[needlewoman]

Coming along well with Playtime in Kokka Linen – up to attaching skirt to bodice. But thinking ahead to another Badminton skirt – this time with shorts. Miss 5 is nearly a size 4 for around her hips ( a little bigger at the waist), and I’m happy to make up Size 4 as by next summer in Australia, she’ll be perfect for it. (The skort is for a trip to Japan in another 10 days). But, I’m concerned about the size of the shorts. Are they very roomy – are they meant to be? I’ve been reading previous posts, and I know quite a few of you have made the shorts in a knit but I don’t have that option, nor can I measure the child myself. Can anyone provide experiential advice? The child is slim although not skinny, and I’d hate the size 4 shorts to be too balloony, or gapey under the skirt, if you know what I mean.

Have you seen Lightning’s hilarious Messy Baby Bib on Flickr? A present for someone, L?

[mkhs]

They are not super roomy in my experience. My child is very slender, and I often size down and lengthen patterns, but I see that I did not do that with this one, and both the skorts and the shorts I’ve made fit her well.

[Tamara]

The shorts for the badminton skort aren’t culottes like Fi, they would be just like a normal pair of shorts. With the flare of the skirt from the slight gathering, there shouldn’t be a problem and the shorts are hidden well and not baloony at all – from my experience anyway but then I make 12’s and Imogen prefers to not have the short underneath so I am only going on the one and only pair of actual skorts.

Perhaps make her the size 3 for her Japan trip to see how they fair? Or maybe the 4 with adjustable elastic?

I have embarked on making jeans for me! I spend hours embroidering yesterday and had to pull it all out because I ran out of beads – it was on the back pockets. So I did another design. It is almost 4am and I am wide awake for some reason! Might go an do a couple of hours at the machine.

[Nicole]

I found the shorts perfect for the size required.

I made Tildy a 5 Fee, can you believe it? A little big but I like school uniforms to ‘do’ a few years, I made Liddy the 12!

Nearly finished but we had a gastro go through the house, even Hugo has it now and he rarely gets ill. Jed is fine though.

After being so ill for 4 hours I am forever grateful I have never had morning sickness.

For the Lass making the Bubble dress, I have a tute which shows the back placket it you get caught there.

[Sherry]

Poor Nicole, nothing worse than that type of bug, give me throat, ear bugs anyday. I hope you are all feeling much better soon and no one else comes down with it. Don’t forget to rest lots now there is a new baby bump to take care of, I bet you are all so excited. I’m excited for you and also for me as it means you will be sewing O & S for longer.

Has anyone a suggestion as to which pattern would make the best jeans for boys, he is 3years old and in a size 4. I have all the boys pants patterns. Also what variations would you suggest. Sherry

[Nicole]

Thank you Sherry, aren’t you a darling, you have made my morning with your kindness.

I made many pairs of jeans with the Sketchbook shorts.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/motherof5/sets/72157625212212623/ , it is my most utilised pattern!

My nearly 17 year old still wears the shorts (with a fly) for school.

I have ‘skinnied’ them up, lined them with fleece, double fronted the front legs, removed the pleats, added a zipper pocket…… love them!

[Sherry]

Thanks Nicole for the photo collage. WOW how much has Hugo gown since then and into such a lovely young man. Its incredible to look back and see how much everyones children have change. I Cant believe how many O&S items you have made, where do you find the time?

Do you think the Sketchbook pattern would work in fleecy as Little Man has also requested “trackkie Dacks” and grandmas don’t like to disappoint.

[meleliza]

Sorry you’ve been poorly, Nicole! I was never sicker than the two semesters I was pregnant and teaching. Those college freshman carry as many germs as preschoolers and I caught everything! I imagine with kids in school bringing home all those germs it’s the same thing. Rest up as best you can and take good care of yourself!

