Secret sewing - revealed!

I have been just dying to share this sweet little dress with you, but I had to wait until the pattern was officially released.  Well wait no more, dear friends!



Shannon from luvinthemommyhood designed the most lovely pattern called the sweetheart dress, and I was lucky enough to test it out last month.



Why is it called the sweetheart dress, you ask?



Check out this completely unexpected and adorable heart cutout on the back! 



The dress features a fitted and fully lined bodice - and believe it or not, this was my first time making a lined bodice!  Constructing the bodice was a piece of cake thanks to Shannon's pattern, and she even teaches you a couple of neat tricks to put everything together and hide all of your seams.

How adorable is that lining fabric peeking through the sweetheart back?



For the main dress fabric, I went with a print from Denyse Schmidt's Meadow Lark line from Joann's, and I lined the bodice with a print from Hello Pilgrim by Lizzyhouse.  The mini pom-pom trim was a complete last minute addition on my part, but I think it really puts a nice finishing touch on the dress since I used such a subdued print.



Shannon also includes a tutorial for a hand-sewn button loop, which uses a fun method that I have never tried before - but I'll be sure to use it again in many projects.  I love when a pattern teaches me new things!



Making this dress was a nice warm up to Elsie Marley's kids clothes week challenge that starts next week.  If you're not familiar with kcwc, it's a week where you set aside one hour each day to sew clothes for your kids.  The idea is that we all have the urge to sew clothes for our children, but we don't always give ourselves the time to do it.  Well this is the week, folks!  I probably won't have a blog post for everyday (it's not blog writing challenge week after all),  but I'll definitely be popping in with some project updates.  I look forward to seeing yours!

Sewing for school

First day of school!  First day of school!  We have been talking up preschool all spring and summer long and it was wonderful to see my normally clingy child so bouncy with excitement on the first day.



All we needed to send her on her way (aside from one of ten monthly tuition checks and a boatload of paperwork, meetings, orientation, etc.) was a couple of momma-made items to make her feel at home during those long three hours a day, four days a week that she is away from us.



First off - a brand new skirt to wear on the first day.  Fabric is from Sarah Jane's "Out to Sea" collection (narwhals!!!), and the double layer skirt was made using Dana's tutorial.



Next was the most quintessential of school items - a backpack.  I love love love Rae's Toddler Backpack pattern because it's super easy, holds it's shape really well - and it's toddler sized!  Most commercial backpacks are sized so that they practically swallow middle school students - let alone preschoolers.  This one is perfectly proportioned - but also comes with instructions on how to size it up for when your toddlers turn into big kids.



Phoebe picked out the Contended Cats fabric from Tammis Keefe tribute collection by Michael Miller.  A quick search revealed that they have it on sale over yonder at Fabricworm right now!



Truth be told, I don't actually give Phoebe total freedom when picking fabrics for her projects, because otherwise we'd end up with crazy psychedelic animals, or something that would leave a trail of glitter wherever she went.  So I end up picking about four or five fabrics that I think would appeal to her, but yet still stay within my realm of design sense, and let her pick from those.  Win win.



And here's my silly girl at the end of her first day.  Super happy and excited to go back again tomorrow.  Her funniest comment about the day?  "I didn't cry or scream at all....  but lots of other kids did!"

Maternity top to girl's maxi dress

Phoebe has been growing like a weed this summer, and has somehow completely skipped over 3T and now fits comfortably into a 4T.  It's definitely time for me to sew her up a new batch of clothes since preschool is right around the corner - eeeks!

As I've stated in previous posts, I really love working with re-purposed clothing when sewing for children, since you can usually get more than enough fabric out of an adult garment, plus you get to take advantage of already finished seams, hems, cuffs.  Yay for being lazy!

So pardon the terrible photo, but here's a before picture of a maternity top that I definitely never plan to wear again....

I didn't have a particular pattern in mind - just measured around Phoebe's chest and waist (21") and determined how long I wanted the dress to be (22" with an already finished hem!) and cut a rectangle to that size (I think I only ended up using the front panel from the original top, lol) and sewed the long ends together to form a tube.  

