I Can Follow a Pattern!

I fell in love with Riley Blake's Sweetest Thing fabric the minute I saw it.  I wanted the whole collection, I really did.  Instead, I just settled for a few prints and some coordinates from other places at the quilt shop I frequent.  The sweet birds and hearts, the ditsy floral and yellow!  Oh yes, I had to have it all!  I envisioned a whole spring wardrobe full of dresses, bubble shorts, tops and capris.  So far, I've just managed a dress, but there's still time, right?

This dress is from a simplicity pattern 3511.  It has a pretty square yoke and an a line dress.  I did adjust the sleeves and put on a flutter sleeve.  Because the original has sleeves, I finished the arm holes with some yellow bias tape.  I guess I am terrible about following patterns after all!  I swear, I didn't change anything else, though.   Cross my heart.  I made it in a 2T and it fits pretty well.  The yoke is a bit big and stiff but it works well and it's perfect for summer.

As you can see, she's not really sure about it.  What you can't see are the adorable gingham bloomers underneath.

No, really, mom, it should be PINK!

I adore the trim along the yoke.  I found this sweet twill tape on etsy here.

and the back has two small buttons to hold it closed, but it actually slips off and on just fine without them.

I've received more compliments on this dress than just about anything else Little Miss has worn.  It's always very nice to have someone stop and ask where you got a dress and get to respond "Thanks, I made this one!"  Few things make me feel giddy like that does, even if Miss would prefer it's pink.

The hem is almost two inches, so I can let it down as she grows.  I'm sure she'll get a couple of years out of this, maybe three since she's been growing so slowly.

Persnickety Knockoff

I saw this Persnickety dress and instantly fell in love.  I did not love the price, especially for a brand I've never ordered from.  I had no idea about fit or quality so I wasn't going to risk it.  The pattern looked pretty simple, though, so I decided to take a go at it myself.

What I really loved about this dress is how the tone on tone and the simple styling are perked up by good texture.  The wide bands with pintucks and large chunky buttons help the simple style really shine through without making it boring.

First off, I had to look up tutorials on pintucking.  Turns out, it's pretty simple.  You just measure, fold, press, and sew as close to the edge as you can.  There are special feet you can get to help keep everything straight (which would have been very handy for me since my pintucks had a tendency to wander).

I tried the double needle technique but, for the life of me, I couldn't get it to work.  I imagine it's the same reason I can't get my brother machine to shirr.  I'm afraid to adjust my bobbin tension because I know I won't get it back to the factory setting.  So, until I buy a new bobbin case, I'm stuck pintucking the old fashioned way.

This burdastyle tutorial was very informative.  Yeah, it's labor intensive, but it's worth it.  In fact, I plan on more pintucked projects in the future.  In fact, I found it rather fun :)

I recommend pressing and sewing all the tucks going one direction all at the same time rather than going back and forth.  The first piece I did the back and forth method and it was much more time consuming than the next four pieces which I did all one way and then the other.  Really, it didn't take as much time as I expected, probably because I spaced each set a good five inches apart.

First off, I drafted my pattern which was just a bunch of different rectangles. Add two inches to each dimension to accomodate for pintucks.  I pintucked all of my pieces and sewed them up and then cut them to the right dimensions, not forgetting seam allowance.
The whole thing is sewn with osnaburge.  It had good visual texture and was thin enough to show the pintucks nicely.  I had to dye the skirt section to make it darker, using rit dye.

I threw a buttonhole on the back so that I could get the skirt off and on and buttonholes on the front for the straps, sewed on my pockets and did a dance.  My knockoff was complete.

I added some pom pom trim to the bottom.

It turns out it doesn't fit too well, though.  It's about a size too big, but she'll grow into it :)

I couldn't find the right buttons so I made my own from shrink plastic.  I used this tutorial.

A Little Apron Dress

I am in love with apron dresses.  I seem to have several in the closet every season.  When I saw Sarah Jane's Out to Sea Map fabric I KNEW it had to be made into an apron dress.  My daughter picked out the mermaid fabric to compliment it and my son picked the yellow stripe for the top.  I absolutely love how it all came together.

I drafted the pattern using my daughter's measurements.  The front and back bodice are the same shape, but the back is a bit higher.  It was actually quite simple.  Unfortunately, I cut the sash wrong and had to add extra to it so it looks a little odd.  I was out of fabric to just cut a new length, though.  All in all, I think it looks okay :)

I had this all cut out but managed to get it sewn together during elsie marley's KCW.  She's kicking off the summer event soon too.  July 15-21.

The straps button on the back.  The button is easily moved down to lengthen the straps when she grows.

This is what happened when I told her to stand nicely so that I could see how the dress hung.

The apron is removable.  This way it's like two dresses in one!  The apron is held on by three buttons.  I have some other fabric in this collection and I'm considering making interchangeable aprons.

I felt fancy with the hem and did two lines of this quilting stitch.  It seemed to fit the water theme well.  Unfortunately, I'll regret this decision when it's time to let the hem down.  I'll have to plop down in front of the television with my seam ripper.

It is 3 year old approved!

You can see the whole flickr set here.

Pattern Testing

I got the pleasure of being a pattern tester for Elegance and Elephants.  Heidi's design style has long intrigued me and I've been following her since I found her on Project Run and Play.  Her designs combine the feel of vintage with a modern wearability which I love.  It's a perfect combination of girlishness and practicality.  The pattern is now available for purchase here.

I was a tester for the swing dress and as soon as I saw it, I knew it had to be chiffon.  I chose a pretty yellow chiffon and layered it over a baby blue cotton.  My daughter loves it and the fit is great.  The pattern was great to work with.  Very straight forward and very few pattern pieces.  I was able to put it together in one afternoon and that was even working with my nemesis, chiffon.

I need to redo my keyhole closure which kept coming open, but that's what happens when you don't measure correctly, run out of fabric and then have to make it up as you go along, which I did most certainly have never done.

I need to get better photos, but we had one sunny day before my deadline and I had to take advantage.  Poor Little Miss was SO cold out there in the wind, but she was a trooper.  She caught the flu so I haven't had a chance to get detail photos.

Also, ignore my hem.  I'm waiting on my hem tape.

Sponge Curls

My daughter has the straightest hair I've ever seen. This is good, though, since it rarely tangles and it's always predictable. She never has a bad hair day. Since she is going to be a flower girl, I thought it would be fun to try curling her hair, so I bought a package of sponge rollers and went to town. She loved having the rollers put in and I loved doing it. Little girls are so much fun! I absolutely love the way they turned out. The ones in the back wouldnt' stay in too well since her hair is still pretty short, so the back isn't as great as the rest, but I think it still looks pretty good.


   


 


As you can see, the back has hardly any curl to it, but there's just enough so it doesn't look to silly.









Now, she can have curly hair or straight :)  It's the best of both worlds.

Bridgette is wearing a Misha Lulu dress and red boots from Crazy 8.

Sweet Bonnet Goodness

I'm not sure what age girls become too old for bonnets, but figure that if it fits then she's not too old.  I fell in love with this dress and bonnet from Janie and Jack, with whom I have a love/hate relationship.  I love their clothing but I hate to give them my money.

I wish more girly dresses cam in blue floral.  I love it because it has a vintage feel and Little Miss loves it because it has polkadots and a hat.  I'm lucky that she loves hats so much because I'm a sucker for matching hats.








The first photo is by far my favorite of the batch.

A Little Vintage

We had a fun time with our photo shoot today.  She is wearing a vintage dress with a home made petticoat.  I love vintage dresses.










I did a little vintage processing on them because photos are more fun when processed all vintage-like, right?