Hipster Cat Dress

My niece just turned 5 years old and she is such a cutie pie! She has big, pink glasses and she was wanted a "kitty" birthday party. When I saw THIS fabric on Joann's website I knew that I had to make her a special dress for her birthday.

She is also very thin with long legs so I thought it would be nice for her to have something sized just for her. I decided on the Charlie dress pattern from Violette Field Threads (one of my Project Run and Play prizes!) because it has a retro feel that worked well with the fabric. It has that cute, knot detail in the front, a very full skirt, and pockets in the side seams.

I happened to have JUST ENOUGH of the pink polka dot fabric in my stash and it matched perfectly! I lined it with a matching, bubble gum pink solid. I debated on which buttons to use and took an instagram poll with the pink ones winning.

This pattern went together pretty well. I did have some trouble with the cap sleeves/enclosed side seams so I rigged it. If anyone has a technique for that, please teach me!

I wish I had had enough fabric left for the matching knot headband. Bummer! The free pattern for that is HERE if you want to check it out!

Fabric: Joann and my stash Pattern: Charlie from Violette Field Threads

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Unicorn Dresses

A few weeks ago someone absolutely destroyed my sewing scissors. I still don't know who or how it happened. I don't think that mere paper could have caused those nicks and warped the metal blades. It is a mystery.

But I was in the mood to sew something, so I turned to the pile of projects that I already had cut out.

I am not 100% happy with these, but they will probably stain and destroy them fast enough anyway. At least they are finished.

Fabric- Joann Pattern- Uptown/Downtown Dress

My girls love unicorns! If you like them too you might want to check these out...

Unicorn Parade London Dress

The Easiest DIY Unicorn Costume Ever!

The Unicorn Dress

If you haven't noticed, I never made Easter dresses for the rest of my girls. They don't really need more clothes, and I was kinda' burnt out after Project Run and Play. I got fabric for some of them, so we'll see what I feel like making in the future. This is my new underachiever attitude: I will sew if and when I feel like it. Isn't that how a hobby is supposed to be? The day of my youngest child's 4th birthday, I felt like sewing. I didn't have much of the unicorn fabric I had ordered for her, so I knew that I should probably sew something with it before she outgrew the fabric or her unicorn obsession. I had been stuck in that overthinking stage, but I realized that an imperfect dress was better than a piece of fabric on my shelf.

Unicorn Parade London Dress

I used the free London dress pattern from Violette Field Threads. I extended the bodice and for the skirt I just used 3/4 yd of the unicorn panel cut in half. It went together really easily, although the top is a little wide under the arms. Maybe she will grow into it? It isn't perfect, but I have a feeling that she will wear this dress until it is completely stained or falls apart.

London Dress made with fabric panel

For pure silliness I photoshopped a horn on our horse, just because my daughter asked me to. Why not?

Unicorn Dress

Bias tape: Joann Bodice: When Skies Are Grey by Simple Simon and Co. for Riley Blake Skirt: Unicorn Parade by Sarah Jane for Michael Miller

 

The Flower Girl Dress

I actually made three of them, but I don't feel comfortable posting other people's kids'  pictures on my website, so I only have pictures of the one that my daughter wore. As with any sewing project, there is more to the story. My niece asked my daughter to be a flower girl and also asked if I would sew the dresses. I love sewing pretty little girl dresses- especially matching ones- so I was excited about this project! Except, I procrastinated. Yes, I use that "P" word an awful lot here on the blog. Part of my excuse was waiting for a swatch, part of it was waiting for our difficult summer vacation to end, and part of it was other commitments that had earlier deadlines. But, really, most of the problem is my indecision.

I overthink just about every decision. I make things entirely more difficult than they need to be. Finally, when I have no time left to change my mind yet again, I just get it done. (Project Run and Play was a great exercise in this area!) So, after much debating, I went back to my original plan and sewed like the wind a few days before the wedding.

Not everyone has such confidence in my procrastinatory sewing. The bride herself, was amazingly cool about it. A few other people close to me expressed their doubts, if only in the realm of "what if you fall down the stairs and break both arms and can't sew." (Duh! That is why I teach my kids to sew!) For some reason, I was not AT ALL stressed about it. I was completely cool and confident. (A certain someone called me cocky.) Anyway, they really ticked me off!

I know that I am rude and inconsiderate for stressing other people out who may not understand who they are dealing with here, and for that, I am sorry.

But everything went FINE! I only made one, tiny, easily fixable mistake in the entire process. All three dresses were the same size, so I did them assembly line style. All of the tops were finished in about 4 hours Wednesday evening. I leisurely completed the skirts Thursday. I even threw in a bonus mother-of-the-bride dress hem. All of them fit perfectly. So... :p to those who doubted!

My rant went a little long there.

