Lotta Jansdotter Bloomers

We have been having some beautifully warm weather in Sydney the last couple of days and in the spirit I made my very first pair of baby bloomers - and if I may say so myself, they are just divine! I love baby bloomers and matching singlets for babies in summer - nice and cool but they still looked dressed. Unfortunately most of the bloomers available are very girly and not really suitable for boys.

So here they are in a bright blue gingham!

The pattern said to make your own bias tape from the material but seeing as the bias tape is on the inside of the pants I used some commercial bias tape that I already had in my stash. By doing this it meant that I only needed one fat quarter of material to make the pants - which I was very happy about because I have quite a stash of fat quarters.

They are a size 6-12 months but I was worried that they might be a little small. I've tried them very briefly on and they seem to fit N OK and he is 9 months next week. When I remake the pattern though I will cut it a little larger to make sure they still fit around December / January.

Of course I had to do the matching applique t-shirt to make it a complete outfit. I can't wait for summer now!

Baby boys all around

There are baby boys all around! We have had another three born in the last two weeks and I'm going to a baby shower on Sunday for another boy due in September.

So I spent my Friday night making cute little applique onesies to give as gifts. I only learnt the applique technique this week but it is so easy and I think the onesies are such a cute little gift. They are all a size 00 as the boys will be around 5-6 months when summer comes around.

The tie shirts - how cute are these? I desperately wanted one for N when he was a little newborn as I saw them in a store but couldn't justify the price they wanted for it. N will have quite a few this summer.

I also tried a car applique.

The top two onesies are for a work colleague who just had twin boys - same applique but different patterns. The bottom two are going to my husband's close friend and his wife in Queensland who just had a boy, Lucas, on Thursday.

MIP Little Explorer Pants and Applique top

OK, I've done it - my first MIP perfect pattern completed. I have to say I LOVE LOVE LOVE the pattern - it really is so easy. I loved the pattern so much I even recommended it to a lady at my local fabric shop.

The Shorts - have I mentioned before I love the brown and blue combination??? Both my boys are very fair skinned so they really suit bright colours. The pants are made with a linen/cotton blend so they will be nice and cool for summer.

I love the elasticised waistband - not only is it super easy to make but it is perfect for J for pre-school. He get so focused on playing with his friends he only remembers to go to the toilet at the last possible minute and buttons and zips are very hard to undo.

The Applique tops - I think I have just fallen in love - how beautiful and EASY are applique tops? I can see so many more of these appearing in my boys wardrobes. The MIP Little Explorer pattern comes with a Turtle applique design but at 3 1/2 J is really into dinosaurs at the moment so I thought I would try a dinosaur applique I found on a blue t-shirt.

For some reason tops always seem to be in the wash in our house so I thought I had better make a second top for these shorts - or maybe I am just so excited about making applique tops. So top number 2 is a blue singlet with a rocket applique - perfect for those really hot humid summer days.

I have already made a second pair of these pants in black and white, and am off to Spotlight to pick up some more linen today. I think I might even try them in a denim. I think both J and N will have quite a few pairs of Little Explorer shorts in their wardrobes this summer - and don't even mention those applique tops!