handmade wardrobe // Floreat, and a mini, and a tote bag too

top : Megan Nielsen Floreat top in Cloud 9 double gauze from Fabric.com

penny’s top: Butterick 3642 in same fabric

jeans: Urban Outfitters

tote: handmade using this Megan Nielsen tutorial

slides: Target (last year)

Penny’s shoes: Old Navy

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I recently worked on updating some old tutorials for Megan Nielsen Design Diary, including this DIY canvas tote! It’s nothing fancy, just a basic oversized tote bag. But a perfect carry-all when you need to take a small collection of toddler toys and snacks with you everywhere, haha. I actually didn’t use a traditional canvas, but instead a nice weight cotton/linen blend in a subtle stripe. I added a small macrame feather I made one night while crafting (search Pinterest for “macrame feather” to find a few different DIYS).

I actually made this brown Floreat top back in the fall, but it was already too cold to wear it without layering. So I’m happy to finally have some warmer weather to wear it alone and let it shine! And of course, I made sure I had just enough left to make a matching top for P. I love this double gauze - I actually bought it in two colors and used the blue one to make the jumpsuits a few posts back!

Snapshots // a Happy Place adventure

When I saw that a Happy Place pop-up was coming to Boston, I jumped online and bought tickets ASAP. I knew P would love it, and lets face it - me too. I mean… just look at all this Instagram-perfect content haha. There were so many rooms, including a yellow ball pit ‘pot of gold’ at the end of a rainbow, an upside down room, mirrored walls, ducky bathroom, confetti dome, and so much more. We had soooo much fun and P is still talking about the ball pit. She jumped in all by herself, and it was a big jump for a little girl! (theres a blurry photo below of her jumping)

If you’re in Boston and want to go yourself, the pop-up is around until June 2. My advice: Try to get the earliest time slot of the day and get there early, too. It gets craaaaazy crowded and overwhelming with so many people trying to get pictures. We were the very first ones in line for our group/the first time slot of the day, so we were able to stay a bit ahead of the crowd and even had a couple rooms to ourselves at some points. But that never would’ve happened if we weren’t the first ones in.

handmade wardrobe // not mellow yellow

my top: Megan Nielsen Patterns Floreat top (knotted) in a yellow rib knit from Fabric.com (no longer available)

Penny’s top (in same fabric) and dress: Simplicity 8706

my jeans: Megan Nielsen Dawn jeans in cream denim from Style Maker Fabrics

My shoes: Swedish Hasbeens

Penny’s shoes: Old Navy

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Not as many photos to choose from for this outfit set, because someone was a bit cranky and not in the mood for photos. So we cut it short after a few snaps. She still cute tho.

This isn’t a new handmade outfit. You’ve seen both of these garments before. I wore the Floreat top before here, and in this outfit I just knotted the angled hem for a different look.  Read about these Dawn jeans here. And I also posted about just Penny’s outfit when I first made it (here), if you want to see it closer up and see her happier to be wearing it HA.

handmade wardrobe // jumpsuit twins

jumpsuit fabric: Cloud 9 double gauze from Fabric.com

my jumpsuit: free pattern with purchase of Mimi G Sew Sew Def magazine

Penny’s jumpsuit: Hello Dear Kids harem jumpsuit

Penny’s turban: Nelly Lou

my tee : Madewell

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A part of me thinks I may be getting a little out of control, a little crazy, with these mommy and me matching outfits. But also…… I’ll never stop, HA. Usually when I make matching outfits for us, I use the same fabric but different types of garments. With this one I went all-in and made matching jumpsuits. Maybe thats why I think its a little crazier.

This is my third time making a version of this jumpsuit (see the last one here), so I obviously love it. It’s not the easiest to get your hands on - you have to buy Issue 2 of Mimi G’s PDF magazine. It doesn’t list the jumpsuit as one the free patterns, but it is included, and worth it. The only thing I change is that I cut the straps into 4 pieces instead of two, so I can tie them and make it adjustable. Its definitely a layering piece for me because of the low cut, I would never wear it without something underneath. But thats how I like to wear most of my jumpsuits anyway. It makes it more comfortable when going to the bathroom in a jumpsuit - you don’t end up completely naked just to pee, ha.

