Category: Sewing

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The Ice Cream Dress

 This was my first go at an Oliver + S pattern…well a paid for one anyway. I am very fond of the Lazy Days Skirt, free pattern on their site. 
My niece is getting married so Miss Faye needed a party dress. I already had the material…a pale yellow broadcloth from Hobby Lobby and a pair of white eyelet pajama pants from the back of my drawer; they just never fit quite right….so I was on the lookout for a pattern. Gail from over at Probably Actually just made another Ice Cream top and I knew that the dress version would be perfect for what I had in mind.
The pattern was easy to follow. They give great tip for making each step a bit easier. Overall, I’m totally in love with the dress I made! I made the 12-18 month size which turned out to be way too long…but fit great everywhere else. I kept all the extra material and just folded it into the hem. This way, as long as the head and sleeves still fit; I have 4 inches I can let the dress out at the bottom. I also modified the dress as well. I wanted the eyelet as an overlay and the pattern called for color blocking. The color blocking just was not what I had in mind for a party dress. I also didn’t add the pockets or the ‘v’ notch that should have been on the collar. I also added some ribbon on the bottom to sort of mimic the color blocking.
Here is the completed dress (well, maybe not…I think I want to add something up near the top).
  
I created the split by folding the eyelet in half after I already cut out the pattern piece. I marked in 2.5 inches (knowing that would double when I unfolded the dress) and around 12 inches up. I cut out the ‘V’ shape that I had created and then I unfolded the dress and continued cutting the front piece in half. I put in a 1/4″ hem going down each side and then I used my surger to sew the two halves back together.
I made the main part of the dress out of a pale yellow material that I picked up at Hobby Lobby. It was one of those purchases just because I loved the color. It was also only a $2 purchase…I mean, how could you pass something like that up! I just knew I would find a reason to use it.

I also picked out a fun button with the help of Miss Faye’s big brothers.

She looks adorable in the dress! As you can see, I added white ribbon on the yellow fabric and yellow ribbon on the eyelet. I choose three different ribbons to add some visual interest.

And someday my 11 month old will get some hair!

ETA….I did add some daisies! This dress is just perfect!

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The Harper Reversible Dress

I really have a thing for Sew Sweet Patterns. They have so many cute patterns out there! I made The Harper Reversible Dress and not only is it cute but it was super easy to make as well. I found this fabric at Jo Anne Fabrics (I really need to start paying attention to the designers for the fabrics). It is a soft cream background with the blue birds and yellow and blue flowers. I am just loving bird fabrics lately.
I love the pleats at the top, and then the classic A-Line silhouette is just perfect for a little girl. The sizing was perfect for this dress though. I was a bit upset that the directions said to get 1/2 yard of each fabric and that was not enough. When I went to cut out the pattern, the fabric was a good 3 inches too short and I needed to make another trip to the fabric store.
 

 For the reverse side I found a subtle yellow tone plaid.

 The best part….the model! It is soooo hard to get a clear shot of her. She is a mover and a shaker and this was the best I could do.

 And the back.

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The Sabrina Dress

Here is the Sabrina Dress from Sew Sweet Patterns I love the material that I picked for the dress but I’m not completely satisfied with the fit. I made the 6 to 9 month size (Miss Faye was 9 months in these pictures) and it is HUGE on her (around, not in length). Usually, she is true to size…she is right below the 50th %. I love the dress though, so I will make it again with some alterations to the pattern first. I like how there is a button and loop in the back…I think I will just add another one to stop the gaping. I also like how the bodice is lined. I also like that I will just be able to add another “tier” to the skirt to make it longer. She will be able to wear this dress for a good couple of years (without having to make another one).
  

Here she is standing up. You can see how HUGE it is. The neck is just way too big and the dress falls off one shoulder all the time.  I may be able to add a pleat in the front to help with that. Maybe take the sides in a couple of inches as well. I followed the pattern exactly…the other patterns from Sew Sweet Patterns have fit beautifully. I’m quite disappointed that this one is just so ‘off’.

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A Little Firecracker!

Now that the festivities from the 4th of July are over I have a few minutes to sit down, think, and get a post up! Miss Faye celebrated the 4th in style of course. I picked up this great red and white fabric back in May. I love it and I knew right away that I would use it for ‘something’ for the 4th of July. I also still have about a 1/4 yard left for the future! I do not know the specifics for it though. I picked it up from Jo Anne Fabrics.

Throw in some blue….just a tiny bit at the waist and a 2.5 inch hem with some white top stitching….

….and Miss Faye becomes my Little Firecracker!

Here is an action shot. We were waiting for it to get dark enough for fireworks.

 
All three kids!

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A stress busting skirt!

I have been slack in the blog department. I have been keeping very busy though! I had a joint birthday party for the boys, I made a dress for Miss Faye, and we had an awesome camping trip. I will get posts up for all of those things soon!

For now, I made yet another Lazy Days Skirt for Miss Faye. The quick and easy aspect of the skirt makes me feel like I have accomplished something. Even if it only took me around 35 minutes to make. I have so many other projects that are huge time and energy eaters that ‘accomplishing’ something makes me feel like I’m out of the project rut.

Some of the projects that I’m working on…..

  • A set of cocktail sized napkins for a Montessori classroom (I’m actually almost finished with these).
  • A guest blog post for a good friend (not hard but I need the mental energy to rework a current post to make it ‘right’)
  • A 4th of July dress or outfit for Miss Faye
  • Planning and putting up a chicken wire fence to keep the bunnies out of my garden
  • Planning Miss Faye’s 1st birthday party
  • Making a party dress for Miss Faye
  • I got an awesome dresser that I garbage picked…I need to refinish/paint it
  • A full set of curtains for a friend’s bedroom

 Here is the skirt.

I used left over fabric from a birthday gift to Hugh’s Birthday Buddy. Shown in this post. I really liked it with the darker purple ribbon but I didn’t have enough so I made a quick trip to the store for this. I also added some top stitching around the waist and a matching purple tag. I also switched to using my surger.

I made this skirt a bit on the long side so that it will last longer for Miss Faye. Now, I need to come up with a top to match it…or at least sort of go with the skirt. Right now I have nothing.