The outside kids and their outside clothes

The month of June was all about final exams at university and not that much about sewing. But as my summer holidays started, I'll make up for that soon! To start with, two easy projects in knits for my neighbor kids.

Lans and Roos play outside all day long, I could hear their little voices scream and laugh while I was studying ;) Comfortable clothes are a necessary ingredient for good play, so I took the Billie shirt pattern by Zonen09 and the Princess Castle dress pattern by Ottobre to make them some comfy play clothes!

Roos is such a happy kid, always singing and telling imaginative stories. The fabric matches her personality so well! 

The dress is still a little long now, but at her growth speed it will be perfect length for their summer vacation.

Her big brother Lans got a Billie shirt by Zonen09. The pattern is great: nice fit, good instructions, and it comes in several languages. Designer Sharon is a friend of mine and she's such a talented lady! Billie offers a lot of options, like raglan sleeves and a V-neck, but I chose to keep it simple. My brain wasn't ready for difficult projects yet, after all the studying ;) 

These two kids know what they want. They chose the fabrics themselves (and I was happy, since those were on the pile "don't remember why I ever bought them") and they were extremely satisfied with the result. So was I!

T-shirt pattern: Billie by Zonen09, size 8yo length 7yo
T-shirt fabric: bought from her (I used 0,5m)
Dress pattern: Princess Castle - Ottobre 4/2013 - size 7yo without seam allowance
Dress fabric: Lillestoff (I used 1m)

Berlin Coat for ladies

I've been wanting to sew a coat for myself ever since I was a beginning seamstress (Five years ago already! Time goes so fast when you're having fun!) But somehow coats frightened me. I sewed up some childrens versions already, but kids don't have those difficult lady-shapes :) So when I started Project Sew It in January, I knew a coat for myself would be on the to sew list for 2016. And here it is! Started in April, finished in June. A Berlin Coat for myself!

Berlin is a pattern by StraightGrain, designed for winter and for kids. The little rebel in me decided to make a summer version for ladies out of it! I chose the biggest size (12yo), skipped the batting and lengthened with 8 centimeters. Omitting the batting created extra space on the inside so I didn't have to widen anything.

I chose for Berlin because I love the lines! I added piping to accentuate them.

In the original pattern the pocket flaps are just decorative. But I like real pockets, so I added some under the flaps. I used a soft voile (leftover from this dress) and a snap for closure.

And now: some details! I added little bows at the sleeves (adopted from the Jackie coat pattern) and lined them with the same voile.

Belgian summers can be quite cold and windy. Therefore I wanted to add some warm details! Invisible, hidden under the sleeves, is a piece of ribbing, which makes it quite impossible for the wind to fly into my sleeves.

The hood is accentuated with some piping and lined with beautiful texture fabric, al leftover I bought from Mieke. 

The original pattern has a box pleat in the back. But the piping I used all around made the pleat 'stand out' a little, so I decided to close it at the bottom. Actually, I prefer this finish over the pleat! 

It's my first ladies coat, and it's far from perfect. The sleeves aren't tight enough for me and the buttons could have been placed better too. I was a little disappointed at first, until my mom told me: "Eva, don't be so hard on yourself. This is your first time, you can't expect it to be perfect. It's beautiful, even with those mistakes. And you can start practicing from now on!" 

She was totally right. Moms are for life lessons. And even with the imperfections, I still like it!

Now I'll wait 'till someone takes me on a citytrip to Berlin. A Berlin Coat in Berlin, wouldn't that be perfect?

Outer fabric: pale pink felt wool

Lining: mini stripes aqua pink - Nosh Organics (won here gewonnen, used here)

Pattern: Berlin coat by StraightGrain - size 11/12 yo

Voile (pockets): Wildfield in Cherry voile - Free Spirit - leftover from this project

Hood inner fabric: bought from Mieke

Scarf: Betty Blush - La Femme Garniture (sold out)