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!

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!

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!

Colombe top

Citronille is one of the cutest brands of sewing patterns. I discovered them about a year ago and have fallen completely in love with these vintage inspired patterns. Even though their adult patterns are quite nice too it's especially the baby clothes that make my heart melt. 

My Moschino inspired strawberry fantasy dress (Meg pattern) was one of my last projects however since my husband and I found out we're going to have a little baby boy by early October (we are so excited!!!!) I just can't stop sewing baby stuff...

This Citronille Colombe top is so adorable I just couldn't wait to make it in this fabulous blue rabbit cotton I bought a while ago. I actually started making the top before I knew the sex of the baby. As I thought it was quite unisex (at least for a baby) I went ahead and started on this adorable blouse. I made the long sleeve version of the top for winter time. It has 3 buttons at the back.

In case you're interested: Citronille patterns are available from www.citronille.fr however they're only available in French so a basic knowledge of the language is required...

Citronille sleeping bag

OK, time for another present! I found this Michael Miller fabric a while ago in the fabric souk in Dubai (Yes I did, can you believe it!).It's unbelievable what you can sometimes find in the textile markets of Dubai... I love Michael Miller and the fact that they only ask 10 dirhams for a meter (yes that's less than 2 euros!) only adds to my excitement.
Last year I discovered Citronille patterns. And they have been my favorite patterns ever since. I completely fell in love with their kids patterns as they beyond cute. I thought the Michael Miller fabric was perfect for their sleeping bag pattern.

I lined the sleeping bag with a super soft red colored cotton for a good night sleep...

Sweet dreams!

Pattern party

Living in the Middle East has been a lovely experience for the past 10 years. It has its ups and down like any other place I guess but I've been pretty content with my life here in Dubai I must say.

Actually, as I've mentioned in the past, it's quite a sewing paradise! I don't know any other place in the world (and believe me, I've been to many!) with as many fabric and sewing shops in the world. There is such a wide selection of fabrics and haberdashery, mostly coming from India and the prices are incredibly cheap.

It's not always easy to get your hands on nice patterns though. Kinokuniya has a big selection of Japanese pattern books but apart from that it's quite hard to get your hands on sewing patterns. 
You can order them but it takes about 2-3 weeks to arrive and it usually costs you about twice the price you pay back home.

Needless to say how excited I was last week when I received an envelope with my order of patterns...
 

Colette's Clover trousers and Peony dress. Like many fellow vintage loving sewers I'm a great Colette fan. And I love dresses... The Peony dress looks very me so I can't wait to start on that one. The Clover trousers I chose because I've never made any trousers yet. I usually prefer wearing skirts and dresses for some reason and it's probably also the fear of the unknown that usually draws me away from trousers. I'm excited tough to give them a try!

I'm embarrassed  to admit that after all the stuff I've made myself I've never tried anything for my husband yet... I was going to make him something for Christmas this year however. That was until my sewing machine gave up... A new one is on the way so hopefully he will soon be glowing in a brand new Colette Negroni shirt!

Last but not least. I found this photo of a Marc Jacobs top which has been hanging on my mood board for the past 12 months. I really wanted to make something similar. When I spotted Sewaholic's Pendrell top I got really excited. It actually looks very similar and I reckon that with a few minor changes I can make it look pretty much the same!


To be continued...