Sewing project of the month (February): Celine inspired top

Here we go again. I have just finished my sewing project for February. This sleeveless top was inspired by 'Celine' too.  

Source: http://www.elle.com/Runway/Ready-to-Wear/Spring-2012-RTW/CELINE/CELINE

I used this Burda Style pattern burdastyle magazine-01/2012-114. But I changed it slightly. I made the neckline a bit less high and added some length (see light blue part in the pattern). And I also did not do the back darts. I put the zipper in the neck and finished the neck, the armholes and the hem with bias tape cut from the same fabric (4 cm wide incl. seam allowance). The fabric is a stretch wool blend.

I would love to show you how it looks on me but my baby belly won't fit into it. But I hope that it will in a couple of weeks. Then you'll get a new photo.

Spring blossoms

Hello Spring! Where are you? I want to get over with this grey weather! On the other hand I don't need hot weather yet being 34 weeks pregnant with twins. My tummy looks as if I have swallowed a whale for breakfast but other than that I am feeling pretty good. Still moving around a lot and ful of energy. Must be the nesting instinct. At the moment I am decorating the nursery for the twins. Two boys! So it's gonna be a totally new experience (my toddler is a girl). I have chosen blues and yellows this time for the colour scheme. I will show you some shots once I am happy with the result. Still need to get a change table from IKEA and do a lot of sewing. Hope I will have enough time!

A beanbag for my daughter

I have just finished this beanbag for my daughter. It's made of IKEA fabric and I have used the filling of our grown-up beanbag. But I think you can get those styrene balls in most craft shops. I saw some beanbags from Marimekko that were in a mountain shape and tried to imitate that. Maybe I need to remove some of the filling as it is quite stiff at the moment. But the little one is really happy with it. And compared to wooden chairs the 'Outch' rate is a lot lower...

DIY: Early Easter decorations

I went to Sham Shui Po again last week (I get all my fabric and crafting stuff from there, it's a kind of wholesale neighbourhood). And there is always stuff that ends up in my bag which I never had in mind to buy when going there... So this time these lovely wooden bunnies made their way into my bag. At home I saw that they didn't have holes for threading so what to do with them? A look into my crafting supply storage gave the answer! Just glue them onto wooden clothespins and clip them wherever for decoration. 

Kitty cat shirt for my daughter

My daughter is totally into cats at the moment (meow's to be correct). That's why I have to draw cats into her sketchbook all the time. When I started developing a certain "cat style" I decided to give it a try and draw it onto one of her plain shirts with fabric markers. She immediately fell in love with the new shirt!

Sewing project of the month (February): Costume National shirt

Source: http://the-tailoress.blogspot.com/

Costume National, another designer I keep checking out. But so far I only own a pair of shoes by them heavily reduced at my favourite outlet. I like the black top. Celine SS 2012 has a similar style:

Source: http://www.elle.com/Runway/Ready-to-Wear/Spring-2012-RTW/CELINE/

So let's see what I can achieve with my sewing machine...

DIY: Quick necklaces for toddler

I made these two quick necklaces for my daughter last week. For the first one you need a few wooden animals (preferably with hole) and a nice ribbon. Just thread the animals through the ribbon and fix them with knots. If they don't have holes try to fix them just with knots.
For  the second one you need a bit of yarn and simple crocheting skills. Crochet a rectangle (double layered) for the body. Close the sides and add loops for the legs. Each leg consists of about 20 loops and I have varied the length of each legs by a few loops in order to make them look more interesting. Add eyes and a mouth and thread a leather ribbon through the head.

DIY: A little bag for my daughter

After having made a bag for myself it's now my daughter's turn. So I sew a little bag for her too. I used the same pink leather. Added a little squirrel on the front and a nice snap. And here comes the cute little bag. Now she can take all the important stuff with her.

A playmat for our living room

While looking for Christmas inspiration last year I came across a very beautiful blanket with a wooden structure pattern. I was hooked at first sight. So now I finally found the time to make one for our living room. I used wool fabric on one side and heavy cotton as backing. In between I put a thick layer of padding. But I wasn't prepared for the quilting. Oh my what an effort it was! Especially the middle part of the blanket was so difficult to put under my sewing machine. But at last it was ready and my daughter fell in love with it immediately. That's the best 'Thank you' one can get...

Sewing project of the month (January): Celine inspired tote

It's finally finished. My project for JANUARY. The Celine inspired tote. As always there are little things you could improve next time. E.g. I used relatively soft leather for the upper part and the handles. It would have been better to use thicker leather like the pink one. But after all it turned out quite well! I have used one of my handbags for the pattern. You can see the pieces in the photo. I also added pink lining and an inner zipper pocket.

And YES! I love my new bag!

Here is the original Celine tote again:

On reviewing the original I must say the handles are much nicer than mine. So next time I'll try that style. But my handles are long enough to be worn over the shoulder which I find quite important.