Nautical Duvet Sets

Well, it has taken several months but I have finally completed Harry's nautical theme duvet sets! We bought these bunks off Trademe to use in the interim period before we moved to our new house and they needed a bit of a lift so I decided to finally get sewing!

I had enough fabric for two duvet covers and two matching pillowcases. I used a plain navy polycotton on the reverse side of one duvet and some of my Treehouse red, blue and white check 100% cotton to back the other duvet. I also had enough to make 3 extra pillowcases in the same check fabric and I am really pleased with how they all look together. I picked up a Treehouse lamp shade in the same Treehouse check for $7 and it finishes it off nicely. Harry loved his new "boat" theme and was very happy in here for the few weeks before we moved.

The duvets have been put into storage again now, waiting to be used again when his new single bed arrives. After a few "bunk mishaps" he has been put back in his cot for a few months while we contemplate what changes to make to his current new bedroom. The beige mottled wallpaper has got to go, but in the meantime we are just relaxing and enjoying our new space!

My Polka Dotty Princess

Pink Party PETTISKIRT

Rose was invited to a PINK party so it was the perfect excuse to give the pettiskirt tutorial a go! I was a little disheartened at first as after doing some research, the general consensus was that it would take between 7 hours to a whole day to do! Given that it was 8.30pm on the eve of the party, I had doubts about my ability to finish it in time.

I'm not sure how much material I used, I just used all the polka dot material I had left! I was 3+ metres I would say. I had found a tip online that it was easier to sew backwards. eg. Start from the hem and work your way up. This was definitely the way to go! I think I would have given up if I had done it the other way! I made metres and metres of "fluff" for the hemlines, which is what gives it the fullness. The gathering foot on my machine was my best friend for a few hours and I wouldn't even contemplate making one without it, it would take days!

On the plus side, due to all the layers, the fabric and style are very "forgiving" and small errors go unnoticed once the pettiskirt is done! How long did it take me, you ask? It took me 4.5 hours in total and I was determined to finish that night! I went to bed well after midnight. :-)

I love the end result and so does Rose. I'm not in any rush to replicate the experience yet, it is too scary to contemplate but I'm sure the lure of other gorgeous colours might make me give it a go again. One lady had written that it takes a LOT of time and effort to make one of these, but that it was worth it. I tend to agree. :-)

Pettiskirts!

It was a couple of months ago that I first heard of Pettiskirts via an Australian online forum. http://www.princessratbag.com/ had a special on, which I missed out on and I have been wanting to buy one for Rose ever since. I knew they were costly to buy but I never even considered the possibility of making one until I saw a link to http://www.marthastewart.com/. She had the pettiskirt guru, Kaiya Eve of http://www.kaiyaeve.com/ on her show and I found a link to an online video tutorial. I had some pink and white polka dot material, bought and used as a tablecloth at Rose's 4th birthday party and it had only cost me $1 per metre. I knew a pettiskirt would take a LOT of fabric so I decided to use that to keep the costs down in case it was a failure!

Here are some of the pictures that inspired me to give it a go!

Happy Birthday Maddy

Rose went to her friend Madeline's 5th birthday party on the weekend and I decided to make a little nighty for her in vintage inspired fabrics, to go with her present. Rose tried it on for size and wanted to keep it herself! I promised her that she could choose her own fabric from the sewing room and I would make her another one, as this one was especially for Madeline. I am hoping she forgets!

Just like Mummy's!

After spending the afternoon "lounging" in my lounge pants, Rose came and told me that she really liked my pants and asked if she could have a pair just like them so that we could be the same. I didn't have very much material left so I looked for a pattern that took up the least amount of fabric. One of the patterns I got from Gisborne had some three quarter pants on it so I used that. I made them as long as the fabric allowed and in the photos she is wearing them on her hips, as really the material only allowed for 7/8th pants! She put them on after her bath tonight and was very proud that she has some exactly like her Mum. She looks far better than me in them though! :-)

Cross Cushions

I made these cushions a while ago but have just got around to "blogging" them now. I had long admired the 'Smoke and Ocean Cross' cushions from http://www.threaddesign.co.nz/ but at $70 a piece, they were cost prohibitive for me. Through a stroke of good luck, I was able to source an old Thread Design duvet cover on Trademe. I didn't like the colour...BUT it did have a stripe each of the 'smoke' and 'ocean' fabric in it. I chopped it into pieces and created my own cushions which are slightly larger than the originals. I invested in some lovely feather inners and they were done. My attempt at inserting an invisible zip in each cushion wasn't perfect but I have since been advised on how to fix it. The second photo is from the Thread Design website and the top photo shows my own cushions. :)

The Zebra Double Buggy

I made up these liners for the double Mountain Buggy last night. I followed the template of the newly released MB liners which retail at $59.95. I had some of the zebra print cotton fabric left and used a pale aqua fleece on the reverse. Good practise for my buttonholes as these two liners required me to make 22 large buttonholes for the harnesses to fit through (not all at once of course, they are adjustable).

