A jacket for Jamie

I've had this black and white check fabric sitting around for a while now. I just couldn't make up my mind what to make with it...a dress? Skirt? Bag?
I decided to look through my sewing books for inspiration, and suddenly came across a lovely pattern for a reversible jacket for Jamie in Sewing for Boys!
I had seen it in there before when using the book for other things, but had never made it....I thought it would be perfect for the fabric!
I teamed it with a beige ripstop, patch pockets, and some chunky self cover buttons...and voila!
A lightweight, reversible jacket for Spring!
He seems to like it...haha! (apparently the sunglasses were NOT optional!)

Thanks for looking!

Lisa

And here it is . . .

Jamie's wardrobe for the Sewing Mamas Ottobre Sewing With a Plan contest!

(I got all the patterns from one issue - 1/2011)

It was awesome fun, and I think my favourite thing of the whole contest were these photo poses I got while trying to get 'proper' shots for the composite picture above - this boy REALLY loves the camera!

Here are some 'detail' shots - there was a LOT of stitching lol!

So wish me luck...we find out on the 8th November who has won!

Thanks for looking

Lisa

xxx

Shwin&Shwin 'Maxwell' Shirt - pattern test

Last week I was lucky enough to be chosen to test the new 'Maxwell' shirt pattern from Shwin&Shwin. I have never sewn a 'proper' shirt before (basically one with a collar lol!) so this would not only be a good test of the pattern, but a challenge for me too!

I was very impressed...the pattern was easy to assemble (it comes in downloadable PDF format) - instructions were very clear, the pictures and diagrams easy to follow, and the shirt is adorable! What more could you ask for?

Here's how ours turned out...I've had lots of compliments on it, and will definitely be making him more before the summer gets here...although this week it feels like it's already arrived ha ha!

Thanks for looking!

Lisa

xxx

Design by Jamie!

I made this Imke before we went away...I've only just got round to posting it! 

Now, the story behind this one...I was looking on EBay for some fabric for Jamie to make him a fleece hoody, and found some gorgeous 'kid' fabrics - robots, cars, trains, bright colours...

I saved them in my watch list, and decided to let him pick.

So, he looked....and picked a plain, dark brown stretch corduroy that had been in my watch list for another project! lol! No amount of persuasion would get him to change his mind...so I ordered it!

When it arrived, I decided to let him go the whole way and choose everything...the style, the applique wording and fabric - even down to the colours of thread!

So this is what he came up with...I think the boy has some serious designing in his future, it looks great - definitely not bad for a soon-to-be-4 year old!

The orange and blue zig zag stitching...they had to be on top of each other, not side by side...

The pocket on the sleeve...

The 'DUDE' applique...

and a couple of pics of the finished item!

Thanks for looking! 

Lisa xxx

Superman, Custom Feliz, and a sneaky peek!

Hi all!

Thought I'd show you my latest creations....

Russ had this tshirt for ages, and loved it, but it got a little tight for him lol! So I rescued it from the trash, and turned it into a shirt for Jamie.

Jamie decided he needed to do some of his 'posing' shots.....

Then I made this Feliz today...it's a little different to the usual style I make. It has no overdress, no frills, but it does have the sash ties still, with grosgrain ribbon straps and a giant applique flower. I love the way this turned out!

and finally....a sneaky peek at the oilcloth camera bag I'm working on...it's going ok so far lol!

Thanks for looking!

Lisa

xxx

Retro Long Shorts...

Jamie needed some new 3/4 length trousers (or long shorts, jams, whichever you prefer!) so I decided to have a go with this old pattern (it has copyright 1972 on it lol!) I have for some long trousers and just change it up! Aren't they awesome? I really am considering making the whole outfit, waistcoat and all ha ha! 

I used an old shirt of Russ's for the fabric, and added white bias tape trim on the front pocket (the front panel was cut from the front of the shirt, so I didn't even need to make a pocket - it was already on the front of the shirt lol!) and as tabs on the bottom cuffs, just as a contrast accent.

He seems to like them!

Thanks for looking!

Lisa

xxx

Hot hot hot!

Wow, the weather has been glorious here for ever.....long may it continue lol!

I haven't got a lot of sewing done, but thought I'd share what I have made.....

I needed to make up a Romance bag for the tutorial I'm doing to go with the pattern pieces I've already put up, so this is what I came up with! It's the Big Romance pattern....and a phone case I self drafted to go with it!

then, as my lovely man bought me the 'Sewing Clothes Kids Love' book, I thought I should get some more use out of it other than just the Feliz! I decided to have a go at the Imke hooded top for Jamie. I upcycled it from two of his Daddy's tshirts - the stripey one had a huge logo/pattern on it that would have been cut through and looked odd if I had left it, so I self drafted a square yoke for the shirt that eliminated the problem nicely!