But my favorite part of all of this is P’s jumpsuit. Its a harem pant that goes all the way up to under her arms. And the ruffle at the top and ankles are just the sweetest. Her favorite part, of course, are the little pockets. The PDF pattern is another one from the Etsy shop Hello Dear Kids. And again, the instructions are not the best. But its pretty straight forward if you have any knowledge of sewing and using patterns already.

handmade wardrobe // double stripes

my top: Megan Nielsen Rowan Bodysuit

Penny’s dress: self drafted

striped fabric: modal jersey knit from Cali Fabrics

Penny’s necklace: me-made DIY

both of our boots: Target , my jeans: Urban Outfitters, my sweater: thrifted

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You’ve seen this bodysuit around here before - I made it back in September. But I realized I had some leftover fabric, so I made up a quick dress for P to match! And duh, we obviously needed a whole photoshoot for it, ha.

not much to say here for this set, just a lot of pretty pictures :). As I say all the time, Rowan has become a wardrobe staple for me. And for reference - I have a long torso and add an inch in length to the bodysuit!

handmade wardrobe // #sewbibs

my overalls: Megan Nielsen Patterns Flint pants with bib add-on (tutorial here) in tencel twill from Blackbird Fabrics

my top: Megan Nielsen Patterns Rowan bodysuit

Penny’s top: Butterick 6342

Penny’s pants: Gymboree

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My second pair of Flint bibs, and I’m obsessed (see first pair here). And also my contribution to the #sewbibs challenge put together by Heidi, Teri, Meg, and Jessamy!

Unlike my first version, which was made out of a more traditional twill, for this one I chose a really lovely tencel twill from Blackbird Fabrics. It’s so drapey and soft and perfect. And while I love the look of my other stiffer-hand pair as well, this fabric with this pattern is just soooo dreamy. Now if only I remembered to apply interfacing to the waistband, because all I can see in these photos is the seam allowance crease through the center. Doh! But I think I’ll survive, and the overalls will survive, and I’ll wear them over and over and over. And if you want to make a pair yourself, don’t forget that I wrote the tutorial for bib over at Design Diary!

I had a little bit of fabric left over, so I was able to squeeze out this little ruffle top for P, as well. Because, duh, I will always take an opportunity for her to match me, Ha!

Handmade Wardrobe // Mommy and Me, Forever and Ever

my top: Simplicity 8636

my jeans: Megan Nielsen Patterns ash jeans

Penny’s pants:  Hello Dear Kids frill suspender pants

Our fabric: blush slub linen blend from Measure Fabric

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I know I say this a lot, but this is one of my favorite makes eeeeeever. Its just… It’s just exactly what I pictured. And the setting for the photos is exactly what I pictured, too.

So it all started with this blush linen from Measure Fabric. I’ve had an idea for this Simplicity top in a blush color for awhile, just hadn’t picked up the right fabric yet. Well this one is actually a twill suiting. So I asked the ladies at Measure if they thought it would work for this kind of top, and not only did they tell me theyre opinion, but they even sent me a video of them holding the fabric and letting it drape so I could see for myself. Above and beyond! SO yes, it is a twill suiting, but the weight and drape is so beautiful, it actually works really well for this voluminous blouse. And you can’t really see in these photos, but the slub texture is so lovely, too! And it has a bit of stretch, so could work for so many different garments, too.

So. this top. Love. Well, mostly. If I were to make it again, I think I would just lengthen the top yoke sections a bit. I fell like where the yoke seam hits right at my shoulder edge, it kind of flares out a bit and gives me really wide shoulders. Perhaps if the yoke section was a bit longer, it would drape a little nicer.  But still, not too bad, and still so pretty.

