CHRISTMAS PAJAMAS

Hope everyone had a peaceful, healthy and merry Christmas! We stayed in Houston, so we did not get the chance to be with our families. Yet, thanks to skype, it almost felt as if our family was here with us.

Alike last year (though I never blogged about them...), I managed to make matching pajamas for Teresa and Manuel. 

The fabric is a jersey blend knit from Girl Charlee. I choose red and green for Teresa and blue and green for Manuel. 

The fabric is very soft and I really love the print. The only issue is that this jersey only has 30% stretch, which can be problematic depending on the pattern used.

I used the Heidi and Finn's All you need Jammies. I think this pattern is perfect! It comes with a number of options: long sleeve t-shirt, t-shirt, leggings, lounge pants, shorts, gathered t-shirt and nightgown.  So, if you have this pattern you really do not need to buy any other pattern for knit pajamas. The instructions are also clear and the construction is flawless. Perfection! 

I chose the long-sleeve shirt with leggings for both Teresa and Manuel.

The pattern asked for a fabric with at least a 50% stretch, which was a problem, since my fabric only had 30%. I decided to use one size up, 5 for Manuel (which fits a 4) and 10 for Teresa (which would fit a size 8 with a different fabric). I was a little worried, but it worked! 

I like how they turned out and most importantly Teresa and Manuel don't want to take them off. 

You may have noticed that I made a mistake when cutting Manuel's t-shirt and the pattern is upside down... 

It took me a while to convince him that frogs and castles are way cooler that reindeers and hearts...but he was convinced!) Uff...

Happy Holidays!!

MY BABY TURNED 4 AND GOT NEW PANTS!

My baby boy turned 4 this month! :-) I decided I would make new pants and a new shirt for him to use on his birthday, but eventually, I was only able to finish the pants.... I cut the shirt and started sewing it, but the fabric is too lightweight and my machine decided to eat it instead of sewing it... maybe I should have changed the needle or do some voodoo, or something, but the fact is that I have zero tolerance to sewing machine moods. Something tells me that if I go and try to finish the shirt now, I will have no problems... anyways, I really need to invest on more sewing patterns for my son, because I keep on repeating the same ones over and over again... 

New tunics for my little ones!

I am a huge fan of Citronille patterns. These were the first patterns I ever used and they never disappoint. Though I agree that the instructions are not beginner-friendly at all, they are pretty okay once you are more experienced. One of the last patterns that I purchased was the Zebulon, which is a boy's tunic. 

I made a tunic for Manuel using a very lightweight denim from Joann's. When I purchased the fabric I failed to buy a matching thread and since I didn't like any contrasting color I had on my stash, I decided to make all finishings by hand, using invisible stitches. I really do not mind hand sewing, so it was not boring at all. 

REFASHION WEEK - DADDY'S OLD SHIRT BECOMES KID'S NEW COOL SHIRT

When Magda invited me to be a part of her Refashion Week series, I was so excited! I have been following Magda's blog for a couple of years, and I think she is so creative and talented! Magda is a real pro in what comes to recycling "old" clothes. I, on the other hand, had never done it before. 

The first step was to find something to refashion. I moved from Portugal to the US last year and only brought the essential stuff (clothes, books and toys), meaning that I could not find in my closet anything that I am not wearing. So... I had to take a look at hubbies' closet.. and there I could find a lot (in my own personal view) of stuff that could be refashioned. He agreed to spare me a very old shirt that he wore for the last time like 5 years ago! 

I cut the shirt and lay down all the pieces (praying throughout the process) to make sure that I had enough fabric to make a Mulberry Tunic for Manel in size 3. It wasn't easy, I wasn't able to match the plaid, but I really like the result.

  
It is kind of funny to see Manuel wearing his father's old shirt and I think he looks really cool.

I really enjoyed all the process, it was really fun and it got me hooked!

Thank you Magda for having me! To see what other very talented Portuguese ladies made in this series, be sure to visit Magda's blog! 


