Summer sewing

Last night I headed up to my studio to make some clothes for Adelaide for summer.  As I was cutting out a top using the Adelaide Sundress pattern, I was suddenly caught with the urge to sew someone else's pattern for a change.

This pattern is from France with French instructions.  So I just follow the pictures and make up my own construction plan. 

It was cold in our garden this morning so all photos are minus a cute smile.  That just wasn't happening.

The sleeves are a little too sticky-outy for my liking.  I think a pom-pom trim or something with a little weight to it could be a useful addition, or a lighter fabric, (or maybe just a wash with fabric softener).

All in all a very sweet pattern.

Join in the fun: see what other seamstresses around the web are sewing this week.

A Facebook group for Townmouse Pattern enthusiasts

I have created a Facebook group for seamstresses sewing with Townmouse Patterns.

I'd love you to share your finished garments in the group.  It's also a place to ask questions and interact with other seamstresses.  This is a closed group, so only members of the group will see your posts.  They won't appear in your own feed which means you won't bore your non-sewing friends with photos of fabric and patterns!

I really get so excited when I see my patterns made up by other clever creators, so for selfish reasons I'd love to see your photos.

Another point to mention is that I am happy for my patterns to be used for small scale production. If you are selling children's wear at markets or elsewhere, please post about it in the group.  I will do my best to help spread the word on Instagram and elsewhere.

An Adelaide Sundress in Portugal

The talented seamstress Ana Sofia from S is for Sewing has been at it again.  I love everything Ana Sofia makes and her fabric choices are always very appealing to me.  The pretty fabric she has chosen for the Adelaide Sundress is no exception.

I love seeing this pattern on little girls around the world.  I wish I had published it sooner so those of you in the Northern Hemisphere could have enjoyed it for summer.

You can enjoy 10% off this pattern and all others in my store for the month of September with the discount code ADELAIDE. You might want to buy now and file this pattern away for your Spring.

Again, thanks Ana Sofia for your impeccable sewing and pretty fabric selections.

An upcoming pattern for little ones

I stayed up way too late last night happily engrossed in some embroidery.  It's been a long time since I've done any hand stitching. 

Fortunately my stitching didn't look too bad in the bright light of day.

I'm putting together a little pattern for what I like to call a "smock bib".

It's essentially a bib with sleeves.  I don't know about you, but I found my babies' sleeves always got covered in their food and their tops were often left with stained cuffs.  The Smock Bib is the answer to that dilemma. Ingenious no?

Just pop baby's arms into the sleeves and tie the bib at the back of the neck.

These are also a really fun project to use up small scraps of fabric with.  And as I have, you can have a lot of fun personalising and embellishing them.

This pattern will come in two sizes: 6 to 12 months, and 12 to 24 months.  Let's face it, by the time they're two, children shouldn't be getting food all over their sleeves so those sizes should see you through.

For those of you who make to sell at craft markets, this will be a pretty pattern with which to create some cute wares for you to sell don't you think?

A beautiful adaptation of the Adelaide Sundress and a tutorial to do it yourself

Hello dear readers. A few posts back I promised I would show you how to adjust your Adelaide sundress to make the pattern as a top.

I'm very excited to show you the most perfect version of the pattern made up by the very talented seamstress Angie from blog Edith and Eloise.

Seriously.  How divine is that photo!  The light, Angie's beautiful daughter, the fringed boots - I just adore everything about it. Clearly Angie is not only a talented seamstress.  Her photos are breathtaking.

So let's get to it.  I've put together a very quick and simple tutorial that shows you how to adapt the dress pattern to make a top.

If you have any problems following the steps, please email me (link at top of left sidebar).  I was so excited to show you Angie's pretty top that I put this tutorial together very quickly.

See more photos of Angie's clever sewing on her blog Edith and Eloise.  Thanks Angie for making the pattern look so beautiful.

You can buy your Adelaide sundress pattern here.

An Adelaide Sundress in Spain

Ana, who blogs from Spain on her blog Entre Hilos, has sewn a very pretty Adelaide sundress with white trim.  It looks so lovely on her daughter.

I love the pop of white against a European summer tan.  Visit Ana's blog for more photos and to see the cute detail she added to the pockets with a button and contrast ribbon.

Ana blogs in English and in Spanish, so you don't even have to run the blog through Google Translate.

Thanks so much Ana for testing my sundress pattern.  Your sewing is perfection!

Don't forget you can get 10% off all Townmouse patterns for the month of September.

An Adelaide Sundress in size 10

The lovely Daniela who blogs at Trebuchet has very kindly tested the Adelaide Sundress in size 10 for her daughter.  And this is the lovely result:

I love Daniela's choice of fabric and it is beautifully sewn.

Head over to Daniela's blog to see more pictures.  There are also some tempting photos of a few great recipes on the blog that I'm eyeing off.

Daniela is having a sale on her beautiful night lights for the month of September.  Be sure to visit her Etsy shop to see her pretty range of houses.  These night lights are so pretty in a child's room when lit up at night.  Adelaide adores hers.

