Shot Cotton Tova

I feel a bit un-original posting this top -- a pdf option has made the pattern much more readily available so lovely versions of the Tova are popping up all over blogland.  Not that that's a bad thing.  I love this pattern -- it sews up quickly, fits well, is comfortable and looks great.  And, despite it's popularity online, I'm pretty sure I'm not in any danger of showing up somewhere in the same outfit as some one I know :).

Sorry for the crappy picture.  I tried to take one of me wearing it but that was even worse.  The fabric is Kaffe Fassett, Shot Cotton in Bordeaux and it's really lovely -- very lightweight and soft, and with a wonderful depth of colour.  I ordered it from Pam at Mad About Patchwork.  I'd highly recommend her shop for quick shipping and great costumer service.  And we obviously think alike -- she's currently making a Tova out of aqua shot cotton.

verykerryberry is hosting a sew-a-long of this pattern and has some great posts and tips.  I joined but apparently am not very good at "sewing along" and and finished early :).

By the way, the last time I made this, I had trouble with the collar fitting properly.  This time I staystitched the neck edge and it was fine.

edited to add:  I finally coerced my six year old into taking a picture for me.  I really like this colour and I like this top but a word to the wise if you're going to use shot cotton -- it frays.  Like crazy.  I really did mean to increase the seam allowance this time so I could do French seams but wasn't even thinking when I cut this out.  Guess I should write stuff like that on my pattern pieces, shouldn't I?   When I get time to sew I'm always anticipating being interrupted so don't always pay enough attention to what I'm doing . . .

MoMo + Linen Quilt finished

I started this quilt over a year ago and finally finished it (well, almost -- I still need to tidy up the stray thread and add a label).  It's amazing to me that I could work on it for so long and still love it.  I think it's the combination of the linen with the prints + the really simple design (adapted from Fresh Quilting by Malka Dubrawsky).  The prints are momo freebird and the sashing is linen.  I handstitched swirls in each of the squares and outlined some of the squares in red.

The back and binding are from It's a Hoot with a piece of ivory because I wanted to be able to see some of the swirls.

My kitty seems to like it, too.  Maybe my Dad wont get this after all!

O+S Tiger Hat

J. is performing a dance to the "Circle of Life" in a school assembly this week so asked me to make her a tiger hat like the lamb/mouse hat I made from Little Things to Sew. 

To be clear as I know I was confused about this at first, she doesn't plan on wearing the hat during the dance -- she wants it because she feels she should go to school that day in character (!!).  (and yes, I know the song is from the Lion King but she was adament that she was a tiger.  With stripes.  She drew me a picture.)

I have no idea what the orange fabric is (the label on the bolt said "100% mixed fibers".  What the heck does that mean??) but it's soft and the right colour.  Unfortunately it's also a fairly loose weave so might not be very durable.  I didn't trim any of the seams for fear that it would fall apart so the hat is not quite as smooth as it could be. 

I altered the O+S pattern by cutting the side panels into two pieces and attaching the ears in between so that they would be more on the side rather than the top.  Again, I added a tab and a button (of J.'s choosing -- it's huge!), and lined it with terry towel.

The stripes are black scraps fused on with Heat'n Bond, although I think I will have to stitch around them, too, so that they'll stay on.   

It looks pretty darn cute on her.  More cuddly tiger cub than the full grown tiger she described but I think she's okay with that.

and here she is growling at me, very scary :)

O + S Family Reunion Dress

My youngest is turning four next month *sniff* *sniff*.  She is a spunky little thing with a wicked sense of humour.  And strong opinions about what she will and will not wear.  I love this dress and I really hope that she does, too.  I just can’t tell her that – I have to play it cool and pretend like I don’t care if she ever even tries it on.  

The flickr group has some great versions of this dress in prints but when I saw this adorable one, I knew I wanted to do a jean dress. 

The main fabric is a lightweight stretch denim I got on clearance last summer at Dress Sew in Vancouver.  The hem facing is It’s a Hoot Marshmellow and Cherry Eggs by Moda.

After reading the reviews about how this dress fits, I cut a size 3 with about 4 extra inches of length.  My girl usually wear size 4 in RTW but her chest measurement puts her as size 2T on the O+S size chart, and I didn’t want the neckline to be too big. 

My one complaint about O+S patterns is that they do not provide a lengthen/shorten line.  I always have to lengthen their patterns and never know where to do it.  This time I added it to the bottom.  Hopefully it doesn’t give it too much volume.

 

I like the red topstitching on the dark fabric but man do you ever see all the wobbles!   I also wish I had taken the “hint” to pull the threads through and tie them on the back when doing the pintucks.  That’ll teach me not to barrel ahead without reading the whole section!

edited to add:  here's picture of my six year old modelling the dress (it's a birthday present so I can't try it on my littlest).  It's a bit tight across the chest but she wants her own now.  I don't have the bigger size pattern but I think a size four with more length would work.

Tova muslin

I really enjoyed making this top and when I wore it for the first time, my three year old told me she liked it.  Unprompted.  Then my other daughter and my husband chimed in to say they did, too.  That's gotta mean something right?

When I received the pattern last week, I didn't have any suitable fabric on hand so went to my local fabric shop, generally a disappointing experience.  They always have either wildly overpriced decent quality fabric or dodgy cheap stuff.  I found this linen/rayon blend on clearance for $3.50/metre so decided to make a "muslin".  Although the oatmeal colour doesn't do anything for me and the fabric is a bit scratchy, I think I probably will end up wearing this. 

