HCFC

I discovered KCWC (Kids Clothes Week Challenge) too late so I have decided to do my own "Harry Clothes Fortnight Challenge". It started off pretty well with these shorts.

I merged this MADE pattern with a draft of some shorts of Harry's that I like. The first 2 pairs turned out 3/4 length which is cute but I thought I should tweak the pattern a little more to make them nice and short for summer.

Next up was a reversible bucket hat. I used the Little Things to Sew pattern again but made the brim a little broader to account for the QLD heat and his pasty white genes.

I made a medium for him and it's a little big but I guess he'll grow into it. Might try to make a small in the meantime.

After that we both got sick so in the last few days all I have achieved is 15 minutes of thrifting. But that 15 minutes saved me at least $15 which means at least 1.5 metres of fabric :)

All I did was cut off the long sleeve part of three t-shirts. The best outcome I've had with knits so far!!

 Speaking of knits, I have had a few more attempts and finally bought a t-shirt pattern. I have cut it out and it's sitting there waiting for me to sew it together. Fingers crossed he can wear the finished product in public!

More soon with Part 2 of HCFC...

I Made a Quilt!

Harry gained another cousin a couple of weeks ago. She is a perfect little baby and I think her parents must be smitten :) When I found out this cousin was on their way I decided it was time to make my first quilt. I looked around for a good gender neutral collection for ages and when Little Apples appeared I knew it would be perfect. Eventually it hit the shops and I grabbed some precuts. I had decided to find a fairly forgiving design for my first quilt and google lead me to this charm square baby quilt.

I made a simple pieced backing because the Little Apples yardage wasn't available at the time.

When I first decided I needed to make a quilt I stumbled across this blog which I learnt a lot from. This other lovely blogger inspired me time after time and I was sold on the simple but effective straight line quilting and stripy binding.

Overall I enjoyed the process of making the quilt. It took me quite a while but when I laid eyes on the brand new bundle of sweetness that was to be the recipient it felt like time well spent :)

So that her big sister didn't feel left out I made a small doll quilt for her. I threw this together quite quickly (and it shows!) but I'm hoping 3 year olds aren't too bothered if corners don't match up!

 I've been busy making a few things for Harry for summer so there should be another post on it's way soon...

Productive Procrastinating

One of Harry's Aunties asked me to take a little bit of the 90's out of this dress:

I said I would and then avoided touching it for as long as possible. With the deadline approaching I drew up a trusty timetable to make sure I got it and some other things done....I then began a completely new project....oops.

Finally I got the courage to hack into her dress and it ended up working out okay.

Oh, and I whipped up this gathered clutch for her birthday last weekend:

So the positive outcome for me with all this procrastinating is that I made this Lisette Portfolio Tunic (with pockets!!):

Just need to hem it.

Cute buttons:

I spent a lot of time working out pretty seam finishes because I don't have any black overlocking thread and it's a trial run for using some nice fabric for making the shorter top version for a wedding.
So I did some french seams which worked out really nicely once I got my head around the pockets:

Clean Finish Edges:

Flat felled seams:

And some ugly sewing machine overlocking that's hidden in the sleeve cuff that you don't need to see.

I'm planning to wear version 2 next Saturday night so I'd better get started....but I also want to make Harry a new hat....and maybe some shorts....must go draw up a timetable :)