Ell-issie in Wonderland

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

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

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.

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

BewarenBewaren

Here it is: our Tulip pattern!

Today is a very special day to me. Our Tulip pattern has finally been launched in English! Katrien and I designed the pattern for this dress last summer and the Dutch version has been for sale since August. As the first Tulips appeared on blogs, and especially after this stunning one was featured on the KCW blog, we repeatedly got the question if and when the pattern would become available in English. Well, here it is!
First some more about the pattern itself! Tulip is a pattern that stands out because of its special design: two tulip-shaped petals that overlap on the chest and a gathered skirt that peeps from underneath them. The pattern gives you the option to choose between a top or a dress version and a closure with a hidden zipper or buttons. It comes in sizes 1 YO to 10 YO. Detailed instructions and step-by-step pictures guide both beginners and experienced seamstresses smoothly through the sewing process. The pattern and instructions can be bought for 8€ (approximately 9$ or 7£) here. After purchasing you will receive an e-mail with a download link that allows you to download the pdf files with instructions and pattern in sizes A4, A0 and Letter.
All pictures were taken by me during a photoshoot we held especially for the pattern launch in August. Five little girls did a great job modeling the dresses and tops we made for them. It was still summer here so the girls all wear summer Tulips, but I hope the blog tour will convince you that winter Tulips can be just as beautiful.
Have a look at StraightGrain's, for example. She sewed a dress for her eldest daughter Norah and I think Tulip looks super cute with tights and boots! Katrien and I owe so much to An. Not only is she one of Belgium's greatest pattern designers (see for example the Tinny dresses, Jaanu dresses or Berlin coat I made using her patterns), she is also a very friendly woman who unselfishly answered all our questions about pattern design and webshop stuff. Thank you so so much An! For participating in the tour, for your proofreading, for your kind words, but also for all of your help in the past few months! We love you! 😘
Let me just include another picture of An's dress, since it is absolutely gorgeous. I love the autumn colors and the simplicity of the fabric. Most Tulips I saw and sewed myself were made in printed fabrics but I have to admit that plain fabrics pull even more attention to the design of the dress. Something to try in the near future!
The second blogtour participant of today is Masha, aka The Itinerant Seamstress. Masha has been following my blog for a while now and she always left such sweet comments that I couldn't resist asking her for our tour. Although her sewing agenda is really busy these days she was willing to participate, which I thought was really kind of her! She sewed a dress with a hidden zipper (her first one!) for her little niece. Hop over to her blog to read the extensive description of her sewing process and her honest opinions about our pattern!
More Tulip inspiration is to follow in the next few days, when these tremendously talented seamstresses will show you their versions!
3/10⎮StraightGrain ▲ The Itinerant Seamstress
4/10⎮Fairies, Bubbles & Co. ▲ Liivi & Liivi5/10⎮Leven met Liv ▲ Coffee + Thread ▲ Sisko by Mieke6/10⎮Just Add Fabric ▲ Sewpony7/10⎮While she was sleeping ▲ Made by Sara ▲ Le labo d'IsaWould you like to order the Tulip pattern yourself? It costs 8€ (approximately 9$ or 7£) and is for sale here! As a thanks for your enthusiasm and support on my Instagram, Facebook and blog, I'm offering you all a 10% discount on the pattern with the code HAPPYTULIP (expires October 9).
The English pattern is alongside the Dutch one in the shop, so when you order make sure to choose the right one. The difference can easily be told since the English version will cost 1€ more than the Dutch one. This price difference is entirely caused by international taxes, not by us wishing to earn more money 😉
I really hope you like our pattern, so it can start its journey around the world!