Honeycomb Dress - Pattern Review

I made a thing!  More shockingly, I blogged a thing!  I have been meaning to make this beautiful Cocowawa Crafts Honeycomb dress for months now so having it finally finished is a wonderful feeling.  

There are so many things to love about this pattern, though the waist ties are particularly special.  I decided to make a sleeveless version for summer, although I know it’s going to work really well layered over long sleeve tees on cooler days.

Making it sleeveless also gave me an opportunity to use some gorgeous Japanese cotton bias binding which gives such a lovely finish. I’m a big fan of using ready made bias binding for projects, rather than the main fabric, just because it saves so much on the fabric requirements and means that I usually have enough left over for a skirt or top for my little one too!  Better still is using other small, irregular pieces of leftover fabric to make your own bias binding, although I was too lazy in this instance. Or rather, more accurately, I saw these pretty bias bindings at Fibresmith (my favourite Melbourne fabric and supplies store!) and couldn’t resist buying them!

I sewed a size 3 and the fit was pretty good for me, although I did reduce the size of the armholes after making a muslin.  The main thing that I changed was to swap the collar for an open style. I’m weirdly unable to stand it when my clothes touch my neck so even though I love the look of the honeycomb collar I knew it wasn’t going to work for me and I didn’t want my dress to end up unworn.  So, I took inspiration from Sew Liberated’s Matcha Top and shortened the collar piece, gathering the front bodice to meet it at each side. This adjustment meant that I only needed 3 buttons on my front placket and I also found that I needed to shift the position of the top button (and consequently the others) down a little to give the neckline the open look that I was after.

I feel like this dress is yet another reminder of how your favourite fabric is SO much nicer when you’re wearing it than when it’s just sitting on your shelf, looking pretty and receiving the occasional pat!

I am utterly obsessed with this Atellier Brunette Stardust Double Gauze.  I’m sure I’ve raved about double gauze before but to my mind it really is the perfect fabric.  Natural fibres, so soft against the skin, drapes beautifully and is a dream to sew with. What more is there?

P.s. don’t you just love those ‘me made’ labels? They’re by Kylie and the Machine and she has so many amazing label designs it’s almost impossible to choose!  I bought these on my latest visit to Fibresmith too but they are now happily stocked in lots of stores and also online! yay!

Millie Dress International Blog Tour

I've had my eyes on this beautiful Millie Dress pattern for a while now. I even went and downloaded the original version but my little beanpole of a girl outgrew the size range before I had a chance to make it.  Happily for me the lovely designer, Nicky of Mix it Make it, has updated the pattern and it now comes in sizes 2-12 - Hurrah!  When she asked whether I would like to be part of the international blog tour to celebrate the release of the English version of the pattern I quite naturally jumped at the chance! 

Summer is in full swing down under so I decided to hack my Millie Dress a little to make a sleeveless version.  It was a really simple alteration - I just turned the seam allowance to the wrong side and stitched it down, exactly the same as the neckline.  Super easy.

I used a beautiful soft See You at Six French terry which I have recently become completely obsessed with.  I blame MaaiDesign for introducing me to it and enabling my addiction!  It's just so lovely to work with and so heavenly to wear.  Each time I make something from it my kids put the clothes on and say 'Oooooh, yes! I love this one!'  I can't get enough of this beautiful pink with gold paint strokes on it.

I think this may well be one of Ella's favourite things that I have ever made for her.  Pretty, Twirly, Comfy. What more could a girl want?  

The pattern is beautifully drafted and the instructions are clear and simple.  I made the mistake of getting a little over excited and accidentally cut the front and back bodice along the ruffle insertion lines before joining them at the shoulders.  I spent about 2 minutes kicking myself and then decided to just try sticking them back together with washi tape before sewing and what do you know - it worked a treat!  Washi tape for the win every time!

There will certainly be more Millie Dresses in our future.   I've already got a long sleeved version planned for autumn in this lovely April Rhodes fabric.  Any dress that makes you want to dance and twirl is a winner in my opinion! (Click through the images above to see more dancing and twirling!)

If you'd like to see more Millie Dresses go and take a look at the beautiful creations by the other lovelies on the Millie Dress Blog Tour:

Kneesocks and Goldilocks | Just Add Fabric | Van Jansen

Groovy Baby and Mama | La Folie Sewing Booth | My Petite Sophie

Metamorphic Dress

I’ve been raving about Sew Liberated’s Metamorphic Dress over on instagram for a little while now but I love it so much that I thought it deserved a few words and pictures over here too!

