PR&P Week #4: Simple and Special

It's the last week of this season's Project Run & Play.  Boo has certainly loved week one's Belle Dress and week two's Easy Starburst Dress.  I was teaching Boo's preschool during week three, so even though I already had a project done (I didn't make it for PR&P, but it fit the theme), I couldn't manage to get it posted!  Life was crazy that week.  I'm hoping to post that project later.

This week's theme is Your Signature Look.  At first I thought, "I don't have a signature look.  I just do whatever I feel like at the time."  

But I don't sew shirts.  

I don't sew pants.

I rarely sew skirts.

I mostly sew dresses.

It's not like I'm necessarily opposed to sewing shirts or pants, they're just never what I feel like doing.  Because they're less special.  If I'm going to take the time to make clothes, they're going to be something a little fancy, and a little special.  Which works, because Boo loves fancy.  She wears dresses/skirts almost every single day.  I like dresses better than skirts because a dress is a complete outfit.  Simple and done.

I also like the designs to be fairly simple.  This may change as I sew clothes more, but for children's clothes, at least, I don't really want to be fussing with little details.  Cute, but simply executed details, simple to put on/take off (especially for wiggly babies!)--that's what I like to make for my girls.

So here is my Signature Look:

Simple and Special

Easter Dresses

I never did get around to posting my little girl's Easter dresses, and since they fit exactly into this week's theme, I thought today was a great day to show them off.

Daddy's Girl's dress was another variation of a pattern I've used several times before.  I change the pattern every time!  Here are the first two dresses I made from this pattern.  This time, I made the dress fully lined, instead of using bias tape (blue dress) or facings (orange dress).  I lowered the neckline and thinned the straps, like I did for the orange dress.  I used a hook-and-eye closure instead of the zipper, which was a new alteration.  

I also added a contrast band around the bottom.  That was a really fast and easy alteration, and it made so I didn't even have to hem the dress!  I'll have to do a quick tutorial another day, so you can see how that worked.

Aww, isn't she so pretty?  I love yellow on her.

Boo's dress is the same style, with a sash that ties in the back, hook-and-eye closure, and contrast band. This dress, I actually spent a lot of time on, and did a lot of work by hand.  (For Daddy's Girl's dress, which I did second and whipped out in one late night of sewing, I figured out how to do it without the handwork.  Good thing, too, because it was the night before Easter!)  

Easter morning, I gave Boo her new dress I'd spent so much time on...and she wanted to wear a different dress to church!  (Cry!)  But when I showed her she would be matching her baby sister, she became excited about this dress.  I'm doubly glad I got Daddy's Girl's dress done in time.

After church, we went to the park to take family Easter pictures.  Boo actually didn't like being up in the tree, even though her Aunt Kelli was right there, making sure she stayed safe.  (I actually photoshopped her out of this picture--she was really right by Boo.)  But Boo was a good sport anyway, and let me get a few good pictures of her in the tree.

So here's the back of the dress.  The contrast band was actually a necessity, not just a design choice.  I'd bought the two fabrics for this dress one or two years before, intending to make Boo a dress for Christmas, but then the holidays rolled by without the dress being made.  This year, I realized I had to get the dress made NOW or Boo would be too big for the amount of fabric I'd bought.  I had to add the contrast band to the bottom of the skirt to make it long enough, even now.

So that's it; that's my signature look.  Simple to sew, simple to wear, but also special.

And they make my little girls happy.  That's really what matters.

PR&P Week 2: Easy Starburst Dress

This week's theme for PR&P was "Candy Inspired."  I had some cute ideas--a dress with an orange-ish top and pleated skirt (Reese's Peanut Butter Cup)?  This cute orange striped adult's dress I found at Goodwill, cut up and pieced together into a cute chevron skirt (Starbursts--the connection being the color and the angles)?  I loved the orange stripes, so I went with that one.

That thrifted dress had a cute flower-and-hearts pattern on the bottom, so I wanted to make a quick dress for Boo with it before I used the rest to make the chevron skirt.  I knew Boo would love the dress, and she even hugged the fabric before I made it into a dress!

Just look at that happy face!  Boo loves her new dress, which is just the Popover dress again, virtually unaltered this time for simplicity.  She's worn it three times so far, and I just made it on Saturday.  :)

I realized my children have plenty clothes, so I decided not to make the second dress.  I know this simple dress won't win this week's contest, but I'm okay with that.  Boo LOVES the dress, and that's what really matters.

