Pirate Dress: Plus, that myfabrics.co.uk discount code again!

All together now, 'A band of naughty pirates stole some jewels from me...' etc. As predictably obsessed with princesses, ballerinas and fairies as Dolores currently is, she is also equally into pirates (and the CBeebies programme 'Swashbuckle' by association). So when I found this pirate printed jersey on the myfabrics.co.uk site that actually featured a girl pirate in the design (can you believe?!) I knew it had to be in my selection.

Pattern: 

As with my first make using myfabrics.co.uk knit, my first port of call was my small but trusty stash of Ottobre Design magazines. They always have lots of knit options in each issue so they're great for finding something a bit different to a basic T-shirt or leggings pattern.    

For this project, I thought it'd be fun to interpret a potentially stereotypically 'masculine' fabric into a dress. This is the Circus Horse dress pattern from the Autumn 4/2013 issue of Ottobre. It looks super comfy, with long raglan sleeves, gently gathered cuffs, a drop waist and gathered skirt. For me, it also had the benefit of being a pattern that I'd already traced out the pieces for as I've already made a garment from it just over a year ago. It's hilarious to see those pics where I made a tiny not-yet-two-year-old model a dress that still looks a bit big on her a year later! Despite that Paris fabric version still being big (I combined the size 92 width with size 98 length), Dolores loves it and requests to wear it all the time, so I hoped I was on to another winner with a pirate version. 

Fabric:

This is my second choice of free fabric kindly offered to me by myfabrics.co.uk in exchange for writing an honest review about it. It is a medium weight single jersey knit with the same soft handle of the lightning flash fabric. I received 80cm from which I could comfortably cut this dress, plus there's enough left for either some cute accents on another garment or a couple of baby dribble bibs or something.

I decided to break up the onslaught of pirates with some solid red jersey sleeves (using leftovers from my maternity leggings), plus I was feeling lazy so decided to bind the neckline and wrist edges with some fold over elastic from my stash rather than making and applying knit bindings. This meant that I could skip the step that suggested gathering the bottom edge of the sleeves with clear elastic before stitching on the wrist bindings: with the FOE I could gather and bind in one single step. 

Thoughts and discount code:

A real success! BTW, my current definition of 'success' in this context is a garment that Dolores will just agree to put on, without weeks of having to cunningly 'offer it up' in a limited selection of garment options every morning until she finally bites. It's very tempting to sew A LOT of these dresses, as she can move and play in them without restriction whilst simultaneously not needing to scream 'I WANT TO WEAR A DRESS, MUMMY!' when she looks down and finds out I've duped her into jeans and a T-shirt. I'd like to make a crazy patchwork one that uses a mix of print and solid knits for all the different pieces of the garment.

As for the knit, at £14.40 it's not the cheapest fabric out there on the internet, but I can genuinely say that it IS excellent quality that seems to be very comfortable to wear and washes brilliantly. If you've got small people to sew for, this would be ideal as a small length can go a long way, especially if you can combine it with other solid pieces from your stash. 

If you are tempted to buy some of this knit, or anything else from their website, don't forget that you can the code SoZo16 during the checkout process to receive £10 off your myfabrics.co.uk order (minimum order £60). The fine print is that the code can only be once per order, and once per customer, and not in combination with other vouchers. It is valid until 30/09/2016, but I'll be reminding you of this voucher code once more time before the end date.

Lightning Flash Leggings: Plus, myfabrics.co.uk Discount Code

This is the first of three posts that I'll publish over the next few weeks that feature awesome printed knit fabric from myfabrics.co.uk. The site is the UK and Ireland's wing of the wider chain of 12 European online fabric shops. I first had the opportunity to sew with their fabric after an IRL-friend of mine bought a load from their site with the intention of making stuff for her baby daughter, but never getting round to it and donating it all to me! I made her daughter some leggings and bibs to say thanks, and happily enjoyed the rest for myself. 

Earlier this year myfabrics.co.uk got in touch to offer me some fabric to blog about, plus a discount code for my readers. I spent a ridiculously long time trying to choose, but with the help from Dolores I eventually picked three lengths of printed knit that I've been having fun turning into wearable and comfortable garments for her. Here's the first...

