Unselfish sewing part 2 - onepiece for my daughter

Since I like to be fair, I also promised to make a onepiece for my daughter. (If you missed my last post, a onepice is a kind of overall/jumpsuit used as loungewear. Acceptable on kids, not on adults.)

She got to choose the fabric herself and of course she chose pink... She's in a very pink period at the moment, the Hello Kitty period has lasted very long. I swear it's true, the third thing she could say, besides "mum" and "dad", was "Hello Kitty".

Anyway, this time the sewing took exactly two hours, started at 6 o'clock and was finished right before 8 o'clock. Everything was already cut out, so I could start sewing right away. The only problem was that i almost forgot the pockets, but I remembered just in time and only had to rip up the seam about 10 cm.

Can you see the cute fabric I used as lining? Yep, those are Dala-horses in different patterns. I'm planning to make a dress for my girl out of that fabric.

She looooves her some pockets...

Little sister and big brother.

Yeah, let's dance with the cat when mum's taking photos!

The fabric I used for both onepieces is velour and printed jersey for the hoodlining, both very easy to sew with. The two things I changed on the pattern were: 1) I added lining to the hood and 2) I added ribbed jersey cuffs to the sleeves and legs, instead of turning over, sewing and putting in elastic.

I'm happy with the result, and definately the kids, but right now I'm not thinking of making more onepieces... :) Nope, onto other plans! Do you have any sewing plans for spring?

Later,

Johanna

Unselfish sewing - onepice for my son

Two weekends ago I was in town with the kids and my son wanted to go to H&M to see if there were any onepieces for him, he's been wanting one since Christmas. If you don't know what a onepiece is, well it's a kind of overall/jumpsuit that you wear as loungewear. They are very popular in Sweden at the moment and they are both for kids as well as adults. On kids they look alright, but on adults.... NO THANK YOU! I'm all for loungewear, but I draw the line at onepieces for adults. They make you look like a big baby.

See what I mean about looking like a big baby...

Source: onepiece.se via Johanna on Pinterest

Anyway, my son wanted one and I thought that was OK, so we went to H&M, but the only decent one we could find was too expensive (I thought). So I suggested we'd go downstairs to the fabric store and he could pick a fabric and I would sew a onepiece for him instead. He thought that was OK so I let both Big Red and Little Red pick fabrics.

I looked for patterns in my sewing magazines, but couldn't find anything useful. But when googling onepiece sewing patterns I found someone who used the pattern from Stoff och stil and thought they were good because they were pre-cut! Oooh, I liked the sound of that so I ordered two patterns, size 104 and 128, along with some loooooong zippers.

Source: stoffochstil.se via Johanna on Pinterest

It was easy enough to cut and sew and I think the whole process took about 3-4 hours. The pre-cut pattern was awesome to work with, it was made of some kind of non-woven stuff, not paper.I didn't even have to use pattern weights because the pattern pieces stuck to the velour I was working with.

I mostly used my overlocker to sew it together, but off course I used my sewing machine for the zipper and topstitching. I added lining to the hood, I already had the perfect fabric for it!

Yep those are helicopters on the lining fabric. Cute fabric right?!

Cute kid too right?! :)

My son was SO happy with his onepiece and asked if he could wear it to school today. That's a satisfied customer for you!

If ever in need of inspiration for new blog photo poses, look at my son... He's got it down....

And yes, the zipper is supposed to go that far, don't know why though...

This was not stash-busting, but at least it was sewing for someone else as was the challenge this month in the Stash-busting sewing challenge.

How about you, do you sew mostly for yourself or for others often?

Bye for now,

Johanna

Me and my sisters

Right now me and my sister Emelie are visiting our sister Charlotta. We try to have a sisters-only weekend every year (no husbands or kids). We talk , watch movies, bake chocolate cake, eat and shop. I LLLLOOOOOOOOVVVEEE my sisters, they are my best friends and we can talk about everything and we always support each other.

Emelie and Charlotta

Right now we're watching last semi-final of the Swedish song contest, which we all love.

Have a nice evening !! I know I will. :)

Johanna

(Mostly) Burdastyle slim stretch trousers (plus size)

I am finally feeling a lot better, after having the flu for over a week. Today three quarters of our family were back in business as usual, work, school, daycare, but Mr Red (my husband) still isn't felling well... :(

Everything went smoothly this morning even though I had to drop off both kids, the only mishap was that I totally forgot to put on make-up. Good thing I refreshed my permanent make-up (eyebrow and upper eyeliner) a few weeks ago, so I don't look like a ghost without make-up. :)

Don't my eyebrows look good?! I'm not wearing any make-up in this photo.

I just have to say, if someone with Alopecia reads this, that permanent make-up is DA SHIT! It is so relieving to know that your eyebrows won't go away if you scratch your face. And the eyeliner is always in place. It isn't really permanent, it depends on what skin type you have, but it can last up to five years. My skin is kind of oily and my eyebrows lasted from Nov 2011 until about now, Jan 2013, so just over a year. When I had them refreshed now, we used a darker colour, so hopefully they will last longer this time. It's quite expensive, but totally worth it for the security they give. This is where I go: Make me up. Maria who does the permanent make-up is very good and so nice.

Ok, enough with the make-up.... Let's have a look at the trousers I made a few weeks ago. I have mentioned them several times and here they are...

They are high-waisted, just the way I like them, and have slim legs. I used a stretchy fabric, I think it's polyester, but it's quite comfortable.

 

I see now, in the photos, that there wrinkles on the back of the thighs, which there shouldn't be it you have a good fit. But I don't know, it doesn't bother me that much, at least they fit well over my behind! Or what do you think, any opinions?