Project Run & Play Week 1: If Belle Was a 20's Flapper (aka Drop-Waist with Ruffles)

So, does everybody know about Project Run & Play?  It's the kid version of Project Sewn, which I participated in earlier this year.  (I made a date night high-low skirt, a 50's inspired sundress, an asymmetrical draped knit shirt, and a button and ruffles dress.  You could go and check them out; I'll wait for you.  ;)

The theme for week one of PR&P was to remix the Popover Dress.  (It's a free pattern--HERE.)  This is my interpretation.

When I showed Boo the mostly-completed dress, she said, "It's a Belle dress but it has sleeves!"  Really, to Boo, any yellow dress is a Belle dress, but I thought it was a Belle dress, too...if Belle was a 20's flapper.  :D

The original dress is a simple A-line with a small yolk and tie straps.  While my version of the dress looks significantly different than the original, structurally speaking, it's altered very little.  The straps no longer tie, and I added sleeves.  Besides that is the obvious drop waist and ruffles, but those were just sewn on top of the A-line dress--no structural change.

So it was a really simple alteration.  But I learned something important in the process:  I really don't like making ruffles.

I love the dress.  I think it's adorable.  Boo loves the dress.  But Daddy's Girl will not be getting a matching dress.  Ugh, the ruffles.  So adorable, yet so time consuming.

But look at this happy face.  Totally worth it.  And speaking of "worth it," this dress was completely free.  There's the obvious free pattern, plus the blue fabric was leftover from a project I completed ... two years ago? and haven't posted yet.  (Hmm, might should do that...)  And the yellow fabric was leftover from this summer skirt I posted two years ago.

And as a side note, I've been wanting to get a picture like this (with the sun behind the person's head, lighting up their hair so prettily) for just about forever.  But it's hard to get out to take pictures when the sun is low enough.  So I'm really excited we could take pictures early enough in the morning to get this shot.  And isn't Boo beautiful?  Awww...

4th of July Dresses for My Little Girls

All right!  It's time to announce which swimsuit design won the voting, and it is...

The Gathered Halter!  I'm really excited about that, since this was my favorite design, too!  I ordered the fabric yesterday (HERE, in case you love the chevrons, too!) so I'll be able to start sewing in a few days. I'd better hurry so I can get some good use out of my new swimsuit before the summer's over.  (I can't believe it's July already!)

I know, I should be posting my Cargo Skirt, like I said I would.  But...I haven't started it yet.  (Bad me!)  I've been working on this instead:

Cute little dresses for my girlies!  I like making special 4th of July outfits for my little ones, and with the 4th coming up so soon, their dresses got higher priority.  Neither dress is quite done, though.  Daddy's Girl needs a hook-and-eye sewn on the back of her dress (or a button--that would be cute...) and Boo is not nearly so tall as her dress makes her out to be.  Ah, well.  I have another day, right?

I made Boo’s dress red and white, and Daddy’s Girl’s blue and white (as you can see), rather than either being red, white, and blue, because I didn’t want the dresses to shout “FOURTH OF JULY!” and be less wearable the rest of the year.  So, together the dresses are patriotic, and apart, they’re appropriate for anytime.

I gave Daddy’s Girl’s dress a slight high-low hem for ease of crawling.  If I did it again, I would make the high-low more dramatic--with that little diapered bum in the air, she could certainly manage a longer-in-the-back dress!  But she’ll be wearing cute little pink shorts (that I didn’t make) underneath the dress, so we’re good.  I would make the dress fuller, too, like Boo’s.  There isn’t enough of the blue fabric (leftover from a quilt I haven’t posted yet but plan to) to cut a whole new skirt, so it is what it is.

No zippers, no buttonholes, easy sewing.  I just need to add the hook-and-eye.

Boo’s dress is (and still will be once I’ve cut off the extra 4-6 inches) maxi length.  I suggested making her’s high-low, too, but she wanted it long “so I can hold it up like this when I walk.”  Cute little princess loves her dresses and loves them fancy.  

Boo picked out her fabric, as well as the hem length.  We went through my fabric stash, and first she picked the white and blue fabrics that became Daddy’s Girl’s dress.  But, since the white was just remnants from making this project, there wasn’t enough for a 3T dress bodice.  Back to the boxes we went, and Boo decided on the red/white with red flowers fabrics.  And I think she liked that the fabrics she picked out became her baby sister’s dress.

