Näh Connection shop blog tour - and my debut

Hi all, today I'm part of the Näh Connection shop blog tour. My friend Annika is building intercontinental bridges by translating patterns from English to German, and as of now, from German to English. To celebrate that the first set of patterns is now available in her shop, she is hosting a blog tour, with people all over the world (the Näh Connection Ambassadors) introducing fun German patterns. 

 For me, this was the trigger to finally do something that I never dared to do before: sewing for myself....

One of the patterns in Annika's shop is the Bethioua shirt. I've already made several versions of this shirt over the summer (including this raccoon shirt, this tiger shirt, this striped version and this one with penguins), and , and really love the pattern. So I decided that this would be my debut shirt. 

On the fabric market I spotted this fun blue sweat fabric with golden stars. I planned to get only enough for a shirt for me, but got the last 3 meters of the bolt with a nice discount.

With that much fabric on my hands and patterns in two kid sizes already available, what else to do than to sew the Bethioua pattern three times for some serious twinning (or should this be called tripling?)

My middle son explicitly mentioned that he didn't want a matchy shirt, but he did want to be our photographer...

Which resulted in some interesting, but fun crops...

I must say I was feeling pretty self-conscious in front of the camera instead of behind it, but we were having a lot of fun together and my son managed to get some great shots...

Since the pattern is quite wide, and I prefer a more fitted shirt, I cut out one size smaller than instructed based on my measurements (38 instead of 40), I took in another cm at the sides, and now it's just right. I tried hemming the shirt, but wasn't satisfied with the result, so added a band instead. Much better...

My daughter's got a copy of my shirt, with stars all over. 

For my son, I decided to spice it up a bit. I added yellow cuffs and used some solid blue fabric for the back, to emphasize the back yoke.

Since my kids are tall and slender, I used the free Bethioua mini pattern for my son, but lengthened it significantly (about 10 cm). Fits nicely with some room to grow.

Now, I hope to have convinced you to take a look at Annika's shop to see which other patterns she has in stock. Be quick, because right now you get a nice discount if you buy more than one pattern:

Buy 1, save 10 % with code “buy1save10naehconnection”
Buy 2, save 20% with code “buy2save20naehconnection”
Buy 3 or more, save 30% with code “buy3ormoresave30naehconnection“

 or buy all and save 50% (separate product for the pattern bundle)

A tiger in the jungle

 

I spotted a tiger in the jungle....

(After earlier sightings of panthers in the woods)

Prawling through the tall grass...

Wild and gracious

With fierce and focused eyes....

and soft and sensitive ears...

Glowing in the late sunlight

Pattern: Adapted Bethioua mini from Ellepuls (free pattern)

Fabric: jersey from local fabric market

Boy Sewing Week - raccoon tee

Hi all, you can find me over at Our Chez Nous, where I'm guest posting for Boy Sewing Week. 

If you're curious about the creation of this tee, or want to get inspired about boy sewing, hop on over to Our Chez Nous...  

Pattern: Hacked Bethioua Mini (free pattern)

Fabric: Heathered knit from local fabric market

Raccoon painted with fabric paint

A striped bethioua

Ouch... it's June already and this is my second post of 2016. At this rate, I'll have four posts up by the end of this year.

The past months have been extremely busy with other activities and my sewing machine was left untouched the whole time. But last week, I suddenly felt the urge to create something again.

 Since I was feeling a bit rusty, I started with a simple shirt; the free bethioua mini from the German pattern designer Ellepuls. This is the free version (size 86-98) of a pattern that's also available as a  kids' and women's pattern. 

It's a really fun pattern: the front looks like a regular raglan...

 But at the back the sleeves continue to form a curved yoke. A fun detail that allows for many variations: stripe matching, adding piping.

It's always fun to play with stripes.... 

 So I used two matching striped knits from my stash, found at the local fabric market years ago. To add some color, I used red ribbing for the neckline and cuffs.

Fast, simple and fun. The best way to get back into it. 

ADVTee blog tour

Hi all, here I am again, after a long, unintended blog break. 

As a matter of fact, I didn't touch my sewing maching for a few months, feeling that my latest creation -the upcycled denim vest-  had taken so much creative energy that I needed some time to recover.

But then Anne from Sofilantjes invited me to participate in the ADVTee blog tour, hosted by Sprouting Jube Jube. That was a good trigger to start thinking about sewing again. An easy, nice sweatshirt, the perfect project to get my sewing mojo back. 

The ADVtee pattern has two neckline options; a simple V-neck and an asymmetric button closure. I chose the V-neck. Simple, but I love how it turned out with the striped ribbing.

For the pocket I used a bit of the Menagerie Onyx fabric from Art Gallery. This fabric has been on my wish list for a long time, so when I found out that Petite Couture had it in stock, I immediately bought a yard. It's such a great print, with all these cute animal faces; perfect for fun details such as this pocket.

I sewed a size 3 for my 2,5 year old, and it fits perfectly. As you can see, I didn't hem the sleeves and bottom before taking these pictures. Daylight is scarce these days, so I had to take the photos before finishing the sweater. 

I'm really happy that I could join this tour, because I love this sweater. I've already printed out the size 9, to make a version for my daughter. Can't wait to get started...so I think I've got my sewing mojo back. Thanks Anne and Deb!

Curious what other participants in the blog tour made? Check out the tour schedule here:

Nov 30: From-a-Box - The Wholesome Mama - Sprouting JubeJube
Dec 1: Lulu & Celeste - Handmade Boy - Boevenbende
Dec 2: Rebel & Malice - Vera Luna - Liesel Love
Dec 3: Vaahtokarkkimonsteri - Huisje Boompje Boefjes - Khadetjes
Dec 4: Call Ajaire - Straight Grain - Nononsonsmoms

And to celebrate this blog tour, Sofilantjes is giving a 20% discount on their patterns. You can use the code "CELEBRATE" at checkout  from November 30th to December 6th.