Stella dress with flowers
Stella dress by Ikatee caught my attention immediately, when I saw it. The beautiful frills and light linen were so romantic but also fashionable right now. I was unable to find similar light linen but I had romantic viscose jersey and thought: why not to try a completely different fabric. I made the dress deliberately one size bigger (122 cm) to have some room for S to grow into. The only thing I changed was I turned the edge of the ruffled pieces twice and stitched them rather than making a rolled hem. I had just had some difficulties with my serger and didn’t feel like fiddling with the serger settings.…
Happy May Day with TV dress
Sometimes ideas just hit me when I come across unusual materials. A while ago a soft plastic storage unit that was hanging in our cleaning closet and storing our wrapping paper broke down. As I was transferring all the stuff to a new one I looked at the plastic pockets of the of the old one and realised that the see-trough plastic material could be reusable. What if I could sew a dress that had a pocket with changing images according to the moods and needs of the person wearing the dress? I started sketching and came up with an idea of a TV screen. I searched trough Pinterest for…
Suomi-neito (Maiden of Finland) dress and leggings
I have been seriously considering making sewing patterns from scratch for a while. I already have enough sewing experience and I have basic patterns for children that can be used as basis for measurements. After I found this Nuppu print company’s Lumipallo cotton I immediately saw it transformed as a dress for S. I wanted something traditional with some modern elements. I decided to make an A line dress and a high-low hem with a wide ruffle to be worn with matching leggings. I played with some different sleeve and collar options and finally left the dress sleeves with a simple white Peter Pan collar. The back fastening was initially a…
Pandas, wrist warmers and a suspender skirt
One of the S’s favourite blouses is the yellow one that I made of soft cotton lawn since it has a pattern of cute little pandas on it. The pattern for the blouse comes from Yoshiko Tsukioris wonderful book Girly style wardrobe. Now that I’m leafing through the book once more, I don’t understand why this is the only pattern I’ve sewed from this book. The book is so full of super cute dresses and tunics! The suspender skirt pattern I got from here. Since the pattern contained only rectangular pieces there wasn’t a pattern sheet, only the measurements, that were enough. Originally the suspenders weren’t sewn into place but were…
Ruffles and roses
May I present what is, on my opinion, the cutest tunic I’ve made so far! I used the pattern Shy eyes from Ottobre 6/2016 magazine as I have done before and cute floral viscose jersey with some added trims and frills from light orange viscose jersey. I always have felt awkward combining different patterns and colors but I think this time I succeeded very well. The orange jersey I had in storage was meant for something else but the colour fits perfectly with the colour of the roses in the main fabric. The tunic was also really easy to sew and my fingers are itching for me to continue making more of…
Stretch cotton fabric from Tallinn and what became of it (part 2)
Funny how sometimes a pattern magazine manages to exceed all expectations. Ottobre design 1/2016 is a magazine that has a loose cover for so much use. The patterns are quite simple and perfect for different patterned fabrics and can be easily modified. The last blog post contained a pair of trousers from the afore mentioned magazine and this time I have made a dress number 14 called Mimmi. This pattern is an a-line dress with pockets and a lovely boat-shaped neckline. I modified the pattern by removing the need for the center-back zipper by inserting a keyhole opening and a button closure. This makes it easier for S to dress herself…
Stretch cotton fabric from Tallinn and what became of it (part 1)
S wanted me to buy her some white and pink stretch cotton fabric when we visited Tallinn last spring. The fabric did not at first speak to me at all and it remained in my stash until S needed some trousers. When I saw Mini Sun trousers in Ottobre Design 1/2016 I knew that I had just the fabric. I loved this pattern. I like how the trousers have stretchy waist and the pleats but still have a slim silhouette. I did not change a thing and the trousers fit S like a glove. I had so much fun pattern matching! I don’t know why but it always gives me…
Princess birthday
I can’t believe my girl is already 7 years old! We went shopping last week to buy her pretty shoes for the birthday party and she found a glittery pair of shoes with little heels. Of course she wanted a dress to match the shoes and I got the task of sewing her a dress. I’ve had this very light linen in my stash for years and it was perfect for the dress. I used the pattern from the tried and tested Olabelhe Miranda although this time I decided it was due time to go up a size. The linen was so thin that it required a pink lining…
Cute playwear for my girl
This morning S complained about a t-shirt that was too small. As I removed the old garment from her closet I decided to replace it with a new one. I found a nice tunic pattern called Shy eyes from Ottobre 6/2016 magazine. There wasn’t enough of the light violet jersey, so I added the white sleeves and the collar finishing. I was a bit afraid of doing the rolled hem for the ruffles with my serger, since the last time I tried was a total disaster. However, after consulting the guide book and reading carefully my notes, I managed to sew the rolled hem perfectly. I am proud of myself! The…
Ghostly tee and a dress
S has been asking me to sew a blue dress for her. She even drew me a picture and luckily Ottobre 4/2012 Black Denim -dress fit the description perfectly. I found some blue stretch denim that worked well for the pattern. I forgot the vertical front seam in the pattern but it did not matter. Besides, I made the dress slightly longer for S to wear it with tights. Under the dress, S wears Ottobre 1/2015 Toucan t-shirt. I made it using some remnant white viscose jersey with Pacman ghost pattern. The gatherings at the both sleeves and a curved hem add a nice detail to this basic top. I…
