All the colors

Posted in Uncategorized by ninjajnin

Mummy, I would like to have a jacket in all the colors of spring. That was my girls request. Who am i, to say something against that. I took her to my sewing room and started to take some suitable fabrics out of my stash. This beautiful flower fabric was the first one and she immediately knew, that it should be this one and no other. It`s a slightly brushed cotton twill and it`s super soft.

So I took this fabric, added some sparkle and turned it into a beautiful little bomber. She really wants to wear it every single day. To see her face when it was done and ready to wear… priceless! It`s allways a good idea to let her choose the fabric she loves the most.

It was a joy to sew. Piping, lining, pockets, collar. It took me some time, but I loved every single step. She looks so cute in it! I used an Ottobre pattern from Issue 01/2015. I made it one size bigger than necessary. She will be able to wear it in autumn as well and hopefully still in spring next year. Otherwise, I didn`t made any changes to the pattern.

The dress she wears under the jacket is a little sneak peek of the Apron Dress by Lolah likes. It will hopefully be released soon. Be on the luck out for it, I really like the pattern! I`m a bit jealous every time she wears it. I`ll have to make one for myself. If i think about it… i need the bomber and the dress.

Pattern: Bomberjacket Ottobre Design Issue 01/2015

Apron Dress by Lolah likes (tester version, not yet released)

Fabric: Cotton from Miss Matatabi

15Apr2017

OneYear

Posted in Uncategorized by ninjajnin

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My little girl has so much hand-me-down clothes from her sister, it`s really not necessary to sew for her. Sewing cute little baby-stuff is so hard to resist, if you`ve the sweetest baby girl at home. I can tell you. But I try to be reasonable, resources arn`t endless. Still, from time to time, i make her something. Just something small. For her first birthday, i made her a dress, in one of the most beautiful fabrics i had in my stash. I just felt like wrap this special little lady in love on this day.

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Is it really already one year, that you`re a part of our family? Time flies like I never dared to imagine. I just blinked and the baby days were gone. I try to cherish every moment and every step you take. I try to see the little things to remember them. First move, first time really looking at me, first time holding something, first words, first steps. Big and small things. Just our normal ordinary life that is so extraordinary beautiful since you and your big sister make our days. You are so welcome. My heart burst with love every time i look at you.

Things you love: Climbing, moving and walking. You`re a brave one, always ready to take the risk. You`re not complaining if you fall, you get up and try again. Sometimes my heart skip a beat if I left you out of sight for a few seconds, you`re so fast. I`m always ready to safe you. But you know so well what you want. And you`ll tell everybody. You can be so loud. Crazy. You love to watch your big sister. She`s your hero. You try to do everything she does. You like to hold hands if you sleep and there is nothing more beautiful than to watch you sleeping. I could look at you forever. Your skin is so soft i could kiss you the whole day. You`ve humor, you like to make fun of us. You love to fly and giggle very hard.

I`m so happy to be your mum. I love you more than I can say.

Happy Birthday my Love

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Pattern: Modified version from Burdakids 05/2014 Mod. 623 (find it online here)

Fabric: Nani Iro from Julija`s shop in Antwerpen

22Feb2017

Frederique deux fois

Posted in Uncategorized by ninjajnin

Spring, we`re ready. The first kind of sunny and warm days arrived around here. There is no better time to start sewing my little girls spring wardrobe. We already spotted the first snowdrop flowers in our garden. I await them eagerly every year. It means the cold days gonna pass by soon. Spring will arrive and that makes me happy. Flowerprints are not so much for me. But for the Frederique Dress at this time of the year, it just felt right. Compagnie M just released THE dress, I felt like sewing in my ihaveenoughfromwintermood mood.

Colorful, sweet and fresh it had to be. With cute little details like the bow in the back, piped pockets and of course the easy cuffs. To calm down the busy print I decided to use white fabric with a touch of mint in it, for all the details. And it worked out so well.

I made two small pattern hacks. I added a gathered skirt. This is a very easy adjustment. Just add some wide to the patternpieces and gather it back to the original waist size. Keep in mind you don`t want gathers over the pockets. Second, I sewed on the cuffs differently than suggested in the instructions. As i like them folded up i sewed them on right-side of the cuff, facing wrong-side of the sleeve. Then i folded up the cuff, hiding the SA between the Cuff and the Sleeve. Understitch from the inside of the sleeve. If you want your cuffs to stay up, this gives a very nice finish. Add a button or some stitches to secure everything in place.

