Browsing Category

Make It Perfect

Make It Perfect

.a fancy ribbon skirt.

My time at the sewing machine is limited at the moment. I can hardly believe I managed to write my book when Tommy was a baby! Having a deadline definitley helped, life was a lot cruiser then too though. We didn’t have school drop offs and pick ups, soccer training, home readers, school lunches and all of the other little things that take up your time as your kids get older. Once all of those necessary demands come into play then time just seems to slip away! 

I do love to try and squeeze in a little sewing here and there though, even if it is just a quick 10 minutes at the machine or sorting through fabric to decide what project to tackle when I next have the time. Harvey is an angel, he is fairly predictable and feeds every 3 hours during the day but his day naps are not so good. I think it’s probably due to the fact that we are in and out all day with dropping off and picking up kids that he doesn’t have a chance to really get into a good sleeping routine. He’s into cat-napping and rarely sleeps for more than an 45-60 minutes at a time, I’m hoping that resolves itself as he gets older and has fewer naps that become longer in duration. Needless to say, all of my sewing projects have been quickies lately!

My inspiration for this skirt came from this skirt here. My skirt definitley doesn’t compare in detail or workmanship, but we love it all the same and it literally took me under 1 hour to complete!

The actual skirt was super simple – just two rectangles sewn together with an elastic waistband! Sometimes simple is best though, and with all the ribbon busyness I think it works really well.

My ribbon stash is crazy and my ribbon box is overflowing so it felt good to dig around in there and  use up some of them! I sewed the ribbons onto the front of the skirt using a zig-zag stitch between each one before I sewed the skirt together. You can’t see it very well, but the hem is sewn down using a decorative crown stitch. Lil asked me if she could get out her textas and colour each crown in a different colour. I said no.
I used a gorgeous chambray fabric from Robert Kaufman for the skirt, it is called “Speck Indigo” and has small flecks of coloured thread through the denim. It is also a nice, lightweight and doesn’t crush too badly. I stocked up on a few Robert Kaufman chambray prints because I know they will always come in handy and will be especially useful for sewing clothing for myself.

So there you have it – the story of a quick fancy ribbon skirt!

Hero Vest, Make It Perfect

.My quest to keep him warm!.

In my quest to keep the boy who only wears shorts and a tshirt warm, another Hero Vest was in order. It has been sitting in his cupboard for 2 months and he has worn it a total of zero times. Which I kind of expected anyway and don’t really mind because he can pass it down to Tommy in a few years time and it will still be in perfect condition!
I really just needed to make one in his size to test the fit when I was developing the pattern – having a heap of kids in different sizes really helps for testing pattern sizing!
I used grey knit for the exterior and Hilco fabric for the ribbing. The lime green polar fleece was from Lincraft online.

Oscar did think that it was cool and said he would wear it…if he got cold! We’ve had some really cold, rainy weather lately so maybe I could trick him into wearing it once or twice before winter is finished just for the satisfaction of seeing him in it!

SUPPLIES:
Make It Perfect, Hero Vest pattern
Stella knit in grey marle
Hilco Ribbing in blue/lime
Polar fleece in lime green 

Basic Tees, Make It Perfect, Spy Tops

.Butterfly Cowl Neck Basic Tee.

 
 

I know I’m on a winning sewing project when the wearer requests more of the same. I loved making my first altered Basic Tee with cowl neck for Lil so happily jumped at the chance to give it a second go.

 

I love this yellow/grey colour combo. This fabric was actually bought to make something for myself, but I was happy to use it for Lil and we always appreciate the change from pink/purple “girly” colours.

I really want to make one for myeslf, but will wait until I’ve managed to shed some of the post-baby fat. Basic Tee pattern for women coming up perhaps?

I’ve already been given the go ahead to make her more of these – I think the cowl neck would look really cute on a short-sleeve or 3/4-sleeve top too for Spring.

SUPPLIES:
Make It Perfect, Basic Tees pattern
Lillestoff Butterfly Women
Lillestoff Ringel in Grey/Yellow

 
Long Boards, Make It Perfect

.Long Boards – winter edition.

This big boy of mine ONLY wears shorts. No matter the weather. Even on freezing cold, frosty mornings he runs along to school in a pair of shorts. We have to beg him to wear a jumper – before school I tell him to at least keep it on until I can’t see him anymore!  

He seems to have either worn out or outgrown most of his shorts and requested some new ones. Not from the shop, but from my sewing machine. My kids think that all clothes come from my handiwork, last week Tommy had a new (store bought) beanie on and told one of our friends that Mummy made it!

I don’t bother with any other pattern anymore. I love how my Long Boards look on the boys and the fact that they are a longer pair of shorts gives me a little sense of satisfaction that he is at least warm down to his knees! Plus, I love all of the details that make them look less “homemade.”

Nice big pockets, fake fly stitching and practical knee patches. I have found that Oscar wears his shorts sooo much that it’s best if I reinforce the crotch seam and where the pocket opening reaches the side seam in the shorts because there is a lot of stress in those areas – he’s always got his hands in his pockets!

Because this house has turned into a house full of boys, I’m finding myself looking out for and grabbing more boy-friendly fabric now. Especially fabric for bigger boys. Sometimes it can be tricky to buy suitable fabric for them but I like a challenge! Shorts are the most popular item of clothing I sew for the boys using woven cotton fabric so I usually look out for fabric that will work well in a pair of shorts and figure that it will be used up eventually over the next 10 years!

SUPPLIES:
Make It Perfect Long Boards pattern (avaliable as PDF download here)
Bonnie & Camille, Happy Go Lucky, Check in Navy/Lime
Michael Miller, Freestyle, Malibu

Basic Tees, Make It Perfect, Spy Tops

.Basic Tee with a cowl neck.

Lil needed some new long-sleeved tops. With my limited sewing time at the moment, I wanted the project to be a quick sew but didn’t just want a plain top with no special features.

 

So I pulled out my Basic Tees pattern because I know it is super straightforward, quick and easy. Then I made some really simple alterations and additions to make it super funky! 

 

The addition of long skinny sleeve cuffs, a hem cuff…

…and a pretty cowl neck were just what we needed!

If you’re a confident sewer, you could probably make these alterations easily yourself. For those of you who need a bit more guidance, I have plans to write these instructions up as a free PDF download to use in conjunction with your Basic Tees pattern so stay tuned!

 

SUPPLIES:
Make It Perfect, Basic Tees pattern
Spoonflower Fox Forest Blue knit fabric
Hilco Campan knit in Pink/Rose