Sewing: Christmas Clothes for Audrey and Tess

When I designed the Couture Skirt for Audrey earlier this year I chose a blush-colored wool but couldn't help thinking about all the other possibilities, including a natural linen (one of the fabrics I've been sewing a lot with lately--see here and here for instance).

Perhaps an odd choice for the colder months but I think it works, don't you? Perhaps it was the burlap-and-red-and-white-for-Christmas, which started floating around in my brain last year, that inspired this combination. Whatever inspired it, I think natural materials, such as this linen and the twine used for my crochet snowflakes, are beautiful for the holidays. And their neutral shades are so great as a foil for a bold red and white check!

So Audrey's Christmas outfit consists of a linen Couture Skirt (pattern here) and her Winnie-The-Pooh-inspired sailor (middy) shirt. I love seeing this shirt dressed up with the skirt. It's so versatile! I made it with a double layer of cotton shirting hoping to add a bit of warmth, but in truth Audrey wasn't comfortable for very long. After a few minutes of us trying to get her excited about our family photo she headed for the car. But this just may be my favorite photo from the day--she looks so independent and determined and as if she is striking out on a real adventure! Seems a scene I would imagine while reading an Isak Dinesen story.

And what about little Tess? She will be wearing a combination of some of the things I've made for her lately: the rick rack trimmed crisscross smock, and her ruffler shirt and red-and-white gingham skirt from the Once Upon a Thread sewing.

   

I actually had this little ensemble in mind for Tess when I made the smock for her. It's been fun to be working on the mix here for a few months now. And it means these pieces have already been worn more than on Christmas Day. Beautiful and practical. It might be a first!