Fabric is from Petit Pan. I bought it together with Marte while visiting Antwerp. Such a beautiful city by the way.

When I have a pattern with many options it`s sometimes really difficult for me to make a choice. I`m not to good in making decisions anyway. Yes, i ended up sewing two Frederiques. Could be worser. My girl is more than happy that she got two dresses instead of the one i promised her.

This dress has a totally different vibe, even if it`s from the very same pattern. This one actually was the first I sewed. It`s a size 4Y. She needs the length, not the wide (lazy me). For the second dress i made the very fast adjustment and sewed her a size 3Y with the length of a size 4. Perfect fit.

The fabric was bought in Paris 3 years ago, in one of the fabricshops around Montmartre. A borderprint shirting cotton. It was cheap but a very reasonable quality. It behaved very well. I love that I managed to line up everything. And that i didn`t had to cut up the print. I joined the pocket piece to the sidepanel, this way you`re able to sew a continuous piping all the way down. Too nice! Congrats Marte, this Pattern will be so loved. It`s all we love about your brand. A versatile pattern with beautiful seamlines and lot`s of options to play with.

Pattern: Frederique Dress by Compagnie M

Fabric: Dress Nr. 1 Petit Pan, Dress Nr 2 bought locally

7Dec2016

It`s Friday

Posted in Uncategorized by ninjajnin

Yesterday, the Fridaydress by petit a petit and Family finally released. It`s a timeless, modern shirt dress with lots of options.

A perfect dress pattern for any occasion. Sew a chic and sparkling one for Christmas, or just a relaxed dress for everyday wear. This pattern can cover it. You like a feminine touch or maybe more casual, you`ll be fine. Luckily you can sew a ton of different dresses from it, then once you decide to dive into shirt making, you`ll see it`s addictive!

My girl is a size 3. And the fit is spot on. During the pattern testing, I tested version D (waistband and semi-circle skirt). A bad choice. Don`t get me wrong. I love the look. Perfect for a tween who has kind of a waist. It was not so flattering on my little girl who still has a sweet baby bump. I didn`t like it. I couldn`t stand calling it a fail after so much time I spent on it. I carefully seamripped the skirt away from the bodice. Then i added panels until i had the wide of the view B skirt. I gathered and reattached everything. Now, with the gathered skirt, no waistband and the buttons all the way down, she looks super sweet. She felt like trying on the dress as soon as i cut the threads to my sewing machine and didn`t take it off again. A very good sign.

It`s also a good style for smaller children because it`s easy to get in and out. And the deep sideseam pockets are a highlight as always. I finished the whole dress with flat felled seams. Time-consuming fun, I enjoy while making a button up. The inside looks just so pretty.

I couldn`t resist using Snaps. Buttonholes aren`t my favorite part of Shirt making. I was more than happy to skip this part. It`s for a toddler, so whatever, it`s practical.

I had fun playing with the stripes. By the way, I sew a big piece of those nicely bias-matched stripes and then i place my pattern pieces on it. So much easier, than trying to match those little already cut out pieces.

I used a nice yarn dyed Japanese selvedge cotton from Miss Matatabi. It sews up like a dream. Good quality fabric is a live safer when sewing a shirt dress. As a little extra I could use the contrasting selvedge as a eye-catcher on the small pocket.

We`re happy, and I caught the bug. Friday we`ll be good friends! I hope you feel like sewing your own Friday dress. You can get your copies here.

Pattern: Friday Dress by petit a petit Patterns. –> View B without any alterations.

Fabric: yarn dyed selvedge cotton from Miss Matatabi

5Nov2016

Origami Double Gauze Quilt

Posted in Uncategorized by ninjajnin

My Girl asked for a Blanket, as a Birthday gift. And who am I, to say no to such a request. I`m not a quilter. The only quilts, I ever made, are small babyquilts. Nothing to compare. This one had to be big. Big enough to snuggle down in it. I decided to go with a size 135 cm of 200 cm. A good choice.

I wanted it to be soft and fluffy. Double gauze it had to be. A double gauze quilt will never be as perfect as one sewn in quilting cotton. But I don`t mind. The gorgeous material makes more than up for that. Just relax and enjoy sewing. Double gauze has a mind on his own.

