9.10.09

Holiday Sewing



Blouse + linen pants, cuffs rolled up for cricket

The first part of my holiday was spent with family on the Sunshine Coast.  We drove down, and were not camping, so I had room to take my machine.  I was still hand-sewing my LBD, so I didn't want to do anything complicated.  I thought it was time to catch up on some simple sewing for my children (and I get the guilts when I see all that adorable children's clothing on other people's blogs and my children are running around, grubby in worn out hand-me-downs).  I just took a couple of children's patterns and then bought some lovely cottons from Oh Sew Noosa.

I made a blouse and pants, adapted from Burda 9948 (now OOP).  It is sized 2, 3, 4, 5, 6.  When I first started using it, Sz 2 was too big for my children.  This time I had to cut out the biggest size, which was a little sad.  I have used this pants pattern for my boys as well as Lucy.


Blouse worn with jeans, rock-star performance
The top pattern is for an elasticated neck.  I changed this by gathering the front onto a bias band, and putting pin-tucks in the back.  I put a continuous placket opening in the centre-front (except I couldn't remember how to do this without my reference books and it is a little bodgy).  I gathered the sleeves onto bias bands.  I took up tucks around the hem-line to reduce the length.


Blouse, back detail

Next I took inspiration from here to make a tunic-top.  It is long enough to be worn as a dress.  Lucy has worn it as a dress, over a singlet (shown below), over jeans and over the linen pants.  It has already had quite a few wearings!  The straps are a red / white cord, purchased locally, which was actually the starting point for this little collection.  I would like to add to the collection with shorts.


Dress, worn over singlet (just waking up)


Dress, back view (criss-cross straps)
It is hard to see here, but the straps criss-cross in the back.  I made this dress using the full width of the fabric.  I tuned over the short ends to make the button placket, hemmed the bottom, and gathered the top onto a band.  I added loops to feed the straps through.


Dress worn as tunic, over linen pants

2 comments:

Mary Nanna said...

What an adorably cute selection of children's clothing. Your kids are so lucky you sew for them, even if it's not as much as you would like. That's still very generous of you - I made one coat for Benjy and decided that was my motherly duty done.

gwensews said...

Sweet clothes for adorable children. You are so lucky.