MAILBOX SURPRISE . SAIDOS DA CONCHA

Creio que, pelo menos em Portugal, a Constança e o se blog Saidos da Concha dispensam apresentações... Estou contentissima por a ter (e ao Rodrigo também) de visita ao meu blog!

 

In Portugal, Constança and her blog Saidos da Concha, need no introduction. But it is the first time she is taking part of a sewing series so you may not know her and her lovely son Rodrigo...

Check out this tunic she made with Trine's fabric and then head over to Saidos da Concha and delight yourself with Constança's incredible projects.

 

Hello everyone! I'm really excited to be a part of Mailbox Surprise, not only because sending and receiving fabrics all over the world is a fantastic idea, but also because it's my first sewing series ever!

In December I got a very generous package from Trine with a metre of navy fabric, a metre of blue stripey fabric and a couple of wooden buttons. The fabrics are really soft and lightweight and I thought they were the perfect choice for a little boy (I had told my Mailbox Surprise partner that I was quite conservative in terms of children's clothes... so I wasn't expecting any crazy prints). So thank you again for being so thoughtful, Trine!

I haven't used up the stripey fabric yet (still searching for the perfect pattern) but as soon as I saw the navy material I thought: sailor top! I love traditional sailor suits but I think they can be a bit too much for a modern boy... a top is quite enough, especially when worn with a pair of jeans jeans (see? I'm not that conservative!). So I went hunting for a suitable pattern — and I found one in the book Pretty Little Things to Make.

Now, this book is A5 format size and you have to enlarge the patterns at a copy shop... that was my first adventure. Then luckily I made a quick muslin (which I never do) and realised that I needed the cut a size 5 for my son who's just turned 2. Uhm... And to make matters worse, the instructions on how to sew the top are sparse, to say the least, and I found attaching the collar extremely tricky, especially because the pattern doesn't include a facing. Thankfully the classic Reader's Digest The Complete Guide to Sewing came to my rescue and I ended up using some bias tape to finish it off.

The sailor top turned out OK even though I find the V neck too deep (but that's the only way it'll go over Rodrigo's head). He might be wearing it over a white t-shirt in the future...

Anyway, I learned a lot and now Rodrigo's got a sailor top of his own. Thanks again to Trine, Marta and Marte for making it possible!