Sewing

The 12 Days of Christmas: Sewing Like Mad

December 2, 2013

My first guest in the series is my friend Mie from Sewing Like Mad, a Dane who lives in America with her British husband and two gorgeous girls. Everything she makes looks so professional and, as a trained seamstress, her attention to detail is amazing. She recently got to the final week in the last season of ‘Project Run and Play‘ with some fantastic outfits including Queen of Plaid and her signature style outfit. She has a very long list of sewing tutorials as well – I love this skirt and I’m very interested in tryout this tutorial for a set in sleeve with a French seam out! Take it away Mie.

*****

Oh, wow December is here. I literally can’t believe it! Our December last year was a bit nuts. We were renovating our house and every time I think back, all I see is white dust from our walls being sanded, landing on all surfaces which I (kind of) tried to clean up every evening…..for then the whole show to start all over the next morning. Argh, we could not really do any baking or decorating and this year I have decided to step up my Christmas game to compensate for last year.

And even though that meant putting my blogging a little bit on hold for the month I could not say no to this series.

1) It was Suz and Laura who was inviting and they might be new friends but sometimes you just know they are good ones, right!

2) I saw the participants list and holy reindeer is that a bunch of talented ladies.

3) It gave me the kick in the behind I needed to actually sew Christmas dresses to the girls.

4) ….I don’t think I needed more reasons….so I said YES.

In Denmark, where I am from, we for sure dress up for Christmas but we don’t have the tradition like they have here in US, where I live now, to buy or make special Christmas (or birthday or Easter or first day of school for that matter) dresses.

But last year I saw this amazing dress in Target (Harajuku Mini) and I could not help myself. And I must say the joy and happiness those sequin dresses caused did convince me that it was worth the trouble to sew some this year. 

AND it for sure goes well with the step-it-up-theme I am planning for this Christmas, right!

Nothing says party and celebration more than sequins, right! I think so! I bought this beautiful blue and black sequin on black netting at Michael Levine. The same with the star cotton called Constellations by Lizzy House for Andover Fabrics Inc. The orange is a simple cotton voile.

Not long ago I was lucky to be invited to the Pattern Anthology Tour and I remixed Blank Slate Pattern’s beautiful Amaryllis dress. You can see the post HERE. And that dress is smart in many ways (like fully reversible fx) but also not having any zippers….and that was exactly what I was looking for. I did not feel like fiddling with a zipper in sequin fabric, nope definitely not feeling that!

I decided to reuse some of my remix features – like the front button placket, the more closed up neckline, the non-pointy shoulders and a bit of high/low effect on the skirt. I put big silver snaps in the placket and I love the edge it gives to the dress.

I made the inner skirt plus the inside of the tie band from orange cotton voile. It is the good old story of not having enough of the original star fabric so I had to improvise.

The front and back bodice plus the back full skirt has black viscose lining on the inside. The front orange voile skirt is folded double (the fold is the hem) so that it is not see through.

And in case you wonder why some of the photos only have my oldest on them…..

……..this happened!

Yeah, what can I say…..KIDS!!!!

I am actually surprised I got any even remotely useful photos with both of them because the cry fest started within 5 minutes of the shot. 

But I got dancing…..

….and even hugging.

Christmas is the time of miracles, right!

Thanks you SO much for having me Laura (and Suz on the other side of the world!)

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What beautiful dresses Mie, the sequin fabric goes perfectly with the constellations fabric and I love the pop of orange. It looks like you had a lot of fun decorating for the pictures too. The shot of your daughters hugging at the end is adorable. Thank you so much for taking part.

Now click on the button below to head over to Sewpony and see what her guest. Rachel from nest full of eggs, has made today.

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You can see all the other amazing guests we have lined up for the rest of the series below.

craftstorming sewpony sewing like mad nest full of eggs simple simon la gang à nat modern homemade lbg studio frances suzanne do guincho hungie gungie kid approved welcome to the mouse house while she was sleeping counterpane compagnie m heidi and finn lollipop garden crafts straightgrain behind the hedgerow s is for sewing petit à petit and family Groovy Baby and Mama things for boys Image Map

Don’t forget that we welcome anyone who wants to sew along. Suz and I will be featuring some sew along outfits on our blogs on the 19th of December so keep adding them to our ‘The 12 Days of Christmas’ Flickr group. See you tomorrow for some more amazing Christmas outfits.

On the second day of Christmas,
my true love sent to me
Two turtle doves,
And a partridge in a pear tree.

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21 Comments

  • Reply Rachel December 2, 2013 at 10:48 am

    Mie, how fun that we both used sequins! As always you have mad sewing skills. It must be warm where you live to be able to be outside without sleeves, I love your festive photo shoot with ribbons/ornaments/snowflakes hanging from tree branches. Please let me know where you bought the tights, thanks 🙂

    • Reply Mie @ Sewing Like Mad December 2, 2013 at 3:38 pm

      I am not surprised we both used sequins…we seem to like the same things 😉 We live in North Carolina and this weekend it finally warmed up again after an ice cold thanksgiving. The tights are from Target (of course) and they are thick and non scratchy – yay.

