A last summer outfit

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The Belgian fabrics brand See You At Six just launched their second collection, a mix of cotton lawns and sweater knits in beautiful prints. The Australian web shop Maaidesign stocks them all AND she ships internationally! I already bought some french terry to sew an Autumn sweater for myself, but first I want to show you something I made with their previous collection.

A beautiful cotton lawn in copper and rust with which I sewed an easy-peasy gathered skirt.

To match the skirt I sewed a top with a V-neck and flutter sleeves.  I altered the pattern to make the sleeves even wider and I added the V-neck to the back too.

I sewed this outfit back in July when Belgian temperatures were still nice and summery and I wore it so much! Right now the rain is pouring but I can't wait for summer to come back so I can wear this outfit again.

The pictures were taken by my little friend Liv again. She is just 9 years old but her pictures are amazing! I love how she makes me shine.

Stof rokje: Grid Copper, Playtime collection by See You At Six, bought at De Stoffenstraat

Stof topje: beige mêlée sweater fabric and glitter ribbing, both bought at De Stoffenstraat

Pattern skirt: self drafted
Pattern top: Knipmode 

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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.*

Double gauze softness

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I love double gauze. It's soft, it's lightweight, it's easy to sew with, and wait, did I already mention the softness? A few months ago I sewed this blouse in Nani Iro double gauze and it's been my favorite to wear on hot summer days ever since.

This fabric was named double gauze on the website where I ordered it (my all time favorite webshop for double gauze: Julija), but actually it's more like the swaddles you can buy for babies. Super soft but more wrinkly than the Nani Iro stuff.

Although I was kind of disappointed as the fabric was not the double gauze quality I had expected, I loved the softness immediately. I draped the fabrics around my neck as soon as they arrived

At first I planned to have something printed on it. Together with a friend I followed an evening class on fabric printing and I would have loved to print on this fabric too. Sadly the postal services messed up with my package so I only received it a few days after the last lesson. Off to plan B: embroidery! I bought some thread and hand embroidered an improvisational design while I was sitting in the sun. This was my first time embroidering and I had no expectations nor a blueprint. The best type of meditation, I tell you!

All seams are French seams finished with a decorative machine stitch (I wouldn't have the patience to embroider all those little flowers by hand!)

Almost 4 meters of softness around my neck. I love it!

Fabrics: tetrastof nude, oker and pale pink at Julija's shop
Pattern: a few simple rectangles, sewn together using French seams
Dress: Mambo Dress in Anna Maria Horner voile, blogged here
Pictures taken by my sister in Lisbon

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Cheetah jacket

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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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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 

All eyes on me

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About Blue Fabrics has launched a new fabric collection today! The BLOS collection consists of four summer sweat fabrics and I'm very happy to present the eyes fabric to you.

I sewed up a quick T-shirt, no pattern, just loosely based on an outworn but very much loved shirt in my closet.

My friend Liisa and I had some fun head banging during the photoshoot ;)

Don't you think this fabric matches my handbag perfectly? I bought it in Madrid last summer and it looks like the bag and the fabric were just made for each other.

I finished the sleeves with a little rolled hem and added some glitter to the waistband.

Et voila, quick sew, great result! I had some fabric leftovers which I quickly turned into a pair of sports shorts. I used this free pattern by Miasu.

Fabric: Eyes summersweat - Bambiblauw
T-shirt pattern: self drafted
Shorts pattern: Miasu
Handbag: Bimba y Lola