I think I'll update this post later this week with some pictures of my girlies wearing their dresses to the festivities.

I'm not sure what we're going to be doing for the 4th, besides the annual 4th of July Breakfast my church congregation does.  It's supposed to be pretty rainy, so I'm not sure how well fireworks will work out...What are your plans?

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Project Sewn Week 4: Exploring My Style

We're down to the last week of Project Sewn.  It's been lots of fun, lots of work, and lots of learning.  I'd say that the biggest thing I learned, though, was just that I CAN do this!  I can design clothes, and then actually create them.  I'm going to keep doing it, too, just not one outfit every week.  

I'd like to design several items of clothing each month and have my lovely readers vote on which design you'd like me to create.  I think that should be a lot of fun.  I hope you'll participate!  So, I'll need to come up with some ideas to post your your inspection next week...

But back to Project Sewn.

This week's theme is "Your Signature Look."  When I told my sister the theme, she said, "But my style's boring."  So we're experimenting to find a non-boring style for her.  

I started off with the same base pattern as my sundress from a couple of weeks ago.  Isn't it fun how you can change up patterns?  I never thought of doing that until Project Sewn.  I also took the sleeves/armholes from another pattern I've had forever (and hadn't actually used yet...).  It was a plain sleeve, but I added pleats and shortened it a little.

We picked a bottom-weight fabric (that is, a heavier kind of fabric than, say, the quilter's cotton I used for the sundress) so that the fabric would be able to hold the pleats nicely.  And it does.  I especially love the pleats at the hem of the dress.  And my sister wanted green, since she doesn't have much green in her wardrobe.

I know this doesn't show much of the pleated ruffle, but I liked the picture.

And here's the back of the dress.  Ignore that wrinkle at the bottom.  Apparently I wasn't finished ironing.

Here's a view of the asymmetrical neckline/opening.  I like asymmetry--it's just different, not quite what's expected.

That opening's special in another way, too:  those aren't functional buttons.  There's a zipper underneath.  So, 1) I didn't have to sew a lot of buttonholes, and 2) there's no gapping between or pulling on the buttons.  Win!

Here's a picture of my sister just because she looks so pretty.

Please vote for me starting Friday!

Project Sewn Week 2: 50's Inspired Sundress

I got the material for this week's challenge a couple weeks ago, in the same shopping trip as for the black/white challenge.  With that head start, I thought I'd be able to finish this week's outfit earlier in the week.

Not so much.

This dress has gone through so many incarnations even since buying the fabric.  Really, all that stayed the same (besides the fabric) was that I wanted cap sleeves and a fitted bodice.

First idea:  Lace detail.  My sister vetoed that at the fabric store, saying that all their lace looked like it was for old ladies.

Second idea:  Pockets on the front.  My mom and sister both said no to that one, feeling that it would look juvenile. (The pockets would have been like these ones--they wouldn't look too young, right?  But that dress is for a toddler, so maybe I'm wrong...)

Half-circle skirt?  Would hide the piping I was planning to have in the skirt.

Princess seams with piping?  Too hard to draft.  (I'll figure it out, just not with this time crunch.)  So I guess I could have done the half-circle skirt, after all.

Ruffles?  No, not needed.  And I'm running out of time.

And then there was the method of patten-making...

Draft from an item of clothing I already have?  Tried that for two entire days (well, evenings anyway; gotta take care of the little ones during the day), but failed.  (Probably should have started with something simpler than a button-up shirt with princess seams and bust darts.)

Highly alter a pattern I used back when I was sixteen?  Okay, let's try that.

I didn't really want to start with a commercial pattern because I was afraid I would end up making their dress instead of my dress.  But this pattern was drastically different than what I had in mind while at the same time having the features I was having such a hard time drafting.  (Namely, a fitted bodice and dolman-style cap sleeves.)  So what began as a Asian-style shirt and top became:

The 50's Inspired Sundress

Okay, first I want to point out that this all-yellow dress really has little white polka-dots all over it.  Because polka-dots are awesome.  And 50's-ish.  (My sister and I really wanted yellow fabric with LARGE white polka-dots, but it wasn't to be.  Next time, I'll paint the dots on myself.  :D )

Let's talk about the changes I made.