I loosely followed the Cairo dress pattern from Violette Field Threads. I own the tween pattern so I sized it down to a 3T on my own. I also wanted these to be simple, flowy, and short to complement the boots and bridesmaid dresses. So, the skirt is a layer of lining and a layer of gathered eggnog tulle.

The top is made of a satin remnant and lining fabric. I handstitched the linings closed so the elastic back is only sewn to the inside. The lace straps are from packaged hem facing. Finally, I glued a flower from the scrapbook section to felt circles and pinned it to the dress to coordinate with the wedding theme even more.

 

Congratulations to my niece and her new husband! Thank you for having confidence in me and letting me make these adorable dresses!!!

The Last Easter Dress

Vote for the final round of Project Run and Play Season 13 HERE!

the-last-easter-dress

When I found out that I was having my first daughter I went out and bought the sweetest little pink dress I have ever seen! I was so excited to get to dress her up in adorable little girl clothes! When her first Easter came a few months later, although I know that has nothing to do with the true meaning of Easter, I was super excited to go out and buy another pretty new dress- this time in yellow. My life has been overflowingly full of sweet little girly things for the last 13 years!

By the time her second Easter came, I was ready to try something different! My mother-in-law sewed coordinating Easter dresses for her girls and I thought that was a nice tradition. I was adjusting to being a stay at home mom and sewing was a good mental challenge for me, too. I went to Walmart and bought a pattern and some pretty purple and blue butterfly fabric that matched the basket I had made for her first Easter. I struggled so much with that pattern and I called my sister-in-law to ask a lot of questions. (Google wasn't much help back then because craft blogs hadn't taken off and we had dial-up so it was faster to use the telephone.) She showed me how to cut a pattern out and how to do gathering stitches. I really had NO idea what I was doing! When I put the cap sleeve in, I was confused because the directions had me sew the end that was going into the arm hole. No, I just put it in backwards! I hemmed the sleeves by hand because I didn't figure out what I did wrong until years later. The zipper is awful and I didn't finish the waist inside, but that dress has been worn by five girls and has lasted 12 years. I was so proud of myself when she wore that first dress, and the sizing was terrible so she was able to wear it for a few years, too!

first-easter-dress

terrible zippersleeve put in backwards(The really sad part about all of this is that I do not have a single picture of my daughter wearing that dress! It was in the days of 35mm film so either I didn't take one or it didn't turn out. I am certain to do full "photo shoots" when I make dresses for my girls now. I am so thankful for digital cameras!!!!)

Now my oldest daughter is 13. She has outgrown the cute little girl styles and hates pink. My little girl who played in the mud wearing a Cinderella dress is now equal parts fabulous and sporty. She rocks a fashionable ensemble and a soccer uniform. She loves high heels and muck boots. She has reached an age where I don't know that she would want her mom to sew her an Easter dress next year, and she could actually sew her own if she wanted to. I really think this will be the last one I make for her, so I wanted to make it special. Instead of scrambling to make five Easter dresses in a week like I usually do, I decided to concentrate on this one.

ombre chiffon halter dress with a high-low hem

ombre chiffon dress

She chose this beautiful aqua/teal ombre chiffon from Joann's and the lining is a soft aqua rayon. She requested a high-low hem, but she didn't want a circle skirt. This dress felt like a final exam because it combined so many sewing skills. The top is a combination of several of my own tutorials- HERE, HERE, and HERE.  The pleated chiffon overlay was really tricky, but it softens the look of the bodice. The rhinestone ribbon was hand-stitched over the waistband to break things up a bit and match the bracelet (more on that later). Since the top was pleated, I decided to pleat the skirt, too. I used a french seam on one side and even french seamed the lining for bonus points. I actually didn't use my serger at all on this project. Everything was done the hard way, but if you see how smooth and neat the inside is, it is definitely worth it! The overlay has a narrow hem that took forever, but everything had to be done right to keep this chiffon light and flowy. I even redid my french seam to make it 1/8" finished and that piece I trimmed off became a pretty flower hair clip.

chiffon pleated halter dress

chiffon hi low dress

chiffon halter dress

inside-of-dresspleated-chiffon-dressombre halter dresschiffon ruffle flower hair clip

Finally, because I am sappy and sentimental, I got out the scraps from every Easter dress I have made for her and created a charm bracelet. There is a trick to it, so I will try to do a tutorial later. I used glass domes on most of them, but a few were too thick so I just coated them a glaze. I was really sneaky, so I was able to surprise her with the bracelet during the photo shoot! Also, I have just enabled fabric hoarders everywhere because this is another great idea for tiny scrap pieces. You are welcome!

glass charms made from fabric scraps

surprise-bracelet-edited_edited-1fabric scrap charm braceletcharm bracelet made from dress scrapskeepsake bracelet made from fabric scraps

I am a little sad to see my girl so grown up. It is bittersweet. We have both changed a lot.

first-and-last-easter-dresses

first and last easter dresses

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=clcNB_EUao8

Put away the tissues and go vote HERE for the Project Run and Play Season 13 final round!!!

