottom but not in the thigh.
Zara has a teeny, teeny tiny waist and a gorgeous full derriere that puts her across several sizes but I was fairly confident that the generous ease in the above pattern would make it do-able.

I used the leftover black denim from Jed's Jedediah jeans. It is a heavy, rigid denim, good and wide, no flaws $4/m.
From 2m I cut both items #ninjacutting.
This fabric was hardcore!
It took some serious bashing with my hammer and I broke several size 16 needles on my Bernina Industrie.
I topstitched with heavy jeans thread and boy are these things topstitched.

I took inches and inches off the waist and recut the front pieces before inserting the zipper (to take off the sides would have spoiled the pockets).

We also moved the pockets up and inward to 'enhance' the bottom.

They are so worth all the fiddling, she looks great and I now have a go to pattern for her.

I think this is such a cute look and shows off her sporty figure well.

I was honoured when she wore them on our recent Melbourne trip, I don't think they look homemade at all!

~Zara's Verdict~
Black Shorts: These shorts are so perfect, I dont have the easiet body shape to sew for, expecially my bottom half. I have a smaller waist with a quite plump bottom and upper thighs. Somehow mum managed to fit these shorts perfectly. She is very talented. They are exactly what I had in mind. They almost seem like they are straight out a F.R.I.E.N.D`s episode, which I love. The main outfit I have in mind for them, is to pair them with my black suede heel boots and a long sleeved blouse that ties at the front (like the image below)

Love, love, love them.


Thanks for reading

xx N

Vintage Cape for Tildy (+friend)

How cute is this?

Another piece of material from my Melbourne trip...

A gorgeous piece of cashmere blend coating, $12/m.

I wanted 4 metres to make matching capes for the two little girls. There was only 2.3 on the roll, so I grabbed it all.
With some serious ninja cutting I got both capes cut.

Cape from Witchery, no longer available online.

The inspiration?
A gorgeous cape from Witchery

The pattern was purchased from eBay.
It was printed in 1967 in South Africa, only the one size, a six, which is pretty standard with vintage pattern.
Tildy measures a 5 in the chest so I was confident it would fit and with Trixie coming through, not that bothered if it didn't fit for long.

The fabric was very, very thick, even with grading the seams it gave my semi-industrial machine a real work out.
I added the epaulettes once finished. I sewed them by machine and then hand sewed them in place. I made to sure to work buttons holes, cut them and sew the buttons to the cape.
I read  *somewhere* that that is the secret to a well finished garment.
The buttons are a vintage filigree , it is hard to see but they are hollow and very pretty.  I did purchase some military style ones but Tildy liked these better and I think she was right!

The pattern instructed you to hand sew the lining to the facing edge (?) and let it hang loose but I channelled Nana Deb and bagged the lining.
There was a wee gap at the bottom of the facing once bagged but I turned and hand sewed that in place.

The cape has welt pockets to pop your hands through.
After finishing the garment you are instructed to slash the lining and hand sew it to the welt.

I did apply interfacing to the wrong side of the lining before sewing but I was still whooping myself.
Cutting into a finished garment was a bit scary.

I cut and pinned and hoped....

And it worked!

I lined the coat with some luscious, copper coloured, stretch satin (also from Eliza's $7/m) and I added a cm back vent for ease.
I much prefer stretch fabrics as a lining when using them with wool as wool has a nature 'give' and the lining can split.

I was pretty jolly pleased.
It styles really well as a smart, casual look which is what we were after.

Plenty long enough with out being costume like.

Tilly rocks it!

The hand holes are just the right height.
For play, Tilly undid all but the top buttons and let it fly behind her. She was able to tackle the play ground most satisfactorily in that fashion.

~Tildy's Verdict~
I  absolutely love the lining!
The hand-holes are perfect.
The pattern on the button is gorgeous.
It is amazing because it almost works with anything.
I gave it to my friend because I thought it would be nice and  knew mum would make me another one.

~In Conclusion~
I made this cape with an event in mind. We were travelling to Victoria to meet up with a dear friend from overseas. I originally planned to sew matching capes for Tilly and my friends daughter but I was ill and ran out of time.
The cape was a bit of a hit with my friend and her daughter and Tilly wondered if she could give it to her...
I promised her another and she happily handed it over.
Very proud of my sweet girl.
Interestingly enough, she has requested a grey one next with leather toggle buttons. Obviously not too distressed at handing hers on.

Thanks for reading 

xx N