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

Vienna in blue

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

I don't have kids of my own. Well, not yet. Being a university student, parenting would not make a perfect combination (ahem - understatement) with passing my exams. But this little kid, she stole my heart.

A few years ago, when she was only a toddler just starting school, I did some volunteer work at the local kindergarten. She was shy and in need for someone to comfort her; and somehow I felt it was my task to care for her.

Day by day her shyness lessened and she became more confident. Seven years later she is a happy little lady with lots of friends. But her one and only Best Friend, that's me. (Or at least that is what she tells me ;-) ) She writes me notes telling how much she loves me and brings me crafts filled with hearts. And even if she wouldn't, I could just read that in her eyes every time she looks up at me.

She is such a creative and talented little girl and I love her just as much as she loves me. Sewing is my favorite type of craft so I sew her dresses to express my love. And I bet she feels it, because the Eva-mades appear to be her favorites and she is extremely thankful for everything I sew for her.

This time I made her a Vienna dress, a pattern by Kaatjenaaisels and Bel'etoile. From the moment I saw the design of the dress I knew it would be perfect for Liv. She doesn't like clothing to be too tight on her as she likes to dance through her days.

For our Tulip dress & top pattern I worked together with Katrien, so I knew she is an excellent pattern designer with an eye for detail. After Tulip, she released another two dress patterns: Vienna and Nena. From now on, both of them are available in English too (Tulip was translated to English one year earlier), as pdf patterns with super detailed photo instructions. And you know what? To celebrate the English release, you get a 10% discount using the code INSTAPARTY ! Hop over to her shop to check out, I promise you won't regret!

Liv turned 9 in August but is rather tall, so I sewed her the size 10, which is a perfect fit. Both Liv and I are in love with Vienna!

I think the flutter sleeves and the gathered dress look really cute on her, while the V-shaped back and the plain blue bodice give it a more grown-up feel. Doesn't she look like a little lady in it?

This girl, I am so proud of her, of the way she looks at the world, open and a little naive, with care and detail. I feel so grateful for being part of her journey. Not always the easiest one, but sure a beautiful one.

Pattern: Vienna Dress - size 140 - by Kaatjenaaisels and Bel'etoile - pdf for sale here

Fabrics: Cocquelicot Bleu (Petit Pan), combined with plain dark blue quilting cotton

Model: Liv (9yo)

*None of the links are affiliate links. All opinions are my own.*

Little baby Lucille

** Deze post lezen in het Nederlands? Klik hier **

I'm always excited when receiving birth cards. Welcoming new life is one of the most beautiful things on earth. 

I always base my birth present on the birth card. Lucille's card showed her and her bigger brother and sister wearing little pink ribbons and ties. It immediately reminded me of  a pink-and-rust colored jersey I had in my stash, and I knew I would sew dresses for the girls and a bowtie for their brother.



The fabric is Corax 03 jersey by our Belgian textile designer Lotte Martens. The quality is amazing! Soft and lightweight but still sturdy enough to make it easy to sew with. The fabric is 1.80 metres wide so I managed to sew these three items out of half a metre, and I still have a piece left. In case you'd be interest to buy this fabric, or any of Lottes other beautiful designs: keep an eye on her points of sale, since her fabrics will soon be for sale in several shops all around the world!

For her bigger sister Jeanne, I sewed a Millie dress (free pattern by Mix it Make it) in size 4y. It's still a little big on her but she loved it big time!

For Lucille I sewed a mini version of her sister's dress. I used another free pattern, this time the baby T-shirt by de Droomfabriek in size 4m. Unlike her sister, she wasn't really into posing, but you can imagine this little girl looking darling cute in her dress, no?

I wish you lots of luck in life, Lucille! I hope you will keep your beautiful smile forever.

Easter bunnies (Coffee+Thread tour 2017)

** Om deze blogpost in het Nederlands te lezen, klik hier **

"Things are finally sorting out healthwise". I was so happy to write these words under an Instagram picture I posted a few weeks ago. After two years of constant pain and illness, the doctors finally found what went wrong in my body and with the right medication, I'm slowly recovering. I'll dedicate a blog post to this happy news later on, but now, let's focus on sewing! Being ill I often didn't have the energy to sew (I wrote a post about that here) and I am incredibly grateful that my love for sewing returns together with my health. 

So when Olga (you know: the amazingly talented seamstress and pattern designer behind Coffee+Thread) asked me to participate in her tour, I was happy to say yes!

Olga tested the Tulip dress and top pattern for me and her feedback was super helpful. Missing marks, unclear instructions, non-matching notches: Olga was the one to discover them. I thus expected her patterns to be very detailed and they didn't disappoint me at all! All pattern pieces matched up perfectly (something pdf-patterns don't always do with me, or maybe that's just my pattern glueing skills, haha).

I made two pieces for Mona, the youngest daughter of the Belgian textile designer Lotte Martens. (you should take a look at her handprinted fabrics, they're just amazing!) All fabrics I used here are designed and printed by Lotte herself. How cool is that?!

First I made a pair of Wild & Free lounge pants  Mona and her sister have two rabbits whom they love, so these rabbit eared pants were just meant to be! I chose for the Sparkle Corax 02, a red and brown jersey fabric with a golden print. 

As I had some energy left I also made an Ila dress using the Spacer Limonium Silver, a heavy knit fabric that feels somewhat like scuba. The color is so special: it changes from very light grey to bright silver depending on the light. For the yoke I used the wrong side of the fabric, which is actually just as beautiful as the silver side and incredibly soft. 

