Applique baby bodysuit (onesie) & free patterns

My cousin and his wife had their first child in May, a beautiful little girl.  

Every sewer knows each baby should receive a gift, one made with love and thought in each stitch.  For Freya's gift I embellished some shop bought bodysuits (onesies) as each newborn needs some cute bodysuits to wear with a skirt or trousers and a little cardigan.  

Both the apple and bird are attached using raw edge applique to allow the edges to fray slightly when washed, and the apple stem, bird's beak, feet and eyes are sewn with co-ordinating thread.  The bow is 3D, it was fashioned into shape and lightly sewn onto the suit.  

Welcome to the world Freya.

----------     Bloganniversary     ----------

This month is my one year blog anniversary and to celebrate I am sharing the apple and bird patterns, here they are: 

Click on the image to open a larger version.

I used the pattern on a bodysuit for a baby aged 3-6 months, and the pattern can easily be increased.  A new mum gets so many clothes for a newborn I like to give something the little one can grow into.


Gx

Cup cosies and coats

I'm finally back in the sewing groove. I had some time off sewing when I was really busy at work and decided after sharing so many non-crafty posts the next one had to show something I had made. But then I'd had such a long break from blogging that I thought I had to show you something really good, because taking in tops and repairing clothes is just not interesting enough, right?


Two of my friends (Michelle and Nikki) have started sewing (yay) and they got my itching to make something.  But again, I wanted to share something great, and have fantastic photos... Unfortunately in the rainy north west the light is not great in the winter, or even good.  


So, I thought just get on with it and finally stopped waiting for daylight, so without further ado... du du dur... 


Any idea what this is?

It's the lining from my winter coat.  


It's a good quality coat but the the lining fell apart.  In my pre-sewing days I went to a few repair shops and they said it would cost about £70 to have it relined!  So the coat patiently in my wardrobe for a few years until I would attempt to do it.  With some encouragement and the fact it's freezing cold (always a good motivator, and I gave my only other winter coat to a charity shop), I used what was left of the lining and made a new lining using some colourful fabric from Ikea.  Here's it finished:

I have also been making brew cosies:

I made them for some friends at work and when I told them, the conversation went something like this:

Me: I'm making a little present for you.

Them: Awww, really, what are you making?

Me: (silence... and turning bright red with embarrassment).

Them: OMG, you're going red, what are you making?

Me: Brew cosies....

Them: Brew cosies... (howls of laughter) what are they?

Me: It's like a tea pot cosy but for your mug, the little quilt will keep your cup of tea warm.

Them: Can't we just drink our tea quicker???

Me: !  

They really do like them.  I showed them to my quilt group and they loved them too, again there was a lot of laughing. 

- - - - - 101 in 1001 - - - - -

My time away has meant I have made some good progress with my 101 list:

13. All of the little people in my life are to have something handmade By Gillian.
25. Go to a comedy show.
26. Visit the ballet.
49. Do 5 things in the Britain Lonely Planet Guide. (5/5)

37. Go away for a weekend with the boy. (2/2)
63. 3 of the above books must be classics. (3/3)
66. Write a list of 25 things I like about myself.

79. Link my 101 list to my present list.
89. Decorate the office.
90. New carpets. (3/3)
111. Choose caterer.

That's my dress!

So I'm sat on the sofa reading a post about the principles of fabric selection by oliver + s, and imagine my surprise when I scrolled down to see a photo of the dress I made. Lets just say I have a big smile on my face. In case you missed the photo of the dress from my last post, here it is again:

I especially liked how the designer used the words 'elegant and sophisticated' - I am honoured.

This is the first and only item of clothing I have finished (I have a Gillian sized dress I started to make for St Georges day but it's still not finished). In January I wanted to join an evening class to learn holiday level French, to you and me, that's asking for a bread without the locals muttering under their breath. But all of the French classes started in September and lasted a year so I could not join. I had already decided I wanted to make an item of clothing and so joined a dressmaking class to learn the basics, the group met two hours a week for ten weeks - perfect. I love the oliver + s patterns as the designs allow children to look like children and had looked through the flickr pool quite a few times as it's a great source of fabric inspiration. So as soon as I joined the class I ordered the tea party pattern.

My niece loved her party dress and I would make it again.

Gx