African print baby dress 2013-05-20 08:58
We had our first baby visit – the Bertin family came 2 weeks ago with their 2 daughters, Solea the big sister and Eden who’s 6 days younger than Lucía. We travelled to Denmark and had a great time together!
The sea, the sun and the coming summer inspired me to make this light dress for Eden. So finally I begun to use more of the african fabric I brought from French Guyana!
As we entered spring, days are warmer but not so warm yet… So I’ve updated the smart scarf into a spring version, in a light cotton jersey fabric.
Find the tutorial to make the same scarf here. Other scarves here and here.
The fabric I used is the same as for the lovey and beanie.
Baby sleeveless dress 2013-04-27 14:44
Seems like I’m just sewing baby pieces right now? Well, it’s so much faster than sewing adult clothes, and I still have so little time!
I wanted to balance the all-girl feeling of the dress with the bright blue color of the boyish manchester fabric, and add some fun details with the pink dots (that are actually from a pyjama pant I recycled for the occasion).
Laia, whom we consider as Lucía’s big sister, sports this sleeveless dress. I just wish she’d not walk so quickly – she’s not pictured here because all the pictures I got from her in the dress are blurry :-/
I also got to use my Christmas present, a snap plier. Thanks Maud for this great idea! I used the idea to put snaps on the shoulders from a dress my friend Cécile made for Lucía – they enable to put the dress on very easily.
And I adapted a basic pattern from this inspiring book by Inger Öberg.
Baby summer shorts 2013-04-17 15:05
Sweet and light fabric for summer shorts… Very short summer shorts, in fact I made the pattern inspired by my baby swim diapers! They’re in cotton, with jersey around the waist and leg for a great fit and comfort. Interlock jersey works best for that, but I’ve been using single jersey recycled from an old tee.
It’s been a long time since I haven’t sewn with a friend. Last time it was with Åse to recycle her skirt, this time it’s with Karin (mum of Ruben who is 1 day younger than Lucía).
Fun! So fun that I completely got caught in the moment and forgot to take pictures of what we’ve been doing- a variant of these summer shorts for baby Ruben. Can’t wait to see our babies modelling those shorts!
Wool striped scarf – Tutorial 2013-04-15 09:26
A light yet warm scarf, combining fabric remains of this and this design. I actually made it some time ago, as a present for 2 babies… Which are already kids now!
As we’re in Sweden, the only season we don’t need scarves or beanies is summer (sight), so I’ll need to update my baby’s warm winter scarves into a-bit-less-warm spring scarves, probably by only using cotton.
Regardless of which kind of fabric you use, this design is very easy to make:
- Cut a 75 x 15 cm rectangle into 2 fabrics (or 2 rectangles in the same fabric)
- Pin the 2 fabrics in place, front sides facing each other
- Sew using a straight stitch with a 0,8cm sewing allowance, leaving a 4 cm opening somewhere so you’ll be able to turn the scarf front side out once sewn
- Cut off the corners at a diagonal, cutting near the tip of the seam, but not too close (this step is to have nice and sharp looking corners once turned right sides out)
- Turn the scarf front side out, and poke out the corners with something pointy, like a pen or a sushi stick
- Sew the remaining opening using the same stitch and allowance as previously
- Optional step for a greater finish, sew the border of the scarf with a straight stitch and a 0,5cm sewing allowance
- As kids are always moving, jumping, running to their next adventure, you might want to skip the step when you traditionally tie the scarf around their neck and watch it untie by itself in the next 2 minutes… And use a smart buttonhole to just slide-tie the scarf, and watch it remain tied for the next hour or so :-)
Use the buttonhole stitch on your sewing machine and make a 6 cm hole at about 20 cm from one of the side of the scarf.
- Use the seam ripper to open it, et voilà, you’re done!
Red cloud cardigan 2013-04-08 12:24
Yet another baby cardigan! This time for little Garance in Paris, who was born 1 day before Lucía. I love this wrap design so much I’m thinking about making one for adults (read: for me! for Romain!). For next fall maybe.
Is it something that you already do, picking ideas and inspiration for adults designs from kids designs?
The sun has been shining so bright those last few weeks that it would be considered as a crime not to spend my days outside. So, sorry dear sewing machine and beautiful fabrics, I know you’ve already been waiting for quite some time now but you’ll have to wait a little bit more before I start my next sewing project!
