New Striped Tees for The Girls

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I love striped tees, particularly navy blue and white and especially this time of the year, when the weather gets better (occasionally it happens!) and we can enjoy more the seaside.

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I usually start by talking about the pattern I used, but this time I must start talking about the fabric. As soon as I saw the fabric at The Sweet Mercerie I had to get some. The stripes and colours were perfect for what I had in mind. I also had the patterns already and when we planned this day by the seaside I didn’t wasted my chance to make these tops.

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The pattern I used is the Lunch Box Tee from Oliver + S. I’ve used this pattern before and I knew that I would have to add some length to obtain the look I was after. So, I made size 6 for both girls, but added 8cm to F’s tee and 6cm to M’s. Apart from adding some length I didn’t made any other change.

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I am very pleased with how the tees turned out and I know I might be partial here, but I think the girls look really cute in them. Also, I think the fabric and pattern worked well together.

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The fabric is a very soft cotton/modal blend and apart from having to match the stripes it was good to work with. Having to match the stripes is an extra work while making the garment but it’s so nice to wear.

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When I bought the fabric I also bought some to make something for myself. 😉

The fabric is the same kind and the pattern is the Bento Tee by Liesl + Co. that I had for some time now and really wanted to try. I made a size XS with ¾ sleeves.

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I know this will not last long and soon they won’t think it’s cool wearing matching clothes with mum, but for this once it was fun. 😊

Kid’s Clothes Week… again?!

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It’s Kid’s Clothes Week again!? Time really flies… This time the theme is travelling. Well, that is my theme for the last couple of months as we are looking forward and preparing the wardrobe for our summer holidays. So this theme couldn’t suit us better!

As I mentioned before, Oliver + S patterns are very special to me, because being self-taught they allowed me to learn new techniques and I was able to obtain presentable results. Some of these garments I’ve made before having the blog, however you can find some of them here and here. So with that being said, it was with great satisfaction that we welcomed Flat S a couple of months ago. We had a great time and you can read all about that visit in here 😉

This time I made the girls a blouse, the class picnic blouse from Oliver + S. I already had this pattern for a long time but didn’t had the opportunity to make it until now!

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Both blouses are in size 5 with no changes to the original. The fabric is a white pima cotton lawn and the lace was bought last year in Portugal, already with this blouse in mind!

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Once again I liked the construction and the fact that it has elastics in the shoulders which gives a good fit and at the same time is easy to dress as it doesn’t need buttons (sometimes I have complains about how long it takes to do all the buttons!). I am very pleased with the way they look and fit the girls but also the fact of being extremely comfortable (which they can only be as the girls played and run so much)!!

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This time it was even harder for me to get some photos as the girls were so energetic (more than their usual) that they wouldn’t stand still in the same place for a long period (not even a short period to be precise), so some of the photos are blurred!

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Now I will go and have a look to what others have been doing for KCW 😉

Have a lovely week! 🙂

Celebrating Spring! (I wish)

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Yes, it is true Spring started last Friday!! 🙂 But I have to contain my enthusiasm because if it was not in the calendar I would have not noticed! Nevertheless the girls’ wardrobe for the good weather needs to be prepared.

When I started sewing for my girls some of the first patterns I bought were from Oliver + S and as self-taught I loved them. They had great instructions and tips and really made me feel like I could actually make things that looked great and at the same time learn some new (to me) techniques. The fit and design were also great so, I was really enthusiastic and bought a few more patterns that, for some reason, were never made. This pattern was one of those that were supposed to have been made for autumn but, I suppose that for spring will be as good.

The pattern is the blouse 2+2 and I made a size 4 for Little Lady M. in a cotton lawn that will work great for spring or even summer (in UK you never know!). The pattern offers two sleeve options but I’ve chosen the long sleeve because I believe we will make more use of them this way.

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I like to see my girls with tunics and jeans or shorts as they are cute and with a girly look, however these garments let them play freely. What I like the most in this blouse is the gathered front and the neckband ties. I considered to make the neckband and the front patch using other fabric but I didn’t found any in my stash that really made me happy with the combo, so I just changed the direction of the print for the patch.

