Free Pattern - Crochet bolero

Newsflash! I thought this was free from errors. I was wrong. Oh, so wrong! Anyway, many thanks to Peg for very nicely pointing this out to me. The pattern is now amended, the link has been altered, everything in the garden is lovely. If you have already downloaded the incorrect pattern then I am really sorry. And if you find any more errors in the new version, then feel free to beat me around the head until I agree to find some pattern testers for the next one.

This must be a record! In my last post I promised a crochet bolero pattern and, not a fortnight later, here it is - free pattern for a little girl's crochet bolero! I feel quite giddy with smuggery.
You can either get it from Google Docs at the above link or, if that doesn't work, then I've cut & pasted it into a new Blogger posting at http://lespetitsanglais.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/crochet-bolero-pattern.html .


At Christmas I needed something to go over Laura's party dress(es!). There were numerous free patterns available for shrugs, but I couldn't find one for a bolero. So, being far too cheap to part with cash, I set to and created this one. I was in a hurry at the time so I used an edging from my Harmony Guide. Obviously, I can't include that one in my pattern because of copyright and all, so I've come up with a somewhat simpler one.


On the downside, this is not the most professional looking pattern you will ever see. I had to do a chart for the fronts because I got so entangled in turning chains and trebles and double crochets, and I even made a mistake in the chart. Otherwise, I think it's free from errors, and the resulting bolero is well worth wading through the pattern! It's actually a very easy bolero to make, and also easy enough to size up or down because of the small pattern repeat. American readers please bear in mind that it is written using British terminology, so read single crochet for double crochet, and double crochet for treble.



I hope you enjoy the pattern.

Free pattern - Fair Isle tank-top/vest

This was promised a fair while ago! And finally, here it is - the free knitting pattern for a child's Fair Isle tank-top or vest. It's on Google Docs and you may need to download it before printing it off.


My husband saw a small boy today wearing 'my' Traffic Jam Tank Top in navy and red. I can't tell you how thrilled it makes me feel to think that people actually go to the trouble of knitting up one of my patterns! Chelsie, on my Facebook Fan Page, made up a divine version for her son - the additions are so cute! If the Fair Isle tank top proves even half as popular as the Traffic Jam tank top, I'll be one happy blogger.

The Pudsey Pattern

As promised, I have uploaded a PDF of the Pudsey Outfit pattern to Google Docs. This is the link. This pattern will definitely make clothes for the Build-a-Bear Workshop Pudsey Bear. I haven't compared Pudsey with the other Build-a-Bear Workshop cuddlies, but I imagine that they're all pretty much the same size, so I assume (though do not guarantee) that the pattern will work for all of them. I seem to recall that I had problems printing out my last Google Doc document but that downloading it first enabled it to print out fine. If you have any problems with this, could you leave me a comment and I'll try to sort it out?


The pattern cosists of a Top Front, Top Back, Sleeve, Trousers A and Trousers B (rather unhelpfully, I didn't think to label the Trousers patterns as such...) You will need to add your own seam allowances when you cut out the fabric - I think I used a scant 1cm for mine. The pattern is very basic but easily adapted - I got three very different outfits out of it.


The Top


The Top Front and Back are cut on the fold using a stretchy fabric, although it's easy enough to turn it into a front or back fastening top by adding 3cm or so to the centre front or back seam, and cutting x2 pieces. In that case, the grainline is the centre front or back. I used this pattern to make a sleeveless jersey top, a woven front fastening jacket and two long-sleeved t-shirts, one in jersey and one in fleece. There is a fair amount of ease at the top of the sleeve. I gathered it for one garment and just eased it in on the others.


I also changed the side seam on the boy bears' tops so that there was much less flare. I simply folded the pattern in 2cm or so at the bottom and adjusted the fold along the seam so that there was no fold at the top of the seam. You can add flare and length by cutting and taping.


The Trousers


This is a single-piece trouser pattern but I had to upload it in two pieces because it was too wide to fit on one sheet of A4. You just tape the two pieces together so that the shaded areas overlap each other, and this will give you the single pattern piece required. Cut two of these - I used the back crotch line as the grainline, though it would probably have been better to put the grain perpendicular to the the trousers leg. However, I leave this up to you. On such a tiny garment, it isn't so all-important where the grain falls, especially since your bear is (I assume!) immobile. The pattern looks really odd, I know, but it successfully led to one pair of woven dungarees and one pair of knit trousers, so it does work.


