A Very Smart Gentleman (Or Two)

 As promised a while ago!  Photos of my amazing husband in his waistcoat and cravat that I made him.  Both are very basic patterns, as I pretty much ran out of time...  One of these days I swear I'm going to find the right stress/productivity level.  But sadly it wasn't this time.

 The waistcoat is made from scraps of my latest steam punk over skirt and features my some of my favourite buttons.  I'd tell you where I get them from, but I know they aren't getting anymore and I want to buy them all!

The cravat is made from my jacket scraps and finding a scrap long enough was a little tricky, but I just about managed it.  Funnily enough though, I got asked to make a cravat for a future larp character just a few weeks later!

So that was a very quick and easy sew.  This cravat was made to go with an existing jacket.  I mended the jacket so I think he's all set and when the new campaign starts I'll make sure to get pictures!

I spent last week making a skirt only to get it as far as trying on and decide I look dreadful in it.  So it's been hung in the wardrobe for now whilst I try to work out what to do about it and I have searched the pattern box, found an old favourite and gotten to work on a new skirt!

I'm off to see my in laws for the rest of this week, so I may well inflict a proud auntie post on you all, as my amazing niece (who I taught to crochet!) is apparently busy crafting away and dying to show me her latest progress!

Childrens Kit

I don't get to make stuff for small people very often.  Whilst our little person is a great admirer of my work, dressing up isn't really her thing.

Then a while ago some friends contacted me and said it was their nieces 2nd birthday coming up and could I make a set of dressing up stuff for her?  I don't think it was 20 minutes after the first email before I was excitedly planning a huge range of children's dressing up clothes!

Anyhow, this is what we settled on!

First up is this medieval style 'princess dress'.  it's made of orange chinese print brocade and yellow satin and have been trimmed with cream lace and pale golden brown satin ribbon.  I made the pattern myself and it has a velcro fastening and ties at the back.

It should be noted at this point that I don't really like velcro, but as a easy fastener for a small child learning independent dressing or a quick do up/undo for an adult helping a small child who wants to go through many costume changes it's worth it's weight in gold, so it's a must for this kind of thing!

Item two is an 'Upsy Daisy' dress.  I haven't any pictures of the back of this one, but it also has velcro fastenings and a sash tie.  The fabrics are a complete mix!  There's fleece, poly cotton, pique and satin all jumbled together as the colours were more important for the look of the thing.  I don't think its a bad attempt at Upsy Daisy so I'm pretty pleased.  Again I drafted the pattern myself.

Dressing up stuff can be very annoying when it's left lying all over the house (just ask my husband for his opinions of larp kit!) so a handy bag to put it in was a must.  The small person in question loves ladybirds so this spotty poly cotton was just the thing!  It has a drawstring top and the writing is appliqued on.

 A pirate hat was requested, and though it initially caused me some head scratching I loved the end result!  black felt and white fleece, with black embroidery thread for the skull details.

And last of all - what dressing up set would be complete without a swirly cape?  I'm hopeful that this above all else will last for years, as the neck is generously sized, meaning what is now an almost full length cloak will gradually become a shoulder cape as the little person grows up.

It's made of purple corduroy and is unlined.  Again, the pattern is my own.

 So, there you go.  A quick peek into the world of dressing up and a look back at what has to have been one of my favourite projects this year!

Next time I'll show you a waistcoat and some cravats.  See you then!

Yet Another New Coat!

I'm coming to the conclusion that I'm just rubbish at blogging in summer.  Not sure why, but I'm not going to worry anymore.  Expect posts as and when they appear!

Also - I would like to say a huge thank you to the anonymous commenter who said such kind things.  You really did make my day and put a smile on my face.  Do let me know if you have a go at the padding, won't you?

And now - back to business.  I made a new coat for Esme, which rocked out at the 36hr a few weeks ago.  I'm told the full kit looked pretty impressive (I may have been wearing LED lights as well, so cool!), but I don't have any photos.  When the videos appear I promise I'll try to link to them!

 As you can see from the rather pretty background we took these photos on a beach.  Rumours that later in the evening I fell asleep on the beach and then said daft things as my friends tried to wake me are...  Entirely true.  Oops?

 The coat is Butterick pattern 5425.  The outside is blue corduroy and the lining white fleece (never again.  Never, ever, ever!). 

I'm not entirely happy with the fit, it's a little too tight across the shoulders and one day I'll work out how to fix that.

The pattern was fairly easy to understand job, but for some reason my heart wasn't in it and it took forever and I thoroughly disliked sewing it.

The buttons are one of my favourite details and I love the little back belt!




As far as I can remember I have two birthday present commissions to show you all and my beloved husbands waistcoat and cravat. So with any luck I'll be back in the not too distant future!