This is something I wonder about, what does this mean? Are the trousers too big in the front, should I lower the waistline, do something about the crotch (eek!) fit? Or do they look ok if you look at the other photos?

Here's the zipper, of the invisible kind, and also my label :).

I really like these trousers because  1) they are high-waisted (SO comfy), 2) they have slim legs (stylish) and 3) they're stretchy. I really recommend the pattern Stretch trousers (plus size) from Burdastyle.

 I made EUsize 46 which is the size I normally wear in trousers and maybe they're a tad big, but they're very comfortable. Since the pattern is made for women of 168 cm I lengthened it by 7 cm (I'm 175 cm) which was perfect. The waistband is a bit on the narrow side and I'm thinking of changing that for my next pair. Yep! Already have another pair in mind. I will use denim fabric and take inspiration from my favourite pair of jeans. Maybe a pair in black too.... Already have some great fabric.

Anyway, what do you think of the fit, any thoughts?

Bye for now,

Johanna

Sewing is healthy for you! More Burdastyle jersey trousers

Wooah?! Two posts in one day? By me, who have been complaining about the curse of the flu for ages now? What is going on? Well, after this morning's post I did have some more energy than before so I decided to cut out the fabric for the Burdastyle jersey trousers.

I also started sewing together the Kirsten kimono tee from yesterday and once I got started at the sewing machine and the overlocker, why stop?! So I sewed up the jersey trousers too, I skipped the side pockets on this pair and that made it an even faster finish. I didn't finish the tee-shirt, still have to finish the bottom hem.

I even mended my old black and white striped t-shirt where the twin seam had come undone. And I put my label on a few of my latest makes. I also had an idea for a new banner for the blog. Yay!

And this is why I say: Sewing is healthy for you!!!!! This afternoon I've finally had some energy and haven't felt like I will always be a zombie/Ozzy Osbourne (that's what Mr Red calls me when I'm tired...:)) and it's all because of sewing (and maybe a little because I seem to be well from the flu...).

Ok, here's some proof that I'm not just making this up/having feverish flu dreams about sewing :).

 I've also realised,seeing these photos, that I have to get a tripod for my camera. These photos are taken by my son, 6 years old, and while it's charming that he wants to help me, the photos pretty much suck. I can't even show the ones he took of only the trousers, because somehow he made my butt look twice as big as it really is....:/ Anyway I'm thinking gorilla pod for the camera, they seem very handy since you can bend them and hang them pretty much anywhere. They're not too expensive either.

So, finally, I'm actually feeling better!

Be back soon,

Johanna

PS. The Burdastyle trousers are a part of the Copycat challenge by Erin @ i heart fabric. Let me show you my inspiration.

Source: houseoflola.se via Johanna on Pinterest

The light at the end of the tunnel...

This has been (or still is) the worst case of the flu that I have ever had. It started last Friday, today is Saturday NINE DAYS later, and I still don't feel good. Urgh!

The positive thing is that the kids are well and I do see the light at the end of the tunnel, yesterday I actually had some energy to cut out the fabric for my Kirsten kimono tee using a me-made tunic I don't wear. AND I lengthened the pattern for the Burdastyle jersey trousers.

Source: burdastyle.com via Johanna on Pinterest

I wear the pair I have a lot, but I'm not 100% happy with them and I want another pair so I've already got me some teal jersey. For the last pair I only lengthened the leg-cuffs, but this time I have lengthened the trousers pieces (the Burdastyle patterns are for women of 168 cm, and I'm 175 cm).

Here are the Burdastyle jersey trousers I made back in Nov/Dec.

I've also decided to join Erin's of "I heart fabric" Copy cat challenge. Hop on over and see what it's about and maybe join in you too! :) Fortunately there's no time limit on this challenge. My plan is to make another pair of Burdastyle trouser like these (still haven't blogged about my first pair, but it's coming, promise!):

Source: burdastyle.com via Johanna on Pinterest

But this time i will make them out of denim and add pockets and stuff to make them more jeans-like. My inspiration is my favourite pair of jeans which I bought last summer.

Sorry about this horrible photo. And I'm glad to say I've lost a few pounds since it was taken. :)

 

Anyway, so much for my sewing plans, my first goal is to get rid of this highly annoying and energy-consuming flu.

What are your sewing plans right now?

'Til next time,

Johanna

A little something to say sorry...

... for being so cranky yesterday. I feel somewhat better about things today and thought I would apologise for my crankiness by letting you know there is a board on my Pinterest page with free sewing patterns. In a situation like this (sick kids, not feeling well yourself and being dead-tired) there's not much to do but to try and absorb the inspiration and energy of others so I have surfed the sewing web a lot. Here's where you can go to see if there's anything free to tempt you: free-sewing-patterns.

I have only pinned what I liked, but if you go on to Burdastyle, there are way more free patterns. And also more if you go to Grosgrainfabulous. You'll see what I mean if you go to the board.

To cheer myself up I downloaded the Kirsten Kimono Tee from MariaDenmark (also FREE!) and I thought I would re-make a knit tunic I made a while ago. I've figured out  I never wear it anyway, so I'll try out the new pattern and maybe get some use out of the fabric. Talking about this tunic:

It's also a kimono-version but bigger... I never liked the neckline which is too tight sort of.

Anyways, hope I haven't scared anyone off from reading my blog. :)

I'll also leave you with another treat, more photos from my sister's house.

Bye for now,

Johanna

My beloved sister, well, one of them. :)