Kids Clothes Week Fall 2014!

Kids clothes week starts in less than a week!

I love sewing for Kids Clothes week because it gives me the much needed motivation to make the things I've promised the girls. I've been sorting my Vintage Pattern collection recently, trying to leverage wordpress to create a visual database of them (which is taking a lot longer than I had hoped). Once of the patterns that I seem to have in many variations is a wrap skirt with pockets. Dahlia picked it out as one she wanted and I redrafted the pattern to her size and sewed it for her. I also graded it and turned it into a print-at-home pdf. Available here

She loves it. Trillian has requested one as well in "hot pink" (naturally), so I anticipate sewing one for her this coming week.

Romper PJs Pillowfight!

The pattern has been back from my amazing testers for over a week. All the edits they suggested have been made. The only thing preventing me from getting it listed in the shop was photos.

Yesterday we had a pajama playdate with Erin from Ruffles and Trains and her kiddos. I provided the PJs and she provided the pillows!

There was some relaxed hanging out and chatting, but that didn't last long before the girls were literally climbing the walls.

 Just waiting for permission to have a pillow fight!

Check out the pattern available on Etsy:
Kids Summer Romper PJs

Kids Choice Challenge

Over on Elegance and Elephants there is a sewing challenge this week! I love these excuses to step out of my comfort zone. This week is Kid's Choice. We are challenged to sew something for our kids - the catch is that they get to choose the fabric.
T picked out this satin with a slight stretch and a bright watercolour floral pattern. This was a remnant she picked out a year ago that I've never done anything with. I let her raid my fabric stash and she pull this out with an excited "THIS! DEFINITELY THIS!"

I've been working on a pattern based on a peasant top but with a ruffle cap sleeve. It was the perfect pattern for this fabric. Especially since it doesn't need a lot of fabric, and I only had half a yard!

T says this top makes her feel like a teenager. Which to her is the best feeling in the world. I don't know why they want to grow up faster than they already are... I'm just glad she still enjoys things like picking flowers.

A simple dress pattern

I've been working hard drafting patterns for my girls and digitizing them so I could share them.
Today I managed to get one up and ready in my Etsy shop.
There are several more in the works.
T absolutely loves this dress.
It came together extremely fast, aside from the breaks I took to help them squeeze their ice pops up.
And to be completely honest and let you in on a little secret. I forgot to pay attention to the alignment of the stripes when cutting. The fact that they actually do line up is a happy accident. 

Photographing a 4 year old.

My Daughter is a ham. I sew her stuff and tell her we're going to do a photo shoot. These are some of the best shots from the series.

I'm not really sure what this zen like pose is from...

This is pretty standard when I tell her to say cheese.

I'm working on digitizing the pattern for the blazer. This morning I made it out of an interlock knit and it's super comfortable feeling. I want to make one for myself. The tunic was one I sewed from some fabric I received in a Girl Charlee bargain box. As it turns out 9 inches is all you need to make a tunic like that in a size 4.

Belle's Dress

T is going to a birthday party tomorrow. Her little friend E is turning 4.
Now that the girls are in preschool I don't really know their friends as well as I used to. I emailed E's mom to find out what she is into. "She loves dora, playdoh, princess belle, paints, dress-up and clothes - especially frilly ones." I think I nailed it. We'll find out soon.
My favorite local fabric warehouse had this beautiful buttery satin and I managed to snag 2 1/2 yards for $5. The deals you can get when you're willing to work around imperfections can be fantastic!
I took a basic peasant dress top. (I used the pattern pieces from this pattern.)

From there I made a simple A-line underskirt in white. The top skirt was just a rectangle, cut the width of the satin by about 10 inches longer than the underskirt. After attaching the two skirts to the bodice I put the dress on the dress form and started pinning. I followed Melly Sew's tutorial for the skirt. It was really easy. It was a bit tedious trying to do it with the girls around, but once they went to bed I was able to get into a rhythm and found myself shocked when I realized I was down to only two pins left.

I am really excited to give this to her little friend. Are you good at giving birthday gifts? What is your favorite gift you've ever given?

I won!

I entered a sewing contest over at one of my favorite fabric suppliers, Girl Charlee.
And I won! They asked people to sew something with their black and white chevron jersey.

I had sewn up a tank and panties set for the Tallest. She loves them. She's had me make about a dozen pairs of panties for her. It's a great destash project. I've digitized the pattern, I just need some other people to test it before I put it Out There. Any volunteers? (Details: they are designed for a knit fabric, and I graded them to fit kids size 2-5)

Sewing Baby Girl Clothes

One of my crafty friends learned recently that she's having a girl. I have several other friends who are expecting girls as well. When I first heard, I thought I would put together a collection of some of my favorite free patterns. This is not even close to a comprehensive list of all the patterns available out there. Not. Even. Close. These are just the ones I've made myself.
I've decided to share it here so other people can enjoy the love too.

There are several blogs that are absolute gold for finding sewing patterns and tutorials.
Check out:
Made
Made by Rae
Luv in the Mommyhood

As for particular projects that I love, I've only included one from each source. But browse around each source! There's plenty more!
Check them out! (The images are links to the projects)

(used with permission)






If this isn't enough, also check out Craftster, Burda Style or browse around links in those blogs I mentioned. I really can't recommend them enough. I can get lost spending hours and hours clicking through from blog to blog.

Sew Along: Popover Sundress Week 1

Recently a couple of people have asked me for a simple sundress pattern they could sew for their little one.
I think it would be fun to have a sew along! I'll take it really slow for all the beginners and anyone who wants to pass where we are please feel free. Email me photos of your creations by June 30th and I'll share with the group!
Let's make this pattern. It's free and easy enough for the beginning sewers among us. To get started you'll need some fabric consult the following to see how much you'll need.