The Pattern I used is self-made. Actually, it`s an origami of a flapping bird. I used the crease lines as a guide. Normally, origami is a square, right? I divided the square in 4 parts and used two of them again on the bottom. See what I did here? That was my template.

And you can laugh now, but I really found a paper big like this and made a giant origami bird. The same size as my blanket. No idea how real Quilter would do that.

The back of my quilt is a beautiful linen in the same color as the binding. Between a soft, thick cotton batting. I used temporary spray adhesive, to hold everything in place while sewing. This was a game changer. Not one single pucker on the underside. I never got such a neat result when I used safety pins.

I just stitched in the ditch to quilt the layers together. First to keep the softness and as a bonus I have the nice origami pattern on the underside as well.

I think quilting wan`t be a new hobby of mine. But my first quilt experience is rather positive! I must say, I love the result a lot! And so does she! She was so proud and happy when she finally received her blanket made specially for her. In her favorite colors. She`s convinced that the quilt is able to charm her while sleeping. And it surely does. It`s made out of love! Love in every stitch.

A Birthday without a special dress, incredible. I had to try the super cute just knot it dress by Mind the Whale. I used Naniiro scraps from the quilt for the bodice and linen for the skirt. There`s too much bulk inside the waistband that`s bothering me a bit. I should have cut it down properly. But still I think she looks really sweet in it.

A very beautiful pattern! The fit is spot on and it`s nicely finished on the inside as well. One to set on your to sew list!

Maybe there`ll be an other quilt in the future. It`s so satisfying. Never say never.

Fabrics: Naniiro, Cotton and Steel, double gauze. All from Miss Matatabi. Linen is from the Dutch fabric market.

Quilt Pattern: self-made

Dress Pattern: Just knot it by Mind the Whale

27Oct2016

Flowers for the girls

Posted in Uncategorized by ninjajnin

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I allready gave you a sneak peek of this dress in my last post. Now i felt like I`ll have to dedicate it a proper post on his own. The Maradress was the first pattern released by Compagnie M and also the first Compagnie M pattern I sewed. I was even one of the Mara-contest winner (see more here). It was about time to show that dress some love again.

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I sewed a lullaby layette romper for my baby girl a few months ago, out of this gorgeous Liberty fabric. (That`s my baby girl when she was about 1 month old.)

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Shortly after, my big girl requested a dress as well! There was just enough left. You don`t waste even a little piece of such a fabric, right? By the way, I received this fabric back in 2014 as part of the Parissewsocial sponsorship. It was generously given by Cousette. It`s probably one of the most perfect cotton fabrics I ever sewed with! This is quality that makes a difference!

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With that opulent flower print, it just had to be a bit princess like. I hacked the sleeve to a balloon sleeve, which makes it extra cute in my eyes. For those of you who like to give it a try. I made a graphics which should make it easy for you to do it yourself.

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Draw lines on the sleeve pattern as illustrated.
Cut it as illustrated and spread it open. The more you give, the more Volumen you`ll get.
Take the new outlines as your new pattern-shape. Make sure you transfer notches.
Gather the sleeve, so the new pattern fits to the armscye.
Add an elastic to the hem. (Don`t forget to add Seamallowance for that!)

That`s it, you just made a balloon-sleeve.

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Add some pockets and snaps to the yoke and that`s everything you need for the perfect summer dress. She still wear it of course, just with a few more layers. But that fabric really goes with everything and makes every outfit a tad special.

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Pattern: Maradress by Compagnie M and Lullaby Layette by Oliver and S

Fabric: Liberty Mitsi nougat

14Oct2016

Twig and Tale Blogtour

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Twig and Tale formerly known as BigLittle, invited me to join the Rebranding Party. I sewed quite a lot, be warned it`s a longer post. But who can resist such cute patterns! And there is a GIVE-AWAY on the end of the post, just saying!

What are Twig and Tale Patterns about, you may ask. I`ll let Lisa describe her imagination.

“It’s a celebration of the innocence of childhood and the wonder of nature. It’s about comfy clothes and warm things like hugs and capes and coats. It’s about handmade, love, and imaginary play—featuring classic, simple patterns that inspire us all to tell a story.”

