Kids Bag Pack

I finally tried my hands to sew a bag pack or a haversack for my girl.

Took the pattern from the Japanese sewing magazine Cucito for Kids and modified them.  Here's what I did:

1. Upsize the bag to suit my 8 year old since the original one seems so smallish
2. Create a side pocket for her water bottle
3. Added the adjustable bucker to the straps

The fabric is left over from my last project from the Tiered skirt.  It's Tasha Noel's The Simple Life range.  I bought the 100cm 2 way pink zipper with 3 zipper tabs from Daiso. So, I managed to cut them so that I can use one for the front pocket and the rest for the main bag!

I forgot to take photo of the inner bag but it is exactly the same as the front without pockets. The back of the bag is quilted and interfaced with batting so that it will be sturdy to stand.

It is a labour of love but I'm so glad she loves it. So, the younger one is also asking for her bag. Time to cut up some more...

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.

Mock Two Piece Dress

Remember this dress?

from this Japanese Sewing Book?

I made one recently.  

Cutting was easy with only 3 pieces (bodice, skirt and ruffles). Sleeve is integrated with the bodice. I bound the neckline and sleeve hem with beige colored bias tapes.

 Waist is defined with elastic band around the waist area. The book suggested making a channel for the elastic band but I was lazy so I just zig zag the elastic band around the seam allowance. I think it works.

I've used quilting cotton for the skirt so it was a bit stiff and didn't drape so nicely. 

The ruffle was sweet.

The elastic at the waist created a blousing effect. I added belt, which is not visible in this photo, as I'm too lazy to make the fabric ties. 

My take on the pattern.

Pro: Easy to sew and only got 3 pieces to trace.
Definitely a beginner project with no zipper and buttons

Con: sleeve feels weird; next time I should just use regular set-in sleeve. 

Neckline also too wide for my liking (I'm using size 7).

Overall, I love this dress. 

The color combination is also refreshing and pretty.