Kids Clothes Week Roundup

Wow.  Well this is very late, but here is the second outfit that I made for Kids Clothes Week.  I honestly did make it during Kids Clothes Week but have been struggling to getting any photos as we are seriously lacking in natural light at the moment – its dark when we get up and dark when we get home.  I’m really very envious of all of you in the Northern Hemisphere at the moment, enjoying sunshine, swimming pool and ice creams.  I shall have to console myself with stew and mulled wine and other winter goodness  (fruit crumble, hand knitted scarves, open fires, frosty mornings and hot chocolate).. am I making YOU jealous yet?  - I doubt it somehow!

With the ‘Travelling’ theme of Kids Clothes Week, one of the first things that sprang to mind was our recent trip to Europe and I wanted to find a way that I could somehow capture some of those wonderful memories in an outfit. 

One of the things that I love most about England is the countryside and on this trip we took many walks through beautiful summer meadows.  This amazing field of Buttercups was one of my favourites. 

The colour was just magical and the kids had an absolute ball wading through, skimming their fingertips through the flowers, running around and frolicking generally. 

I wanted to capture the essence of this beautiful field and when I saw this gorgeous Leah Duncan - Art Gallery knit fabric I though it was perfect.  I paired it with this amazing remnant of yellow wool flannel that I found in the Fabric Store.  The skirt and top are both self drafted.  The tee is a batwing top with banded cuffs.

The skirt is a simple gathered skirt with a waistband and cute little rounded pockets.  I didn’t quite manage to finish the button hole on the back before my sewing machine packed up – possibly in protest at being made to work so hard! I suppose this is the first problem I’ve had with it in 5 years of practically constant use so I won’t curse it too much. Still, it means that the Mama Clothes Week that I had planned for this week will have to wait!   

I also managed to finish off this blue tee which has been sitting in my WIP pile since before we went on holiday.  Happily it also goes very nicely with the new yellow skirt.

Not much of a one for standing still this one....

"Enough photos now mum!  I want to go and watch Star Wars!"

Gumnut Dress Pattern Giveaway

I love Instagram.  I love the way we use it to highlight the beautiful parts of ordinary days.  I love the way that it makes me view the world differently.  And most of all I love this wonderful community that I have discovered, of people who love to sew as much as I do.  I think there must be few industries in the world which are so positive, supportive and caring as this one that I feel so lucky to be part of.  

For me sewing is about more than just being creative.  It's about slowing down, stepping away from the culture of frantic consumerism that has become the norm and practicing mindfullness.  I believe that taking time to make something by hand, pouring love and effort into creating something unique is the ultimate antidote to everything that has gone wrong with our modern society. 

I am so very grateful to have discovered the joy that sewing brings and to be on the road to making it a much bigger part of my life, that I want to give something back.  I want to say thank you to all the people who inspire and encourage this passion in me and I want to begin my new venture with a wonderful bang!

The Gumnut dress is the first graded dress pattern that I've designed and developed.  It has taken a lot of my time and effort and love and dedication to get to this point.  It feels a little like my baby - I love it dearly and I'm so proud of it and I am a little afraid of letting it out into the world alone.  So this has been a difficult decision for me and it's a little bit scary too, but I have noticed that the scary decisions are often the right ones don't you think?

I expect that by this point you're thinking 'Enough already! What ARE you on about?!' It's a fair question.  I've decided that I'm going to give this pattern away for free.  Totally free to anyone who registers their interest before the pattern release: 9pm Australian Eastern Standard time on the 6th May (7am EST if you're in the States.) In other words you have 24 hours.  When the pattern is released I will send you a free copy.

This is the first pattern that I've put out there for sale so I'm hoping that you will all act as reviewers for me.  I know there are a lot of Indie designers out there and I'm well aware that the quality can vary dramatically.  You don't know me yet and I don't know you so I want you to know that my patterns are good.  That they work. That they are easy to follow. That the end products are great.  I want to earn your trust.

All I ask in return is that you don't distribute your free copy amongst your friends and family.  I rely on your honesty to protect my business.  Knowing what a great community we have I feel confident that the majority of you will respect this.  If you love the dress and the pattern please tell people about it.  Most of all I just hope that you have fun making this and that the little one you are sewing for loves it!

UPDATE:  The free dress pattern giveaway is now closed.  Sorry if you missed out.  Why not subscribe to my newsletter anyway (link in the side bar) then you'll always be the first to know when there's a special offer.

If you'd like another chance to win a free copy then you can enter my 'Sew Mama Sew Giveaway Day' promotion.  See previous blog post for details.

Gumnut Dress Pattern Testers Wanted!

My Gumnut dress pattern is finally finished! I'm so pleased with how it's turned out and I really love this Cotton and Steel with stripes combo.  I'm also very happy about how much Ella loves it, the knit top makes it super comfy, it has huge pockets for storing treasures and a skirt that's perfect for twirling!

I've spent the weekend perfecting and testing and now it's your turn!  I need pattern testers for all sizes from 1 to 8 years.  You don't need to be an expert to pattern test, confident beginners should be able to sew this pattern.  There's a pretty short deadline on this one, testers need to have completed that pattern and submitted their feedback by Friday 1st May.  All testers will receive free copies of the finished pattern and my eternal gratitude for their help!

If you're interested and able to meet the deadline then please either email me at willowandstitchdesign@gmail.com or enter your details below.  Be sure to hit 'Submit'

UPDATE:  Applications for pattern testing are now closed.  I'm hoping to release the Gumnut Dress Pattern in the first week of May and I've got a MASSIVE givaway planned so if you'd like to be updated enter your details below: