Lily's Quiet Book ~ Woodland Friends Pages

These pages are my FAVORITES!!!!

It is a little forest camping scene. OK, there is only one tree. It is a clearing. Use your imagination.

Let's have a look at the details. Shall we?

I did a mini version of my button flowers pages (see HERE and HERE).

Reversible, of course. I also used vintage ric rac and buttons.

Next we have a bush with tiny button berries and felt leaves. The bush actually creates two pockets for hiding.

The tree trunk has a hole for another hiding place. I embroidered a heart with an arrow and Lily's parents' initials, but the top of the tree shifted as I was sewing and cut off the tip of the arrow. :(

The top of the tree has some velcro pieces and a nest made from this beautiful vintage lace. That might be my favorite part of the whole book.

By now you are probably catching on that there might be some animals involved. Um, of course the title of this post gave that away, too. Well, let's just peek inside this tent with the recycled, vintage military zipper.

The inside of the tent has contrasting lining. It also stores all of my scrappy forest friends.

I really love the flying squirrel!

Now, you can see why these pages are my favorites! There are so many fun little details and some vintage accents, too. I know my girls would love to play with these pages!

Lily's Quiet Book ~ Camera and Sewing Machine Pages

Like I said before, I kinda' stalked my cousin on facebook to figure out what they would like. That sounds creepy. Let's call it creatively brainstorming ideas. I knew Lily's mom is talented at photography and sewing, so I incorporated that into the book.

The background for the camera page is yellow with tiny butterflies. I sewed some vintage trims on the top and bottom just because it needed something. 

The applique on the camera came out really sharp! I added some buttons for the buttons and a little heart applique just for cuteness.

It is sewn down like a little flap and underneath I took the packaging from a curtain to make a clear pocket. I thought this would be nice to add a picture of her grandparents, who asked me to make the book.

The sewing machine is made much like Grace's (see HERE) except I skipped the velcro bobbin. I also appliqued the needle differently and added some thread embroidery like a trail of thread leaving the needle. Oh, and the sewing machine is blue, obviously.

The background fabric is one of my favorites! It really has a vintage vibe and the colors matched really well. A vintage button was added for a pretend knob. The pink fabric is actually folded in half to make a storage pocket. I used pinking shears to cut fabric squares again, but I paired them up.

I made sure they were all the same size so that they can be arranged like a quilt. 

I also made a little memory game with this adorable farm fat quarter that I got at Joann's. I fused it to some purple fabric and fussy cut the squares to make pairs. The only thing that I don't like is that you can see through the purple if you look closely enough. I am hoping a 2yo won't notice. Maybe it will give her parents an edge. I know I could use one when playing Memory with the kids!

These pages were actually pretty simple to make. The more complicated ones are yet to come. (And they are super cute, too!)

Lily's Quiet Book ~ Cover Pages

So, I guess I might be back to blogging a little bit.  I mean, don't expect anything consistent from me. Quiet moments like I am having right now are far and few between. Yeah, I could be folding laundry, but I just don't feel like it. It has been a long week.

Since I have been away for so long, I have a lot of crafty projects that I have done in the meantime. I snapped a few pictures of them, so I will go ahead and schedule some blog posts while I have some time that I am claiming for myself right now.

First up is a quiet book that I made for my cousin's daughter,Lily. I put a lot of thought and effort into this one. Her parents are missionaries in Mexico and this was their first Christmas there. I kinda' stalked their facebook page a little bit to get ideas of what Lily might like. Her hot air balloon first birthday party was the inspiration for the cover page.

I used a sky blue fabric for the background and added clouds and a sun with embroidered faces. The sun has yellow ric rac around the edges (and a tiny mistake that drives me crazy). On the lower cloud I embroidered her name.

The hot air balloon includes this fun vintage trim that I got at a thrift store.

I used gray polka dot fabric for the binding. It was left over from a tie that I made for my son to match his sisters' Easter dresses a few years ago. (He said it was "girly" and wouldn't wear it anyway.) I also stitched around the edges of all of the pages and it really makes them more crisp.

In hindsight, I wish I had made everything larger. The empty space bothers me. It was still a fun concept.

I can't really show you the front without showing the back... they sorta' go together.

I found this fun blue fabric that matches the front, except it has tiny white stars all over it.  I embroidered a little face on the moon and I think it is adorable!

Since this one was going so far away I added a label with my initials and the year embroidered onto it. Also, if you look close you can see my stitches for the binding- I do it just like quilt binding and fold the ends over and tuck them in at the top and bottom.

I am getting a few more posts ready to go for next week or so, so keep checking back if you want to see the rest!

