So you’ve decided to sew something for your little darling, what a great idea! If you are planning to make your children something handmade there are a few simple rules for making clothing for kids that you should follow. Do as I say not as I do ;)
Bunny’s Vintage Sheet Mini Darling Ranges dress
I’ve been sitting on so many gorgeous Mini Darling Ranges makes waiting to release the pattern and I’m so excited that I get to share them all with you now! This is Bunny’s vintage sheet Mini Darling Ranges dress, and she has been wearing it constantly since we made it during the early testing days to the point where it is now – much shorter and very fitted haha. But to be honest, that’s what makes it a successful make to me. Anything that my child can wear for two years is a win – and if they love it so much that they want to wear it that long, even better!
Buddy’s Mini Hudson + Jarrah set
There are many things I love about sewing for my kids. One is how much I enjoy seeing them wear what i’ve made them over and over and over again. Another is how little fabric kids clothing uses.
This project gave me both.
I made this Mini Jarrah for Buddy when we were working on the Mini Jarrah pattern, and almost immediately after I’d finished he asked for matching pants. You’ve got to love a kid that likes a matching set, and Buddy loves matching sweatsuits ;). Chris and I still disagree on whether this is casual wear or pajamas (Buddy and I say casual wear, Chris says pajamas haha).
For the pants I turned to my favourite kids sweatpants pattern, the Mini Hudson by True Bias. I’ve used this pattern so much for my kids and truly love it. It’s the perfect kids sweatpant!
I couldn’t believe my luck when I realised i could fit a pair of Mini Hudsons in the leftover fabric. I can’t decide if this is a happy accident or my past self being super organised and making sure to buy enough!
For this pair I really wanted to add contrast details and was really happy that I still had enough matching ribbing to do so. The fabric and ribbing are both See You at Six fabric which i purchased from Maai Design. At the waistband I used my favourite lazy trick of just sewing the cording to the waistband as faux ties. Yup I did that and I’m rather happy about it lol.
Buddy on the other hand would like you to know I made him tuck his shirt in for the below photo to show the waistband. He was not on board with this styling decision and would like that information to be noted on the record ;)
But though I adore the fabric used for this set, what i love most about this project is how much Buddy loves this set. He literally won’t stop wearing it in winter. You have to pry it out of his hands. The sweatpants were worn so much last year they developed a split in the centre back and i had to resew the centre back seam! That makes me really happy. I know I should be upset when my kids destroy clothing I’ve made them, but when the destruction comes about due to honest to goodness playing like a kid in the great outdoors – who could possibly be mad? Not me.
The cold weather is supposed to be starting in Perth soon (it’s hard to believe because it’s still so warm!) and I can’t wait to see this sweet little guy running around in his matching set 24/7 again.
Bunny’s Mini Jarrah sweater
In the run up to Curve lookbook photoshoot last year Bunny fell head over heels in love with one of the Jarrah Curve samples. She would intermittently walk into my workroom and visit it. It was just the cutest thing to see how much she loved it, turning it over in her hands and stroking the sleeve. How could i possibly resist making her one that matched!
Thankfully i was just able to just squeeze out a Mini Jarrah from the leftover fabric. I honestly breathed a huge sigh of relief after figuring that out! There wasn’t any matching ribbing left as we only had just enough for the curve sample, so i turned to my favourite trick of using the wrong side of the fabric for the cuffs, hem band and neckband. I love how it turned out! And even better she loves how snuggly and soft they are with the loop side of the french terry facing outwards. Don’t you love a happy accident?
Even though she has almost grown out of this sweater now (these photos were actually taken a year ago while we were developing the pattern!) she still loves it and refuses to retire it. Her favourite combo is to go all out pattern mixing and wear it with her feather Briar dress. Whenever I see my kids hold on so tight to something I made them it always makes sewing for them feel so worth it!
I can’t wait to make her more Mini Jarrahs this year when the weather cools down in Perth!
Mini Jarrah tester roundup
At last it’s time for us to show off the Mini Jarrah tester makes with you!! We’re constantly amazed and filled with joy seeing our testers sew up mini patterns for their children. There’s still time for all our northern friends to sew up a cosy layer for the last hurrah of winter, and for us here in Australia, what a perfect time to get ready for when it cools down a bit! We hope you enjoy all of our mini makes made by our ever so talented testers!