And a few more cause I can

And just while we are at it, I can't help but have a little gloat. I was at the school fence this afternoon waiting for class to finish and two mums walked past and asked where I bought her gorgeous outfit. I was pretty stoked to be able to say well actually I made it!!!

Its O+S but unlike any we've seen before Cap't

I would like to introduce you to the Mock Wrap Swing Top and Pants set formerly known as the O+S Bedtime Story PJs (with cameo appearance by Uptown Girl Jacket).

After I made my first set of O+S pjs (which I still havent blogged, but I promise it is coming) the pants reminded me of a really comfy yoga type lounge pant, in fact the whole thing did. So I worked on the idea that by sewing up both seams you could make a nice tracksuit. Now this works well in theory... it doesnt work quite so well in practise.

First thing I should have thought of. My first pair of O+S were made up in knit which is of course nice and stretchy, this velveteen isnt strechy. Also the ties help to give the pjs a bit more room. Suffice to say, once I'd done the side seams nothing short of removing body parts was going to get Miss C into that top. Back to the drawing board.

Once at the drawing board I decided to put a panel in the back. This actually gives the top a really nice swing look and gives the extra room needed to get a head, arms and torso all in all at the same time which is quite an important feature of any shirt I'm sure you would agree.

So there we have it Swing Top tracksuit from O+S... I bet they didn't even know it existed.

Doesnt she look sweet... its all a charade I tell you!!!

Thats it people, shoots over, I'm going back to my trailer!!!!!

Head over to Little Munchkins...

...firstly because her sewing is simply incredible. Her attention to detail is superb and her fabric and colour choices are a delight to the eye.

Secondly because she is currently giving away 2 O+S patterns, one for boys and one for girls.

So pop by the Little Munchkins blog, post a comment, then hang around and soak up some crafty goodness there.

Uptown Girl Debrief

YAY its finished!!!! I've kinda been taking it slowly, just doing bits and pieces in the evening as I never seem to have enough time during the day. Its a great pattern and very, very easy but as it turns out I have some issues (like I dont know that already LOL).

I'm 99.9% sure that my issues stem from the pellon. I got it from Spotlight and they gave me 640 pellon whereas the pellon specified on the pattern is 630. I didnt realise this until well into it so I carried on regardless. Its made quite a bulky coat probably more than is necessary for a Perth winter. It looks great though!!

The first issue is a sizing one. As far as it goes the sizing is excellent however there isnt enough room in the back. I'm confident that this is because of the bulky pellon though NOT a problem with the pattern. Because I dont plan to use pellon in my next one it shouldnt be an issue next time.

The second issue I had was with finishing the sleeves. Boy is that fiddly to do at the end. Because they are fairly narrow for little arms the sleeve doesnt fit around the free arm of the machine. I took one look at those sleeves and then let laziness be my guide - I bound them with some of the gosgrain ribbon that I've used to embellish the front. Personally I think the bound hem looks awesome and I shall be doing that in the future as well. I'm also extremely happy with the ribbon embellishment in the front. I've found that as I get more confident with my sewing I'm willing to divert from the pattern a bit more and make the items uniquely my own.

Speaking of making items uniquely my own... I firmly believe that Uptown isnt just for girls. Stay tuned!!!!

(PS, it seems that not only is my middle name stubborn, but its also indesicive!!!! You might remember that I ordered ricrac to use on the jacket. Well I decided against that and went for the gosgrain instead. I'm really pleased I did because it looks great. What do you think?)

Pattern: Uptown Girl Jacket by Make It Perfect
Fabric: Crafty Mamas

Stubborn is my middle name

I bet you're thinking "gee does this woman actually do any sewing or does she simply talk about it a lot?" Believe me, you are quite justified in thinking that. The sad fact of the matter is, I do talk the talk more than I sew the sew (or something like that). Take for example my recent "challenge". For some reason once it was "out there", I just couldnt do it. Its like I have this internal resistance device and it triggers once I have to do something. I can do just about anything on a whim or a fancy but once I have to do something the internal resistance device takes over and says nup, I'm not doing it because I have to do it. So I've come to the rather rapid conclusion the challenges are probably counter-productive for me and I'm best left to whim and fancy.

Thats not to say that I haven't done anything lately. I've actually tackled a few things. Firstly, I finished off a scarf that I started for Samuel last year. I'm not the greatest knitter in the world, not by a huge way, but slow and steady finally won the race. I love the result so much that I decided to make one for myself and guess what... start to finish 48 hours!!!! Awesome!!!!! This one was a little bit tricky as well (probably not for seasoned professionals obviously, but 'twas for me) because I put in a small gap to allow one end of the scarf through. I absolutely love it!!!!

Next thing that I tackled was the Oliver + S Pyjamas. I'm going to do a separate write up for these as I've got to get to Spotlight in order to get more white cotton to finish the hems but suffice to say I think they've come up a treat.


And last but by no means least, I've started cutting out the Make It Perfect Uptown Girl Jacket. I've decided (last minute as always) that red ric rac is definitely called for and so a quick stop by Ribbons Galore fixed that up, ric rac now in transit. Gotta love the internet for (almost) instant gratification.


I also found some absolutely gorgeous fabric at Spotlight which will soon become Uptown Girl Jacket #2. I'm thinking that this time rather than using the pellon, I'll use Procare lining to make a waterproof type raincoat. Still tossing up this idea but just for sneaky peaks here it is (and it was such a bargain - $5/metre)....

Love getting mail...

and this one was full of snuggles...

I have to admit that I did almost died when I read the postage - US$51 eekkkkkkk, but totally worth it.3 metres of buttery goodness, so thick, so soft, so warm. Forget PJs, this one is all mine *sigh*