And now head over to Conversas de Hermanas! You can't miss what Rita made for her (so charming!) little boy!

HAPPY NEW YEAR

I know, I know, it's been almost two weeks already, but it is never too late to wish you all a Healthy, Happy, Successful and Peaceful 2015! 

For the last night of the year 2014, I made new clothing for the children! I had so many doubts about what to make for Teresa to wear that when I finally decided I nearly had no time to complete it. My big indecision was whether I should make her a fancy dress (that she would wear once or twice) or a more practical piece that she could wear more often. I finally decided to make her a sweatshirt and shorts and I am very happy with my decision! This year I will try to be more practical! (I will be telling you all about that in a different post, stay tuned!)

To make the top I used a white cotton knit, from Joann's, a white cotton woven fabric from some old sheets and snaps (I had to use pink snaps because I only had these at home...). 

I did not used a specific pattern for this sweatshirt. I used Heidi & Finn's All you need Jammies Pattern for the top with some modifications: added 1 inch to the collar of the top and made an opening in the back for the snaps. I then added the collar, which are two rectangles with different widths, I also used rolled hems in these triangles, so that the finishing of the collar would be more special. 

To complete Teresa's outfit I made her another version of Willow and Co.'s Clover shorts. I used a lightweight grey corduroy from Robert Kaufman. This pattern offers two versions of the shorts: a more bubbled version (you can see that version here) and a more tailored version. This time I made the tailored version. I like them both!

For Manuel I made some shorts on the same grey corduroy that I used for Teresa's shorts. I used (again I know) the Two Haute Shorts Pattern (I can almost make these with my eyes closed ;-)). But what can I say the pattern is great and he looks so cute in these shorts!!

To complete their outfits, they wore burgundy tights and Teresa wore velvet burgundy shoes as well.

I could't get many pictures of them, because they were so excited that wouldn't stand still. Here they are:

CHRISTMAS OUTFITS

Christmas calls for special outfits! Although I have been sewing for some years for my children, this year was the first time that I made them their Christmas outfits. I always bought them traditional outfits from Portuguese brands, but, though I may be a little (a lot) biased, I think they have never been so well dressed! ;-)

Teresa wore a red corduroy dress with a white shirt, blue tights and blue velvet shoes. I used Straight-Grains' Hanami dress pattern. I made this dress a couple of months ago for the I heart Marcel Marlier series (when I made the dress, I already knew this was the one she was going to wear on Christmas Eve). The fabric is a lightweight red corduroy from Robert Kaufman. I wanted to add a belt also in red corduroy with a white ribbbig, but was unable to finish it on time...

For Manel I made shorts with the same red Robert Kaufman corduroy I used for Teresa's dress. I used the Two Haute Shorts pattern. Although this pattern is intended for girls, it is perfect for boys also! This is my second version so far! (you can see my first version here) I love it!

Here they are with their outfits. Cute right?



PAJAMAS' DAY

Today is Pajama's Day at Teresa preschool! I was only informed of this yesterday afternoon, when I picked her up. Advising on such a short notice that our kids need to go to school on their pajamas may be ok for most mums, but that is definitely not ok for a sewing mum. If Teresa needed to go to school on her pajamas, for me this meant that I need to make her new special pajamas!

Luckily I had some cotton knit on my stash that I knew Teresa would love to take to school. So, after putting the children to bed I was able to make her new pajamas! I used Heidi & Finn's All you need Jammies pattern. This pattern is great, it has a lot of versions and the instructions are really helpful. So far, this is my favorite pattern for knits. I opted for a full tee and leggings, but I also wish to try the lounge pants and the gathered tee! For the fabric, I used 100% cotton jersey purchased at Joann’s. I added three little pink heart buttons to the top, because I knew she would love that.

She was so happy and proud when she saw it this morning!

Last week I also managed to sew a couple of pajamas for Manuel. I used the same pattern and also 100% cotton jersey from Joann's. I also added some cute lion and tractor buttons, for him to play. He loved it! Sadly, I wasn't able to get any proper photos. Sorry!

