Summer skirts for the girls

2 Comments May 29, 2017 apinchofsewing

A couple of years ago I made skirts for the girls from the Japanese sewing book “Sew Chic Kids” and they loved them. They are a bit short now but they still want to wear them, so I thought new ones would be very welcome and I was right!

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The pattern is the Tired Skirt (p) in size 4 for M and 6 for F. I find this pattern a bit long for my personal preference and that is the reason I’m using a smaller size than the recommended for their height.

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As soon as I saw the Dashwood Confetti collection at Sew Crafty Shop I knew it would be perfect for these skirts and I really like how they turned out. For F, I used the Flower Seed

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and for M the Flower Ball. Although the prints are different, I like how well they match.

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I know the girls will be wearing the skirts a lot 😊

Getting ready for summer!

12 Comments May 18, 2015 apinchofsewing

I am preparing the girls wardrobe for the summer, thus realising that the girls also need more practical tees and as I really want to work more with knits, I’ve decided to try making some for them.

After seeing some really cute ones here and here I decided to give it a go and made a Tinley tee by GYCT Designs for each. I really like the tee and the fact that it has several sleeve options, so this time, I’ve chosen the flutter sleeves both in size 5 and used a very soft Interlock Jersey. Although for M I could probably have made a size 4, the truth is during summer for some particular reason the tees tend to end up too short by the end of the season! I think they usually have a growth spurt that time of the year.

To go with the Tees I also made skirts! I wanted something simple so I tried the pattern “p – Tiered Skirt” from the book “Sew Chic Kids”. I know, again! I think I will hide this book until I make at least a couple of things from the other books! For Little Lady M I made a size 2 (100 cm) without any change and for Little Lady F a size 4 (110 cm) but with a bigger hem to make it look shorter. The fabric is a Lightweight cotton bought from Miss Matatabi last winter in a sale, that was waiting for the good weather to be used and although it is not the kind of print I usually pick out I am very pleased with the fresh look it gives to the skirts.

By now you probably realised the print is not uniform. The print near the selvage is different from the rest! Well I only realised when it was too late! As a result, one side of the skirt has a different print from the rest… I like it anyway 😉

I am enjoying to work with knits and there are so many things I already have pictured in my mind and in my “to do” list using them, but I have to confess it is being challenging. For example, it is quite visible in these tees that the hem is far from perfect because my sewing machine was eating the fabric! But I will get there 😉

These photos were so hard to take. F was having some kind of a clown day and didn’t stop making funny things. I was able to take some funny pictures but that was not what I really needed at the moment… Even though I managed to take a few that are presentable.

These outfits really make me dream of those lazy days during summer holidays 🙂

Wish you a great week 🙂

The delayed dress

14 Comments May 5, 2015 apinchofsewing

This dress was supposed to have been done for Kid’s Clothes Week!! Yes, I know that was a long time ago. I don’t know why it took so much time to actually make it, but every single part of the process took ages to make and even the weather was not helpful for the photos with so much wind and rain! Oh well, finally made it and I’m writing about it 🙂

This dress was made for Little lady M, to match the one I made F during KCW and for that reason I used the same poplin fabric. The pattern is the view a “Dress with Frilled Shoulders” from the Japanese Book “Sew Chic Kids”. Once again I made a size 2 (100 cm) with a few small changes and although looking at the pictures now, it seems a bit tight in the chest, in fact is not and she can move freely without any complain 😉

The changes I made were not significant, just made the frills double sided to match the details from F’s dress, added a red cotton lace to the front yoke, made bigger button loops because the measures provided in the book turned out to be too small (?!) and instead of making the hem with 4 cm, made with just 2 cm.

Once again the photos had to be inside 😦 as there is no good weather forecast for the next days… I should be used to this by now!

Despite the long time it took me to have the dress ready I like it. I like the frills and the way it fits M. She liked it as well and the basket she is wearing is meant to be for a pic-nic she said!

Hope you are having a nice week 🙂

Still in a Japanese mood!

14 Comments April 14, 2015 apinchofsewing

This time it was F’s turn to get a new tunic to match this one I made for M a while ago. I have to admit that I have a serious “problem” dressing my girls and I am trying hard to change it, but I can’t dress them without, at least, being matching!! So this time I used the same fabric, but with a bit darker pink stripes and a different pattern 😉

The fabric is, again, a cotton lawn, great for this time of the year and the pattern is the Front-buttoned Smock tunic (view n) from the book “Sew Chic Kids” in size 4 (110 cm).

I would have never guessed that the pattern for the front panel is the same as the dress I made M for Easter, but it is!! Also the construction way of the front is very similar to the one from M’s tunic.

Although I like the tunic and the way it fits F, the lace detail in the front is one of my favourite things along with the ruffle in the sleeve (very predictable, right?).

F was a happy girl today playing and enjoying the good weather we are finally having around here 🙂

We are still in school holidays so this weather is really a bonus and we better enjoy it while it last. We went for a nice walk (or better say run), with the girls were wearing their matching tunics. We were exhausted by the end of the day, but feeling really good. It is funny how the weather is changes so much our mood 😉

Hope you are having a nice week 🙂

Easter outfits

18 Comments April 6, 2015 apinchofsewing

A little after start sewing for the girls I became a fan of Japanese Sewing books and of course, the clothes made out of them. I have a few books, some of which for some time, but only now I decided to give it a go because sometimes it takes me a long time to try different things! Now that I did it, I regret not having started before!

While organizing the Easter outfits I asked the girls what they wanted to dress and Little Lady M immediately said “a dress”, while Little Lady F gave it a thought and then said a tunic with shorts and so it was!!

For M I made the Smock Dress (view E) from the Book “Sew Chic Kids” in size 2 (100 cm). By now you might be thinking that I wrote it wrong, but I actually made a size 2 for my 6 years old daughter! She is taller than 100 cm but all the other measures were matching the Reference sizes table for that age and from the picture I could see that the dress was below the knee and I prefer above, so I decided to take a chance and I am glad I did it because it fits her well.

I made everything as told in the instructions and just omitted the pockets. The fabric used is a double gauze in pink with little white stars, from Miss Matatabi. I had never worked with double gauze before and must say I was a bit afraid because the two layer of gauze can be seen clearly and thought they could split and be difficult to work with. I was wrong!! They did not separate (you can laugh!) and are so good to work with. Loved it!!

The dress is quite simple actually, but the pintucks and the front neckline binding in a different fabric got my attention and make it so lovely (my own opinion)!

For F I just grabbed the opportunity of making the tunic from the Book “Girls Style Book” (view B) when she told me she wanted a tunic for Easter 😉 I wanted to make this tunic for a while and even asked my mum to bring me some lace from Portugal, but like I told you before, it took me a long time to start. Also I was not sure how it would fit because in the book is just hanged but then I saw this and this beautiful versions and became completely convinced 😉

I made the tunic in size 4 (110 cm), according to the instructions with no changes and used Double Gauze in a beautiful shade of blue with little white stars also from Miss Matatabi. I love everything about this tunic, but the sleeves are very likely what I like the most and the lace of course!