 

Adelaide Sundresses at The Drapery

If you've been following craft blogs for a while like I have, you might remember an early favourite of mine, Hop Skip Jump. Clever Fiona behind said blog makes the most wonderful softies.  She made Basil the Cat for me, who has pride of place in my sewing room.

Fiona and her friend Jane opened a good and proper fabric store called The Drapery in Adelaide a little while back.

If you follow their website, you'll see that they stock the most wonderful array of dressmaking fabrics. It's the sort of fabric shop I'd love to get lost in.

Jane offered to test the Adelaide sundress.  What a brilliant idea when you have all that heavenly fabric at your disposal!

Jane and her gorgeous little model captured some pretty photos in a contrast trimmed Adelaide sundress. You can see more photos on The Drapery Blog.

The Drapery is offering Townmouse customers 15% off full-priced fabrics purchased in-store to use for any Townmouse pattern, during the whole of Spring. (Yes, even Liberty!) Just bring your pattern into the shop as proof of purchase. Jane and Fiona can help you pick out the perfect fabrics and notions!

The Drapery
308A Glen Osmond Road
Fullerton
South Australia
  

Open:
Wed - Fri: 10am - 4pm
Sat: 12pm - 4pm

 

Jane is currently whipping up another Adelaide Sundress, this time in a Liberty combination.  Keep an eye on their Instagram feed for the results.

Introducing the Adelaide Sundress

It's always exciting to launch a new product. After a few final tweaks to the pattern yesterday and some wonderful assistance from the lovely seamstresses who offered to test my pattern, the Adelaide Sundress is ready.

I know for many of you your summer is coming to an end, so this may be one to have up your sleeve for your next summer holiday.  For us in the Southern Hemisphere we have just entered Spring. The blossom is out in abundance, the snow is melting and our days are sunny.  We are getting excited for summer.

To encourage you to grab this pattern now, I'm offering 10% off any purchases in my Etsy shop with the coupon code ADELAIDE. This is valid until the end of September.

 

The dress pictured in this post is actually a top.

I'll be coming back with another post about how to adapt a dress pattern to make a top.  It's really very simple.  But first you'll need the dress pattern.  So head over to the Townmouse Pattern shop and grab your copy now.

I'm pretty sure you're going to love this pattern.  The feedback from my testers has been positive, and it's certainly one I love to sew.  If you make up the sundress, don't forget to share it on Instagram and tag your images with #townmousepatterns

See what other clever seamstresses are featuring around the world here.

Adelaide sundress in size 1

A friend of mine has had a little baby girl.  This was the perfect opportunity to make a little Adelaide sundress in size 1.  I added some extra length to suit an 18 month old, as that will be her age come summer  next year.

I've been playing around with the neckline and finishing the collar with hand stitching on the inside, leaving the collar without top stitching.  This was not possible for commercial production, but is definitely so for home seamstresses. I think I prefer this finish.  It's softer.  

So this means adding a little extra detail to the pattern instructions, to give seamstresses the option of either method of finishing.

Adelaide was eyeing off this fabric and fortunately I have another metre or so of it.  Perhaps I should try this pattern as a top.

A sundress pattern in the making

I'm in the middle of drafting the sewing instructions for my next pattern.  It's the one most requested - this one:

I must confess that this is my favourite dress pattern from the Townmouse range.  Adelaide has had quite a few of these over the years. I'm calling it the Adelaide Sundress.

Before I send the pattern out to testing I have to make sure my own instructions make sense.  I've made the above in a pretty Liberty to make sure I remember all the correct steps for assembling it.

I've had a lot of requests for my patterns in larger sizes.  I've graded the pattern up to a size 10 - an easy thing to do because this is not a fitted garment.  So my sample today is in a size 10. I will be persuading  ten year old Henri to try it on for me tonight. I used to get away with this when my boys were much younger. I'm not liking my chances of convincing a ten year old boy to put on a dress!

Now I have the long task of finishing off the instruction diagrams.  Each one of these can take many hours. Then I will be writing the instructions to accompany them.  I hope to have the pattern ready for launch at the beginning of September - our Spring.

Would you like to help me? Would you like to test this pattern? I need a few seamstresses of varying skill levels to test my pattern for me.  I can guarantee the fit will be correct, because this dress has already been made in the hundreds.  I need a little help though, in picking up any little detail in the pattern and instructions that is incorrect or could be improved upon.  If you're up for the challenge, please fill in this form and I will be in touch.  Hopefully I will have a complete pattern to send to testers within a week or so.

UPDATE: Thank you for all your lovely and generous responses.  This request for testing has now closed. Stay tuned for the pattern's release.

See what other clever people are sewing over here for this week's Sew + Show.

Henri Long Shorts pop up in Texas

Gorgeous Jessamin from sewing blog Mom Of Marlee has sewn the Henri Long Shorts for her little guy who is just two and a bit.

Pop over to Jessamin's blog.  She takes the most divine photos, with the beautiful light of her desert surroundings.

I think her little man looks pretty cute in his long shorts.  It seems both he and his mum/mom are happy with them.

Thanks Jessamin, for saying such lovely things about my patterns.  I look forward to seeing more of your sewing.