Winter Wear Designs Collared Shirt for kids

I made so many of this Collared Shirt by Winter Wear Designs but have yet to blog about any! 

The collared shirt pattern is my go to pattern for this boy whenever I need something a little more formal for his various dress up days at school and also on special occasions. 

I like how there are several options and I can choose between broad shoulders and slim shoulders. I can also use the pattern for my girl (there's a skirted version!) but she doesn't like button ups as much as I only made 1 dress for her so far - I'm hoping that when she grows older, she will like button ups! 

The curved hem is so cute isn't it? And it helps to keep the shirt tucked in when you want it tucked! Cos it is long enough to not come out when he waves his hands around. 

This shirt is made with double gauze fabric. I have also tried cotton woven twill, quilting cotton and they all turned out great! 

True Bias Ogden Cami

I've always wanted to try making an Ogden Cami from True Bias. So when I found time between pattern tests, I decided to cut out my first Ogden! 

There wasn't a projector file, but I had the A0 which was layered and good enough for projector cutting. 

The cut of the cami is lovely and very flattering. But because it is drafted for B cups, I found that it was a little too low for my liking so I had to shorten the straps about 1.5 inches. I think, moving on, my next cami will probably need a SBA. But another cami is definitely something that will happen cos I love love love my ogden cami. 

 I am officially an ogden convert! 💗

Peekaboo Peyton Cocoon Cardigan

While Singapore's weather is mostly really hot and "summery", whenever we go indoors to shopping malls or libraries, the air conditioning is usually really cold. 

I wanted to make my girl a cardigan for some time now. To keep her warm when we go indoors. 

I finally settled on a quick sew - the Peekaboo Peyton Cocoon Cardigan. 

I made this with vintage knit fabric with little stretch. It turned out really cute! 

I liked how everything came together and it helps that this is such a fast sew too. I could cut it out with the projector and sew it up during her nap time, and have her wear it on a trip to the library when she woke. Yay for fast sews!

Do you like the silhouette of the cardi? I kinda want one for myself too! 

Eunoia Design Group Kaleo

Eunoia's Kaleo has just been updated! It now has more sizes, better fit, pockets, a new puddle jumper length (not floor length but slightly above ankle) etc etc and it also has projector file!! YIPPEE!

I love how elegant it looks! And it's just a really beautiful top and skirt combo. 

I made ours in puddle jumper length because this toddler isn't exactly very good at climbing steps while wearing maxi skirts. This length is perfect for her. It's long enough to keep her legs covered yet give her plenty of ease to move around and jump. 

The top has a high neckline in front and a lower one at the back, but i have seen others wearing it on their little ones the other way round without any problems!

And because it is lined, the dress has no bands - which makes for a lovely silhouette!

Did I mention it has pockets? 💗

Simple Life Pattern Co Kinsley Cascading Flounce Dress

For Chinese New Year in 2021, I made a cheongsam inspired princessy brocade dress for my darling using a hacked SLPco pattern - Kinsley Cascading flounce dress.

It addressed all the common issues I have with traditional cheongsams for children - restricting high necks (most kids hate it) and too tight (cheongsams tend to be more figure hugging, but toddlers needs room!)

Kinsley was chosen cos it was loose fitting and i loved the silhouette! 

I wrote a blog post about my hack in the SLPco blog here. 

The hack takes a bit of effort to do but the result is so satisfying! If you like the hack and would like to try it yourself, I'll be super happy to see your version! 

If you have not bought the pattern and would like to use my aff link, it is here. (thank you! 😘😘😘) 

Goober Pea Design Hip 2 B square tee

One of my favorite Boy t-shirt pattern (It's actually a unisex pattern but I use it mainly for my boy) is the Hip 2 Be Square Tee from Goober Pea Designs. 

I love it because of how flexible it can be. It's lovely as a simple tshirt. You can also use up remnants if you use the color blocking options. If you got a cute woven fabric you want to feature, you can also do just that! Imagine a woven fabric, used in a comfy knit t-shirt! It's brilliant! There's also fancy sleeves options with a square cut out if you wish to do that! 

Here's just some of the MANY MANY hip 2 be squares I have made over my 2 plus years sewing. 

