More Imported Fabrics, Trims, and Patterns from L'Oiseau

While Friday, was all about what I made for my boy, today, it's my little girl who was lucky enough to received two complete outfits made with delights from L'Oiseau.  L'Oiseau is a Canadian online shop which was opened because of a love of creating beautiful and whimsical clothes.  To make those clothes, you need unique and wonderful products, which is exactly what you'll find there.  An added bonus is that everything at L'Oiseau is top quality, so you can shop with confidence.

When browsing through the Ottobre magazine (Autumn 2013 issue) I received from L'Oiseau, I immediately knew I had to make this adorable outfit:

L'Oiseau has an amazing selection of imported European fabrics in beautiful prints.  With so many gorgeous fabrics to choose from, I finally decided on the Dutch Blooms European Jersey Knit.  How could I not when I saw this posted on L'Oiseau's Facebook page?

"This is hands down the most lovely, silky, richly coloured, beautifully draping, all round gorgeous jersey knit I have ever felt...and I have felt a lot of jersey. Everything that came in this past week is...stunning. Can you imagine how comfy and lovely a Christmas dress would be?"

And I thought it was pretty neat that it's also available in corduroy, so, I ordered both.  And I absolutely agree with the comments above…this fabric is GORGEOUS!  The quality of these knits are unlike any I've ever seen.  They are soft, have just the right amount of stretch, and are the perfect weight.  And the fine wale corduroy is just is beautiful.  It's so velvety smooth, and I love the authentic Dutch design.

One note about the blazer: although the pattern recommended a sweatshirt knit, I used the corduroy.  Making no change to the pattern whatsoever, it fit perfectly.  Since it's outerwear, the pattern allowed for the right amount of ease to make it fit great for wovens, too.

Dutch Rose Corduroy

To coordinate with the florals, I went with some fun, vibrant dots.

Dutch Blooms European Jersey Knit, Mini Dots Green, 

Dots Raspberry, Mini Dots Pink

For the second outfit, I decided to make some super easy, fun leggings (appropriately called 'Uncomplicated Leggings') and since I loved how my boy's Beagle Boy Hoodie turned out, made one for Anja as well.  I also adapted the little purse seen in the photo below, but omitting the petals.  You can find a free pattern for it here.  After having made four garments from Ottobre magazine, I have to say I wholeheartedly recommend them.  The fit is fantastic, the designs superb, and the instructions are well-written and concise.  They are not for the beginner, though, in my opinion, since there are no diagrams to help guide you through the sewing process.

In addition to the garments, I had a lot of fun making the matching accessories, adding some cute trims from L'Oiseau.  The are so many ways you can use these to personalize anything you make (or even buy), but I chose to make the couple little purses and hair clips.

 Iron On Appliqué Little Hearts

 Farbenmix Ribbons Chirpy Bundle

If you value exceptional quality, unique design, and top notch customer service, make sure to head over to L'Oiseau and check out their extensive selection!  They are AMAZING!  And head over to their Facebook page to find their newsletter.  There's some very important information about a major Black Friday deal on shipping!

*Although some of the fabrics and notions used to make the garments for this post were provided free of charge, all my enthusiastic opinions are my own.* 

Winchester Lambourne Giveaway Winner

Thank you to everyone who entered to win a ten clipart pack from Winchester Lambourne.  The randomly selected winner is…

Congratulations, Alyssa!  Enjoy your clipart!

L'oiseau - High Quality Imported Fabric, Trim, and Patterns

I cannot be more excited to introduce you to the sponsor of today's post.  If you've ever wondered where you can get high-quality, imported European fabrics, trims, and patterns you need not look any further then L'Oiseau.

 L'Oiseau opened after years of research by a dedicated mom who is passionate about making bright, fun clothing for her children, but had difficulty accessing the beautiful stretchy knits, soft cottons, and whimsical prints from overseas.  Taking this challenge upon herself, Michelle has made these amazing products affordable and accessible to Canadians and crafty-minded sewists around the world who, like me, are desperate for those stunning fabrics to drape their children in!  Thank you, Michelle!!

At  L'Oiseau  you will find European products from which you can make one-of-a kind garments and accessories that will have people stopping you in the streets to ask where you bought them: gorgeous fabrics from the Netherlands, unique Farbenmix ribbons, patches and patterns from Germany, and incredible Ottobre design magazines from Finland.  And that's just to name a few.  Most of the products are OEKO-TEX certified, so you can have confidence in where your products came from and how they were made.

When my package from L'Oiseau arrived, I was in total amazement at the exceptional quality.  To be completely honest, I've never had the opportunity to even touch such luxurious fabrics and notions…EVER!  Let's start with one of the many über cute iron-on appliqués available at L'Oiseau.  The one I selected was perfect for my boy who is currently obsessed with all things outer space: the Otto Space Robot.