Mandarin collar changed into scoop neck.

Cap sleeves shortened.

Shirt-and-skirt combo changed into dress.  Yes, I used the shirt/skirt pattern pieces instead of the dress option.  It seemed appropriate because I was making a bodice/skirt kind of a dress instead of an all-one-piece kind.

Gathers instead of the darts on the front of the bodice.

Four darts instead of two on the back of the bodice.  Seriously, this dress is full of darts; there were going to be 24 darts in this dress before I changed some out for gathers.  Granted, half of the darts are in the lining, but I still had to sew them.  But I'm getting ahead of myself a little.

Neck and sleeve facings changed to fully lined everything.  (Hence fully lined...)

Slim skirt widened to A-line.  That alteration was actually really easy.  Maybe I should write a quick tutorial on that.  You know, someday.  When I'm not designing and sewing a new outfit every week for this competition.

No sash to wide sash.  Really difficult change, I know.

Okay, I think those are all the changes I made.  So, radically different from the pattern, huh?  

Here's a close up of my favorite details of the dress.  (See?  There really are polka-dots.)  I like the interest the gathers add to the front of the dress, and I think the white sash was necessary to break up all the yellow.

Please vote for my dress starting on Friday!

Here's the link:  Project Sewn Week 2

By the way, I got third place last week for the black and white skirt  I made!  Thanks to everyone who voted for me.  :)  

Project Sewn Week 1: The Spiffy Date Night Skirt

Have you heard of Project Run and Play?  Blogging designers, kids clothes, contest, short deadlines, you get the drift.  Now they have a sister site called Project Sewn, and this season's competition starts today!  

I am not yet an awesome enough blogger/clothing designer/sewer to be one of the official contestants, but they have a sew-along division for us regular folks!

This week's theme is "Black and White."  I happen to love black and white clothes since they're so dramatic and classy.  So I love this theme.  I'm making the clothes for my sister, though.  Just because.  (She loves black/white, too.)

Week One Entry:

The Spiffy Date Night Skirt

This is one of the first times I've designed clothes, and it's the first time ever designing adult clothes.  It's less intimidating to whip up a no-pattern baby outfit; if it turns out a little funny, oh, well.  They'll love it anyway.  Or not care.  I don't imagine babies really care what they wear.  And Boo likes anything I make for her, especially if she gets to help and it has "fancies."  (That would be ribbons, ruffles, etc.  She is a girly-girl. :) )

Isn't she pretty?  I love the red shoes with the black and white.  (I didn't make the shirt, by the way; just the skirt.)

Boo wanted in on the photo shoot.

And she loves to be with her aunt.

Please vote for me starting Friday morning!

Little Hawaiian Dresses

{Looking for the flower clip giveaway?  Click here.}
{This giveaway is now closed.}

I actually made these a long time ago; I can't believe I haven't shared them with you yet!  (You may recognize the orange dress from this post.  Yep, it's been a while.)

I used Butterick Pattern #3782 for both of these little dresses I made for my Boo.  I made the blue one first (as you may have guessed since it's smaller!), and it was nice, but, well, the pattern needed some improvement.  The neckline was just too high--it was almost a turtleneck on my tiny little girl.  And the ... straps?  Do you call them straps when they're that wide?  Anyway, those parts of the dress were too wide--they were almost cap sleeves for Boo. 

So the next time I made the dress, I made the neckline a little lower, and the straps a little thinner (more strap-like).  Then I finished the edges by adding facings, instead of bias tape, which also helped with keeping the dress a reasonable size at the neck and arms.

I also merged the two pleats into one center pleat, which I just like better.  

Then I added a ribbon for a tie.  Besides adding cuteness, I wanted to be able to tie the dress to fit my tiny little girl, instead of being so big on her.

There's a funny story behind the orange Hawaiian dress.  Mr. MadeIt had this bright orange Hawaiian shirt he loved and his family loved to make fun of.  Then one day, much to the joy of the family and the sadness of Mr. MadeIt, the shirt tore.  Mr. MadeIt threw it away.

And I rescued it.  A shirt that was amusing on a redheaded daddy became a dress that was lovely on a brown-headded daughter.  I even re-used some of the buttons from the shirt to decorate the dress.  Mr. MadeIt's family was thrilled to see the orange Hawaiian print on their granddaughter/niece....and not on their son/brother.

