Ell-issie in Wonderland

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Stories without endings, the new fabric collection by the Belgian textile designer Lotte Martens, is coming to the stores!

I work for Lotte a day a week as a job student and I love it soooo much. Actually, my working day is my favorite day of the week ;-) Lotte prints her fabrics by hand and they are all gorgeous. Look at this ombre knit, isn't it just too cute?

A major advantage of working for Lotte is that she needs someone to sew tests with her new fabrics. Well, how could I say no to that? ;-)

The new collection offers loads of different fabric types, like scooba, plissé, woven basics and mohair that looks like you've knitted it yourself; all with the handprinted Lotte Martens touch. For this post I chose for the Aronia Pink jersey knit and an Issie top by Sewpony.

The Aronia jersey has an ombre print and the pattern pieces of the Issie top invited me to play with the stripes and color differences.

I also made a skirt to go with it. One of Lotte Martens' main principles is that the more 'extravagant' fabrics of her limited editions always combine easily with her basic collection. For the skirt I used Spacer Limonium Rainbow, a funky knit fabric which I already used here in the silver color way.

I added a little butterfly to the skirt, which is an application also designed and handprinted by Lotte. Her Pimp It collection is a set of DIY-packs for easy embroidery so you can add a LM-touch to all your bags and garments!

I sewed this outfit for Ellis, a cute little two-year-old with loads of imagination. Stories without endings? She just invents them herself!

Her story itself is a brave one, since Ellis is fighting cancer. She is a little girl whom I got to know because she was in the same hospital as I was during my illness. At first I had planned to sew an Issie for Liv (the 9-year-old I babysit and mostly sew for), but the day after I got the invitation for the Issie blog tour Ellis’ mom asked me if I knew an easy-to-sew pattern with ruffles. I told her about Issie and she was very enthusiastic yet a little scared to start sewing with knits, so I promised her I’d sew an Issie for Ellis first. She bought the pattern right after we took the pictures and she already sewed an Issie herself too! Check it out here.

After being ill myself I have a strong desire to mean something to other people going through similar misery. I remember getting depressed of the grey ugliness of the hospital, so I tried to brighten up their day with a colorful outfit! 

The knit fabrics will be distributed to all the Lotte Martens stores (you can find them listed here) within the coming weeks. Keep an eye on Lottes facebookpagina for the exact dates! The skirt fabric is already for sale, as is the Issie pattern. The code ISSIERELEASE10 gives you a 10% discount.

T-shirt pattern: Issie top - Sewpony - size 18mo
T-shirt fabric: Aronia Pink - Lotte Martens (I used 50 cm)
Skirt fabric: Spacer Limonium Rainbow - Lotte Martens (I used half a panel)
Butterfly application: DIY pack Zinnia 003 - Lotte Martens
Model: Ellis, almost 3 yo

More Issie inspiration?

MONDAY 23/10: anaaisID//frl.love//naaisgerief//

WEDNSEDAY 25/10: VINK//amore//MeToezie//

FRIDAY 27/10: Beletoile//Flaflinko//Froleintilia//Ariane//

MONDAY 30/10: Riddersenrozen//128//

WEDNESDAY 1/11: WithlovebyEva//ByDagbjort//Stannel//

FRIDAY 3/11: Nah-connection//DoGuincho//Groovybabyandmama//liiviundliivi//

MONDAY 6/11: Pistolwhip//Mendandmakenew//Kneesocksandgoldilocks//

WEDNESDAY 8/11: Creativecatoo//Justaddfabric//Casennina//

FRIDAY 10/11: Enjoyfulmakes//Kaatjenaaisels//Larth//Whileshewassleeping

Feliz

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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

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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

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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)

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"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