Once I had my top planned out, I obviously had to make something for P as well. I became stuck on the idea of these suspender pants from Hello Dear Kids. They are an Etsy shop that sells so many cute PDF kids patterns. And cheap, too. I don’t necessarily love the instructions. But it didn’t really matter for me (I really just did the construction my way, anyway). It was a tight squeeze, fitting it in on the rest of the linen yardage. But I juuuuuuust made it fit. Except for the waistband lining - I used some of my Grandma’s old fabric scraps, which you can kind of get a little peek at in one of the photos below. The end result was so, so good. Fit her perfect, and now I’m convinced I need a pair in my size.

Anywho, check out some of the detail shots below!

handmade wardrobe // more Dawn, and Romy too

top: Romy top by Tessuti Patterns in a mora slub from Stone Mountain & Daughter Fabrics

pants: Dawn jeans by Megan Nielsen Patterns in a bleached wash denim from Harts Fabric

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I love my other pair of wide leg Dawn jeans so much, I needed to make another pair! This time in a light bleached wash denim. I’m definitely more of a lighter to medium-wash denim girl, as opposed to dark denim. Just like before, this is straight from the pattern, size 0. No adjustments! I love this pattern so much. I did add a little extra touch to the back pockets. Originally, I didn’t plan on any decorative stitching. But just before I was about to attach them to the pants, I decided to just start stitching. Blindly. After a few stitches, I thought, Sure! that looks ok. HA. so I quickly mirrored it onto the other pocket and ta-daaaaaa. Oh, and the pocket bags are so, so special too. I used fabric that used to belong to my Grandma. I inherited her sewing machine and a bunch of supplies, and scraps of this kitty fabric were hiding in there. I’ve kept these scrap pieces for years, not sure what I would ever do with them. But i was so lucky that I was just able to squeeze out the pocket bag pieces. These jeans have so many special touches.

The top is my very first Romy tank. I made the XXS. I love love love the shape of this top, but I think I will make a few small changes for the next one. For one, I think the top is just a smidge too wide on me. So I plan on bringing it in on each side just a tiny bit, as well as raising the underarm a little, too. Oh, and this mora slub viscose/linen fabric? A new found love. I already ordered 2 more colors in it and I really want more. Soooo soft!

handmade wardrobe // ogden scalloped

dress: True Bias Ogden cami hacked to dress length with scalloped neckline, in a viscose twill

top: Megan Nielsen Patterns rowan bodysuit in a slub jersey knit

jacket: very old Forever21

So, I’ve had this idea for this scalloped v-neck slip dress in my head for a very long time now and I finally decided to make it happen. Well, if you follow me on instagram, you may have saw that it wasn’t exactly going how I had planned. I have done scalloped hems on shorts and skirts before that have come out beautiful. But for some reason, maybe because its a lighter drapier fabric and not a bottomweight that I worked with for the previous ones, but these scallops were just not coming out perfect. In fact, I re-did them 6 times. Six. They’re uneven and imperfect, which was making my eye twitch a bit and made me consider scraping the whole thing. But in the end, I decided I still liked the overall look of the dress, and you can’t really see the imperfections unless you’re right up close and personal. I’m just committed to never looking too closely at that neckline every again, ha!

handmade wardrobe // one for me, one for you, Darling

my top: Megan Nielsen Patterns rowan bodysuit

my skirt: Megan Nielsen Patterns wattle skirt

Penny’s pinafore: Jilly Atlanta macy pinafore

Fabric for both of us: Cotton + Steel checkers cotton gingham from Fabric.com

Penny’s turban: Nelly Lou

I’ve been teasing these outfits on Instagram for a little bit now, and have been dyyyying for a warm enough day to wear them out and get pictures together. Well ewe got an amazingly warm 63 degree day last week and I was so happy!

My skirt is the gathered version of the Wattle skirt with tie waistband. I also added an extra ruffle to the hem in a larger scale of the same gingham print. And of course, I made a matching pinafore for P from my favorite kids patterns (they have so may cute options!). I mean, come ooooooon. we’ll be wearing these all spring and summer, for sure. Penny has recently really started to notice when we match (and thankfully likes it lol). When I put an outfit on her that matches what I’m wearing, she’ll lean in really close to me and put her shoulder against mine and say “look Mama, we match!”. Heart. In a. Million. Pieces.