trouser mad

I've gone a bit trouser made over the past few months. Grace has been growing fast and suddenly it was winter and she had no warm trousers that were long enough. I wanted a nice simple two piece trouser pattern and I know Rae makes some nice patterns so I bought her parsley pants pattern.

Now she does say it is a slim fitting pattern but Grace is pretty much in big girl pants now so I thought I be ok. The first pair I made are these lovely moleskin ones with pin tucks. Unfortunately the pin tucks just make them too narrow to get over her chubby thighs, even without nappies. They do fit but she complains they are tight.

I've had acres of the moleskin for ages and I am on a mission to use up some of my stash. It doesn't wash very well, as you can see but it is warm.

So the second pair had to be out of the moleskin too as it is so cozy. I couldn't bring my self to make a repeat pair, even though I love the pin tucks, so I went for different pockets. I added an extra inch to the width and they are a much better fit. It also made me happy that the pockets used up some small scraps.

The third pair are super cozy and made of fleece. In my mind I have huge amounts of fleece, but when I came to make these I realised that I don't have any big pieces any more. Which is why they have one orange leg at the back and orange cuffs. I might not have chosen to make them that way but I think they have turned out pretty funky, and did I mention they are so cozy!

The fourth pair are from Rae's big butt baby pants, another great pattern and super easy to make. I caved in and bought this fabric before Christmas, how could I refuse! These trousers are a Christmas present for my great nephew (penny if you are reading this close your eyes). He doesn't have them yet and he growing hugely, I hope they still fit when he gets them!

dolls

Grace loves her dolly so much and it was such fun to make, that I have made two more, one for Rose and one for Amelie Mei. Grace has called hers Thin Dolly, looking forward to hearing what the girls call theirs.

hat

I love this hat pattern by Rae, I just whipped up another for Grace and I'll do one for Rose too, matching hats for Christmas! It is such an easy pattern and so cozy. I am a bit short on fleece but I do have some of the plush fabric from Grace's dressing gown. I love the way the plush sticks out under the fleece, the only problem is that it sheds fluff everywhere.

Rae's pattern is easy but I used Zaaberriy's tip to get rid of the seam at the front. Hopefully I'll get photos of the girls wearing them at Christmas.

dolly

I have had this lovely doll pattern for ages, long before I had a little girl. Grace loves dolls now so it seamed like the perfect time to make it. It was quite easy to make and lots of fun. I particularly like how her elbows and knees bend.

I made a few tweaks to make it more toddler proof like sewing the two flower hair pieces together before stitching them on.

And I embroidered the face rather than paint it. Which to be honest was a bit nerve wracking but I think has turned out ok. Also Grace loves to put on and take off clothes so I made her a proper skirt rather sew it on to her body.

Grace loves her, although so far she is just called dollllliiiiy!

lavender bomb

I haven't made one of these in years, it's a nice way to make a pretty lavender bag and use up some ribbon.

You need an odd number of fresh, long lavender stems, I used nine. Pick them on a sunny day so the flowers dry. Tie them together to make bunch, shuffle them about so you get a longish bunch.

Fold the stalks back on them selves to make a cage over the flowers and even out the 'bars'.

Hold the stems quite firmly and start weaving the ribbon in and out of the stems. Do this by releasing one stem at a time, try not to bend the stems. Pull the ribbon quite tight, and keep the rows close together, you want to keep all the flowers in as they dry.

Keep going until you have covered all the flowers then tie off the ribbon.

Use another piece of ribbon for a bow and add a hanging loop if you want.

I used 8mm ribbon. If you use more stems and make a bigger bunch you might want to use a wider ribbon.

new trousers

I couldn't resist these picks of Grace enjoying her new trousers. Thanks to Mark for taking them, she is a hard one to take photos of, never keeps still for very long.

more tousers

To make up for buying yet more material I made Grace a pair of trousers out of a sheet, a duvet cover and some curtains. They were supposed to be a quick job but I got carried away with the pockets.

The pockets are lined and top stitched in to place. To give them a piped look I rolled the lining to the outside edge and pressed it so it showed.