Here is a new sewing project I am working on: a balloon dress. For this one I am again using a (very simple) pattern of Burda.

Above you can see what the end result will look like (on the right) and the pattern on the fabric (on the left).

And this is the result so far. I am not totally happy with the elastic in the jersey tunnel at the top, it shouldn't be visible. So I still want to change that and then attach the hem to the lining which will give the dress it's proper 'balloon' shape. It has to be worn with a belt though, otherwise I will really look like a big balloon :)

xx Anne-

It's obviously better to finish of existing work in progress items, but it is so much more fun to start a new project!

So here's another new project in my famous stash of work in progress projects.

This delicate piece of crochet is in the process of becoming a pillow cover (at this moment, I might change my mind later).

It is almost the same pattern as I used in this pillow cover, but this new one has a bigger shell (8 DC instead of 5) and in between it has 3DC instead of two.

These are the rows in the middle of the cover. It's quite hard to see but I have actually used two different colours here. Off white and beige.

I love the delicate yarn in this project. It has very beautiful colours too: Drops Cotton Viscose. The hook I used is 4mm.

I wonder how long it will take to finish this one :)

XX Anne-Marie

When moving into our new house a couple of years ago we bought a big long table that could fit eight chairs. So we bought the table and then started to think about the chairs. And that was a bit of a different story. Trying to find eight chairs with a height higher than a normal size chair proved to be a challenge. And we basically gave up... A family member came to the rescue who had eight chairs and didn't need them anymore. Lucky us! So then we had eight matching chairs, which did look a bit old. Chair covers were needed!

I started with these piles and piles of pattern parts (remember I needed to make 8?). One advantage was that I already cut the pattern parts and even created one chair cover in a previous attempt to make chair covers. This time I had to pull through. Although it did feel a bit (a lot actually) as production work in a sweat shop. So let's start.

First I turned the chair cover main part inside out, and put it over the back of the chair. Then I pinned the side parts to the main part - which you can see in the right picture. And then, sew sew sew.....

This is the in between result. Looks pretty okay, doesn't it? But if you look closely you see that the seems do not look very finished. So back to turning all the covers inside out and over the chair.

I pinned all the seems based on the height of the chair.

And then stichted the seems with a twin needle on the inside of the cover. Normally I would use a twin needle only on the outside (right side) of a fabric, to get nice even lines on a seem. In this case it resulted in quite a nice effect to have it in reverse order.

It then looks like this, with a little zig zag on the outside.

Seems are done, so this means the covers are done!

And here is the final before and after. How nice is that?
It was a lot (a looooot) of work, but I am happy with the result.

What have you been working on lately?

Have a great, creative week!

xx Anne-Marie

Do you still remember my colourful summer blanket that I started on way back in 2011?

It took more than two years, but now I can happily announce it's finished! It seems that I am very good in keeping my Work In Progress box full and growing. Which should off course be the opposite.

Back to the blanket. Here it is.

The pattern is from one of my favorite crochet books 200 ripple patterns by Jan Eaton. This time I picked pattern 81 called Ocean Spray or  Delicate Lace.

The colours I used are from Scheepjes Roma: 1600 (purple), 1521 (turkoois),1651 (pink) and 1515 (beige/mustard), and crocheted with 4mm hook.

Have a great day!

xx Anne-Marie

A friend of mine gave birth to twins: a baby boy named Luca and a baby girl named Valentina. I made some cute little shoes for the twins here. I also wanted to make some clothes for them, and I used this pattern from Yarny Days (who also has great pictures on her blog). Aren't these the cutest little outfits ever? It was so much fun to make them! 

Here's a close up of the buttons.

The pattern is very easy, and you can basically make it as small or big as you need. If you scroll through the blog of Yarny Days you can also see a bigger version for a girl of 2 to 3 years old. Seems to me it is just making more rows in the beginning to create a wider chest and arms, and then follow the same pattern until you have the desired length.

See you soon!

xx Anne-Marie

Look at this adorable owl. I found this pattern on pinterest - quite similar to the pattern of the bear and hippo of Heidi Bears. Next on my to do list - absolutely lovely!

It's great summer weather in the Netherlands, finally! Time to get some colourful crochet started. I came by the beautiful blog of crochet for the home. There are some very pretty and inspiring photo's on this blog. When I was scrolling down I found this mandala pattern. And I couldn't wait any longer - my first mandala was on it's way. Here it is!

This was a very good first attempt, and I will probably make some more :)

Do you have a nice mandala pattern to share? Let me know.

Have a great week!

xx Anne-Marie

An almost finished crochet work in progress. This is a giant doily rug using Zpaghetti yarn (t-shirt yarn).

The pattern I am using is this one by Creative Jewish Mom. I think the rug only needs three or four more rows before it's finished. Yay!

Two months ago I bought Burda magazine. Usually I make my own patterns, but I always love Burda for the patterns, ideas and styling that they have. There is also a Dutch pattern and sewing magazine, but it is a bit old fashioned, sizes are usually a bit too big and the styling is not as good as Burda's. So I fell for the June version of Burda, which had this little tube dress in it.

I love the neckline and the gathered part in the middle & bottom part of the dress.

So let's start!

For my version of the dress I chose a jersey in brown/green. I first put the pattern on the fabric. It is a really long pattern as almost the whole dress is gathered from the neckline to the bottom.

After cutting the fabric and gathering the front and back pattern pieces, I put it on my mannequin. Voilà!

Almost done. I stitched the front and back together and attached the hem to the lining.

And here is the end result! I really like how it turned out. It is a bit on the small/ tight side so I have to pick a skinny day to put it on.

What have you been working on lately?

Xx Anne-Marie

After creating the baby boots (here and here) it is nice to get pictures of the babies actually wearing them : )

The first baby to try my shoes is little Vesper (yes, she is named after the Bond girl :) Vesper got to try two versions as the first pair was too small already. I adjusted the pattern to make the shoes longer. Now I can make baby shoes for new born babies as well as three month old babies.

Next one to try my larger version is Olivier, with shoes in white with a blue flower. Don't they look cute on those tiny feet?

Have a great day!

Xx Anne-Marie