I’ve been reading, and loving, Meg’s insights on parenthood and living a creative life since my daughter was a tiny baby, 7 years ago. Her blog remains my favourite place to find inspiration, ideas and reassurance.  It was, in fact, blogs like Sew Liberated and Made by Rae that first nudged me down the path towards re-discovering a joy of sewing, first for my kids and then for myself. This seemingly small act of stumbling across these blogs so many years ago has caused such a massive shift in my focus and my passion that it is actually impossible to imagine where life would have taken me if hadn’t clicked on the link that first took me there. If I had stayed my finger, where would I be right now? I have no idea, but I’m fairly certain that life would be less joyful and less fulfilling. I feel like I owe so much to Meg, I love her philosophy of sewing, and of course, her designs, so when I got a chance to pattern test the Metamorphic dress I was thrilled.  

This dress ticks so many boxes. The most amazing thing about it is that it’s reversible - it’s two dresses in one. I packed mine for a weekend away and it was almost the only thing I had to pack. My husband’s head nearly exploded the first time I turned it inside out and put it back on - hilarious!  You don’t fully appreciate the genius of the reversibility though until your kids smear something grotty over you and you can just whip it off, turn it around and put it back on (although unless you’re layering it, I’d recommend finding a private spot before you do this - I almost got caught out here, I was so excited when I realised that I could switch it around that I nearly stripped off there and then…oops!)

I made this version in a blue and white stripe cotton / linen blend for the outer layer and a lightweight linen from The Fabric Store for the inner layer.  The linen is 'Duck Egg' and it’s the most gorgeous colour. Next to grey it looks blue and next to blue it looks grey and it will go with pretty much everything in my wardrobe!

The dress is super comfortable, although I would expect nothing less from one of Meg’s designs. Clothes are no good at all to me if I can’t move in them, I need to be able to be spontaneous with my kids, be able to roll down a hill, to rescue them from unexpectedly big waves, to jump and run with them or to help them down from a tree. I can do all of this in my Metamorphic dress and I feel great doing it.  The relaxed fit means that it's cool on the hottest summer days and also layers up beautifully for winter.

And… I’ve saved the best for last... Pockets! It has 4! Topstitched pockets for the outer layer and inseam pockets for the inner layer. I basically refuse to wear anything without pockets these days because where am I going to put the random bits and pieces that get handed to me on an hourly basis otherwise? Pockets also add an element of fun to laundry day - one garment might have hair ties, lego pieces and marbles in the pockets. In another I'll find wilted flowers, twigs and rocks, or else googly eyes, glitter and tiny paper airplanes - it's like discovering miniature time capsules of our days.

The pattern releases on Wednesday 1st November so make sure you’re subscribed to the Sew Liberated newsletter for 30% off!  

It's Giveaway Day!

Rooooaaar!  I'm so excited!  It's Sew Mama Sew's annual Giveaway day!  I love Giveaway day and This time I have 2 prizes up for grabs.  Winners can take their pick from any of my PDF felt mask sewing patterns.  They are perfect stocking fillers and make a wonderfully quick and easy last minute handmade birthday prezzie (I should know - pretty much all of the kids in my daughter's class got these for their birthdays this year...!)

Enter using the Rafflecopter below.  Entries close at midnight Sunday American Eastern time. Winners will be notified via email.  

Follow @willow_and_stitch on Instagram HERE:

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Great! Good luck!  

If you don't win, want to peruse all my sewing patterns or simply can't wait then you can head over to my Etsy shop to take a look.

Now head back to Sew Mama Sew to enter more wonderful competitions!

Reindeer Mask Tutorial - Bonus Pattern Piece

Can you believe we’re halfway through November, moreover, that it’s only 5 weeks until the Silly Season starts?!  I can’t, but that’s mostly because I live in topsy turvy land these days.  I’ve been in Australia for 12 years now but I still can’t get used to Christmas and Spring occurring at the same time.  I really need those environmental clues of the Northern Hemisphere, the autumn leaves falling, the nights drawing in, the chill in the air, to get me into the christmas spirit.  I pine for snow and log fires, sledding and hot chocolate, mittens and hot water bottles.

That’s not to say that I don’t enjoy a hot christmas.  It’s a lovely holiday here, full of light and the joys of early summer.  Little girls in white dresses, cherries and stone fruit, seafood and cocktails, bright sunshine and cool breezes.  We throw open all the doors and lounge around in the garden, enjoying balmy evenings under twinkling fairy lights.

Nonetheless, I do find that it requires more of a conscious effort on my part to make December feel festive, and because I am determined that my children should find it as magical as I remember the holidays from my childhood being I tend to overcompensate by going all out with the decorations, music, christmas craft activities, and, of course, handmade gifts.

