Stash busting Maternity MuuMuu :)

I've had the Burda "Tara" pattern sitting in my online stash for a while, since it was a friday freebie about 18 months ago in fact. I liked the style and different construction to the norm but I'd never quite got around to making it.

I found this lime green and brown cotton voile in the Spotlight clearance wrack some time last summer. I'd seen a women in a dress with a similar "butterflies made out of butterflies" fabric... but hers was a bit more of a muted colourway. I was going to make it into a shift dress to show off the pattern, something Laurel-esque. But I never did. And I probably wouldn't have worn it anyway! Its very green.

With the weather heating up here (I'm typing this outside on a glorious 28 degree cloudless day, yey for spring!) I decided to bite the bullet and make a simple throw on dress for days when clingy jersey just seems tooo nasty.

Actually, it started out as a top with 3 inches added to the length to stretch over the ever expanding bump. I cut the 44, since I figured I needed all the room I could muster and the empire line is brought in with elastic anyway. I contemplated trying to cut a smaller back and shoulder piece but that was too much thinking so I decided to just fudge it into fitting later...

Tara has a different construction to anything I've sewn before- raglan style flutter sleeves that connect the (very deep) front panels to the back pannel. That made it quite easy to fudge the fit by simply pinching out the extra material at the back seam. You finish the edges prior to sewing, so it literally is just a case of pinching then making sure the edges match. I  took about 4cm off on each side... Its meant that the back sits a little higher than it might otherwise but meh. Good sun protection ;)

Once I'd got it so it didn't fall of my shoulders I finished the edges and realised I still probably wouldn't wear it. Because if its too hot for jersey, who can really be bothered with shorts.
So I used the remainder of my fabric (true stash busting win there!) to add a flounce around the bottom hem.

I'm not sure I'll wear this version out of the house- its got a fair few flaws and its lime green and from the front and side I look like a tank- but its cool and flouncy and presentable enough to answer the door if needed. Though they might get an eyeful from that low-low-low front... Its got plenty of growing room left for the next couple of months, and theres plenty of breast feeding access and post-baby tummy hiding potential for the rest of the summer!

And just in case you think I'm neglecting the little one: How cute are these pants?!

The pattern is from Purl Soho here, available free in sizes up to 9 months. 

Maternity Sewing - 6 months in.

Most of my recent sewing has been for the baby, from cutesy nappy covers to nursery decor like curtains (boring! but satisfying) and an underskirt for the cot. Baby stuffs will continue to be added to my flickr set, over on the side bar. Go check it out!
Some of it has been for me though, with mixed outcomes!

My favourite and generally most successful makes are the gathered T-shirts using the tutorial Zoe put out a while back. When I'm wearing them I feel pregnant, not just fat! Definitely a win. I've made 4 of them now, with my favourites being the dino vest (spotlight clearance, 18 months ago!), and this one I just made in preparation for Mo-vember. Its cut from some thin ?slub jersey I got from the charity shop a while back for $1. Win.

The dino vest was an early attempt at sewing knits, so while I love it there are lots of faults. The Mo is much more "professionally" finished, with neck and arm bands and an extra wide hem band to finish it nicely and add a bit of extra length that it badly needed! The pleats in the mo top feel a little high, but it still works. If I make another I'll probably drop them a few centimeters.

Once it was done I used the below image to free-hand a moustache onto the bump. I traced an outline in chalk, then used a paint-tip sharpie to draw the hairs. I just need to hot press it to hopefully make it stay around for a few washes. It looks good and bushy- not sure I could pull that off again!

A semi-success is this boyfriend cut t-shirt made by tracing a RTW maternity top.
Maybe I'll become more of a fan of this style once the weather heats up and its nice and comfy, but the silhouette just makes be feel like I look fat not pregnant...

And on the subject of feeling huge, my least successful makes are the Washi Dresses I made early on. The silhouette just makes me feel the size of a bus now I have a bump to fill it out! I have one in a very light voile that will be good for hotter days without feeling too huge as it drapes ok, but the one I made from cotton sateen for "special occasions" looks like a tank!

