MORI DRESS PATTERN TOUR

The first PDF pattern I ever bought was an Elegance and Elephants pattern, the Bubble Pocket Shorts, and since then I have become a great fan of Heidi’s designs. So, of course, I had to try the new Mori Dress…

PATTERN: Mori Dress by Elegance and Elephants. I felt in love with the Mori when I saw this beautiful photo Heidi shared on IG. Such a cute and girly design… Then I checked the details and loved it even more when I discovered it was a pullover dress with no back enclosure. That little detail makes it such a fast sew and also makes it super easy for my girls to put it on and off without my help. So, when Heidi asked me if I would like to take part of her tour I had to say yes. I made a tunic in size six for Teresa, though she turned 8 last November, as that was the appropriate size for her chest measurement and the fitting is perfect! I made no changes to the original pattern but I had to skip the back tie as I could not find the right ribbon and didn’t feel like making ties from the tunic fabric.

FABRIC: Love Birds by Holly Holderman for Lake House Dry Goods (outer fabric) and grey/white striped cotton (lining fabric). Sometimes I love a print but I am not so sure I like the final garment made with that print. That’s exactly what happened with this quilting cotton! Maybe it is too bold… Maybe it drapes the wrong way because it is quilting cotton… Maybe my kids are already too old for this kind of prints… I really don’t know! Anyway, I mixed it with some lovely striped fabric from my local shop (Park dos Tecidos) and matching pompon trim and Teresa loved it so I guess that’s enough for me! But I think next time I will try this pattern with some nice white linen for a softer look…

 

 

Another detail I love about this pattern is the lined shoulder ruffles (is this the appropriate name?). They are great to play with fabric combinations and they are way faster to sew then if they were hemmed. Plus, when working with quilting cotton you don't ever see the ugly non printed inside of the fabric. Perfect!

So, don’t forget to check the other Mori Dresses and Tunics on the tour and remember you can get your copy of the pattern at Elegance and Elephants store with 10% discount until midnight (PST) on April 30 with the code MORITOUR.

And finally, I would love to share with you my other Elegance and Elephants creations as they are still among my (and my daughters’) favorite garments: the Bubble Pockets Shorts and the Bubble Pockets Shorts turned into rompers (with a tutorial), the Spin Skirt, the Bohemian Babydoll, the Hemlock Top and the Hemlock Top turned into dress. Enjoy!

WHAT I LEARNT FROM MIE

One of the greatest things about sewing isn’t actually sewing related… It is the pleasure of being part of an incredible international community made from talented, generous and fun people.

Supporting each other, sharing our knowledge and having fun is what this sewing community is all about. So when Celina and Ines contacted me to ask if I would like to take part of this surprise for our friend Mie I was delighted. (I was also a bit freighted but we will get back to that later…)

Mie is quite amazing! Not only is she an amazing seamstress (check out her blog and delight yourself with her gorgeous creations) but she is also an amazing friend. She knows so much about sewing and she is always willing to share her knowledge. That’s why our surprise is entitled: “What I learnt from Mie!”

I have learned many, many things with Mie! But one remains in my mind the most: she showed me how to line jackets. I remember us talking through Messenger… This is a tricky technic and it took me quite a while to understand it but she didn’t give up!

So on the video, the girls and I are all wearing nice lined jackets I made and I have some more photos of the girls’ jackets to share with you today. (I will try to blog about my jacket one day…)

PATTERN: View Q from the Japanese book Girly Style Wardrobe (check all projects in this book here). The only thing I have to say about this pattern is: I love it! Well, I actually didn’t like that the jacket was not lined… But with Mie’s help that little issue was easily solved. As Japanese patterns don’t have seam allowances, creating the pattern pieces for facing and lining was piece of cake. I know adding seam allowances is a pain but if you are into customizing existing patterns is makes everything much easier and fast. Since I was lining the jackets I also decided to add a little trim where the lining and outer fabrics meet. It is a nice way to smoothly change from one fabric to the other and gives the garment a special touch.