Pattern:

Knit trousers make so much sense for toddler-wear. I hate the idea of kids' play being restricted in any way by the clothing their parents provide them. But making basic leggings (of which I feel I've made about 300 pairs now) gets a bit boring so I was looking for an interesting variation on the leggings theme that would still provide a good canvas for this fun lightning flash printed jersey. With this self-set brief, I hunted through my stash of Ottobre Design magazines. 

The Spring 1/2013 issue previously seemed a bit of a dud to me: there was nothing in there that appealed at first glance, and since I got a year's subscription in 2013 I haven't used any of the patterns in this one. 

Somehow, I must have been overlooking the Chillax unisex jersey pants pattern, which seem to fit the bill pretty damn well. The pattern look super comfy to me, with a slightly baggier, lower crotch style than regular leggings. A fairly simple pocket detail which requires only one extra pattern piece also elevates this pattern from basic leggings without too much extra faff. I used the size 92 width and size 98 length to get the maximum possible wear from them, and cut the waist elastic a centimetre or two looser than Dolores's current waist measurement would indicate for the same reason. 

Fabric:

All three knit fabrics I chose were printed single jersey which are comprised 95% cotton and 5% elastane. They are a medium weight which feels to me to be pretty perfect for leggings, knit dresses, T-shirts or undies. I pre-washed them all and I was relieved to discover that none had faded. I don't know if all myfabrics.co.uk knits are from the same source, but I found that the other knits I got from my friend laundered well and stood up admirably to the abuse and frequent laundering that baby and toddler wear is prone to. 

So whilst I was trying to make the selection, I was really drawn to this lightning flash print. The other two I chose are very busy prints, so I liked the relative simplicity of this design as a contrast. I gave Dolores the choice of colour way and amazingly (and thankfully), she chose the purple over the pink option! I also love the teal colour way. 

It feels quite stable and was lovely to sew with. I used my overlocker for the seams and my regular sewing machine for the pocket binding, stitching the elastic into the waistband and for hemming. I also found a fancy stitch on my regular sewing machine that vaguely replicates the look of a coverstitch machine for topstitching the pocket piece down (see below). 

The fabric did seem like it would be liable to roll a lot if cut into thin strips, plus I thought a contrast binding at the pocket mouth would look better anyway so I went hunting through my stash for something suitable. In the end, I sacrificed a ratty old sleeping vest that was made of ribbed knit and I think it looks pretty awesome. 

Thoughts and discount code:

Ah I love these leggings! However, due to her current obsession with wearing dresses, they might end up as pyjama bottoms. But they'll be the nicest pyjama bottoms in town! I still have a sizeable piece of the original 80cm that I started with, so if they do end up as night wear, I reckon I can scrape a matching sleeping t-shirt out of the remainder. If she does adopt them as day wear, then the leftovers will become a pair of baby trousers for her little brother. I'm also hoping that one day he'll be able to wear these too, as I think the style and colours are definitely gender neutral.

On to the important bit: something for you!   

Use the following code: SoZo16 to receive £10 off your myfabrics.co.uk order (minimum order £60). The fine print is that the code can only be once per order, and once per customer, and not in combination with other vouchers. It is valid until 30/09/2016, but I'll be reminding you of this voucher code twice again before the end date (unless this baby decides to come out earlier than expected). 

Comfort and Joy

Not that anyone's keeping tabs, but I've got one final posts-worth of makes from my Spring/preggers sewing plans to share with you. It's all about the comfy bottoms! Warning: not particularly glamourous images contained below. And look away now if big ol' preggers bellies freak you out! 

In the end, I decided not to try a maternity jeans refashion, NOR did I refashion the thrifted leopard leggings, NOR did I make a maternity knit skirt. Instead I borrowed a stack of mass-produced maternity jeans and trousers from several friends, decided to keep the leopard leggings (my only non-maternity pair of leggings) as the are, and accept that I'm just not particularly a skirt person, especially during a time when sitting crossed-legged is increasingly difficult!

