Perfectly Preppy Skort

Also for my niece's birthday I made a skort from the Perfectly Preppy Skirt/Skort pattern by the Scientific Seamstress. I made her one of these for her last birthday, which she wore at every opportunity.

After consulting with my sister (her Mum), it was determined that her current favourite things are butterflies and the colour purple. With this insight, I went fabric shopping for inspiration, and found what I hope will be a hit.

The main fabric is a quilting cotton with an interesting texture to it, and the lining and shorts are made from a poly cotton poplin. Because the purple is quite dark, I matched the shorts to the pink in the main fabric for a bit of contrast. My only variation from the pattern instructions was to use adjustable buttonhole elastic in the back waistband.

I again opted to make the version with the full circle skirt, as this is a great summer style. Something I'm really pleased about with this version is that the weight of the quilting cotton makes it drape really nicely.

You can see my previous version of this pattern here.

Red Riding Hood Cape

I recently dipped into my copy of Little Things to Sew again, for a great wee present for my niece's 3rd birthday. I chose to make the Red Riding Hood Cape as pictured on the front cover.

I found some fantastic red cotton corduroy for the main fabric, and some matching quilting cotton for the lining. I also chose a fun wee button to hold it closed.

As always, the sewing instructions are excellent and result in a really nice finish with all the seams completely enclosed. I completed the sewing for this at my monthly sewing group, and the ladies were suitably impressed.

This will be suitable as a lightweight topper in cooler weather, or as a dress-up costume component - will have to see what the whims of a 3 year old decide!

Skirt Bag

After my previous bag was getting a bit untidy looking, I decided to make myself a new bag. I prefer a cross body style and the Michelle Patterns Skirt Bag was just what I was after.

After some too-ing and fro-ing on fabric choice, I chose a cotton drill with a vintage cotton reel print that I found at Spotlight. The lining is in a matching purple colour.

As always, the instructions in the Michelle Patterns are clear and well thought out, and produce a tidy end product.
There are included a few different ways to finish the inside pockets - either leave as one large pocket, or include pen slots and a smaller pocket. I did one of each, but would break up the larger pocket next time as it flops open a bit.

I'm really pleased with how it turned out, and it has generated some positive comments from people who have seen me wearing it.