Tutu Dress - Chinese style

My girls love tutus.  So, I decided to make them a tutu dress for the Lunar New Year.

Little sister got the Pink and Green combo

While Big sister has the Purple and Pink combo

The pattern is from Violette Field Threads' Chloe.  The bodice fits both my girls very well.  But I did the skirt differently since it was really thick.

For the bodice, I added the bias tape trim to create a curve feature and add on 3 frog buttons.  The bias trim is also added to the bodice edge.

Instead of a separate waistband/ties, I just measure the desired length I want and insert them to the side seams.  Just make sure that you insert them about 1/2" or 1" above the bodice hem as you will need to account for the seam allowance that will get attach to the skirt.

I also do away with buttons since I really dislike sewing button holes.  Invisible zipper makes everything looks so neat don't you think so?

Have you notice something different here?  The skirts are detachable! This is more practical and versatile.  So, I use my satin and sew them a gathered skirt and attach directly to the bodice.

The detachable tutu was made up of 4 layers, excluding the inner skirt. I think it makes it more poof and so much more work to gather them! After I gathered all the tutus together, I attach them to a waistband cut from the same fabric as my inner skirt.  The waistband is then threaded with elastic so that they can take it off easily.

For my Big girl, I use pink for first layer, purple for 2nd, white netting for 3rd and pale yellow tulle for 4th layers.  The waistband is in purple, same fabric as her purple satin skirt beneath.

Little sister's tutu skirt is made with Green at top layer, pink on 2nd, white netting for 3rd and pale yellow tulle for the 4th layer. Her waistband is pink satin, same as her satin pink skirt beneath.

The dress without the tutu is just as sweet right? Pardon the crease, I've her tried it on before ironing.

They love the dresses.  So festive and yet versatile. They can wear it without the tutu and it is simple and sweet dress.

And if they feel like it, the tutu is really swingy and princessy.

They got lots of compliments from relatives and friends when we went visitation during the Lunar New Year. Felt so proud as their mama. : )

So, did you make any dress for this lunar new year?

Happy Lunar New Year!

Lunar New Year is a celebration of the New Year according to the lunar calendar. Most Chinese around the world celebrate this time with gatherings of families and friends, mixed with good (and overflowing) food and lots of fun, laughter and of course, feasting!

Usually, we will deck our homes with lots of store bought red decorations but this year, we decided to go DIY.  We made the deco hanging on our ceiling with different red packets. It was really fun to do it with the kids.  The lantern above is done by my husband. He has fine fingers.

I did this gold fish. It was hard! The body is made from 4 pieces of red packets and the tail with 3. We had to make a pair. I taught my kids to do it and we have 4!

And of course, we didn't forget the traditional lanterns made from 12 red packets. This is done by my 9 year old. I didn't teach her, she copied from the one we did last year. Smart girl.

This year, I was focus and did finished up their new year clothes and PJs.  More on these in the next post.

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