Floral and Grey Plantain

I've been so late in sewing up the Plantain from Deer and Doe.

It is a free pattern from Deer and Doe, an independent pattern maker from France. The description given is a T-shirt fitted at shoulders and flare at hips.

I've sewn up 2 versions, not counting the muslin, making short, long and 3/4 sleeves.

Here are both my short sleeve and 3/4 sleeve versions.  The floral ones are made from Heather Ross's Briar Rose line "Calico in Pink". I only got 1 yard so I was quite apprehensive sewing with it. But the quality is so good and stable that I've no issue sewing it up.

During my muslin stage, I realised that the size 36 is slightly tight at my bust. I was too lazy to cut out a bigger size since I've already printed out so I just eye ball and trace a bigger Seam Allowance when I sew the other 2. The hip is just nice so I tapper down to size 36 at the hip.  I also added pockets for my top.

For the grey knit version, I used a knit that I got from Spotlight. It was thinner but still workable. I use the Briar Rose for my pocket piece.


Next I think I can trace it longer to make it into a dress!

New PJs for 2014

I'm happy that I was able to keep the tradition of home-made PJ for them every Lunar new year. This time, I decided to make a knit PJ in dress which is more comfortable for our hot weather.  I've adapted the pattern from Ottobre 4/2013's Circus Horse dress using size 110 for my 4 year old.  Instead of a gathered skirt, I just lengthen the bodice and flare out to make a slight A line dress with raglan sleeve.

The star print blue sweatshirt knit is from Spotlight and the white knit (not sure of the content but it is thicker) is from Fabric.com.  I love raglan sleeves as there is no need for setting of sleeves.  Ottobre is great as they give the measurement for the neckband so it was really helpful.

For my older, I use the same Ottobre issue's Ruler - striped raglan T-shirt as my base.  The 134 is slightly tight for my tall 9 year old.  I also lengthen the bodice to make it A line dress.  Added the kangaroo pocket.

The knit is really thin and but she loves it.  Next time, I must go 1 size up if I'm making a dress as PJ should be more loose fitting.

Like her sister's PJ, the raglan sleeve is really a breeze and I really like how it fits them so well.

I've bought some cute cotton print with colourful mermaids and originally had intention to make them PJ out of it. I even bought Oliver and S PJ pattern. So, maybe this year, I will make 2 PJs for the girls.

black knit dress

Made a simple dress for my winter trip to Hokkaido.

Pattern from the japanese book that I had earlier made a ribbon dress from.

The pattern is for non-stretchy materials but since i've used knit, I skip the zipper. But my knit is quite thin and stretchy so I underlined with with a thick lycra in black. I sew the them together, wrong side facing, and treated them like one piece before sewing them together. So, it was a bit heavy since my lycra is quite heavy.

It is quite loose for me and just nice for layering. The V neckline is also quite flattering.  I thought I can pair with a belt and see how it looks.

hmm.. looks quite nice.  Another option when I feel more dress up. But I think it will still look nice with tights and boots.

Knit dress with stitched tucks (Butterick 5559)

This dress took way longer than it should. I've bought this purple double knit from Chinatown last year and finally cut into them.  The pattern Butterick 5559 is a close fitting above knee pullover knit dress with stitched tucks. I didn't realized when I bought it that the darts are cleverly hidden by the diagonal tucks running along the front and back of the dress.  Such clever details.  

It was really close fitting and I almost had a problem pulling the dress off my head! 

Closer look at the tucks.  Love the sun burst tuck details. Makes it interesting.

It was late at night when I sew this so I was really tired. No good since I should have match the tucks along the side seams. It irks me a little but nobody seems to notice but me.

Double knit is really stable and so it was not difficult to sew. But with the tucks and darts, the side seams did get a bit thick when I tried to serge the seams.  I do love the sleeve length, just nice to cover my fat arms.

I received compliment for the dress. It really seems to give a slimming effect on the wearer. It looks complicated but actually, as long as you trace correctly, sewing part is easy. I did use my walking foot and knit needle for this job. The stable knit does help too.

Knit Tapered T-shirt

I made this T-shirt some time ago but didn't have time to take photo of the final product.  It's really comfortable T-shirt that I drafted myself.  I traced one of my favorite knit tee to get the basic shape but make it longer so that the tee will fall at my hip.

To save the steps, I only use one pattern piece.  Simply adjust the neckline and hem and you can get 2-in-1 template here.  For the neckline, I snip the front neckline but leave the ends uncut so that I can use both for the front and back! My front neckline is about 2" below the back neckline.