I am overwhelmed with the amount of support I have received from family and friends during this competition! Thank you so much!!! You are all amazing!!!

Sweet Caroline

sweet-caroline_edited-1-1.jpg

My great-grandmother, Caroline, was Bohemian; so "boho" means a little something different to me because I think of her.  I remember her fierce hugs and the stories of her spunk and determination. Widowed, with three young children, she moved from the city to rural PA and married a bachelor farmer.  I have always thought she was brave, and I wouldn't be here if she hadn't taken a chance. Characteristic of her generation, she was very resourceful.  My baby quilt is pieced from flour sacks and her quilt templates were cut from old cereal boxes. One Christmas, we all got stuffed pigs made from polyester scraps.  She also worked hard and never gave up. She had to quit school to help at home, but got her GED in her 80s because it was something that she had always wanted to do. I still remember her showing us the certificate hanging proudly in the frame on her living room wall. She made the best out of any situation with creativity and determination. That is a bit of what I tried to do this week. We had 2 feet of snow and 3 snow days, so I had to "make do" with what I had on hand, although it meant a lot more work. In the end, both outfits cost less than $5 to make and all that I had to purchase when I finally was able to leave the house was some thread, embroidery floss, and buttons.

Boho week for Project Run and Play!

I still tried to incorporate the modern "boho" style in my designs. First, I made a tunic from an old shirt that was given to me. I loved the color (with a slightly uneven dye effect) and it was a thin, flowy fabric perfect for what I had in mind. I removed the bottom ruffle (the open part was badly torn) and the bottoms of the sleeves. Then, I carefully cut the rest of my pieces from what was left of the shirt. I drafted a bodice with a curved front and trimmed the front of the bottom skirt portion a bit to create a high-low effect. The original ruffle was resized and sewed onto the bottom of the tunic. I embroidered the neckline with some simple flowers and vines. It took awhile, but it was definitely worth it to add some lovely detail. The top is lined with remnants of a really soft sheet I used to line THIS dress and I understitched along the inside neckline. I reshaped the sleeves to create a loose, flutter sleeve with a bit of gathering at the top. Then, I sewed it to the bottom and added buttons on the back. I also made a pair of leggings from some olive green knit fabric that I found in a tote after digging a path to my storage shed.

Before...

before-picture-of-shirt

After...

hand embroidery and understitching

buttons on the back of a flowy, boho tunic

butterfly sleeve boho tunic

double needle hem leggings

hi-low hem tunic upcycled from a womens shirt

purple hi-low tunic refashioned from a womens shirt

Hand embroidered girls boho tunic

My other daughter wanted a maxi dress and I found a dusty coral sheet I had purchased years ago on clearance at Target and stuffed under my fabric table. I only used about half of the sheet to make this dress. I drafted the pattern to have a drop waist and long, gathered tiers. I was careful in my cutting and able to use the original sheet hem, too! Yay! This time, I put the buttons in the front and hand embroidered the button placket in the same intricate flowers and vines. Oh, and those buttons? My husband made them from a dowel rod! He sanded them on the belt sander to make them round and carefully sliced them off of the dowel. I sanded them by hand to smooth and even them out. After a last-minute trip for 1/16th inch drill bits, he drilled holes in them for me. The straps are made from braided strips folded like bias tape and sewn together. They cross in the back and I added an elastic casing so that it would fit well and not gap in the back.

Some more before pictures...

dowel-buttons     flat-sheet

After...

Girls boho maxi dress made from a sheet

embroidered flowers

braided crossing straps

boho style maxi dress from a sheet

braided straps

Elastic casing to keep the back of the dress from gapping!

handmade wooden button

We tried to do a farm themed photo shoot, but it is hard because our options right now are: a) snow or b) mud. At the end, I decided to try to take some pictures with our new chicks, but it was clearly a bad idea. Let's just say that this was the second week in a row that an outfit had to be washed right after the pictures. Ew!!!

peeps_edited-1

peep-pooping

You can vote for your favorite "boho" look HERE over at Project Run and Play!

Thank you again to all of those who have voted and shared and supported me!!! Thank you to Aunt Karen for the purple shirt. A very special thank you to my sisters this week! Loni, you did an awesome job as my hairstylist and ironer. (Also, thank you for returning my vintage crimping iron.) Thank you to my husband for those awesome buttons and for carrying girls over the mud for pictures! Thank you most of all to my grandmother and other family members who pass down stories and leave a legacy to inspire future generations.

Boho style outfits made from a sheet and an old shirt!