Toile Jumper

I made this dress last week for my niece and realized as I was starting it that the last time I made a jumper I did it the long way. Not just the long way, but the difficult, tedious, and ineffective way. The way, as my 3 year old Corbin would put it, that was "not better." Apparently the right way to make this little number requires only three seams, two hems, and some buttons. I'm amazed at how I realize better ways to do things nearly every time I sew. Silly as I feel to admit how painfully wrong and slow I was doing things before, learning the right ways makes me feel like a bigger, stronger, and faster sewer. :) And I realize that natural light becomes photographs of things like this, however, the window of daylight now is far too small for me to always remember to take my photos. Because I'm a distracted person. Come soon, summer.

Fancy

What makes fancy ketchup fancy? Nicer tomatoes? I don't know. Must be. What makes fancy skirts fancy? Nicer fabric... and that's about it. When I make them, anyway. :) This is a Christmas gift for my year and a half old niece. Simple and lovely and fun for a pretty little blond baby.

When I stock up on super inexpensive fabric at thrift stores, sometimes I come across fantastic finds. Like massive amounts of dupioni silk for nearly free. I think I'll be making myself a skirt out of that pink fabric next, I love it so much. I'm still not a great seamstress, but I do enjoy all this sewing. However, every time I sew lately I seem to only end up pining after a serger to make the clothes making simpler and faster and make seams less bulky. Oh, Lord, cleanse my covetous heart.

This is just a simple skirt made out of a few rectangles of fabric with an elastic waist and a wide hem. I lined it because the dupioni silk can be a little stiff and scratchy... especially on the soft baby legs. The flower is on a pin so it is removable, I found a tutorial for making them over here. I then proceeded to make a bunch for myself... because... well... they were just so happy.

I think I need to make more of these for the other babies in my life this Christmas. They're so easy to make as gifts. Now I just need some ideas for things for boys... yikes. They're so much more difficult to sew for than girls.

Tutu Time

There aren't many things that embody happiness like a tutu. I found this idea over at Plumtickled. She's got a simple tutorial to make the tutu. Maybe every little girl should have one of these. This is for Corbin's friend who is having a birthday party today. She's going to be 4... I can't believe it! These kids around me are growing much too quickly.

It took me a matter of minutes to make, it was SO simple. My son absolutely refused to try it on for size, however, so here's hoping it fits well. "I'm NOT a princess, mom. I'm not going to put it on." He shook his head furiously at me. I pleaded with him, but he wasn't about to let me put that tutu on him. He then proceeded to go get one of his ties, put it on, and tell me how he was a man and NOT a princess. Good for him.

You should make one of these for the little girl in your life. It's so simple, and so much fun. No little girl? Maybe you should be a ballerina for Halloween. :)

Newborn Gown from a Band Tee

My sister-in-law just had a baby girl. I made the baby a sleeping gown out of a shirt from the mama's favorite band, Showbread. It was super simple, and I found the pattern over at This Mama Makes Stuff. I added an extra band of about two inches to the bottom after I cut out the pattern because it just didn't seem long enough. The project was a success, and my sister-in-law loved it. I'm sure baby will, too. :)

Can't Have Too Many... Polka Dots, That Is

That belated baby shower gift I spoke of during the flower hat post has become more and more belated. I get more and more forgetful... meaning to deliver it, and then forgetting over and again. So, out of my guilty forgetfulness, I made this as an addition to the package for the little girl for whom the shower was held. This is the same pattern I used to make this dress for Petra... not coincidentally also in polka dots, which, if I may say again, I LOVE. It's a pattern that I made myself... and I think I really should somehow get it on to the computer to share with... well... anyone who would like it, I suppose. This is the same material from which I made a kimono for Petra, also. I think it's way cute. And I did it from start to (almost) finish in the time Petra took a nap this afternoon. It's a pretty basic pattern, and the more times I do it, the faster I'm getting, and the better it turns out. I just hope the sizing is right. Fingers tightly crossed. I still need to make labels for my baby clothes. Just one more thing to put on the remember-to-do list.

Ruffles are a Girl's Best Friend

Thanks to the lovely J. Crew, I've been on a bit of a ruffles kick. Especially when it comes to ruffles on plain stretchy tees... and things made from plain stretchy tees, like this skirt. I made it thinking that it would fit my little girl, but again, I vastly misjudged sizing. Way too big. But perfect for another little girl I know.

