Starry Pants

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Climbing the old apple tree

I finished the pants above for Frida yesterday – apparently they work well for climbing trees!

I have had the star fabric for a while – I think I got it at Stof & Stil. The pattern is from Ottobre 4/2012, #19 called “Forest Path”. I chose this pattern because I wanted a bit more of a jeans look than with the average pattern for children’s pants, but I still wanted an elastic waist, which works well with Frida.

Starry pants - front     Starry pants - back

As always with Ottobre, I followed Frida’s measurements instead of her usual size, so I made a 104 even though she is usually a 110. The pants came together easily, and I really like the fit. However, if you do want to make them with elastics for the bottom hems, you should probably cut the legs a bit longer than the pattern says. I didn’t want elastics casings, and when I hemmed the pants, the length was just right – meaning, if I had made the casings, they would have been a bit short.

Starry pants

I will probably make another version of these pants – the fit is great for Frida, and in my opinion they are darn cute with the low back poskets and all the contrast topstitching.

I actually made Frida a summer dress today as well, but by the time I finished it, it was too dark for pictures, so I’ll show you soon.

Speaking of Frida, Thursday we went to the speech therapist for a follow-up on surgery, and it went so SO well! At home we haven’t noticed that much change in her speech, but when the speech therapist played us a recording from our last visit there before her surgery in January, it was quite clear that there is a remarkable difference, especially when it comes to nasalness. The speech therapist said that Frida made her day – that’s how positive the results of the surgery were. She even said we can expect improvement up to one full year after surgery. Next, check-up is in a year, and it is very unlikely that Frida will need another operation. So hopefully, this is it.

Which is great, because since the beginning of April, Frida has been going to after-school care full-time, which in Denmark is a much used way of letting children adjust to school before actually starting school in August. The next big step for Frida (school) is already happening, the surgery is over with and the results are better than we could have expected. Things are looking good for this little lady.

A Little Sewing

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Against the Sky

Yesterday we had a very nice afternoon after we all got home. The girls spent a while jumping and playing on the trampoline, and it was a joy to watch how Ronja took good care of little sister – doesn’t always go that way, but they were just great together.

Action on the Trampoline

Mads went to pick up another bargain for the kitchen – a brand new induction cooktop that someone didn’t find use for anyway. At a great price of course!

I finished an overall for a tiny baby that has just arrived in the family – we’re going to visit on Sunday, so I wanted to make something. The little girl was born 3 weeks early, so she is rather small, and I chose to make the #3 from Ottobre 03/2007 in a size 50. It is SO small – I really hope it will be the right size, because I wanted to make something that they can dress her in right away. I’m pretty confident that they’re not following my blog, so I dare post the pictures even if we’re not giving the gift until Sunday. Actually I think that half the pleasure of making a present like this for someone, is that you spend the entire time thinking of that someone.

Tiny Overalls

I used twill instead of a knit, and I didn’t add cuffs to the legs, because I like the look of adding elastics better for these. If you think you’ve seen something similar from my sewing machine before, you aren’t entirely wrong – see here. It was one of our favourite garments at the time, and I just love the look and quality of the twill. Now my little niece Marlinde is the very pretty keeper.

Earlier in the week, I made a pair of velour pants for Frida – they came about in a bit of a dispair because I hadn’t sewn for so long! (Yes, I actually had my sewing machine out twice this week, can you believe it?)

Long Time No Sewing Pants

The pattern is Onion 10009, and I made them a size 86, which turned out to be a bit too big for Frida yet. I even narrowed them a lot around the bottom, because they were sooo wide! This velour is from Stof og Stil, and it is wonderfully soft. I may just make myself a pair of pants like this. :)

Long Time No Sewing Pants

Right now we’re on our way to Legoland, and then we’re headed up to visit my mother. Have a wonderful weekend everybody!

Feel Good Pants

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This last couple of evenings, I have been making a pair of pants for me – the second evening accompanied by my mother who has been visiting for three days – it’s a good thing to have a creative companion.

At first I wanted to make a pair of pants from Onion pattern 4004, but it was sold out at my sewing shop, so I decided to go with 4019 instead – and I’m so happy I did! I found both fabrics at the Danish fabric store Stof & Stil.

Loose Pants - turned

I made a size 40 based on the measurement chart in the pattern, and I pretty much followed instructions, except for a few details.

