Some roomy Rumi tanks

Continuing on my baggy jersey basics campaign This week I stitched myself up 3 (yes 3!) new tank tops which are again aimed at my post baby, breastfeeding body. Being as summer is pretty much on our doorstep I thought I best make sure I have thought about those hot sweaty days with a hot sweaty baby and have some functional vest tops.

The pattern is the Rumi tank by Christine Haynes, its a racer back vest top which is quiet fitted at the top, but has lots of room at the bottom so will hopefully skim those curves rather than cling to them. It was the loose fit at the bottom of this tank which really made me want to give this pattern a go.

The sew itself could not have been easier, as a pattern these things are a cinch and so quick to make. The instructions were perfectly adequate, they are brief, but then there is not actually much to be doing to make these. I made all of these, including cutting, in about 6 hours, but given my mobility at the moment that's pretty good going. I definitely recommend this pattern and I can see it becoming one of my staple go to patterns in the future. What I really like about this pattern is the way the binding is attached, it makes for a really professional clean finish.

None of these are 'perfect' makes, but they are certainly all wearable. The biggest issue I had was keeping the width of the neckband even as I overlocked it on. I am hopeful this is just something that would get better with practice as I was certainly better by the third version here.

I used three very different fabrics to make these tanks. My favourite (in looks) is definitely this pineapple one, however the fabric itself is horrible! Its really fine, it has barely any stretch for a jersey and it just feels a bit cheap really. I bought it from a local fabric shop a year ago because of the print but the last project I tried just didn't work as there was not enough give. Hopefully this tank will be baggy enough that this won't matter. This version kept its shape the best, but that's because you would struggle to stretch it out of shape. This is the reason why I edged it in the black, as I needed a fabric with more recovery for the binding. I do like the way it looks though, lets hope it wears ok.

Next up is the black one made from some very fine polyester jersey which I bought from the market years ago. This is a really nice fabric for this pattern as its so fine it has a beautiful drape. That being said this one has the most stretched out hem as the twin needle sewing was not so easy on something so delicate. Who doesn't need more black basic vests though? Exactly, we all do, they go with anything and if the hem is too stretched out when worn I can always wear it tucked into a waist high skirt. 

Lastly is this pinky/red marl version. This fabric I bought very recently in Elegance in derby (a local fabric shop) as I quiet liked the colour and texture and it wasn't very expensive. This fabric is a lot thicker jersey than the other two and so its drape is not as good. I do really like this version but I have a feeling the weight of the fabric isn't going to suit the pattern anywhere near as well as the others. This version has stretched out in the hem a little but its not bad, this fabric was also the hardest to attach the edging on and has the most obvious difference in width.

So all in all this pattern gets a big thumbs up form me, lets hope its the same verdict once I actually get to wear them! Again I will try and share some pictures on instagram once I finally get them worn

Have you ever made up the same pattern in numerous types of fabric? How did you find the differences? It really has amazed me, even in the same 'type' of fabric how much of a difference one can make to the other.

Mermaid baby dress and leggings set

What little girl doesn't need a mermaid dress? Especially at the moment, is it just me or are mermaids definitely the on trend print right now? Not that I mind, Ariel always was my favorite Disney princess anyway.

This amazing fabric was from LLFab who design custom digital print jersey fabrics. Most of their stuff is done in 'runs' for pre-order so is only available for a limited period. To be honest I find that a little annoying, but I can understand from a home business owner thats the practical way to do things as you don't have the means to store endless runs of custom printed fabrics. This does however mean that sadly there isn't any more of this fabric to buy, though they have been known to do re-runs so do join the facebook group if you are interested.

The pattern is another one from Ottobre issue 4/2016. It is a lovely jersey tunic length dress with an integrated vest top underneath. I also made the matching leggings to go with it to make it a complete outfit. I really like tunic style dresses for babies as I never really liked the idea of babies in dresses (despite having sewn a few) as I always think by the time they get to crawling a dress must really get in the way under their knees.

My hope is that this dress will fit Miss Fox once the weather starts to get a bit cooler, though to be honest I'm finding it really hard to sew for her at the moment as I have no idea how big she is going to be. Having said that though I know I won't have any time to sew once she arrives so I am just trying to make the most of it and wing it a bit.

My binding went a lot better on this make as opposed to the kitty romper I last made. I made a couple of adjustments to the way I attached them this time. The first thing was to make sure I didn't stretch the fabric when overlocking and the second was to release the tension in my sewing machine when doing the top stitching, I think this made the biggest difference. Its very nice to have found the biggest cause of the problem though as it will vastly improve future projects. the neck isn't ideal but its ok. I definitely prefer adding a neck band as opposed to binding a neck, something to bear in mind.