So I made some leggings, some navy blue (pictured at the very top of this post), some red (pictured above and below, although I doubt you've missed them!). In the aforementioned Spring sewing plans post I was talking about a couple of pairs of traced/self-drafted leggings/treggings things that I made during my first pregnancy that I then wore to death during and after. As I admitted in that post, I was never entirely happy with the fit of those two original pairs, so I planned to buy another sewing pattern and adapt it in the hope that I would land on the perfect fit. Then I realised what a lame-arse I was being. Those two pairs were so damn close to what I was hoping for, why bottle out and assume someone else's pattern drafting would be closer to the mark?  

So I unearthed the pattern pieces and set to work. The original pattern was formed from separate front and back leg pieces, and I decided to rework them into a single-leg pattern piece with no outside leg seam. I then made further tweaks that I hoped would improve the fit, and made a version up in some navy blue four-way stretch double knit that I bought in Ditto fabrics in Brighton. The result was excellent (in fact I'm wearing them now) but still not perfect. I prefer maternity bottoms that sit underneath my bump, and the navy blue pair still felt maybe 2cm too high round there. Plus, there seemed to be a tiny-but-unattractive excess of fabric at the front crotch area if I stood with my legs together. I made further tweaks, plus decided to make a 3/4 leg version of the pattern to wear to preggers yoga class, and stitched it up in some lovely red cotton/spandex blend jersey kindly sent to me for the purpose by Girl Charlee. BINGO!!!! Just what I was after: the perfect (for me) fitting maternity leggings. Most shop-bought maternity leggings that I've seen either cover the bump entirely, or come up pretty high onto it. Mine sit just wear I want them, but are high enough around the bum and hips that they feel totally secure and there is absolutely no risk of them working their way south! I'm so happy with it that I may develop and release this pattern in PDF form one day....

My final pair of comfies should have been one of the easiest and quickest makes ever. Except they weren't. No fault at all of the pattern itself, mind. For these I used the wide legged trouser pattern from Wendy Ward's 'Beginner's Guide to Dressmaking' book (pictured below). I teach at her workshop in Brighton where she has all her patterns on card for students to trace out and make during a class. I told Wendy of my intentions to make the trousers for maternity-and-beyond use and was moaning that I couldn't find any suitably drapey fabric, and she very generously offered me some soft and slinky grey knit that was lurking in her stash. So the next time I was at the studio, I traced and cut out the trousers, then proceeded to put all of it, scraps and cut pieces directly into the scraps bin whilst tidying up! I didn't realise what I had done until I was sitting on the train heading home. I sent a panic text message to Wendy and she later rescued the pieces for me! I felt more than a bit stupid.

(image source: MIY Collection/Wendy Ward)

The next stupid thing I did was choose some inappropriate fabric for the waistband. The waistband piece requires thicker, more sturdy knit than the legs (the latter can also be made in drapey woven fabric). I used some of the leftovers from my MIY Collection Brightside shrug, which although blending nicely colour-wise, didn't have anywhere near enough stretchiness to perform well as a waistband. I was bemoaning my mistake to Debbie, one of the regular students at Wendy's MIY Workshop, because she is a big fan of this pattern and has made it for herself and virtually every female she has ever met. Bless her, the next class she brought in the leftover waistband fabric from a pair she'd recently made for her hairdresser, so I cut out a new waistband and replaced the old one! Once again because of my preference for firmly-under-the-bump waistbands, I cut the waistband piece approximately 3/4 the depth of the original pattern piece so there wouldn't be so much fabric round my waist (the waistband is designed to fold in half). I'm not showing these trousers off particularly well in these images (plus they have been washed and folded up without being ironed!), but you'll have to trust me that they feel luxuriously slinky. Although a massive improvement on the first attempt, waistband has ended up still feeling a bit tight for a third-trimester belly, but I know that I'll wear the living hell out of these when this pregnancy is over. 

Massive thanks to Wendy, Debbie and Girl Charlee for helping me expand my comfy-trouser selection!!!!

What about you? What is the most comfortable (if not glamourous-looking) garment you've ever made?

