never change a winning team !

  

The winning team in the girl PJ department over here has changed last May.
It went from "girly nightgown" to "girly top and pants".

I used the Nore - top (Compagnie M) with the cute high-low hem and the Wolf (Zonen 09) pants. Both pattern designers are Belgian. The Nore top/dress is also available in English. My daughter loved the first attempt with this pattern combination. I thought it was a bit large and wanted to size down. The little lady did not agree: she ordered the exact same size, because it's so very very comfy. Her heels won't get cold for a while ;-)

The fabric is the result of my participation in rafflecopter give-aways. I know quite a lot of people don't trust the system. Entering your e-mail or facebook name? What about safety? And do they even give actual prizes? I go by the principle: if you entered your e-mail anywhere, your data is out there. So might as well try and get something in return. I think this is prize number 5 or 6 in a few years. I love give aways!

Rocco @ "Sons09"-Day

I participated in a Zonen09 workshop last Sunday.
Zonen09 is a Belgian designer for boys and men.
They have workshops for us sewing enthusiasts. We are able to sew and relax without the interruptions of "life". You register, pick a pattern and start preparing. You are expected to show up with sewing gear and cut pieces at the Zonen09 headquarters in Gent and Sharon and Isabel make it an awesome day.

Nivalis with squirrels

I have seen them hopping over my screen so many times: pretty little Nivalis dresses.

There are so many variations in this pattern: with or without colorblocking, with or without a collar, even a hood is included! I just had to try at least on of them.

I bought the pattern from Sofilantjes a long time ago. It got back on top of the to sew list when the ladies version launched last year. I haven't tried that one yet, but who knows. This may be the year I dare to make a dress for myself!

Crow Sweater

My last sew of 2017 was a 100% belgian product:
both the pattern and the fabric are "homegrown".

I used an amazing pattern from a belgian sewing book: "Stof-Voor-Durf-Het-Zelvers 3". 

That roughly translates into "fabric/ideas for dare it yourselfers". Griet's first and second book were my guides for the first dress I ever made for my daughter. I made her first communion dress by following her guidelines too. She's awesome!

The pattern for this sweater is pure genius.

Your average sweater pattern has 4 pattern pieces: front, back and 2 sleeves (we're not counting the ribbing). This one is made of 3 pieces. And with those 3 "exotic" pieces, you get a sweater WITH a front pocket. You can see a bit of the magic on picture of the back. 

The picture next to it shows my son's favorite feature: a "tunnel" pocket. You can shake hands in it or squeeze both arms through and get a rather weird pose.

The side seams don't go straight down either in this unusual sweater. They come from the back to the front and magically make the pocket too.

The fabric is from "All Animals Are Equal", a collection by the Belgian company Chat Chocolat. They make very soft french terry.  As a Game of Thrones lover, I fell in love with the crows right away. I showed the release pictures to my son and it only took him half a second to decide it: OK!

I used a tutorial by Riet (Leven met Liv), the creative mind behind Mind The Whale to add thumbholes to the sleeves.

She's also Belgian, so that makes this a triple belgian sew!

A fitting end to a great sewing year!