For front of the tee, I make the hem to be higher in front than the back. I use a curve ruler and draw the curve by just eye ball it.

For the back pattern, I also use the curve ruler to make a rounded curve downwards. You just add this piece when you cut the back piece.

Then, place your pattern on fold and cut the front and back out.  Because I've use a stripe knit, I need to match the stripe from the front and back so that the side seams match.  Remember to add seam allowance before you cut. I use 3/8" for all.

I also use the remaining knit to make a small cap sleeves. Sorry, no photo here.

For the sewing, just do the 4 steps below.

1. Pin the front and back shoulder seams together, Right Side facing and sew using 3/8" seams allowance. Press seams open and serge the seams.

2. Attach the sleeves to the arm hole, Right Side facing, and sew using 3/8" seams allowance. Serge the seams.

3. Place the front and back, Right Side facing, sew the side seams starting from armhole to the hem. Try to match the stripes. Serge the seams starting from the sleeves to the hem.

4. Fold over the neckline and sew using a twin needle.

Since the knit is very lightweight, I decided not the hem the sleeve and hem. If you are uncomfortable, you can fold over and sew using the twin needle. That's it. Easy right.

Stripe Knot Dress - A Tutorial

I've sewn up this dress some time ago but didn't have the mojo to share. Being busy buying sewing books. I'll share more in my next post but now, i'll share how I sew this up.

If you have sewn a knit t-shirt before, it's exactly the same except for the knot at the shoulder.

1) Fold in serge the neckline and fold in 0.25" and sew with a twin needle. You can also zig zag the edge or bind it with a stripe of knit.

2) Sew one shoulder seams, right side facing and leave the other unsew.

3) Cut a strip of knit about 2" wide and 16" long (depending how long you want the strap to be) and serge the edge. Then cut the strip into 2 so it becomes 2" X 8".

4) Pin one short edge of the strap to the shoulder seam, closer to the neckline. Make sure that you pin on the Right side of the dress.

5)Then, fold the shoulder seams for the front and back together, right side facing, enclosing the strap in-between. Pin and sew the shoulder seams. Note that you only sew the seams with the straps and leave the other half of the shoulder seam unsew.

6) Open up the dress and pin the sleeve in, right side facing. You should be able to pin down the unsew shoulder seams now.

7) Sew the sleeves and serge the edge.

this is how it looks now with the straps and sleeve in

8) Fold the dress, right side facing, align the side seams. Pin and sew, starting from sleeves to the hem. Serge the seams.

9) Hem the dress using twin needle or zig zag stitch.

Tie the knot and and you have a nice knot dress!

She didn't like the dress cause it's not twirly and pink! Oh well, you can't please everyone : (

Bow-tie Racerback Knit Dress

Have you seen the Little Girl's Racerback dress from Crafterhours?

I fell in love with the dress instantly and love the colorful chevron knit print. As I intend to use up my stash, I decided to use the yellow floral knit print that I bought from Chinatown sometime ago for this.

It's a bit boring to use the whole print throughout the dress so I mix it with a white knit on top for both front and back.  Change the round neck to V-neck because I didn't stretch the neckband so it was loose and making it V-neck helped to hide the sluggishness.

You like the bow in front? It was also a last minute addition since I find the dress lack something in front.

The sisters posing here..

back view

front view

 I didn't make the little sister's dress but i would love to try it someday.

She loves the new dress. It's a dancing dress and so comfy.

Sewing for Kids

I made a sleeveless hoodie for my girls last Sunday. It was a request from my older girl as she is into hoodie now.

It's all about attitude when wearing one!

I followed the pattern from the Japanese sewing book:

knit hoodie with attached skirt

from this book " Simple girls and boys clothes"

Didn't sew the attached skirt since it will be more versatile. My 7 year old is wearing size 130 and my 2 year old is wearing size 100.  I thought the hood and the kangaroo pocket were slightly small.  But since it's from stretchy jersey knit, it's still okay.

My kids love their new hoodies. I've bind the arm hole, pocket hem and waist band with ribbed knit that has more stretch to it.

Little sis ran forward to be in the same pic as Big sis

she waves her hand enthusiastically

Big sis not interested to have her in...
see disappointed look on little sis face! poor girl!

It was easy to follow instruction, even if you don't understand japanese since the picture is quite self explanatory.

Don't she looks lovely in those hoodie?

I'm working on some more knit sewing so come back again, cause I'm Sew into Knit!