Girl's blouse in blue stripes lurik

I was just thinking of combining the pleated skirt and bodice to make this blouse. I didn't have enough fabric (the blue and pink stripes lurik is from a friend, and I already used some to make an A-line skirt before) .. so I couldn't make this as a dress, instead I made it into a blouse.

making girl's blouse from lurik fabric

The most important part is that it looks rather nice and daughter loves it, even hubby said it's a nice and neat outfit .. 

the result :)

Flowery bag

Yes more bags please ..

This one is using the same pattern as the blue bag I've made last time. The fabric is a "coupon" only some 70 cm long from a textile shop, and just nice to make a bag. I've finished it with brown lace trimming (the lace I got from a friend, most probably bought in Daiso, SG). So, beige n brown flower bag or blue n white bag? hhmm ... both?! :)

always pretty and practical :)

batik clutch with a glam!

I've finished making the matching clutch for the batik blouse I've made last time. I only wanted to make a full use of the batik fabric since I still have some leftover and thought that it would be nice to make a matching bag. Yes, I put the evening clutch on my online shop, it's a model, as a display item of how it turn out like .. I could make another clutch later .. maybe with a magnetic snap button or a zipper to securely, neatly close the clutch. I added a golden chain to make it more "glam" for evening/formal events.

evening clutch in batik

Add caption

match the blouse :)

Pleated Skirt for girls

Weekend easy project. We had planned to see "Escalade" celebration in Geneva old town on Saturday afternoon, but I reeeeeeeeaally wanted to sew something, and I reeeeeeeaaally got this urge to make this pleated skirt I saw in the latest "Coudre" magazine I got last time.

This skirt didn't need pattern, simply cut two rectangular fabric (front & back of the skirt) in the desired length you wanted to make, added some length (sew allowance) for the hem. Form the pleats (here I made 3 pleats each side) and cut some fabric for the waist band (to put the elastic band) .. I finished the skirt with white lace and it's done .. just about the right time to go out to see the festival! :)

weekend simple project

Easy Pleated Skirt for girls

the making ..

done! ... ;-D

Cosmetic Pouch/Trousse à maquillage!

I've told ya I'm going to make a matching pouch from the vintage flower fabric I've found in the flea market, so here it is:

organized your bits and pieces in this lovely pouch! :)

next, maybe a laptop or tablet pouch? .. why not!

the making ..

a bag a la CK :)

I've found this lovely flowery fabric in a flea market, only enough to make one bag and (perhaps later, cosmetic pouch) .. the fabric is classic, reminds me of Cath Kidston's bags .. I negotiated the price with the seller and got it for 3 chf .. what a bliss!.

With a very restricted length of fabric, I imagined to make a simple rectangular bag with a strap and a couple of cosmetic pouches. The blue strap I've got long time ago in Daiso, SG for sgd 2 a packet. This is how the bag looks like, like it? ... :)

I also put a snap button inside the bag

to a library or simply go shopping with it ..

pretty and practical :)

Flowery Tunic for Girls

I found a new edition of "Coudre est facile" sewing mag in the newsstand yesterday and fell in love with the projects inside. It was a wonderful Friday afternoon, I just walked around after had lunch and stopped in a coffee shop for a coffee break, then I went to the newsstand in the same building .. my eyes caught a glimpse of the magazine and my heart pounded .. hoping that it's a new edition of my fave sewing mag (and secretly hoped it was a special edition -- a translated Japanese sewing mag like before) ... and I was so delighted that my wish came true!! it's just exactly what I've hoped for ...

It's just perfect! a perfect way to end a Friday afternoon and looking forward for a weekend sewing projects! .. have a nice weekend! :)

Saturday Morning Delight ...

for her, a bit long ..

and shorter tunic for her ..

brown n blue batik blouse

I got the fabric (batik) from a friend .. yes, I have lots of fabric gifts, lucky me! :) and as usual these gifts are special to me, so I wanted to make something special too ..

The blouse pattern I got from "Coudre est facile" special summer edition from Japanese creator. I tried to make the blouse as it seemed not too difficult for me, I wanted something new, something special and without hassle, so sewing this blouse could be a fun project as I wasn't feeling well these couple of days, it's the flu bug I guess .. it's the season, anyway .. we're still in autumn it's not too cold yet, maybe I'm just tired and not fit.

Sewing mend the soul, well at least morally I felt a bit elevated although physically I'm dropped. Okay, so yes a brown n blue batik blouse is done, today ... I still have some leftover fabric, not too much, and thought of making an accessory from it .. I was thinking to make a clutch from the same fabric, so stay tune ... :)

sewing mend the soul ...

not bad, ey? ..

one new blouse for the year end holiday! .. yay!! :)

Blue Bag with lace trimming

Pattern from magazine "Coudre est facile" hors série summer 2011.

The blue fabric I got from leftover fabric in Acacias Textile shop around 70-90 cm (I don't remember the exact length), the lining I made from Batik Bali with sea creatures motif and make the trimming with lace from Daiso, SG. Voilà le resultat! :

blue bag with lace trimming

more and more bags!