FABRIC: Outer fabric: wool blend fabric from Traetela. Lining fabric: rayon from my local shop Feira dos Tecidos. The outer polka dot fabric is so special… It was given to me by my good friend Rita last year and I am so glad I used it for these jackets. The quality is great! Teresa and Ines have been wearing them almost daily for 5 months and they are still looking pretty good. For the lining I picked a nice viscose to give the jackets a warmer felling. It was my first time working with viscose and it wasn’t as hard as I thought it would be. But I am glad I started working with this fabric for the inside of the garment. Though Mie is totally right when she says the inside should look as nice as the outside of a garment…

And that gets me back to the purpose of this post… The video for Mie! I was so freighted about having to shoot a small video. I am glad I could have my daughters’ help as I think I would not make it all alonee. But now I am so glad I did it!

As usually, Celina made a wonderful job putting together the testimonials of these super talented ladies:

Celina . Petit à Petit and Family, Abby . Sew Much Ado, Rita . Conversas de Hermanas, Heidi . Handmade Frenzy, Olu . Needle and Ted, An . StraightGrain, Jenya . While she was sleeping, Trine . Groovy Baby and Mama, Andreia . In a Manner of Sewing, Jess . Sewing Rabbit, Hayley . Welcome to the Mouse House, Marta . Do Guincho, Maria . My Cozy Co, Natalie . La Gang à Nat, Holli . Hello Holli, Erin . Erin Always, Olga . Coffee and Thread, Delia . Delia Creates, Alida . Alida Makes, Gabriela . Chalk and Notch, Victoria . As it Seams, Rachel . Stitched Together, Chelise . Chelise Patternson, Emi . Just Add Fabric, Inês . La Folie

Check out the video, have fun and… THANK YOU MIE!

What I learnt From Mie from Celina Bailey on Vimeo.

THE ELEENA DRESS BY COFFE AND THREAD

Today I’ve got a beautiful dress to show you: The Eleena Dress!

This is actually the first dress I’ve sewn for Teresa for quite some time as she isn’t much into dresses anymore. And you know what? She is in love with it. She might even go back to liking dresses again just because of her new Eleena…

PATTERN: The Eleena Dress by Coffee and Thread. This is such a cute little vintage dress! I love it! This kind of dresses were very popular in the sixties and I even got an old pattern – sent all the way from New Zealand by my friend Constança - for a very similar design. But vintage patterns come in one size only, so I am glad Olga decided to launch the Eleena Dress so I can make it in every single size I need! Plus, the Eleena has some really nice sleeve options – flutter sleeves, short sleeves and long sleeves – and that makes it perfect for every season. There is also an option for a pretty collar and a contrasting central panel that will allow you to play with fabric. The dress is quite a-line shaped so it swings beautifully. I think that little detail was actually the one that made me want to sew it for my kids…

 

 

 

Since I had already seen so many amazing versions of the “original” dress (check #eleenadress on IG to be amazed), I’ve decided to play a little bit with the pattern and make something slightly different… I started with the collarless long sleeved version with continuous front panel and then hacked it a little bit: I’ve cut the skirt into two pieces and used a bright yellow contrasting piece of fabric for the bottom part, replaced the back invisible zipper for a big and long exposed zipper and the lining for a little neck facing (because my chambray is quite stiff and I thought the lining might make the top part of the dress too bulky), I’ve lengthen the sleeve a couple of inches (about 5cm) to properly accommodate Teresa’s very long arms and shorted the overall length again about a couple of inches as I like my kids dresses to be quite short.

FABRIC: Denim chambray and solid yellow cotton, both from my local shops (chambray from Feira dos Tecidos and Solid Yellow from Park dos Tecidos). I´ve got this thing for color blocking… I just love these simple designs in nice bright contrasting colors! But in Portugal, especially in winter time, kids wear mostly dark colors and sometimes – especially when I look at school or birthday photos – I feel like my daughters look  a little bit like aliens… I just hope they will not be traumatized adults because I make their clothes! But I am almost sure they will only wear black in their teens!

