X-mas gifts sewing, 1st batch

And so comes some X-mas sewing - as usual mostly little boys collection :)

I was really wondering what else do little guys wear in winter, as apart from trousers, t-shirts and sweaters, I really do have difficulties finding something original to sew for them, so I try to at least

- sew outfits

- sew from funny or unexpected fabrics

Are you ready? Here comes the small version (2 year-old):

His mom was sending me hints on the last linen trousers I sewed for him, as she really loves them and as they seem extremely comfy, unfortunately, my linen remnant (which was reserved for this guy for some time) was not big enough. Also, at two years, it is quite difficult to find patterns for real trousers, as the size falls right in between baby sizes (and mostly leggings) and kids sizes (too big). 

In the end, I managed to match two patterns and improvised linen trousers with elastic in the waist and, of course, big pockets. The linen was already used for a summer dress for me, a dress and a handbag for one little girl and now, I can officially confirm, I do not have any more.

For the t-shirt, I used last year Ottobre Kids issue (10-03/2019). I own exactly two issues but I use them for maybe 90% of all my kids sewing. They have funny, diverse patterns, they have an equal amount for boys and girls (!!!) and more importantly, their patterns cover really large size ranges, contrary to Burda which is often limited to one age group (and usually not the one I need).

As for the sweater, it comes from Ottobre 08-04/2020, I told you... Both fabrics were purchased with some kids sewing in mind and I am really happy that they works so well together.

For his almost 4-year-old brother, the outfit is rather similar.

The trousers from LMV, already sewn this summer.  This time from a sturdier gabardine, the one I used for my BFs bermuda (yet to be blogged). 

Both, the t-shirt and sweater pattern come from the last Ottobre, I just did not have enough fabric for the hood, so the sweater is finished with some simple rib.

Black Fleck Dress

I must have felt that the second covid wave was coming (well, seeing people behaviour in August and September helped a lot), because I passed a quite large fabric order just at the end of September to have it at home in October. Actually, browsing Stof&Stil website proves rather dangerous, because I totally love their online catalogue and get inspired, probably too much inspired.

So while this order threw me quite far away from my stash reduction goal, I am not desperate (yet), I still have some two more weeks in 2020 to go and it looks like I will be spending them at home a lot, so let's stay positive, I have all my chances to get close to the goal level.

One of the fabrics I bought (and somehow forgot between the moment I paid my order and it being delivered) was this exquisite black French terry with little white flecks. Not only is the fabric nice and quite classy (for a French Terry, that is, hahahaha), but it is also extremely soft on the inside. 

The choice of the right pattern was rather quick, as I was eyeing the Burda 111-01/2019 since I had the magazine. It is a simple jersey dress with a high neckline and very simple lines. 

Since I can now master my serger and since I already had black thread in it, this pieces just flew through it and was sewn in no time. I realized that batch sewing is really the way to go with a serger because you feel more productive.

Back to the pattern - I actually did a few modifications - the dress is supposed to be closed with a zip on the back which I omitted, but kept the back seam. The dress itself has absolutely no shaping opportunity in the back, apart from the back seam, so I played with it a little bit. Since my fabric was not extremely stretchy, I was afraid that I could not get my big head through the funnel neck, so I improvised a little opening in the should seam with 3 press buttons.  

In terms of shaping, I took in a few centimeters on the front as well so that the dress is adjusted without being it too tight.

And the result is just awesome. I am not yet sure if I would wear it to work, even though it looks ok in the black and white, but somehow, unconsciously, I still have the feel of the French terry on the inside and so think of the dress as a casual one.

The Success of Procrastination or the Dark Green Dress

 I always like dresses from ponte, but find it quite difficult to buy some in not uni version. So when I came across this dark green flowery fabric, I just had to buy it. The only issue is that printed pontes are usually more poly than viscose and you can easily feel it, oh well.

I ordered the fabric last year in winter months so obviously, had no intention to sew it during summer. Then September came in and I tried to find again my sewjo by muslining 3 dresses at the same time and cutting out 2 of them right afterwards. This one was one of them. I chose Burda 102 from 12/2019 issue, a dress which was originally sewn from a woven but I figured that it would work from my stable knit. 

I am really happy that I batch cut out my projects because I would have probably hesitated still some more and this way, the fabric was prepared, I only had to assemble it. I even motivated myself to use and rethread my serger, therefore, the dress took exactly one after-work evening to sew. 

I tried some pattern matching and there are places where it really worked well, like in the front, so I am definitely proud of myself. The dress was very quick to assemble and since I muslined it, there was almost nothing to adjust during sewing (except the sleeves' and overall length). I still tried it on during the construction process and that is when I realized that I was going to really like the result.

Once the dress was finished I was really excited - the fit is really perfect, I can put it on without any closing and the colour is great on me. So a great WIN, in the end.