The pattern was great and everything fit together amazingly well with the exception of the collar, which ended up being a smidge too small.  I'm pretty sure it wasn't the pattern piece, though -- I think my neck edge stretched out while I was working on the rest so next time I will staystitch the neck edges before I start.

The only thing I did differently from the directions was pre-crease the cuff bands and collar bands before sewing them on -- I did the first one as written and I found it really difficult to accurately fold over the 1/4" that would cover the seams after the cuff was sewn on. 

Other than taking a little more time with the corners on the inset :), the only thing I will do differently next time is give myself a little more than the 3/8" seam allowance to do french seams.  I don't have a serger so did a hodge podge of things this time round -- mock french seams on the sides, zig zag on the armholes and nothing on the inset.

This is an XL, I generally wear size 12 in RTW.  I was a little concerned that I'm not "willowy" enough to pull this off without it looking like I'm wearing a maternity top but I think the cut is great and the fit is fairly good (although still maybe a touch tight across the chest?).   I will definitely be making this again, maybe in real linen.

O + S School Photo Dress

I've had this pattern for ages -- I think ordered it the moment I saw this version on No Big Dill -- but just got around to making it.

The fabric is Kaufman Cool Cords ordered from fabric.com and although we all (hubby, daughter, me) love it, I'm not sure it was the right choice for this dress -- the multiple seams mean the butterflies get all chopped up, especially on the back.  

The collar and cuffs are in plain blue cord and it is lined in lightweight blue shirting.

Other than increasing the length for my tall skinny girl, I made two changes to the pattern -- the piping at the yoke and, at my daughter's request, little vents in the bottom to make it less fitted.

Sadly, I don't anticipate this being worn.  My daughter has been admiring it but it's been in the works for over a month and she has never once asked when I'm going to finish it.  Although she loves the pocket, she still prefers styles that are less restrictive and has told me that she's not fond of the collar (the cutest part IMO!).  There are a couple of things I need to fix (I just noticed a little pleat on one of the sleeves) but then I'll hang it in the closet and hope for the best!

quite a day!

my shipment of Liberty fabric arrived today and then I opened my email to find that the Tova pattern was available.  I love the style of this pattern and have seen such great reviews so, despite the cost ($30US for the pattern + $13US for shipping!), I bought it.  Eeeek, good thing my husband never comments on how much I spend on this obsession hobby!

source

Bubble Skirt

I have two girls and at all times must be fair to both and treat them equally :P.  At Christmas I made a three-tired skirt for my 3 year old and the eldest got jeans.   She needed them but she wondered when she was going to get a new skirt.  So for Valentines Day the youngest will get jeans while the 6 year old will get a skirt. 

The fabric is Crosshatch in Grey ordered from Hawthorne Threads. The name is misleading because it is definitely not grey!   More of a blue jean colour that looks good with the heart top I found on clearance at Gymboree before Christmas.

I looked for tutorials online but in the end just made it up myself.  It's basically a waistband piece with an outer skirt attached to an inner tube of knit to make it a bubble skirt (or pumpkin skirt as it was called when I wore one back in Grade 7!).  I think the shape is super cute and can't wait to see it on. 

Honey Blouse - Take 2

I do really like the style of the Honey Blouse pattern by Make it Perfect.  I made it last fall and I like that version but it is a bit big.  This time I made a medium and I think it's better, especially in the shoulders.

The fabric is a really lightweight shirting and it's totally see through.  The whole time I was making it, I kept berrating myself for the choice because I might be too self conscious to wear it, even with a cami underneath.

Instead of following the directions for attaching the neck, sleeve and waist bands, I enclosed the seam allowances in the bands by topstitching.  Probably would have been more successful had I actually had the right colour thread but, hey, if I'd waited 'til I had the right colour, I might would never have finished it :). 

Although I like the style (and so does my husband!  That's saying something because he never makes comments about what I sew), the shoulders of this blouse are still bugging me.  I think it would look better with raglan sleeves or at the very least with the neckline gathers only in the front and back and not on the shoulders.  Next time?  I don't know if I'm done with this pattern yet -- I would like to try it in knit. 

Edited (June 2012): I think Vogue 8581 works better for me.  See it here in knit, I plan to try it in a woven, too. 

. . . .

totally unrelated, I ordered some Liberty cotton lawn the other day.  I saw it was on sale online, put it into my cart and then couldn't bring myself to actually order it.  When I woke up in the morning, I was still thinking about it and it was still available so I bought it: $65 for 2 1/2 yards  *gasp*.   Now to try to find something worthy of making.  Maybe a Jasmine?

New Nighties

We used to always get new jammies at Christmastime so I wanted to carry that tradition on with my girls.  They are girly-girls at heart -- that means dresses chosen over pants and nighties over pjs.  Not many stores carry nighties, though, or if they do they are not nearly long enough or ruffly enough. 

This pattern runs big, really big.  I learned from last year and made a size 2 with size 3 length for my 3 year old and a size 3 with about 4 inches extra length for my 6 year old. 

The fabric is Folksy Flannel Coloring Garden in Berry and Fortune Sunset ordered from fabric.com for under $5 a yard.  The prints are a bit loud but the fabric is super soft.  And the best part is that the kids coordinate without being matchy-matchy.  (Although I may have went over the top with the pockets and the piping and bias trim I added to the 6 year old's.  The only reason I didn't do the same to the 3 years olds is that she is supremely picky and I was worried she would find the added bulk at the yoke uncomfortable.) 

It's a very easy pattern -- no closures so it comes together quickly.  I really like the neckline and think it would make a cute summer dress, too.  Mostly though, I'm just happy that they are happy with them.  My littlest would rather stay in her new nightie than get dressed to go out!