Miss Polly and Miss Liv

As soon as I saw the first version of Miss Polly, I knew she and Liv would become good friends. Two months later I finally managed to sew her a Miss Polly Dress!

Completely Sewpony-inspired: her mom chose the fabric after she saw this dress passing by on Facebook. It's called "vintage kitten" and comes in three qualities: quilting cotton, cotton knit and sweater fabric. Designed by children's fashion brand De Melkbrigade, for sale at Bambiblauw! (I guess they do international shipping. And if you stop by, have a look at the other fabrics designed by De Melkbrigade. I'm completely in love with their Summer Swans!)

At first I didn't really like the colors of the vintage kitten fabric. The black and brown seemed too harsh to me for little girls. But when I combined with light pink and yellow, the colors suddenly lit up. I love the way the design of the pattern gives you the ability to play with different colors!

And Liv, she loves the loose fit of the dress. Perfect for playing!

And have you seen my new labels yet? Previously I used to make my own using a stamp and textile paint, but I like these som much better! They were gifted to me by Nominette.

I'm happy with my new labels, Liv is happy with her new dress. Thank you Nominette and Sewpony! 

Cats fabric: Vintage Kitten - De Melkbrigade & Bambiblauw

Pink fabric: Soft Cactus

Pattern: Miss Polly, Dutch version - Sewpony (size 134) 

Lotte Martens & LeChaperon(un)limited (Project Sew It!: May)

Lotte Martens is a Belgian textile designer who prints all her fabrics by hand. I am in love with her work, as you might have noticed :-) I've already made one two three four five dresses in her fabrics! Together with slow fashion company LeChaperon(un)limited she launched a textile box filled with 13 little pieces of fabric. I was so lucky to receive three of them!

Een foto die door withlovebyeva is geplaatst op 7 Mei 2016 om 11:27 PDT

The scraps of fabric in the box range from A3 format to 10x10cm. Measurements and extra information can be found here. The box contains all types of fabric, from quilting cotton to knits to felt and everything in between. I chose two ribbing fabrics (Bask Mint and Bask Rose) and one fake fur (Niyona fake fur). 

I combined the blue ribbing with grey sweater fabric for this simple but sophisticated sweater for my little sister.

The pattern is self drafted, I already used it here. On her demand, I made it a few centimetres wider for a more oversized look.

She was so happy with it! When she woke up and saw I finished her sweater, she immediately put it on and whispered: "Eva, this is the most beautiful thing you've ever sewn!". Seeing the enthusiasm in her eyes gave me a wonderful feeling.

I bet you can even see her happiness on the pictures!

She chose the blue ribbing, so I kept the pink ribbing and the fake fur for myself.

Another grey sweater, but a little less 'plain and simple' than hers. I added white pinkish lace to the front and back panels. The pattern is the Leather Sweater by La Maison Victor. It's actually a children's pattern, but I made the biggest size (16yo) for myself and it fits me perfectly.

I used the fake fur and some piping for the shoulder parts (included in the pattern).

In the back, I added a special detail. An inverted pleat that subtly shows the ribbing.

Two totally different sweaters made using the same fabrics! For more inspiration with these (and other) fabrics, visit Ik ben Vink, Compagnie M, Petrol&Mint, Paspelpoezen, Remi & Henri, StraightGrain, Hilde@Home and De Zuster Van !

In this project I also used my new labels for the first time. I'll tell you more about them next week!

Grey-blue sweater:

- grey sweater fabric: Pauli (brick and mortar shop in Leuven)

- ribbing: Bask Mint in the textile box by Lotte Martens & LeChaperon(un)limited, for sale here

- pattern: self drafted

Grey-pink sweater:

- grey sweater fabric: Pauli (brick and mortar shop in Leuven)

- lace fabric: De Stoffenstraat (brick and mortar shop in Kasterlee)

- ribbing: Bask Rose in the textile box by Lotte Martens & LeChaperon(un)limited, for sale here

- pattern: Leather Sweater - La Maison Victor - size 176

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

The scent of summer

Summer has a very special scent to me. Not just the smell of sunscreen or watermelon or swimming pool chlorine. No. To me, the start of summer is marked by the scent of freshly dried hay in the fields around our house. A few times a day, the farmer comes to turn the hay, and the rest of the day it just lies there with its perfect summery smell (I'm so glad I don't have a pollen allergy, because I love it!). So I took my sister outside for some pictures of her newest sweater in the hay.

The sweater is a co-operation: we sewed it together! She did the cutting and the stitching, I did al the serging parts. 

Every little bit of it is completely her choice. The fabrics, the pattern (oversized with separate shoulder parts), the position and color of the pocket. The only suggestion I made was adding some zippers to the shoulders instead of piping, and we're both happy with the way that turned out. It adds some 'cool' to the sweater.

In this sweater, she is ready for a Belgian summer full of rain and wind. I'm hoping she won't need to wear it that often!

Maybe you were wondering where my Project SewIt contribution of April went. Well, it was a big secret until now! My little friend Liv, the seven-year-old that I babysit, celebrated her Holy Communion and I was the one who had the honor to make the dress for that special day. I'll be showing it on Thursday!

Susanne Cardigan for my mom

The very same moment she saw the Susanne pattern for the first time, my mom ordered one for herself. A few months later, here it is!

She chose a non elastic woven fabric which was beautiful on both sides, so I didn't have to line the pockets. I just finished them with elastic bias tape. Because the fabric had almost no stretch I sewed her a size bigger than the sizing table told me to, and that's perfect. I opted for the long version because she likes long cardigans, but next time I will have to lengthen it. My mom is quite tall and the long version looks more like a short one on her ;-)

She loves the cardigan (it has been worn almost every day since I gave it to her!) but she hates posing for pictures. I put her in front of the freshly painted white wall in my sewing room and gave her a cup of coffee to have something in her hands. She gave me five minutes to complete the photoshoot, so all I could do was hurry to catch her smile.

Nothing is more rewarding than sewing for my mom. She is just so happy with this cardigan and she wears it all the time.

Seeing her in my creation makes me happy every time. I think I'll do some more sewing for her in the future!