One of my favourite Christmassy things to make are these little Reindeer masks. I’m heading to Swagger Child Design Market this Sunday so I have been busy stocking up on them, and today I’m offering you a free pattern piece so that you can make them too.  The cute little fawn in my Woodland Creatures Sewing Pattern can be transformed into a festive Reindeer with the addition of these antlers.  Download the pattern extension piece here and scroll down for the tutorial.  If you don’t have a copy of the Woodland Creatures PDF and would like one then you can purchase it here.

Tutorial:

1. Download the bonus pattern pieces and print out.  Make sure that you set your print settings to 100% or select ‘no scaling’.  Measure the 1” square on the page to check that it has printed correctly.

2. Cut out the pattern pieces and pin them to a double layer of felt.  Cut around each piece and then sew the two layers together, sewing 5mm (¼”) from the edge.

TIP:  For a neater finish and an easier time sewing, draw around your pattern pieces while they are pinned to the felt.  You will need a white marker or chalk pen to do this on the dark brown felt.  DO NOT cut the felt out.

Instead sew 5mm (1/4”) inside your drawn line and then cut along the white line once you have sewn the two layers together.

Doing it this way stops the felt from shifting as you sew which can be a particular problem when sewing around curves.

3. Sew your fawn mask following instructions on the PDF pattern.  When you come to sew the 2 layers of the face together, sandwich each antler between the 2 face layers, positioning each approximately 1cm (½”) from the ear, and letting the base of the antler extend at least 1.5cm / ¾” into the mask.  Pin in place before sewing around the face.

As you can see I use the same technique for sewing all of my masks i.e. I sew before cutting wherever possible - It's quicker and gives a much nicer finish!

Well, that's it.  You're done!

Happy Holidays.

Wild Things - A New Safari Mask Sewing Pattern

Are you ready for the kids to go totally wild?  Want to take a safari without ever leaving home?  Watch your backyard become the African savannah or turn the living room into a water hole with these lovely dress up masks.

This Wild Things Mask Sewing Pattern features patterns for Lion, Tiger, Giraffe, Zebra and Leopard masks.  You can even make the Leopard into a Snow Leopard for a mountain adventure. 

I'm so pleased with this pattern.  I think the designs are my favourites so far and I've put a lot of extra effort into the pattern and tutorials.  I've come up with a better (and easier) way of sewing the eye holes, and added whole sections explaining each technique used to make the masks.  There's information on how to resize them to fit dolls (or newborns), printing guides and notes on materials to use.

The patterns are just as easy to follow as ever and are perfect for beginners.  They're quick to sew and make a perfect gift or stocking filler.  I think that practically all of the children Ella's class have gotten a couple of these masks for their birthday this year!  I had a particularly amusing / gratifying experience this last weekend when I took Ella to a 'Superheroes' party for one of her school friends (you can see pictures of her freezer paper stencilled Wonder Woman costume here) - I looked around the room and realised that about half of the kids were wearing masks that I had sewn and Ella had chosen to give to them for their birthday's.  It made me giggle and warmed my heart!

Anyway, back to these little wild things; we had so much fun shooting these pictures.  I can tell that these masks are going to get a lot of play time.  The leopard and snow leopard were particular favourites with my little testers. Anything that ROARs was a big hit too of course!  (Any excuse to make a lot of noise really!)

Roooooaaaar!

As with all of my other PDF Mask Sewing Patterns this one contains bonus printables of all of the masks.  You can print these at home onto card then let the kids colour, paint or decorate them however they like.  Whey they're finished you simply cut them out and thread them with elastic.  It's one of our favourite rainy day activities and is also great as a birthday party craft activity.

Colour...

Cut...

Play!

To celebrate the pattern release, I'm offering free copies of not only this pattern but the ENTIRE collection of Willow & Stitch mask patterns to two lucky readers.  One here and one over on Instagram.  You are welcome to enter both giveaways as many times as you like.  Good luck!

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Follow @Willow_and_Stitch on Instagram:

A Free Batman Mask Pattern for you!

Bam! Pow! Kaboom!  There have been a lot of superheroes racing around my house recently, rescuing dolls and dinosaurs in distress and generally causing well intentioned chaos.

I've been sewing an AWFUL lot of masks in the last month or so, stocking up my Etsy shop and preparing for the Christmas markets, and silly season in general.  I'm working on getting my second set of superhero mask patterns up in the Etsy shop soon, but in the meantime I thought you might like a little freebie!