I learned a few things while making this skirt... like where to place the ruffles, and to use more pins than I think necessary. The first one always has more problems than I want. This material was very slippery and extremely stretchy, which makes it fantastic to wear, but a little difficult with which to work. However, it was extremely simple. I simply cut off the bottom of a stretchy XL woman's tee that I found on excessive clearance at Stuffmart (seriously, cheaper than buying fabric) and cut strips from the leftover material that I ruffled end on end, then sewed it to the skirt. Not exactly in the right place, mind you... but now I know how to make the next ones. :)

Purple Polka Dots

So... has this officially turned into my sewing blog yet? I'm pretty compulsive about sewing things lately. I really love it. I especially love making sweet little girl things, and even more especially love polka dots. Like... really alot. If I had to pick a favorite pattern, polka dots would be it. I made this for my Petra, who is almost five months old. She's a pretty stylish girl, if I may say so myself. :) Really, why would I not sew? It's fun... inexpensive (that is, if you let it be) and I love having little original clothing pieces running around on the children in my life.

This dress is made of cotton, fully lined, has some pleats of some kind in the front... that was a little problem, I'll be Googling that next time. And the final touch? Vintage buttons from Susie's stash at Susie's Sewing Corner - now the only place to buy (new) fabric and thread by the full spool in town. Seriously? Yes. The only place. I must say, I'm very disappointed with Walmart for taking away their fabric section. But, we do not live by Walmart alone. Actually, I find I rarely go there anymore, which I think is fantastic because it's just one giant time and money sucking building of stuff. Stuffmart. That's what it is. However, that's not what this is about.

I enjoy sewing more and more... now all I need is a room fully dedicated to the art, so my dining room can have peace again. But, that will happen exactly whenever it is that we buy a different house.

Fuzzy Skirt

I made a haul on fabric samples the other day at a local thrift store. The best thing about these fabric samples? Other than being three for a dollar, even if they're just tiny, I can always get a little skirt or two out of them. This one I gave to Mia. It's perfect for her. Her dad is basically a rock star and her mom is one of the coolest girls ever. So, for their offspring, a cool rocker-chick skirt is just the ticket.

Blue Ruffles

I made this yesterday intending for it to be a dress for my Petra. However, since I'm ridiculously bad at making things the correct size, I think it might instead turn out to be a shirt for Mia. The arm and neck holes were just a little too big for the 4 month old.

I made this out of a t-shirt that I got at the local thrift shop for a quarter. It was even brand new... creases still intact! I used another dress as a pattern and simply took a few strips of the leftover fabric to make some ruffles for the front... which turned out a little crooked in the end because I didn't pin them before I sewed them. Whoops. Forgot. I'll do that next time. But they don't look bad like this. I mean, they're ruffles, really. I think I'll make another one today that will actually fit sweet Pete. It was pretty fast to make... I went from start to finish with time to spare while John was practicing his sermon. Pretty sweet turnout for a 25¢ t-shirt, no? Well, I think so.

Upcycled Dress for Naomi

Naomi was at our house this weekend, and I decided she needed a new Lauren Kelley original... ha. Seriously, I should get some tags to put into these things... anyway. So, I went on a sewing binge and ripped apart a vintage blouse and made a dress all in less than 45 minutes. I'm not sure why I always forget to take before pictures of my upcycle projects, maybe it's because I'm not altogether confidant that the whole thing will turn out well or if I'm simply overcome with reckless ambition and am to blinded by my sporadic motivation to remember to take the photo, but here are some afters of the dress on the sweet girl. She's such a doll. The flutter sleeves used to be the collar of the blouse. And I love the pin tucks on the front. I love to sew more and more. Nothing is perfect still, but maybe it won't ever be. But it sure is fun.

20¢ Gingham Dress

One moment a pillowcase, the next moment (well, 15 minutes later) a dress! One of my favorite fabric sources is vintage pillowcases from thrift stores. They're basically free, have 3/4 of the seams in place already, and are generally very cool. I didn't do anything impressive to this one... just gave it some elastic for the top and some straps. It already had the ruffle around the edge... that's one reason I love the old pillowcases, they've got such character built in, eliminating time-consuming detail work for me! Voila! 20¢ and 15 minutes later... a baby dress. Not bad. Not bad at all.

The Dress

OK... I made this the other day for my two month old sweet girl, and I must say that I'm more than a little pleased with myself. It's incredibly cute, fits her perfectly, I made my own pattern, figured it out, and I actually did it! And it really didn't take very long (bonus). I used to be terrified to use my sewing machine and would go to my mother in law's house so that she could walk me through my sewing projects. But now, thanks to Google, I have learned enough to fly on my own. Mistakes are made, but that's how I learn best. Unfortunate in the general scheme of things, but in my sewing ventures it is perfect. I'll just keep on sewing. It's a very rewarding thing... and I'm glad I'm not as horrible at it as I used to be. That makes it all the more fun. :)