The 12 Days of Christmas: Modern Handmade

For the 4th day of the series we have April from Modern Handmade. April lives in LA with her husband and two gorgeous children. I first met April over on Instagram where she seems to post photos of something new she’s sewn almost every day. I always love April’s fabric choices – take a look at this gorgeous jacket she made for her son and this understated dress for her daughter. You will also find some delicious looking recipes over on her blog as April used to be a personal chef. Today April has made amazing outfits for both of her children and for someone extra too.

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Hi! I’m April and I blog at Modern Handmade. I love to sew for my kids, husband and occasionally myself. I am very excited to be a part of the 12 Days of Christmas Sewing Series. When Suz contacted me to see if I was interested in participating, I jumped at the chance! And then when I saw all the wonderful ladies who were also participating, I was even more thrilled to be involved.

I love Christmas. The lights, decorations, the smell of the tree, the Nutcracker, spending time with family, Christmas carols, I could go on and on. Since Miette was born almost 4 years ago it has been fun figuring out our own traditions in addition to the ones we celebrate with our extended families. This past summer Miette took ballet lessons and has been in love with ballet ever since. I found a short(er) Nutcracker ballet and I’m taking her in a few weeks. I hope this can be a new tradition for us and that she loves it as much as I do!

When I was planning the outfits for my kids I found a polka dot home decor fabric in my stash. And knew immediately that I wanted to use it for Miette. Then I searched for coordinating fabric for Henri’s outfit. Not the traditional red or green but with a touch of those colors. I wanted outfits that they could wear throughout the next year (or months as Henri is growing pretty fast).

One Christmas, when I was little, my mom made my cabbage
patch doll and I matching dresses. I absolutely loved wearing that dress
and took her with me everywhere that day. Side note, I don’t remember
my dolls name! Here is a picture from Christmas Day.

After I sewed Miette’s dress I ran across the picture above and decided that she needed a
matching dress for her baby doll. I surprised her with it right when I
started the photo shoot and she was absolutely smitten! I found a free pattern and tutorial for her American Girl Bitty Baby and I think it took me as long to sew as the dress I made for Miette! So cute but I’m not sure how many clothes she will be getting for her doll. I made M the Debbie’s Birthday Dress by
SewPony. I have had this on my list of things to make to since I purchased it quite a few
months ago and I knew that it was the perfect match for this fabric. I sewed a size 5, kept the design simple since the print is so bold and I used a thick red piping where the bodice meets the skirt. I
absolutely love it! I paired it with blue tights and sparkly brown shoes. Because she is really into sparkles lately.

I also had a new (well, vintage) Christmas book for Miette to look at during the shoot. To keep her sitting still. 🙂 Henri, on the other hand, was kept busy by picking everything up and playing with all the trees and gifts.

My baby boy. Gosh, he’s pretty adorable. I re purposed a women’s sweater
for his shirt. I knew it would be perfect for him and I love how it
turned out. I used my tried and true Charlie Tee pattern, size 18 months, but this was the first time using long sleeves. The fit is just perfect. His pants are a blue corduroy and I used this skinny jeans
pattern. He normally wears cloth diapers so I sewed him a size 2T but with a shortened length. Oh boy, these do not work well with a bulky cloth diaper. So he now wears disposables with these pants and the fit is great!

These shoes. So cute! I found them, before he was born, at Old Navy for only $.47! I wish I had them in every size because they look adorable on him.

I love these kids. They are so funny and they love each other so much! I’m excited to spend another Christmas with them and can’t wait to start making new traditions.

Thanks so much for hosting such a fun series Suz and Laura! I can’t wait for the kids to wear these outfits on Christmas Day! Please check back to see all the beautiful creations by these wonderful bloggers.

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What wonderful outfits and photos April! The clothes are really special but could still be worn every day. I love that you were inspired to make the doll’s dress by your own Christmas gift as a child. Thank you for sharing this today.

Don’t forget to visit Sewpony too. Today’s guest is Vanessa from LBG Studio who makes the most beautiful outfits for her daughter.

On the fourth day of Christmas,
my true love sent to me
Four calling birds,
Three French hens,
Two turtle doves,
And a partridge in a pear tree.