Metallic Rainbow Glitter Shorts!

Hi there, today I am so happy to share with you my latest make because I finally dared to cut into this amazing spangly fabric and I think I found the perfect pattern for it. Those that have been following me either here or on instagram will know that I have been testing skirt patterns over the last month or so in an effort to find the perfect pattern for this fabric. Well, as I was sewing my last piece, I had a crazy lightbulb moment and realised I already had the perfect pattern, tried and tested, and a perfect match; the Chataigne shorts from Deer and Doe.

He's a star pocket shorts

But whats this you ask? That's right, boy sewing! I thought it about time I stopped neglecting the boy with all this girly sewing going on.

These shorts actually serve a very specific purpose, they are his new 'potty training pants'. We have just started with this joyful phase of toddlerhood and what we learnt is that he likes to take his whole bottoms off before using the potty; yep naked from the waist down! This is perfectly fine when you are at home but when you are out and about and in a hurry you don't want to have to be taking those pesky shoes off just to get his trousers off. Thankfully its summer and so I went on the hunt for the perfect shorts pattern to help us with this dilemma.

How adorable is this little man modelling his new shorts whilst running around an illuminarium! Not the best visual representation I know but have you ever tried to keep a 2 year old boy still! At least you can see the fit on him.

I was looking for something very specific when trying to find a pattern for his potty training shorts; a soft waistband for easy up and down action, no cuffs on the legs so they would go over his shoes whilst they are still on and preferably knee length. I was given a few suggestions but the pattern that came to my rescue was from Brindille and Twig and its their pockets shorts pattern. It fit my above criteria perfectly, looked really easy to make and also seemed to fit some fabric which I already had in my stash of leftovers. I also love the fact it comes with pockets, its such a cute little addition and adds a nice bit of detail to make them more interesting.

I've never made a pattern from this company before but not only is their website visually gorgeous they have so many basic jersey patterns for kids, there is definitely something for every occasion.

The pattern was a PDF download as you would expect these days, but it was so simple I only needed 5 pieces of paper. The construction was also simple enough and the pattern came with really helpful instructions that included very helpful images. In fact I don't think I actually read any of the text when constructing these shorts I just following the photos. That is my idea of a perfect pattern.

I made two versions as you can see; the blue pair are some leftover single jersey from myfabrics.com with blue rib for the waistband and some leftover black jersey for the pockets. The second pair are made using a more sturdy grey and black sweatshirt knit which I got from the Ottobre Etsy shop, some black ribbing for the waistband and the same black jersey for the pockets again. The pattern worked perfectly for both types of fabric but I definitely like the black and grey pair better. I think that's just because I love boy shorts in sweatshirt fabric, they are more like joggers and this fabric just handled really nicely and they have such a professional finish.

I made these shorts in a size 90cm (18-24 months) and they fit him perfectly, and I mean perfectly. I did sew the waistband a tiny it shorter as I know he has a little waist but otherwise its spot on. This was a little surprising as most of his stuff in this size is still a little big but I am not going to complain, its summer, they fit and he needs them for now not in 2 months time.

So all in all I love this pattern, I recommend it and this will definitely not be the last Brindille and Twig pattern I make for my little monkeys! They only question is which of their gorgeous patterns next, and will it be for a boy or a girl?

Post Pregnancy Chataigne Shorts!

Ever since having Master Fox I've been desperate to get back in my pink wool Chataigne shorts by Deer and Doe. I love this pattern so much, and getting back into them meant I could justify making up another pair!

 

I made the first pair of these shorts when I was in very early pregnancy and couldn't quiet get my tiny growing bump into my regular shorts. I love wearing shorts, they are so practical, especially when you spend a lot of time sat on the floor. You can wear shorts in cooler months with tights or in the summer without, so versatile.

 

I cut these shorts out and half stitched them up about 9 months ago in some mad hope I was going to fit into them soon after, well that didn't really happen and so they have been sat under a pile of stuff on my sewing table ever since. I decided after making my Mimi blouse that I needed a nice quick make and spotted them sitting there looking sad so here they are. It turned out it wasn't such a quick sew (there is a lot of ironing in the making of this pattern!) but I'm glad they are finished just in time for the arrival of spring. 

