Boho fringe booties

The second of presents I made for my new goddaughter Maxine is a cute pair of fringe booties. I actually adore fringes as they can make any outfit look very gypsy. And fringes are very much in fashion. You'll find them from Zara to Gucci, for young and old. The pattern and tutorial I used was from Shwin and Shwin . The tutorial comes with a free PDF pattern and is well explained. 

I used a dark purple imitation leather for the outside and lined the boots with a matching cotton with a bird print.

The boots don't quite fit yet but I'm sure that in a year or so Maxine will look absolutely adorable!

Luca's sarouels

How do they do it... Hats off to all new mums who get behind a sewing machines before their baby reaches the 6 month mark! It's taken me a while to get started again (7 months to be exact). But hey, there's only one thing better than spending an afternoon sewing and that's having some TLC with a little baba who has the ability to make your heart fly, all day long, every day.

So I'm running that well oiled sewing machine again and I'm bursting of plans and ideas to get me started. I'm so in the mood!

I have a half finished dress waiting on my sewing table. I started it just after I got pregnant but lost all interest as soon as I knew I could really start on those super cute baby clothes. I have to say, I slightly lost interest but I really want to finish it... at some point.

As I'm more of a diesel than a petrol car (I'm a slow starter) I started off with a simple project, some baby sarouels.
I love sarouel trousers (or harem pants as some people like to call them). They're an easy project, finished in just over an hour and they're super comfortable for babies to move in. I admit I love the skinny jeans but let's be honest, what would you prefer to crawl in?

I made this pair in grey cotton with stars. I trimmed the legs with elastic to make them look extra puffy. Luca needs a few more pairs so I'll be back soon... 

Luca

Christmas is nearing and I haven't done any crafting... Yes, it's very unlike me but I do have an acceptable excuse this time!

On the 14th of October Steve and I became the proud parents of my best piece of crafting so far, a little baby boy who goes by the the name of Luca.

He's the cutest thing ever and we're so happy to add him to our little family.

Needless to say I haven't been bored over the past two months and he's left me little to no time for any creative stuff.

This doesn't mean I'm over the whole crafting business! I hope to find some time in the near future to start sewing and crafting again.
My head is already exploding with new ideas and I can't wait to get started.

My apologies once again for my absence, I promise to be back very soon. In the mean time, happy crafting to all of you!

Ahoy pirate!

Ahoy pirates! I'm back... My excuses for my resent absence. The tummy is getting bigger by the day and my energy level has reached rock bottom. We're impatiently awaiting our little one and we are so excited!

Although I do admit I have taken it pretty slowly over the last few months, it's not like I haven't done anything. I've been sewing some little trousers, and tops but the piece I'm most proud of is most definitely this one :

 

My little one's first jacket! Yes, I know, I've made it a bit prematurely (it's a size 3 to 4 years) but I thought it would probably be the age a kid enjoys a pirate outfit most...

I bought the e-pattern from Biglittle, an Etsy shop. The pattern is well explained and has lots of pictures. The jacket was a little time consuming due to the many small pieces of felt which needed to be hand stitched or embroidered on the jacket but I absolutely love the result.

The treasure map as well as the loot bag are detachable as they are stitched on with snap buttons, just to help with treasure hunting of course!

I also love the dagger on the front side and the pirate flag at the back, just like a real pirate!

The finishing touch are definitely the pirate buttons which I found by accident on a fleamarket (15 hand painted pirate buttons for 3 euros). You might notice that the button holes aren't finished yet... This is because I'm working on my mums sewing machine currently. I'd rather make them on my own machine as I'm more familiar with it so I'm waiting to return home to finish the job...

Captain Jack, eat your heart out!

Oh Romée!

So many ideas, so little time... It's probably every crafter's nightmare but I just never seem to have enough time to accomplish all my projects. 
With only 5 weeks to go in pregnancy time starts to seems to fly by and my list of projects seems to grow by the day (I might need a second sleeping bag and even another one in a larger size, and what about a summer version? You see what I mean!).
As I love the design so much I decided on making another Romée romper. I realized I had a matching cardigan which makes the outfit extra cute.

                                 Cute or what?

Pimp my bouncer

6 weeks to go and just moving becomes more and more difficult...
With temperatures rising well above 30 degrees last week here in Belgium,  nights are becoming increasingly uncomfortable.