In just minutes, given the helpful detailed instructions, I was able to transform an ordinary previously made t-shirt into something charming and distinctive.  Needless to say, he LOVES it!

  

Next up, what I've been wanting to get my hands on for a long, long time: an Ottobre magazine and some beautiful organic interlock knit.  Each quarter, a new issue of Ottobre magazine is released containing 40 full sized patterns for children ranging from sizes 6 months to 14 years for both boys and girls.  That works out to only about .41 cents a pattern!  And the designs have unique details making them different than many of the typical patterns you see everyday.  To see more details, check out the extensive selection at L'Oiseau. 

Browsing through my Autumn 2013 issue, I noticed this cool hoodie.  I loved the patches and the interesting cross-over hood.

Then, for my fabric selection, I headed over to L'Oiseau's impressive selection of 100% organic fabrics and knowing this hoodie was for my boy, these adorable little elephants caught my eye.  The colour combination is perfect for fall and there are so many options for coordinating.  I simply can't get over the lovely the texture and superb quality of this fabric!  It has the perfect amount of stretch and thickness.

Here's the finished product for my boy...  

 

And the fun has only begun!  On Monday, I plan to show you two complete outfits I'm working on for my girl.  Think super soft Dutch fine wale corduroy, silky imported jersey knits, whimsical ribbons and velvety velour patches!  Can you tell how excited I am to share this amazing new shop with you?!  If you want to keep connected with all the new stock and happenings, 'like' L'Oiseau on Facebook.

Have a great weekend, Everyone!

*Although some of the fabrics and notions used to make the garments for this post were provided free of charge, all my enthusiastic opinions are my own.* 

Winchester Lambourne Clipart Illustration Giveaway

For all the fellow crafters out there looking for some fantastic graphics to boost your projects, here's a fantastic giveaway for you!  Winchester Lambourne creates clipart, digital papers for scrapbooking, and custom graphics (including Etsy shop banners, business cards, labels, and stickers).  The designs are amazing with endless possibilities of what you can do with them.

Wondering how to make them relatable to sewing?  Here's what I did with one of my Winchester Lambourne graphics…

Taking one of the rockets from the Space Set, I stencilled this cool print on a shirt I made awhile back.

Here's the tutorial I used to learn how to do this technique.

Here's your chance to win TEN clipart packs of your choice.  Good luck!






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Swing Skirt Pattern Tour and Giveaway

Piping, pockets, and a pleat - that's how I would describe Marte of Compagnie M's new Swing Skirt Pattern.  Like all of Marte's patterns, this skirt is unique and very much a recognizable signature of her work.  I'm honoured to be on the tour, sharing my version of this skirt.

Marte describes it the Swing Skirt as: "...an A-line skirt with a few twists. Big piped pockets & an inverted box pleat make it a sophisticated skirt with just that little extra!".  It certainly does have sophistication and gives you that opportunity to really make it your own.  I chose to keep the skirt all one colour using yellow corduroy, although, I've seen many super cute versions using contrasting fabric for the the pleat and/or pockets.  I did choose to make my own piping out of some adorable Village Green fabric I have left from this dress.  The look was just what I wanted and perfect for Fall.

Although Marte gives excellent instructions on how to sew in the invisible zipper, I chose to an elastic waistband to accommodate how quickly my girl has been growing lately.  There is also an option to add an adjustable elastic for the waistband as well.  Like I said, plenty of options to personalize with this pattern!

And one reader will be lucky enough to win a copy of the Swing Skirt pattern!  I'm sure you will enjoy this unique and versatile skirt as much I did!

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Scandinavian Style Sewing Series

It's Day 2 of the Scandinavian Style Sewing Series hosted by the wonderful Stacey from Boy, Oh Boy, Oh Boy crafts.  I was especially excited in participating in this series because I love this style!  The simplicity and minimalism are right up my design alley, and I couldn't wait to create my look.  My research took my to CIFF and the Scandinavian Mini Mall.  There, I found gorgeous garments ranging from bright, whimsical prints to understated modern neutrals.  Searching my stash, I found some cozy off-white faux fur I bought ages ago, and knew in an instant that it had to be a part of the outfit in the form of a reversible vest.  From there, the rest came together, from the black ribbed jersey turtleneck, to the quilted cotton skirt, and finally, up-cycled leg warmers made from socks.  

All the garments for this outfit were adapted from existing clothing or self-drafted patterns.  If you'd like to re-create part of the look, I've got a couple tutorials for you.

CLICK HERE for the Legwarmer Tutorial

CLICK HERE for the Faux Fur Vest Tutorial

Thank you Stacey for this great idea for a series and for the invitation to participate.  

Faux Fur Vest Tutorial