Elastic Waist Doll Dress Pattern

Happy World Doll Day! In honor of this day, I would like to encourage you to use up some of that scrap fabric (I have WAY too much!) and make some doll clothes for organizations that donate dolls to children who could use a little joy in their lives. Here are some that I have found- some accept clothing donations and some do not but you may be able to help in some way or be inspired to start your own organization:

The Broken Doll - restores dolls and gives them to girls in foster care and hospitals
Broken Dolls Healing Hearts - creates care packages for children, including restored dolls
Hope Through Broken Dolls
Janie's Dollys for Recovery - dolls for girls undergoing extensive medical procedures

If you know of others, please share the info!

To get you started, I have a free doll dress pattern and tutorial for you today! This is a doll-sized version of the teen peasant dress from yesterday.

This really isn't too hard. I whipped this one up in about a half hour. It will fit an 18" doll like American Girl, Our Generation, or My Life. It would probably work for smaller dolls with some adjustments on the elastic length.

UPDATE 11/2019 - I now have a printable pdf pattern and step by step tutorial posted on the blog! See it HERE.

I am still working on the pdf pattern (which means it is burried on my sewing table somewhere) but you can cut these pieces with measurements.

Sleeves: 7" wide by 4 1/2" high
Tops: 8" wide by 5 1/2" high
Arm Scythes: 1 1/2" wide by 3" high (just curve it a little as shown)
Skirt: 7 1/2" high, 8" at waist, 14" at bottom (make initial slit 1" deep)
Waist elastic: 12" (1/4")
Neck elastic: 8 1/2" (1/4")

The sewing process is the same as the teen peasant dress (see THIS post for instructions!) The only differences are that I used a smaller seam allowance- 1/4" and made the elastic casings a tiny bit smaller. Also, it would probably be easier to hem the sleeves before sewing the sides.

It is really very straightforward. Just follow the same directions I gave HERE.

If you want to make puffy sleeves with elastic casings, increase the width to 9" and the height to 5".

Please use this pattern for personal, non-commercial, or charity use only. If you make one or more of these I would love to see it! You can contact me via facebook or email pacountrycrafts at gmail dot com.

I have other free doll clothing patterns available, too! They are all made to fit 18" American girl dolls. You can see them all under my tutorials menu, but here is a sampling:

Peasant Doll Dress

Doll Ruffle Apron

Twirly Lace Doll Dress

Doll Peasant Top

Teen Peasant Dress Pattern and Tutorial

This year, Project Yesu was looking for some dresses for the older girls of ages 12-16. I challenged myself to create a variation of the peasant dresses we normally make that would meet some of the unique challenges of making larger sizes. It is longer, but has enough width at the bottom to allow for easy movement. I also lined the top to allow for more modesty. The elastic waistband is another nice feature that just makes the dress a bit more mature.

This dress is in a 14-16 girls size.  If you need help choosing fabric see my post HERE. You can do contrasting sleeves. The top and sleeves can be made from a different print/color to give a faux two-piece effect. It would be easy to adapt my regular peasant dress to add the elastic waistband, too.

Reading my tutorial for quickly cutting peasant dresses would be very helpful for understanding how these dresses are cut.

For the skirt portion, keep the fabric folded with the selvage edges together, just as it comes off the bolt. I always cut four layers at once, taking the cut edges together on the end. Cut two strips the width of the fabric by 25".

Then, to make the most efficient use of the fabric, refold it by taking one side of the selvage edge (I cut both pieces at once) and fold it towards the middle 15".

Cut a slit 1 1/2" into the fabric 10 1/2" from the fold (for a total width at the waist of 21").

Then, use the ruler to cut an angle towards the corner from the end of the slit.

This is what you should have so far... a funky looking trapezoidish thing.

Now, something that will help the hem A LOT: trim off the corners so that the distance from the waist to the bottom is a consistent 25". (I showed this in my doll maxi skirt tutorial if you need a better explanation/pictures.)

 A quick tip... the reason I refold the fabric is because if I cut 2 skirts from the same fabric, I can piece together the remaining fabric and make another skirt. It just has a seam in the middle- I use those for the backs.

For the top, cut a strip the width of the fabric by 15".

Trim off the fold and selvage to make two pieces EXACTLY 21" wide.

Fold the pieces in half and cut an arm scythe 4" wide by 7" high. Save the pieces that you cut off so you can trace them later.

Make one lining out of thin, smooth cotton or a poly cotton blend for the front. Cut is the same as the top.

Cut two sleeves the same way, but make them 12" instead of 15". Fold and use the pieces that you cut away from the top as a guide for cutting the arm scythes.

