Japanese Sewing Week - an 'Alice in Wonderland' blouse

Giveaway, giveaway alert! Scroll to bottom if you're in a rush!

It's the first ever Japanese Sewing Week! 

My contribution to JSW, organised by Sara at Made by Sara combines two 'inspirations'; a Japanese pattern and Alice in Wonderland.

I know, that's a bit strange, the link will become clear.

The details

Pattern - Pintucked blouse, Happy Homemade Sew Chic Kids by Tuttle publishing

Fabric -  Vintage embroidered table cloth

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Firstly an apology. If you are also heading into the gloom of November, sharing beach pictures seems almost cruel. And now it's blatantly obvious just how long it takes me to get round to blogging!

But my new mantra is #slowblogging.
I'm trying to do things which minimise stress, and while I had a zillion ideas for Japanese Sewing Week, in the end time defeated me, and I'm showcasing this as-yet-unblogged beachy blouse instead.

Be assured though - there is more Japanese sewing in the pipeline!

It doesn't feel that long ago that Missy was playing on this beach, in this little blouse. I tried to take photos of her as she was playing, rather than get her to pose. 
And she was just so completely, perfectly happy on this day on a beach in Wales. 'No posing' is also part of my no stress #slowblogging approach at the moment.

 I hope you can spot the 'sewing details' though!

Japanese Sewing Week is hosted by the sweet Made by Sara, who seems to have a knack of coming up with great ideas. Back in the summer she also invited me to sew for her 150th Anniversary tour of Alice in Wonderland. 

And that really fired my imagination - I set about a little sewing mission, inspired by Alice in Wonderland's eccentric tea party, and made two dresses from vintage table cloths. And I wrote 'chapter one' of my Alice in Wonderland sewing...

I picked up a huge bundle from my local vintage market and among my haul was the sweetest hand embroidered table cloth. 

It was destined for my 'snip, snip' Alice in Wonderland scissors and I transformed it into the pintucked blouse from Happy Homemade Sew Chic Kids

I've made this blouse before, as part of my Paris SewSocial sewing, and loved the simplicity of this pattern, the elegant touch of those little pleats, and the bias trim neckline, elasticated only at the back. It's a simple, perfect beach cover up.

But making it out of this table cloth created a few headaches.

I wanted to keep the lovely hand-threaded edge of the table cloth, which saved me hemming.  That meant I had to make the side seams dead-straight, rather than flared, which has slightly changed the shape. And I had to really, really think about how to cut this. I wanted to make the most of every corner, every flower, and there would be no second chance.
Aren't those flowers beautiful? I hope whoever spent hours embroidering this doesn't mind that I cut this up!

And of course - I did stuff it up. I mistook a sleeve for the back, and cutting a long story short (almost literally) I ended up slightly weepy, and then had to piece the back together.

The side seams needed a slightly different construction, to keep that embroidered edge. They are almost flat-felled. Let's just say I improvised... You can also see the tucks (just) in this picture.

Now, I love Japanese sewing, the fabrics, the patterns, the simple aesthetic. I love the way many pieces are gender neutral, and there's no fussy, girliness.  Forgive me for many, many photos, but this little blouse was perfect for a day of sand, swimming and sunshine. I'm enjoying my memories of a little girl, and those special days of being five years old..

I've made quite a few Japanese pieces, mainly from Akiko Mano's Linen, Wool, Cotton Kids, and also Sew Chic Kids by Tuttle publishing.

Here's my little collage. There's a 'Japanese pattern' label over on my side bar to track these down on my blog.

There are some gorgeous posts to discover in this series, here's the full line-up.

Do take a minute to click around!

In a Manner of Sewing  |  Conversas de Hermanas  |  Pequenos e Verdes  |  Climbing the Willow

Bartracks and Singletrack  |  S is for Sewing  |  Sew Happy  |  Mamacosesola

Fairies, Bubbles & Co.  |  Sewing Like Mad  |  As it Seams  |  Sewing For Mini Me

La Folie Sewing Booth  |  Just Add Fabric  |  Blogless Anna  |  Sweeter Than Cupcakes  |  Needle and Ted

Miss Castelinhos  |  Made by Toya  |  Lil Luxe Collection  |  House of Estrela

Patty Made It  |  Paisley Roots  |  Rita Pirolita  |  Call Ajaire

So-cal Sewing Mom  |  Kiwi Crafty Chemist  |  Sew Shelly Sew  |  Made by Sara

And this series is also being sponsored by Tuttle publishing with an incredible giveaway with three prizes to be one, in the raffle copter below.

- One pack of 2 two Japanese Sewing books from Tuttle Publishing

- One pack of 2 two Japanese Sewing books from Tuttle Publishing

- A $40 fabric voucher from Urban Sew 

To enter, click through the rafflecopter below, open until November 25.

And we'd love to see your Japanese pattern creations. Sara, over at Made by SaraMade by Sara is hosting a link party as a showcase. All the details of JSW and the giveaway are over here.

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Paris Sew Social Giveaway!

Back in April, our gathering of 14 bloggers in Paris was  wonderful way to meet  dear online friends in real life.
And now we're sharing the sewing love with a Mega Giveaway across all 14 blogs!
It's your chance to share some of the Paris fun, thanks to our generous sponsors!
All of the Paris Sew Social bloggers are running a giveaway, starting today, offering a bonanza of free patterns.
Hop across all the Paris Sew Social blogs today to discover a bucket-load of goodies...
And now back to my Paris memories....

