Options, options: it can be hard to choose, but it is nice to have them.
A soft purple washed silk sash added to a flowery cotton dress. Long enough for a big bow. Washed silk, so it can be popped in the machine on a gentle cool cycle if sticky fingers leave dotty little prints on it.
The high necked cotton voile dress with giant purple flowers. A big semi-circle skirt falls elegantly below knees scraped while playing with her friends yesterday.
A thin self-fabric sash ties the bodice smoothly against her delicate chest.
100% cotton, fully lined with invisible zip at centre back.
Of course, with so many people and animals to protect..
..we need different guises.
And you know what? Can you keep a secret? Yes? Come closer.
Sometimes we just like to dress up and play with our friends!
It takes a lot to be a superhero in Egypt.
Not only are there over 80 million people to protect, there are the donkeys, the stray cats, dogs..
..and let us not forget those stubborn camels.
We Baladi Superheroes love colours and it is our colours that nourish our powers giving us the energy to dazzle the baddies. No black masks for us. We dazzle, fazazzle and fazoozle the world, bazapping, bazipping and bazooping the baddies.
Monsoon blues and pretty purples for warm summer days..
..with a v-shaped back to slip over independent heads, letting Mummy steal a few extra winks.
An empire-waisted bodice with an a-line skirt let little legs run free in the garden and over three metres of ruffle flutter softly as she moves.
The exposed seams are clean finished or bound with hand made bias binding to match the dress.
The dress is 100% fine cotton with a soft 100% cotton lining.
A little grey dress with a splash of colour for girls who like to be girlie, but like to stand out next to their friends in pink.
A semi-circle, the skirt flares open from an empire-waist for hours of twirling in the garden, while not opening too high, making sure she is still proper for tea with Great Aunt Maud.
This dress has 100% cotton outer and 100% soft cotton lining with a zip in the centre back. All exposed seams are clean finished. The pattern is drafted by me.
Front of dress
A roomy lawn cotton dress with a nearly hidden pocket for little treasures..
Back of dress with deep v-neck to slip over head
..with no zips or buttons, so it’s easy to put on without Mum’s help..
Clean-finished seams
..and as beautiful on the inside as it is on the out.
Pattern by Burda.
Oh my goodness! I just realised I was boasting about how much sewing I was doing and how I was going to share photos..and then didn’t! Forgive me.
I was sewing. Then I stopped. I decided to get into action (of another sort) and organise a shop. It’s nearly there, so I should be able to share it with you in a couple of weeks.
So for now, I leave you with this small Christmas skirt. It’s made of snuggly medium-weight velvet with a slight stretch, perfect for keeping little legs warm while playing in the snow. Best of all? It’s my own pattern.
I started making this as a quick project. Just a few hours. Then I realised I’d made the fundamental mistake of not having enough fabric for the original pattern.
Determined not to give up, having cut and sewn the bodice, I modified the pattern and added a ruffle.
It’s my first..and I have a feeling it won’t be my last!
A little girl who wears a long pink dress becomes a princess. A little princess has to have flowers in her hair. A real princess has to have flowers to match her dress.
The stack of fabric from the last post became this: Elodie’s dress.
Pure silk shantung, with a pure silk chiffon sash (a nightmare to sew..) and a silk mix lining. This dress took a fair amount of time to make, but relieved in stress what it swallowed in hours!
(If you are observant, you will see the black stitches along the hem. These photos were taken before Elodie had her fitting.)
I haven’t been around for a little while because I’ve been terribly busy. My latest project is a special dress for Elodie. I’ve made a muslin for her to try on for size before I start cutting these silks. I’m really looking forward to this one!
“What large eyes you’ve got!” she exclaimed.
“All the better to see you with.”
“What large teeth you’ve got!”
“All the better to eat you with!”
Under her red cape, Little Red Riding Hood must have worn a dress like this.
Last year I tried hard to design a template for an elephant – my first ever stuffed animal (plushy). It was all fine, but the belly just wouldn’t work. Eventually I gave up and looked for a pattern instead. Lo and behold, I couldn’t find one!
Then, in a whim of madness (because my French is bad) I bought French Burda magazine this month. And what do you know, they had a template for a sitting down elephant! It took some time, dictionaries and cursing, but Elephant is here.
Mr MacTavish is not so sure if Elephant is competition or not. He thought he’d test him out – by hitting Elephant’s trunk.
That was after he’d given it a good old sniff.
Fits waist 50-55cm (19-21 inches)
This is for little Donya. It is the same style as the ‘hot pink tutu‘ and made with the same colours, in a different order, plus a little bit of gold..
Fits waist 43-47cm (17-19 inches)
This tutu is a new style and even fuller than the previous ones.
I can’t stop making them now, think I’ve become addicted!
Fits waist 48-53cm (19-21 inches)
Because not everybody wants to be pretty in pink!
Fits waist 48-53cm (18-19 inches)
The last Sugar Plum Fairy Tutu was sold. Kind of by accident really. I liked it so much, I made another!
Fits waist 48-53cm (19-21 inches)
An intermittent internet connection has seen me not post, but I’ve been buzzing away in my little studio with rosebuds and glittery tutus.
Sugar Plum Fairy long tutu (ages 5-6)
I used to be fascinated by tutus when I was a child. It seemed magical that the horizontal tutus managed to remain horizontal. The ballerina dancing on pointe took the experience to other-worldly. What I loved most, however, were classical tutus. The dancer’s skirt floated with her through the air, as if held up by hundreds of fairies.
Spring Faerie tutu with satin ribbon waistband (age 4-5)
A new tutu. Thinner this time. More etherial, for skipping softly through new spring grass.
Mermaid tutu with blue satin ribbon (ages 5-6)
I just can’t get enough! No matter how much I shower, vacuum and brush, I cannot get the sparkles out of my life. Absolutely fantastic!
Rose and white tutu with pink and lilac buds (aged 2-3)
I don’t know what’s come over me, but I’ve gone all girlie. Perhaps it’s a repressed girlie-side coming out! The dining room table is covered in glittery piles of colourful netting, rose buds and ribbon – and I can’t get enough! Poor Mr S is suffering. Little Mr MacTavish is over the moon. Seems my little cat is fascinated by sparkles and spinning tutus!
Rose and champagne tutu with pink and cream buds (aged 2-3)
I love to make things. This is where I record my work and share interesting little things I stumble across both online and in the streets of Cairo, Egypt, where I live.