As for sewing the trousers, join the inside seams on both pieces, then turn one inside out and shove the other trouser leg (right side out) down into the inside out trouser leg. You can then do the crotch seam in one go - just as for sewing person-sized trousers. Then finish the waistline and hem according to your fancy.


Pudsey Bear does not have a tail so there is no marking for a tail on the pattern piece. You will have to improvise if your Build-A-Bear cuddly comes with a tail.


Have fun!

Three little bears for school are we...

Dressed as a little bear well can be! Aren't they cute together? It almost seemed a shame to separate them...

But this morning, I did the announcement of the winners at James' school and gave the bears to their happy new owners. It was such fun and James was clearly proud as could be of his mummy - something that I hadn't foreseen but really enjoyed! And now I have to do another pattern for a dressing gown for James' Label Bear. Something else I hadn't foreseen, but you can't have everything!

This is the winning entry for Key Stage 2 - the little girl actually used real fabric on her design and I was fortunately able to find an exact match for the skirt. For the jacket, the designer had overlaid some red fabric with cream organza printed with stars. I settled for using some red Killington and embroidered it with sequins. The white top is sleeveless, and also sequinned.

This was the Key Stage 1 winner's design. It was so cute, and lovely to make! The Killington dungarees and fleece t-shirt are super-cuddly. This one is my husband's favourite.

And finally, this is the Foundation Stage winner's design. I loved how eclectic it was - is the bear being a Mountie? Or a pirate? Or is he about to go to a pilates class? Who knows! He's clearly having a good time and looks amazing. I used different jersey fabrics for this one. The belt is black elastic and the star is, alas, cardboard. The hat is black felt with white fleece applique. The trousers were a swine to make - you will note the horizontal stripes across the crotch on the original design. I did an orange applique rectangle under the waistband and called it a day!

Apparently the children love their bears and many other children got to cuddle them (the school being big into sharing!) before the bears left for their permanent homes. A successful enterprise all round, I think!

Sleeping Bag tutorial

This was meant to be the A-line pinafore tutorial but the wheels fell off slightly when I tried the nearly-finished toile on Laura today and realised it was going to fit her much bigger friend. I thought I was adding ease to the pattern - it turns out I was adding two whole sizes. Whoops! So, back to the drawing board and the tutorial will be posted just as soon as I've tweaked the pattern so that it fits!

In the meantime, I found one of my son's old sleeping bags in the wardrobe yesterday and remembered making one for him a couple of years ago. He was so wedded to his sleeping bags that he wanted to continue using one despite having grown out of the 18months to 3 years version. You can get these bags for age 3 to 6 years, which is the next size up but these are hard to find and harder still to finance. I found a couple of winter-weight ones in an NCT sale and used these as a template for a nice light summer one for him. Which he only used twice but that's another story.

Anyway, if you'd like to save some money by making your own third-size sleeping bags and if you are a slightly-more-than-novice seamstress, then here's what I did:


I drew around the original bag on a piece of wallpaper. You won't need to do this because I have made a rough template for you which you can transfer onto wallpaper using the measurements given. I haven't included seam allowances and the measurements don't have to be completely exact - this is a sleeping bag, not a couture jacket! It is probably easiest to draw the centre back/front line first (118cm) and then draw the rest around that line. I've put both the back and front necklines on the same pattern but you will want to make the back pattern first, then copy it onto another piece of wallpaper (I just cut out the template and drew around it - like I said, it doesn't have to be exact to the millimetre). The measurements are not hugely clear from the pictures so I shall list them at the end of this post.

You now have two paper patterns, neither of which has any seam allowances.

To make the sleeping bag I used one old flannelette sheet for the inner layer (in US terminology, a flannel sheet) and an even older cotton one for the outer layer. By using old sheets you are not only recycling, you are also removing the need to pre-wash and pre-shrink your fabrics (generally a must-do when you are sewing two different fabrics together). For winter-wear, you can use terry towelling for the inner layer, or even have two cotton sheets sandwiching a layer of batting.