(P.S.  I actually liked it as a shirt, too.  Everyone should have a loud and happy Hawaiian shirt if they want to!)

Tutu Costume Roundup!

I've been seeing tutu costumes all over Pinterest, and I LOVE THEM!  Oh my goodness, they are so cute! There's this one...

Source: etsy.com via Jill on Pinterest

And this one...

Source: etsy.com via Jill on Pinterest

Not to mention this one...

Source: etsy.com via Jill on Pinterest

{Go to my Pinterest board for more inspiration!}

They are pretty pricy to buy (often about $45 on Etsy) but they are really easy to make!  There are lots of tutu-making tutorials floating around in Blogland, so I'm not going to write a tutorial.  (Maybe later, if I come up with something new and different.)  In the mean time, here are some tutorials for you to check out:

No-Sew Options:
How to Make a Tutu--I've used this tutorial before; it's a good one.  Plus, she has links to other tutu tutorials at the bottom of her post.
Petti Tutu Tutorial--Same process as above, but with a cute edge detail
How to Make a Halter Tutu Dress: Version 2--This tutorial shows you how to make a layered tutu, plus instructions on making it into a dress, rather than just a skirt.

Yes-Sew Options:
How to Make the Perfect Sewn Tutu--Looks really easy to do.  (Who knew there were tutorials on eBay?)
How-To:  Sew a Sparkle Tutu--With a ribbon drawstring instead of an elastic

Oh, and I can't forget this one:

Source: thetraintocrazy.com via Jill on Pinterest

How pretty is that?  I love it.  Don't worry; there's a tutorial for it at The Train to Crazy.

Happy crafting!

My Happy Yellow Summer Skirt

I know, I know, summer's practically over, but I actually made this skirt a while ago and kinda forgot about posting it.  Then today, I saw it hanging in my closet, just asking to be worn...And I actually got around to persuading someone to take pictures of me in it, which was the real hang-up.  (Thanks, hubby!)

(Hey, look!  It's me!)

And here's the pattern:  McCall's 4324

(image source)

Making this skirt was a bit of an adventure.  The pattern is from 1974 (does that count as vintage?) and I didn't really understand the instructions.  And then I lost said instructions.

Oops.

But it worked out anyways, as you can tell.  The instructions (what I remembered of them) actually made sense when I was actually sewing the skirt.

I chose this pattern because I wanted a light, flowing, summer-friendly skirt.  And since it's a wrap-around skirt, I didn't have to buy a zipper.  (Thrifty score!)  And the pattern was free, since it's my mom's.  (Double-thrifty score!)

Now that it's done, I'm glad I did choose it, because, since it's a wrap-around skirt, it still fits perfectly, even though I lost about 10 lbs since I made it!  (I finally decided the last bit of baby weight had to go--Boo was a year and a half already.)

Hurray for perfectly fitting, light and flowing skirts.

Free Little Girl's Dress Pattern from JAME

I just found out about this free pattern from JAME, and I thought you might like to hear about it, too.  The pattern is for a cute bandana dress, and it fits little girls from preemie to 9 months and beyond.  I love free patterns, so I'll be trying it out!  At almost two years old, Boo's probably too big to fit it, but that's what nieces are for, right?

Happy sewing!

I love getting free stuff in the mail!

A while back, Homemaker on a Dime hosted a giveaway from WholePort.  It was really cool--I could pick from several options what crafting material I'd get for free.  All I have to do is "Like" them on Facebook, and when the material arrived, make something and post a picture of it on their Facebook page.  Free supplies and all I have to do is show off my project?  Deal.

Yesterday, it finally came!  Isn't it pretty?  It has a kind of shabby chic/vintage feel to it.

I wondered what color it was going to end up being; they called it "Vivid Pink Rose Lace Trim," but the picture on the website didn't match that description.  But no worries; if it was vivid pink, I'd make a dress for Boo.  If it was a more subtle color, I'd make something for myself.  

Looks like I win!  Now, what should I make?  I was thinking about making myself a maxi dress, like this one I saw at DownEast Basics, maybe as a swimsuit cover-up, maybe as a regular dress, and use the trim at the waist.  But I haven't decided yet.  I have about a yard and a half of the trim.

What would you make?


Update:  If YOU want to get free stuff, too, WholePort is still giving crafting supplies away, but the deadline is tomorrow at 11:59 EST.  Click here (quickly!) to join the fun!