Click here to download your FREE Batman felt mask sewing pattern.

The pattern can also be printed onto cardstock, painted, coloured or decorated and cut out - perfect for entertaining the kids on a rainy day or for children's parties.  Be sure to print the pattern at actual size - do not select scaling in your print options.

It's super easy this one; I don't have any photo illustrations for you but you won't need them! This mask should fit most children from around age 2.

You will need:

21 x 30cm (9 x 12") of high quality black felt

Approximately 31cm (12") of 8mm (3/8") wide woven elastic

Black thread

1.  Print the pattern piece and cut 2 mask shapes from your black felt.  TIP:  Draw around the insides of the eyes (with a white pencil or chalk) but do not cut them out yet. 

2.  Lay the 2 pieces one on top of the other, right sides together.  Pin in place.  Use a pin to mark the placement of the elastic on each side of the mask.  

3. Sandwich the elastic between the two layers of felt, pinning it in place so that it extends approximately 1.5cm (1/2") into the mask at each side.

4. Sew right around the outside of the mask, sewing through both layers of felt, and sewing 5mm (1/4") from the edge.  When you reach the spots where the elastic enters the mask sew backwards and forwards a few times to really secure it.

5.  Sew around the eye hole markings, sewing at least 5mm (1/4") from the white lines that you have drawn and keeping the lines INSIDE the circle that you are sewing. Take care not to catch the elastic in your stitches.

6. Cut along the white lines to reveal the eye holes. Again; take care with the elastic, this time making sure you don't cut through it! Cutting the eye holes out after you have sewn around them will give you a much neater finish.

Hope you and your little superheroes enjoy this tutorial.  I always love to see your creations if you feel like sharing them!

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Say 'Hello' to Bonnie! (And to a free doll nappy / diaper pattern)

This is Bonnie.  She's a 'Little Amigo' doll from Meg McElwee's 'Growing up Sew Liberated' book.  It's one of my favourite sewing books - so many lovely play things to make for your kids.  I think I might have made them all.... This is the third Little Amigo doll that I've made.  'Max' and 'Molly' are two of my kid's most loved toys.  Our sweet little friend, Brea, always makes a bee line for them whenever she's here too, so it was a bit of a 'no-brainer' when it came to her 3rd birthday present - she simply had to have one too. 

For some reason I always feel compelled to make dolls in the image of the child that they're for - they're always thrilled when they notice that the doll has hair 'just like me!' and eyes 'just like mine!'  

I dressed Bonnie in a miniature Geranium Dress from Made-by-Rae and made her a necklace of tiny colourful pompoms.  She came with a little note which read:

Hello Brea,

My name is Bonnie.  I like cuddles and tea parties.  Will you look after me please?

Xx

P.S. Happy Birthday!

And of course no doll is complete without a set of nappies.  I made 3 so that she can have plenty of changes / coordinate her nappy with her outfit.  They are very quick and easy to make and a fantastic way to use up scraps.  Click on the image below to download your pattern pieces.

This nappy will fit a doll with a waist of up to 35 cm (14") down to about 21 cm (8").  For reference this doll is 45 cm (18")

You will need:

33 cm x 30 cm (13" x 12")  Cotton

33 cm x 30 cm (13" x 12")  Towelling / Fleece / Microfibre lining

2 x 2.5 cm (1") pieces of Velcro (optionally more for smaller sizes - see note on sizing at the end)

Instructions:

Cut 1 piece each from the cotton and from the lining.  Lay them one on top of the other with right sides together.

Stitch right around the edge of the nappy with a 1 cm (1/2") seam allowance.  Leave edges open between the notches on the long side of the nappy.

Clip corners and curved edges, taking care not to cut through your line of stitching.

Turn nappy to the right side using a knitting needle / chopstick to push out the corners.  Press, folding under the seam allowance at the turning hole.  Pin closed.

Edge stitch right around the nappy, sealing the turning hole as you go.  

Affix velcro to the nappy, placing the loops on the lining of the back (long) edge and positioning the velcro a few mm in from your edge stitching line.  Place hooks on the right (cotton) side of the nappy front (short edge) - again positioning them a few mm in from the edge stitching.  Sew all 4 pieces of velcro in place, sewing right around the edge twice for strength.

If you wish to make this nappy for a smaller doll than this one you will need to adjust the velcro accordingly.  The velcro loops on the back (lining) of the nappy can stay as above and then you can either sew a 16 cm (7") length of velcro right across the top of the front of the nappy, or you can cut a shorter length and simply sew a single piece in the middle of the top front of the nappy. 

