Spring flowers set

Instead of packing like what I was supposed to do, I made a new set of bra and panties yesterday.

I was packing in the sewing room when my eyes rested upon this wonderful lycra fabric in my stash. The flowers pattern looks like a blooming garden in spring, and suddenly I felt that I need to make something with it right that very moment! Actually sewing calmed down my nerves, so it was my way of refreshing between packing.

The fabric was bought sometime ago in Okadaya, Shinjuku. The elastic and notions are from Merckwaerdigh at ebay. The bra pattern is my usual one, Pin-up Girls Classic Bra #1230, size 30C, a classic full band bra that can be made with or without underwires. I made mine with underwires.

The panties are high-waisted, made with PDF pattern, The Betty High Waist Panties from Ohhh Lulu. This is the first time I used this pattern, it came to my attention after reading this post by Madalynne. The pattern is for classic, princess-seam high waist knickers, it is designed for knits, but  can accommodate stretch-wovens, or loose-weaves cut on the bias.

I used serger to sew princess seams on the panties, then finished the elastic with sewing machine. I made size S but next time I will go with XS for a better fit. The instructions were very clear and straight-forward. I really had a good time making the panties, too bad my fabric is only enough for one pair.

The thing about high-waist panties is they look rather strange on hanger, maybe not as cute as the ordinary cheeky panties. But they are actually very flattering on the body. Worn together with the bra, they look like a retro swimwear set!  

Bra pattern is Pin-up Girls Classic Bra #1230 from eLingeria, size 30C.
Panties pattern is Ohhh Lulu The Betty High Waist Panties, size S (PDF pattern).

Spring flowers set is a post from :: verypurpleperson ::

 
This is the state of my sewing room as of right now. As you can see, it is not very inspiring. But there’s a good reason for all this mess, that is: we’re moving!

Not too far though, maybe about a couple of miles from here. About a month ago, my husband finally got his permanent resident status. We started looking for a house after that, thinking that it might take months before we found something that we like. As it turned out, we fell in love with the first house that the agent took us to see. It is located uphills near the lake and park. That lake and park were the main reason my husband chose this area to live, so he’s very happy that finally he found a house so near to them.

After that, everything went unbelievably fast I still can’t believe it. We’re moving there in a week! This is one of the big turning point in my life. I’m so excited and terrified at the same time. All my life I’ve always been moving around, never to stay in one place more than several years. Is it true that this time I will stay for a long time? I was so stressed out thinking about it that I spent Golden Week holidays sick with cold and various allergy attacks (-_-”)

But life goes on! This is going to be a very exciting journey. I have my loved ones beside me, so it is our journey together. I guess I was so alone in my life before this, that the word ‘together’ (for a long time) hasn’t really sunk in my mind. A journey together, it sounds so sweet.

Moving! is a post from :: verypurpleperson ::

Next for KCWC 2012, four sleeveless T-shirts for Sidra! I bought most of Sidra’s t-shirts from Threadless, unfortunately they don’t have sleeveless ones for kids. As the weather is getting warmer, Sidra has started wearing sleeveless so I made these.

Before

They are recycled from adult-sized T-shirts that I got from the thrift store. The pattern is from Japanese pattern book,  シンプル&ちょこっとデザイン おんなの子服おとこの子服, the same book as the one I’ve used for Sidra’s pants.

I spent one day for cutting the pieces and arranging them. The green and purple T-shirts were kinda small but the brown and black ones were quite big. I finally managed to cut all pattern pieces for four sleeveless T-shirts from them.

The next day, I sewed the shirts entirely using the Babylock. It is a good way to familiarize myself with sewing knits using serger without using expensive fabric. Sewing the shirts was so fast with the serger! I’m so spoiled now that I don’t think I can go back to sewing knits with sewing machine again (-_-).

I left the hem raw as they don’t ravel, also because I didn’t feel like changing all the serger’s setting to coverstitch. As usual I put a little skull label on each shirt. Putting label on shirts will make it easier when putting it on because Sidra can easily differentiate the front and back side. Works for my tops too!

Pattern is #10 from  シンプル&ちょこっとデザイン おんなの子服おとこの子服, size 130. 

Sleeveles T-shirts is a post from :: verypurpleperson ::

Camo pants

Another pair of camo print pants for Sidra. The fabric is medium weight Japanese cotton, very comfortable and suitable for children’s wear.

Actually the print is more like swishes and drops of paint, but the whole look is similar to camo print. I think that was why Sidra chose this print when we went fabric shopping a couple of weeks ago.

The pattern is from Japanese pattern book, シンプル&ちょこっとデザイン おんなの子服おとこの子服 that I’ve used this pattern lots of times. The pants have front patch pockets and back pockets with little flaps. I inserted a little skull label before sewing the back pockets and also added some belt loops.

The pants are part of my participation in Kids Clothes Week Challenge hosted by Elsie Marley. This time I tried to take it slowly and not going for one project a day. I planned to prepare something every day and pay more attention to details of each project. It is fun!

Pattern is #14 from  シンプル&ちょこっとデザイン おんなの子服おとこの子服, size 130. 

Camo pants is a post from :: verypurpleperson ::

Aikido practice

Yesterday Sidra had aikido practice at the park in our neighborhood, followed by picnic and playtime. Such wonderful idea to spend a beautiful spring day.

Pictures from my Instagram.

Weekend, April is a post from :: verypurpleperson ::

We just got the new iPad last week and I made a case for it so I can bring it everywhere. You know, in case I need to play some DrawSomething….

