Kodak Moments: A trip to the North

I know I haven't been blogging much lately. I haven't really been sewing much. It is pretty cold here now, and I usually sew at night. But right now it is just more attractive to cuddle up in bed and watch a movie or a show...But I have a huge to-do list so I hope I will have some projects to share with you soon...

In the meantime I will share some pictures with you from a little trip we took up to the North of Israel. It was amazing, everything was green and we even got to go sledding on the Hermon mountain (the only mountain in Israel that has snow in the winter). We had amazing weather, just the perfect little vacation.

Hope you are all having good holidays! 

Guest blogging today...

Hey everybody

Today I am guest blogging over at Grits & Giggles for a wonderful series called "Becoming Mommy", with this cute bunny softie...

Click on the bunny to come check it out...It is my first guest post ever!

The clothes have finally been worn...

Lately I have posted a lot of winter clothes I made for Littleheart, but the weather was always too warm for her to wear them and take pictures. Then we went on our trip to the States, and she finally was able to wear everything, so I thought I would share some pictures with you! I am sorry, they are not all good quality, I don't know if it is just me, but I find it really hard to get good pictures of an active 2 year old...

Pleats, pin-tucking and smocking - all in one outfit!

Fleece Jumper with a pouch

Corduroy Pants

Fleece top with a zip

Thanksgiving jumper with removable turkey tail

Have a nice day!

Holiday Jumper with removable Menorah/Christmas Tree

My Thanksgiving jumper with removable turkey tail was a great hit, and a lot of fun to make. My sister and I were talking about it one day, and found that the options are never ending! We came up with so many new ideas, so the next project for Littleheart's holiday wardrobe is the Hanukkah (Christmas) Jumper with removable Menorah (Christmas Tree). This one can definitely have the interchangeable ruffle like the Thanksgiving jumper with removable turkey tail, but to change things a bit the interchangeable piece for this dress will be snowflakes and a snowman.

Train Birthday Party

I feel like I haven't posted anything is ages! Littleheart and I went on a trip to the States to visit family (my fleece jumper post and fleece top with a zip post were written before we left). We started out in Portland Oregon, where we saw my grandfather, aunt and a few cousins. It was great seeing everybody, and Littleheart had a blast! Then we flew to Washington DC to visit my sister and had Thanksgiving with her and some more family. We had so much fun, Littleheart got to wear her turkey jumper (I will post new photos soon) and we ate lots of yummy food of course. 

We also celebrated my nephew's fist birthday, which is what I am going to talk about today :)

Fleece Doll Clothes

I already told you why I have fallen in love with fleece in this post. Now there are things I sew, where I take my time and make them perfect, but other projects just don't seem worth the effort. Doll clothes are one of those things. Kids like to change the doll's clothes, put on many different outfits, but they really don't care if there is a pretty trim on them, or if the edges are finished off nicely. So why put all that work into it? In this case I think quantity is better than quality (and usually I am totally the opposite!).

That's where fleece comes in. Fleece is so easy to sew with, and you don't have to finish any edges, because it does not fray. So you can make a ton of doll clothes in no time! It is also a bit stretchy, so it easily will go over the doll's head (which is often quite large). 

I made two fleece outfits last week for Littleheart's dolls. Since winter is just around the corner, I figured it might be easier to convince Littleheart (who loves to run around naked) to put on all those heavy clothes, if her dolls do it too.

For the pants I used the doll version from this tutorial from fleecefun.com. It is a very simple pants pattern, and takes like 10 minutes. instead of putting in a casing with elastic, I just sewed on wide elastic with a stretch stitch.

For the shirt I just kind of drew out a basic bodice and sleeves. Nothing special. I did not finish off the neck or hem, I just left them raw. 

Now dollies will be nice a warm!

I will be linking up to some of the link parties on this page . 

Fleece Jumper with a pouch

Today I am going to teach you how to make the second project from my "Fun with Fleece" series. It is a fleece Jumper (or tunic, depending how long you make it. I actually was thinking this year a Jumper, next year a Tunic). It is a really easy, fun little sewing project you can sew up in an evening...Let's get right to the point!

Sewing Challenge

Remember way back when I entered the Fab Folds Challenge at Richochet and away?  

Anyway, the voting went on for a whole month, and guess what...I won third place!

So the winners get a shiny badge and bragging rights, so here is mine:

Pretty exciting, right?

Go over to Ricochet and Away and check out the other winners. The projects are just amazing!

 

Also, there is a new challenge going on right now called:

Ring your Neck scarf challenge. There is still time to enter the challenge so go check it out!

 





Fleece top with a zip

As you have probably noticed, I like to make every-day clothes. I don't like to make things that are worn only once, I like to see them worn and feel like it was worth all the hard work. 

I got some pretty fleece a couple of months ago. My first project was a coat for Littleheart I made during KCWC. I discovered it is actually really easy to work with fleece, and was excited to go on to my next project.

This time I searched the internet for some inspiration. Mostly I found fleece jackets and coats (which I did not need, since I just made that), but I did stumble across this cute fleece sweatshirt from Old Navy. A simple sweatshirt, but the bottom part is gathered, which makes it very feminine. I looked at it closely, and decided, it is actually really easy to make. I just needed to trace a simple bodice piece, cut two rectangles for the bottom part and of course the sleeves. I left out the collar, since I myself don't love collars.

And this is how I put it together:

Fun with fleece

I don't have much experience with fleece, but boy have I discovered it's advantages in the past few days! Fleece is really easy to work with, it does not fray, does not slip, and is a bit stretchy, but the stretch does not influence the sewing. I mean, it can't get easier than that!