Cordelia Maternity Camisole Pattern: On Sale Now!!!!

It's here! My latest PDF sewing pattern which has been designed to help women who are in one of the trickiest points in their lives to dress for: the third trimester of pregnancy! The Cordelia maternity camisole is a potentially invaluable addition to a maternity wardrobe. Suitable for wear in hot weather, as a layer in cooler weather, to sleep in or to wear to pregnancy yoga, this simple strappy top accommodates your bump with side gathers but feels super secure with a snug hem band. AND the pattern includes an optional bust support panel!

As a pregnant lady currently in the third trimester, I know first-hand how useful these camisoles are! During the heat wave the UK is having at the moment, a Cordelia camisole is pretty much the only thing I can stand to wear. In fact, I'm wearing one as I type this.

This sewing pattern comes in a digital format. When you buy the Cordelia maternity camisole pattern, you will receive both print-at-home and copy shop versions of the pattern, the print-at-home version consisting of just 14 pages, as well as detailed instructions on all aspects of how to use this pattern and make the garment.

The Cordelia maternity camisole pattern is suitable for almost all levels of sewing experience. It is recommended that you have a couple of garment projects under your belt already, however the clear instructions include lots of tips for using both knit fabric and fold over elastic (which is used for the straps and binding the top edges) if those elements are new to you. A handy single-page version of the instructions has also been included for those with a lot of sewing experience, or as a reminder for when you make your second and third etc. versions. For further information, including how to purchase it, please head to the Cordelia Maternity Camisole page!

Enormous thanks to Claire for all her help making this pattern into a product, both Cordelia and Sian for fit-modelling, and Cordelia for final product modelling also, a host of amazing pattern testers, and to Girl Charlee for sending me fabric to make samples from. I used their white stitched arrow on blue jersey (pictured above) and red and blue triangle stag jersey (pictured below).

Jazzy Dolores Tunic

The few glimpses of hot weather that we've had here so far this year made me realise that my current warm-weather maternity game is weak. I have no short-sleeved tops for this middle stage of pregnancy. What to do?

Fabric:

HOW GOOD is this fabric?! So good. I have Girl Charlee to thank for sending me 1.2m of this silky soft jersey for free after I requested it with an eye to sampling some a new leggings pattern (which I'll post about soon). When it arrived, I quickly realised that it was unsuitable for leggings. It was too thin and slinky so I popped it in my stash and they generously sent me something else instead. But the print was just too awesome to languish in the stash for long...

Pattern:

So I had this fine, slinky jersey burning a hole in my stash. If only I could think of a sewing pattern that requires just that type of jersey..... Stop the search! My very own Dolores batwing pattern fit the bill perfectly: ideal for drapey knit, short-sleeve option for warmer weather, tunic-length that's long enough to cover my bump. Yay! 

To make it suitable for mid-maternity, I used my regular size (12) for the top part, then from just under the bust area I blended the side seams out to a size 16 until the hem. It's a little loose round the belly at the moment, but I wanted it to last for a couple of months. Post-natal, I plan to take the side seams back in so that I can get maximum wear from it going forwards.    

Thoughts:

I don't think that this jazzy print is my usual style, but the great thing about maternity wear is that it gives you a chance to try out new things that appeal to you on a temporary basis. I love this print, and it'll be interesting to see if it starts to feel more 'me' after a few wears. Also, in less than two weeks we'll be moving to a new town where I hope to sign up to a pregnancy yoga class there. I think this top worn with maternity leggings will look awesome for that!

Cost:

Fabric: £0 (thanks very much to Girl Charlee for my free fabric. 1.2m of this lovely jersey would cost £10.75 from here)

Pattern: £0 (it's my own pattern, which is available here for £7.00, which includes six style variations, BTW)

Total: £0 

Kid's Clothes Week 'The Future': Results

Last week I put my Spring/preggers sewing plans on hold to participate in the latest instalment of the Kid's Clothes Week sewalong. To play along, all you have to do is sew for at least an hour a day for a week. I definitely managed over seven hours of sewing time over the week, although those hours were distributed slightly differently due to being at work on a couple of those days. Each KCW challenge has a theme, which you are free to adopt or ignore as you wish. My interpretation of the theme was to make clothing for my future-son that is currently dwelling in my belly. Check out the image above to see the results of my week of intense kiddie-sewing.