I am not 100% sold on the mauve colour of the vest and leggings, It was an online purchase and I was hoping for more of a cadbury purple like the binding. The vest is less of an issue as once its on with some trousers you won't see it. I am hoping though that the colour grows on me more once its actually being worn by a tiny human. I'm sure she will be plenty cute enough to pull it off.

Have you ever bought any fabric from a custom designer? I would love to hear about them and how you found the fabric/service. Its definitely a perk of the digital age, especially in the UK where nice prints have historically been much harder to come by.

Kitty Romper

I've been very busy this last few weeks, I really do have my sewing mojo on and for the most part I have been loving it. I say for the most part, I just tried a project today and its gone horribly wrong so I am hoping that writing this post will help me refocus that negative energy back into something positive.

This is also a nice little bumper post as its not just 1 make but 2 combined into this adorable little vest and romper combo.

The patterns are from Ottobre magazine and they both come from issue 1/2016 (I believe you can order back issues). I do subscribe to this magazine as I just adore all the kiddy clothes. I have already made Master Fox a couple of outfits from this magazine and have a list as long as my arm of others I want to have a go it. The magazine is from Finland but I get an English version so there are no issues whatsoever. I love getting my quarterly bit of sewing in the mail, its so exciting :)

I have been putting off quiet a few projects from this magazine though because a lot of them call for a ribbed binding edge, which is something I have never attempted and to be honest was pretty daunting. There are some instructions of how to do this in the magazine but they are not the most descriptive. I really wanted to make Miss Fox a romper outfit though, and Mr Fox hates it when I make dungarees that don't have a popper fastening for east nappy access so I thought it might be time to give it a go. 

I am actually really pleased with how the binding came out. Its not perfect by anyone's standards, its a but wavy, but as a first (and second) attempt I don't think its too shabby. Its not a particularly fast thing to do but it was nice to take my time and try out something new and Mr Fox can be happy that he will be able to get babys little legs out to change a nappy without having to take the whole romper off! 

I also had a go with some metal poppers this time instead of the plastic ones I have been using. They turned out really nicely as well and feel a bit sturdier. Hopefully they stand up to a good few washes. 

The fabric as all come from Stoff & Stil which is a Danish company (I have sung my praises about Danish fabric shops before and my regret of not buying more fabric from Denmark!). They now a brilliant English website and a London address so buying from them is really simple. The quality of this Jersey is just amazing, and to be honest I think I can credit a lot of the successes of this project to just how good the fabric is. So much so that I have just put in another large order with them in a hope to rekindle that failed project I mentioned earlier (oops!). 

How adorable is the cat fabric too? Im so pleased this project was so small, there is plenty left for me to hopefully make a tshirt or vest out of post baby :)

I hope you love this adorable outfit as much as I do. I got a lot of satisfaction from this project and that should be just what sewing is all about. Look at the neck on that vest, its almost perfect. Do you have any projects you are especially proud of, and what made you so proud of them? 

I can't wait to see Miss Fox finally wearing this one. Its definitely the most practical of the outfits I have made her so far so hopefully we can get some good wear from it. 

Floral Teddy Romper

Well spring has finally sprung and despite being pretty cold this week its nice to see the return of the sunshine today. All this lovely sun and finally seeing the flowers spring up has inspired me to make this gorgeous little cotton floral romper in a hope that my little summer baby will get a chance to wear it before the autumn finally sets in.

Isn't it just adorable <3

The fabric is some very thin swiss dot cotton lawn which I bought from ebay. Its a lovely lightweight fabric and will be perfect if we get any really hot and sweaty days this summer where we want to keep baby covered, but wearing something light and breathable.

Something odd has happened to me though since finding out I am having a girl, and that is a new like for floral fabric. Historically the mere hint of a flower on fabric had me looking in another direction but instead now I am looking a them with new eyes. I think it will still be a while before you see me in anything with flowers on, but it has certainly opened up a whole new world of opportunities for me!

The pattern is another Puperita, the Teddy Romper and as per usual the pattern is utter perfection. I was drawn to this pattern because of two things, the flutter sleeves and the popper fastenings. Mr Fox hates it when I make any kind of romper/dungarees as it makes the whole nappy changing thing an absolute mare. So this pattern keeps him happy and will allow for a nice easy nappy change. 

Everything about this pattern is just adorable, the sleeves, the cross neck, the gathered leg holes, I absolutely love it. It also has a version for boys. It can also be worn over a vest and tights for those slightly cooler days. 

Again, I wouldn't say this was a particularly fast sew as I took my time with it, and there are a lot of bound edge seams, but the time and attention to details really are what make handmade look really special.

Hope you all have a lovely weekend and enjoy mothers day.