Duvet Inspiration

When I was down in Gisborne a couple of weeks ago, I popped into Arthur Toye fabrics to see Nana, who happened to be working there that day. They had a great sale and Nana helped me choose several patterns for half price. I was on my way out to meet Taff (who had gone across the road to check out Muir's Bookshop) and I spotted a gorgeous nautical print canvas peeking out from amongst a rack of fabric. I headed straight for it and saw that it was half price, down to $8.90 per metre. It was exactly what I was looking for! With Harry's white bunks on order from http://www.modesign.co.nz/, I wanted to make a pair of duvet covers for him. Realistically, he won't be in his bunks for a while as he is quite happy in his cot but I like to plan ahead! lol. I got the last 6 metres left on the roll and have it tucked away in my sewing room as a future project. Imagine my surprise to see the EXACT same fabric being used for duvets on one of my favourite children's bedding websites, http://www.treehouse.net.nz/, however they are selling them for $152 each excluding pillowcase! I got a bargain! Here is a picture of the Treehouse ones. My piece of fabric from Arthur Toye is also pictured. Hard to tell the difference don't you think?

An afternoon of skill building...the results!

I had really come to a halt with my sewing because there were skills I had yet to master. Namely, putting in zips! I have a lot of patterns that I have avoided due to my fear of zips. Yesterday afternoon, with guidance from Karen, I finally did it! I made two jackets, one for Rose and one for my niece Eden, who is 6. I also learnt how to top-stitch, make a kangaroo pocket and attach a curved rib collar. I was so proud of myself! We had to shorten the zips as they were too long for the girls and this was a little tricky but I learnt that if I sew very slowly and make every stitch count, I am less likely to stuff it up, especially around the collar and pocket areas! We used a simple slim fit top pattern and adjusted it. Now that I have made this style of jacket, I can see the potential for making similar styles for Winter. Eg. Hooded and lined jackets. I can just adapt the skills I have learnt to suit the fabric and pattern of future jackets. I hope to make a grown up version for myself (in more subdued colours to suit my conservative personality!) and Chelsea has also requested a black check bomber style one. This garment was a milestone for me, I no longer have to fear the dreaded zip!

The 5 Minute Circle Twirl Skirt

What a great idea! Karen showed me how to fold a piece of fabric to make a circle skirt for Rose. I didn't believe her when she said it would take 5 minutes but it really does! You just use a piece of rib (we used pink), add some elastic, sew it to the top of your circle and then hem it. Simple! I think it is really cute and Rose likes it too. Here she is modelling it out in our new back garden which we finished a couple of days ago.

Floral PJ/Lounge Pants

Last night after I dropped Karen at the airport I whipped up these pants in the material she gave to me, specifically for the purpose. This piece had been in her "stash" for several years! I found out that the fabric is called rayon and I have decided that I love rayon! It falls really nicely and feels great to wear. Although strictly speaking, these are PJ pants, I have been using them more like "lounge" pants. Holiday mode dictates that I "lounge" in them till around midday! lol.

Is it a Nightie or a Dress?

Rose saw me cutting out my PJ pants this afternoon and asked if I could make her a nightie so that we could "be the same". I did a bit of juggling around and had to forego the waist tie on my PJ pants but Rose was able to get her gown. It's one of life's simple pleasures when all your pattern pieces fit perfectly and you can achieve all your projects without any wastage! After I had finished it, I had the thought that it doesn't "strictly" look like a nightie, it may be just me but I think it is passable as a dress too! It looks like a little girl's version of a maxi dress. I am still not 100% sure on the yellow bows I attached, it was the only colour I had, apart from pink and I was just experimenting, I may just remove them and leave it plain, or find some other embellishments. Rose was thrilled with it and has worn it to bed tonight.

My New PJ Pants

A few weeks ago I was admiring a pair of Karen's PJ pants and she said that she had made them several years ago and despite that, they still looked fab! She even had some of the same material in her stash and very kindly passed it onto me so that I could make myself a pair. I popped into Spotlight on the weekend and picked up this McCalls PJ pattern as I really liked the shape of the pants. I thought I would test the pattern out on another piece of fabric that Karen gave me, just to make sure the fit was right before I cut into the gorgeous white floral piece! Well, the fit was perfect and I am wearing them as I write this. I love them! Stay tuned for the next pair in the white floral! :-)

Vintage Nightgown Pattern

Last night I ventured out to the sleepout, aka sewing room for the first time in many weeks. I was so busy at school towards the end of 2008 that there wasn't any time to sew unfortunately.

I decided I needed something quick and easy for my first garment for 2009! This vintage nightgown was the answer. I bought the pattern last year in my Red Cross haul but it has sat unused, largely because it is a Summer pattern and I couldn't begin to think about sewing it in Winter! Rose "consulted" with me throughout the process and chose the style she wanted (long and flowy of course!), along with the fabric which was one of the $1per metre Spotlight purchases. She sat with me while I cut out the pattern and fabric and then it was time for bed. It was a quick and easy pattern and although my gathering at the bottom isn't perfect, next time I think I will just do the one frill rather than the double frill. I think it will look just as effective, use less material and still "twirl" sufficiently for Rose's liking. The nightgown has been a big success already and I got up this morning to discover that she had ditched last nights Pumpkin Patch nighty and had donned the new one. I think I might have to make a few more as they are super cute and like nothing you can buy in shops here. Now....onto the next project!