A Year of Sew Japan with Mie.

A year ago my dear friend Celina asked me if I wanted to be on her Petit a Petit + Family blog team. I could do whatever I wanted. And together we talked about how fun it could be to sew a Japanese pattern (or two) every month during 2016. Sew Japan with Mie was born!

I almost made it though the year but ran out of steam in the last two months. BUT let's focus on the 10 months I did make something instead of the 2 I didn't. Yup, good plan, Batman!

There is not going to be a lot of talk in this post because I have done all of that in the different posts and I'm linking to them all from this post. But I just wanted to make one finishing post here on my own blog that brought it all together. It was definitely fun for me to scroll through it all and I hope you will think so too.

JANUARY

Culottes and a cardigan.

See the full post HERE.

FEBRUARY

Knit dresses.

See the full post HERE.

MARCH

Suspender skirt and a tee with a lace collar.

See the full post HERE.

APRIL

Dress with knit top and woven skirt.

See the full post HERE.

MAY

Woven dress with back tie detail.

See the full post HERE.

JUNE

Oversized shirt.

See the full post HERE.

JULY

Shirt plus culottes with faux wrap skirt detail.

See the full post HERE.

AUGUST

Pinafore with lace overlay.

See the full post HERE.

SEPTEMBER

One top three ways and in three different materials.

See the full post HERE.

OCTOBER 

Fall jacket/cardigan in sweatshirt fleece.

See the full post HERE.

***

Lastly I want to thank all of you who sewed with me month after month and linked up your Japanese goodies in the link parties. The parties are closed now but the links to all your posts can still be seen (and clicked on) in the end of each monthly Sew Japan with Mie post. 

THANK YOU!

I think I'll take a little break with Japanese sewing patterns and instead try to sew a capsule wardrobe with Celina's Project Sew It Facebook group (just search: Project Sew it on Facebook). All you have to do is ask to join. Every month has a theme and in January we are sewing sweaters and cardigans. You can sew for yourself, your kids, your husband and choose whatever pattern you want. Only rule is to have fun! I have already made my first cardigan of 2017 and I'm hoping to get a quick post done this week.  

Who is with me?!

Sew Japan With Mie, part 2 - More Culottes.

This is part two of a post so please read HERE if you have not read part one yet.

Part one is me introducing my year long series Sew Japan With Mie as part of the new contributor team on Petit A Petit + Family - eeeekkk!!

Part two is me showing you some more versions of the culotte pattern that is one of the patterns I sewed for the series.

This post will mostly be scroll and look, hehe. 

All the words will be in part one.

Stylo 4 - Sun Kissed

Finally!

I have been counting down to this day. 

Today is the release of the amazing and inspirational online sewing for kids magazine STYLO. It is the 4th release and I could not be any prouder so say that I am amongst the group of AH-mazing ladies that has been invited to make a spread this time. That was a question I did not hesitate for a second to say yes to when I was asked by the two wonderful editor-in-chiefs Celina and Jessica.

I made my girls two outfits each and these two dresses above are what I consider my showpieces. Understood in the way that these dresses are more meant as inspiration than as actually everyday kids clothes. Especially the dress for my big girl is more 'show' than 'let's go and play at the park' reality. That is why doing STYLO is so fun because it has room for it all.

They are both made from The Sunki Dress by Figgy's Patterns.

The one above is from the original pattern but with pieced curved side pieces.

The incredible flower printed fabric (which was my initial inspiration for this whole spread) is by Anna Maria Horner from the collection Honor Roll. This print is called Overachiever and comes in 3 color ways and I absolutely LOVE this one. Just plain yum. I bought mine HERE.

And as soon as I decided to use this fabric I knew I also wanted to make a non-printed dress for my other daughter but in the same color ways. And the first thing that popped up in my head was to use Cotton Couture from Michael Miller Fabrics.

It comes in a plethora of amazing colors and I had a very hard time choosing - which is a good problem to have in that situation!

And here is my heavily remixed Sunki Dress. My inspiration started at this beautiful Pinterest STYLO inspiration board made by Celina that was presented to us when we got invited. There was a dress with a big circle that caught my attention and The Sunki Dress was the logical pattern to use as a starting point. Especially since I have always loved that dress but at that point had never made it. 

So I extended the half circle side pieces to full circles. Removed the sleeves and used the rounded shoulder overlaps to create separate oval shoulder pieces. And then I added those lower side pieces to add some more volume in the lower part. The hem is'wavy' and high-low. I made a big circle 'keyhole' opening in the back which I closed with an oversized bow made of pink and beige striped grosgrain ribbon.

The dress is solely made from Cotton Couture by Michael Miller.

The finished dresses gave some heavy 60s and 70s vibes and the hat and glasses were no-brainer-accessories for the photo shoot.

In my other two outfits I wanted to create a contrast to the two dresses and go big on the wearability but still cool of course, ha. And still in the same colors.