Then I cut a band that was about 5" wide by 20" long (you want the band a little shorter so it will stay tight around her chest and not fall down).  I sewed the bands short sides together, then folded it in half to a double thickness and basted the ends so it would stay put while attaching the skirt.

Then it was as simple as sewing the skirt to the chest band.  Just be sure to stretch the band a little bit while sewing to fit it to the skirt.  I also hand sewed on an extra strap that ties around her neck to make sure it stays up while she's running around.

I'll be back soon with lots more Phoebe clothes (I've got to round up some photoshoot bribes first) and some other back to school sewing projects! 

Ack! The cuteness!

This is a post about the Cutest.  Fabric.  Ever.

A Thumbelina border print with flowers, birds, mushrooms, and ladybugs.  If there was a hedgehog or a fox hiding in there, this print would probably burst into flames from the cuteness.

So of course, I had to make it into a skirt for Phoebe. 

I bought a yard and cut it in half parallel to the selvedge (so it was 36" wide x 21" tall), sewed it in a circle, and added some elastic.  Something super simple that lets the fabric do all the talking.  There was still a bit of excess fabric from the half piece that I used, so I whipped up a cute little purse to match.

And what makes this fabric even more amazing and awesome???!!!.....

 

......you've still got the other half of your fabric left to make into a matching skirt and purse for your daughter's bff!  More times that not, sewing your own clothes doesn't save money, but in this case - I got two skirts and two matching purses out of only one yard of fabric.  A high quality, Japanese cotton-linen blend, nonetheless. 

Can it get any better?  Well heck yes, it can!  It's currently on sale in Brenda's shop!  I'm just trying to refrain from making one for myself....

Big Tee Tiny Tee

One of my ongoing projects this summer is to try to keep up with my crazy little growing-like-a-weed Phoebe's wardrobe. 

I've been making her these incredibly quick and simple tops by using Rae's Flashback Skinny Tee pattern (a must-have for making clothes for kids), and these retro vintage shirts that have been thrifted - or in the case of the Pippi shirt - was actually MINE in high school.  Eeeks!

I love sewing using up-cycled clothing because you get to finagle around your pattern pieces to take advantage of things like already sewn cuffs and hems.

With these shirts, I first disassembled the original shirt and cut off the neck ribbing to reattach at the end.  I positioned my pattern pieces to center the graphic on the front, and to keep the cuff ribbing on the sleeves so I wouldn't have to finish them later .  Then I just sewed it up according to Rae's pattern, and shortened and attached the neck ribbing.  The whole thing seriously took about 20 minutes.

And even though Phoebe has no idea who Pippi Longstocking is....

.....I think she embodies her character pretty darn well.

Kid's Clothes Week Challenge

I didn't plan on participating in Elsie's Kid's Clothes Week Challenge this year, but a visit to a local quilt shop led me to this fabric, which was just screaming out to be made into a shirt for Phoebe.

I used Rae's Flashback Skinny Tee pattern, which is super quick and simple.  I made this in size 2T since that fit Phoebe really well when I sewed with it a mere three months ago, but this waffle weave cotton doesn't seem to have as much stretch as a typical knit, so when she went to try it on, she got a little stuck in the shoulders and arms.

After almost scrapping the whole shirt, I decided to chop off the arms (it was originally long sleeved), and that seemed to be just the ticket!

A fun animal shirt for my animal loving girl.

I am not above bribery

I'm not sure if it's because we have a new baby at home, she's just getting over a cold, or because she's just being 2 1/2 (probably all of the above), but Phoebe has been particularly difficult and uncooperative lately - and that's putting it nicely. 

She is particularly pissed off in the above photo (and this was the best looking from the whole screaming, crying bunch) because - 1.  She's wearing a shirt that she did not pick out herself.  2.  She'd probably rather be having a root canal than have her picture taken.



Bring on the chocolate chips....



Okay, let's try this again (and let's try to ignore the sock-covered hand accessory that she refused to take off)....

I'm testing out Rae's new pattern for her Skinny Tee.  Can I say - what a freaking fantastic pattern!



I made this version out of an old shirt from the thrift store - which is my favorite source for knit fabrics.  They're super cheap, and you get to take advantage of things such as already finished hemlines, and premade cuffs - which save tons of time and effort while sewing.