I have been having fun with fleece, and would like to share a few projects I made. Over the next 2 weeks I will post about three fleece projects I have been working on:

Fleece top with a zip

Fleece Jumper

Fleece Doll Clothes

The Top and the Jumper will include a free pattern size 3-4T and a detailed tutorial on how to make them.

Come back soon and check them out!

Knit Jumper

After all the sewing I did for Littleheart for KCWC, i decided to make some things for myself. I need some everyday, fall/winter clothes, and decided to tackle some of my new knit fabric. When I ordered this purple and black stripe fabric (btw - purple is my FAVORITE color!), I already kind of thought I would make a dress or tunic, but I didn't really have a pattern in mind. Then Jen and Autie over at Icandy Handmade started a series called "Basic Bodice Design Series" which is all about making your own dress design starting with a simple bodice. This got me thinking about my striped purple fabric, and I said, hey, why not try it on myself? I have made tons of clothes for Littleheart starting out with a simple bodice pattern and designing the rest myself, but it seems harder to do it on my own clothes. But this is how I made my jumper, and I am pretty happy with the outcome!

For this jumper I used the Collette free pattern called the Sorbetto top. It is a simple, standard bodice that can be used as a base for many different garments. It comes in sizes 0 - 18 , which is so nice. The Sorbetto top has a pleat in the front, which I did not need for my project, so just cut off that extra strip from your pattern before you cut your material.

Mom's perfect fit shirt - the winter version

This summer, when my mom came to visit, she brought along her favorite t-shirt, and I made her a couple more by tracing the original one. When she came back for Littleheart's birthday, she confirmed that they were officially her favorite shirts! Unfortunately, it is now too cold in Switzerland to wear them, so I decided to surprise her with two more, only this time I made them with long sleeves. 

If you would like to make Mom's perfect fit shirt - the winter version then download the basic shirt pattern here and the extra pieces for the long sleeves here.

Follow my tutorial for the summer version here and you will have a winter long sleeve shirt in no time!

I will be linking up to some of the link parties on this page . 

Dropped waist sweater dress with over-sized pleated pockets

I mentioned to you a few days ago that I was chosen to participate in an exchange program with fabric fascination. I chose two fabric pieces called Nest Fabric Bundle by Valori Wells, and received half a yard of each to complete my project.

Since my real "thing" is sewing clothes, especially for my daughter, I decided to design something for Littleheart to wear this winter. I am always torn between practical and pretty. I would love to make Littleheart pretty blouses and cotton dresses, but they are not comfortable, and not suitable for daycare. And she really doesn't have many opportunities to wear them. She wears them once or twice and then they get too small. So I tend to stick to the knits, at least most of the time. So this was a bit of a design challenge - how can I integrate these pretty cotton fabrics into Littleheart's normal wardrobe style.

Exchange Program with Fabric Fascination

I am really excited, I was chosen to participate in an exchange program with fabric fascination. Fabric fascination offers 1 yard of free fabric to 5 bloggers, and in exchange the bloggers make something with the fabric and write up a tutorial on their blog. The tutorial is then featured on fabric fascination and totally tutorials.

There were three bundles of fabric to choose from:

I chose the middle bundle assuming I would make something for Littleheart (the others are too "grownup").

The fabric arrived safely a couple of days ago. I have decided what to make and have already started working on it....I have until November 10th to finish and get my tutorial posted.

I hope you come back soon to see what I came up with!

Bye for now...

Woven neck shirt

I am working on Littleheart's fall/winter wardrobe at the moment. It is hard to know what to make - in Israel the weather is hot and then suddenly gets cold, with very little time being cool. So I decided to make some layered outfits she can wear for the cool and the cold days.
I made this outfit a while back, but I didn't have time to write up the tutorial before all of the sewing challenges, so now finally, I am posting about it. This is basically an outfit made of leggings, a long sleeve shirt and a shrug. 

You might remember the little shrug from KCWC. The leggings are very basic, and not worth talking about. But this shirt is special, because the neckline is woven into it.

Want to make one? Here is how...

KCWC - Last project

Elsie Marley's Kids clothes week fall 2012 is now over. I took on this challenge, and actually was almost able to sew at least one hour, every day, for 7 days (it was harder on the weekend). I must say, it is not easy! I usually sew whenever I have a chance, some weeks I sew almost every day, and other weeks I hardly sew at all. So trying to sew for an hour every single day was definitely a challenge. I think, even though I have some great outcomes from this week, I like it my normal way better. It is hard to sew "under pressure" (well, nobody was really pressuring me, but you know what I mean). For me, sewing is kind of an impulse, I have an idea, and I just have to try it out. It is usually not planned, at least the start of a project. But I did have fun taking on this challenge, and I have six finished garments from it!

KCWC - Day six

I didn't get much sewing done this weekend, but I didn't make Littleheart a pair of plain leggings. The weather is getting a bit colder, so it is short sleeves with leggings season. And you can never have too many leggings....

I put some stretchy lace at the bottom, to make them look a little more interesting....I like the way they fit her, and they are perfect for daycare....

KCWC - Day five

Even though I made Littleheart a fleece hat last year that was really cute, and would probably still fit, it doesn't match her new coat, and I have tons of the butterfly fleece left over, so I decided to make her a hat to go with the coat.

I found this really cute and easy hat tutorial on From an Igloo. It is lined and has a cover for the ears. Just perfect. So I started out with Christine's pattern. But instead of her Dino hat, I put butterfly wings on mine. 

I like the outcome, although I am not sure if it really looks like a butterfly hat. Could just be a hat with ears....Oh well. Littleheart had fun playing with it.