Indigo Shibori Super Tote

I have really been enjoying taking a bunch of fabric dyeing classes this year. Recently I dyed a linen table runner with (pre-reduced) indigo using shibori. It became the main fabric used in my new Super Tote by Anna Graham (whom I met at Quilt Market in Minneapolis in May!). Until now I had only made her Open Wide Zippered Pouch (see here and here), but I always wanted to use more of her patterns... have you seen her new book yet?

I love how my Super Tote turned out!

The straps are chambray otherwise all of the fabrics I dyed in classes that I took this year.

The linen table runner was approximately 17 inches by 63 inches and it was just enough for the main pieces of the tote. Only a couple of narrow strips of fabric remain from it. At the class I also dyed a couple of skirts, here you can see the result of a white Oliver + S Lazy Days Skirt that I wrapped with six rubber bands.

This light blue chambray skirt is an Oliver + S Lazy Days Skirt with hem tucks that I sewed over the summer. I think it was only the second time my daughter was wearing it that she got red popsicle stains on it.

So I threw the skirt into the indigo vat and this is how it turned out!

I loved how the skirts came out, so much so that I decided to take them apart and use the fabrics for my tote. I can always sew more skirts for my girl. I love the effect of the hem tucks and decided they would make great visual interest for the sides of the tote.

Here is the before of the white Lazy Days Skirt. I made it over a year ago, one of those last minute projects. It was for an angel costume and got worn a few times, but it served it's purpose and I found it to be quite boring. So into the indigo vat it went to add some pizzazz.

Once the white skirt was wrapped with six rubber bands and dyed, this is how it looked after I disassembled it. Most of the lining of my tote came from this fabric.

So there you have it! A tote full of memories of my sewing and fabric dyeing adventures.

Project details
Pattern: Super Tote
Fabrics: A bunch of fabrics (linen, cotton, chambray) I had fun dyeing in classes I took this year, the straps are chambray

I also recently made the Liesl + Co. Woodland Stroll Cape that I'm wearing, you can read more about it on the Oliver + S blog.

Call the Midwife

 Boil some water and gather some clean towels, it's time to call the midwife! Last night I viewed the last episode of season 3 of 'Call the Midwife' which is a British television series set in the late 1950s in London. Have you watched the show? I look forward to the start of season 4. Being a huge fan of the show, I was inspired to sew up their midwife uniform, but in miniature version.

Let me tell you about each of the three pieces...

Light blue short sleeve A-line dress with a white peter pan collar:
Pattern: Oliver + S Jump Rope Dress (difficulty level of 3 out of 4 scissors)
Size: 6
Mods: View B with short sleeves and in-seam side pockets (pocket pattern from the Oliver + S Playtime Dress)
Fabrics: Turquoise Dot Aqua Chambray 80% cotton/20% linen from the Lisette Collection, white cotton for the collar
Notions: five 5/8 inch light blue buttons

 Red cardigan:
Pattern: Flashback skinny tee for big kids
Size: 7/8
Mods: I went one size up, made the front piece a v-neck and into a cardigan, added a folded 2 inch band all around the neck/front. This Slouchy Cardigan Tutorial was helpful.
Fabric: red knit that is 90% poly/7% rayon/3% spandex

 Gray Trench Coat:
Pattern: Oliver + S Secret Agent Trench Coat (difficulty level 2 out of 4 scissors)
Size: 6
Mods: View A without the shoulder flap, I topstitched the pocket flaps down, made the buttons button the girl way
Fabric: gray cotton twill
Notions: eight .75 inch gray buttons

My favorite piece is the gray trench coat, not only is it a classic piece of clothing and practical since it's dark and will hide dirt, but the gray cotton twill was a dream to work with (I love working with cotton twill).

 Since the gray coat is not very girly, I added a pretty surprise in the inside by using light pink bias tape.

As much as I love this color combination, the outfit can be broken up and each piece can be interchanged with other articles of clothing in my daughter's closet.

If you haven't watched 'Call the Midwife' yet, you really must check it out!

Spring Showers Jacket Pattern Tour and Discount Code

 Hello from the land of 10,000 lakes. Mr. J is sporting his newest jacket that I sewed up for him for the Spring Showers Jacket Pattern Tour. Many thanks to Heidi of Elegance & Elephants for inviting me to participate.

Guy Cotten rain coat

 I'm going to hit the rewind button for just a moment… way back in 1999-2001 while we were living in France, our oldest son got a classic yellow rain coat. The brand name is Guy Cotten and it's from Brittany, France. All 3 of my children wore this coat (2 boys and a girl). Here's a photo of my daughter wearing the coat at age 2 in 2009.

Guy Cotten coat modeled with yellow rain boots to match

 I love it that a yellow rain coat never goes out of style. My children no longer fit into that Guy Cotten coat, so I sewed up a big kid one using the newly released Spring Showers Jacket pattern. It comes in sizes 2/3 to 12 years. It's got a sewing level of 2.5 out of 4, it's not super difficult, but it is very time consuming as it's a fully lined jacket with lots of topstitching.

 My favorite things about the pattern are that it:

• is gender neutral
• has a visor on the hood
• has a lower back hemline
• has a hanging loop

Hello octopus... hello octopus

 Project details
Pattern: Spring Showers Jacket by Heidi of Elegance & Elephants
Size: 6/7 with added length (about 1.5 inches)
Fabrics:
main: yellow twill (I quite like working with twill)
lining: Free Spirit, Salt water - Octo Garden - Aqua
Notions: 20 inch separating zipper

 This was the first time I sewed an Elegance and Elephant's pattern and I found it to be of a very high quality, with many photos for the steps, the option to print out just one size, and the option to cut out a few pattern pieces with using measurements or print out pattern pieces.

