Sewing Madness

I've been sewing so much lately that I don't know where to begin.

My sewing has been limited to pillow cases, duvet covers and such for many many years. A few years ago my mother in law gave me a fantastic sewing machine though (a Pfaff Select 1528) and since then I've dreaming of getting better at sewing. 

Last summer I got started and my first good projects were two dresses for my oldest daughter:

On with small fowers and lots of twirl:

And a 'fairy dress' for her birthday which she absolutely loved. :o)

Then I got started with the bags I've been selling in my shop. And hats and purses and some more hats and bags. :o) And then I tried sewing a dress from some stretchy fabric I had lying around and it failed miserably. Ugh, I was so disappointed - and then life got in the way and I didn't have time to sew for a really long time.

Then a few months ago I finally got some more time again and I decided that I wasn't going to let the stretchy fabric get to me. :o)

An Ottobre magazine served as my inspiration and I managed to sew this amazing sweatsuit for my youngest daughter, Dora. 

So with the feeling of having conquered the world of stretchy fabrics I continued and continued and after a while I decided to ask my dear husband if he felt like we could afford a serger. :oD And yay, we found one used, a Husqvarna Huskylock 905. I've been practicing a lot and this is what came out of my practicing:

Hip hippo trousers for Dora:

A stripey t-shirt for Dora: 

Trousers:

A sweatshirt with hood for Iris:

Lots and lots of tiny hats (they are so addictive!):

(The hats are for sale in my shop too along with some other things.)

Leggings:

A t-shirt and trousers for a little baby in California:

And yesterday, another dress for Iris, complete with piping and cute pockets. :o) I love it and so does she!

Phew! That was a lot! And I feel like I'm only just getting started. :o)

Sewing

It's been a little while but I'm still here. My youngest daughter Dora had an ear infection and was like an extra limb for about a week. So while I wanted to I just couldn't get around to showing you all the things I've been doing. Today was the first day I could finally take some photos, so prepare yourself for a serious picture overload. :o)

First of all, I've been sewing an amazing sweatsuit for Dora. Last week, while she was still ill, I took her with me to the library one day, pulled all the books and magazines I could find about sewing out and rushed home. With her sleeping in my lap I managed to flip through some of them. The best ones were clearly the Ottobre magazines. My jaw dropped deeper with every page I turned while my mind went 'oh, but this one is too difficult..' and 'I really shouldn't buy any fabric' and so on.

Anyway, after a few days I couldn't resist anymore. I picked out a magazine (left) and a pattern (right) I really liked:

and I went to my local fabric shop and picked out a simple but suitable fabric. After making the jacket I realized that I had enough fabric for a pair of trousers so this was my final result:

The jacket is fully lined:

 and it has pockets, a hood and a zipper. It's amazingly soft and I'm so jealous. I want such a suit myself! The trousers have an elastic waistband and ribbing around the ankles, like the jacket does around the wrists.

Here Dora is in action - she didn't have time to smile since she was very hungry. :o)

And then I also made her a little apron/dress:

It's fully lined too, and open in the back:

The pattern is from this Danish sewing book by Hanne and Sofie Meedom (I highly recommend it, especially for beginners). Lots of drawings and explanations.

Now my only problem is that my oldest daughter Iris wants a sweatsuit too! In pink! Gah...

Upcycling

What do you do when you inherit a pile of such gorgeous fabric?

I mean, look at it!

So beautiful.

Well, the answer is: you start thinking. You imagine.. you try different things, and then you grab your scissors and you start cutting.

And you find some matching trimming, some matching lining and a big button and you start sewing a little.

And then you sew some more and you iron (a lot). And in the end you get this:

One beautiful bag! Or maybe even this, if you happen to have a zipper around:

And then you become very happy and satisfied. 

Do you want a bag too? You can buy a finished bag right here and the purse here (or take a look here if you're in Denmark). 

If you would like to sew your own bag, I also offer sewing kits with everything included, ready to go cut up fabric and sewing instructions. 

You can buy it here or here in Danish.