Now, something that I found helped it to fit MUCH better...

Cut one inch from the top of the front an lining. Then, angle the sleeves by cutting one inch from the front side and angling up to the back.

That should give you all of your pieces. Now, sew the top together just like my regular peasant dress tutorial. You have to be careful to line up the shorter sides of the sleeves with the front of the top.

To line the front, just sew it with the lining and front held together as if they are one piece.

Sew the side seams using a PRECISE 3/8" seam allowance. That is really the only tricky part to this. Serge the sides. Then, sew the elastic casings for the neck and also for the sleeves. Again, I explain that method HERE.

See? The top is all finished! Now, sew the skirt with the right sides together using a PRECISE 3/8" seam allowance. This is important to make sure the top and bottom line up. Serge those sides, too. Do yourself a favor and hem the bottom before you attach it- it is easier when there is less fabric to deal with. Just fold it under 1/2" twice and sew. Now, turn the skirt right side out and line up the waists.

Make sure the seam allowances press one direction so that the elastic can be pushed through.

Sew the top and skirt together with a 3/8" seam allowance. Then, sew again 1/2" from that stitching line and leave an opening to thread elastic. Serge the raw edges.

Now, to take it one step further, you can press the casing towards the skirt and topstitch on top of the seam allowance. It makes the waist lay flatter. I didn't do this with all of the dresses we made (I forgot) but it does make them better.

The elastic for the waist will need to be inserted from the outside and hand stitched shut with a ladder stitch. (It really isn't that hard.)

For the neck, use 1/4" elastic at 25" long. 
For the sleeves, use 1/4" elastic at 12 1/2" long. (Cut 2- one for each arm.)
For the waist, use 3/8" elastic at 27" long.

You can see how I insert the elastic and sew it together HERE.

That is it! I can sew one of these up in 30-45 minutes, including stuffing the elastic in the casings.

Here is one I made with a shorter top and longer skirt. If you cut the skirt 28" long there will be enough left to make 2 drawstring bags for Days for Girls hygiene kits. I have way too many scraps, so I am always looking for good causes to sew smaller things for.

I am posting the pattern and tutorial for these dresses for personal, non-commercial, or charity use only. Do not sell this pattern or sell things made from this pattern. I spent a lot of time tweaking it to get it just right so please respect my intentions.

If you have any questions, just let me know! You can contact me via facebook or e-mail pacountrycrafts at gmail dot com. I would LOVE to see pictures if you make some of these dresses. 

An easier version of this dress can be made for smaller girls, too. I have several recent posts about those. 

Would you like to help? You can contact Project Yesu about dress donations. They are also asking for donations of just $10 to help cover the costs of transporting supplies to Uganda this summer. If you would consider donating that amount- less than the cost of some sewing patterns- it would be greatly appreciated! You can also pray for their work there and for the girls who will wear these dresses.

Peasant Dress Quick Sewing Tutorial

I know there are peasant dress tutorials galore, but I am going to show you how to make these dresses using a few tips and tricks we have picked up over the past few years while making hundreds of these dresses for groups like Project Yesu. I already covered the "system" we use for cutting them out quickly and efficiently. Today I am showing you how to sew them together.

I mentioned yesterday that we will sometimes add a contrasting band to the bottom of the dress. It also makes a fun, color blocked effect. To do this just cut a strip the same width as the rest of the dress and the length needed to make it the desired size. Sew the strip to the bottom of the dress and serge or zig zag over the edge to keep it from fraying.

Gather all of your pieces. There should be 2 dress body pieces and 2 sleeves.

Line up the arm scythes of one sleeve and one dress piece with the right sides together.

Sew them together with a 3/8" seam allowance, back-stitching a little at the beginning and end. DON'T stop and pull it away from the machine. Leave your presser foot down. We are going to do a little chain piecing here. It is faster and makes fewer thread snibbles that scatter all over the place.

Just grab the other dress piece and sew it to the other side of the sleeve you just sewed.

Then sew the second sleeve to the other side of the dress piece you just sewed. (No picture. Musta' missed that.) 

Finally, sew the second sleeve to the first dress piece you started with.

It is all kind of a circular thing. It is easy once you get used to it.

NOW you can remove it from the sewing machine and snip all the connecting threads.

This is what it looks like now.

Next you are going to sew the sides. Grab the corners of the sleeves and make sure the armpits line up.

You need to press the seams in opposite directions with the top one going towards the sewing machine and the bottom one pointing towards you.

I know it is shifted a little bit, but I am trying to show the seams.

Use a 3/8" seam allowance. You may need to pivot a little bit at the armpit because the angle changes there. 