Cut out the back first. Fold the fabric in half lengthwise and iron it. Then carefully place the pattern with the long straight centre-back line on the fold. If using scissors to cut out, pin the pattern in place. If using a rotary cutter, you only need to hold it in place with pattern weights or coins. The next picture shows the cutting lines in pink. You don't need to leave a seam allowance on the necklines or armholes. Obviously there is no seam allowance along the fold

For the front, you place the long straight centre-front line along the grain of the fabric. When you cut out this piece you need to leave a seam allowance of about 3cm along the centre-front line. This is so you can insert a zipper. By cutting on the folded fabric, you get the two pieces you need to form the front.

I first attached the zipper to left and right fronts of the bag outer using the centred zipper technique, before seaming down from the zipper to join the outer left and right fronts. I then seamed the same length on the inner left and right fronts and pressed the seam open, right up to the neckline - this was so that I could sew the inner to the zip later on.


Then I assembled the inner and outer bags separately by joining the shoulder seams and then the side and bottom seams in one operation. Do this for both bags. I didn't bother top-stitching the seams because time was very short, but I did press them. I then put the two bags together, with the wrong sides facing each other. I cut some binding for the armholes and the neckline simply because I never have bias-binding around when I need it. I attached the binding going from front to back and then I handstitched the inner to the zipper. The original bag had a small length of elastic sewn to the inner about 12cm under the armholes to gather the bag in around the child's waist. My son wasn't keen on this so I omitted it from my version. I can see, however, that the bag would be warmer with the addition of the elastic so I leave that one up to you. If you do want to add it, cut two strips about 10-12 cm long, centre them across the side seams and attach using a 3-step zigzag.


To pretty it up I cut out some Thomas the Tank Engine motifs from some quilting cotton in the stash and appliqued them onto the bag. This is what I generally do when I am anxious that my son will like something I've made for him.

Measurements (these are all for ONE HALF of the back or front of the bag!)

Bag length - 118cm; width at bottom - 28cm; armscye - 18.5; shoulder seam - 11.5cm; neckline width at top - 6cm; neckline drops 1.75cm at the centre back; front neckline drops 11cm from back neckline to bottom of v.

Any problems or suggested improvements, just email me or leave a comment.

Free knitting pattern for a Traffic Jam Tanktop

TRAFFIC JAM TANK TOP (Download and print  from https://docs.google.com/file/d/0BysBb2pJoYVwUm9uclZvVVAyQU0/edit?usp=sharing
You will need to download it to print it!

This is a lovely tank-top for a digger mad 4-5 year old. It features an intarsia traffic jam that goes from front to back, embellished with buttons and embroidery details. The garment would look even more striking with a stripy rib at the welt, armholes and neck. If you (or the recipient!) are not much into tank-tops then the 77 stitch/37 row chart is easily adapted for use in your favourite sweater pattern. By using 4ply yarn and 3.25mm needles, the pattern should be suitable for a 2-3 year old, and aran/worsted yarn and 5mm needles will make it suitable for a 5-6 year old. Probably.








I used Debbie Bliss’ Pima (I think it’s been discontinued) for this tank-top. Any DK weight yarn would do. You will need between 150g to 200g of the main colour (I went just over 150g) and one ball of each of the other colours, though you will only use a tiny fraction of each ball. The pattern is therefore hard on wool but you can always use the leftovers in a nice stripy sweater later. You will also need a pair of 3.25mm needles and a pair of 4mm needles. Also a cable needle, though you won’t be doing much with it, a safety pin, a stitch holder and a wool needle. To embellish, you will need a variety of small flattish buttons to use as wheels and the flashing light on the police car.

BACK
*Using 3.25mm needles cast on 77sts

Row 1 k1 (p1 k1) repeat to end
Row 2 p1 (k1 p1) repeat to end

Repeat these two rows another 3 times more

Change to 4mm needles and work stocking stitch (knit a row, purl a row) for four rows. Place chart. Then continue in stocking stitch until work measures 10 ½ inches from the beginning, ending with a purl row

Shape armholes
Next row; Cast off 7sts (70 stitches left)
Next row: Cast off 7sts (63 stitches left) *

Next row: k2, p2tog, knit to last 4sts, p2tog, k2
Next row: Purl

Repeat these two rows another 6 times until 49sts remain. Continue without further shaping until work measures 7 inches from start of armhole shaping, ending with a purl row

Shape shoulders
Cast off 6sts at the beginning of the next two rows and 6sts at the beginning of the following 2 rows. Cast off the remaining 25sts

Weave in the many loose ends if you haven’t done so already. Yes it’s dull but this is the best time to do it.



