Gidget Dress

I don't know how many of you out there follow "So You Think You're Crafty" but they have some fun things and free tutorials :). This last weeks winner made this Gidget Dress and I really wanted to try one so this is how mine turned out.

I didn't follow her pattern to the "T", but I like how it turned out. The pattern I used for the dress was Simplicity 9643 and view A without the collar. I used some nice spring colored cotton fabric.
and for the back.....

I think I might modify this pattern some and make shirts for my other 2 girls.

For the Boys

Over at MADE Dana has been "celebrating the boy" for the whole month of February. This inspired me to make a few boy things as well.

First I made a pair of pants for our little Mister.
I used a really great tutorial here - I just had to adjust the pattern down to a 1 year old size (it is in a size 3). I used fabric I had in my closet. The stripe fabric is a linen and I'm not sure what the other is called, but it looks just like khaki pants material.

Maybe the back pocket is a touch big, but oh well.

I really liked the cuffs. They were a nice touch.

So if you have a little guy, give this pattern a try. It was not difficult, but super cute.
Next....
Then I made a blessing outfit for my soon to be born nephew. My little sister is expecting a little guy here in a couple of weeks. I was glad she chose out the same pattern I made for my little guy, it made things a little easier for me.

I used McCall pattern 3063. And honestly, I just used what I had in my fabric closet (there is a lot in there believe me). Not exactly sure what the stuff is called, but hey it looked good.

I hope my little sister likes it!

Valentine Skirt and Top

It's sunny today...perfect for a photo shoot! So we changed into the special outfit, snapped some pics and then hurried inside to change back into play-clothes so we could run around outside. This is about the extent of a photo shoot with a toddler. I realize the pictures look a little strange with her head cropped off, but I don't want her sweet face on the internet.

I found a white t-shirt on clearance at Target and this is where the project began. The black and white taffeta worked perfectly with the red (it's felt...wish I could've used something more fitting for the taffeta, but I was determined to use only what I had on hand). I eyeballed the skirt as I cut it out (should've made it longer in the back to allow for the diaper. Oh well, next time). I cut a strip of red felt and stitched a gathering line down the middle. Gathered it to the ruffle I wanted, and sewed it along the bottom skirt hemline.

The shirt is similar to several "tuxedo" styles I've seen across "blogland". I simply cut a u-shaped piece of felt and stitched it right to the top of the collar line in front. Then I sewed a ruffle to match the skirt and stitched it around the "u". I added a couple black buttons, stitched a ruffle around the collar, and called it good. The collar stretched quite a bit, but shrunk up a little in the wash.
Since you can't see her hair-clip in this picture, I took a separate close-up to show you the details. Super simple folks. Two felt hearts with a small snap-clip inside. I cut a small slit on the back heart to allow the metal part to stick out. Then I stitched around the edges.



Did you notice the customized, matching doll she's hugging? If you missed the post about the doll, click here. After all, what little girl doesn't want a doll that looks like them!

RUFFLED

From the title I'm sure you can guess what I've been up to. Yes, indeed lots and lots of ruffles. My inspiration the "can can skirt". And once I started I knew I had to do 3 skirts. In the pattern she uses cotton fabric for the main portion and non-fray chiffon for the ruffles. I decided to use only fabrics I have on hand, so I used a red satin for the main skirt and a chiffon with sparkles for the ruffles. It did fray, so I just cut it, and did a rolled hem on the edges before I ruffled it. If you have the non-fray, it would definitely save you some serious time. My skirts were a little more formal, but I think perfect for Valentines day!

Once I made the skirts, I realized they needed a top to go with them, so I used a very generic shirt pattern and made them each a shirt. I used a cream knit that I had on hand and just appliqued on a heart and added the ruffles on the sleeves.

My girls were excited to wear them to school the other day, for their Valentine's parties. Lydia dumped rootbeer on hers 2 hours later, I washed it (and I was amazed at how well it washed on the gentle cycle). By evening she had cut 2 holes in the shirt :/. Darn it, I thought reinforcing her to only cut paper with the "kids scissors" would be effective. I was wrong......

Now Savannah is telling all her friends, that "I" will make them each one.

One Wild Suit!

I'm sure you're wondering "What in the world is that!" Well, that my friend is snake skin spandex. Isn't it awesome! My mom picked it up for me, and I didn't really know what I'd do with it. I thought maybe I could make a white elephant gift or something. However, the other day Paige's dance teacher asked me to make costumes for her class for the recital. Well before we purchased the material I figured I'd better make a practice suit (since I've never sewn on spandex, let alone a dance suit). So I made Paige this crazy cool dance suit.

From start to finish it took me less than an hour- That included converting my serger to coverstitch. I'm so excited about this feature! It made the suit look very professional.

I don't know if something is wrong with me, but I actually thought it was darling?

Just in time

Well it took me long enough, but I did finish my girls' dresses and my little guy vest outfit just barely in time for Christmas. They wore all their coordinating outfits to church today and they all looked great! It was definitely worth all the early mornings.

For the girls' dresses I used Project Runway Simplicity pattern number 2767. The only modification I made was lengthening it and adding the fabric trim to the bottom. I used fabric from Joann's Casa collection. For the body of the dress I used and amethyst crepe fabric and then added the chifon (with the sparkly ducs) to the top, sleeves, and skirt. I loved the 3 roses on the waist. The 3 girls looked really cute in them.

For my little guy I made a vest, pants, & tie. For the vest and pants, I used fabric from the suitings section of Joann Fabrics and used Burda pattern 9732. The only change I made was to the cuff. For this outfit I just did a simple hemmed cuff. I lined the vest in purple to coordinate with the girls' dresses. For the tie, I used the same crepe fabric as for the girls' dresses and then I followed this tutorial. I had my husband tie it, then I cut the neck area off and hand sewed the upper edges so it wouldn't fall apart, and then added the elastic to go around the neck. It turned out pretty good.

Girl's dress coat

So a few weeks ago after I got my serger back from the repair center I was itching to do some sewing/serging, so I picked this project.
I used Burda pattern number 9596 and this was coat B. Since this was my first coat attempt I was nervous to use fabric that was pricey, so I picked this fabric up at a garage sale for $1. I really thought it was super cute, but it was not easy to work with. It frayed very easily, was difficult to line up the nap, and it had some to stretch to it. I'm not even sure what this material is called! However I did think the end result turned out nice.
I lined the coat with a pink flannel that I had picked up at Joann fabrics for $1.50 yd, and it took 1 5/8 yd of this fabric. I thought it would give the coat a little extra warmth, and I bought the "made by" tag from Joann's. I thought it was a nice touch.
I really wanted to do pink buttons, however I was unable to locate any that would work for this coat. My mom found these buttons in her stash, and I liked the way they looked. After working on this fabric I opted to not sew buttonholes- I kind of thought they'd look a mess, so the buttons are ornamental and I used large snaps to keep the coat closed.
Here is the fit on Miss Savvy. She is so excited about it and loved that it had pockets. I liked that it cost me less than $5. Coming soon...... a coordinating scarf.