Simple fleece skirt with elastic waist

Ok, first of all - Happy New Year! I hope you all had a good holiday season and as we say in Swiss German "E guete Rutsch" (a good slide) into the new year!

The past two months have been a little slow on my blog. I did get some sewing done, but mostly presents, which I cannot reveal until they are given to the people, so we will just have to wait a bit.

Remember how I told you here that I love to sew with fleece? Well, I made myself a skirt out of the left over fabric from Littleheart's fleece coat.  
This is a cute and easy skirt I can wear with leggings and boots. It was so fun and fast to make, I whipped up two more for my sister and cousin!

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 . 

Little Changes - Big Outcomes: How to change your patterns for different looks

After reading all of your responses to my "One Pattern - Three Shirts" series, it got me thinking. I often start out with an already made pattern, but I almost never make it exactly the way the instructions tell you to. I love to add simple extras here and there to get different effects. In this post I want to show you how you can make a few very simple changes to your patterns, and get completely different outcomes.

I have summarized the different methods I use to change patterns. For each method I have linked to a good tutorial, showing you how to do it (some of which are mine, but not all). Give them a try and you will be amazed at how far your patterns can stretch.

Mom's Perfect Fit Shirt

My mom came to visit us in August, since Littleheart's daycare went on a two week break. It was great, we had such a nice time, and of course it went by way too fast. My dad also came for a long weekend, here is a picture we all took at the port in Tel Aviv.

(by the way the dress Littleheart is wearing is from this lovely tutorial).

When my mom arrived, she showed me some of the things she bought in the States when she went to visit my grandfather. She pointed out one of the shirts, and said it was the perfect fit for her, she just loves it! So I said, hey, let's make you a couple more!

I traced the shirt to make the pattern, and I have made it available for you here (seam allowance not included). It is size large/extra large. (Make sure when you print your page scaling is set to "none". Otherwise your printer will shrink the pattern.)

In the end it was actually a really easy shirt to sew. I made my mom two, and she was really happy.

Here is how you can make the perfect fit shirt!

Circle Skirt with some Extras

A few weeks ago I was telling my cousin about the clothes I have sewn in the last few months, and she mentioned she needed some new skirts, so I offered to make her one. She seemed excited about it, so I went home and started searching for the perfect material. She has similar taste to me – she likes girly colors, and so when I stumbled across this pink, flowery material in my closet I thought it would be perfect. I imagined something light, lacey and swingy, and remembered Dana's pattern from MADE . She gives great instructions on how to make a basic Circle skirt. I started out using her tutorial and put in a few extra touches.

Knight's Pleat Sleeves

Littleheart's second Birthday is coming up next month, and I want to make her a special outfit for the occasion. I am planning on making her a rainbow birthday party, and am designing her outfit accordingly. I will post about the finished outfit when it is done, but today I would like to show you how to make a Knight's Pleat Sleeve (which I am using for her birthday shirt). I saw this sleeve on a woman a while back, and have recreated it from my memory (so I am not sure if it is like that shirt, but I like the outcome, so who cares, right?). I call it the Knight's Pleat Sleeve because it reminds me of the armor the medieval knights used to wear:

This sleeve works for any shirt, adults or children.

Want to make it? Here is how!

Pintucked Shoulder Shirt

Here is the tutorial for the last shirt in my "One Pattern - Three Shirts" series. If you missed the other two you can find them here and here. I call it the pintucked shoulder shirt. The neck in a loose, hanging neckline, so you need to wear it with a tank top underneath. I think it looks really nice with a lacey top, but plain would go too.

Shirred Front Shirt

This is the second shirt in my "One pattern - three shirts" series. I call it the shirred front shirt (I know, not very original). 

Pleated Neck T-shirt

This is the first out of a series of three shirts I made using the same basic pattern. 

What you will need

1.5 yard of lightweight, knit fabric

Fusible interfacing

Download my basic pattern (for size medium) or draft your own using my tutorial. 

One Pattern - Three Shirts

Now that Littleheart's summer wardrobe is more than complete, I have been working on a few pieces for myself. At first I was a little intimidated about sewing for me, but I have found that it is actually really fun, especially when you are on a budget and can't go out shopping whenever you feel like it. You just imagine what you would like to wear and try it out!
After looking around for inspiration, I came up with three shirts I could make out of a single pattern! Each shirt starts out with the same one pattern, which gets altered for each design. In the next couple of weeks I will show you how to make each one of these shirts. If you are size Medium you are welcome to download my basic pattern here. If not I will show you how to draft your own, it is not hard.

Update: I have now posted all of the tutorials for the shirts above. This is where you can find them:
Pleated Neck Shirt
Shirred Front Shirt
Pintucked Shoulder Shirt