I used some leather trim to accentuate the yoke. For the pockets and the collar lining I used some leftovers from the leggings.

Both items were actually sewn for five-year-old Mona and are meant to be paired with each other.  Based on her measurements I made her a size 6 and the fit is spot on. However, when her bigger sister saw Mona's outfit, she was a little jealous and insisted on trying on the Ila dress too. Suse is 7 years old but rather skinny, and although it's a rather tight fit, it actually still fits her. So we compromised: for the photoshoot Mona would wear the rabbit leggings and Suse would wear the dress.

Not at all a traditional Easter outfit, but I love it! Thank you so much Olga for these great patterns!



Would you like to win some of them, together with an amazing selection of fabrics? Enter the give away! a Rafflecopter giveaway


By the way, have you seen what the other participants made? If not, sure do check their blogs, since every single creation is stunning! 

April 3
Enjoyful Makes || Idle Sunshine || ZowieZo Handmade || Angie Burgett

April 4
Handmade Frenzy || Replicate Then Deviate || Fairies, Bubbles & Co || Coral + Co

April 5
Made By Sara || Naeh-Connection || The Bag of Unexpected || Circle Meets Line

April 6
Skirt Fixation || Sewing Like Mad || Hello Holli || Buzzmills ||

April 7
Little Cumquat || Thread Bear Garments || Pearl Berry Lane || Plus 2 is 5 || Sew Chibi 

April 10
Stahlarbeit || Knee Socks and Goldilocks || Bonnie and Lottie || Sew Sophielynn 

April 11
Mouse House Creations || While She was Sleeping || Mix it Make it || By Dagbjort 

April 12
Gaafmachine || Beletoile || LBG Studio || My Cozy Co  || As It Seams

April 13
Moineau & Petit Pois || Just Add Fabric || Sweeter Than Cupcakes || Frances Suzanne || Stitched Together || Sew Liberated 

April 14
S is for Sewing || Boevenbende || Lafolie Sewing Booth || Sew Pony || With Love By Eva 

Christmas Tulips (and a discount code!)

When Katrien and I designed our Tulip pattern, we had summery dresses and tops in mind. Those of you living down under are very lucky to have warm days right now, but here in Belgium it's way too cold for summer dresses. Time to prove that the Tulip pattern also works well for winter dresses!

Due to my health problems, I haven't been sewing anything for over a month now. My mind is full of ideas but my body needs rest... I felt sorry for neglecting the blog for this long, so I'm very happy to finally post something again! I sewed these dresses on a sewing weekend with some blogging friends back in October. The fabrics used are all by the Belgian textile designer Lotte Martens. She designs and handprints each panel herself which makes them all unique. I simply love the brightness of the prints and the quality of the fabric, so good!

I sewed the dresses for Lottes daughters, just like I did here. She spends so much time printing the fabrics that she hardly has time left to sew for her own girls! When hearing that I immediately proposed to sew for them and that was such a pleasure. The girls were so happy with their new dresses and kept twirling and dancing.

The blue dress with birds in copper is a size 7. Mona is five but with a longsleeve underneath the size 7 fits her perfectly. Isn't she super cute?

The fabric is so beautiful in itself that I didn't add any "special touches". Just some copper-colored piping at the tulip petals, that's all. This way all attention goes to the bird print!

For Suse, Mona's bigger sister, I did change something to the pattern. I simply omitted one tulip petal, which gives the dress a completely different look.

The last one was sewn for Jutta, a friend of the girls. However, on the day we planned to take pictures Jutta turned out to be ill so Suse had to be the stand-in model. Jutta is a little smaller than Suse, that's why the fit is a little tight on her. I promise it's better on Jutta!

 

Critical readers might have noticed that I made a mistake here. I accidentally changed the order of the tulip petals! I guess sewing and talking at the same time is not always a good idea ;) 

The matching long sleeves and leggings were sewn by Veerle, a friend of Lotte's. The knits are super soft and also designed by Lotte!

The cotton fabric comes in panels of 60cm high (about 24 inches). For each of the dresses I used one panel.

We did a photoshoot after the girls came home from school and it was already dark outside, which explains their tired faces and the poor quality of the pictures. But oh well, we had fun!

Did these dresses inspire you to sew a New Yaer's dress for your own girls? The discount code "TULIPPARTY" gives you a 10% discount, valid for both the Dutch and the English version of the pattern until December 31.  Buy it here!

Blue dress for Mona

Pattern: Tulip dress in size 122

Dress fabric: Buteo 038, Lotte Martens

Knit fabric used for longsleeve and legging: Corax 02, Lotte Martens

Shoes: Eli, bought at Hippe Schoentjes

Grey-greenish dress for Suse

Pattern: Tulip dress in size 134

Dress fabric: Buteo 019, Lotte Martens

Knit fabric used for longsleeve and legging: Corax 05, Lotte Martens

Shoes:  Eli and Angulus bought at Hippe Schoentjes

Kneesocks: Condor bought at Hippe Schoentjes

Lichtroze bolletjesjurkje voor Jutta

Pattern: Tulip dress in size 128

Dress fabric: Tur Tur 08, Lotte Martens

Knit fabric used for longsleeve and legging: Corax 03, Lotte Martens

Schoentjes: Eli and JFF bought at  Hippe Schoentjes

Kneesocks: Collégien bought at Hippe Schoentjes

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