The Diva Collection by Tie Dye Diva!

I was so honored to be given the trust and opportunity to test for the very talented designer at Tie Dye Diva Sewing Patterns, Jen. TDD released two of their designs for the Diva Collection, and I had so much fun testing these patterns.

The first in the collection is the Coral Dress and Top. I tested the Top version in size 7/8 for my lil miss Hanan :) My lil model is a big girl now and  boy it is not easy sewing for bigger girls as they can be so opinionated! But I tried making it easier for both of us by asking her to choose fabrics and gently guiding her on how I think the prints would work together.

As you can see this gorgeous pattern allows you to select up to 5 fabrics to mix and match! Well, I didn't really go by the rule and just had so much fun selecting fabrics and trims for that cute apron!

Little Miss love it so much! I tested this pattern during Ramadhan so with fasting and the heat combined, I did not have the energy to drive to another location for photo. The front of the house would do lol

Closeup. The Coral Dress is very versatile, there are many options available. You can make either top or dress, with or without apron, and choose between 3 sleeves options - ties, flutter or cap. I made the cap sleeves for Hanan. And this dress is the perfect opportunity for you to learn how to shir! Jen gives excellent tips and tutorial on shirring, it is very easy, you'll have fun, I promise!

The back. Love the Coral, it is Hanan's favorite too as she is more of a top and leggings girl than dresses :)

Next in the Diva Collection that I tested is the Sterling Ruffle Leggings. There is also options of ruffle shorties and this pattern is easy, easy, easy! Seriously you could finish making this in 1 hour tops!

I used a pretty floral knit fabric that I hoarded years ago...so happy to finally use it! The knit fabric you choose would really make the final look of the leggings. The one I used is so thin and it curls like crazy especially on  the ruffles, but I think it adds character hahah... :P

I also sewed the top to go with the leggings in cute alphabet prints. I used the Bohemian Babydoll pattern by E&E. It's a tad big on her, but oh she will grow into it very quickly.

All is happy and well for the little model, yeay to pattern testing! I highly recommend all TDD patterns, I have bought almost all of them and used them over and over. Hop on over too the TDD pattern shop to view more. You will find that they do offer some items for Sale at reduced price from time to time.

Thank you for reading my friends! Till another sewing post have a beautiful day! 

Pattern Review - Ceci Shorts by Petite Kids Boutique and Discount Coupon!

I was given the opportunity to test and review a cute pattern called Ceci Shorts a while back, designed by fellow Malaysian pattern designer selling on etsy, Petitekids. The owner, Wong Li Sian, is so sweet and helpful and has agreed to give a 20% discount coupon to all Sew Retro Chic and Lovemelots readers! Thank you so much Wong, you're the best! :)

As for the Ceci Shorts pattern, I tell you, this is the easiest shorts sewing pattern I've ever attempted. Seriously, Wong's tutorial is so simple, to the point and very clear I have no problem whatsoever. I completed the cute shorts for my lil Hanan in less than 1 hour...I made size 4T and the sizing is spot on for my lil girl....

I love the cute little pockets! If you've never sewn pockets before this is a great opportunity to learn...patch pocket is simple and easy to do :)

The little bow detail on the sides that's so cute! This is the only part of the pattern that I changed. I added a few inches when cutting the bow coz I wanted it longer and the bow looks more prominent :)

Isn't it obvious how much the little model loves her new shorts? Lol! She wears the shorts every other day, especially now that the weather is warmer, it's so comfy for her to run around in :)

All in all, this Ceci Shorts pattern is a must in your pattern stash for anytime you want to reach for easy-to-sew-yet-cute-outcome-everytime pattern. For that, the designer has generously given a 20% discount for all my blog readers, not just for this particular pattern but for ANY pattern in her etsy shop! Please use the coupon code LOVEMELOTS01 to receive the discount. For Malaysian buyers, Petitekids also accept bank transfers though her Facebook page.

I will be back with another pattern review for Petitekids soon, this time it's a dress and I am sew excited!

Ruffle Pants & Dresses To Tame My Fear of The Finals

I tell myself I have to post one last entry before I go on a 2 weeks hiatus as my final exam is approaching. I can't believe how fast time flies, I felt like just yesterday I enrolled for my MBA and in a week time, my fate for this semester will be sealed! Pheww...a part of me is actually glad that 4 subjects is over and done with as I know I can only strive ahead, no point looking back lol

I sewed this simple ruffle pants for little miss Hanan. She is SO in love with the pants mainly because I used this cute MM print.....and until today, she still calls hearts "Losh" a.k.a Love :D 

This one is a simple dress I made as a birthday gift for my little neighbor, baby Rania, who's celebrating her 1st birthday today. I wish I could get a photo of her in it. She's the cutest, cheekiest little princess!