 
And, apart from a lots of wonderful fabric, I have two lasting souvenirs...  

Firstly, I've discovered the colour mustard.
Secondly I've discovered the joys of sewing with knits. 

We left  Paris with heaps of fabric, and lots of sewing patterns, thanks to the generosity of our sponsors.   I was full of ideas and plans - and sketched out this little outfit before I even started cutting - a rarity for me. 

My sewing is usually 'feet first'. 

But I had some gorgeous organic mustard  jersey, a gift from Nosh. 

Now mustard, or ANY yellow, is a new thing for me. I always think that  brunettes with olive toned skin can't wear yellow. 

But I spent three days in Paris with An of Straightgrain, and her love of gold must have rubbed off... And...What do you think? I love it! It looks like little Missy is wearing a ray of sunshine!

Now this little cardigan was a real 'first' for me. This is only the second time I've sewn knits - and it's my first ever blog post of a knit creation! And it's really not a perfect sew..Expert eyes, please don't look too closely - this is babysteps ok?

This is the Aster Cardigan by LBG Studio, and I have wanted this pattern for a long time, and it was Vanessa's of LBG's kind sponsorship that made me take the plunge and sew up knits.

The Nosh jersey and the Aster cardigan are a match made in heaven - in fact I've seen a few other mustard Aster cardigans around blogs recently. Mine has a teal blue contrast collar, cut from an old t-shirt. This is the Aster cardigan's clever trick - faux-piping. I love piping, but the idea of piping knits is terrifying - except Vanessa has devised this beautifully drawn pattern trick to create a 'piped' collar. And I think the teal blue really lifts the mustard gold.

For a novice knit-sewer, the Aster cardigan was straightforward.  It's a slim fit, this is size seven on my five-year-old. 

 I've paired it with a little blouse, made from this stunning double gauze, a sponsorship gift from Nutta. Missy adored this  fabric, and sketched out her own outfit vision

Missy  called it her Rainbow Blouse, and  wanted me to make a dress but I only had 50cm of this double gauze. 

But I just about managed to eek out a 'pin-tucked blouse' from Happy Homemade Sew Chic Kids, by Tuttle publishing, also a gift from our sponsor.

This was a fabric-cutting challenge!. I made the sleeves much shorter than the pattern, and one of the sleeves is actually pieced together with two pieces!

 I also love the subtle pleat detail on this blouse pattern.

It's the type of easy piece that Missy will wear a lot this summer - in fact I could only take one picture before she ran off - to play her favourite game, Hide and Seek,  (or hide and sneak as she calls it)...

 I was going to make a full outfit - I wanted to pair this with Compagnie M's Charles Pants. In fact they are cut out and ready to sew... but I've run out of spare hours...

And now, thanks to the generosity of LBG Studio , there's the chance to win the pattern of your choice from her lovely collection. There's the cute Aster cardigan - but also the Senna tote bag looks amazing!

Just Click on the raffle copter below to enter the LBG Studio giveaway (Thank you Vanessa). 

And look ! These are the stunning creations made by all the Paris Sew Social bloggers - and everyone has a different giveaway today. Click on the pix to discover the links, and some great prizes. Open until July 10

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Japanese blouse, in a Cookie Book print good enough to eat

A little blouse. In a lovely print. Made from a Japanese pattern. With a touch of piping

This makes me happy.

Am I the only one who spent hours, nay days, gazing at the Cotton and Steel collections online trying to make decisions?

In the end I bought three prints, all very different, and this is the first to be sewn up - and I think it's my favourite. It's Kimberley Kight's Cookie Book collection, Drops in cinnamon. Bought from Miss Matatabi, who currently has this fabric on sale!

I mean, who could resist those spots, those blue buttons and that piped Peter Pan collar? Oh and that crazy, stubborn girl with the darkest gaze...

Missy wanted rainbow buttons - she wants rainbow everything - but I stuck with blue...The pattern is the button-backed puffed sleeve blouse from Akiko Mano's book Linen, Cotton, Wool Kids. Oh how  I love this book! I want to sew everything...sadly though I fear Missy will have outgrown the sizes by the time I manage that. 

This is my third 'sew' from the book, following on from the waistcoat and skirt.

It's two years since I started this blog, and although I've been sewing all my life - since I was Missy's age - it's only in the last couple of years that I have been sewing regularly.And in that time I can feel that my skill has developed. WIth this blouse I made a real effort to try to sew it carefully, not to rush, and it's constructed with French seams everywhere. I left the 'Cotton and Steel' selvedge in place, just behind the placket. Partly to eek out the fabric, and because I liked the look.

 I could do with some tips on making sure the collar sits nice and flat. It does have a slight tendency to pop up!

She wore it for a little bike ride on a beautiful spring day by the canals where we live. Spring flowers, boats, a bit of freedom.

I wouldn't have styled this blouse with the floral leggings, but hey, I won with the blue buttons, so I have to give way somewhere to my strong willed Missy.

Now. What's next in my Akiko Mano, Linen Cotton Kids journey? Hm... more decisions...