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Little Lady M. seems to be shrinking these last days 😦 She was unwell for some days and finally her appetite is back to normal (fingers crossed) but still she looks so tiny… Anyway I think the blouse looks good on her so please good weather maybe you could appear?!

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Have a lovely week 🙂

World Book Day

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Today the girls’ school celebrated the World Book Day and as an extra incentive to reading habits the students may go dressed as a character from a book.

The girls’ first choice was not approved by me (sorry girls!). They wanted to go dressed as Angelina Ballerina because they have a collection of her books and like them, but the idea didn’t convince me. Despite being much easier, going to school dressed as a ballerina, in early March when it’s still cold… no. So they went with their second choices.

It’s funny how Little Lady F has a certain tendency to choose not so girly costumes. Last year, while learning about animas, one of the days they could go dressed up as an animal and while M. decided to go as a sweet rabbit, F. went as a very happy crocodile!! This time she wanted to be the witch from the book “Room on The Broom”, as she likes the book a lot and we have read it over and over again.

The costume had three pieces, a skirt, a t-shirt and a cape. For the skirt I kept it simple, with just two rectangles of fabric and elastic in the waist. The cape was made with just a rectangle of fabric with gathers in the shoulders and finished with bias tape. For the t-shirt I used the Rowan Tee by Titchy Threads.

Although the pattern offers so many different options (to be tried later) for this particular one I made the most simple one, in size 5. My options were long sleeve, no cuffs, pockets or stripes to look as close as the original. Lesson learned with my second knit project: I definitely needed a walking foot (already got it by now) since I don’t like the way it turns out in the hem, however I am enjoying to work with knits and the overlocker!

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Here it is my little witch 😉

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In turn Little Lady M second choice was the very traditional “Little Red Riding Hood”. She wore the very same clothes that were made for this sew along and are used in any other regular day, just added an apron, made with white fabric and lace and of course, the cape 😉 The pattern used is the Red Riding Hood cape (very appropriated!) from the book “Little Things to Sew”.

Although I already have this book for quite some time and a list of requests from it, this was the first project I made from the book. I made the size L and she sure has room to grow! It was fun to make this cape and she loved it so much that was completely worth the effort 🙂

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Here is M. proudly being Little Red Riding Hood

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… and the two of them

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I laughed so much when I saw how this photo had turned out. It looks like M is about to leave the ground and levitate

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And whoosh! They were gone.

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Happy World Book Day 🙂

The Birthday Dress

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Today is the girls Birthday and for that reason a new dress was much needed.

Since I did the tunics I wanted to try the dress from the Playtime pattern from Oliver + S and today was the perfect occasion. In my opinion this is a great pattern that can result in a perfect dress to play (as named) or, with a different fabric and/or embellishments can result in a more classic look, just what I was looking for today. Pretty but good to play!

I made both dresses in size 5, but for Little lady M I shortened it about 2 inches. I used a navy blue corduroy and “broderie anglaise” with Liberty fabric (Katie and Millie) to make it a little bit more festive and add some colour.

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Usually the girls are happy to take photos and sometimes they even ask me to. But today was not one of those days! They were more concerned in playing with the new toys than any other thing, so these are the only ones I managed to take.

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Have a lovely week 🙂

New pyjamas!

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As I have mentioned before, the girls were very needy of nightwear, so this time I decided to make new pyjamas for both.

I used the pattern Sleepover Pajamas from Oliver + S, but made a few changes to the original. I used a flannel, bought in Portugal during the Summer holidays, in blue for Little lady F (as usual) and pink for Little lady M (as usual as well) and the buttons are green MOP, to make some contrast but match the tiny green flowers that do exist in the print, but are not visible in the photo (Note to Santa: Please, I really wish a new camera).

I made both size 5 but made a simple version of the original pattern because I didn’t had a contrast fabric! So, I did not added the cuff at the pants hem or the pocket to the top. Instead of adding a ruffle I opted for applying lace between the facing and the top. This way I could make some contrast and at the same time avoid complains about itching and tickling in the neck! Talking about itching and tickling I was very pleased with this pattern for the way it turned out in the inside, specially at the neck, without any seams…

It might look strange, but for such simple photos we had lots of fun and laughed a lot, because I let them suggest do what they wanted to do and they only had crazy ideas 🙂

Here are some from Little lady M (for this top I reduced the height 1 inch)

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From Little lady F

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In this one she was telling me that I should replace that frame and use a photo from herself instead!!

