I promised there would be more Lottie blouses! This one is actually my third, but I still didn’t get around to taking pictures of the first one (which is still my favourite).

Except for the alterations I made to the pattern this time, there isn’t much new to say about the pattern (I wrote a review here). This blouse came together veeery quickly. I decided to skip the sleeves this time, so the actual sewing took no longer than 1.5 hours.

I made some changes to the pattern:
I lengthened the hem and made the back longer than the front. I like the length, but I will make it slightly shorter the next time I sew this version. My muslin was a tiny bit shorter than I liked it, so I added a bit more generously to the length and didn’t bother to make a second toile. For the next one I am also planning on making a smoother/curved transition between back and front, but I like to keep the high-low effect.

I used some off-white polyester fabric which I bought at Goldhawk Road during the NYLon’14 meet up. For me the fabric is just the right amount of see-through. The black fabric is also manmade, very soft and drapey and I am pretty sure it’s some sort of polyester/viscose mix. It’s from 5m of Sari fabric I got for just £6 at my local thrift store. What a steal!

I paired the blouse with a refashioned pair of shorts. These used to be long, wide Mexx trousers I got from my mum which just had a very odd, slightly too short length. As I can never find shorts which aren’t too short for my taste, I decided to use this pair, chopped the legs off right above the knee and turned the hem over twice. I sewed the hem in place by hand to keep the rolled up effect.

The trousers are made from a very nice suiting fabric (polyethene/viscose/spandex) which was great to work with. I wear them all the time now – I love those very easy and quick refashion projects. Sometimes it only takes a few minutes and a couple of stitches to make a garment loveable again.

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Happy sewing!
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May I present to you – the Lottie blouse! Probably my new favourite pattern. It hasn’t been featured too much in the online sewing community, though, perhaps because the only chance to get hold of it is by buying the latest issue of Love Sewing Magazine. I didn’t like the magazine too much (it’s only their second issue) and mainly bought it because of the Lottie pattern set (skirt and blouse) and the cute tape measure that came with it.

I’m pretty sure you can still get it in stores (I’ve seen it at WHS, Sainsbury’s etc) and the pattern makes it totally worth buying.

The pattern is very basic, quick to trace and sew. I haven’t tried the skirt pattern yet (a very simple pencil skirt), but I already made three blouses!

There were a few issues with the pattern, though (mainly the instructions), which I personally didn’t mind too much but they could be quite confusing for the “adventurous beginner” this pattern is made for. Some of the diagrams had a few mistakes and were in the wrong order, which can mess up the whole sewing process if you are not aware of it (or at least make the whole thing harder than it really is).

I really love the fit of the blouse and the pattern probably works best with drapey fabrics. For this blouse I used a viscose/polyester fabric with an elephant print, that didn’t drape as well as I thought it would, but I still like how the blouse turned out. I also made a bright red version with a very lightweight rayon fabric (my favourite of the three I’ve made so far); I will share this one with you another time.I bought the fabric on Walthamstow Market the other day when I was shopping with Dani. Next to the elephants I also got the same fabric in a different colour and a super adorable scottie print. I suppose the scotties will be used for a Mimi blouse, which is on top of my to-sew list at the moment.

So this is the first of the many blouses you will see on le blog in the future. I always thought dresses were my thing, but when I’m at work I always end up wearing trousers. I sometimes feel like I sew what I would like to wear instead of sewing garments I acutally wear in every day life. That’s why I decided to sew more things I actually need and not only things I think are cute and pretty.

Do you wear what you sew?

 

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Happy sewing!
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I am going to become an auntie this summer and I’ve thoroughly enjoyed sewing baby clothes so far. The first big pile of cute mini clothes was already sent home, so it’s time to share some pictures!

I decided to make a bunch of reversible pinafores as these are super practical. First of all, they’re made from 100% cotton and can be washed at 40-60°C. Secondly, they’re reversible! If the one side gets dirty while you are out and about you can simply switch sides. What I also really love is that these pinafores sort of grow with your child. A lot of baby clothes get too small too quickly. I’ve made this pinafore for a 6-months old and also for a 18-months old. Both looked super cute in it.

I used the Tie-Side Pinafore pattern from Little Dress Kits (I wrote a review here) and different cotton fabrics. At first I wanted to only sew two pinafores, but the fabric cutting got a little bit out of hand and I lost track of all the pattern pieces and cut out too many. This happened twice and I ended up cutting out more and more until I had enough to make four!Four fronts and backs, eight pockets and sixteen straps later…The front is not only reversible, but you can also switch the fronts between the different pinafores in whatever combination you want. I also made some matching diaper covers, but I still have to figure out sizes. The first one was a bit too small the second way too big.
I looooove the Winnie the Pooh fabric, it’s just too adorable. I have so much left that I will probably make a quilted playing mat. I always wanted to try quilting and I think this would be a good project to start with.

Sewing for babies is so much fun. You don’t need a lot of fabric (a good way to get rid of all these scraps!), you don’t have to sew muslins and have complicated fittings and most of the baby projects only take a few hours or less.

I also made some bibs, cardigans and PJs I will share with you the next time!

In the meantime, if you have any baby pattern suggestions, feel free to share!

Have you ever made baby clothes?

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Happy sewing!
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Heeeelllo! It’s been a while (well, not too long actually) since my last garment post as I am about to start a new job which is keeping me quite busy at the moment. But nevertheless, I have been sewing like a maniac. I just simply couldn’t get around to take pics for the blog because of a) nightshifts and b) everything always being in the laundry (because I love wearing it so much).

Partly due to my new position, I decided I urgently needed more handmade separates. All I ever seem to sew are dresses (at least that’s the impression I get whenever I need something causal to wear). Too many pretty dresses! So separates it is. The first (of my many new tops and blouses) is the BHL Polly top which you can download for free (yay for freebies!) The BHL ladies also have made the cutest sewalong video for this project.

I used two stash fabrics (again! hooray!), both cotton and of similar weight. The top is really easy to sew and quite suitable for beginners. However, I’m not too happy about the fit. Normally, the BHL patterns fit me perfectly, but the top turned out to be really large (I cut out a size 10). I don’t mind that too much, though, since it’s a summer top and summer tops shouldn’t be too tight anyway. But I will cut out a smaller size the next time I make this top.I have worn this top already and will probably make more. I’m also a big fan of BHL lady Victoria’s Polly pattern hack (she made a dress)! So maybe you’ll see a Polly Dress soon 😉

The only thing keeping me from making more Pollys at the moment is the Lottie blouse pattern. I somehow fell in love with blouses recently (I don’t know why, I’ve never been a big fan of blouses – maybe it’s the weather!) and just finished my third Lottie blouse. To make the next few blog posts less boring, I will also throw in some Mimis (from Tilly’s book). I’m excited to share these blouses with you. All I can say now is, it includes elephants and scottie dogs.

I went fabric shopping with Dani this week and am almost half-way through my new fabrics with all these blouses in the making (I should get a medal for all this stash dieting!).

Have you made the Polly top? What’s your favourite summer pattern?

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Happy sewing!
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