A new Ila dress

Afgelopen winter naaide ik een Ila jurk die een echte voltreffer werd. Krakende vrieskou of zonnig zomerweer, spelen in het bos of op verjaardagsvisite, de jurk moest áán. Toen de lengte meer op die van een tuniek begon te lijken, wist ik dat het tijd werd voor een nieuwe.

Last winter I sewed an Ila dress that turned out to be a huge hit with my daughter. No matter if the weather was freezing or hot, if the occasion was fitting or not, she wore the dress whenever she could. When it started to resemble a tunic more than a dress, I knew it was time for a new one.

Bij Miss Matatabi vond ik een mooi dunne en zalig zachte babyrib, die ik combineerde met gouden paspel en een warm gele voering.

I found a nice soft and thin corduroy at Miss Matatabi and combined that with golden piping and a mustard yellow lining.

Mouwen liet ik achterwege, ze draagt 's winters het liefst een longsleeve onder haar jurk. De lengte vonden we samen nog iets te lang, maar aangezien het kind momenteel met lichtsnelheid lijkt te groeien, zal het niet lang meer duren voordat ook deze jurk tunieklengte bereikt heeft...

Sleeves were left out, she prefers layering her dresses with longsleeves in winter. It is still a bit long now, but since the girl seems to be growing at light speed these days, it won't be long before this dress has reached tunic length, too...

En wat denk je, mocht ik de onzedig korte jurk al uit de kast verwijderen? Niets ervan: 'Nu heb ik er gewoon twee!'

And guess what, was I allowed to remove the indecently short dress from her closet? Absolutely not: 'Now I have two!'

Pattern: Ila dress by Coffee&Thread
Fabric: Lightweight corduroy from Miss Matatabi (sold out)

Geneva cardigan with zipper tutorial

When I made my first girls version of the Geneva cardigan, in my head I was planning out boys options already. I loved the ribbed band option the moment I saw it, and immediately thought it would look awesome with a zipper. Boys love zippers and putting a zipper in any garment is basically a guarantee for a happy kid around here. 

Since the pattern already has more options than you can reasonably ask from a pattern designer, I decided to hack it. And to put together a tutorial for all of you to enjoy (keep reading if you want to see it).

This post is part of a fun blogtour showcasing lots of lovely Geneva cardigans. Do check them out if you want to see some truly inspirational examples:

Kia | Fleursebregts | By Dagbjort | Ainsifeefee Lilliepawillie | Hutsepruts  | Zijkant

Zowiezo Handmade | Neva Couture | Titichou | Sew Shelly Sew 

Anna's Heirloom Boutique | Wondermirakel | Daya_sews | S is for sewing | frl.love | Molemiekes naaiblog

My Cozy co.com | Boevenbende | Just Add Fabric

And today is the last day you can buy any Coffee&Thread pattern with a 15% discount with the code 'GENEVAPATTERNTOUR'

Zipper tutorial

For a size 11 cardigan I used a 45 cm separating zipper, some thin interfacing and regular single fold bias tape.

First redraw your front bodice pattern piece. Draw 2 new lines at 0.5 cm distance perpendicular to the center front line. One will be your new fold line the other one is the cutting line and marks the seam allowance. Cut your fabric along the new cutting line and interface the seam allowance with a 1.5 cm wide strip of thin interfacing.

Separate the zipper and put one half facing down (right side of zipper facing right side of fabric) with the zipper stop at 1 cm below the neckline. Measure the width of your zipper and make sure the middle of the zipper teeth are placed exactly at 1.5 cm from the edge of the fabric. Pin and sew the zipper at 1 cm from the fabric edge. Repeat on the other side.

Attach the ribbed neckband following the instructions and make sure the neckband ends just next to the zipper.

Now fold the zipper outwards on both sides, making it dissapear between two layers of fabric. Pin your bias tape on top with the right side facing down and sew with 1 cm seam allowance. Clip corners and turn. Sew pockets and sleeves as described in the instructions.

Attach bias tape to the bottom hem at 0.7 cm from the edge. 

Fold the bias tape upwards and fold your hem allowance upwards. The right side of the zipper faces down on the right side of the fabric.

Stitch a vertical line extending the stitching line on the zipper. Clip corners and turn.

Topstitch the bias tape close to the edge.

Topstitch along zipper and neckband as described in the instructions. Make sure to catch the zipper in the topstitching.

And now enjoy your zippered cardigan!

Upcycled Geneva cardigan

Hoe graag ik mijn dochter ook in zomerjurkjes zie rondfladderen, helaas betekent lente in ons klimaat ook frequente hagelbuien, nachtvorst en druilerige dagen, wat vraagt om warme laagjes. Toen Coffee&Thread testers nodig had voor een vest, was ik dan ook meteen om.