      • Reply Rachel December 2, 2013 at 9:53 pm

        During my quick trip to Super Target today I couldn’t find the tights maybe they are all gone… I think I will be able to find something similar at the Lands’ End store.
        I forgot to ask are the skirts circle skirts (I don’t know about you but I was trying to avoid as many seams as possible) & how did you hem them?

        • Reply Laura December 2, 2013 at 10:04 pm

          Rachel, this is the pattern Mie used http://www.blankslatepatterns.com/products/amaryllis-dress, with a bit of alteration. It’s a reversible vintage inspired dress. There’s an illustration that shows how it comes together better.

        • Reply Mie @ Sewing Like Mad December 2, 2013 at 11:45 pm

          They were in the girls department (like 5 years and over). Did you see there?
          And regarding the hemming…. I fully lined the dress (my sequin was see-through) so I simply closed the skirt by sewing the inner and outer fabric together.

  • Reply Suz December 2, 2013 at 10:54 am

    Gorgeous Mie! I bet your girls will love wearing these sparkly swirly dresses on Christmas day. They look beautiful!! Thank you for taking part!

  • Reply Kate December 2, 2013 at 12:26 pm

    Beautiful dresses for beautiful models!
    This brought back fond memories of when I used to sew Christmas dresses for my
    two granddaughters when they were little.

  • Reply Laura - Behind the Hedgerow December 2, 2013 at 2:36 pm

    Great job, Mie! Glittery tights AND sequins! I’m not letting my five year old come anywhere near this post – I will never hear the end of it! Seriously, both are stunning and inspiring in equal measure. Love them. x

  • Reply April Boyer December 2, 2013 at 3:24 pm

    Mie, these are just adorable! And my daughter would flip out if she had a dress like this. It can twirl, and has sequins. I would also love to know where you found those cute tights!

  • Reply Mie @ Sewing Like Mad December 2, 2013 at 3:39 pm

    Laura thank you so much for having me and that embarrassing nice introduction ;-)) It was so much fun sewing for this series….the photo shot….a whole other story 😉

  • Reply farrah December 2, 2013 at 4:10 pm

    i love the blue sparkle Mie!

  • Reply Olga Becker December 2, 2013 at 4:14 pm

    The dresses are gorgeous, absolutely stunning, Mie. Show me some sequence and I am in love. LOL. The photoshoot should have been so much fun with all the decorations, sorry about the cry fest. I can relate. LOL.

  • Reply Caroline December 2, 2013 at 8:37 pm

    Beautiful work! Those dresses are the coolest! I am such a fan of honest photo shoots too. Who of us hasn’t been there with the meltdown and stinkfaces?

  • Reply Natalie December 3, 2013 at 12:40 am

    Oh Mie. How beautiful!!! You nailed it. I never would have thought of adding that touch of orange and yet it is so PERFECT!!! My girls would totally adore these dresses. Fantastic! I am laughing at your little one’s meltdown… it certainly looks like botched photo sessions was a theme for all of us participating in this series, hahaha!

    Natalie
    XX

  • Reply abby @ thingsforboys December 3, 2013 at 6:33 am

    Love the colour combination and those blue sequins are soooo pretty. Nice work, Mie!

  • Reply Jenya December 3, 2013 at 9:15 am

    Just fabulous Mie! Gorgeous fun dresses, lovely photos (love the dancing and the hugging ones). If you have put so much effort into decorating for the photo shoot I would love to see the rest of your decorations!

    • Reply Mie @ Sewing Like Mad December 3, 2013 at 5:00 pm

      Thanks Jenya….but you would be grossly disappointed ….I am not a big decorator…too much trouble taking it down again – haha. But everything for a good photo shoot 😉

  • Reply An (Straightgrain) December 4, 2013 at 11:11 am

    Amazing Mie! Such gorgeous outfits for Christmas… Great photoshoot too!

  • Reply Ana Sofia December 4, 2013 at 10:52 pm

    Gorgeous dresses, Mie!
    I love the sequins and the bit of orange peaking through 🙂
    As for the crying meltdown, I’m pretty sure we can all relate to it (it’s a global trend, lol)

  • Reply Celina December 12, 2013 at 10:22 pm

    Your daughters are just to cute in these photos! and your dresses are so special- i love the dark sequins you used and I love that they have matching dresses. Too much cuteness in one post!

  • Reply Sarah Helene December 19, 2013 at 1:11 pm

    SWEET SISTERS dressed for the holidays in glitter and sequins, what FUN! Star-studded bodice with blue sequined swirl skirt and a punch of orange for the tie belt — WOW! Accessories add more: glittery tights & sequined headbands to complete the ensembles. You’ve sewn lots of LOVE into these FAB creations, Mie! Your girls reveal their HAPPINESS in their smiles! Sarah Helene, Minneapolis

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