It has been 5 months since I last shared any tops I have sewn for Harvey. This is good and bad.
Good, because it means that the clothes I am making him now will be worn for a much longer time.
Bad, because he isn’t growing as fast which means that he isn’t a baby anymore. I had to title this post “Baby Tops” because I fear that it won’t be long until we are referring to Harvey as a toddler more and a baby less. Boo hoo.
The growing baby required some more tops though. I managed to squeeze the front and arms of this top out of a little piece of this favourite left over cloud fabric that I had. Because I didn’t have quite enough for the whole top, I used a little left over piece of solid grey (from this dress) for the back. I like the look and think I will be using it more in the future. A good way to stretch out your favourite fabric that little bit further too!
This pattern is one that I have used a lot in the past. From Ottobre 1/2011 called “White Rabbit”. I used some solid grey ribbing for the neckband and sleeve cuffs.
And this slouchy top was added to the collection too. I used a new pattern for this one – from an older Ottobre magazine: Spring 1/2009. The design is called “Muksis” jersey tunic and top” – you can definitley tell the way that trends and styles have changed over the years of Ottobre magazines. The older styles are much more slouchy and baggy. I don’t mind how this top is nice and loose fitting though. It will definitley fit for a long time – particularly becasue the sleeve cuffs are folded over.
I don’t love the envelope neckline though, I never have really. It doesn’t ever seem to sit right and tends to stretch out of shape. The ribbing I used to bind the edges is quite thick too so was a bit tough to sew to the shoulder seams and ended up pretty bulky, but nothing too noticeable for a baby’s top. The little pouch pocket is very cute too. Unpractical, but cute!
SUPPLIES: Grey cloud jersey knit Charcoal jersey knit Hilco campan knit in lime/blue
This pattern has been sitting in my “to sew” pile for years. I know I am probably one of the last people on the earth to make this top, but sometimes I like to wait until the fad has passed so that I can have a good look at what everyone else has made – read reviews, suss out fabric choices, etc. The blogging world is great like that, usually before I start sewing any pattern I’ll do a few searches (Google, Flickr, Pinterest, Kollabora) for others who have made it, it really helps when choosing fabrics and making alterations.
So, a couple of weeks ago I started to have wardrobe crisis. Wardrobe crisis seems to happen with the change of every season, doesn’t it? Everything seems old and boring and you just want to freshen things up a bit. I used to turn to the shops when wardrobe crisis crept in, but now I turn to my sewing room! I haven’t bought new clothes forever and I like it like that (kind of helps to justify my fabric buying addiction!)
We are starting to have some warmer days (just a few, but enough to give hope for Summer’s arrival!) and I knew that the Tova would be great for in between seasons. The cropped sleeves and open neckline are just right for those warmish-coolish days when you’re not sure if you should be wearing a tshirt or cardi.
My measurements placed me exactly in a size small for everything, so I pulled out some of my favourite Nani IRO and got sewing. The Tova was a lovely sew, quite fast and easy and everything came together beautifully…
…but the fit is not good on me! I don’t think these photos really give a great indication of how tight the top is across my bust and upper back, but it is…really tight…like so uncomfortable that I only wore the top for a morning and then had to take it off because my underarms were so sore!! I haven’t read of other people having this problem before though, and I do have wide shoulders (thanks Dad!), so think that the fit issue is probably just unfortunate for me that my body shape doesn’t quite suit this particular pattern. And that’s the beauty about sewing for yourself, you can chop and change and alter away until you have something you are completely happy with!
You can see how tight the fabric is pulling from my underarm to bust in the photos below:
And across the back, when I stand up straight, there actually isn’t any bagginess across the upper back like you can see below:
Fit issues aside, let’s talk a bit about this amazing fabric though. I’m a little bit sad that it has ended up being used on a top that I will rarely wear but it is just gorgeous, isn’t it? This Nani IRO double gauze is a lovely silvery grey with a subtle pencil stroke herringbone print all over it. The fabric had a metallic pearl border strip that I placed on the hems of top and sleeves – and I managed to cut the whole thing out of 1.5m of fabric with just a few little scraps to spare!
As much as I love everything about it, I’m sad to say that this top will probably be given to one of the sisters with narrower shoulders in the future – when I am ready to part with it! After all this I was determined to make a Tova that actually fit me so next I made a muslin (yep, should have done that first!) – will be back to share that soon!
SUPPLIES: Wiksten Tova sewing pattern Nani IRO double gauze, Herring Bone Pencil in Feather purchased from Miss Matatabi
I’m a mega list-maker…I’ve got lists of things to do today, this week, this month, lists of dinner ideas, lists of things to sew, lists of things to blog about…you name it, I’ve got a list for it! One of my most useful lists though is a list of presents to give people for their birthdays. Family members each have their own lists, but I also keep a list of ideas for presents to give to friends. It helps with the last minute “not sure what to get them” rush as I have lots of ideas at my fingertips…
…Like these Open-Wide Zip Pouches (a free tutorial from Anna of Noodlehead.) I hadn’t made Anna’s Zip Pouches before, but have seen them made dozens of times so knew they would be perfect as a handmade gift for friends. I accompanied these pouches with a bag full of gourmet homemade trail mix (with lots of yummy treaty bits mixed through!)
There are three different sizes given in the tutorial (although you could easily adjust the dimensions to suit yourself) and I knew that a trio of pouches would look great together. I actually stuffed up the dimensions a little so the finished pouches ended up a little taller and not as wide as they are supposed to be, no big deal though!