Unfortunately in our climate not every day in spring is sunny. Frequent hailstorms, nightfrosts and clouded skies create a need for warm layers, even in May. So when Coffee&Thread needed testers for the Geneva cardigan, I jumped on it.

Het Geneva vest dat vandaag gelanceerd wordt, is geschikt voor zowel jongens als meisjes. Kun je je mijn enthousiasme voorstellen toen ik dat zag? Een fijn patroon dat ook geschikt is voor mijn bengels! Echter, de dochter miste echt nog vestjes, dus mijn testversie is de meisjesvariant met Peter Pan kraag.

The Geneva cardigan, releasing today, is meant for both boys and girls. Can you imagine me jumping up and down when I first saw it? Something that is also suitable for my boys, yay! However, the girls' closet was in need of a cardigan most, so my testversion is a girly one with peter pan collar.

Maar eerst over het patroon. Het is een vest met 4 verschillende kraag opties, waarvan twee unisex. Er zijn ook twee verschillende mouwen, zakken en een knoopsluiting. De instructies zijn gedetailleerd en duidelijk en gidsen je naar een nette afwerking, ook aan de binnenkant.

Let me tell you about the pattern first. It's a cardigan with 4 different collar options, two of which are unisex. There are two sleeve types to choose from and optional pockets. It closes with buttons or snaps. The instructions are detailed and clear and aim for neat finishes on the inside, too.

Dit vestje maakte ik uit een oude lamswollen trui. Het kostte bijna meer tijd om uit te puzzelen hoe ik de mottengaatjes kon omzeilen bij het knippen, dan om het in elkaar te naaien. Uiteindelijk kwam ik toch iets stof tekort, wat ik oploste door een stukje tricot aan het knopenpad te zetten. Het speelse randje wat dit oplevert, vind ik stiekem wel een leuk detail.

For this one I upcycled an old lambswoolen sweater. I think it took me more time to figure out how to cut the pattern pieces around the moth holes than actually sewing it! As I ended up running a little short of fabric, I added some of the collar fabric to the front bodice. I like the little detail this adds. The pockets were left out (no more fabric remember?).

Alhoewel dit vest bedoeld was om alvast zomerjurkjes onder te kunnen dragen, claimde dochterlief ineens een schrijnend rokjestekort. En dan geldt 'zij vraagt, wij naaien' nietwaar? Ik maakte dus een supersnel rimpelrokje op elastiek (tutorial hier) van gestreepte double gauze en het kind was zielsgelukkig.

Although this cardigan combines perfectly with dresses, the girl told me her closet was also in desperate need of skirts. So I made her a quick gathered skirt out of double gauze with silver elastic. She totally loves it!

Wil je ook met dit patroon aan de slag? Het is hier te koop met korting, maar als je lid wordt van de Coffee&thread patterns facebook groep, vind je een code voor nog 10% extra korting.

The pattern is on sale here and if you join the Coffee&thread patterns group on facebook you'll find a code for an additional 10% discount.

Pattern: Geneva Cardigan by Coffee&Thread, gathered skirt (tutorial)

Fabrics: Upcycled sweater (cardigan), double gauze (skirt)

Coffee&Thread blogtour: Travelling in style

 Today is the last day of the big Coffee&Thread pattern tour, and it's my turn to show you my makes. Make sure to read until the end of this post; there is a great discount and a major giveaway!

I'm a big fan of Olga's patterns and tested several of them. The Eleena and Ila dress made it onto the blog, the Ania tunics somehow didn't. The patterns are all very well made and have a nice vintage vibe to them. And Olga is such a sweet and encouraging person... So of course I said yes when I was invited for this huge pattern tour celebrating everything Coffee&Thread.

We were given a complete carte blanche as to what we would make. Normally I would go on a total hacking expedition, but this time I didn't. And that really means one thing: I just love these patterns the way they are.

The Mulberry tunic was the first pattern I bought from Coffee&Thread years ago, but somehow I never sewed it. I once taped and traced it, but life happened and that was it. Shame on me, because it's such a nice one, both for boys and girls. I wanted a very simple and natural look, and omitted pocket and button loop. The beautiful sand coloured double gauze is enough.

The Polina dress is a very recent pattern and makes for a perfect twirling party dress. The dress has different options (don't we all love options?) and I made the long frills combined with a full circle skirt. The girl insisted that she did not want ties, which would have made the dress even more festive. My fabric was wide enough to cut a full circle without seams.  I used the same Kokka double gauze, in a dusty peach colour. The bodice was spiced up with some Nani Iro. The only small hack I performed, was cutting the bodice and sewing the frills in between instead of topstitching them onto the outside.