Similar cloud fabric used for a scarf here. Other baby wrap cardigans here and here.
Pull over serial killer #5 2013-03-30 18:31
It’s been 6 months now that my baby girl was born, yet… my belly still needs waist-friendly clothes, like this one or this one, only in a smaller version!
So, considering:
1) the pregnancy pieces I had in my closet that I would not wear in the near future
2) how comfortable those skirts had been while I was pregnant,
I decided to recycle a big-mamma XXL cardigan into a draped skirt with a not too tight elastic band for my tummy.
I did the draping by cutting off the button band, draped by hand the fabric where the band was removed and sew the button band back on the draped fabric.
Some tips if like me you love to go to 2nd hand shops to find pieces to recycle at a great price, like this XXL cardigan:
-Look for the quality of the fabric first: 100% cotton is great. If you’re able to find 100% wool or even better merino wool items, go for it! These are often a real bargain.
-Items in big sizes provide a lot of fabric to work with, so prefer large items to small ones (for instance the cardigan I used here was a size XXL. I didn’t have to worry about if I would have enough fabric for the draping of the skirt!)
-in Gothenburg, I usually go to Myrorna, Reningborgs föreningen, or Saron Kyrka, and I rarely leave empty handed!
…Other recycled pull-overs into: a striped skirt here and a grey skirt with pockets here.
Striped wool and cotton baby cardigan #2 2013-03-22 16:29
This wrap cardigan just got a bigger brother, in almost the same warm wool fabric – just a different color.
For the inner fabric of the cardigan, I recycled one of my boyfriend’s old cotton tee that was of the exact same hue than the greenish-grey stripes. Maybe my baby girl won’t grow up too quickly so she’ll be able to wear this cardigan all spring long, while playing or reading books outside…
…Books like any by Camilla Lundsten, the drawings are so cute and the stories smartly told. We really like the “Äntligen” book serie and “Bebisens roliga rim och ramsor” (pictured), which contains songs and the corresponding choreographies to perform with your baby. Fun!
… Also pictured, my good old yoga mat from Adidas by Stella Mc Cartney. Which is having a 2nd life now as a baby crawling mat!
Sew-vivor auditions #2 2013-03-14 16:13
So, I didn’t make it through the sew-vivor auditions… I’m a bit sad but maybe that’s for the best given my current full-time mum agenda! One good thing though is that it inspired me with new projects to answer each of the challenges.
The first challenge is to sew something emerald green… I would love to sew a flirty, light dress and wouldn’t go for a head-to-toe green look but would combine it with some bright yellow saturated in happiness :-)
So now, let’s see when I’ll find the time to sew it!
Sew-vivor auditions 2013-03-11 18:40
I’ve been spending some time looking for good sewing blogs, and just discovered Family ever after this week end… Which turns out, is organizing a sewing competition named sew-vivor (honestly, what a brilliant name!) that’s just about to begin… What a perfectly timed coincidence!
It consists of 3 challenges in the next 3 weeks for the Top 10 contestants that have been chosen from the auditions, which close tonight.
My first thought was: “oh that sounds just great, too bad I won’t be able to participate this time because taking care of my little 5 month old baby keeps me occupied around the clock. I’ll participate next season instead.”
But somehow I just couldn’t let it go. Without paying attention to it at the beginning, I started to think about what kind of project I would design for each of the challenges. Before I knew it I was browsing the archive of my blog to find which project I would like to present for the auditions…
So, as crazy as it sounds, I’m actually going to enter the auditions of the sew-vivor challenge, wish me luck!
Choosing my audition project was no easy pick, and I think what represents best what I like to sew and to wear is the outfit I wore for my friends Bibiben & Vanessa wedding, in summer 2011:
- a nude chiffon blouse that fits at the waist thanks to a bow at the back
- a bubble skirt in dark blue silk with wavy layers handsewn and a zip closure in the back
I used a pattern from Burda Style that I adapted for the nude chiffon blouse.
I didn’t use any pattern for the bubble skirt, I just let my imagination run wild.
I like this outfit so much because I find it elegant with a playful twist yet comfortable at the same time.
It also showcases a contrast that I quite enjoy: a light as air blouse worn with a textured skirt.
The other items on the picture of the outfit are a Princesse Tam Tam corset, a Gérard Darel bag, a Baccarat flower necklace, Gas bracelets and a brooch from a small shop in Paris that doesn’t exist anymore.