This is a must-have, basic pattern for anyone sewing kids clothes.  Once you've made it once or twice, it comes together incredibly fast (we're talking 1/2 an hour, people!), and can be customized for soooooo so many different looks.  Plus, it comes in sizes 12 months - 5T, so this pattern is going to get a ton of use in my house. 



And no, Rae's not paying me to say any of this....
But she's welcome to!

The Skinny Tee pattern should be up on Rae's blog in the next couple of days.

Costume sewing

Sorry for the week long absence - thanks for sticking around!  Let's just say that I have never been a happy pregnant person, to put it mildly, and I've been in some sort of pregnancy funk lately.  It doesn't help that I always end up getting a ridiculously huge and larger than normal pregnant belly (I didn't even leave the house my entire last month pregnant with Phoebe because people would seriously gawk at me), and I have been super uncomfortable, tired, and short tempered lately.  But I doubt you came to listen to me bitch about that - so onto more fun stuff!

So one thing that I churned out during this last week was Phoebe's Halloween costume.  Nothing like waiting until the last minute, huh?  When I was little, my grandma always made costumes for my sister and I, and when we got older, my parents kind of left it up to us to create something for ourselves.  Aside from some wigs and makeup, we never bought prepackaged costumes and I'm pretty sure that is what instilled my anti-manufactured Halloween costume beliefs.  

Halloween is such a great time for kids to be creative and help make something truly unique to wear on a day where anything goes.  I vowed before I even had kids that they would never wear one of those cheap, plastic, out of the bag costumes that promotes no imaginative thinking.  

*After rereading this I realized how harsh it sounds, and by no means am I trying to belittle parents who do purchase costumes from stores.  Not everyone knows how to sew, nor has the time - and who knows where I'll be next year when I've got two kiddos to sew costumes for.  Just my own personal thoughts regarding Halloween - and it's my blog and I can say whatever I want :)  Stepping off my soapbox now....* 

So initially, I had wanted to dress Phoebe up as Rainbow Brite for Halloween.  However, Phoebe has made it well known to everyone that she has her own opinions and ideas now, and hence I was informed that I would be making a bunny costume this year.

I bought a yard and a half of ultra cozy, micro-fleece at Joann's, and used two patterns that I already had in my stash.  The pants were made using the quick-change trousers pattern from Anna Maria Horner's Handmade Beginnings, and the hoodie was made using Heidi and Finn's Urban Unisex Hoodie pattern - previously blogged about here.

I free-handed the ears, whip-stitching them into place, and used a knit shirt from Target's clearance rack to line the hoodie and make the pink for the ears.

The only part that I'm super bummed about is that I should have gone up a size when making the hoodie, because it's a little short in the arm and waist length.  This kid is just growing way too fast!  

But Phoebe absolutely adores her costume, and hops to her little hearts content when she has it on.

Now we're working on the "trick or treat" part.  Phoebe absolutely refuses to say it, for some unknown reason, but would instead prefer to say "Booooooo!" followed by announcing "Phoebe's kinda scary!".

Other going-ons

I haven't been the most consistent blogger lately, but now with summer coming to a close I'm hoping for things to slow down a bit so I'll be able to devote more time to this space.  Especially since my one year blogiversary is coming up later this month and I've got a great giveaway planned!   Well, I don't know exactly what it will be yet, but I promise you it will be great :)

So even though the blogging has been lacking, I've still been keeping pretty busy.  Here's a couple of things we've been up to that didn't fully necessitate their own blog post....

I finally made Phoebe her own Sweet Pea Pilot Cap

I've been in bloomer production once again as I have been hit with a slew of baby showers.  I also had another batch of three more that were shipped out before being photographed.

Phoebe's summer onesies had gotten way too filthy and stained for my liking, so a quick trip in a dye bath of fall colors made them good as new.

We took some time to visit the area's county fairs and mingle with the animal life.

I've spent many an evening sewing late into the night with my kitty quilting companion.

 

And finally we've just been enjoying these cooler temperatures and late summer rainstorms.

 

Is everyone else's summer finally winding down?  Do you love fall as much as I do?  I had my first pumpkin spice latte of the season the other day and it was heaven!