the pitter patter of more little (project) steps

Sometimes it feels like it takes a long time before all the pieces come together and the end project materialises. At other times several projects finally all get completed at the same time. Today is one of those occasions, and its satisfying to be able to say – they’re done!

So Burda 9462 has been made once more (I made it a while back previously) but this time fully lined and with no appliqué. I actually cut this out years ago but never got round to finishing it. Long story. The hand made (as opposed to shop bought) bias tape is pretty fiddly to make and sew, but gives a nice contrasting finish. I also changed the fastening to velcro. More practical for a growing child in terms of fit in my view.

 

I have also made both the jacket and dungarees for Burda 9450. Both patterns are cute. But seriously could have been improved. The jacket didn’t come with a facing or any interfacing for the front so was very floppy, and due to the crossover section the hem dragged for the covered front as there was no support in terms of fastening. I had to add velcro and interfacing to fix these issues. I am happy now, but annoyed with the pattern.

The dungarees didn’t have the best of instructions either for working out the position of the button holes. I added the leg cuffs so they can be used to create some extra growing room. I decided to add red bias tape (I have a huge reel of the stuff which is unpressed) which worked really nicely in tying the colour blocked fabric together.

Burda create cute designs, but I often feel their instructions and construction technique let them down. Still, I can celebrate the stash is diminished yet a little further! My friend’s baby is now also getting a respectable wardrobe to grow in to 🙂

 

So, there is one more little project to sew up, a small shirt out of a short section of left over silk from another long ago project (am determined to tackle the older sections of stashed fabric) which will be good practice for technique as well as being pretty. Then I am considering making some PJ’s out of the paisley cotton fabric I brought back from China. I have to make use of it at some point right?

I know, I have some other projects to finish. I am so easily diverted. But it’s finally getting sunnier and I have been good at finishing some of them!

 

another project tied up

I’ve been away for another week so haven’t had a chance to do much more sewing  However, I have been committed to decreasing The Stash (as mentioned earlier). So the easiest way to do that is by creating quick projects.

That for me means children’s clothing, as I don’t have to worry about adjusting patterns, altering for fit or anything too complicated. In short, it’s a bit like baking. It’s still a nice cake, but hasn’t got all the icing, filling or candles added.

So, this is the first post of four patterns. I’ve still got to add some finishing touches to the other three before taking photos. It had the added bonus of being a free pattern (Made by Rae, link to pdf here: http://sewing.patternreview.com/cgi-bin/patterns/sewingpatterns.pl?patternid=61450 ).

A work colleague is expecting a little girl very shortly. I had some smaller pieces of fabric which were too pretty to pass up on, but way too tiny for me to do anything with for myself. Perfect. I didn’t even need a zipper of buttons! The dress is fastened with shoulder ties.

The only changes I made was slip stitch the lining to the waist seam by hand for added comfort and swap the piping with a decorative waist trim. If you want some hassle free sewing, this is certainly a contender. I still have some of these fabrics left, but at least they are now a smaller stack!

 

ready to set sail – one outfit

Well, this has hardly been a romp to the finish line. But this project has been squeezed around going on holiday. That’s a legitimate distraction, right?

I can’t say I am completely thrilled with the finishing techniques for the romper from Simplicity 1378. They have you stitch over the casing for the elastic to attach the straps and bib section. But this leaves both flapping about as there’s nothing to keep it vertical to the bottom and it can easily form a 90 degree angle – hardly what you need for an active baby!

Fortunately after I added an additional row of stitching everything now stays put. I think although they took ages to find, the buttons were well worth the search. The rest of the outfit is fairly matt and they stand out nicely in contrast. The one thing left to do is make a strap for the hat so the little recipient doesn’t use it as a frisbee.

Now, all this means I finally get to move on to my Colette pattern skirt. Oh, yes, what I was originally going to make out of this fabric before I got monumentally distracted. Truly living up to the blog name at the moment.

So, here’s the finished outfit, plus a photo from my holiday (sewing related – crochet work).