Don't forget to check out the other creations on the tour:

February, 22 

Bonnie & Lottie, As it Seams, Sew Happy, Call Ajaire

February, 24

In a Manner of Sewing, Skirt Fixation, Stitched Together, 

Made by Sara, The Life of Compulsive Crafter

February, 26

A Jennuine Life, Fairies, Bubble & Co, Hungie Gungie, Doguincho

February, 29

Rebel & Malice, Sew Shelly Sew, Creative Needle and Threads, 

Welcome to the Mouse House

March, 2

Candice Ayala, LBG Studio, Crafty Biggers, Sewing Like Mad

March, 4

Greendoodle, Rita Pirolita, Boevenbende, Kristine Hansen 

March, 7

Les Reloux, Just Add Fabric, Lokakid, While She was Sleeping

 

The Eleena dress is on sale for only $7 until March 7th and you can get it here! 

 

Olga has also put together a great giveaway were you can win Coffee and Thread two patterns and one yard of Sara Jane fabric.Try your luck on the Rafflecopter!

 



a Rafflecopter giveaway

SEWING FOR BABIES

I’ve sewn baby clothes for the first time! And it was fun. Really fun!

My blogging friend Patricia is expecting a baby girl and some Portuguese bloggers/seamstress decided to put together a baby shower for her with some handmade gifts. A fun idea, right? And the perfect excuse to sew sweet little clothes…

I’ve made a jumper for her (very) soon to be born daughter and a dress for her oldest girl, the adorable Miss Caracolinhos. I’ve also made a softie for them to share (or fight about… How knows!)

PATTERNS: Romper: selft drafted, Dress: View A nº4 from the book Vêtements Amples à Superposer by Mayuko Murata, Softie: Henry & Helga Elephant Plushies free pattern by Christina McKinney for Birch Fabrics Blog

FABRICS: Main fabric is a right flowered red cotton from a baby bed sheet I found on a Zara Home sale. Zara Home has some wonderful prints and I always visit the store at the end of each season hopping to find great bargains. For the romper’s lining I’ve used a white and red pocka dot fabric I had on my stash. The snaps are from Kam. (Oh! I love my kam pliers!)

The romper. I’ve only started sewing when my kids were toddlers so I didn’t have any baby clothes pattern I could use. So I went to my basement, picked one of my daughters’ baby rompers and drafted the pattern myself. I just hope the fitting is right as I have no one at home that will ever fit into such a small piece of clothing. The romper if fully lined with contrasting polka dot cotton fabric and has snaps both in the back and between the leg openings so it is easy to dress and undress as well as to change diapers. This was such an easy and fun garment to sew…

The dress. I love to dress my daughters in matching outfits so I had to make a matching dress for Miss Caracolinhos. I also love to see little girls dressed in simple girly dresses. So I made a spring dress with puff sleeves and gathered skirt. Simple as that! The book is a French version of a Japanese sewing book and I have to say I am in love with all patterns in this book. All clothes are stylish and wearable at the same time. Unlike the romper, the dress is not lined so I’ve finished the neckline with blue bias tape. But, like the romper, the back closes with bright red snaps.

The softie. I had already made a softie like this for my friend Asmita. This is such a great free pattern! It comes in two sizes but I have sewn the largest one both times and it is perfect. The elephant body is made with the polka dot fabric and its ears are made with the flowered fabric as I didn’t have much left after making the clothes…

And why didn’t I have any fabric left? Because Ines begged me to sew a dress for her too! And she also made me sew another romper and elephant to give to her school teacher that just had a baby girl, I must add…

 

Don't Forget to visit my friends' blogs and check all amazings things they have sewn for Patricias's baby shower:

Ana Sofia

Carla

Constança

Inês

Magda

Maria João

Rita

Sara

Soraia

REFASHION MONTH AT HOUSE OF ESTRELA

It’s Refashion Month at House of Estrela and I am really happy to be, once again, part of this series. Last time I made a top for Teresa with a shirt I used to love and this time I am sharing a shirt for me made with a piece of nice cotton from a bed sheet I bought several years ago. (I told you on my last post you were going to see a lot more selfish sewing around here, right?)

Pattern: View B from the Japanese book Stylish Dress Book. I love Japanese sewing books! I love the design of the garments, the styling and even the instructions. But I still don’t know if Japanese clothes really fit my body type… (I hope they do!) Anyway, I had to try this pattern as the sleeves looked so cool… Before hemming the shirt I decided to try it on and it didn't feel quite right. Though the shoulder line was spot on, the shirt was so big, long and wide on me! I decided to cut almost 10cm/4 inches in length and a 5cm/2 inches on each side of the bodice. I don’t know if this was the right decision… I don’t know if the fitting is better this way… I have so much to learn when it comes to women’s clothing! (I have a lot to learn about children’s clothing, too, I must add!)

