Hello,
Hope you are all well.
Christmas is fast approaching and although the house is not yet decorated and the presents are not all bought, I do have a Christmas dress!
Made the dress using a very soft velvet in a very beautiful teal shade and you can read all about it here.
It really is a lovely dress and I do hope you like it as much as I do!
Happy sewing,
Maria x
Hello,
Hope you are all well.
You know how much I like ruffles, right? Guess what? I made a blouse with ruffles! No surprise here, I know but it is a lovely blouse, nonetheless.
I used a lovely linen, and you can read all about it here.
Hope you like it! I certainly do! 🙂
Happy sewing,
Maria x
Hello,
Hope you are well.
Today I am sharing the first dress I made for Autumn. Well, I confess the colours are not very season adequate however, I am not quite ready to let Summer go…
Nonetheless, it is a beautiful dress, and you can read all about it here.
Happy sewing,
Maria x
Hello,
Hope you are all well.
Somehow the girls are back in school and I am trying to get into the new season. I do like Autumn very much indeed however, I have the feeling Summer went by too fast and I am not ready to say goodbye just yet.
Before going on holiday, I still managed to make a couple of things for the girls to wear so, while I am already sewing a dress for Autumn, I want to share those Summer makes before it is too late.
My daughters are 13 years old at the moment and I must confess that it has not been an easy task to find age and style appropriate clothes or patterns. Children’s clothes are not quite their style anymore and grown-up ones are a bit too much or doesn’t even fit. For that reason, I was very pleased when Style Arc released a line especially for teens.
I was very pleased when Style Arc started making patterns for 8 to 16 years old and the first one we tried was the Delta Teens Top/Dress. As the name correctly points out, there is a top and a dress option, the sleeve can be short or 3/4, with or without elastic.
M opted for the cropped top version, with short sleeves (with elastic). She is a size 8 for all measurements except for height and I made a size 10 as I thought she could grow into it and as it has elastics anyway it should be fine. I think it worked out well.
I adjusted the neckline elastic to be used as off shoulder nonetheless, it can be used on the shoulders as well.
As for the fabric, I used a light weight dobby (plumetis) cotton from Minerva that we both quite like. It worked very well for this project and was perfect for the warm summer weather.
Good thing about this pattern is that with the option it is easy to please different styles and F does have a very different style from her sister! She also asked me to make her something, however, she preferred the dress version, again with a short sleeve but no elastic for her.
Her measurements put her in a size 12 except for height, which is a size 14. For the same reason as for M, I opted for the 14. She has some room to grow but the elastic makes the dress perfectly wearable.
I used a similar fabric, light weight dobby (plumetis) cotton that I had in my stash for a few years already. It was about time I put it to good use!
With one single pattern we got two different outfits to fit two different styles. The girls were involved on the process and chose the pattern/options and the fabrics as I wanted to make sure it was made to their personal taste.
I still made the girls a couple more garments but I will share those another time.
Happy sewing!
Maria x
Hello,
Hope you are all well.
In case you did not know, Minerva recently released a new exclusive fabric range and it is beautiful and colourful!
I got the chance to try it and it did not disappoint. You can read all about what I made with it here.
It really is a nice viscose fabric!
Hope you like it as much as I do. 🙂
Have a lovely week.
Maria x
Hello,
Hope you are all well. Today I want to share with you my latest make, a top! Right on time to participate on the #TopIdol challenge over at Minerva. 😊
This one must be one of my favourite tops and you can read more about it here.
Aren’t the details so beautiful? A truly lovely Summer top!
Hope you like it!
Happy sewing,
Maria x
Hello,
Hope you are well.
Guess what? I made another top for M!
It is so pretty and we are both quite happy about how it turned out. 🙂
I used a gingham cotton from Minerva and you can read all about it here.
Also, I have used an adult pattern to make clothes for M! It is a bittersweet moment…
Hope you like it! We certainly do!
Happy sewing!
