Sewing in 2016: Part 2, April to June

I’m back again with part 2 of this 4 part series, showcasing some fabulous Australian pattern designers that I used throughout 2016

As last time, I’ll put the links to the designers at the end of the post.

April:

• April was a bit quieter. I finished the dress shirt for my boy that would match the previously made dress and suit I’d made the girls. This shirt was made using the Troop shirt pattern by Tadah Sewing and I used a plain colour and used the floral from the girls outfits to accent in places such as the pocket flap, inside the collar and on the extra flaps on the shoulders. I love that this pattern has a slim fit option for my slender boy.
• For pattern testing this month, I tested a super cool cap (the Street Kred 2.0) by Apple+Fig designs. My kids loved theirs.
• My daughter’s birthday is right at the beginning of May so I’d made her birthday outfit during April as well. I used a spandex panel with coordinating fabric from Boo! Designs to make her a ‘skater’ peplum top and matching long leggings. This has been one of her favourite outfits all year.

May:

• I tested the Sprouts pants pattern for babies and toddlers by Flosstyle. This pattern was great as it had 6 different options, 3 long and 3 short AND a mixture of woven and knit fabrics. I had fun making a few pairs of these. I also used some of the other Flosstyle patterns to match with the pants, such as the bandana style bib and tops from the Super Suit pattern. I love that these patterns are simple for beginners and quick for experienced sewers.
• The last pattern I tested this month was the long sleeve add-on for the Tea Party Dress by Tadah. I made some smaller ones for the baby and lovely big ones for my big girl. It definitely added something different to this pattern.
• I entered a showcase hosted by Utopian Threads fabric. As the fabric collection was ‘Wonderland’ I chose to make a tea set. I used the pattern by Flosstyle and altered it slightly to get the tea pot lid the way I wanted it and the saucers to be 1 piece with pleats rather than 4 separate pieces, to showcase the fabric better. I also made 4 tea cups instead of just the 2 that is I the pattern.
• Lastly this month, I made a friends little girl a gorgeous pinny with My Little Pony fabric for her birthday with a matching bag. I used the pattern by Pattern Emporium and create my own pocket style to match the country feel. The bag was from an issue of One Thimble.

June:

• This month I tested a cot rail protector for Muffy Duck . This pattern was a great template to adjust to match your own cots’ needs.
• I did a small test on making the sleeves 3/4 and adding a tie to the Tea Party long sleeve add on for Tadah patterns.
• I entered another showcase by Utopian Threads, this time I made some cute banners. This sew was fun as it was totally made up by me!  I loved the creativity involved.
• I got some thick spandex and made my boy some skins for footy training using the leggings pattern by Boo! Designs.
• I made myself 2 heartlight skirts. This was a new pattern by Pattern Emporium for ladies, using knit fabric. It has 3 panels and a stretchy waistband. It is super quick to wear and the one made from Art Gallery knit (I got from Utopian Threads) is still on high rotation.
• I finished a project that was bugging me. I had made up a pattern for a busy book and had started 3. I got these finished but to be honest, I take my hat off to those who make these frequently. The amount of materials and time that go into them is amazing!
• One of the busy books was for a friends little girl. As a bonus, I also included a pocket where there was a couple of animals from he Animal Puzzle by Felt with Love Designs. (You will see me mention these puzzles again in August 😉 ) I love these puzzles, they are great for fine motor, matching, sorting and imagination.
• My children had their sports day, so of course I thought it would be a great idea to make them each bucket hats to support their teams the night before! I used the pattern by Make It Perfect. The pattern came together well and I made them reversible so that they had their normal school hat colour on one side and their sports team colour on the other. These were finished the morning of the sports day! Nothing like cutting it fine.
• The last sew for the month was a sweet newborn size pinny using indigenous fabric for a friend to give as a gift. I love doing these 1 off sews where I can be creative.

I hope some of these sews have given you inspiration or brought your attention to new designers  or patterns you haven’t heard of before.

Happy Sewing,

Martina 🙂

Links:

• Tadah Sewing
• Boo! Designs
• Apple + Fig
• Flosstyle
• Pattern Emporium
• Muffy Duck
• Utopian Threads
• Make it Perfect
• Felt with Love Designs