I really like the two-toned zippered pouches, on the bottom part of mine I cut up an old denim skirt that I haven’t worn for ages. Its a really light, washed denim and looks lovely paired with the bright coloured fabrics. I think I’ve come up with a use for all of the old pairs of jeans I have saved up for repurposing now!
It was fun digging through my big stash of quilting cotton and choosing some fun prints. Now that most of my clothing sewing is using knit fabric and there are so many more apparel fabrics avaliable I don’t turn to my quilting cottons as much anymore. I forgot how fun they are!
SUPPLIES: Noodlehead, Open-Wide Zippered Pouch tutorial Repurposed denim skirt Erin McMorris, Moxie Talk Talk in Grass Erin McMorris, Moxie Buttercup in Grass Erin McMorris, Moxie Chatroom in Royal
I have sewn a ridiculous amount of Skippy dresses. Way too many for myself, so I started giving a few away.
I made this Skippy dress for my little Sister when it was her birthday earlier this year. Fil is the kind of person who can get away with wearing absolutely anything, in fact her style is very eclectic, so I love being able to pull out fabric combinations that are a little more wild than I would usually wear!
Isn’t she a cutie?!
For Filipa’s Skippy dress I sewed the front and back of the top as well as the pouch pocket out of this feathered print jersey, then used a solid royal blue for everything else. Another way to use “out there” prints in a more subtle way.
Fil is a shortie, so I shortened the length of the top by 1 1/2″, I didn’t have to adjust the height of the pocket at all but if you shortened the top any more you would have to make the pocket height a little shorter to keep everything in proportion.
The feathered fabric is another Girl Charlee print that I wasn’t thrilled with the quality of. However, it works really well when it is completely surrounded with a better quality fabric, like I have here. Notice how the feathered fabric doesn’t sit directly on the outside edge of any part of the dress? The blue jersey works as a bandaid for the thin, minimal stretch feathered fabric and holds everything in place really well.
And I think that’s all I have to say about this one! Have a great Saturday!!
Did you hear? The Perfect Pattern Parcel #4 is now avaliable and the theme this time around is BOYS! Boys can sometimes be challenging to sew for, but this Pattern Parcel includes six great boys patterns that will be sure to fill your boy sewing space with lots of inspiration!
After having my Poppy Tunic included in the last Pattern Parcel, I thought it would be fun to be a part of the blog tour and sew something to share with you all this time. It was a hard choice, but I settled on the Zippy Jacket for Harvey. I try really hard to only sew what clothes the kids actually need at the time to make sure they actually will be worn! Harvey is growing out of all of his warm jackets so this filled the spot perfectly.
The Zippy Jacket is a great pattern, a lot faster than it looks and the end result is a trendy jacket that looks just as good (maybe better?!) than something you will buy at the shops. I made the size 18 months-2 years for Harvey who is just 15 months and expected it to be really big on him but the fit is spot on, a tiny bit of growing room but definitley not too big to start wearing now.
I recently bought this fabric from Spoonflower when they had a free shipping offer happening. I have bought Spoonflower knits in the past and although they have a lovely feel, the print fades terribly. Still wearable but a bit disappointing if you are after brighter colours. As far as I am aware, Spoonflower have stopped producing the older knit and one of the replacements is this Modern Jersey fabric. To be honest, I am still not 100% happy with this jersey either. It is suuuuuper stretchy, a bit flimsy and synthetic feeling. (Scroll down and read more about it on this page if you are interested, it is 96% polyester so I guess that explains the synthetic feel after working with cotton jersey knits.) Anyway, I think this fabric would suit girl’s or women’s clothing better than boys, simply because it is so drapey and looks more feminine but I bought this particular print with the boys in mind so wanted to work out a way to use it for them.
And I did! You can really see in any of the photos, but I completely lined the jacket with a layer of polar fleece. So the outer fabric is really just acting as a decorative shell with the fleece providing stability to the jacket. Not to mention extra warmth, adding the layer of fleece has turned the jacket from light-weight to super duper warm!
I didn’t do anything tricky to line it, just used the “flat lining” method of cutting all of the pattern pieces from both the exterior fabric and the fleece (in this case, the fleece is the lining fabric) and then placing them wrong sides together and sewing with them as if they were one piece of fabric. I took a shortcut and didn’t bother basting the pieces together, just held them together with pins so it was even faster! I did only use one layer of polar fleece in the collar though as I wanted it to end up a similar thickness as the rest of the jacket.
The only thing I did different to the pattern was to cut the waistband piece 1 1/2″ shorter than specified because I thought it looked a little loose on other jackets that I have seen made. Anyway, enough rambling – it’s a cute jacket, huh?! And a cute baby…
So, have I convinced you yet? Go and buy the Parcel! SIX amazing patterns and YOU CHOOSE HOW MUCH TO PAY! But make your payment over $26 to unlock the sixth bonus pattern!
About Pattern Parcel: Here at Perfect Pattern Parcel, we believe in supporting independent pattern designers. It’s our opinion that indie patterns are just, well, better than big box patterns, and we’re pretty sure our customers think so too. So, we allow customers to show their support in naming their own price for each Parcel. We also encourage customers to allocate part of their Parcel price to the charity Donorschoose.org in order to help classrooms in need. Pattern Parcel donates all profits after expenses from Parcel sales to the charity as well. Together we’ve raised $9,800 towards eliminating educational inequality.
Pattern Parcel #4 includes: Maxwell Top by Shwin Designs Zippy Jacket by Blank Slate Patterns Schoolboy Vest by Sew Much Ado Small Fry Jeans by Titchy Threads Jet Pack Bag by Betz White