I did learn how to make a functioning button placket... I just need to do a FBA to stop all that pulling! So I'm thinking I might make a couple of these in floaty fabric for all the hot months after baby is here to cover the post-baby bump and allow easy access for breast feeding.

Currently on my sewing table are my first hesitant steps into the world of quilting (nearly finished the top, but I think thats the easy bit!) and some burnt orange ridiculously stretchy fabric which I intend to attempt to use to copy a RTW dress I love. If I survive all that stretch. 

Surfing Space Robot Cargo Pants

My mother in law know I like nothing better than new toys to play with. Last year for Christmas she sent me a box of notions which was awesome. Just basics, like every colour of thread in the rainbow and new pins, but its so nice to have these things on hand.

To celebrate the halfway mark in this pregnancy she sent me two books of kids sewing-
Cute Clothes for Kids by Rob Merritt

and

Sew Baby by Choly Knight

I'll eventually do a bit of a review of each of those, but for now I have the first project from CCFK. Its just a pair of pants, admittedly, but the styling in the book shows so many detailing ideas that take it a little beyond the usual. I traced one of the pocket shapes. Its just a patch pocket, but the extra flap (purely decorative) on the front just adds a little extra. And since I'm banned from ruffles (boo-hiss) I used bias tape to add the stripe and the tab under the pocket.

The waist is easily adjustable, using buttonhole elastic, and the hems are loosely tacked up, as until babys is here I have no faith in my sizing! I debated the button hole, well- mainly the button, but I figure I'll have the pants on a setting that just keeps them on, so the button wont be pressing in too much. Its not like baby will be doing much! In pants that take less time I've just been leaving a gap so I can get in and adjust the elastic if necessary, but I'm not sure if this will fall into the too-hard basket and they just wont get used... which would be a shame because we all know how much I love this fabric!

To put the buttonhole elastic in I simply sew 2 buttonholes slightly larger than the elastic, one on each side of the centre back, in the main portion of the facing. I then sew the casing closed all the way around, sew a flat button at centre back then feed the elastic through. 

So hopefully I'll get some wear out of my efforts. 

Target have a sale on at the moment, so I've been stocking up on plain singlets to go with all the funky patterned bottoms I seem to be making!

All Black Geranium

A friend of ours is due to have a baby daughter at the start of next month, and knowing how keen he is on his rugby there was an obvious choice for a present for the new arrival. To welcome her to the team. I'm sure her Mum will hate me for it, but the thought is there!

So, I started by cutting a stencil out. Trust me. Don't do it! Such a fiddly motif! Then as I was applying the second coat of fabric pain The Boy got a message... "Shes on her way!". Perfect timing or what! Luckily the Geranium dress is a quick sew. Especially the 10th time :) Sadly I had to photograph it really rapidly for my records, as I was hemming it before baby yoga on Saturday morning and the new father was potentially coming round when I was out, so these are on the sofa in the dawn light!

See why her mum might hate me?

Hopefully the (black) flutter sleeves and the white underskirt take the edge off!

For all the fiddling, the Fern turned out quite well. Its not the smoothest, clearly stencilled not screen printed, but the overall look is exactly what I was hoping for.

The dress is fully lined, which gave me a headache attempting to figure out how to make the opening in the back work. In the end I sewed the outer and inner dress together, leaving the opening clear, then sewed the outer and inner together around the opening, leaving the top 1.5cm on each side open so it can be attached to the bodice. Once turned the right way round and clipped and ironed it seemed to work. 

It was all sewn up as rapidly as I could justify, as we were due to see the father the next day (all going well with the birth) so it needed to be ready to go! And there was me patting myself on the back for starting it early. Thats babies for you!