 

Fabric: White woven cotton from a bed sheet I bought at Zara Home. Good quality bed sheets (bought for nice prices on sale!) are great for clothes too! They are especially good to make “wearable muslins” (here is the first one I made and still wear a lot.) Since I am just starting to make clothes for me and never know if a pattern is going to work, this is a great way to try a pattern without ruining my best fabric but still getting a nice piece of clothing. One more detail about the shirt: the bias tape on the neckline and sleeves is store bought and I had it on my stash for years. The original design doesn’t feature bias tape on the sleeves but they were so short I thought they would look nice this way.

 As you can see, unlike Teresa and Ines, I don’t feel very comfortable in front of the camera… These were the best photos I could pick and I hope you like them more then I do!

Today is just the first day of Refashion Week so stay tuned for all creations that will pop up at House of Estrela during the week.  And don’t forget to head over Pequeno Mundo a 3 and see what Patricia has refashioned…

LIEBSTER AWARD

Last spring my good friend Asmita from Elephant in the Study surprised me with the Liebster Award. I was so surprised! Thank you so much Asmita!

 

If you have never heard of the Liebster Award, let me try to explain what it is about… It is a virtual award passed from one blogger to another with the aim of promoting blogs with less than 200 followers. It’s kind of a chain thing where the awardee has to answer five questions and provide five facts about himself or herself and then chose five other bloggers and pass the award. And so on, and so on…

So here are my answers to Asmita’s questions:

A. What’s the one thing that you have been really wanting to make but hesitate when it’s time to actually do it (I mean in terms of sewing, but feel free to interpret it as liberally as you like!)

I would love to start quilting! I never did because I know I am not good with long and repetitive projects. But I just love quilts and I would be thrilled if I could ever make one from start to finish. Plus, my home needs handmade things. (Well, that’s the other way I could interpret your question, Asmita!) I’ve actually been postponing properly decorating my home since we’ve moved…

B. How do you get out of a sewing rut?

I actually don’t have a planned sewing routine so I think I never get actually tired of sewing. During the weekdays I mix sewing with architecture (my daytime job), gardening, surfing, windsurfing and playing or studying with the kids when they arrive from school. I am really lucky to be able to work at home so I can manage my time and that gives me a lot of freedom to do what I really love at my own pace.

C. Favorite summertime activity?

Definitely going to the beach! We live just a steep away from one of Europe’s best beaches so we go to the beach all the time. I’ve been windsurfing for several years now and I just started surfing. These sports, like sewing, are really addictive!

D. What’s the one thing you cannot go to bed without doing?

Checking out the girls sleeping is something I always like to do before going to sleep. (And pee and brush my teeth, of course!)

E. Five random facts about yourself.

1. Besides Portugal, I´ve lived in Italy (Venice) and Spain (Barcelona) while I was studying architecture.

2. I sleep like a stone! During the night, once I get to sleep there is now way anyone will be able to wake me up.

3. I used to drive a big bright yellow wv transporter van and I had all my windsurfing gear inside all the time. When Ines was born I sadly had to sell it as there where only three seating places on that van.

4. I’ve been a vegetarian most of my adult life. I restarted eating meat when I got pregnant but I still prefer vegetables and fruits to any kind of meat or fish.

5. Right now I have three sewing machines (and I sew with all of them all the time): an old Pfaf from the ´50 that used to belong to my grandmother, a Singer Tradition I bought last summer to sew knits (because the vintage Pfaf doesn’t like modern stretchy fabrics at all!) and a brand new Singer Serger I am completely in love with!

And here are five of my favorite blogs. (It was hard to pick only five!) So the award goes to…

1. La Folie

2. Needle and Ted

3. Nutta!

4. Sew Pony

5. Stitched Together

And finally here are my questions:

A. What is your favorite and less favorite part of the sewing process?

B. Do you have any real life sewing friends?

C. Where would you like to go on your next summer vacation?

D. What is your family’s favorite meal or dish?

E. Five random facts about yourself.

And, because a blogpopst without photos is not a blog post, I’ve got a couple of skirts to show you. They were made with one of the wonderful fabrics my dear friend Asmita has sent me a couple of months ago so this is the perfect timing!