Let me tell you my story. When I was asked to participate, I was looking for something that holds my girl toasty and comfy, for the now chilly days. And then, i couldn`t take my eyes off the beautiful vintage dolls. I was sold. I`m a total dollmaking novice. How hard can it be, i thought. If it`s made by needle and thread, i can do it!

The Briardoll Pattern is exactly what you`re looking for, if you want to dive into dollmaking for the first time. Instructions are so clear and lovely, you can`t go wrong! Lisa will walk you through, step by step!

It was surprisingly time-consuming to make that little lady! Not the machine-sewing, actually. No, it was the stuffing, the embroidering, sewing on hair and ears… all those little steps in summary. Those lovely dolls are nothing you`ll finish in a rush. But thei`re so enjoyable to make, if you take your time!

Just the doll clothes… that wasn`t my piece of cake! There are lovely dollclothes pattern provided within the bundle, but I didn`t had the patience to sew those itsy-bitsy clothes. I`ll ask my mum if she feels like doing that. Until that happens, she has to wear the little dress I made her. Matching my girls dress. About that one I`ll talk later.

The Pathfinder Vest was also on my to sew list. The nice version with the dropped back and the rounded hood. Where is the hood, you may think now… Yes…

ArtGallery kindly sponsored fabric`s for this blogtour. Thanks a lot ArtGallery. You`re fabrics are such a nice quality! I had a very hard time to choose from all those gorgeous prints. And finally, decided on Mustard Stripes for the lining and Denim from their Denim Collection for the outside. When the happy mail with my fabrics arrived, I was kind of disappointed, for a very short moment. The Denim was way to lightweight, for what i intended. It`s the perfect weight for a dress (I`ll have to buy more of that delicious Denim for myself!).

As the Denim was not suitable as main fabric for my Pathfinder vest, I searched through my stash for an other main fabric. I stumbled over that mustard/golden Corduroy. It just had to be that way. I nearly jumped, when I saw how nicely those fabrics match. Only to realise, that my 40 cm scrap (a thrifted leftover piece, i received as a gift) was too small to squish in a hood, no matter how hard i tried.

Corduroy, a warm batting and the Stripes as a lining. No hood and no dropped back for me…! That`s how it goes sometimes. I had to add a nice little touch to this classic vest instead. Welt Pockets did the trick. My little girl loves her new vest! She even wears it inside the house. I wan`t blaim her, the fabrics are cozy and soft.

Lets`s talk about her dress! Left was this nice lightweight denim. A dress it had to be! I didn`t search for patterns, as I had an idea in my head and wanted it to look like I imagined. I sat down and drafted myself. A button-up shirt inspired dress with a functional button-stand, rolled-up sleeves, a pleated skirt and an uneven hemline with a facing. Not the fastest solution, but the most satisfying for myself.

By the way, the dress was perfectly ironed when I left home. But my little princess decided that she needed to sit in the buggy during our daily walk through the forest. That was the result when she stood up to take pictures. Who am I, to complain about wrinkled dresses. Wild and free they shall be!

I guess that`s going to be a go to pattern for myself. I`m pleased with how it fits her so comfortably and still looks pretty with some interesting details. I`m totally in love with hem-facings recently. They`re beautiful and give just the right weight to a dresshem. Next version needs pockets and maybe a Post on it`s own.

That was my story. Now it`s your turn to make some clothes that give a warm hug to your loved ones. Check out Twig and Tale`s new website and their patterns!

By the way do you spot the photobomb?

No?

Here she is, our furry family member in all her glory.

Thanks a lot for the invitation Twig and Tale!

Link to the first blog tour announcement page: http://www.twigandtale.com/blogs/twig-and-tale-blog/blog-tour-announcement

What would a Blog Tour be without a giveaway!

Art Gallery Fabrics is kindly sponsoring 2 yards of Art Gallery fabric of your choice. To make the prize extra sweet, we are also adding a collection of 5 Twig + Tale patterns of your choice.

International entries are very welcome. Our bloggers come from every corner of the world to celebrate the global nature of Twig +Tale too.

Enter using the rafflecopter below.

(The winning entry will be checked to ensure all criteria are met).