A new toy and a new challenge

I've been telling the Boy for a while that I wanted to get an overlocker/serger to add to my collection. It was on the list of baby necessities ;) Seam finishing can be awkward enough, never mind on teeny tiny baby clothes that will (hopefully) be put through their paces in terms of washing and wearing. And I hate sewing stretchy fabric on my machine. It just never seems to work for me!

So when I saw this Toyota overlocker (SLR4D) on sale for half price at Spotlight last week, I knew it would be mine. Toyota arent exactly the brand that come to mind when you think of sewing machine creators, but I've had my sexy black Toyota sewing machine for a couple of years now, and its a dream to sew with, so off we went!

It took a few plays to get the hang of it, and its still a bit (hugely) scary that it has the potential to cut a big hole in what ever I'm working on, but I'm in love. I've used it to finish off seams on a few prototype baby garments, and sew another little onsie, but my first big adventure was with my first attempt at a maternity top. Sewing to fit a rapidly expanding stomach... Whole new challenge.

I roughly followed the tutorial by Zoe on how to transform a t-shirt pattern into a maternity top, using the Burda Sadie as my base (I some how stashed this one away for free a few years ago, but had never actually tried it).

Here is what the pattern looked like after I'd hacked it up, adding extra length between the "extend here" lines and the waist:

Can you guess which one is the front?! And then I made it up, folding the excess fabric into 4 pleats on each side.

Then I decided it was time to have a play with what else the overlocker could do, so I switched to 3 needle mode and finished off the bottom hem in as a lettuce hem, or what ever its actually called. Stretched out and encased. Then I did the arms and neck to match, since it was just a muslin and since I've still not really mastered the technique for adding neck bands. The arms stretched out more than expected in the process, so I took about an inch off under each arm to fit them again, and we were done. 

The whole thing took maybe 2 hours, from printing out the pattern to putting it on.

Its still got quite a lots of growing room in it, which is lucky since my baby bump is still very small!

I'm calling it a win and sorting through the relatively large stash of stretch fabric that I've picked up on sale or from the OpShop over the last few years and getting some variations planned out so I'll be prepared once it finally stops raining and starts to warm up!

A little sewing dare

So, this dare was set unknowingly for me by The Boy.
I saw this fantabulous surfing space robots poplin in Spotlight, but the Boy said it was too Boy for our neutral baby, so I decided to girlyfy it. Regardless of what the baby turns out to be I'm sure it'll find a home somewhere.

So Voila!

A teensy tiny 0-3 month Geranium dress in the top length, and some of SeeKateSews Baby Bloomers to go under. I'm sure that this will get worn at most once, if ever, but I really enjoyed the process of making it. 

To add to the included ruffles of the bloomers I added an extra orange bias tape ruffle across the bum.

I didn't close up the elastic holes and cut on the extreme side, so they can be let out or taken in as needed once I have someone to try them on!

I think these might be boyish enough to work regardless of gender, though I'm sure The Boy will disagree! I will admit that the other pair I made are a little too far on the girly side due to the massive rufflebum:

This will be a summer baby, so will probably live in singlet and nappy covers or onsies for the first few months of its life, so thats where My sewing focus will lie.

But sometime you just have to give into the dare!

I finally sewed something!

Using this tutorial from SpaceFem. I reused an old t-shirt, making the most of the already finished neckline and the hem for the sleeves, which left me to simply bind the bottom opening. It went together like a dream, despite my bit of hacking to be able to use existing features.

I've made some baby clothes before, but never onsies.

Who is this one for, you ask?

Well... 

Me!

Hence the lack of sewing for the last few months. I didn't want to jinx my self by sewing maternity or baby stuff, just in case, and I didn't want to sew clothes that may never fit again depending how much damage this baby causes to my body shape on a long term basis!

What have I doing instead? Mainly sleeping.

But a couple of weeks ago we finally went on a road trip I've been wanting to do for a long time, all the way down to Esperance- 2000km all up. But you can see why it was worth it, even if it was a bit chilly.

And we finally stopped in a Wave Rock... the most underwhelming tourist destination in all of WA.

Cue surfing the rock photo.