Around here - 10th August, 2026 - Sewing Diaries

Last week I posted that I had bought myself a new Janomi Sewing machine and was going to make some gifts for my niece's new baby and her 3.5 year old.  I finally turned my spare room into my new sewing room and whilst it's not finished it's now usable for the most part.  I still have to bring my Ikea Bookcase upstairs from the garage which will go into the wardrobe for storage.  I just need to saw a tiny bit of timber off the bottom of the bracket so the bookcase will fit inside the wardrobe however Rome wasn't built in a day as they say.

Onto my sewing adventures for the past week where I made some toddler pants and baby shoes.  I ended up going back to Janomi and buying myself an overlocker something I thought I would never be saying.  I've never had any desire for an overlocker however after sewing the toddler pants and doing an overlocker stitch on the new sewing machine which is time consuming vs an overlocker, I decided it was worth it as Janomi still had their big sale on.  I also got a further discount as the overlocker had been opened and taken out of the box to be photographed but not used.  I ended up getting the Janomi 454D which retails for $1,149 for $499.  This will make finishing edges on clothing so much neater.  Before I walked out of the shop I got a lesson on how to thread the machine and how to use it as one of the main things people say about over lockers is they are difficult to thread and this is where a lot of people come unstuck.

My sewing all started out with wanting to make some toddler pants and the reversible baby shoes for the new baby.  

I made the toddler plants which have two pockets on the back of the pants and to finish off the outfit I popped into Kmart and bought some $2.25 white long sleeve tshirts and appliqued a strawberry onto the front.  This way it's a whole outfit and very cute if I do say so myself.  As they live in Perth where it's very cold I used flannel material for the pants so they will be warm and Spotlight had 50% off flannel when I bought it which was great.  The pattern is called "Picnic Pants" by a New Zealand Mum and you just print it off at home and sticky tape the pieces together which has detailed instructions on how to do this.  You just print the pattern at 100% [ie don't fit to page] on your printer and then make sure the test box on the front is the same measurement which means the pattern is correct size.

I also bought some lables from Amazon to sew into the back

of the waistband to give it a personal touch.

Next up are the baby shoes which are reversible so I bought 4 lots of fabric and the first pair are a dark blue pattern on one side and boats on the other as they live near the beach and I needed a tiny print as the shoes are so small.  This is where I got the pattern for the baby slippers from and this is her instructional video which was brillant.  It says you can make them in 2 hours even if you double the time, basically you can make them in an afternoon. 

As they were tiny they were a bit fiddly I had my laptop with the video instructions next to be which was much better than trying to read the intructions I had printed out.  I did end up making a 2nd pair as the first pair I missed catching a tiny bit of fabric in the sewing and also I used white thread so the 2nd pair I matched it with the navy thread which was much better.  The pattern comes with 6 sizes from newborn to 2 years old.  You just print the pattern at 100% [ie don't fit to page] on your printer and then make sure the test box on the front is the same measurement which means the pattern is correct size.

This is the finished baby shoes and I'm so thrilled with them this is the little boats on one side. 

This is when they are reversed with the dark blue print.

I'm loving having a creative outlet again and a hobby to focus on especially as I now have my dedicated sewing room.  If you have any lovely patterns you have made let me know.

I've also bought this dinosaur pattern and some material to make a dinosaur for the new baby and I have the other two flannel fabrics to make 2 more toddler pants after confirming the size I am sending over is the right size for her.  I sewed the size 3 "Picnic Pants" however she will be turning 4 in a few months so I need to decide whether I make the 3 or the 4 for the next two pants.  According to the measurements her Mum [my niece] gave me the ones I am sending over should be perfect but want to double check before I cut out and make the next two pairs.