FRONT
Follow instructions for BACK from * to *

SHAPE RIGHT V-NECK AND RIGHT ARMHOLE  by working only on the first 31 stitches as follows:
Firstrow: k2, p2tog, k23, p2tog, k2 (decreasing at the neckline and armhole)
turn, leaving remaining 32 stitches on a stitch holder.
Next row: Purl to end (29sts)
Next row: k2, p2tog, k to last 4sts, p2tog, k2 (decreasing at the armhole and the neckline)
Next row: Purl  (27sts)
Next row: k2, p2tog, k to last 4sts, p2tog, k2 (decreasing at the armhole and the neckline)
Next row: Purl (25sts)
Next row: K2, p2tog, k to last 3sts, p1, k2 (decreasing at the armhole only)
Next row Purl (24sts)
Next row: k2, p2tog, k to last 4sts, p2tog, k2 (decreasing at the armhole and the neckline)
Next row: Purl (22sts)
Next row: K2, p2tog, k to last 3sts, p1, k2 (decreasing at the armhole only)
Next row Purl (21sts)
Next row: k2, p2tog, k to last 4sts, p2tog, k2 (decreasing at the armhole and the neckline)
Next row: Purl (19sts)

Next row:   Knit to last 3 stitches p1, k2
Next row:  Purl
Next row: Knit to last 3sts, p2tog, k2 (decreasing at the neckline only)
Next row Purl

Keeping armhole edge straight, repeat the last 4 rows until  12sts remain., ending with the final purl row.

Then:
Next row: Knit to last 3sts, p1, k2
Next row: Purl

Repeat the last 2 rows until work measures the same as BACK to shoulder shaping, ending at side edge

Shape shoulder
Cast off 6sts at the beginning of the next row. Work 1 row. Cast off the remaining 6sts.


SHAPE RIGHT V-NECK AND RIGHT ARMHOLE  by working on the 32 stitches from the stitch holder as follows:

Slip the centre stitch onto a safety pin. Join the yarn at the neck edge to the remaining stitches from the stitch holder. Continue working on these stitches.

First row:  K2, p2tog, knit to last 4 stitches, p2tog, k2 (decreasing at the neckline and armhole)
Next row: Purl (29sts)
Next row: K2, p2tog, k to last 4sts, p2tog, k2 (decreasing at the neckline and armhole)
Next row: Purl (27sts)
Next row: K2, p2tog, k to last 4sts, p2tog, k2 (decreasing at the neckline and armhole)
Next row: Purl (25sts)
Next row: K2, p1, k to last 4sts, p2tog, k2 (deceasing at the armhole only)
Next row: Purl (24sts)
Next row: K2, p2tog, k to last 4sts, p2tog, k2 (decreasing at the neckline and armhole)
Next row: Purl (22sts)
Next row: K2, p1, k to last 4sts, p2tog, k2 (deceasing at the armhole only)
Next row: Purl (21sts)

Next row: K2, p2tog, k to last 4sts, p2tog, k2 (decreasing at the neckline and armhole)
Next row: Purl (19sts)

Continuing decreasing on the neckline only as follows:

Next row:   K2, p1, knit to end
Next row:  Purl
Next row: k2, p2tog, knit to end
Next row Purl

Keeping armhole edge straight, repeat the last 4 rows until 12sts remain., ending with the final purl row.

Then:
Next row: K2, p1, knit to end
Next row: Purl

Repeat the last 2 rows until work measures the same as BACK to shoulder shaping, ending at on a knit row

Shape shoulder THIS WILL BE A PURL ROW
Cast off 6sts at the beginning of the next row. Work 1 row. Cast off the remaining 6sts.

NECKBAND
Join right shoulder seam. With right side of work facing and using size 3.25 needles, pick up and knit 48 stitches down left side of neck, knit centre stitch and mark it with a coloured thread, pick up and knit 48 stitches up right side of neck then 25 stitches across back neck.

