The easiest 10 minute stretch pants

I made these red pants recently out of some knit scrap fabric that I had in my fabric stash and they turned out so cute, that I ran up another pair last week.

Made from two pieces, as knit fabric does not fray there's no need to hem the legs or double over the waist casing. Super fast and simple! To cut out I used an existing pair of pants folded in half and cut each leg on the fold.

Too busy sewing to blog...

Life has been busy again and trying to squeeze in some winter sewing to my spare time has left little time for blogging.

I previously made a short sleeved version of this shirt from a cute dinosaur fabric using the pattern found here 

http://www.smalldreamfactory.blogspot.com.au/2011/07/free-pattern-short-sleeve-shirt-size-12.html. This long sleeved version has turned out well, although I found I needed to add to the length of the pattern for it to fit my son.

I made my son a pair of pants out of this fabric last winter and decided to make another this year as they were just so cute. I really get tired of shopping for winter clothing for boys and only having the choice of grey, black and navy blue. We need the bright colours more in winter!

This little dress is made from my toddler pinafore dress pattern, found here in my blog. Adjusted of course to fit my growing girl. I bought this cute bright green and turquoise bird fabric ages ago with such a dress in mind. She loves it, especially the pockets (where her hands now live ;)).

These little pants turned out great. Just a simple pattern cut from an existing pair of pants, but simplified by making the front and back pieces the same (just like in my baby pants pattern on the blog). Trimming with the robot fabric really brightened them up. So cute and so comfy.

I love how being able to sew clothes for my kids really brightens up their wardrobes with unique pieces.  As basic clothes are now so cheap to buy, it's lovely to be able to hand make the more special pieces and you really can save money by doing that yourself.

Summer is almost over

April has begun already, but the weather is still warm here in Brisbane. The nights are a little cooler, but Autumn is really taking its time in starting off. Luckily, because it's given me a little bit of extra time to sew some new clothes for the kids. 

Richie is the one who benefits the most - boys pants are so easy to sew. I guess dresses are too, but with our lifestyle of lots of outdoor play, Mia rarely gets the opportunity to dress up and wear pretty dresses. I'm making her a couple though.

I'm using the check fabric above to make a long sleeve, collared shirt for Richie. Last year I made him a really cute little dinosaur short sleeved version. It was a bit on the short side though, so hopefully this will fit him for longer than that one did.

I picked up this retro bird fabric a while ago on sale, already picturing it on denim as a dress for Mia. I've made quite a few metres of bias tape too, so it should really brighten up this dark denim.

Richie's favourite pants of this time last year were a bright pair of easy dinosaur pants. I picked up some more of the fabric on sale a while back, so I'm making him another pair for this year. They make a nice change from the navy blue and greys pants that are standard for boys in winter.

I wasn't sure about the red, but  I had a few scraps left over and thought I'd make them up. They look so cute on Richie! They're the perfect park or child care pant. So comfy and easily washed.

The denim and robot combo are going into some more pants for Richie. I totally underestimated how cute these would turn out (I'll post some more up to date pictures soon). I put the robot strips along the bottom hems and have also put on robot pockets. The denim is a lighter weight fabric picked up on a half price sale, the lighter weight is perfect for our Brisbane winters where the sun still keeps the days quite warm.

Mia's second dress is made out of this cute zakka fabric with a Parisian print. I picked it up on sale with no idea what to make out of it (and still the pattern is mostly on my head). So far I've got a bodice, but the plan is to pleat the skirt part. I've made it loose fitting so we can fit long sleeves and leggings underneath.

So happy to be sewing again!

What have you made recently?

Back to the sewing machine

Life got busy. Since going back to work back in November, sewing and crafting had stopped. Although it's only been part time (2 days a week), there's been Christmas, holidays and two little children who've suddenly needed a bit of extra special care at bed times. Mr now 14 months has been going through some big separation anxiety, and Miss 3 has just been in one of those phases where she needs some extra stories and cuddles in order to go off to sleep.

But then I realised how much I've been missing it. A long list of projects was made and these hats became the first project to be ticked off the list. They're reversible which makes them so much easier to sew, and fun to mix and match the designs. I've made four different sizes in each design and they're all up in my etsy shop already.

I loved this jungle animal fabric when I saw it on sale ages ago but hadn't been able to think of any projects to make - too many little boys being born around here! It makes a nice contrast to the sea life print below, which is on the reverse side.

I first bought this dinosaur print to make a smart little collared shirt for my son to wear to his first birthday party, and ended up buying some more as it's just so cute.

I opted for robots on the reverse side. Cute, no?

My daughter had a pillowcase dress from this Hello Kitty fabric when she was just over 1 year old - I love how it looks made up as this hat!

Paired up with a nice quiet polkadot pattern on the reverse side.

Both of my kids have hats made from this collection of fabrics, although the caravan print is a new addition to my fabric stash. I wasn't sure how it would turn out, but I love the finished look.

A hat pattern and tutorial will soon follow!