Isn’t this block printed / quilted fabric amazing (and gorgeous and special and unique...)?! I was completely in love with it since I opened the package my parents brought me from India. Yes, they were lucky enough to visit India and meet Asmita!  I wish I could have been there too…

Pattern: Self drafted (inspired by the wonderful Spin Skirt by Elegance and Elephants). For such a unique and busy fabric I wanted a very simple design so these skirts are not much more than a couple of simple rectangles sewn together. I’ve made a couple of skirts just like these last year and they have been worn again and again so I knew I could go wrong with this pattern.

Fabric: quilted /block printed cotton that came all the way from India and polka dot cotton from my local store. The skirts are reversible because the quilted fabric has lots of raw edges on the wrong side and I didn’t want that to show. I think the quilted cotton side will be worn most of the time but I might go for the polka dot side once or twice too. Reversible clothes are really fun!

Thank you so much Asmita for the Award and for the wonderful fabric you have sent me! (By the way, you can see all fabrics Asmita has sent me on my Instagram. Look for “martadoguincho”.)

 

SEW JAPANESE SERIES . NUTTA (TAKE 02!)

Today I am visiting for the second time this week my friend Shino, in Japan, for her great series Sew Japanese. And I am taking Ines and her new outfit with me!
Oh, and how I love this outfit!

Both blouse and shorts patterns come from the Japanese book Handmade Little Girl's Clothes by Yuki Araki and this was the first time I actually sewn with original Japanese instructions. (Ok, I admit almost all my Japanese sewing books are English or French versions. I am a cheater! This book was gently borrowed by my friend Carla. Thank you!) Not fully understanding the instructions wasn't such a big deal as the diagrams where great but, for the size chart I had to get some help from the great sewing dictionary at Japanese Sewing Books Blog...
Though I love the shorts - they are super comfy and have the cutest pockets at the front - I have to admit I am super proud of the blouse as it was made with linen thrifted from my grandmother's old bed sheets!
Courtney from Sweeter then Cupcakes is also sharing a super cool knit jumper so Ines is in great company.
Head over Nutta and check out all the details! And, if you have missed it, you can check out the blouses I shared Wednesday here!

DEBBIE'S BIRHDAY DRESS BY SEW PONY

Last year I’ve had the pleasure of testing Suz, from the Australian blog Sew Pony, first PDF Pattern: Debbie’s Birthday Dress, but I completely forgot to take decent photos and blog about the dress I made with the test pattern… The dress still fits Teresa and she wore it today to go to our local public library. When I saw her reading a Portuguese version of one of Marcel Marlier's books (she is actually reading not posing for the photo! she didn't even knew I was taking a photo!) I knew I had to finally show you this dress!

The Pattern: Debbie Birthday Dress by Sew Pony. What a timeless simple pattern this is! It has several options – you can check out here two different dresses I made with this pattern last summer – and it is perfect for a beginner seamstress. But, if you are more confident in making children’s clothes, this is also a great pattern to “flip” and add details.

Fabric/Notions: Main fabric is from a pillowcase I bought at my local street market for 1 Euro! It is super soft and I love the black dotted print. I’m sorry but I can’t remember where I bought the red lace...  I think it is also from my local street market but I am not sure.

We had fun during this photo shot!

 

And, at the end, Ines decided to take part too! She is wearing one of the few non handmade woven clothes she has. This dress is actually a nightgown I bought at fancy local children’s clothes shop (Anti Milk) before I knew how to sew…

The photos where taken (with my iPhone...) at one of my favorite buildings in Cascais: Santa Marta Lighthouse. Isn't it fabulous?!

After launching Debbie’s Birthday Dress, Suz has also designed a lovely shirt, The Little Betty Top (as soon as I can master knits I will have to sew this pattern!), and a gorgeous swimsuit, The Cosy Swimsuit (here is my version). Don´t forget to check out Sew Pony shop for more detailed information on these patterns!