I've been sewing any kind of bags (yup, to fill in the store! ;-D) ... I practiced using different kind of fabrics, models and techniques .. I used cotton, coated cotton, cotton-polyester, linen and almost always .. batik prints to accentuate the bag and finished it with magnetic buttons (or zipper, later) .. and here's the bags that I've created so far: 

http://petits-pas.fait-maison.com/

Another Batik Bag (in "parme" color) ..

I made this bag to fill in my new online shop:  http://petits-pas.fait-maison.com/ where I try to sell my handmade creations .. I used batik print and violet coated cotton. I'm very happy with the result and hopefully people would love it to :)

big enough to carry all your bits and pieces :)

Making children winter coat

Let's face it, winter come whether we like it or not ..

We need to cover up, wrap our self in many layers of clothes to protect our self from cold weather .. I saw some pretty winter coats in shop windows but the price sometimes a bit ridiculous .. but whether we want to buy or not, our children still needs warm clothes .. and need them fast! .. so, think! think! think! .. wools fabric isn't cheap .. fleece fabric price range in a textile shop also above my usual budget .. so how much your budget, anyway?! well, at least the same prices as the fabrics they sell in a flea market .. eheheh .. look, I knew that money they don't fall down from a tree, and I also know that winter clothes are essentials .. so how? ... make one!! ... what about the fabric? .. use cotton doubled with fleece (blankets) from Ikea for only chf 4,95/blanket and it's large enough to make 2 children coats, 2 scarfs .. and what else? maybe a hat later on? ... 

And here it is, my first attempt making children coat doubled with fleece blankets .. if daughter love it and proud to wear it, then I'm happy and proud too ... :D

** the coat isn't "perfect" yet, but well .. I'm trying .. hopefully it gets better the second time or third time around :)

done with a coat zipper

inside the tram

out in the park

Batik Bag

"Mettez en avant vos créations"! ... and I thought, yeah .. why not?! ...

I always put this in mind, nothing was ever achieved without enthusiasm!, enthusiasm is one of the most powerful engines .. If you enjoy and have passion for your work, then you're doing the right thing, whether you're succeed or not, let the time reveals it .. start with any little works you're able to do now and just see how that may lead .. as hubby put it: "Life starts from dreaming", but don't sleep too long though .. and what was once only a dream someday may become real ...

Okay, now back to reality .. I put another item in my online shop http://petits-pas.fait-maison.com/ a Batik Bag. I tried to make more and put more stuffs in my shop, hopefully it's about the right time people start buying presents for Christmas and new year ... so yup, more sewing and creating these days ... stop dreaming and start creating ;-)

the finished result ..

a girl never has enough bags! ;-)

sewing and putting own label ..

Batik Bag in the making ..

Step-by-step: Making Own Label

Step-by-step: Making your own label.
Personalization is important, we can also use this simple and affordable technique to label children school clothes/uniforms ..

1. Print out your label design on a transfer paper
2. Cut them into desired size
3. Iron each piece to a twill tape (cotton tape) or directly to clothes
4. It's done! now we can use them in any personal items we have/created.

The idea came from the "homemade t-shirt printed" as a gift to hubby's bday last time .. well, you may buy or order the ready made labels, off course .. there's some online shop for this e.g: http://www.twilltape.com/ or using cotton jet print sheet: http://www.spimo.com/accessoires/cottonjet/

But to me, so far this one is close to perfect for my own use ... :)

Making your own label to personalized your handmade products.

Winter Scarf

I'm just making a winter scarf from leftover batik from last project (simple batik dress) with fleece lining to keep oneself warm during winter time ..

** also my entry to JCA's Oct challenge, Autumn Creations.

Batik scraf with fleece lining

warm enough for winter time ..

using a leftover fabric to make something useful ..

warm enough to protect your neck ..

Online Boutique

I've found this site http://www.fait-maison.com/ while clicking one site from bibliothèques municipales Genève and thought of giving it a try ..

I've been looking for a similar site like Etsy but closer to where we live .. and this one is the closest I could get at the moment .. I haven't search a similar site inside Switzerland yet, maybe they have one too. Fait Maison in fact more interesting for me as it offers FREE selling handmade products (pas d'abonnement ni de commissions sur les ventes) or no need to pay a commission to the site like Etsy did. Well, why not giving it a go and see how it goes ...

So, if you happen to live in Switzerland or France, feel free to see my collections and if you like it, now you can buy it :) Just go to http://petits-pas.fait-maison.com/

My First Online Shop (still on trial)

Simple Batik Dress

Another dress made from Batik (and yes, another gift from a friend). Why lately I made batik dresses? well, I wanted to use the fabric I've got from my friends .. and as for me it holds special moments, and special friends who thought of what we really like, what we love and what we need (clearly, it's not easy to find Batik fabric here in Geneva) ... with all those in mind, I wanted to create something special too from those gifts.

So here's the result .. a simple A-line dress in light yellow batik print.

I found it a bit "tricky" and need to be really careful when choosing a pattern for batik

it's done! :)

simple A-line cut

one more batik dress is done.

Girl's red flowery bag

I was just using the leftover fabric from Girl's Jacket project (haven't finished yet) .. and feels like making another bag, this time for my big girl .. like they said, a girl never has enough bags! :)