Cheetah jacket

** Voor Nederlands, klik hier **

When Warre was born I made him this little jacket in a size 3mo. He wore it until he was about 7 months old and even the top button didn't close anymore. 

Time for a replacement! This time I opted for the biggest size available in the One to Hug pattern: size 18mo. Still some room for growth, but already way too cute!

The fabric is a french terry summer sweat by About Blue Fabrics, designed by Belgian Illustrator Eva Mouton. 

I had planned to sew piping all around the jacket, but somehow I managed to buy just 10cm less than needed for that. Instead I topstitched with a decorative stitch and used the piping only for the hood.

The best part of the One to Hug pattern is that it is reversible. The other side is a striped summer sweat by Nosh Organics that I won in the Compagnie M. contest.  

Straightaway from size 3mo to size 18mo. This cutie is growing so fast!

Outer fabric: Cheetah's by Eva Mouton for About Blue Fabrics

Inner fabric: stripes by Nosh Organics

Pattern: One to Hug, size 86

Model: Warre, 1 year and 4 months old

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Mix 'n Match satchel

Oh. my. God. I've just finished the most perfect thing I've ever sewn. I don't think I could be more proud of myself ;-)

I prefer sewing clothing over sewing bags, but for this beautiful pattern I made an exception. The pattern is called Mix 'n Match and it is designed as a satchel for primary school children or preschoolers (Mix 'n Match Mini). Since I don't belong to either of both categories anymore, its designer Riet was so kind to re-scale the pattern for me until it had the perfect size for a college satchel for students!

Speaking fabrics, I chose an imitation leather (Nemesa by Lotte Martens) for the center front panels, and combined it with mint cork leather for the side panels and gold-bamboo cork leather for all other panels. The lining is an organic cotton by Birch, won here. I ironed two layers of Decovil light against all pattern pieces, with 3 broken and bent needles as a result. But it was worth it!

The original Mix 'n Match design has two backstraps to wear it on your back, but as I wanted my version to be appropriate for university instead of for primary school, I added a leather shoulder strap.

Even the back of it is beautiful. Oh look at this!

On the inside I added some handy features. Like pockets for my cell phone, my train card and a pen.

A strap with a carabiner to prevent losing my keys a hundred times or more. The black-and-white part is elastic, so I can easily stretch my keys towards the door without detaching them from the carabiner.

The inside has three main compartments. The middle one has exactly the right size for my laptop so I added a little strap to make sure it won't fall out.

It took 15 hours to sew the satchel and I bet it was the hardest sewing project I ever did. All the layers of leather and Decovil weren't easy to sew for my machine, but the result is just perfect. I'm so so in love.

I sewed the bag together with its designer and my sewing friend Riet. She made a satchel for her youngest daughter who will be starting primary school in two days. Have a look at her beautiful version here!

The two of us weren't alone while sewing. We had a camera crew filming the sewing process for the Belgian Tendens TV. It is Dutch spoken and not subtitled but it gives you an impression of the satchel sewing! (and an impression of the way I move and talk. I always find it exciting to see  other bloggers in front of the camera, for example in this little movie. It really surprised me to see what my favourite bloggers looked and talked like!)

Patroon: Mix 'n Match Mini vergroot tot 115% - Mind the Whale

Mint kurkleer: K-bas

Naturel-goud kurkleer: Madeline de Stoffenmadam (tijdelijk uitverkocht, maar wel nog te krijgen bij K-bas!)

Mint met gouden imitatieleer: Nemesa - Lotte Martens (limited edition, te koop per 60cm of in linten van 10cm)

Voeringstof: Feathers Mineral - Charley Harper's Nurture collection voor Birch - gewonnen in de Compagnie M.-wedstrijd

Fournituren en versteviging: K-bas en de Khadetjesvoorraad

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Just knot it

Almost together with our Tulip dress, another beautiful Belgian dress pattern was released. Riet is a sewing friend of mine and every pattern she designs is just spot on. So is Just Knot It, her newest dress!

Eyecatcher is the back. No zippers or button plackets, the dress closes with a little 'knot'.

And yes, I did add a button placket. Autumn is approaching and I wanted the dress to be worn on cooler days as well. The button placket is an extra option that comes with the pattern.

Second eyecatcher are the side seams. They don't close like 'normal' dresses do (although Riet offers the option of closed side seams too) but overlap under the armpits.

Third eyecatcher (oh yes! This pattern is so amazing and unique!) is the pleated front. Again, the pattern offers a plain and simple option too, but I'm so in love with the details that I wanted to add them all!

Since there are so many pattern pieces, the dress almost asks for color blocking. So that's what I did! I used 6 different fabrics: Kona cotton in  Canary, Woodrose, Bahama Blue, Lime and Papaya (bought at Bambiblauw), combined with Robert Kaufmans Geo Pop Sorbet.

The result is a dress that suits my little friend Loes perfectly. The lively colors are beautiful against her toned skin and at the same time they fit her character. She is playful, mischievous and always happy, just like her dress!

Loes and I, we both love Just Knot It! 

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