Jamie likes it, and I'm pleased with how it turned out, so that's good - I'll definitely make it again.

and finally.....yes, it's been in the 80 degree range here....but sometimes, a boy just needs to make fairy cakes.

So we did.

I love to bake with Jamie - he's so enthusiastic, and gets so annoyed every time we have to actually COOK them before we can eat them - he's so funny!

Thanks for looking

Lisa

xxx

What I've been up to!

Other than being engrossed in my Cath Kidston book, I mean......

I self drafted a new bag pattern - the Daydreamer! 

Ta-dah!

It was inspired by a friend of mine asking me to make her a deeper handbag for her to take on holiday - and this is what I came up with! I'm glad to say she was very happy with it.

And another bag.....this one for my little guy! He's been crazing me for ages to make him a bag - he keeps seeing me make all these others, bless him - so I decided now was the time. We're off to Colne Valley Railway's Day Out With Thomas on Saturday, so I decided it would be good for him to have a Thomas backpack to put his drink, snacks and goodies in while we are there.

I used the toddler backpack pattern from Indietutes which is fab! I downsized it a bit from the actual pdf as I think it would have been too big - but this size is perfect for him!

He liked it so much he sat clutching it all the way through lunch - and has been planning what to put in it all afternoon lol!

Thomas the Tank Engine PJ Pants!

I made these for my little Thomas fiend today...PJ pants! Needless to say after I got them on him, I couldn't get them off again - and he's currently all tucked up in bed with them on - good job I prewashed the fabric, eh? lol!

I traced them from a pair of pants I already made him as I love the fit of them - you can see them here: 

summer pants

Please excuse the pictures - he was so excited with them I couldn't get him to stay still for five minutes! 

His attempt at a 'pose'...

and a rare still moment - no idea what he was looking at, but it seems it was fascinating lol!

Thanks for looking!

xxx

Stripe 'J' applique top - competition entry!

Tomorrow is the final deadline for the 'I am Momma Hear me Roar' 'Let's Hear it for the Boys' competition .

Typically for me, I only found out about it yesterday, but thought it might be fun to have a go at entering...so I did!

I used the last of the stripe jersey that I made my stripe tee with - I'll just make sure we don't wear them both on the same day lol!

I thought it looked a bit plain for him as it was, so I jazzed it up a bit with a red jersey 'j' applique (cut from an old tee that was too small for him) - he said 'Mummy, that's a 'J' for Jamie! Is it for me?' Bless him!

No pattern, as per....lol!

Posing shot....

There's a shadow on my feet, Mummy!

Look at those eyes....they let him get away with murder! (ok, I know this shot has nothing to do with the top, but....I'm his Mummy and I love him! lol!)

Thank you for looking, I can't wait to see the other entries - how exciting!

xxx

Thomas Skinny Tie

While cutting the fabric for Jamie's summer pj bottoms/lounge pants I had a long, thin scrap of fabric left over....so after looking at it for a while wondering what to make with it, I came up with this! He's a funny lad, he likes wearing ties, and loves Thomas, so I thought it would be perfect!

No pattern, as per....I just winged it - it fastens at the back with a popper so he can't hang himself on anything.

Just look at the face, full of mischief lol!

Thanks for looking!

xxx

The simplest things...

I saw something similar to this on Pinterest this morning when I should have been doing other things...seriously, it's addictive! So I thought I'd have a go at making one for Jamie.

So after pinching a cereal box out of the cupboard, this is what I came up with - he LOVES it! He played with it for an hour straight after I gave it to him, and it was the first thing he showed his Daddy when he came home from work.

The balls came from a Hungry Hippos game...this is much less noisy lol!

I might have a go at a better one when I next have a spare cereal box - I'll get him to help me paint it up and make it look nice. But he doesn't seem to mind, bless him!

Thanks for looking!

xxx

Sir Topham Hatt coming through!

Jamie decided he wanted a hat like Sir Topham Hatt from Thomas the Tank Engine this morning...

so after an hour with some cardboard, sticky tape, an old tshirt and some sewing (the tshirt fabric is actually stitched to the cardboard lol!)....here's what he got!

and here's him modelling it...

he's been bossing his trains around now for the past half an hour...I think he's happy with it lol!

Thanks for looking

xxx