So, here are the three pajamas!

THANKSGIVINGS OUTFITS

Although I have not been blogging about it, I have been sewing a lot. Yet, my kids are not always into taking pictures, so sometimes it is really hard to sew, dress them, take pictures and blog about it shortly after. I know you can relate to this! Anyway, I managed to sew complete outfits for Teresa and Manuel for Thanksgiving. I made two shirts and two shorts! 

For Manuel I (once again) used Citronille's Balthasar shirt pattern. I like the cut and the fit of this shirt so I keep on doing it over and over again. This time, to be able to match it with Teresa's blouse, I used a different fabric in the placket. I also used some wood buttons. I loved the result. 

For Teresa I used (also once again! Don't get me wrong I purchase a lot of new patterns, but once I get one that I like, I like to test different versions of it) the Compagnie M's Mara Blouse. This is a great pattern, I already blogged about it here. 

The fabric used for both shirts are white viyella purchased here and a beautiful Japanese floral cotton lawn from Farmhouse fabrics.

I wanted to coordinate the shirts with some shorts, since the weather still allows it. For Manuel I used the Two Haute Shorts pattern (Thank you Rita (Conversas de Hermanas) for the tip!). This pattern is great, it has three versions: shorts with or without the sash and a skort, this way it can be adapted for both boys and girls. The shorts are very easy and quick to sew and the result is perfect! 

For Teresa I made Willow and Co.'s Clover shorts. I have been wanting to sew these shorts for a while and finally manged to do it. The instructions are very very clear, and I loved the result. They are very loose, so perfect for playing around. Teresa loved them. I will definitely be making some more!  

For both shorts, I used a lightweight green corduroy from Joann's.

Here are the two with their new outfits! Aren't they cute?

I (HEART) MARCEL MARLIER

Well, I have a confession to make. I have been discussing with my husband for well over a year whether or not I should create a blog to record the thinks I sew for my children. Somehow, I never had the urge to do it... that was until I read about the I (heart) Marcel Marlier sew along! So, basically, what motivated me to create a blog was the opportunity to participate in this sew along! And why, you may ask? Well, I believe I read all books ever written by Marcel Marlier for the "Anita" collection. I still have all those books at my parents' house in Portugal and this book collection was probably the first collection I have ever made. So, for me, this sew along, was the kick that I needed to make this blog!

So, my idea was to try to recreate, as close as possible, an outfit wore by Anita in one of those books. I don't have any book at home here in the US, so, I had to stick with what I was able to find online. One of the first images that I found was one of Anita with a boy. I thought it would be perfect: I would get to sew not only for Teresa but also for Manuel! Here is the picture that I used as an inspiration:

Due to the weather conditions around here, I have not been able to take pictures of Teresa and Manuel outside. I wanted to go to a park to try to recreate the picture above, but it is too cold for that now, meaning that I had to improvise an indoor photo-shoot. Teresa is always ready for a photo, but Manuel hates it, so getting a picture of two together was really hard.

For Teresa's dress, I used red corduroy (Kaufman 21 Wale Corduroy) and seersucker in plaid for the lining (Kaufman plaid seersucker). The pattern is Straight-grain's Hanami top or dress. This pattern is great. I have already sewed the Hanami top (you can check it here) and this time I made the dress version with the invisible zipper. It was the first time that I included a zipper in clothes and, surprisingly, I found it very easy to do (maybe it was just beginners luck...). I really like the way it turned out, it is very elegant and fits beautifully. I made it in size 7 (though Teresa is a size 6), so that she can use it during the winter with a blouse or a sweater underneath.  

 

For Manuel I decided for a tunic and pants. For the tunic I used Willow and Co's Mulberry Tunic in white linen (I already showed this tunic here).

For the pants I decided to try Citronille's Ursule pants, also in linen, bought here. I love these pants, they are very easy and quick to sew and are super comfortable and cool for both a boy or a girl. I love the way they fit Manuel. 

I am really happy with the two outfits! :-) Hope you like it too!