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Blog tour overview page

Monday: Falafel and the Bee – Handmade Boy – Sew A Little Seam – Sew Shelly Sew

Tuesday: N‰h-connection – Khadetjes – Paisley Roots – Vera Luna – Inspinration

Wednesday: Skirt Fixation – Mend and Make New – Idle Sunshine – NZ Green buttons – Candice Ayala

Thursday: Vaahtokarkkimonsteri – Lulu & Celeste – Sprouting Jube Jube

– Life in our busy household – Elephant Dimples

Friday: Pattern Revolution – Milk Monster Momma – Small Steps Big Noises – Fliegfederfrei

Saturday: – Made by Sara – So Popo Sew – Big Little Tales – Needle and Ted

28Jun2016

Get your Groove on

Posted in Uncategorized by ninjajnin

When the Groove dress was introduced for the first time, it went immediately on top of my to sew list. Those dresses are in heavy rotation, since I cut the threads to my machine. I desperately wanted to have a foto shooting together with my mini me. It kind of didn`t happen, that we wore the same dress without one being to dirty to take pictures. Today on our daily walk it was time to get our groove on.

I`m sure you already read all good about this pattern. I wan`t say anything else. It`s a masterpiece. It`s a perfect stapeldress you can easily wear on a dogwalk with some flats or sandals as I do. Or style it up and wear it to a dinner or even a party. Up to you.

You can make one for yourself first, then one for your girls. The teeny version comes for free! My girl is oh so proud to wear the same dress as her mummy. It`s comfortable as a t-shirt worn without pants.

The kids version is a size 3 without any alterations. For my dress, I made it shorter at the hem. I lowered the neckline at the front (to make it nursing friendly) and at the back. I knew, it would affect the fit around the shoulders a bit. I didn`t care. For a next version i wouldn`t lower front and back. The fit would be better. Anyway you have a few nice necklines to choose from, you probably wan`t draw your own.

Fabrics are from a local shop. The fabric I used for mine, is beautiful but not really suitable for that dress, it has`nt enough drape. Doesn`t matter i love it anyway and will do better next time. Madeit you really do a great job!

So when do you get your Groove on?

Pattern: Groove Dress from Madeit Patterns

Fabric: Local shop

21Jun2016

There is a pocket

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Look there is a pocket. That`s what I usually tell her, when I try to introduce a new dress, i hope she`s gonna like. This one was accepted. Lucky me.

A basic, well-fitting A-line dress, is everything you need to modify it to nearly ever dress you could imagine. I wasn`t that creative with this one. But still, I really like the outcome! My father gifted one of his shirts. As soon as i saw those stripes, i knew how it`s gonna look like. Playing around with stripes is a hobby, it`s just so much fun. The fabric is good quality cotton shirting, lightweight and airy. Perfect for a fast little summer dress. Thank you Dad!

I used the same pattern like here, drafted a new joke and used the cuffs of the original shirt as a belt. What gives the dress some shape around the waistline. The cuffs are already interfaced and i could even reuse the buttonhole and the button, they had just the right length. I love, when my planes work out that well.

The dress is easy to get on and off, as the back has a full button-planket (I didn`t have to sew myself).

And never forget to add a pocket, a dress wouldn`t be complete in her eyes!

Pattern: Patternhack from an A-line dress out of the Japanese sewing book, Sew for your Girls.

Fabric: Refashioned old Button-up.

Hairstyle: By her dad

—> I announced the winner of my Giveaway from last week earlier today on my IG. Be sure to follow me there @fliegfederfrei

18May2016

Soft Wrinkles

Posted in Uncategorized by ninjajnin

A new favorite dress. For both of us. That`s rare. Here it is. A simple A-Line Dress from the Japanese sewing book, Sew for your Girls. A loose fit, in a nice and soft linen from Miss Matatabi, with a functional button-placket and a sailor collar. Not to forget the pocket. And the magic happens.

All the fabrics in this picture are linen. Don`t you love, how linen looks so soft and wrinkles in the most beautiful way. I do.

The pattern is a size 3y without any modifications. It`s perfect and will fit for a longer time. The instructions are easy-to-follow and the pattern is very versatile. I already made a little hack which is coming to the blog soon. If you follow me on IG (@fliegfederfrei), you previously got a sneak peek of my upcycling dress.

The buttons were a gift I received from a good friend. A box full of vintage buttons. Can you get a better gift as a seamstress? I love to sew those buttons on my projects, it feels so special and reminds me of good times we shared. Thank you Marte!