Farbenmix Elodie

After making two of these dresses for the Spring dress swap I had to make it for Princess. She loved both of the previous versions, it's quick to make and I just love the lines of it. It's a gorgeous, gorgeous pattern which is now firmly in my favourites list. It is so far only available in German but if you scroll to the bottom of this page there are links to step-by-step tutorials for each view and a page of examples. The photos in the tutorial make a fair amount of sense and can be followed without speaking German, I will be adding a sewalong on here at some point too as I changed the construction slightly after making my first one.

On with the sew'n'show! This first one is for Princess to wear to school hence the green gingham which is her school uniform colour. We are both a little tired of the same old designs on offer every year in the shops for school uniform, this meets the school's guidelines and also Princess' own developing sense of style.



Here it is modelled, for reference this is the size 122/128 and Princess is currently 125cm tall with a long torso/short leg build. The hemline sits just about at her knee and when she twirls - which she does a lot - her pants are very much on view so leggings or shorts under this are a must for her. This suits us just fine as she likes to ride her bike and climb a lot while wearing dresses so she usually has bike shorts underneath anyway but I know that some of my readers will want to lengthen this a lot if they ever make it!



Here's one for everyday wear in a gorgeous deep purple linen/rayon from Fabric.com a few years back. Beautiful weight and drape and it has washed up really nice and soft, I have more of the same fabric in different colours but I wish I had yards and yards of this purple as it's my favourite colour.



A close up of the embellishments, Princess picked out the hearts trim while we were buying the gingham and I used my Clover Yo-Yo maker for the first time to add a pink linen heart so she can tell which is the front easily. The pink sparkly button finishes it off nicely.



And here is a twirl shot, we're both completely in love with this dress and she has already picked out the fabrics and trims she wants for at least another two. Looks like I'm going to be busy!

February catch up

I did sew last month, honest guv. Life got on top of me a little so I've been very behind with blogging which means, yet again, a big catch up post! Ready?

A shirt for Boy from Ottobre 02/2003. He's in the last size for this pattern and I wish I'd made it before now as it's a lovely fit on him. Not that you can tell from the pics, it looks all wonky and out of shape. I think it's been too long since he modelled, he has forgotten how to stand still *sigh*.

The front, I made no attempt to match the pattern along the centre or on the pocket as it always comes out looking off so I have officially given up. He is wearing it over a long sleeve Tshirt as it was a cold day.


The back. I love the fabric, it's a quilting cotton I bought ages ago and the print is just perfect for my nine year old.


The collar and shoulder. This is a raglan style and it has a small dart along the neckline seam on the arm to give it a little shape at the shoulder. Such a small detail makes such a big difference to the way the finished shirt looks.


Next is a rare thing though becoming more common these days, it is a skirt for myself. Red/pink cross weave linen which you may recognise from my previous post. The pattern is Ottobre Woman 02/2007 #13 which swooshes very nicely when walking.


I didn't line the skirt, I almost never line my own skirts unless the fabric is sheer. instead I cut a strip 2.5" wide to use as a facing and stitched petersham ribbon into the seam allowance to prevent the waistband from stretching out.


Some vaguely boring stuff but I have promised to blog everything this year so you have to look at the pics I'm afraid. In order we have a shower mat to prevent DH using towels all the time and leaving them in a crumpled heap on the floor, laundry bags which tie to the end of my bed and a heap of laundry/toy bags for my girls.



A pair of dungarees for Toddler which have turned out to be simply enormous on her. Ottobre 04/2003 #7 in a green cord from stash, I'll keep them for an upcoming swap.


There are patch pockets and some elastic on the back, the elastic helps with the fit a lot. There is supposed to be another small pocket but I mislaid the piece between cutting and sewing.


I added a tiny piece of ribbon in the side seam as a tag.


There were also four cot sheets which I forgot to photograph. They were a gift for my Nephew O and you've really missed out on seeing them, plain white flannel sheets are a rare treat indeed. Never mind. Next post, March!!

Spring Dress Swap

You might have noticed that I sometimes take part in swaps on Sewing Mamas. One of my favourites is the twice yearly dress swap, there's usually one in the spring and another in the autumn. Participants sign up to make two or four dresses, the last couple of swaps we have been assigned sizes to make which has worked well I think and then we receive back the same number of dresses we sent in, in the sizes we asked for. I signed up to make four dresses for the Spring swap this year and my girls, as usual, wanted to keep them all :)

This first one uses Ottobre 02/2005 #17. It's a halter neck dress with a mock wrap closure on the front bodice and it was the first time I've made a ruffled strip to use as an embellishment, I think it looks great and I'll use the technique another time for one of the girls. The fabric is a green/yellow cross weave linen blend from my stash and the buttons come from my sister's mother-in-law's stash so goodness knows how old they are.



The front wrap detail is a nice touch, it was very fiddly pressing the bias strip for the button loops and I burned my fingers more than a few times. Next time I will remember to use my bias tape maker instead, lesson well and truly learned!



The halter straps fasten with velcro tabs and there is an invisible zipper in the centre back seam.



Now read carefully here and please don't fall off your chair. The next three dresses do not use Ottobre patterns. No, don't faint! It's okay, really. Calm down, deep breaths. Feel better? Good :)

As well as my Ottobre addiction I also have a large collection of patterns from Farbenmix. My most recent purchase from them is the Elodie dress and it has become my new favourite dress pattern. It has a peasant bodice gathered to an incredibly full, twirly skirt giving a beautiful, swooshy dress with a fitted bodice that looks so much more elegant than the usual peasant style. You will be seeing quite a few more of these in the coming weeks.

This first one is a size 6, the fabric is a purple cross weave linen blend from stash again and the pink gingham ribbon was bought just for this dress as I don't have a lot of wide ribbons in my stash.



I added a ribbon bow with a little button in the middle on the front, I don't usually take the extra time for little details like this but I really should as they add so much more to the finished item.



The second Elodie is a size 4 and this one has a velvet ribbon around the bodice that extends to tie in the back. Red/pink cross weave linen again from stash and please excuse the wonky hanger photo!



Laying flat


And with the skirt fully spread out, you can see just how much this is going to twirl!


The fourth dress uses the Farbenmix Anna pattern in a size 4. It's a wrap style with two apron pieces connected by the shoulder straps, one wrap and ties to the front and the other wraps and ties to the back. Orange linen from stash and the peacock embroidery is an Ottobre design.



I gave the peacock sequins on his tail instead of buttons and added some hand embroidered button flowers along the side. Poorly hand embroidered I must admit, hand sewing is not a talent of mine and this was my first attempt at hand embroidery. Passable, just.



The ricrac trim along the front and back hems has pretty orange flowers on it.



That's the lot, four little dresses winging their way across the Atlantic. I hope the recipients like them!