All in all I had very satisfying results.

It's raining outside today... so can you guess what jacket he's wearing?

Exciting news! There is a discount for nest full of eggs readers during the tour. To receive a dollar off the price of the pattern, use discount code: TOUR. You can go here to purchase the Spring Showers Jacket Pattern.

Sunday Brunch Jacket

 I have had this cotton velveteen for over 2 years now, so it was about time to use it up! I had the hardest time trying to figure out what to make out of this fabric… in the end it became a spring jacket.

 Project details
Pattern: Oliver + S Sunday Brunch Jacket (difficulty level of 2 out of 4 scissors)
Size: 6
Fabrics:
Anna Maria Horner LouLouThi Velveteen In The Clearing Berry
For the bias trim I used leftover pastel cottons from the Antoinette dress.
Notions: four 5/8 inch yellow buttons, 4 sew-on snaps
The Sewing: I'm not quite sure I like the fabric pattern placement on the sleeves, but it's too late to change that now.
Instead of buttonholes I installed sew-on snaps (my buttonhole feature is not currently working on my sewing machine, so making a buttonhole is not fun).

 The Sunday Brunch Jacket is a double-breasted unlined jacket has band collar, gathered empire waist, and cuffed long sleeves. Bias trim is used to finish the facing edge and seam allowances. It's a chic and elegant jacket that's beautifully cut.

 This was the first time I sewed up the Sunday Brunch Jacket by the pattern (back in December I sewed a modified one for winter).

This cotton velveteen is lovely to touch, it's so super soft, but it surprisingly frays and crumbles a lot!
This was the first time I'd sewn with cotton velveteen. Have you sewn with it before? If so, what did you make out of it?

Happy Easter!

Lanvin Petite Military Coat Knock-Off Tutorial

 Here is a winter coat I sewed for my girl that was originally blogged over at Sewpony for The 12 Days of Christmas series. It's a knock off of this Lanvin Petite red wool felt military coat $1395 (modeled photo found here).

 Project Details
Patterns: Oliver + S Sunday Brunch Jacket with altered front, dropped waist, skirt is pleated instead of gathered, and skirt is lengthened. I added on-seam side pockets, pattern comes from Oliver + S Playtime Dress.
Size: 5
Fabrics: deep red 100% wool. For the bias binding on the interior I just grabbed what I had on hand that was all ready to go. It's light gray cotton and I had exactly the right amount!
Notions: 12 gold shank buttons (24K gold plated) and 4 gold sew on snaps (large size)

 Modifications:
What I kept as is:
The collar, sleeve and back facing from the Oliver + S Sunday Brunch Jacket and the on-seam side pocket from the Oliver + S Playtime Dress.
What I changed:
The bodice is 13 inches long and skirt 18 inches long (I chose these measurements because they are very close to the size 5 measurements of the Fairy Tale Dress, a pattern I have sewn for my daughter many times and know fits her very well). The skirt in the end turned out to be 15 inches long.
There are 10 pleats in the front, 6 pleats in the back, and each pleat is about .5 inch to .75 inch deep.
More specifics about the altered pattern pieces:
Cut one back skirt 22 inches by 18 inches.
Cut two fronts skirts 12 inches by 18 inches.
Cut two facings with length 27.25 inches.
Add two front center panels 3.75 inches by 28.25 inches.
Cut two shoulder tabs 3 inches by 6.5 inches, with right sides together fold in half lengthwise, sew with .25 inch seam allowance, turn right side out, topstitch, then attach to shoulder by hand sewing.

 The sewing:

• It turned out to be a bit of a labor of love, but so worth it!
• The wool is thick so when attaching the collar it was a bit difficult sewing at the shoulder seams through all those layers.
• There were a lot of finishing details that were very time consuming (a lot of hand sewing).
• Sewing many buttonholes through 2 layers of thick wool is not something I wanted to attempt. So I hand sewed on all 12 gold shank buttons on the exterior of the coat (so the buttons are non functional and purely for decoration). For the closure I sewed 4 large gold sew on snaps.
• One challenge that I encountered towards the end was when I brought the fronts of the coat together, it was off by a whole inch in length at the hem! I added front center panels that were not in the original sewing pattern and I think I didn't line it up perfectly before sewing it on, plus I think the fabric slipped/stretched while sewing, too.
• I didn't know that the red wool would give off so much red dust and that this red dust would stain everything it touched pink. Parts of my white sewing machine turned pink, the clothes I was wearing while sewing were stained pink… There is always something new to learn with sewing.

 The cost it took to make this coat:
1.5 yards deep red wool $30.00
12 gold shank buttons (24K gold plated) $9.00
4 gold sew on snaps $2.24
Cost $41.24

Lanvin Petite red wool felt military coat $1395
Savings $1,353.76

 During the winter it gets very cold where we live, so a nice cozy and warm wool coat will be very practical. This military coat would be the perfect thing to wear to go see a performance of the Nutcracker ballet, don't you think? I am hoping that this coat will fit for at least 2-3 winters and it probably will, given that it has generous sleeves plus the fold over (adjustable) cuffs are generous, too.

PS This coat was made along with a gold sequin dress, for that tutorial click here.