WRONG SIDE ROW Work in p1, k1 rib to the stitch before centre stitch, slip that stitch onto RH needle, slip centre stitch onto cable needle and leave it at the back of the work, place the stitch on RH needle back onto LH needle and then place stitch on cable needle back onto LH needle and purl all three stitches together. Rib in k1, p1 to end

RIGHT SIDE ROW Rib to the stitch before the centre stitch, slip next stitch onto RH needle, slip centre stitch onto cable needle and keep it at the front of the work, slip next stitch onto RH needle then place stitch on cable needle back onto LH needle, then place both stitches from RH needle back onto LH needle and knit these three stitches together. Rib to end.

Repeat these two rows either twice or thrice more depending on how ‘filled in’ you like the neckline to be. Then repeat the first row once more. Cast off in rib decreasing at the V as before.

ARMHOLE EDGINGS

Seam left shoulder seam and neckband. With right side of work facing and using 3.25 needles pick up and knit 96 stitches evenly around armhole edge. Work 5 rows in k1 p1 rib and cast off in rib.

Join side seams with mattress stitch

Block and press, embroider the details and add the buttons for wheels and you’re done. Try it on child and wait for gratitude or otherwise.




The Charts. These are really easy to knit but they were really hard to create and they're not great yet. But it's the best I can do! The lines for the tow-truck etc are to be embroidered using chain or running stitch. The big circles representing wheels are just where the buttons would go. The yellow tow truck starts on the front and goes over to the back. The crane is going the wrong way, something my son was keen to point out to me. I explained that it was the crane that was causing the traffic jam but he isn't convinced.

BACK



FRONT


This pattern is free to print but the charts print out really badly. However, I have done a PDF, which Blogger won't let me upload. BUT if you go to the link at the top of this post then  I am assured by the kind people at Google Docs that the PDF file is yours to download and print! I couldn't get it to print direct from Google Docs but once it's downloaded it prints fine.

You may also knit up individual examples to sell if you want – heavens knows, I’ll never have time to! But if you do sell them, please include somewhere an acknowledgment that the pattern is mine! A link to this page or http://www.lespetitsanglais.co.uk/ would suffice.

The Olivia set

This morning Nigel took the children out for breakfast so I could finish an outfit for one of James' schoolfriends. It's her birthday soon and I wanted to make her a dress as a present. I don't normally do this but her mother is a friend of mine and has given us binbags full of clothes for Laura, so I thought it would be nice to return the favour with a handmade birthday outfit. Rachel chose the pattern herself from my collection and the Olivia knit dress with pinafore is definitely her style.

I had some lovely check cotton from Dots n Stripes so I used that for the pinafore and used some self-dyed interlock for the underdress. The interlock came from Specialist Sportswear (an Ebay seller). It's gloriously thick, soft and stretchy and although it isn't listed, he does ribbing to match the interlock. I shall be buying lots more!

I really liked the idea of the pinafore/knit dress combo, but didn't like the gathering of the pinafore at the waist, so I re-cut the pattern so that the gathering was omitted. It's definitely better than the original but now it's made up, I think the fundamental problem with the design is that the knit underdress hangs straight down, while the woven pinafore sticks out. It just looks odd! I'm tempted to take in the sides of the skirts to make it more streamlined but will wait until I've seen the dress on before I decide for sure. It may just be that the when the knit is filled out with five year old girl, the outfit falls into place.

But there have been other problems! I had to hack at the pinafore's armholes because the armscye depth wasn't as deep as the underdress'. Too irritating! And I only realised this when I'd topstitched the pinafore's armholes so I just added some binding to the armhole to cover the hack-job. The underdress was just the right length on my son who is a good 10cm shorter than Rachel, so I added a Geske style flounce to lengthen it. Many of the examples I've seen are worn quite short, almost as tunics. They look lovely, but this is meant to be a party dress, so it really needed to be below knee length. I added some poppers to the pinafore (Rachel doesn't like buttons), and it's done.

All in all, the Olivia underdress is a great pattern - I love it, and will be making another one (or even two!) as cute comfy Autumn dresses for Laura. I also love the idea of the pinafore, but wouldn't be making another from the Olivia pattern. Which is, I think, given how few examples of the pinafore appear on Flickr something that other people have also found!