Main Fabric
Size 2T - 1 yard
Size 3 or 4 - 1 1/4 yard
Size 5 or 6 - 1 1/3 yard
Size 7 or 8 - 1 1/2 yard

In a contrasting fabric you will need a fat quarter regardless of size. (For the new sewers, a Fat Quarter is a 1/4 yard, but instead of it being 9" x 44" it's 18" x 22" Most craft stores carry fat quarters in their quilting section.) The pattern says you need significantly more, and while it's slightly easier to just use the layout they show, the way I suggest will waste a lot less fabric. We will either make our own bias tape from this or you can purchase double fold bias tape for the shoulder ties.

Make sure you have thread for your sewing machine in a color to match either the main fabric, contrasting fabric and/or the straps. (And if you're hand sewing this Bravo you have significantly more patience than I do!) You'll also need some pins, fabric scissors, an iron and ironing board, a printer and some paper.

If you want to add a little rick-rack or lace between the yoke and the main portion of the dress you'll need about 3/4 yard of it.

Happy Mother's Day

This morning I was woken up with breakfast in bed. Stuffed French toast with cream cheese and strawberries.
Yesterday I got some sewing time. Finished up the Ice Cream Dress View C (it's a blouse) that I'd been working on Friday and made another co-ordinating one.




I made the smallest size in the pattern - 6 months. It seemed really big - as most home sewn projects do... Turns out it fit T, so I took her outside to snap a few photos. Had to make it really quick though, since I intend to sell the blouse and it was raining.

Pictures to share

Yesterday I mentioned the sheet set I'm working on for T. Here's what the pillowcase looks like. I'm excited to work on the flat sheet but I'm waiting until I have some child-free time to do that.


I completed a shirt from one of the vintage patterns. I love it! I'm looking forward to making a few more from that pattern.



detail of the puffed sleeves...
The gathers are at both the top and the bottom of the sleeve, I think this give it the retro feel...

The Quest for Toddler Bedding

T has moved to a toddler bed. Her bed however is lacking bedding. Every single "toddler bedding" set I've found is either prohibitively expensive or Disney. Now I have nothing against Disney, but I think that it's crazy that I can only find Tinkerbelle and Cinderella sheets for my 18 month old.
Fitted sheets are easy to find in solid colors because they're just crib sheets. Where I've been running into problems is finding a flat sheet - or a set that includes a flat sheet. I've decided to make her a sheet set. (And to make as many copies of the set as I can from the fabric I have - since I'll want the two girls to have matching sets when D moves to a big girl bed.)
I've been browsing around trying to find the "right" fabric for a while. Found a pink fabric with the alphabet on it and a coordinating striped fabric on clearance at Joann's. Turns out right now their clearance fabric is 50% off too. So at $1.50/yard i bought what was left on both bolts. (5.75y of the alphabet and 2.5y of the stripe)

Today I used this tutorial to make a pillowcase. It went quite well, though the pillowcase was a little large - which was an easy fix. I have pictures to post when I get to uploading them from the camera.

Tomorrow I'm hoping to find the time to make the flat sheet. Only if it rains though, because if it doesn't we're going to the zoo.

My new dress form still doesn't have a name. Any ideas? Trying to decide between a boy's name (I don't know why I keep thinking of it as a "he" when "he" has never worn anything but dresses...), a Mobster type name - given the shady situation I got it in or one of the names that my husband vetoed when we were trying to name our daughters... What would you name it?

Oliver and S Puppet Show Dress and Tunic

Several weeks ago I mentioned that I was working on the Oliver and S Puppet Show dress.
Now that I have a dress form (who still needs a name!) I thought I would show you what I've made.

The first one is actually tunic length and has matching shorts in black with the darker blue bias trim. I still haven't sewn on the buttons or hand sewn the hem.


After making it I gained the confidence needed to play with the pattern a little. I decided to try upcycling a men's shirt. It worked out beautifully. There's even a pocket on the bum of the dress - I didn't want to remove it, I wanted to leave the integrity of its origins in tact. And the best part? No need to sew on the buttons or do the hem!

Shady dealings and the best customer service I have ever had

I want a dress form.
Not one so I can sew for me. I need one that is the right size for toddlers.
I've been searching ebay and discovered that while the prices are reasonable, everyone wants $20-$30 for shipping. Somewhere in my searches I managed to find a local warehouse that had one in stock. They would even let me pick it up! I called ahead and they said they could help me bring it to my car - a must considering I had to have both the girls with me.
So I drove out to the shady warehouse district in Newark NJ... I called to say I was at the front entrance and was directed around to the side of the building. A guy comes down the freight elevator with a black trash bag. I hand him some cash, check to make sure all the parts are there and toss it into the trunk.
I'm sure somewhere a security camera caught that and in a few weeks someone will come knocking on my door to ask me about my connection in the disappearance of some mobster...

So now I'm the proud owner of a new dress form.
What should I name her?

Visit to Grandma's

One of my favorite things about visiting Grandma is going through her stash.
Fabric, notions, patterns...
I have a jar of buttons that I got from her. She's of the generation that never threw anything away. In the jar are buttons from old shirts, buttons from pants and fascinating buttons with an unknown and mysterious history.
This trip, I perused vintage sewing patterns. Grandma let me take all the patterns I wanted! I can't wait to get started on some of these for the girls.



















She also has a collection of McCall's Needlecraft Magazine dating back to 1948. She said I could have it! I took the first twenty home with me. Reading old adverts from 1948 really highlights how different the world is now.