Mini Boden inspired trousers

Cosy winter trousers

Last night I made a pair of trousers - fully lined with soft brushed cotton, so they'll be cosy and warm for winter.

I must admit, I was able to finish them in an evening, as I had cut out the pieces on Saturday morning while the girls pottered and played in their pyjamas.

The idea for heart patches was most certainly nicked from Mini Boden... although these trousers cost me a lot less to make! The heart fabric came from my local sewing shop in town - a bargain at £5.99 a metre - and the lining is traditional Winceyette, at £5 a metre. All in all, I reckon these came in at around £10.

Another now much used pattern...

In hindsight, the hearts are a little bit lower than I'd want them to be, although with plenty of growing space in the length, this will sort itself in time. That aside, I am really happy with how these trousers turned out.

And with that level of funkiness, the wearer will most certainly be easy to spot at the park.

Rainy day sewing

It has been raining here for most of the weekend.

Yesterday lunchtime, while some of the family napped, and my eldest sat beside me doing some colouring, I thought I'd get on and make something.

So, here's an elephant print version of a Mini Boden Knock off dress. I'll admit, the style is nothing like the feminine flowery original versions of this dress, but an "ephalant dress" is what had been requested a while ago by my three year old. What can I say? The girl adores elephants, and her mother indulges her. 

I used the tutorial found here - and, as I already had the pieces cut out (they'd been sitting in my cupboard for a month or so) the dress came together pretty easily.

Hip hip hooray! The dress is finished and the sun is shining.

Mini Boden inspired applique T-shirts

Looking for a reason to justify buying a sewing machine? Then read on...

Mini Boden inspired applique T-shirts using scraps. Cost of materials, around £1.50. 

Mini Boden T-shirt and shorts set, currently in the sale at £14 (was £24)

The Mini Boden applique T-shirts are amongst my favourite things I come across when flicking through the catalogues - and I must admit, I've been using them as inspiration to customise plain T-shirts for my own children for a while now. As a mum to three little girls, I am the first to vouch for Boden when it comes to quality clothing that can be passed down and down the line.

But, if like me, you find it hard to justify spending £17 (or even £10 as currently on sale) on T-shirts that will no doubt end up with ketchup on them, here's how you can do it yourself...

You'll need:

pen, paper and scissors
plain T-shirt
iron
Bondaweb (size depends on how big your design is)
scraps of fabric
thread (I used machine embroidery thread)
sewing machine or needle for handstitching

Sketch out your design, and cut it out. Choose your fabric, and cut a piece of Bondaweb big enough to cover your design. Stick the Bondaweb rough side down onto the wrong side of your fabric, by holding the iron in place for about ten seconds. 

Trace your design on the smooth side of the Bondaweb, and cut it out so you have a fabric shape.

If your design has two pieces of fabric - like the ears on this elephant - then repeat the same process to make the second shape.  Peel off the backing and iron the second shape in place onto the bigger shape, before you peel off the backing on the main shape and iron that onto your T-shirt. Then, either get your sewing machine out or needle and thread, and do a top stitch all round the edge of your design - either using matching or contrasting thread, whichever you prefer. Grab a button for an eye, et voila! - a gorgeous little top for a fraction of the price you'd pay at Boden.

My personal favourite - made from last remaining scraps of Tanya Whelan fabric from a dress I made for myself.

Amy Butler fabric scraps.

More Amy Butler scraps.

Scraps from fabric found at the local sewing shop in Bedford.

Okay, so I may have got carried away with the elephants -
but now I've got a great big stash of birthday presents ready to go.
Hip, hip, hooray!

There. Done. I am almost embarrassed to have written these instructions up, and the secret is now out, as to just how easy these little beauties are to make. And, if you fancy making matching shorts, like the Boden ones, Dana at MADE has some great easy to follow tutorials. Go on...!

Mini Boden knock off night

Two nights ago, I got together with a few of my sewing buddies for another evening of sewing fun.

This time, it was just the mums of little girls - as we were going to be spending the evening making our own versions of the latest Mini Boden dresses inspired by the Sincerest Form of Flattery series over at Craftiness Is Not Optional.

We all almost finished the dresses in an evening - just needed to put the elastic in - I'll try and post some picture of the finished dresses a bit later. For now, in the words of Blue Peter, here's one I made earlier as a dummy run:

The best bit? The fabric came from an elderly lady I know - it was a skirt of hers, and so the dress was free to make. A little girl's dress out of an old lady's skirt - or vintage floral fabric, depending on which way you look at it.