Tree Climber Trousers and a Raglan

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My youngest son's Sunday outfit for the winter has been sewn for quite awhile already--he has been wearing it all winter.

Yet, I never blogged about it, so here it is now that winter is almost over (hopefully).

The top is the Rascal Raglan from Ottobre 4/2013.

It has become a bit of a staple in our house (see here and here.)

The front panel is made with a woven fabric I won a long time ago from Monday's Milk (though I don't think it's available anymore) and the black knit is from Canadian National Fabric.

The pants are the Tree Climber Trousers from Go-To Patterns...again. It is also a staple in this house.

The fabric for these comes from my local-ish Fabricland. It's a denim-like fabric, though I don't remember the content of it (if they listed it...)  

I'm not going to link all the versions of these pants I've made--there's a LOT of them...you can do a quick search through my blog and find them if you want to see my other versions.

Yep, that's green grass there--I took this picture
early last fall...

Go To Leggings Again and Again and Again......

(This post contains affiliate links--if you buy through the links in this post, I get a small commission. Thanks for supporting my blog!) 

Go To Leggings are one of my favourite patterns.

A definite staple here for my dress loving girl.

I thought it'd be fun to do a bit of a round-up of all the different versions of Go To Leggings I've made.

From top left, white, purple, turquoise, brown, grey, brown, and the white
are the new ones. 

I whipped three pair up the other day--they are already all in the wash and I got one of them modeled on my daughter before they were rendered too dirty for pictures.

So, the bottom left picture (the white ones) are one of the three pairs I just made. It's one of two white ones and a grey one, so there should be two more in the collage.

They are also on sale for $7 instead of $10 as well right now, along with a number of other Go To Patterns, so be sure to check it out!



Winter Wear Designs Blog Tour--the Provence Pea Coat

I've never sewn a real coat before.

 Well, other than when I first started sewing and sewed up a size 3 coat for my then 3 year old. I had followed the measurements exactly, re-measured my son a number of times and compared his measurements to the size chart, and was super excited. He had picked out the lining fabric on his own, and I stretched my sewing skills with a zipper and fully lining a coat. Then he tried it on. He was swimming in it. Seriously. Now, 5 years later, he can still wear the thing. I could have made him a 6 month size and it may have fit him at 3. That was one of the paper patterns from one of the big pattern companies.

So, fit wise, my first and only other coat sewing experience was a complete failure.

But, I wanted to stretch my sewing experience and when I had the opportunity to sew up the Provence Pea Coat from Winter Wear Design, I only hesitated briefly, and that was only because I wanted to be sure I could finish the coat by the time it was due.

What a different experience!

I used the size chart and according to that I graded two sizes together since my measurements spanned two sizes.

You can see the results below.

At over $40 per metre at Fabricland, I opted not to go with a really warm Melton wool.

I wouldn't dare to cut into the fabric!

So, I went with a much more reasonably priced wool suiting in a beautiful black and purple plaid.

The lining is broadcloth. I had picked out a different lining fabric from the clearance section that was nicer, but because it had no original price on it, they wouldn't sell it to me. I even asked the manager if he could just make up a price. But he refused.

Rather nervously I cut into the fabric, and then started the process of sewing.

All the different pieces make it a bit of a longer process, but really add to the shape/fit of the coat.

Other than grading the pattern, the only thing I did different, to avoid hand sewing, is to add seam allowances to the sleeve lining and facing, and then to sew the sleeve lining to the sleeve main by pulling the sleeve through the opening and stitching them right sides together. After turning it right side out again and pressing I top stitched to give it a clean finish.

I love the pockets as well, and they were definitely needed while taking pictures. It was -30 C below with wind chill up here in sunny Alberta. And, with the coat not being a thick Melton wool, it's not quite able to keep the cold out in that kind of weather.

Thanks for stopping by!

Be sure to follow along all week and check out the fabulous bloggers!

1/17/16: Larissa from Connected By A Thread

1/18/16: Ula from Lulu & Celeste

1/19/16: Tibeca from Sewing By Ti

1/20/16: Kelly from Handmade Boy & Tameka from Savannah & Co

1/21/16: Essence from Adventures with Bubba & Bug & Teronia from Crazy Crafty Haute Mama

1/22/16: Cindy from Cindy Parrett & Patricia from Sew Far North

1/23/16: Sharon from Sweet Pea & Pumkins & Fenna from Fabulous Home Sewn

Don't forget to pick up your own copy of the patterns featured this week from Winter Wear Designs and save 20% off any purchase of $5 or more through the 25th of Jan with the code BLOGIT20!

Little Hunter

Good friends of ours recently had a baby boy--their first boy after two girls, so I knew I wanted to make an outfit.

