Trimming the Dress

I finally added some trim to this dress. It's shades of silver. For some reason it reminds me of a snow queen. I forgot how easy trim is, and how much it adds. Just pin it and sew it.

Two more dresses ...

Hopscotch dresses, to finish off M's wardrobe for now. These were really quick to sew up, and I think it is a great pattern to try both working with stretch fabrics and fitting a sleeve for the first time.

I have to admit that when they were finished, I was disappointed. They looked like nightgowns on the hanger. They're cute on M, though. (And then I thought, oh, I should make her a cute nightgown from this pattern ... maybe when I have 'extra time,' lol.)

The green one is a stretch wool. It needs some kind of embellishment, I think ... but so far I have no ideas.

Time to put away the girlie stuff for now, as the boys needs pants pronto. I saved my favorite two dresses for last, and now I'm having to wait to make them, which is good motivation to finish the boys' stuff. Next up: pants ...

Two Dresses and Custom Sizing

Oliver + S Ice Cream Dress. I made a 2T, and it is way too big for M. It's really too cold to wear a cotton dress now anyway, so I'll save it for spring. I'm thinking about making it again in corduroy ...

I upcycled a mens' dress shirt. I used the front of the shirt for the back of the dress. For a pattern, I used a dress that fits her well. Mens' shirts are made out of the nicest fabric, and often they have nice details, so I was happy with this dress. It looks like a lot more work than it was!

A word on sizing. Two of my kids do not fit in normal sizes. I started sewing for E because I just couldn't find pants that fit him. He's long and thin.

I keep a piece of paper near my sewing machine with each of my kids' measurements: head, chest, arms, waist, hips, inseam. I trace every pattern piece onto (recycled) tissue paper. The pieces below are all size 12-18 month with 2T length.

If the dress fits ... make it in every color.

I guess it's obvious at this point that I'm tackling M's wardrobe first. She just had a big growth spurt, and needed clothes immediately, so I had to get into gear. Finding time to sew has not been easy lately. Anyway, this is a cheap pattern I bought years ago (McCalls 8574 from JoAnn Fabrics), and it's fairly quick to make. So, four dresses, asap, for my girl who just outgrew everything in her closet.

Pink Oooga Booga's ...

Hippie girl dress ...

Hurley "I'm no girlie girl dress" ...

... and one more owl dress.

Stretch fabrics are really difficult to work with. I bought all this fabric a year and a half ago, and the first two dresses were not wearable. The pattern says to fold over the top of the dress (the neck), and do a little hem. I found this impossible to do without stretching the fabric. I finally made two pieces, sewed them together (right sides together), flipped them right side out, and had a finished neck.

Anyway, that should hold her off for half a week ... ha ha. A few more dresses to go, a sweater, then leggings and tights, then mittens.

polo shirt dress and tutorial

Lay the polo shirt out flat.
Using a t-shirt that fits well, line up the ends of the sleeves.

Cut the sleeve at the shoulder.

To cut the skirt: Using a dress that you like the length of, line up the bottom of the dress with the bottom of the polo shirt. Cut straight across the middle of the shirt (straight really matters here).

To cut out the back bodice (top) of the dress: Fold your t-shirt in half, and line up the top of it with the top of the polo shirt. I decided to put the polo shirt's buttons in the back of the dress.

Cut out HALF of the top of the bodice by tracing the folded t-shirt: the neck, then the shoulders, then the armhole, then across the bottom of the bodice. Then remove the t-shirt, fold the cut part of the bodice in half, and repeat neck, shoulders, armhole, using your already cut half as your pattern. (This way, both sides of your bodice are exactly the same.)

Repeat for the front bodice (top) of the dress. I like to put the front of the t-shirt on the bottom, and then hold the back of the t-shirt away from the front while I'm cutting. (Hmm, I hope that makes sense.)

 

Then you have two bodice pieces: front and back.

Finish the collar edges of the bodice. Either fold them over toward the inside, or use bias tape.

Sew the shoulders together (right sides together), and then sew the side seams together.

Turn the bodice wrong side out. Put your sleeve, which is right side out, inside the bodice. Line up the underarm seams first, and then pin around.

The easiest way to sew a small cylinder is to put the sewing machine foot inside of it, like above.
Repeat to attach the second sleeve.

And there's your bodice.

Gather the top of the skirt, then attach the top of the skirt to the bottom of the bodice, right sides together.

The End. :)

This Week

I was really frustrated last night, feeling like I'd accomplished nothing in the last week. And, of course, my house was a disaster. Well, I guess my house was messy because I was ... sewing. Ha.

New dress for M. This came out so crazy, it is very much not me, and she loves it. My favorite dress that I've made her is from this same pattern, but with a plain green fabric. Needless to say, it's not her favorite. :) It is a fun fabric, though, and it's organic bamboo, which is silky soft and light.

Rather than go through the work of sharing my own pattern, I'll just direct you to: http://www.dana-made-it.com/2008/07/tutorial-90-minute-shirt.html

To adapt it to a dress: cut off at a high waist (I use a favorite dress as a reference). Either copy the skirt off of a dress you already have, or measure the high waist where you want it to hit your little girl. Multiply this by 2, which will give you the WIDTH of your skirt piece. Then measure how long you want it, which gives you your LENGTH. Cut out two rectangles using your measurements. Sew together the sides (the LENGTH) with right sides together. Gather the top, and attach to your shirt top. Oh, and then hem it (have I mentioned that I hate hemming? or that knit - stretchy - fabric does not need to be hemmed?).

 We have Christopher Robin's biggest fan here. So, I knit a sweater for this bear and, presto! instant Edward Bear and smiles and hugs from my guy here. I'll do a separate post for the sweater pattern.

Finally, some yarn for striped sweaters for the boys. I'm planning to use the Spud & Chloe Lucky Number Pullover pattern.  I did not ask for their input when choosing the colors, and of course A hates what I got. I'm just hoping he'll forget all about it and be excited when it's done. Ha.

My favorite online yarn shop closed last week. Total bummer.

fancy bubble dress

This is the Bubble Dress by Oliver + S. I actually bought this pattern while I was pregnant with M, as I was sure I was having a girl (and I sure was right, for once!). I'm sorry that they've discontinued the pattern in the bigger sizes (2T-5), as it's really versatile. It looks cute in cotton, and it came out gorgeous with the fancier georgette.

One problem with the pattern is the front edgestitching. She calls for cute stitching that goes around the top to make it look like a cap sleeve rather than just one bodice piece. The problem is, you have to get it perfect and straight, TWICE, which I have found impossible (four times over).

With that behind me, it's a gorgeous dress and a great design, and it only takes about two hours.