Feliz

** Om deze post in het Nederlands te lezen, klik je best hier **

From the first sneak peek on I knew I would sew the Feliz dress for  my little friend Liv. She likes clothes to be a little loose so she can dance and play all day long, and she likes flutter sleeves and ruffles and romantic details.

However, as she turned 9 lately, I didn't want to make the dress too girly. You never know when these little kids will suddenly turn into teenagers that hate cuteness, right?

Yup, that was a big fail :-) I had planned on sewing a funky Feliz in a black&white Nani Iro, with a visible metal zipper to add some more spunk. I ordered my fabrics and left on holidays, but when I returned the fabrics still hadn't arrived and the blog tour date was approaching. Bye bye funky Feliz!

Since it was weekend and all fabric shops were closed I had to go with some fabrics from my stash. Although I admit that there were quite a lot of options in there (Fabric hoarder? Me?), nothing seemed 'just right' for my Feliz. So I went for my second option: princess feeling all the way!

The result is a little too romantic for me, but she loves it!

The only prerequisite when sewing for Liv is softness. She is very sensitive and although she loves what I sew for her, she won't wear anything that sticks. So softness it would be! For the bodice I used off white fake fur and I lined it with a leftover from my Moonstone blouse, which I also used for the sleeves.

For the skirt I recycled a skirt I once sewed for myself but was never actually worn because the elastic was slightly too loose on me. It was on a hanger in my sewing room for almost a year, meant to be unpicked and redone, and the more I looked at it the less eager I was to fix it. I'm happy it got a new destination. Liv is happy too because it twirls way better than most dresses I sew for her. Not at all a teenager yet ;-).

At first I wanted to keep the visible metal zipper to temper the sweetness a little, but then I realized that a zipper wouldn't make a great combination with the hairy fabric. Oh well, the spunkiness I had planned had fallen anyway, so I could as well go for total romanticism, right?

She loves it so I'm happy too, although I think I'll be sewing a more funky Feliz soon! 

"The pattern is called Feliz", I told her, "which means 'happy' in Portuguese." She looked up at me and nodded as if she had just given her permission. "That's fine", she said, "because I am happy." ♥



It was my honor to close the blog tour with this princess version of the Feliz dress. For more inspiration, check out these blogging friends of mine!

Lily & Woody | Kaatjenaaisels | Yerasi | Flaflinko | Blanche | Liesellove | Bel'etoile | Petrol & Mint Made By Sara | A Naais ID | sewpony | 128 | Sweeter Than Cupcakes | Noortjeprullemie Thread Riding Hood | Clara stickar | Christinaa | Love You Sew | My Petite Sophie | With Love By Eva

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)

Communion dress #2: a Tinny dress for Mila

Last week I showed you the Jaanu dress I sewed for Livs first communion party. But Liv wasn't the only one I dressed for this special occasion! For her sister Mila, I sewed a very special Tinny dress.

The sisters are very alike yet different too. Therefore I chose matching fabrics (the same orange-pinkish color but with a different print) and matching patterns (Jaanu and Tinny, both by StraightGrain).

Her only wish for the dress was a bow. That reminded me of the Antoinette dress, once sold for the good cause by Spiegelstiksels, sadly not for sale anymore. The largest Antoinette size is size 8, way too small for ten-year-old Mila. That's why I took the Tinny dress as a basis and added the Antoinette features: the pockets, the pleated skirt, the V-shaped neckline and the bow. 

Again, I chose a handprinted fabric by Lotte Martens, this one is called Bromelia and has a border print with orange flowers. I cut the skirt pieces in that way that the flowers appear in the front and in the back. For the bow, I chose an orange striped fabric by Petit Pan. The color is almost fluorescent and very difficult to photograph. The picture underneath gives an idea of the real colors.

Mila was very happy with her dress, especially since the fit was loose enough to jump and run around at the party. Mission accomplished!

Both sisters were so beautiful together, I couldn't help taking lots of pictures :-)

Livs dress: blogged about here

dress fabric: Bromelia by Lotte Martens

bow fabric: Rigato Orange by Petit Pan

piping: Hexagoon Leuven

pattern: mixed Tinny - Antoinette

Project SewIt for April: Jaanu as a communion dress for Liv

I've told you many times about my little friend Liv. I worked as a volunteer in the kindergarten for a few years, and since then the two of us have a very special bond. She is twelve years younger than I am, but we get along so well that I would call her one of my best friends. So when her mom asked me if I wanted to sew a dress for her First Communion, I didn't hesitate at all!

For the pattern, I opted for Jaanu. I had already sewn the Elena version for her and it has become her favorite dress. For this special occasion I chose the Norah version because the box pleats give it a festive look.

The fabric is Aspius by Lotte Martens, a very soft and rather thick woven cotton with copper sparkles on it. Liv chose it herself and I am completely in love with her choice!

Her mom wanted flutter sleeves, I added a copper ribbon with a little bow on the right.

I finished every pleat with a pearl and a metal leave, all secured by hand. I also made her earrings with the same leaves, but I forgot to photograph them.

Under the dress, she wore a petticoat that I had sewn for her before.

The pictures were taken both in the studio and at the party, where I was invited to join the family and  celebrate this beautiful little girl!

This dress was my April project for Project Sew It, but the dress had to be kept secret until the party was over. Now I'm finally able to show it to you!

I got lots of compliments from the party guests, they even asked me if I was a professional seamstress! Not at all, I replied, but I have to admit she was beautiful in her dress!


I didn't sew one dress, I immediately sewed two. One for Liv, and a matching one for her bigger sister Mila. I'll show you that one on Monday!

fabric: Aspius by Lotte Martens

pattern: Jaanu (Norah version) by StraightGrain

sandals: Liu Jo

100% Belgian Style

A few years ago, StraightGrain hosted a series called Kids' Clothes Belgian Style. Bloggers from all over the world participated and re-interpreted designs of our Belgian children's clothes designers.

What I present you today is even more Belgian Style! The fabrics I used for these two dresses are designed and hand printed by Lotte Martens, a Belgian textile designer.  The orange one is a thicker woven fabric, the light pink one is a very soft cotton.

The patterns are Belgian design as well. Do you recognize them?

For Suse (6 years old), I chose the Ileana dress pattern in size 6 and lengthened the bodice to obtain an A-line shaped dress. I made the short raglan sleeves in a furry fabric, like I saw in the winter collection of Belgian designer Anne Kurris.

Suse loves the shoulder detail, she keeps petting the fur and calling it "my kitty".

Her little sister Mona (4 years old) got a Tinny-dress in size 4. I added an improvisational pleating detail in the bodice and accentuated the copper fabric print with some glitter piping.

Both dresses close with a blind zipper in the back and are fully lined. I used one panel of the fabric for each.

I don't think I ever enjoyed a photoshoot this much. My two models were so full of joy!

Belgian fabrics, Belgian patterns, sewn by a Belgian girl and worn by two little Belgian girls: 100% Belgian design!

Suse's dress:

pattern:  Ileana dress by Compagnie M, size 116 (6y)

fabric: Rhodifer - Lotte Martens

Mona's dress:

pattern: Tinny dress by StraightGrain, maat 104 (4y)

fabric: Clarias - Lotte Martens

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