It doesn't stop me from doing any crafting though and I've been very busy this week with an exciting new project... I pimped my second hand baby bouncer! 

I found a second hand Baby Bjorn bouncer in pretty good condition. Well, the frame of the bouncer was in very good condition however I thought the cover of the seat to look a little washed.

I decided on using Ikea heavy weight upholstery cotton as it's very strong and cheap. They have quite a wide selection of designs and colors. I chose a dark grey cotton for one side and a white and black children design cotton for the other side.

 I started off by washing and tumble drying the fabric. As it's a baby seat I just wanted to make sure I'd be able to wash it properly to remove possible stains. I simply drafted the pattern by placing the existing cover flat on top of my pattern paper and tracing it. I also used extra strong thread to ensure the cover can hold a 2 year old's weight, just like the original one.
The cover as well as the pants part (not sure what to name it!) is reversible so you can basically use both sides to your liking...

 Someone will be bouncing like crazy soon!

One night in Paris sleeping bag

In need of another sleeping bag I picked up this Michael Miller fabric from my stash... It's the same Pomme pattern I used for the first sleeping bag I made, which I also made in Michael Miller fabric.

                         Sweet dreams little one!

Petit Gaspard

12 weeks to go! Yes, D-day is approaching and even though I can't wait to hold my little one in my arms, it's becoming harder by the day to ignore those upcoming labor pains.... As much as I try to be in denial, it's coming closer and the fear is mounting!

"Don't think about it, just sew like your life depends on it" is my motto... I took this quite literally and have been pretty busy over the past few weeks.

Petit Gaspard is my latest project. Yet another Citronille pattern but definitely one of my favorites. Assuming my baby boy will be as crazy about blue as my beloved husband is (I swear, about 98% of his closet exists of a wide spectrum of blues!) I made the cutest blue cotton romper.

I immediately fell in love with this vintage style romper. I also had the perfect fabric in my stash for these cute trousers with attached bib. In New York's B&J fabrics I found this beautiful cotton fabric and hoping that one day I could turn it into something cute for my own little munckin...

I used blue rickrack to finish the edges around the bib, 3 push buttons make it easier to change a nappy...

 

 

           
                           See you soon buddy!

Goodnight Mouse

Yipie! My very first Etsy purchase has arrived... I'm overexcited about this gorgeous newborn pilot hat from Goodnight Mouse... 

The hat is made out of 80% merino wool and 20% mohair so it'll be nice and warm for winter time. 

          My little one will look exactly like his pilot daddy!

Mini jumper makeover

My love for secondhand shops keeps growing by the day... I have to say, lately I've been stunned by the prices of some baby clothes. I mean, who buys a woolen baby romper or a mini jacket for a 3 month old baby for more than 100 euros?!?

Luckily I've discovered some really nice secondhand shops in Belgium with a nice selection of used baby clothes from a wide selection of brands and qualities. And it just makes you even more happy when you can find that super bargain...

A few days ago I found this adorable sleeveless jumper, or debardeur as we call it. For only 4 euros I thought it was a bargain. 

I just thought I could make it look slightly better by adding my own little touch. I found these cute little buttons in the shape of schoolbags...

And look what a cute button can do... 

Nid d'ange

About 2 years ago I visited Osaka. Japan being the mecca of cutesy cottons I went on s fabric shopping spree that put my bank account in the red. 

I found this Toraya shop (via Adey of the sew convert) in the covered shopping arcade in central Osaka. You can believe the amount of adorable fabrics they sell there...

Anyway, 2 years on and I've nearly gone through the whole stash. One of the last fabrics I had left was this dark grey colored cotton with rabbits. 
I decided to make a little angel nest with it...

Again I used a Citronille pattern (Nid d'ange). It's perfect to place inside a pram and will keep the baby nice and warm. 

I lined the nest with a very soft dark grey cotton and used the same cotton the cover the buttons. 

                                  Sweet dreams angel!

Le cirque romper

 Yet another Citronille pattern... This Coline pattern is definitely one of my favorite Citronille rompers. Perfect for summer and oh so vintage...

 The fabric I used for this has been laying in my fabric stash for a few years now. I'm not sure anymore which brand it is but it might be by Michael Miller. I finished the romper with a red rick rack ribbon 2 red buttons at the back.

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 I used push buttons between the legs as I thought they would be more user friendly than normal buttons.

Oh I love Citronille!