Kids Clothes Week: Winter 2014

Yup, it's that time of year again!  I love kids, clothes week!  I've been up in my craft room sewing like a crazy person.  I've finished a cardigan, a top, a dress (does dropping the hem on a vintage dress count?) and I have plans for more but the light has been so very sad that I've been unable to take pictures.

Don't think I've been slacking off!  There are a few photos on instagram.  My feed is to the right if you want a sneak peak behind the scenes.  Hopefully, I get some semblance of sunlight before the end of the week and I can take some photos.  In the meantime, these will have to hold you over.

Sally Dress

Sweet Bonnie Top

Vintage Dress with dropped hem and mended sash.

Mostly, this round is about completing unfinished projects.  Dropping hems, adding hems and trims, finally sewing on cuffs and buttons and things like that.  It's nice to tackle that to do pile and see it shrink :)

How to adjust a sleeve pattern for Sewing Rabbit

In case you hadn't heard, I get to be part of the Sewing Rabbit Team this year!  I'm so excited!  I even got to share my first tutorial earlier this week.

Do you have great spring patterns for blouses and dresses that you're itching to make but it's just too darn cold to sew up short sleeves still?  Head over to the Sewing Rabbit and check out my tutorial on how to adjust any sleeve pattern to accommodate the cooler weather.

Little Bow Pleat Dress: Minus the Bow

I love a bold pattern but I prefer it paired with a simple style.  When I came across the Little Bow Pleat Dress from Blank Slate Patterns, I fell in love.  It's such a sweet dress with such cleans line and that bow spices it up very nicely.  It's a lovely combination.  It wasn't such a lovely combination for my busy fabric so I changed it a bit.  When do I ever leave a pattern alone, though?  I also lengthened the sleeves because, while I happen to live in the Seattle area, it still gets cold here in January and sleeves are kind of important.  Removing the bow from the front also helps layer the dress under a cardigan or a coat.  I love versatility in a wardrobe!

I used some pretty, pink cotton lace to trim the front where my seams holding down the box pleat were.  I found them unsightly and I like lace, so this was a winning combination.  Little Miss says this is her favorite part of the dress.

I also added a different lace to the bottom.  I made a size 2 and it was 60's vintage short.  It fits great through the chest.  I forgot to measure the pattern piece before cutting and I knew better.  I often have to lengthen her dresses.  That's what happens when you have a 30 lb 4 year old.  So, to fix the length snafu, I hemmed it a mere 1/2 inch and added lace.

The tutorial on how to install the zipper was by far the best one I've read.  I will never put in a zipper another way.  I think I'll make another dress for the spring in pin dot voile.  How cute would that be?

Sometimes, she gets tired of all the photos.  Can you tell?

The first three photos were taken with my brand new lensbaby composer pro with sweet 35 optic that I WON from their facebook giveaway!  I'm still figuring out how it all works.  It's slow going with a completely lens.  Pulling manual focus with a four year old that refuses to quite running around is pretty tricky.