Ice cream dress

I am continuing on my Oliver + S kick - this is the Ice Cream dress made for Lucy. It's just a little big for her because I made it in a size 2T, but I always think that after the effort I put in to make the children's clothes, I'd like them to be able to wear the clothes for a bit longer! She was supremely pleased with the pockets. This colour combination makes me happy! It's not so clear in the photo, but there are little ladybugs on the pink fabric. I am thinking of making the blouse version of this, one for each of the girls.

Oliver + S

Just a few months ago, my goal when sewing was to come up with something that the kids could wear, that wasn't too difficult to sew. I didn't want to struggle with anything to fiddly. I think it's an indication of how much I've been learning in my sewing course that I am now more focused on producing clothes that look more professional and that are a bit more of a challenge in the actual sewing process. These outfits take a bit more time, but they also look better.

Josh has his own pairs of Oliver + S's Sketchbook shorts now. They have proper pockets, a faux fly and a pleated front, and aren't all that difficult actually. After working through the steps on Noah's pair, I could sew two pairs up for Joshua quickly. I made a pair in the same green elephant print as Noah's and one in this blue and orange camo print. He chose to wear this one! I guess not everyone is a fan of elephants on green! I made an 8T size so that they'll last him longer.


Emma got an outfit from Oliver + S's Swingset tunic and skirt pattern. This was a tricky one but I found a tutorial (with pictures) that explained the tricky bit, so I could work it out. I made my first buttonhole on the tunic, so I was plenty pleased about that.


I am now obsessed and am determined to sew through as many Oliver + S patterns as I can. I can't do all because some of the patterns are for jackets which the kids don't need here in Singapore. I also will have to omit outfits that I think the kids won't wear, no use working on an outfit which fails to pass Emma's twirl test!

navy blouse

So this is it, my Muji-inspired blouse!

My sewing teacher had talked me through knocking off my own version, but in the end, I didn't even have to draft my own top. I found a free pattern online, made some changes and that was it. The navy blue cotton has an embroidered edge, so I didn't even need to hem, which made me happy.

I wore it to church on Sunday, and almost choked when someone came up to me and said that he was guessing that I had made my outfit! It looked homemade??!! But he quickly clarified that he was just making a guess.

Overall, I was very pleased with it. I found the navy cotton at a shop in Chinatown; I'm guessing it's a voile. It sews up very well, runs through my sewing machine and serger so easily. I love it, and I think I have enough to make another skirt!

green elephants

Noah's favourite colour is green. And he loves animals.

So he and this green elephant fabric I found in Chinatown are a perfect match.

I bought the fabric weeks ago, and made the mistake of showing it to him that very day. He's asked for his green elephant shorts everyday since then.

Here they are at last! They are the nicest pair of shorts I've made so far, from an Oliver + S pattern - pockets, pleated front, and a flat front waistband. He was very pleased.