Ottobre Design 4/2015 Girl Dress 1

EMJB0670-2I’ve made two dresses from this Ottobre Design pattern. Ottobre is a Finnish sewing magazine that I really enjoy: I like the Scandinavian style of their clothe and the quirky prints on their fabrics. They are easy to wear clothes, which is so important for kids. You want them to enjoy putting their clothes on and wearing them without worrying if they will be comfortable enough to play and move. Ottobre offers simple and efficient designs that are easy to wear and enjoyable to sew.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

EMJB0672-2For my first “out of Harm’s Way” dress, I’ve chosen a warm fleece fabric from Backstitch. The dress is REALLY warm. I’ve also chosen a funny print woven fabric (that my daughter chose, also at Backstitch) to make the pockets.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

EMJB0671-2The only tricky thing with this pattern is the collar piece that is much shorter than the total length of the neckline on the dress. This was done on purpose, but the fleece fabric was less stretchy than the recommended jersey fabric. But with intensive pinning and stretching, I managed to make it match AND my daughter’s head is fitting through! (what a relief, I can tell you!)

Christmas Advent Calendar

Back in October, I bought a fabric panel from Backstitch to make an advent calendar for my daughter. Back then I didn’t realize that it needed some extra fabric to make the back of the socks and a ribbon too, which I found at CallyCo. I used some red felt for the back, and red velvet for the ribbon.

24 socks! Twenty! Four! It took me a little while, but it was worth it.

Here are some pictures of the Advent Calendar ready to be used!

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Red and white baker twine & little pegs from Tiger.

Masking tape.

Hama Bead little red house

Do you know the Hama Beads? I swear, I bought these for my daughter… (when she was 2… yes, yes, it was for her me!)

Just a simple little house. I made a few rectangle shapes. Red for the roof. White for the walls with transparent beads for the windows. A little bit of glue gun to put everything together and voila!

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A simple DIY done super quickly!

Now I wonder if I should put a little string to put it in the Christmas tree, or just leave it as it is…

Christmas countdown

Christmas countdown has started since October, here in Cambridge. Even before Halloween, you could find mince pies at Sainsbury’s! I find it a bit bizarre, to have Halloween and Christmas lights and decorations side by side… So I’ve waited until the official first weekend of the Advent to start decorating the house if Christmas things.

Today, I wanted to share with you something I discovered when I was living in Stuttgart: the advent wreath. I’ve always loved them since then, but it’s only this year that I’ve decided to make my own!

I bought a wreath ready-made with Christmas tree (fake) branches and some candles and other bits at Tiger. I made the dried orange slices last year, so it was about time to use them!

I arranged all the bits and bobs until I was happy with the way the wreath looked, and then got my glue gun out. I used lots of glue under my candles, to make sure they won’t collapse. However, I don’t consider it safe enough to leave unattended while burning!

So here it is! I’m now really happy with my table centerpiece!

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