Gratifying sewing - V1179 part deux

After patchwork sewing for days on end I was super ready to sew clothes for me! Didn't want to mess with having to make muslin, I settled on V1179, a pattern I made before. It did took me the 3rd day to finish it though. Didn't do anything on the second day coz being hogged by the little Bean and was too tired. Sure glad to be able to work on it a lot yesterday.

I use my stash of black ponte de roma knit (still have probably 5-6 yards left! no problem,i have a lot of patterns to try and a girl needs lots of black outfits.. at least this one does since she (moi) is building her own handmade wardrobe from scratch...). I added a long tapered sleeves, and made sure that the inside is as neat as the outside as possible. A lot of topstitching. .

I also made the cowl collar thicker, i like the snood look. Also, i stitched down the pleat at the chest a little, i think I read that this was what Carolyn of Diary of a Sewing Fanatic did too? My first version i just basted and let em out as per pattern instruction/picture on packet, and i liked the look, decided to try stitching for this one, and liked it too.

Haven't worn it yet, so here's photo of it on hanger:

This V1179 is definitely a pattern that I can make more and more of! However, for the sake of learning, i will attempt other shapes... :) Another dress or 2 i think. After all it's the holiday season,hehehe...

Choo-choo pyjama set

It's been awhile since my last post. In fact, my last post was not a real post, just a couple of pictures. I've been meaning to write more on the dress from the last post, about my Sew Cute Dress class (from which the dress was the product of), and a little about the necklace I made. But I've been super busy to get my son's pyjama done, so that I can then get on my with the planning of my "business". Since this is a space I dedicated to feature my hobby in sewing (DIY/crafting) I will just proceed with sharing the pyjama project.

Before and after my miracle son is born, I only bought very few baby clothes for him. He has enough, but eventhough he is my first (and perhaps only?) child, i did not go crazy with buying him cute clothes :) Having a baby is already a very expensive affair, and he did and still does need a lot of other stuff that cost a lot of money: carseat, stroller, baby carrier, baby bag, toys, and whatnots.

During my maternity leave, I made him a carseat cover (that was probably my very first project on the sewing machine - i used to sew everything by hand before). I also started on a patchwork quilt for him. the patchworked quilt top was done quickly enough, but has been put aside for a long time in place for all the other projects that's more fun. I plan to make it into a toddler bed sized/ single bed size quilt, so I do have time yet. Haha.

Anyways, back to clothes. Basically he has outgrown many of the clothes i bought him. I picked out one or 2 whenever we go thrifting, but my plan is to refashion things into clothes for him. So far I made him a winter hat, a t-shirt for sleeping. I have nice men's tshirts that I intend to remake to fit him, which I haven't done since I'm still testing patterns (excuses).

In the spirit of testing pattern, I made him (probably the day after we came back from Thanksgiving trip in Minnesota, and it took 2 days) a set of pyjama (top comes from this book while the pyjama bottom was from this pattern-link will be added later)

Raw-edged raglan top:

I made size 2/3 and it fits the Bean perfectly over his chubby baby tummy :) and he loves the train so much made my day. :)

The knit material is thrifted, and the train applique was made using scraps from last year's Charlie bag and also rice bag heat therapy project for my in-laws, also thrifted material.

Top and bottom:

The pants I made size 2, but I shorten it by 3 inches from the pattern, and still made the hem? bigger. It is still a bit long but ok for the Bean. The elastic was also a lil loose on him. Maybe it's my fault? He is wearing size 18 mths for knit pants (RTW) and they are kinda snug. Maybe I read the pattern wrong? I thought that size 2 means for toddlers 2 years old size....hmmm... I think the pattern is McCall's, but will confirm later.

All in all, they look super cute on him and I'm satisfied. I will make more for him in the future. Not sure when. My plan is to sew me a dress (either a black ponte knit dress to showcase the lapiz lazuli necklace I made, or sew up my yellow wool knit fabric) once im done with 2 of my business related project. That's my plan anyways, to have breaks in between work, so that I can continue with my learning. And of course, I've been wearing my handmade things so much that they are looking worn. :(

A dress and a necklace

Over the Thanksgiving break I was able to finish my I am Tiny Tuck dress from the I am Cute Dresses book. Not able to write long today, but here are the pictures of the dress:

I also made a necklace out of semi precious stones (lapiz lazuli and white stones I don't know the name of) and silver: