Manuka Skirt by Below The Kowhai Review

Recently I got the opportunity again to test the latest pattern The Manuka Skirt from Below the Kowhai

And it's a winner, this girl is eager for another!

 

 

I will be happy to oblige ofcourse, as I have had a skirt like this sitting in my pinterest folder for a good 6 years!

 

With three options to choose from this has to be my favourite, with front pockets and a faux button placket that means I can avoid using the buttonhole foot on my sewing machine! Thats a bonus! Anything that cuts down on time, while on the plus side being able to use cute buttons, ticks all the boxes for me!

 

All and all another quick sew and great pattern thats sure to be well loved by Sophie from Below the Kowhai....thanks Sophie

Millie Dress Hack

When looking through different photos of the Millie Dress on Instagram, I came across of the top version that such and such made, so I gave it a go myself

It's another success which is always a thrill and of course it has frills!! so its a thumbs up from my girl, 
but saying that I'm pretty blessed because she generally loves everything mummy makes for her and is easy to please.

She is also enjoying the ''photo shoots" leading me all around the property to take photos of her new clothes

Meanwhile her brothers look on, doing there own poses and having a laugh..... I would insert a photo here, but I probably wouldn't live to hit publish!
 hahahaha......pre teens/teenagers huh ;)

The Handmade Kids Wardrobe grows again with the Tui Pinafore

I was very fortunate to be able to test Sophie's newest pattern from Below the Kowhai.

'The Tui Pinafore'

What she didn't realise is that I had been looking at Pinafore ideas to make for my girl, only a week before she put the test call out! What perfect timing!!

This Pink corduroy had been sitting in my stash for a number of years, part of it was already made into a skirt for me that I never finished, along with some extra fabric, which unfortunately combined with the skirt, suffered from patches of fade damage from the sun streaming in where some of my fabric was folded in a bookcase 

 note to self not to do that again!

 

But with the bodice, straps and pockets didn't take up too much fabric, so I was able to cut around a lot of the the faded areas, which made me happy to be able to destash a bit more, and at the same time, finally use up this beautiful colour for my girl.....who naturally was thrilled because it was pink!

I had a lot of fun with the process of embroidering the pocket cuff and I reckon that detail finishes it off nicely, especially since I opted for a straight colour. 

I can see this being a favourite as its a great dress to run around in and climb trees, just the kind of thing a little country girl needs!

The top is another wardrobe staple I've added, which actually were a pair of leggings I made and quickly realised were too small because this jersey knit didn't have enough stretch!

Gah! You win some you lose some!

 But not to be defeated, I cut them apart and used them to make the sleeves, luckily I had enough already for the bodice front and back

 

The pattern is from a old Ottobre Magazine I have, and I opted for the contrast fabric around the shoulder and neckline.

 I've been having fun with making her T-Shirts a little different!

 

And while we were taking photos, we realised one of our Mountain Paw Paws has a bounty of fruit!

  

Which was quite exciting for this little fruit eater!

 

 

A Fail to a Fix

A few months ago I completed this rainbow tunic from the book Happy Homemade Sew Chic Kids,  

(this is the same pattern as the middle dress on the book cover.)

 

 It looked cute, the fabric was fun and it worked well as a top  with leggings

but the only problem was the sleeves,

 in the book they sit like butterfly sleeves, but I'm guessing that is likely because the fabric is much lighter and had more drape, so this is where my fabric type and pattern match was a fail, it annoyed me and those sleeves certainly annoyed her! So in the end, this little tunic didn't get much love. 

So I fixed it, and I did it promptly, which even surprised my normal procrastinating self!

 I know my patterns, and if I hadn't, it would have otherwise lingered in the back of her drawers or in fail pile, forgotten, like many of my work in progresses or sewing fails.

Cutting off the old sleeves and turning them under with a top stitch did the trick nicely.

And since then, it's now in regular rotation, along with a pair of loose leggings I made her from a pair of my old Pjays

I must say it's weird looking at her wearing those leggings because its looks like I just shrunk my old pair down to her size! haha

The Teepee Winter dress

 

 My little girls newest addition to her winter wardrobe courtesy of a free pattern from The Mix it Make it Blog

here is The Millie Dress.

I love so much about this dress, the frills around the arms, the comfy knit and the Teepees!!

But suprisingly for me I love the mustard colour

It's not a colour I'm usually drawn to, but for my girl she suits it so well.

 

The free pattern is only available to size 6, so I extended the bodice shoulder height and width to accomodate her size and make sure it would fit over her head without a fight! 

I also extended the length of the skirt to 50cm......but now I'm looking at the photo's,

 I realised I forgotten to lengthen the sleeves after I made the modifications to the width! Oops.

Now I'm just debating whether to make the long sleeve T shirt version.....it would be pretty cute wouldn't it? And sure to be a hit with girl too.

Bellbird Take Two

Keen to make another of the Bellbird dresses and keen also to use more of my opshop fabric stash 

( this is one my mum purchased for me on one of our outings, all for a bargain price of $1 )

I cut out what I would like to call a Autumn/Spring version, as this fabric is very light, and I would say likely a Cotton Lawn.

 Due to this, the bodice and the skirt are both fully lined.

But I decided to keep the sleeves unlined, as I liked the idea of the effect from the light shining through

 and if you look closely you may be able to see below it worked just how I planned.....

love it when that happens!

 I decided to make a alteration this time around, because I quite like playing around with patterns, and this is a great one to do that with.

I chose to gather the sleeves traditionally and bias bind the cuffs in a contrasting fabric ( actually the offcuts from the previous dress ) 

 I did this using the same circumference measurement provided for the elastic plus a extra inch.

 Teamed with a contrasting rouleau bow,

 this finished the dress of nicely.

And Lil Miss who was reluctant at first to let me take photos, soon enjoyed it, especially once she decided to accessorize with some of my Nana's collection of earrings, which are now part of her precious collection.  And believe me they are Precious! Even I need permission! hahaha

Bellbird Dress - The Perfect Addition to Your Little Girls Winter Wardrobe

Sophie from Below the Kowhai patterns has just released her first pattern the Bellbird dress.

A sweet timeless design that was just the piece I was looking for to add to my girls winter wardrobe

 With the addition of a optional embroidery on the bodice,

 this makes for a very special piece.

However due to the nature of my chosen fabrics, I found the embroidery design was getting lost, aswell as that, it was making my eyes go cross-eyed and giving me quite the headache.  

 But determined to make this work, I had to find a solution as this fabric was part of my opshop fabric stash, and I am desperate to use more of my fabric finds from local thrift stores, as well as keen to upcycle more ( but more of that on a future post ) 

 The woolfelt worked out to be the best replacement for the embroidered flower petals, which made it alot easier for the flowers to pop against my fabric.  

I'm quite pleased with how it turned out, even though the silk stitch is not my strong point.....I'll leave that to the more talented embroiderers out there such as Sophie.

 I also love to make roleaux loops so I took the opportunity to make one for the button closure at the back, looping around the sweetest vintage button.

The pockets make a nice touch to this timeless design, and I'm sure to find many odd things in these pockets come washing time, including in the washing machine, if I've forgotten to empty the pockets......which I often am likely to do.

 The pattern itself is well written and Sophie guides you through the whole process with detailed photos, including how to line the whole bodice which tucks away all the seams and gives a nice tailored finish to the garment.  

It's perfect for any kid whom itchy seams are unbearable.

I don't know about you, but even though summer didn't really show itself much this year, I'm ready for the change of seasons with the layering of clothes, wool, tights and boots and a dress like this I think fits right in.