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And finally some from my two cheeky girls. Just in case you wonder why her mouth is open, F. asked me to show the missing tooth!

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Have a lovely week 🙂

Weekend by the seaside

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On Thursday, half-term started and we need to keep the girls busy for a week! Besides, dad is a frequent scuba diver, so this weekend we all came to Portland (UK) so that dad could dive and we could enjoy seaside. The weather was not too bad and by that I mean without rain, so we did enjoy some time outside.

Once we were coming to the seaside I thought the girls could use some nautical look outfit 🙂 The truth is that they don’t really need any more of that, because I love stripes and they already have plenty, but I really wanted to try the Sailboat skirt (the name says it all, right?), from Oliver + S.

The reason why I wanted to try this pattern is because from those I already saw, I liked the way they fit and that is the big problem I have with my girls and the skirts, the way they fit (or they don’t). Despite being careful with the choice of the pattern I didn’t got it right. The pattern is great and I really like this skirt and how it turned out, but didn’t fit very well on my girls in the waist. My girls are 5 (almost 6) and I did a size 4 for little lady M and size 5 for little lady F, but I should have done a size 3 lengthened to 4 for little lady M and a size 4 lengthened to 5 for little lady F (they are tiny!). Next time I’ll know!! Yes, there will be more of these skirts, because I really like them and I have more of this fabric but instead of blue in burgundy, which I also like for fall/winter.

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Anyway, the girls didn’t complain at all and had lots of fun in them. The skirts were good enough to play, run and even ride a motorcycle on the carousel.

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I guess I could have those quiet and well-behaved little girls, right? Well, I could, but that would not be the same fun (or challenging). They are happy and I am happy with that 🙂

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We even went to a fun fair and the girls got a ride on the carrousel and won a prize each at the “fish a duck”! They were so pleased because it was the first time that they really fished it and not a grownup! It’s amazing how such a simple thing can make them so happy!

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The start of a new season!

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It took me more time than I expected to start sewing after the long (and good!) summer holidays. But finally, this week, I was able to start. I wanted to have done a couple of sewing projects before, but I opted to do something that can be worn both during fall and winter.

As I’ve mentioned before, I’m new to sewing and all outfits I’ve done before were for summer, so for that reason no sleeves were needed. This were the first sleeves I’ve attached to a garment 🙂

I choose the pattern Playtime dress/tunic from Oliver + S, because from the patterns I’ve done so far (I know, not too many!) the ones from Oliver + S are the ones that provide me more information and tips for the finishing and to get a better final look.

I decided to go for a tunic instead of the dress so that can be worn with shorts while it is not too cold and with trousers during cold weather, but I must say that a dress is also in the “to do” list.

I choose not to place the pockets although the girls would’ve loved it, to collect stones, leaves and all kind of treasures for their collection. I did size 5 for both girls, who are almost 6, but I found it a bit long for them, especially for little lady M, so next time I will’ve to shorten a bit. The good part is there is a LOT of room to grow!

So here is the final result for little lady F and I can tell you that she was pleased with it.

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As for little lady M, despite not being in pink she appreciated. I found size 5 tunic length almost good for a dress for her!! So when I’ll go for the dress I’ll just add one or two inches. Note: when I ask her to take a photo she almost always starts to dance ballet!

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They were particularly happy with the fabric choice, because both I and dad have shirts with a very similar print and they wanted to go matching 🙂

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Yesterday we went for a walk in London, so here they are wearing their new tunics. They wanted to watch the horses.

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And trying to decide which way to go on the tube map. My girls love maps. Whenever they see a map, they want it especially now that they are learning about that subject in school!

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I enjoyed very much this pattern and as a beginner I found it easy to follow plus the hints are always helpful to get a best finish. The fabric was bought in Portugal during the holidays with the new projects already in mind.