An Update of my Winter Sewing

Whew!  A month has flew past so quickly. I'm back from my 2 weeks Japan trip and back to reality... Past 2 weeks was wonderful.

We went from freezing Hokkaido to modern Tokyo to Bayside Yokohama. Experienced skiing, visited the famous Shiroi Kohibito Park and bought music box from Otaru, made a trip to Studio Ghibli, Odaiba's Trick Art Museum, Asakusa and finally Yokohama's Nissin Noodle Museum and Hakone onsen trip etc etc...

Rusutsu Ski resort

The weather in Hokkaido in Winter is no joke. We experienced -5.5 degree celsius.  So how did my home-made clothes fare in this cold weather?

I'm pleased to say that it was holding up well, as my kids says they felt cozy.  We just had dinner and they went out of for a while to run in the snow.

Disclaimer: They had heat-tech inner layer before putting on the sweater.  Usually, when its really cold, we add a long sleeve t-shirt and an outer coat. So, 4 layers in total.

I also made them wool coats using Ottobre patterns from 6-2012.

My version.

I interface the pieces according to the pattern instruction. In addition, I also interline them with 3M thinsulate so it was really bulky.  I sew them together with the lining pieces and treat them as one piece. Only interline the front, back and sleeve so the sleeve was a bit tight. But the girls love the coats and said it was warmer than the store bought ones : )

A closer look at the internal of the coats. I used satin for the lining so that it will slip off easier.

Size 104 suits my almost 4 year old while my older 8 year old is using 134. Even with 3 layers inside, the coat fits, although snug fit.

Fabric is a wool blend from Fabric.com and the buttons and interfacing were from Textile centres.

I've learnt a lot from sewing these coats and I think although they are not perfect, I'm really pleased with the outcome. But I don't think we will get a lot of wear since Singapore is so hot! Anyway, the coat cost way lesser than store bought, even though I pour many hours to cut and sew them. It was really a labour of love so I think I will not sew any coats in near future.

And of course the velour tunic is so pretty.

I'm still sorting the photos from the trip and I thought of starting a new blog on diy travelling with kids to Japan since I really did a lot of research and travelled quite often to Japan.  Let's see how it goes.

Rainbow bridge at Odaiba, Tokyo

Furry Vest - Simplicity 1787

A new warm vest for the upcoming holiday in Japan.

Pattern from Simplicity 1787 size 8.

The faux fur is from the earlier Neck Warmer project. I've used up most of the 1/2 yard that I got from Fabric.com. It's a pity that I got just 1/2 yard cause it is really soft and furry.  The inner layer is micro fleece in lilac.

Size 8 fits her well and I added the ribbon ties so that the vest will hold together.

Now, I just need to finish up my 3 wool coats and I'm all set for the trip in December!

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.