This challenge was an opportunity to get my head around sewing for a little boy, and it made me think about the types of garments that I imagine will be useful for him. Now let me tell you about what I sewed, in the order in which they were completed:

Straight Stripes joggers:

I really want most of my little dude's wardrobe to be as comfortable and unrestrictive as possible, so some joggers were top of my list to sew. I traced the 'Straight Stripes' pattern (pictured below) from Ottobre design magazine issue 4/2014. I used the size 62 width and 68 length, which is assuming he'll be fairly skinny like his sister! We can always roll up the bottoms for a while so they will get maximum use. The royal blue pair are made from some lovely soft double knit (which I think is this stuff) kindly given to me by Fabric Godmother. The grey stripy French terry was left over from my Breton sweatshirt, and was also given to me by Fabric Godmother. 

The pattern is super simple: just two pattern pieces. I made them using my overlocker for the seams, and my regular sewing machine to sew a channel to thread the elastic through. I've made it easy to unpick the channel slightly and left a big overlap on the elastic so these can be made larger round the waist if needs be. After all, I have no real idea of his proportions yet! 

Drop crotch joggers:

More of the same lovely double knit became a different style of joggers. For these I used the 'Streaky Legs' sweatpants pattern from Ottobre issue 1/2015. I already had the pieces traced out in a size 80 width and 86 length from when I made these awesome leopard print bottoms for Dolores. They were one of my very favourite things I've made for her, although I've probably passed them on to another child as I can't find them anywhere (sad face). I later used the next size up for these epic red/denim/rainbow joggers and pyjama bottoms. It's safe to say that I love this pattern, I'll probably trace some more size-combos to make more versions at some point so that the little guy will always have some of these in his current size. 

This pattern has one whole extra pattern piece compared to the first jogger pattern! It's not the most fabric-efficient, but can be made more so by adding a centre back seam if necessary. As with the others, I used my overlocker for all the seams and my regular sewing machine for the elastic channel. 

Geometric sweatshirt:

Determined was I to make the absolute most of the 1m of blue double knit! This little crew neck sweatshirt was made using this Brindille and Twig pattern that I've previously used for Dolores here. Remembering how the size I used for hers came out a bit big, I traced the size 74 (approx. 1 year) so he'll hopefully fit it during the autumn/winter/spring after next. The jazzy little geometric detailing began as a little sample of this jersey from Girl Charlee. I really liked how to colours worked with the royal blue, so I cut it in half and applied it to the front sweatshirt piece before constructing the garment on my overlocker.

Comic print shirt:

This garment was the most time consuming, but therefore probably gave me the biggest sense of accomplishment! It's hard to gauge the size of these garments without a model, but this is basically a tiny-scale dude's shirt. The pattern (Burda 9851) was kindly given to me by Catherine from Clothes and Sewing when her youngest son grew out of the largest size. She'd already traced the size 9m pieces for the short-sleeved version, so that is what I've used here, but I actually think it's turned out more like 1 year or even 18 months. Time will tell!

The teensy-ness of it all made some steps, like setting in the sleeves, pretty tricky. But I was rewarded for my troubles when it came to stitching on the buttons and I found that I'd completely accidentally got an almost-perfect pattern match at the front!

The amazing fabric is once again from Fabric Godmother, another part of the package she sent me once I announced that I was having a boy. Annoyingly I can't find it on their site, so I'm not sure if it was an end of roll piece but it would be worth dropping Josie an email if it's taken your fancy.


Comic print shorts:

To get full value from each piece I've been sent, I was able to squeeze out a size 1 year of the Made Everyday (previously Dana Made It) Kid Shorts pattern (previously used here). Truth be told, I messed things up a bit when cutting out the shirt so I had to recut the front pieces. If that hadn't happened then I'd have had enough of the comic print fabric for an entire pair of shorts, but instead I had to think on my feet and ended up combining it with some red poly cotton that was one of the squillion red table cloths that my lovely mum made for our wedding. I actually think that necessity being the mother of invention, as it has been here, has served me well and these shorts are probably way more interesting and unique because of the enforced design change. I now only have just enough of the comic print fabric for a couple of small contrast patch pockets for a future sewing project. 

