Happiness Halter Playsuit Pattern Review and Giveaway

When my youngest was a toddler I had just started to learn how to sew and over the years I made a few pieces of clothing for her but nothing as cute as the toddler top you see pictured above! It's made from Lisa Lam's new sewing pattern called Happiness Halter Playsuit.* It's a pattern with a lot of variations and possibities. Because I was a bit pressed for time I chose to make the simplest option which is the Halter top but you can also make a dress or a Playsuit from the same pattern.

For my review I used a PDF version of the pattern so there was some printing and sticking together of paper involved before I could start cutting fabric, but the pattern normally is available as a 'hard copy' with full sized pattern sheet which is much simpler to use obviously! I made the top for a 2 year old (as I happen to know a nearly 2 year old girl) using fabric from my stash. The main fabric is Jenn Ski's Mod-Century Petal and I'm not 100% sure about the ties and ruffles but I think it's from the Urban Chicks Boho line of fabric.

A bit of elastic on the back to ensure a good fit

Even with quite a limited experience in making kids clothes, or clothes in general, I found the pattern quite easy to follow. There are always moments when you use a pattern for the first time that you have to read something a few times before you get it. In these instances the illustrations (photos) were very helpful. All in all it did take me a few hours to put this top together.

Things like the ruffles make the sewing a little less straightforward (or quick) but add to a professional looking finish I think. There was a point in the process where according to the pattern I had to put my machine on 0 tension (which I did) to make the ruffle and that didn't quite work as well on my machine. I ended up with a huge nest of thread and found that when I repeated the step but putting my tension on 3, gave a better result.

I do think the pattern is suitable if you are very new at sewing as each step in the process is well described and illustrated. It will take some time to finish but you'll learn some good basics along the way as well like making a ruffle, ties, hemming, inserting elastic in a casing etc. and you will have a great looking piece of clothing for your toddler in the end.

Alongside the Happiness Halter Playsuit Pattern, Lisa released another pattern called the Dance with me Dress which also includes a few cute variations on the basic pattern. The photo on front of the pattern shows that with the right choice of fabric you can create a simple but fabulous looking garment for any occasion! Both patterns are available here OR if you leave a comment on this post before 12 noon (Amsterdam Time) on Saturday the 12th, you have a chance of winning both patterns. Good luck everyone!  Giveaway is closed winner will be announced soon.

Take a peek at the 'blog hop' schedule for more posts about this pattern (including more reviews and giveaways).

*I received the PDF versions of the patterns without obligations to review and as always everything I write is my own opinion. 

Toof

As Luna is about to lose her first milk tooth, we started a project together to make a small Tooth Fairy bag. I cut the fabrics, Luna (with a little guidance) does the sewing on her mini Janome.  I told Luna she could rummage through my scrap baskets and stash with smaller pieces to select fabrics for the bag. She loves novelty fabrics and bright prints and put together an interesting set of fabrics. :)  I cut a 'tooth' from white felt and in a later stage I will  embroider some eyes and a mouth on it so it will look a little like the lovely Ickle & Lardee, stars of the wonderful My Milk Toof blog.

Tiny Stitches on a Mini Sewing Machine

This weekend Luna finally received her own little sewing machine, a Janome mini! Because we had lots of family over to celebrate our birthdays on Saturday we had to wait until Sunday to actually try it out. I set up a little table and chair right next to my own sewing table. In the green basket Luna has her own 'stash' and her own fabric scissors. I had planned on continuing work on the patchwork doll's quilt we were making but Luna decided she wanted to make a bag for her doll. 

So we made a bag! (probably hardly visible on the photo) A bit fiddly as a first project because it is so small, but at least she got to practice sewing straight lines. The Janome Mini is a very basic and light machine but it's perfect for kids who want to learn how to sew. It has ten stitches, all of them varieties (different lengths) of the straight stitch and the zig zag stitch.  It's actually recommended from age 8 and up but since Luna only gets to use it when I'm around and she is very precise in everything she does I think it's fine for her to use it.

Happy Mail & a sewing session with a five year old

There was much awesomeness in my mailbox yesterday. The very lovely Katy sent me two sewing books! See and Sew is a sewing book for children which is perfect because I have just started to teach Luna a few basic sewing skills (more about that later) It's a lovely book with lots of cute vintage illustrations,  basic (embroidery) stitches and clear instructions how to make simple projects. Most kids will probably need some help from their parents with most of the projects I think. As an extra Katy added Cath Kidston's Sew book with 40 cute and easy projects. Thank you so much Katy!

These are a few strips I made together with Luna on my Husqvarna. We are making a little doll quilt for her toy horse. First she chose some fabrics from my scrap stash. Luna actually requested Heather Ross Unicorn fabric but I only have one little square left and she quite happily settled for a purple and green extravaganza instead. ;)

I then cut the scraps in 3 inch squares and let Luna  'design' the lay out on the floor. The lay out got mixed up again when she brought the squares to the machine but that's o.k. Sitting on my lap,  I let her guide the fabric through the machine, back stitch at beginning and end and raise and lower the foot. I also let her use the pedal while I was sewing to give her a feeling of pressure on the pedal and speed of the machine.

Does that sound like a good first lesson for a 5 (nearly 6) year old in using a sewing machine? Next time we are putting the strips together to finish the quilt top. Do you sew together with your kids? I thought it was fun but I must admit that it definitely helps that she really wants to learn how to sew!

Camelot

This morning I went with Zoe to the childrens book slash toystore in town and we came across this fantastic game which I had to bring home with me. It's called Camelot Jr and it's a big hit with both Luna (4) and Zoe (8)! The subtitle of the game is 'a romantic challenge' because you have to bring a knight and a princess together by making a path using 'stairs' and 'towers'. The levels of the 48 challenges range from simple to extremely difficult. I can't wait to try one of the more advanced levels myself but I'm afraid the girls won't let me so I have to wait until they are in bed. The girls also have a lot fun letting the knight and the princess, once reunited, kiss for an extremely long time with a lot of smacking slurpy noises. :D

Traveldoodlestorylog

I love this book by Charlotte Samiec! Not just because the colour of the cover is chartreuse, one of my favourite colours. I could write an entire blogpost about that colour, and I will but not now! It's a great book for children of about 8-10 years old. Zoe is 8 and I think she will enjoy it. It features a range of creative stuff (drawing, writing) to do while you're traveling very much based on observations of your new environment. Like 'Write what you did today from your shoes' point of view'. Or a list of stuff children have to spot in an art museum or gallery like 'a loaf of bread, a suitcase and a painting with a really crazy name'. Kids can also record foreign words, traveldata etc etc. There's a mini Snakes and Ladders game in there as well. Too much to mention really. At the back of the book there is a place to store tichets and such. And last but not least: the book is wonderfully illustrated by Andrew Pinder.

Versatile patterns

I've heard of people using colouring pages as embroidery patterns, but embroidery patterns also make excellent colouring pages. Luna (4) started with an interesting colour choice for the Hibernating Bear: hot pink. She loved the Anteater pattern but gave up on the Princess after a mattress or two...