And these are an assorted of pretty dresses ordered by a lovely customer, Sham. Hope you like them dear and thank you for your order :)

Last, but not least, a note to you who might wonder how do I manage all these? Motherhood, sewing and studying? Honestly, I have no idea lol! I'd be lying if I say it's all a piece of cake. No way! The stress overwhelms me at times. But I try to take it easy...I tell myself I'm studying to learn new things everyday, not to push for straight A's. I already have a good, steady job, an MBA is definitely a confidence booster but in my line of work, it is not a tool to climb the "corporate" ladder (you see, I am not working in a corporation lol). 

At the end of the day, as I always confided to hubby, I wanna prove to my little girls that if mommy can do it, they can too! :)

So next 2 weeks I'll be sitting for my final exams four papers - Managerial Economics, Operations Management, Accounting for Decision Makers and Organisational Behavior. Tsk. I am actually not good with exams. I wish the whole program is based on Case Studies or Presentations. Now, that is where I can excel, I love presentations believe it or not.

Ok gotta go drown myself in books. Not a stitch till the exam is over.

Pray for my success my friends? Thank you :)

Handmade Gift for My Nephew

Hello! I'm blogging amidst boxes and stuff over here, can't wait for the move to be over so that things could go back to normal :)

I made this capri pants last week, for this special little boy in my life, my cutie pie nephew, Imran Iskandar, who just turned 3. 

He is the same age as Hanan but was born in May. We had a foursome birthday celebration for Imran (May), Hanan (July), my sister (July) and me (June). This year we combined these birthdays in one party, very economical lol. Birthdays have always been a family event for us. We usually gather at my parents' place, cook together and my dad would say the prayer and we all eat and be merry. The highlight for the kids have always been opening the presents at the end of the party. This year I made my favourite Shrimp and Mango Cocktail. It was a big hit at the party!

The easiest salad ever. Just lightly boil some shrimps, cube some ripe mangoes, scatter them on a bed of lettuce and dribble salad dressing over (here I just use Thousand Island). Best served cold. Yummm!

Back to the capri pants, I made it using linen and patched the pockets using my favourite green print. It fits Imran just nice, I just hope he won't outgrow it too fast. I used a pattern from the latest Cucito, Summer 2010.

That's it for now. I'm saving the special birthday dress I sewed for Hanan later. I promise will blog about it soonest as we move into the new home. I have big plans there especially for my bigger and better sewing cum study room. At 9 this morning (July 5th) I'm off to register for my MBA, a new chapter in my life...fingers crossed!

Thank you for reading friends, have a beautiful, loving day :)

Love,
Zura

Pretty PJs and My First Collar

I was able to compelete this PJ after abandoning it for almost 2 weeks after cutting. I used patterns from Emma Hardy's book, Making Children's Clothes. The top is from the boy's shirt pattern and the pants is from the pajama pattern. Both gave me headache.

The reason is this is my first attempt at attaching a collar (this one is a flat type, round collar, not sure if it's the same as Peter Pan collar) and I had to choose a book with very little detail on how to do just that *sigh*

Have you tried any pattern from this book?

I wish I read the review on Amazon about this first before attempting the button down shirt. I am not alone!

I sewed the pants from the pajama pattern in the book, there's also something wrong there construction wise. The pants ended up funny looking and fit real bad, but still wearable. I don't know if any of the patterns were tested or not, despite it's cuteness I'm a bit scared to try the others in it.

The collar's instruction was really scant and the ugly exposed seams are just too much! I had to stitch a bias tape to cover it but still I think it's bad, just look at that! The method is wrong somehow. I wish the author would put more care in writing the instructions.

The book has some really cute girls patterns, which what made me bought it in the first place. But I am a bit disappointed with sewing books written in English, which suppose to make it easier for home sewists. Nope, looks like I've to practice more using either the Japanese books or those wonderful pdf tutorials with step by step photos. So far, I found much success using them than full fledge sewing books or commercial patterns ( I hate flimsy tissue papers in those patterns urgh).

At least Hanan is at peace with her new PJs, happy, nonetheless :)

Easy Lounge Pants, Express Version

I need lounge pants. Desperately. Because I've worn mine to death, especially those in comfy woven cottons. I decided I gotta make one, pronto. Too lazy to trace any paper pattern in my collection, I used the following method.

I used my old, trusted lounge pants. Fold it, making sure the crotch part is pulled all the way out and pin to folded fabric. Cut the fabric (on the fold) with seam allowance i.e 2 inches longer at waist and hem and 1 inch bigger on the sides.

Unpin the old pants. Take the above piece and pin again to the remaining yardage to cut an exact second piece. You will have two folded pieces of fabric for the "new" pants at this stage.

Open the 2 pieces of cut fabric. With right sides together, sew (or serge) the crotch top sides as shown above.