The only thing was I wanted it to be something a little different than just a plain pair of pants and shirt.

It needed something original and fitting.

 

With the last name of 'Hunter' and the dad's moose hunting adventures as inspiration, I came up with a fun freezer paper stencil.

Some fun fonts and a moose head silhouette from Shutterstock and I ended up with this graphic.



The shirt is a pattern from Ottobre (3/2013, Brave Fireman, #9). It originally had short sleeves, but I lengthened them, and omitted the sleeve cuffs.

The pants are from Go-To Patterns--the Tree Climber Trousers. (affiliate link)

I think this is one of my favourite pants patterns--quick to sew up, but the fun topstitching details really make it stand out!

 





 

I think the fabric is a type of suiting--I bought it years ago, and have used it for pants before.

I love the softness of the fabric and how the contrasting topstitching stands out on the fabric.

 

Congrats again G & L!

Natalie Top

 (This post contains affiliate links. If you purchase from those shops after clicking through my link, I get a small commission which doesn't cost you any more! Thanks for using them!)

*Edited to update links!*

This month for my Go To Patterns Brand Ambassador pattern, I chose the

Natalie Top from Liola Patterns in the Go To Patterns shop.

I used a lovely voile from Canadian National Fabric.

It was a bit of a bigger print than I had expected but I still love it.

It's the first time I've sewn with voile and it sews up really well.

I found the pattern to run a little boxy around the natural waist, which may be intended with the blouse-y look. But, I made a small mod and did three short rows of shirring to pull it in a little.

I also left off the optional pocket as I thought this print was busy enough without a pocket.

The rolled up sleeves are really comfy--I haven't worn them unrolled yet! 

And, I braved the cold (-15 Celsius) to get my husband to take a couple of pictures.

This from the lady (me) who is always cold and does not enjoy cold very much. In fact, my husband looked at me rather incredulously when I suggested it.

I'm glad we did go with the outside pictures--the snow makes a lovely backdrop.

Dungaree Dress, a Raglan, and a Sale!

Merry Christmas yet!

 

 It feels like it's been a while since I've posted any new outfits.

I have been busy with some, but it has been rather slow in my sewing area!

I thought I'd share this dress--I made it a little while back now, but never blogged about it yet.



 

It is the Cassidy Dungaree Dress by Modkid.

I used a denim I had in my stash, and since I had no purple topstitching thread, I used regular thread.

It is a lot lighter than it would have been with topstitching thread, but it does the trick in a pinch.

 

I love the details on the dress, the pockets, the front seam, and the topstitching.

I did not like the buckles I bought. They keep slipping open, even though I've tried bending them in a little tighter.

 

The top is a raglan from an Ottobre--the Rascal Raglan which I've also used here.

The fabric is from Girl Charlee a while back now--they have it in a different color way but I haven't seen this purple for quite a while now. The grey is also from Girl Charlee.

 

 

My daughter loves this outfit, even with the unhitching straps.

And, it's a sturdy denim so it should outlast her time of wearing it!

(Many of her dresses have been patched, either because they get caught on barbed wire, a tree, or in her coat zipper, even!)

 

Oh, and have you heard of the sale yet?

It ends on the 28th (and I don't know if it ends in the AM at 12 or in the PM at 12) but in my Etsy shop, you can get 25% off using the code BD2015 for Boxing Day.

Enjoy!!!

Giveaway! Patterns and Fabric!

Welcome to my little place on the internet! 

This is where I share about the things I sew, new patterns I've designed, and every now and then, a giveaway.

First of all, I'd like to share with you my Etsy shop where you can find my patterns listed.

If you prefer, I do have them listed on Craftsy as well! 

I enjoy designing these patterns, though it's slow going as I try to fit it in between life as a wife and homeschooling mom of five kids 8 and under. 

Also, a little more about me:

I grew up in a very Dutch family and still love droppies, stampot, and taai-taai. (plus many more Dutch goodies!) Plus, I can still speak a bit of Yankee Dutch. 

I was the worst at sewing of all my sisters (there are 5 of us) during Home Economics class. Seriously. 

But, I am now the only one who actually sews. (And, I've improved significantly since then!) 

I live on a dairy farm with my husband and our 5 kids. 

I love to garden and can all the delicious produce from our garden. 

And, I love baking a good batch of sourdough bread. 

So, there's a little about me.

Now, on to the giveaway!

This week, I'm giving away 2 patterns of choice (see shop above), and two pieces of fabric that are 1 yard each. 

To enter, please follow the directions on the Rafflecopter below: 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Giveaway is open internationally.
Winner must respond within 48 hours or a new winner will be chosen.
Void where prohibited.
Must provide valid email address so I can contact the winner.

Make sure to check out the other giveaways over at Sew Mama Sew!