Thoughts:

This has been a really productive and valuable KCW for me. Not only have I made a nice variety of cute, and hopefully useful, pieces for the mini-dude, it has also really helped me get used to the idea of having a little boy in my life. It has been an opportunity to express some of the ideas and inspiration that I was discussing in this post. I like the blend of more traditional style garments (the shirt and the shorts) with the more modern (the drop crotch joggers and the geometric sweatshirt), and as I made these items I had about a thousand new ideas for more things that I want to make him.  

I love all these garments and can't wait to see them worn by my future-son in the months/years to come, but my favourite item is probably the sweatshirt. The simple application of a tiny piece of contrast fabric has really elevated what would have been a fairly dull item, and it's left me with lots of ideas along this theme. 

If you participated in KCW this season, how was it for you? What did you make and what was your favourite garment? Do you find it difficult to find an hour a day to sew? Did you have to fudge the timings a bit?! 

Cabernet Cardigan: Round #3

Here we are! My third (but probably not final) stab at the SBCC Cabernet cardigan pattern. As my #MMMay16 challenge documentation pictures will confirm, I have rarely taken it off since its completion. 

(image source: SBCC Patterns)

Pattern: 

As you can see from the image above, my #3 Cabernet cardi doesn't really resemble the original pattern. To recap: for my second version of this pattern, I started with a size smaller than my measurements would suggest, lengthened the sleeves, straightened the side seams and made the neckband/button stand narrower. On top of those changes, for this version I also made the neckband narrower still, shortened the length of the cardi by 4cm and reshaped the front edges slightly, which included making them 2cm narrower on each side. I'm suuuuuper happy with the look of this cardi now! It's got the proportions of my beloved secondhand fine knit mustard cardi which will soon be too ratty and misshaped to wear. 

Fabric:

I 'bought' this mustard double knit from Fabric Godmother in exchange for helping out at their recent open day. It's not from their range of deliciously soft Ponte de Roma's (one of which I used for the navy version), it's not quite as soft as those and is more like the turquoise double knit I made my first version from but a bit thicker. It was still fantastic to work with and great to wear. The colour is the precise shade of mustard/old gold that I adore. 

Thoughts:

Ah! I'm so happy to have made this garment. As an almost-exact replica of something already in my wardrobe, I knew that it would fit in, and as I mentioned above, hardly a day has gone by that I haven't worn it since it was finished. 

When I first finished it, however, I was being a bit critical and felt that I still had some work to do with the shape and/or width of the front sections. But the more I wear it and the more images of it I see, the less I feel that there is an issue there that needs to be addressed. 

I think my current cardi selection is perfectly sufficient for now, but I can see one or two more versions of this pattern in my future. Possibly a black one using some of the super soft Fabric Godmother ponte if it's the same stuff as the navy. And I'm sorely tempted by a crazy trompe l'oeil effect one using this crochet print double knit from Ditto fabrics. That fabric is totally not my style, but I think it'd be so funny to make a cardi from it. What I would really like is to make it from a really warm cut-and-sew knit fabric, if I ever find some. Many moons ago I found some wooly (albeit synthetic) knit fabric that I used to make this jumper that I wore to death. It was a really warm garment, and I'd love to find something with good heat-trapping abilities to make a cardigan from. Has anyone seen anything that they think might fit the bill?

Cost:

Pattern: PDF $12 (£8.37) from here. I've used it three times now so I'm counting my pattern cost as £2.80 for this project
Fabric: £14 per metre from here. I used 1.5m for this project so my fabric cost is £21
Buttons: £0. Given to me by Textile Garden, which are these that can be found here.
Total: £23.80

I often think of garments I've made or footwear I've bought in terms of 'pounds per wear'; how does the price spent on the item (or materials for the item) relate to the amount of use that item gets. To me, it doesn't matter if it cost a lot initially if it gets many more wears than the amount it cost. I think it'll take a very short amount of time for this cardi to have justified that cost!

