Velvet and stars faux wrap

The thing I really love about sewing is that you can turn your ideas into a reality, whether that be a design that pops into your head or an outfit you have seen else ware and want to recreate. Not only can you create the look you aspired to yourself, but also it is truly made to measure and to suit your own style.

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?

Boys Jersey Pants

 

How cute are these for cruising around the house in. Soft, warm, comfy and easy to move in. I love Jersey for kids clothes for all these reasons and having a little boy I much prefer him in a pair of joggers than jeans for his own comfort, especially as his comfort is my sanity!

I mentioned on my Jack skellington costume post about discovering the wonders of the Finnish magazine Ottobre which specialise in clothing patterns for kids. I love this magazine, I purchased a copy of issue 04/2015 and it has some lovely patterns in it. They are so good I am even contemplating getting into making and selling children's clothes (I think I need to sort time out first though). 

I used the Baggy Bottoms sweatpants pattern to make the pumpkins king costume and it was so good I decided to make another pair in sweat shirting fabric for master Foxs wardrobe. I bought the gorgeous star print from the Ottobre Etsy shop and the plain black from Kitschy Coo. I love the feel of sweat shirting its so soft on the inside I think I need much more of it in my life! I made a test version in the black first so as not to waste the expensive star print and they came out so nice I immediately started on the star print version but in the next size up to get a bit more wear out of them.

 

I have made a slight adjustment to the pattern which was to add the ankle cuffs as I much prefer the look of joggers with a cuff and also it helps to stop them riding up his leg as he's clambering about. I actually took the piece off another pattern but you can draft a cuff by loosely measuring the ankle, adding a seam allowance and then cutting it twice as high as you want the finished cuff.

What I have really enjoyed about making kids clothes lately is how much more improved I am getting on the over locker. I have learnt how to manage curves much better and the finish is really coming up great. I think that's what I'm most proud of with these pants is that the finished article is very professional and just as good quality as store bought. It does help that fit is less of an issue for kids clothes!!  

I hope you like them as much as I do I can't wait to make more pairs of these, and if you haven't checked out the Ottobre website yet you really should. I'm currently battling with my mind on whether to spend my Xmas money on a subscription or more fabric, the dilemmas . What would you choose?

Fused Glass Decorations

How beautiful are these? I have my very talented friend Stevie Davies to thank for letting me and my mum loose In her workshop and showing us how to create these. Stevie is a very talented fused glass artist in Derby and you can find out more about her work on her website here (and her work is much prettier than these samples made by myself and my mum). She also teaches workshops around the East Midlands and I would definitely recommend, she's a brilliant teacher.

My mum has always been drawn to fused glass Christmas decorations so for a long time I have been meaning to sort a time for us to go and do this as a surprise for her. I think she was pleased and I think her decorations are amazing. I'm not going to get technical and pretend I know what I'm talking about, I will leave that to the experts, but here is a brief description of what we made. The first image is a fused glass tree my mum made which is mounted onto a clear glass candle holder. The tree is made of two layers of clear glass with some thin green coloured glass in between the layers and the snow effect added To the top to give a 3D effect. Her second piece, the star, is made of 5 triangle pieces which have been overlapped when fired to create the shape. These are only one layer of glass and my mum has added tiny pieces of coloured glass to the top which has melted and fused together and created this lovely mottled star decoration. I think she has a natural flair for this don't you! 

I made three pieces, the first tree has had some small chunks of glass added in between layers to make the tree bauble effect and a small wire star on the top which has fused into the glass to make the hanging which I really like. The second tree was made using very thin rods of glass cut and layered into the tree shape on top of another piece of clear glass. I love the bumpy feeling of this one and the colours! Not very festive, but I absolutely love this colour combo. 

Finally I managed to make my own star which has small thin pieces of coloured glass on top to create the colours and graduates from purple through blue to white snowy tips. 

I really enjoyed doing this, it was really interesting to learn how the glass works with each other in order to create the different finishes and this is something completely different to what I make normally. If you have never tried doing fused glass I really recommend finding a workshop near you (or booking one with Stevie) as its loads of fun and really easy to make something truly beautiful. You don't have to just make decorations for Christmas but for all year round, they would look lovely hanging in a window where the light can really show them off. 

Do you have a favourite type of hand made decoration, or make any of your own? I'm always looking for new ideas to try and inspiration so let me know. 

Starry Starry Headbands

Its all getting a bit accessories crazy over here at the moment, but I have realised just how easy and fun a few little sparkly hair accessories are to make. Not only do I love to make them but I also love to wear them, so I am very sorry but you are just going to have to bear with me whilst I get it all out of my system. 

These little numbers are stars mounted onto a band of elastic which can be worn around the head like a headband. The perfect thing about the elastic is that you can place the star anywhere on your head to mix up the look, or even wear multiples together. I love how glam rock these are. Sparkly, pink, leathery and perfectly matched to my inner child/rocker.

I got the idea when I received issue 44 of Mollie Makes  which included a free kit on the front to make a 'Boho Feather Necklace'. I wasn't a huge fan of the necklace, it just wasn't something my style and so I couldn't see myself wearing it. The kit however contained pink and gold faux leather pieces which I just couldn't put down so I had to think of something else to do with them. This is where the stars were born.

They are made from a variety of real leather, the faux leather from the kit, some of the glitter fabric which I am sure you are sick of the sight of, some felt and some elastic cord.

It was so simple, I drew up two star templates and cut out a variety of small and large stars. I then used the glue gun to attach a smaller star to the centre of the bigger one and then glued it onto a piece of felt with a length of the elastic sandwiched between the leather and the felt. Finally I cut around the felt and tied a little knot in the elastic to make it fit the size of my head.

They are by no means perfection, but I like them a lot.

 

So whats been going on around here? We have had a pretty quiet weekend to be honest. We took the opportunity to start decorating the baby's bedroom. I say we, I mean Mr Fox did it all as I am not allowed to paint and was generally feeling a little bit under the weather. Its starting to come together a bit now though. We still have a way to go but at least it feels like we are moving forwards. Other than that we did a bit of DIY shopping and that was about your lot.

I have been trying to resit the urge to buy baby a cute little Christmas outfit. There are so many cute ones out there but I am conscious of the fact that he might be late, and so late that he doesn't actually arrive until after the event. In that case a cute little Christmas outfit is a complete waste. However friends are awesome and everyone keeps telling me I should just splurge on one little thing as I won't get the chance another time so I gave in and bought this adorable little pudding baby grow. Isn't it adorable! I at least figured it could be worn even a few days after Christmas what with it just being a pudding.

Finally... and no one will read this tiny little tag line, but the next post will be post 100!! I can't believe we are there already. I am planning to do a bit of a 'review of the year' and also a little giveaway themed from the last 100 posts so check back on Friday to see what's in store. I will leave the giveaway open for a little while to give as many people as possible the chance to get involved.