Dressing for summer

The spell of warm weather we've had lately took us by surprise a bit and I realised Freya's wardrobe was made up mostly of long sleeved tops and cardigans. She was starting to look a bit red in the face, so time to whip out the sewing machine for a quick summer wardrobe.

I found some amazing lobster fabric (in Darn it and Stitch) but thought a whole crustacean be-decked outfit might look a bit like theme dressing. Instead we went for a top in light brown and white stripes with lobster accents. The pattern we chose (Mccalls M4756) has a slightly more severe shape than I'd anticipated - next time I'll adjust the neckline to make it more scooped. So, I think the result is ummm, interesting, but hopefully in a good way - you're definitely not going to find this baby on the high street.  An added bonus is hearing Freya referring to her LOB-ster top  - with fruity Rowan Atkinson style pronounciation!

top and leggings: made by mummy, banana: model's own

the perfect outfit for a quick getaway

One of the quickest and easiest things in the "oh help we've run out of clothes" section of my head, is the elasticated waist skirt. I've been thinking about writing a tutorial - it's pretty self explanatory but in an emergency it's always good to have the "working it out for yourself" bit taken out of the equation! I'll let you know when I finally get round to it! There are a few different variations, but this time, I went for two vintage fabrics and ricrac combo. The bottom section fabric was a bit stiffer than the top section which means it doesn't gather up quite as much and creates this kind of sticky-out/bell shape. Totally unintentional, but I like it!

 

Another go-to toddler style is the classic elasticated sleeve and neckline peasant dress.  Over the last couple of weeks I've whipped up 2 dresses and 2 tops.  My model is starting to get a bit tetchy about having her photo taken, so I have only managed to get a shot of one version. For this one I used the same fabric for body and sleeves but added a bow - for the other top and the dresses I've been using contrasting fabric for the sleeves.

 

Freya perfects the "London look"

Finally, the black and white leggings, and rose leggings in the top pictures are another McCalls pattern (M6388). Amazingly quick and easy - I'd definitely recommend making your own leggings if you, like me, get annoyed that they always come in packs of two where one is funky and the other one is pink. By my calculations I will be able to fill an entire chest of drawers with pink leggings by the time Freya is 5.