The 12 Days of Christmas: S is for Sewing

We are staying in Europe for my penultimate guest of ‘The 12 Days of Christmas’. Ana Sofia lives in Portugal with her 3 children. She sews a lot of beautiful clothes for her daughter and everything she makes has such a timeless style. This post shows how versatile her style is as well. I love how enthusiastic Ana Sofia is about KCW and every time she starts with such ambitious plans and ends with so many lovely garments. Over to you Ana Sofia.

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The Eleventh Day of Christmas: S is for Sewing

Hi everyone! I’m Ana Sofia from S is for sewing and I’m pretty much the occasional seamstress that loves to sew children clothes, toys and pretty much everything that involves fabric and pretty ribbons.

I live in (sunny) Lisbon with my husband and 3 children. When Suz contacted me with the draft idea for the 12 Days of Christmas Sewing Series I jumped right at the opportunity to join in – the concept was pretty amazing (Christmas sewing is definitely a must for anyone that loves to sew for children) and I was even more excited to see all the lovely (and extremely creative) ladies that were also taking part.

Thank you Laura and Suz for making Christmas sewing so much fun!

To our family, Christmas is indeed the season to be joyful and share family traditions. It is one of the few times in the year when we gather with our extended family – it’s the opportunity to spend some quality time with cousins, aunts and other relatives that we don’t often see during the entire year.

Although Santa Claus is very widespread nowadays (most children would believe in the “real Santa” hopefully up to the 4th grade), in catholic families (like ours), Jesus is the most important figure. Also, and although almost every household will have a Christmas tree (usually decorated in the traditional gold, green and red colors), the most important Christmas decoration for catholic families is the nativity scene (called Presépio) – just for the record, my kids managed to set up 4 in our living room this year (each strategically located).

This is their current favorite (although baby Jesus is often just added to the nativity scene after midnight on Christmas eve, I couldn’t really convince my youngest kids of that):

Catholic families also begin their preparation to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ with the start of Advent. In the weeks leading up to Christmas, we participate in time honored traditions that teach the faith and symbolize the Advent journey towards the Nativity.

This can be as simple as lighting a candle in the center of the family dinner table and pausing for quiet reflection prior to dinner – this year and as all of our children already know how to read, we include a Children Advent book with reflections and prayers for each day.

As for Christmas sewing, my list is usually way-too-long and almost-impossible to achieve (especially if I don’t start working on it by the end of September). So, with the 12 Days of Christmas Sewing Series deadline fast approaching (and the usual lack of inspiration that strikes me by this time of the year), I decided to venture into a rather unusual Christmas outfit.

I had fell in love a couple of weeks ago with a winter coat made by a most-talented friend (from Australia, nonetheless) and couldn’t wait for the chance to make one for my girl. I also managed to secure a special price for a lovely wool fabric from my local shop and had just the perfect matching fine cord waiting in my stash, so before I knew it a new winter coat was made.

The coat pattern (Burda 9501) did not disappoint and I couldn’t be happier with the result (the only drawback is the fact that I’m pretty sure it won’t fit my girl next year. I made the larger size of this pattern and the fit is just right on her. No room to grow …)

Obviously, you do need a special dress to wear underneath – rich color (burgundy) and special details (cotton eyelet and ric-rac) make this dress also a perfect option for when the Holiday season ends.

Did she like it?

You bet she did!

Did you noticed her happy smile when she found the pockets?

And as for the dress, it was also a winner! (she even modeled it? Strange I know, she was in such a good mood).

Did you noticed another Nativity Scene in the pictures above?

This dress was made from a modified version of the newly launched Oliver and S Playdate dress – a favorite of mine.

A Final note: The gift featured in this photo session is “fake”. My children get their Christmas gifts only in the morning of the Christmas day 🙂

Thank you again Laura and Suz for having me!

And Happy Christmas to everyone!

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That coat is beautiful and such a gorgeous colour. It feels great when our children love what we’ve made too and it looks like your daughter really loves it. That is such a pretty dress too. Thank you for joining the series today and sharing about your family traditions.

Suz’s guest today is my very good friend Celina from Petit a Petit and Family. Click on the button below to see what she has made today – you don’t want to miss it!

On the eleventh day of Christmas,
my true love sent to me
Eleven pipers piping,
Ten lords a-leaping,
Nine ladies dancing,
Eight maids a-milking,
Seven swans a-swimming,
Six geese a-laying,
Five golden rings,
Four calling birds,
Three French hens,
Two turtle doves,
And a partridge in a pear tree.