Scrap-busting Crew Neck Sweatshirts

Hip hip hooray for scrap-and-small piece busting!!! I've been having heaps of fun whipping up these simple sweatshirts. Lemme tell you about them...

Pattern:

I've mentioned Brindille and Twig sewing patterns on this blog various times before, but I must admit that to date I've only actually sewn their free hoodie pattern (which you can see here). Well, that free pattern did it's job because I thoroughly enjoyed that project and went on to buy another from their range. I saw the crew neck sweatshirt pattern (pictured below) ages ago via Pinterest and thought, 'That's the one!'. It seemed to have the fit and proportions that I had been hoping to achieve when I used an Ottobre magazine to make this sweatshirt. 

(image source: Brindille and Twig)

The crew neck sweatshirt pattern is graded in sizes from tiny baby to 5-6T. After comparing the pattern pieces of the hoodie pattern to this one, I decided to go for the 18-24 month size which for a height of approx. 90cm, even though Dolores is nearly 2 and a half and over 90cm high. The garments have come up a bit big, but that is fine as I was hoping she'd grow into them anyhow. Aside from the sizing coming up a bit big, my only other minor issue with this pattern is that the seam allowance is a scant 6mm. I traced off the pieces I wanted so I could make the seam allowances a more manageable 1cm and retain all the other sizes of the pattern.  

Fabric: 

In the kind of sizes I'm making for Dolores at the moment, this kind of project requires such a pleasingly small amount of fabric! The pattern recommends jersey, interlock or stretchy french terry, rather than traditional sweatshirt fabrics which I guess might not be stretchy enough for this garment to be comfortable. For my first version of this pattern, I used a small piece of gorgeous emerald jersey that I was given by the amazingly lovely Katherine Sheers as part of a secret santa swap at a sewing blogger's Christmas meet up. At first I intended this fabric to become pants for me as it was the perfect weight and stretchiness, but it seemed such a shame for such a vibrant colour to be hidden most of the time! 

(image source: Cos)

Initially I tried to use an iron-on transfer of a sparkly rainbow on the front piece, but the transfer was too old and wouldn't stick properly so I had to abandon that plan. I then took inspiration from the image above that I'd squirrelled away on my Kiddie clothes making Pinterest board and used a sample of spotty knit that was sent to me by Girl Charlee to make a simple little patch pocket detail. 

For my second version, I used up a small piece of this fawn print organic cotton knit by Birch fabrics and this magenta jersey knit, both of which were left overs from sampling work I've done for the Village Haberdashery. Annoyingly, my camera can't seem to show the magenta colour accurately, you'll have to believe me when I say that it's much pinker and more vibrant IRL.

My third and favourite version is a crazy mix of monochrome with a splash of lime. The spotty and solid black double knits were scraps leftover from these knit pencil skirts, both of which are now completely busted. The zebra stuff has been lurking in my stash for a while and I still have some left for future projects. The almost-neon lime jersey knit was a small sample sent to me by the VH and is available here. After trying this sweatshirt on Dolores, I realised the neck was too tight, probably because the solid black and zebra print fabrics don't have as much stretch as the jerseys I used for the other two versions, so I cut away the black neckband and made another from a strip of black jersey which is much better. 

Thoughts:

I love making these sweatshirts! For my second and third version I shortened the length of the body and I'll probably continue to do that for any future versions (of which I expect there to be many). Also, I'll probably start cutting the neck hole and neck band for the size above to avoid them being difficult to get on and off. Fickle toddlers can let things like a tight neck hole put them off a garment entirely!

Cost:

Pattern: $7.50 (approx. £5.18) available here. I've used this pattern three times and have a couple more planned for friends' kids. Plus I'm sure I make many more for Dolores in bigger sizes in the future.
Fabric: £0 (all entirely scraps and small pieces from my stash, or little samples recently sent to me for free)
Total: £1.72 each

Bargain, non?