This first one is made with a WOVEN panel. I had a glow in the dark dino fabric my little one insisted on wearing. I used it in the colorblocked version of hip 2 be and it worked perfectly! The knit portion is swafing jersey. 

Here, you see a pajamas I made with the fancy sleeve stripes version of hip 2 be. It is made with a 2 way knit that had poor recovery so I made it bigger for a comfy fit since he likes his PJs soft and loose. 

This is a t-shirt made with a lego remnant I scored from a destash. That piece of remnant wasn't big enough for much so it went to the front panel in this shirt and he loved it!

Here's another with black Cotton lycra and dino double knit.

This one is made with non-stretch knit. So that means even if your knit has zero stretch, it works! (Just size up for comfort and remember to use rib knit for the neckband!)

So, there's my short blurb on the hip 2 be square tee. 

It appears that you can use practically any kind of fabric for the centre panel e.g. woven for the centre panel, and for the entire shirt, if u wish to use a knit with very little stretch, just size up and use a good and stretchy rib knit for neckline. Of course, 2 way and 4 way knits works perfectly well! 

Hope this helps you! Thank you once again for reading! Click here to start shopping! (aff link)

S.U.A.T Archer and Artemis Tank

It's SUMMER all year round in Singapore so tanks are always a favorite of the kids. I had the chance to make 2 different tank patterns from Stitch upon a time for my little ones to twin and I'm so happy that they look so good in them! 

My boy is modelling the Archer Tank which is a unisex racerback tank that is incredibly fast to sew. In fact, it is so so fast that he already has 3 such tanks in rotation in his wardrobe! My girl's modelling the Artemis Girls Top and Dress which is a racerback that can be a cute tank or a circle skirted dress. Both tops are made with Cotton Lycra from Spotlight. 

The racerback Archer tank is a lovely quick sew. You can see from the photo that the armhole fits quite well - you have to grade properly though! For example, my boy is stick thin (We DO feed him!! It's genes lol) so his chest is 3T while his height is 6T. I had to grade it according to the instructions in order for the tank to fit nicely - so please don't skip grading!

The Artemis top has a super cute feature behind:

I love it! The gathered back made the outfit really adorable (Quick note: I graded the top to be a little longer than is necessary cos she likes the armscye of her tank tops lower but if u did the tank according to instructions, the armscye doesn't go so low!)

Look at how pleased she is! 

And now I shall spam you with 2 more photos of the lovely duo. 💗

Candy Castle Designs Funfetti Dress

It's almost Lunar New Year! For the Chinese, Lunar New Year marks the start of the new lunar calendar. There's lots of festivities, visiting, exchange of mandarin oranges between relatives and friends and red money packets for the children. 

One tradition of the Lunar New Year (CNY) is the wearing of red outfits to symbolise good luck and fortune. Being able to sew means that my kids are getting mum made new year outfits this year even if we aren't going to visit many households due to Covid. 

For my girl's first day outfit, I have chosen the Funfetti dress by Candy Castle Designs. This is a super cute dress pattern with loads of options. And since CNY is traditionally a very hot season in Singapore, I've decided to go for a sleeveless, dress length, circle skirt version of Funfetti.

To go with the theme, I chosen a beautiful Cotton lycra with Hello Kitty prints and red and yellow blooms then paired it with a bright red circle skirt. So cute!!

She had a beautiful red leather bag given to her by her grandma which is a perfect accessory for this dress AND it serves the important purpose of keeping her red money packets when she goes to her grandparents house to visit during the holiday!

We love Hello Kitty in this family so we even had matching hello kitty masks so that she can look pretty and be safe! 

Funfetti was a very fast sew. I think cutting took longer than the actual sewing! There's definitely going to be more Funfettis in the future! Perhaps a gathered skirt version next time? Or a sleeved one? The options are plenty! 

And now for more photos of the pretty dress! 

Jeans making! Rad Patterns Kelly Jeans

MY VERY FIRST PAIR OF JEANS! 

I am incredibly proud of this pair of self sewn jeans. I did this on my Brother FS101 domestic sewing machine too. Can you believe that a cheap domestic can sew this? So happy!