I really want this outfit for myself - although I wouldn't look quite as cute.

The top is a pattern U from the Japanese sewing book Happy Homemade, vol. 5.

The fabric is pure deliciousness. Cotton & Steel Indigo double gauze bought at Michael Levine Fabrics.

And the shorts....THE SHORTS..... those I really want for myself. They are the brand-new-releasing-any-day-now Morocco Pants (and shorts) by Petit a Petit Patterns. They are shock full of lovely details such as back welt pockets, side pockets, belt loops, zip fly and the ultra cool color block option you can see above. I choose to make part of my front in the same fabric as the back. But you can also make the side stripe stand out which will create a tuxedo pants effect - I knoooow, so good!

If you scroll down to wednesday on Celina's Sewing for Kindergarten post you can see her version. I love them SO much!

They are not a fast project BUT they are something even better - they are a truly satisfying project and you might learn a new trick or two.

All three fabrics used for these shorts are from Michael Levine Fabrics. Burgundy denim, baby pink stretch denim and stripy denim.

For my youngest daughter I made my own remixed sweatshirt version of The Mulberry Tunic from Kid Approved Patterns. HERE is a link to the post about this remix.

The lovely and on the heavy side of medium weight stripy cotton sweatshirt fleece is from Girl Charlee. The black and cream is since sold out but HERE is a link to the same fabric in heather grey and black stripe.

The skirt is a slightly remixed version of pattern N from the Japanese sewing book Girl Clothing by Akiko Mano.

I added the separate back ruffle after seeing THIS dress.

The fabric is more Cotton and Steel double gauze goodness from Michael Levine.

Cream double gauze from Imagine Gnats Shop just for the back ruffle.

And here you see my two happy bunnies posing and turning towards the camera but I think you can see on W's smile that something was up....

....and the whispering started.

I honestly have no idea what happened but oh boy these photos makes me so happy. 

I was stressed out of my mind during the photo shoot to get the photos right and at the same time try to take advantage of the sinking sun. But I'm glad that they at least had some fun, haha.

Oh, you can see the back welt pockets here. Woohoo.

*********

I want to give a big thanks to the fabric shops below for generously sponsoring part of the fabric for this spread. 

THANK YOU!!

New customers get 10% off their first order.

Get 10% off your entire purchase when using the code 'STYLO4'

And thank you Figgy's Patterns for The Sunki Dress pattern, Kid Approved Patterns for the Mulberry Tunic pattern and Petit a Petit Patterns for the Morocco Pants pattern.

Now PLEASE go check out the full magazine HERE. The other editors have shared sneak peeks of their work and I PROMISE you that you do not want to miss it. They are all SO very talented and I am very honored to be part of this High Fructose issue.

Thank you!!

Bubble Shorts by DoGuincho

Shorts in winter? Mais bien sûr!

It's all about the styling!

I have made a pair of DoGuincho's Bubble Shorts.

Beside it being an awesome pattern, it also gives a great result. Two equally important things when we talk sewing patterns, right!

The Aster Cardigan + The Clover Shorts by willow & co.

I am going to continue showing you what I have been doing the last couple of months....testing willow & co-patterns. 

Today I am showing you both the Aster Cardigan by LBG Studio and the Clover Shorts by Mouse House Creations.

Both patterns are the fast kind but both with a great and 'finished' looking result. 
The type where you immediately get 10 new ideas for versions when you finished one.
I love those type of patterns (together with the complicated ones, ha).

The Aster Cardigan is made for mid weight knit with limited stretch (around 25-25%).....so types like interlock, French Terry etc are perfect. That makes doing stitches and button holes almost as easy as if you were sewing in woven (phew). 
It has the cutest Peter Pan collar and has an option to add a faux piping as you can see here. The model is cropped and has 3/4 sleeves.....in other words PERFECT to wear with dresses or shorts for a chilly summer day/evening.....OR entering public places anywhere in American where freeze blast temperatures apparently are the only option in summer, (whyyyyyyyyy?) Okay, rant over!

The Clover Shorts have side pockets, front pleats, a cuff, belt loops, elastic waist and options like a waist ruffle and a sash.

These are made from quilting cotton and the fabric was Wilma's choice. I sort of have a love/hate relationship with this fabric but I must say I love how it looks in this model.

I am obviously dying to make some in some color block versions in some thin corduroy, denim etc which is even more my style.

BUT for now I am just happy that Wilma is thrilled with her new shorts. 

BUT do you know what is even MORE exciting than me posting about Aster and Clover? Yeah, I know....that is a tough one to beat, ha.

Do you remember our amazing lookbook? (If not, I am posting it right below.)

Did you also drool over the amazing fabrics that the models were sewn in? 

Well, from today you can buy most of that fabric in our shop. The quantities are extremely limited so hurryyyyyyy. The quality on the other hand is unlimited. I sewed the Lily Fawn and Hawtorne samples for the lookbook and I can honestly say that the fabric is TOP quality and a joy to sew with (and look at!). I can highly recommend it, really!