My kids will spend hours playing with their 'babies' and changing their nappies.  I'm always especially pleased when my little boy plays with 'Max' - his little amigo doll! I'm not sure why I love it so much, I think it's for the same reason that I love seeing my little girl playing with cars or playing superheros - It's always so nice to see them just enjoying what they're doing without any reference to gender stereotypes and with no preconceptions of that's a 'girl's toy' or a 'boy's game' and that's precisely how it should be - don't you think?  

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Citronille Challenge: Thadee Coat Pattern Review

I’ve been working on a very special project this week – the 'Citronille Challenge'!  If you haven't seen them before, Citronille is a range of super-cute women's and children's clothing patterns. I can guarantee that you'll fall in love as soon as you see them.  There's just one catch:  until recently the majority of them have only been available in French. Don't worry though if your French is a little rusty because the wonderful people at Fiddlehead Artisan Supply have translated them into English for you! - Huzzah!

To celebrate these new translations, and the fact that we can now all enjoy these beautiful patterns without having to struggle with (often dubious) google translations, Sew Mama Sew and Fiddlehead have organised the Citronille Challenge. There are 12 lovely bloggers taking part in this challenge so if you'd like to see more of these gorgeous designs go and check them out.  Scroll to the bottom for a full list of participants and links to all their sites.

I was lucky enough to be gifted this beautiful Thadee coat pattern by Fiddlehead Artisan Supply so that I could take part in this challenge.  The pattern can be made as an unlined robe / dressing gown or as a lined coat so it's very versatile.  It’s a super cute design with flared sleeves and a gorgeous pixie pointed hood. 

The Thadee coat pattern is actually one of the few that the designer translated into English herself so i'm not able to provide you with any insight into the quality of Fiddlehead's translation, but from what I've read from the other bloggers taking part in this challenge it seems like Fiddlehead's notes actually give you a little extra useful information!

The pattern is marked as suitable for beginners and it really is simple with just 4 pattern pieces – however if you’re going to give the lined coat a go I’d suggest that you need a little more experience, simply because the instructions are not very detailed and you need to have a rough idea of what you’re doing.  The illustrations are helpful but there is no information on techniques or finishing so all of that is left up to your personal preference. 

The pattern comes in sizes 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12 and the sizing is VERY generous.  I ended up making a size 4 for my not-at-all-small 5 year old and there’s still a lot of room for movement in there - or room for lots of sunggly winter woolies I suppose! 

I made a few minor modifications to the pattern,  I used the size 6 hood because I wanted it to be roomy.  I also added inseam pockets for storing all the treasures which are inevitably collected every time we leave the house (leaves, rocks, flowers, seed pods etc…) and a loop at the neckline for easy hanging.  I topstitched right around the edge which gave it a neater edge finish and removed the need for me to hand stitch the turning hole along the bottom hem closed.  I did however hand stitch the sleeves because it’s nearly the end of winter here and I wanted to be able to let them down so that she can wear this coat again next winter!

I decided to make both of the buttons visible from the front rather than have one as a ‘hidden’ button and I think it works really well.

The coat outer is a wool remnant that I was gifted and the lining is a very beautiful Cotton and Steel – Horseback neutral from the ‘Honeymoon’ collection by Sarah Watts.  The selvedge reads ‘Sketches and Memories from Costa Rica’ and I fell in love with it instantly.  It’s not really ideal lining fabric for a coat – I’d usually choose something with a bit of ‘slip’, but it was so cute that I couldn’t not use it! It’s a big hit with the girl too which is an added bonus!

I really love this sweet little coat, but most of all I love how much Ella loves it!  I suppose that the pixie hood and the wide sleeves make it feel almost like a dress up to her, there is certainly something about it that has captured her imagination which is always a beautiful thing to see!

If you'd like to see more Citronille designs hop on over to the websites of the other Citronille Challenge to see what they've come up with:

Michelle Morris of That Black Chic
Sherri Sylvester of thread riding hood
Tenille Brien of Tenille's Thread
Maris Olsen of Sew Maris
Ari Green of Max California
Marisa of thirtynine
Sara Johansen of the Sara project
Natalie Strand of Vegetablog
Diane Reafsnyder of Gator Bunny
Sara Homer of Now Try This
Kelly Donovan of Craftree

A big 'Thank You!' to Fiddlehead and Sew Mama Sew for organising this challenge - I've completely fallen in love with Citronille and am looking forward to sewing more!  Click over to Fiddlehead to see the full range.  Which is your favourite?  I'm going to be sewing "Solveig" next.  Stay tuned....

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