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Now, take the middle of the pants and pull open so that it lays like above. Sew the inseam as shown by arrows, going all the way round. Zig zag stitch or serge the seams edge.

Hemming - Press the hem 1/4 inch, press again 1/2 inch for both legs. Stitch hem. Do the same for the waist, but do not sew all the way round. Leave a 1 inch gap to thread the elastic in.

Elastic - measure your waist and take off 1 inch - that is the length of elastic you need.

Thread the elastic using a pin through the gap created before. Overlap the elastic ends and stitsh to secure it. Sew the gap close once elastic is threaded.

Press all seams and voila!

So comfy! Am totally hugging myself here :P

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Pink Polkadot PJ for Hanan

I started a few projects this weekend but only managed to complete this one. I am working on another major attempt (by my standard) at sewing a garment for myself. Will have to see if I can conquer that one before the end of the week. The best thing about sewing for yourself is, there's no pressure to finish it on time (only if there's no special event dateline in the picture lol).

This is a simple PJ for Hanan. Peasant style top with capri pants. Material is comfy lightweight cotton, dunno why it looks shiny in the pictures. I accidentally cut both sleeves with the selvedges, too lazy to thread elastic there, decided to just leave it as it is. Perhaps I'll thread it on another day.

More than the Pjs itself, I love Hanan's expressions. :)

Adore Me! - Baby Iman in Kimono PJs

Presenting baby Iman in the Kimono Pjs I made for him.

Just look at him!! How precious! I feel like reaching out and pinching those chubby cheeks! So happy the pjs fit him. Oh, and my colleague said too nice to sleep in, these are his pictures taken before a family outing. Looks like I will definitely make more handmade gifts! :)

Amy Butler’s Kimono Style PJs - Gift For Baby Iman

I finished making a handmade Kimono PJs as a gift for a colleague's new baby boy, Iman. I'm a bit late as he's already 2 months old now.

This is a pattern from Amy Butler's pattern book Little Stitches for Little Ones, the Kimono Style PJ. I used the 3-6 months size as my colleague said his baby has already outgrown newborn size. The fabric is beautiful, whimsical baby print from the Hushabye Colection by Tula Pink. This is the closest boy print I could find in my stash. There's still some hints of pinks in it J

The construction of this PJ is fairly easy. I know my way around most of it even when the book does not have many pictures in the sewing instructions (lots of beautiful final product pictures though). The hardest part for me was the bias binding. I think I've missed the "single fold" part and prepared a double fold bias. I ended up having a narrower bias trim. Other than that, the whole experience of sewing this special kimono pj was beautiful......

.....because I've yearned for a baby boy since forever....after two girls (which I adore and wouldn't change for anything), I dream of a little boy to cherish and to love. I actually went to hubby after finishing this kimono, and whispered that I want a baby boy. He looked at me, smiled, kissed my forehead and basically stayed away from me the whole night LOL!

So for now, this special handmade gift will go to baby Iman. Hope it will fit him and I've asked my friend to take a picture of him in it (coz I have not seen him personally) and perhaps I could feature him here.

Off to find its new owner. Fabric card I made up from my fabric scraps.

Story Of Rustic Pants, Bohemian Dress and The Dress That Ran Away

You think I'd let last weekend by without any sewing? No way!

I managed to sew a pair of rustic looking linen pants for my nephew Imran. A Bohemian Style dress for Hanan and botched a dress from an old shirt lol!

The story begins with...

I love the look of rustic linen in natural color. I experimented with topstitching with contrasting thread. But looking at the pocket - I don't know whether I should laugh or cry! It's suppose to be front pockets sewn to the side reaching over to the back. It became Giant Pockets simply because I miscalculated the position lol!

This one turned out like a dream! Being totally freakish when sewing without a pattern, I purchased this from ManiMina, a talented seller on etsy. So simple to sew and I love the possibilities with fabric combo, definitely a keeps! The fabrics here are Amy Butler from my shop and a green polka dots cotton. Very bohemian look I must say. Hanan as usual is always happy to try it on and smile for the camera.

Hmmmm......what do you think? Really appreciate if you'd let me know :-)

THE ONE THAT GOT AWAY......
(click to enlarge)

Well...what to say...it's a learning process rite? I wanted to turn my old shirt into a dress after being so inspired with this, this and this. But instead of following the tutorial to the T, I made an unwise decision to try and jazz it up with my own version. The rest is history. It went so wrong, the shirt was really meant to be thrown away after all LOL! This has thaught me that at this stage of sewing skill I'm at, better stick to following tutorials or patterns closely......

Next project - PJs for Hanan & another skirt for Aisha (she's feeling left out and I don't have the heart to tell her that mommy is a bit scared of cutting precious fabrics for bigger girls, in case I botch the project again....)