[needlewoman]

Thank you all for feedback on skort; I really appreciate it especially as I have very little time left I’ll wing it with a size 4 (because that’s the one already traced off. And I’ve thought of a nifty way to save time with the scallops which I’ll tell about later. Playtime in Kokka linen proved extremely tricky to gather, and sew on. I realised I’ve only used this fabric in patterns with pleats so far. But now skirt attached and all my lining up of the squares have come out a treat. Looking fwd to posting.

N, so sorry to hear you’ve been so sick, and the rest of the crowd too. Chemo treatment aside, there’s nothing worse than gastro. Hope everybody makes fast recovery, and that you don’t feel too washed out, N in your ‘interesting’ condition. Tildy a size 5, etc wow!! Even allowing for a generous fit to grow into, that’s some growth spurt for both girls. Must be all that country air. Back to work – after lunch.

[jay_1965vw]

Nicole, I hope your family is all well soon! We had two bouts of gastro while I was pregnant, then my husband and Audrey both had it in the second week after Josephine was born. Horrible. You have my commiserations.

The tartan skirt is not going well. I got the front yoke completed yesterday, but I had decided to do bound buttonholes, and somehow put two of them in the wrong spots! It’s wearable as is (probably no-one else would notice), but I’m also unhappy with how bulky it is. Poor choice of interfacing on my part I think, and the buttonholes are too close to the edge so I had to trim the seam allowance more than I wanted. Anyway, after spending all my sewing time on it yesterday I think I will recut the yoke and start again.

Oh how I wish Audrey was still sleeping in the afternoon!!!

[Linda]

Hi, thanks Nicole for offer of bubble placket help- I will take you up on that. My name is Linda, by the way- I should have introduced myself. Lived in Wales all my life and have 2 sons 19 and 32 and two daughters 35 and 37. Used to make dresses for the girls and the ice cream dress for my granddaughter Rose is the first girls dress I’ve made for about thirty years! My other grandchildren are one girl aged 12 and two boys aged 4 and 6. My oldest daughter lives with husband and three children on Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia, so miss them a lot. Gives me pleasure therefore to sew dresses for Rose, aged two. Visting them in mid June so busy sewing dresses and knitting a dinosaur and a fox for the boys.

[Tamara]

My goodness Linda! Aren’t you very glad to have found these patterns to sew with then? Things have definitely changed alot in thirty years – it was about that long ago I was living in the UK myself but we never got to visit Wales in the whole twelve months we were there.

Chemo? Not you surely Fi?! My late Aunt in law used to say it was wretched. Gastro is horrible so I completely understand you need to burrow down and have lockdown for a while until the gastro storm has cooled somewhat Nicole! It is truly not worth having if one can help it but if it is going around then it is pretty much a sure thing it will be passed on somewhere along the line. Just please (fingers crossed) we don’t have such a bug this winter. Chest infections were bad enough.

I have just about completed my jeans and have been using the pliers to get rid of some zipper teeth – they are stubborn and won’t budge. So I am calling it a day (insomnia from 3.30am and I now need some shut eye) and will hopefully get to find something decent that will work at Spotlight tomorrow after I take the boy for his hearing test. The teeth obstruct where I want to topstitch and the zipper was too long so they have to be removed in order to complete them. I mucked the topstitching up a bit but they are still wearable – just won’t be my best pair.

[Nicole]

Thank you Lovely Ladies, I do feel special.

Hi Linda, I am a huge fan of the Vinyl Cafe podcasts and Cape Breton is often mentioned on those.

Button holes and buttons to go on my little Music Class blouses x 2.

[meleliza]

I’m finishing a very challenging project now and machine went to the repairman for two weeks! But after this and the Easter dress, I’m looking forward to some quick and easy projects for me and Kitty for summer.

And by the way did you all see the most spectacularly stunning Garden Party dress in blue Swiss voile on flickr? I don’t recognize the poster, but I hope we see more from her. It’s really exquisite.

[with love Heidi]

Was that the one on the older girl, Meleliza? It was beautiful.

I’m making a vintage Enid Gilchrist peasant style romper from green gingham and I have been reminded why I rarely sew with plaid, I hate pattern matching 🙁 But I got there and have started the sewing 🙂