This is the Kelly Jeans from Rad Patterns that I had the opportunity to test for. It is drafted for non-stretch denim - this is an important detail because that means that unlike the RTW jeans that most of us buy that are stretchy, this one has to have build in ease in order for it to fit properly while giving you space for movement. 

I made my version in mid weight light blue denim with zero stretch. I made all the options - coin pocket, Rivets on everything, jeans zipper and jeans buttons. Everything. The only thing I skipped? Belt loops. That's right! Why for make belt loops if you DIYed and am therefore sure that it will fit beautifully such that there is no need for belts at all! 

I kinda like the clean look of the jeans without the belt loops too! 

For all my topstitching around the pockets and zipper, I got a matching blue jeans thread which is thicker than normal thread. I used normal quilting threads for the bobbin and only the jeans thread in the needle. This helps reduce bulk and breakages. I also used a new Jeans needles and changed it the moment it starts 'acting up' - after all, you are sewing through thick layers so you may need to change needles more frequently. 

One thing that I would strongly recommend is the initial basting step to check fit. I almost never do muslins for my clothing, preferring to 'wing it'. But for this pair of jeans, I knew I cannot do that - non stretch denim can be unforgiving! So I did the fit check as per instructions - i was a good girl! And thank goodness I did that, I had to let out a little bit of the Seam allowance to get the ease that I preferred. And since everyone's preferred ease is different, I strongly recommend that you don't skip this step! 

Doesn't this fit look very flattering? I'm 167cm tall and I didn't have to change the length of the jeans pattern at all. Even if you are the same height as I am, it may be good to compare the length with an existing pair of pants that go to the length that you desire because everyone's proportions are different! 

Let's talk pockets next. The pockets on the jeans are drafted such that they are lower on the bum. It's a 'boyfriend jeans' look. Not everyone would like it so low and it might be a little awkward if you intend to slip your phone in there. (I tried a wallet and it fitted perfectly in that space below the curve of my bum so I suppose it depends on what you want to put inside also?)

That said, some of you may want to baste the pockets on first then check if you are happy with the position of the pockets. I know some testers shifted their pockets upwards so that it cuts the yoke. Here's a close up to see where the pocket placement based on pattern instructions will be. Hopefully that can help you decide how high you may wish to place your pockets! 

One last thing, I used a lot more rivets than the pattern required - mostly because I am apparently really really bad at installing rivets. So that may be something for you to consider as well - buy more rivets! I destroyed about 50% of the rivets I bought and had nothing left of these rivets by the end of it so... just buy more rivets. ALOT more. haha. 

Thank you for stopping by! Really happy that you read this! 

Valerie Wallet

I had the opportunity to test for Porcupine Pattern's Valerie Wallet and made 3 at one go! 

From left to right: Denim (non-stretch) main /cotton lining, Cork main/cotton lining, cotton main/cotton lining

Here are some thoughts:

It is very important to trim the seam allowance when the instruction says so. The bulk is really thick especially if you are trying to sew with an ordinary sewing machine. Top-stitching through bulky layers would be better done with a 90 or 100 needle and preferably with a longer stitch length of about 3.5.

When it comes to the cork wallet, I found out that it really isn't a good idea to iron cork. So the only way is to simply hand press it as well as you can. Also, cork is not the best material to try to birth so I strongly DO NOT recommend anyone try to sew this with cork fabric. 

In fact, of the 3 wallets I made, I felt that the best materials for the wallet are quilting cottons for both main and lining. It is a lot less bulky and much easier to birth. The overall look is also prettier and you can add the foam lining to give it a lovely professional finish. 

At first I tried to 'label' the wallet with my tag. But i realised I didn't like that look so the rest of the wallets were done with the tag on the inside of the coin purse. 

Another thing that I realised was I preferred that the main fabric wraps around the card slots so that the fabric for the card slots can't be seen on the outside even at the edge. Hence, for my second and third wallet, I made sure to only use the lining fabric for the card slots and the coin purse lining. 

For the buttons, I used metal buttons that needed to be hammered in. Some testers used plastic snaps which looked good too. I didn't have the metal magnetic snaps that was in the tutorial and I wish I had slim magnetic snaps, but I had to work with what I had. Tip: Make sure you have materials before beginning the project! Chinatown is a good place to find notions!