Maria x
Hello,
Hope you are all well.
Today I feel like going back in time, going back to my sewing roots. You see, my daughters were one of the reasons why I started sewing. I wanted to make them clothes that I could not easily find on the shops. Making their clothes was something that I really enjoyed! However, children grow (they do have that habit…), life changes and I started sewing for myself instead.
Nonetheless, every time (however rare it might be) that one of my daughters ask me to make something, I say yes and try to fulfil their wishes. I must add that they are quite precise with what and how they want it.
So, M after seeing a blouse in a shop asked me if I could make her a similar one. The fabric was broderie anglaise and she also wanted the same type of fabric, the big sleeves and the front knot.
I looked through the patterns I had and some that I could buy to achieve the desired look but I could not find anything that was exactly what we were looking for. There are some adult size patterns that would work however, M still is under the children size range. For that reason, I reached for an old favourite, the Maria Blouse by Suco by Susana and made some changes.
I used the bodice, in size 10, without modifications, no collar just finished with bias binding and adapted the puff sleeve option that is included in the pattern. I used the sleeve head as it was and for the rest of the sleeve used the sleeve from the Norma blouse by Fibre Mood as a reference.
The fabric used is a lightweight embroidered cotton from Lady McElroy bought from Minerva. It worked really well for this project!
To go with the blouse M also asked if I could make her a skirt. The requirements for the skirt were: 1. Have a ruffle at the bottom; 2. It has to be green, sage green to be precise. We searched for fabric and we found this lovely embroidered cotton, with a good weight, in a beautiful shade of green that ticked all the boxes. It really is a beautiful fabric and we got it from Lamazi Fabrics.
I didn’t really use a pattern however, the Sabina skirt that I made for myself was a good guide. The top part is not just a rectangle of fabric and does have shape. Again, we are both very pleased with how it turned out.
I must add that now I have a list of things to make for M and that really does make me happy! 😊
Have a lovely week.
Happy sewing!
Maria x
Hello,
Hope you are well.
Before starting with truly Summer makes I was glad to be able to make one more outfit that is perfect for Spring.
I used a beautiful corduroy to make an outfit. Trousers and a waistcoat.
You can read all about this outfit here and I hope you like it as much as I do.
Have a lovely week. 🙂
Happy sewing!
Maria x
Hello,
Hope you are all well.
Today I am here to share a skirt that I made back in February. I didn’t plan to take so long to share however, I confess I wasn’t feeling like it. Too much going on and my mind wasn’t in it.
Nonetheless, it is a nice pattern and I really wanted to share it with you.
The pattern is the Sabina skirt by The Little Pomegranate, a pattern designed with beginners in mind and guess what? It is free for subscribers!
It is a gathered skirt pattern for woven fabrics, available from sizes (UK) 6 to 3, with elastic waistband, pockets and ruffle hem. Simple to make and lovely to wear!
It might be a free pattern nonetheless, the instructions are very detailed and include notes that explain what is what and why some techniques and steps are so important in order to achieve a nice final result that you will be proud of.
I made a size 6 based on my measurements and the only change I made was to take 16 cm from the main skirt piece length and add 2cm to the hem ruffle. As a reference, this pattern was designed for 170 cm tall people (definitely not my case, hence the adjustment).
As for the fabric, I used a viscose fabric from Rainbow Fabrics bought over a year ago. Although not always the easiest fabric to work with, viscose looks wonderful as it gives the skirt a good drape and fluidity.
Let me just add that this pattern is not just rectangular pieces of fabric gathered. It really is nicely drafted and with great instructions, thought and care. Plus, it is free! If this is Rumana’s first pattern, I am looking forward to see more.
In short, it is a perfect beginners project and a quick project for those with more experience. The result is a nice skirt that I really enjoy wearing. It is likely that my wardrobe will see more of these skirts.
Have a lovely week. 😊
Happy sewing!
Maria x
A Pinch of Sewing 