The fabric is some black striped cotton type fabric. I'm not sure exactly what to call it, it was donated to me from my sister in law but its got a lovely sort of tailored look to it which is why I thought they would work really nicely with this pattern. It was only a small amount of fabric so it was nice to make something with some structure with it. I tried really hard to match up the stripes where I could and its not a bad attempt as far as that goes. Sadly its near impossible to to take good pictures of black clothing so I had to brave the early spring sunshine in my eyes to take these photos.

 

I did have a nice happy accent with these shorts though. When it came to sewing the waistband I realised that I had forgotten to cut one of the facing pieces. Because it had been sat on my desk for so long I've no idea if the piece got lost or whether I didn't cut it but all the fabric scraps must have gone in the bin so there was no more to be found. What could I do to fix it? Cut the facing from some lovely contrasting cotton of course! So I picked this lovely Michael Miller Anchors Away By the Sea fabric which I have had in my stash for ages. I really like this little detail now, the inside makes me smile :)

I could make a million pairs of these shorts, in fact I could pretty much use every piece of fabric in my stash on them... cherry print sateen shorts, jade sateen shorts, striped shorts, pink anchor shorts, the list goes on!

Upcycled Pure Wool Chataigne Shorts (and probably my new favourite pattern!)

This post might be a bit picture heavy, but its worth it to see my fwuffy cat come and join in the shoot!

Moving on... this pattern is a winner and definitely my new favourite. Will you get mad at me if I just keep making various versions of this for a while? Its probably going to get a bit samey right? Personally I LOVE a good pair of shorts. They are so comfortable to wear, you can sit down without worrying about anyone seeing your knickers, look good with or without tights and they are also great under short dresses to keep a bit of decency.

About the Pattern:
Pattern: Deer and Doe Chataigne (chestnut) Shorts
Size: 38
Material: Pure Wool thrifted from a charity shop skirt
Alterations: Absolutely zilch! 

 

This is my first pattern from Deer and Doe and I was a bit worried that sewing a pair of shorts might be a bit complicated, I mean you need to make seperate legs and everything, but this was actually a lot easier than I suspected. The pattern packet is pretty, the instructions are incredibly clear and the pattern was simple enough yet well drafted.

I normally don't have any fit issues when I buy off the rack shorts so I didn't make any adjustments to this pattern and they turned out perfectly. This will definitely not be my last Deer and Doe pattern purchase *runs off to drool over the other patterns...

The first time I saw this pattern on the website I knew that I wanted to make these in a pure wool. I prefer to wear a pair of shorts with tights and I thought using a wool would make a really versatile garment which I can wear right into the coldest of winter months. However, pure wool fabric is not the cheapest to get your hands on. Having never sewn with it before, or used the pattern I didn't want to spend a fortune on the material, so whilst I was recently browsing some of our local charity shops I found a very long, rather large, very pleased pink pure will skirt which cost me a mere £6. It still had the shop label in so the thing was practically brand spanking, except I assume it sat in someones wardrobe for a while. Looking at it I could tell that if I unpicked all those pleats I was going to have one quiet large piece if material to work with. This turned out perfectly and I had more than enough to make up the skirt.

 

You can still see the pleats in the front (close up anyway), but do you know what, I kind of like the little reminder of where the material came from, and I am sure after a few washes these will be out completely. Also, check out my invisible zipper below... is pretty invisible right! so pleased with how much better I am getting at inserting these things. It turns out you really won't get sucked into a black hole and the world won't end if you have to try mastering this! Its really not as bad as all that.

Do you have a favourite sewing pattern that you just return to over and over? Or one that just fits so perfectly you were really pleased with it. I would love to hear all about them. You never know, they might then become one of my, or another readers new favourite as well.

Favourite Sewing Tools - Thread Snips

 

 First things first, I should announce the winner of my little giveaway as my lovely friend Stevie as she was the only one who actually commented you silly people :). Well done Stevie, now I really do need an excuse to see you. 