The pattern calls for a regular zipper, but I decided that an invisible zipper would be better. The zipper is placed in the back of the pants, so I think it would be too dominant otherwise – it proved to be a good decision in my opinion – best result I’ve had with an invisible zipper.

Loose Pants - zipper

I made model A from the pattern, but instead of the hem from the pattern, I made a casing for an elastic at the bottom of the legs, since that was the style I was going for.

Loose Pants - casing with elastic

The ties are really a bit long, and the instructions say that you should adjust the length to fit you, but while I was making them, I wasn’t sure how I would want to tie them (knot or bow), so I kept the length from the pattern. Next time I would probably shorten them quite a bit.

Loose Pants - tie

I really like this pattern, and I would recommend it to anyone. The pants fit so nicely, not too loose or too tight, and the length is perfect. I’m just really happy with the result – I’m definitely going to be wearing these a lot.

*** UPDATE 2012-10-11 ***

Chances are, if you came here from Pinterest, you are interested in the pattern for these pants. However, it has been discontinued, and I just wanted to let you know, that the Onion patterns 4004 and 4022 are rather similar in style. You can find them at Marias shop with English instructions included. Thanks for visiting!  :)

 

Gingham Flower Pants

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For some reason the pants that Ronja wore during summertime when she was Frida’s age, are too big for Frida still. So I have a good excuse for making summer pants for Frida, which I don’t mind at all, and I made her these yesterday.

Flower pants

The pattern is the same one from Ottobre, that I used for the chicken pants – #17 from 2/2003. The chicken pants have been such a success – she’s wearing them all the time, so I thought I’d try to follow up on that. I didn’t make the back pockets, but instead I used gingham for the bottom of the legs and the flower appliqués. The main fabric is linen.

Flower pants

I drew the flowers myself, and I think they turned out quite sweet. If you’ve been reading here for a while, you’ll know by now, that I am very fond of linen. I think it works perfectly for these pants as well – they should be nice and light for warm summer days like the ones we have now. It is very warm today, and the day will be spent relaxing in the garden mostly.

Flower pants

Chicken Pants with Heart Pockets

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After a few weeks without sewing, I made Frida these:

Chicken pants

I altered them slightly from the pattern which is from Ottobre 2/2003. The smallest size was an 86, and normally I would make Frida an 8, so I made them slightly narrower in the legs, and the fit is really good. I thought about having square pockets instead of heart pockets, but I decided it would look cute – and I think it does.

Chicken pants - back pockets

I tried the pants on Frida before I closed the casing for the elastic, and finished the hemming – and they look so cute on her. I’ll get a modeled shot soon, so you can see for yourself.

Chicken pants - front

Frida is already quite enthusiastic about the chickens…

Chicken pants - detail

Oh, and then I just think this goes perfectly with the colour of the pants – we have more peonies in bloom now, and I just love them!

Peony

Doesn’t Her Mother Know Summer is Approaching?

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Ehm – well Frida needed new pants. I went to look in my stash, and found some corduroy, that seemed sturdy enough to handle playground use, and temperatures that don’t quite say summer yet. I also took out some Japanese linen-cotton for pockets and cuff.

Pants for Frida

Both fabrics have been used before – I made a romper and a bib for Frida using the Red Riding Hood fabric, and Ronja had a pair of pants made from the corduroy – that was when I learned it’s a bad idea to combine a really light fabric with a dark one if the garment is ever going to need washing… :) I also made this purse from the cord.

So anyway – I like the result. Except… they’re screaming WINTER! I should have made these in November – I kind of saw it coming while cutting the fabric, but I just didn’t have a lighter tone of corduroy in my stash. I’m so going to take the season into consideration for the next pair I’m making – I’ll probably have to go fabric-shopping. Too bad! :D

I used a basic pant pattern from a Danish sewing book by Ulla Welinder, and added a bit of length because I wanted the pants to have cuffs. Cuffs and pockets were my own additions.

Pants for Frida

I used the technique in which you serge the elastic to the edge of the waist, and it seems to me that it’s stretching the elastic a bit more than I expect it to. I just always seem to make them too loose initially. I started cutting 45 cm of elastic, and they were terribly loose, so I unpicked the waist, and cut out 4-5 cm. They fit her, but they could be tighter still, so next time, I’ll be cutting something like 38 cm elastic including seam allowance.

Oh well – they look cute on her, and next time I’m making pants that appear to be made for the season they will be used for.