The fabric is microsuede leftover from my zebra skirt, it is stiff enough so I didn’t need to use interfacing. For added protection, the case has thin batting between the layers of fabric. The flap closes with magnetic snap. It is such a simple case, finished in about 15 minutes. Instant gratification FTW!

iPad case is a post from :: verypurpleperson ::

Fourth grade!

Sidra is starting fourth grade today!

I made him a new set of bags and pouches for his school needs. Every elementary school student in Japan has this set, consisted of a book bag, a shoes bag, and a pouch for lunch napkin. I’ve made him a set of bags with grey robot print fabric two years ago when he entered second grade. Now all those bags already have holes or ripped at the corners.

Since he is a big boy now, Sidra didn’t want all those cute print fabric anymore, he wanted all his bags in camo print. I bought this camo print fabric in Yuzawaya. It was medium weight cotton and if you look closely, the pattern is actually consisted of little figures playing different sports activity.

The book bag and shoes bag are lined with quilted cotton. I only had enough lining for the book bag, so I cut Sidra’s old book bag and used the quilted fabric for lining the shoes bag. Recycling is good!

The napkin is just a rectangle with all the sides folded and topstitched. I also added a tissue pouch in the set.

Sidra looked like such a big boy when he went to school this morning. So different from this little kid who went to his first day in elementary school not so long ago. I almost can’t believe that my baby is now in fourth grade!

School bags and pouches

Fourth grade bags is a post from :: verypurpleperson ::

//credit: tape strips images by Puglypixel

April 1 is a post from :: verypurpleperson ::

I had a metre of denim fabric in my stash -actually it was more like unshaved corduroy- that I planned to make a high-waisted skirt with. But recently I changed my mind and wanted to make a pair of pants with it. I don’t have too many pants in my wardrobe. Maybe one or two that I rarely wear and a couple of shorts. I realized that making a pair of pants with a good fit is not easy, so I always have lots of doubt when I was about to start. But practice will make perfect! I have made lots of pants for my husband and Sidra, so what’s keeping me from making them for myself ? I promised myself that from now on, I will make more pants for me.

The pattern is Evan from Tamanegi-Kobo, a Japanese pattern shop. I usually use Google translate extension on Chrome to browse Japanese sites. The translation is not that good but enough to make me understand what’s going on. From what I understand, Evan is ankle-length pants. Lots of ease around waist and hip, narrowed down toward the hem. The lines are more  like Sarouel pants. The rest I didn’t understand but the pictures of the pants are enough. You can see that it sits a bit below the waist and there is obviously pleats on the front. As the pants have lots of ease, I figured that very smooth fitting wouldn’t be necessary. Bought!

This is not the first time I bought PDF pattern from Tamanegi-Kobo. The instructions are naturally in Japanese, but it has lots of pictures and diagrams that are clear enough. I also love the guessing work (maybe I’m adventurous…) so it was never a problem. I noticed that several other patterns already have instructions in English, so it would be easier if you want to try.

I checked their size chart and decided that I should make the pants in size 38 on waist and size 36 on hip. Usually my waist and hip are in the same size for European pattern. Does that mean that my waist is too thick by Japanese standard?

The fabric is not very thick so sewing them was quite easy. One metre of the fabric is just enough for a pair of pants for me. I had to piece the back waistband and used other fabric for pocket linings though. I used thicker thread in rust color for topstitching. The pocket linings are green cotton with chicken pattern, so fun!  The zipper fly area and waistband facing are finished with red seam bindings. I didn’t like metal zipper because I feel that they left a particular of metal (of course!) smell when I touch them, so I used regular plastic zipper.

If I were to make them again, I would do a little bit swayback adjustment and maybe make the waistband wider, but the pants are very comfortable as they are. I can see that I will be wearing them a lot!

Pattern is Evan by Tamanegi Kobo (PDF), size 38 on waist and 36 on hip.

Denim pants (Evan – Tamanegi kobo) is a post from :: verypurpleperson ::

Vogue 1285

A new dress! I made this dress to try out sewing with the Babylock. The pattern is Vogue 1285 by Tracy Reese, one of the Vogue new spring collection. From the envelope: “Lined, mock wrap dress has collar, close-fitting bodice with bands/hook&eye, fitted skirt, overlay with mock band, belt loops, sleeve bands and invisible left side zipper. Darts are stitched on the right side of fabric. Lining forms attached slip with shoulder and lingerie straps.”

The fabric is polyester jersey from my stash. It has green and brown splotches pattern with golden threads weft in between. Unfortunately the camera doesn’t seem to catch the golden thread. The fabric is not double-knit, so I hesitated to use my sewing machine to sew it. Now that I have a serger, the fabric is perfect for a try-out!

My pattern alteration as usual:

• shortened the bodice 3 cm.
• swayback alteration
• shortened the skirt and sleeves

Now for the fun part: sewing the dress! I used my Janome sewing machine the sew the darts, collar, and zipper, the rest were made with the Babylock.

The band

The darts on the original pattern are actually on the right side, I made them on the inside the usual way. I also skipped the lining slip for the dress as my fabric is not that transparent.

I didn’t follow the instructions for attaching the band, which calls for turning the inside seam allowance under and edgestitching it. Instead, I sewed the bands to the bodice and used coverstitch to topstitch them from the right side. I think it look neat! The sleeve cuffs were also attached in similar fashion.

I also used the coverstitch functions to make belt loops. The shoulders are reinforced with a strip of cotton twill so they don’t stretch.

I think wrap dress (or mock wrap dress in this case) always looks flattering for all body shapes. And since the skirt part is not really a wrap, I don’t have to worry about accidentally flashing my thighs!

Pattern is Vogue 1285, size 8 on bust and 10 on waist and hip.

Splotches jersey dress (Vogue 1285) is a post from :: verypurpleperson ::