I don't have a major amount of stuff to wow you with today, so whilst I am working on my woolen shorts I thought I would share one of my favourite sewing tools with you. These little beauties you can see above you are called thread snips. I honestly had no idea they were even a thing until I got given this little pear a number of years ago by a friend and they really have been wonderful. They are very simply just for cutting off all your loose threads, not complicated, not difficult to use, just a little bit of simple engineering. They are also incredible cheap. They are really handy to just have by your machine as you are sewing along with a project so you can get rid of all the threads quickly and easily. They are also really good at getting rid of those pesky ones which end up on the right side of your sewing!

 

 

Shorts update: As you can see from the picture above I am getting on really well with the shorts. The pattern is so easy to sew up, and here was I thinking a pair of shorts would be quiet complicated! I am now just at the stage of doing all the hand finishing off. I can't say I am a huge fan of this bit, anyone who knows me knows I hate hand sewing with a passion, but its nice to have a bit which can be done in front of the tele! I should definitely have these ready to show off to you all on Friday... watch this space.

 

And finally, as you will remember me saying we went to see some of the Worlds Strongest Men on Saturday lift some really heavy shit!  It was a really good day out and we both had sore throats by the end of the day from all the yelling and participation we did! 

I hope you had a lovely weekend. Let me know what you have been up to, have you made anything yourself this weekend? I would love to hear about it.

Roasting chestnuts and other things

  

Happy Friday.... whats this you say.... did you buy a new table cover for your desk? Why yes I did! I purchased a metre of this lovely polka oilcloth to cover my craft table as I am fed up of the cats walking on the white cloth one and covering it in mud! Pesky little monkeys (it doesn't stop me loving them for their cuteness). Now I have a pretty backdrop for some piccies that I can also wipe clean of all the mess! Mr Fox did tell me it made the room look like a toddlers tea party but hey, that's a cool look right? 

I haven't been able to get on with much craft this week... doing overtime at work and trying to prep for the kitchen being ripped out it taking up my time a bit. How do we accumulate so much stuff? I swear we have 5 incomplete Denby crockery sets in the backs of our cupboards, its no wonder I don't have any space in my kitchen. All of these were gifted to us so I don't have the heart to throw them out. Despite all that though I have managed to get around to tracing and cutting out the pattern pieces for the Chataigne shorts by Deer and Doe which have been on my to do list for a while.

I knew when I bought this pattern that I wanted to make it up in a pure wool, but I also know how expensive pure wool can be. I had resided myself to a cotton drill type fabric until a I found this. A while ago, whilst I was charity shop hopping, I came across a below the knee, pleated, pink, pure wool skirt in quiet a large size. Looking at it I could tell there was A LOT of fabric in there, it just needed unpicking and washing to get all the pleat creases out. As soon as I saw it I knew it was perfect for this project. Luckily there was just enough in there to get all the pattern pieces out. The colour is perfect for me (its hard to take a good likeness as the weather was bad but its a sort of dusky pink) and it will look gorgeous with a pair of black tights and boots. I like to think that I am bringing new life into something that once belonged to someone's grandma so I just hope my sewing can do it justice and it actually fits!

I also wanted to show you my new AWESOME light pull! Please forgive the knackered paint work though caused by the old dull light pull though, I need to re-paint this to do the fox a bit more justice. Isn't it great though, using the bathroom now gives me an extra little bit of joy, and I don't mind it so much in the middle of the night anymore. A love a little bit of whimsy to brighten up my day. Its made from ceramic and was made by the very talented Little Birdy and purchased from their Folksy shop. You should definitely go take a look for yourself. I really like the badgers and the circus bears but lets face it, it had to be a fox didn't it.

And that's it from me, life it mostly work and tidying up at the moment, not very glamorous. I hope you are finding more fun things to do than I am. We are off to watch some strongmen lift some heavy things tomorrow so that should be an interesting day out. Mr Fox is a fan of the strongman sport so I hope he really enjoys it.

I hope you have a lovely weekend, and don't forget there is still time to comment on my Ice Cream Brooch post to be in with a chance to win one! Go now! Do it...