Here is a link to our SHOP where you of course also can buy all the amazing willow & co patterns including the ones I have showed you today.

Culottes, Pattern Drafting Tutorial

I realized I have done a few tutorials as guest posts but I have never brought them home to my own blog which is kind of silly because that makes linking them up on my TUTORIAL page a bit complicated. Soooo here comes one of them from a guest post last summer on the lovely Justine's (which I now after Fabric Weekend consider my friend - we were roomies and boy is she funny!!) blog Sew Country Chick. This is part one that focus on drafting the pattern for the culottes. For part two, which is a sewing tutorial to the culottes that was posted on my own blog, click HERE. 

I will hurry up and admit that these culottes are a GAP knock off. 

Here you see the 'original' GAP culottes.

Tutorial:

1) To make the pattern I started thinking whether I already had a pattern I could use as a base for these shorts and I was in luck. Do you remember THESE shorts? The pattern for those shorts is what you see above. What you need to use this tutorial is any pair of shorts with an elastic waist. So to make the culottes we need to add much more width in the legs - kind of logic, right!

2) It is obviously a big help to have the item you are copying liking so much that you want another one, in your possession. I measured the GAP culottes and compared it to my base pattern. I started by adjusting the side seams, then the curve of the waist and finally elongated the crotch seam.  

3) What we have done up to this point is added width to the crotch area and we obviously want width in the whole shorts leg. And the way to get that is what you see above. I needed to add 8 cm / 3.1 in to the back and 9 cm / 3.5 in to the front pattern piece. If I would have needed to add more width I would have cut up the pattern more but for these numbers I only cut each pattern 3 times. You cut all the way up until there is like 1 mm (in inches? Very little ;-) left and then spread the pattern part till you get the desired gap (you can see the numbers on the photo above). 

4) Then you fill out the gaps by putting paper under and draw your new and now curved lower shorts edge with lots of width and you are now ready to cut and sew your culottes.

I have put on the measurements on the pattern parts for a size 3T* on the photo above and I hope you will be able to make them yourself. 

Please note that the measurements above are WITHOUT seam allowances so please add that in the drafting process.

*You might wonder why I am showing you a pattern for a size 3T and then showing you photos of my 4.5 year old daughter who use size 5T. Weeeell, ideas has been flowing between Justine and I and originally I made a pair for my 2.5 year old who uses size 3. In the end we decided to focus on the (reversible) pair that Wilma is showing below. Don't worry though I will show Evelyn and her pair of culottes next week. (you can see them HERE).

Since I also own the GAP culottes in size 5 (yes, at least I did pay for the product and then copied liked so much I had to make more) I compared the size 3T and 5T and the only difference was the length of the legs that was 1.5 cm / 0.6 in longer than 3T. I decided to extend them further and make them 3 cm / 1.2 in longer than size 3T. Otherwise I kept  them exactly the same.

Click HERE for part two of this post that focuses on the sewing.

KCW: (Day 2, 3, 4 & 5) Top and Shorts.

Seriously there are people out there who sew an outfit a day during KCW. What? I am ehhhhhh not one of them. This top and shorts took me four days...and we were even stuck in the house tue- and wednesday because E had a fever, ha I guess I am taking a break from that super fast sewing I used to do. Well, at least I am super happy with the result. 

The top is a bit of a remix. Two Japanese patterns both from THIS book. Most of the top is from pattern D but the sleeves are from pattern K and since both D and K are made from the same bodice you don't have to change a thing. Score!

Love those little pockets.

The shorts are the newly released Bubble Pocket Shorts from E&E Patterns (I tested them HERE). This time in the classic version (I tested the sailor version).
Since I already made them in same type of fabric only in green I had no intentions of making another pair in same fabric. BUT after sewing the top my eyes fell on that blue fabric and it was just oh so perfect for it. AND W complained that the green ones were scratching her so I don't have much hope for her wearing them. The fabric is quite soft and I have no idea what she is talking about but you all know that when a child has that opinion about some clothes then that's the way it is. Argh!

So I decided to fully line them which was actually super easy. Simply cut the shorts pattern pieces twice and of course skip the pockets for the lining fabric part and you can also skip the waistband facing all together because you can simply just sew the outer and lining fabric together at the waist. Agreed it would of course be even prettier if the waistband facing was there and the lining shortened to start under the facing but since the whole point of this lining was no outer fabric touching the skin I skipped it.
I had to change the leg cuffs a bit because they originally just are double height folded and again that would mean outer fabric against the skin. So I folded the leg cuff pattern piece in half lengthwise added seam allowance and cut two in outer fabric and two in lining fabric and voila the shorts are fully lined.

And I am happy to report that she has worn them all day since the photo shoot this afternoon so I think they are approved, phew!