The weather is still quite chilly around here, so brother and sister decided it was time to travel to somewher warm and started packing. 'I'll carry the suitcase, don't forget your hat, sis!' And off they went, looking for blossoms and sunshine.

Fabrics: Kokka double gauze 'sand' and 'dusty peach' and Nani Iro

Patterns: Mulberry tunic and Polina dress from Coffee&Thread

In case you haven't already, do go and check out the rest of the blogtour. The lineup is truly amazing and I've seen nothing but fabulousness!

April 3
Enjoyful Makes || Idle Sunshine || ZowieZo Handmade || Angie Burgett

April 4
Handmade Frenzy || Replicate Then Deviate || Fairies, Bubbles & Co || Coral + Co

April 5
Made By Sara || Naeh-Connection || The Bag of Unexpected || Circle Meets Line

April 6
Skirt Fixation || Sewing Like Mad || Hello Holli || Buzzmills ||

April 7
Little Cumquat || Thread Bear Garments || Pearl Berry Lane || Plus 2 is 5 || Sew Chibi 

April 10
Stahlarbeit || Knee Socks and Goldilocks || Bonnie and Lottie || Sew Sophielynn 

April 11
Mouse House Creations || While She was Sleeping || Mix it Make it || By Dagbjort 

April 12
Gaafmachine || Beletoile || LBG Studio || My Cozy Co  || As It Seams

April 13
Moineau & Petit Pois || Just Add Fabric || Sweeter Than Cupcakes || Frances Suzanne || Sew Liberated 

April 14
Stitched Together || S is for Sewing || Boevenbende || Lafolie Sewing Booth || Sew Pony ||
With Love By Eva 

Now a celebration means there is also something in it for you: a discount and a giveway!

You'll get a 20% discount on all Coffee&Thread patterns with the code 'COFFEEANDTHREADTOUR'.

And last but not least there is a huge giveway where you can win:

- All Coffee&Thread patterns
- A $40 gift certificate to Imagine Gnats
- A $50 gift certificate to Raspberry Creek fabrics
- Three yards of fabric from the fabric fairy
- A $25 gift certificate to Hawthorne threads
- Two english womens patterns from Nähconnection

Isn't that crazy? Go for it and fill out the rafflecopter!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Ila winter dress

English below

Wij vierden dit jaar kerst met Ila. Nee, geen verre tante die spontaan op bezoek kwam en ook geen gezinsuitbreiding, maar een innig geliefd nieuw patroon van Coffee&Thread.

De Ila jurk leent zich geweldig voor een warme winterjurk. Het a-lijn model is heel geschikt voor het gebruik van wat dikkere stoffen, en optionele volledige voering geeft nog extra warmte. Maar wat dit modelletje echt speciaal maakt is de belijning op het voorpand, waarin ook zakken verstopt zijn. Niets moet natuurlijk, maar dit roept gewoon om paspel, of niet? Instructies voor het gebruik van paspel zijn overigens niet inbegrepen bij het patroon. Mocht je paspel willen toevoegen en ben je niet helemaal zeker van je zaak, kijk dan even hier.

Voor deze testversie koos ik voor een zachte babyrib van Stenzo, gevoerd met een superzacht ruitje van Roomseven, waaruit ik ook de paspel maakte. In dit exemplaar valt de lengte nog pittig kort - wat ik wel leuk vind - maar inmiddels is er wat extra lengte aan het patroon toegevoegd, zodat iedereen zelf kan kiezen of en hoeveel je eraf knipt ;)

Het jurkje was een dikke voltreffer, en werd onmiddellijk tot kerstjurk gekozen. 

Een dikke dankjewel aan iedereen die mee las het afgelopen jaar, namens alle boeven hier wens ik jullie een gelukkig 2017 vol creatieve avonturen!

patroon: Ila dress van Coffee&Thread

stof: Stenzo babyrib (buitenstof) en Roomseven (voering)

This year we celebrated the holidays with Ila. No, not a distant aunt who came over to visit nor an addition to the family, but a much loved new pattern by Coffee&Thread.

The Ila dress pattern is perfect for making a warm winter dress. The a-line shape makes it easy to use thicker fabrics and the optional full lining can be used to create extra warmth. But the lines on the front (with hidden pockets!) really turn this little dress into a special one for me. Is it just me, or does this scream for piping? The pattern does not include specific instructions on how to use piping, and I recommend these tips to anyone who feels a bit insecure about this.

For this testversion I used a soft corduroy, lined with a very soft Roomseven fabric which I also used to make the piping. The length in this dress is still a bit short, which I like. However, in the final pattern a bit extra length was added, so everyone can decide for themselves what length they consider decent ;)

The dress was an instant hit, and was even chosen to be her Christmas dress!

pattern: Ila dress by Coffee&Thread

Fabric: Baby corduroy (outer fabric) and Roomseven (lining)