Next, the raw edges need to be finished. I use a serger or overlock machine. It goes so fast and does a really nice job. There is really only one trick to it. You see, when you get to the armpit it naturally bends a little.

Just go ahead and pull that straight as you are sewing. The overlock machine produces a stretch stitch, so it will be fine. If you don't straighten it and try to pivot it, chances are the cutter will leave knicks in the armpit.

Now, it needs an elastic casing for the neckline. I have found that the easiest way to do this is to fold it under 1/4"...

...and again about 1/2"...

...and just keep folding it as you sew. I like to use my presser foot as a guide. I keep my needle in the left position so the stitching is about 1/8" from the left edge of the fold. You need to leave room between the stitching and the right folded edge to insert 1/4" elastic so that gives it about 3/8".

IMPORTANT!! Make sure that all of the seams get pushed in the same direction. I feed them towards me as I am sewing so that they go to the right. If you don't it is a pain in the behind to push elastic through there. 

Also, leave an opening to thread the elastic through!

For the sleeves, you can leave them open and loose as we usually do, or you can make a casing just like the neckline on those and thread elastic. It is totally up to you. Here are some I did with elastic in the sleeves.

To hem the sleeves if not adding elastic, I just fold it under about 1/4" twice.

To hem the bottom, I fold it under about 1/2" twice.

I kind of wish I had topstitched where the two strips meet. I have done it that way before and it is a little nicer.

Last step! Put elastic into the casing at the neckline. We use 18" for the smaller dresses and 19" for the bigger ones.

Do yourself a favor and pin one end to the dress. It is so sad when the end of the elastic gets pulled into the casing. Put a pin on the other end and push it through the casing.

Now, I know there is a way to sew the elastic in while sewing the casing, but I thought it was a pain and we usually have helpers that are looking for non-sewing jobs to do.

Overlap the ends and use a zig zag stitch to hold them together.

Sew the opening closed.

TA DA!

I can sew one of these together in about 15-20 minutes, so they really are fast to make.

This tutorial is for personal, non-commercial, or charity use only. It would be great if you could make one of these or a pillowcase dress for Project Yesu. If that isn't possible, please consider donating just $10 towards the costs of transporting these dresses to Uganda.

Teen Peasant Dress

Elastic Sleeve Peasant Dress

Peasant Doll Dress

Elastic Waist Doll Dress

Peasant Dresses for Charity- Choosing Fabric

Yesterday I shared how we cut out peasant dresses quickly and efficiently, and I probably should have done this first, but I want to backtrack a bit and talk about how to choose fabric for these dresses.

First, a bit about fabric...

100% cotton works best. It is durable and will hold up to a lot of wear and tear.

We usually hit up Joann's red dot clearance sales when they have 50% off the clearance price. We also try to get a coupon for an extra 20% off when possible. Also, if you agree to take the end of the bolt they will give you the remnant price for an additional 50% off. I keep a tote in storage and we stock up throughout the year. We also accept donations of fabric.

It is important to make sure the fabric is good quality. I make sure that it is not too thin or too light. A good rule of thumb is that if you can see your hand through the fabric, it won't work. Please try to remember that often these girls do not have undergarments. Also, if the fabric is too light in color it will get dirty and stain faster. We try to choose bright, bold colors and prints as they seem to be very well received. Recently, I am also trying to remember that prints that contain words or animals might be confusing or offensive to other cultures.

The dresses require 1 to 1 1/4 yards. We often make contrasting sleeves. Also, if we don't have enough fabric for the full length, we sometimes add a contrasting band on the bottom. We usually use solids or small prints for the sleeves and accents.

Last thing: trims...

We often add lace or ric rac to the hem of the fabric. I am now trying to add the lace just above the hem so that it doesn't catch or get dirty as fast. It isn't always possible to attach it that way, though. It isn't necessary, but it makes a nice, little touch to make the dresses more special. We usually purchase the trims at thrift stores and yard sales.

I hope these tips are helpful! This year, our dresses are going to Project Yesu. If you would like to help out by sewing or donating just $10 to help cover the costs of transporting the dresses check out their website.

Link Parties where I sometimes hang out...

Sew Can Do, Motivate Me Monday, Anything Goes Monday, Take a Look Tuesday, Naptime Creations, Carolyn's Homework, The Winthrop Chronicles, Handmade Tuesdays,Inspire Me Wednesday, We Did It Wednesday, Adorned From Above, Your Whims Wednesday, Not Just a Housewife, Weekly Homemaking Party,Create It Thursday, The 36th Party, Friday Favs Party, Saturday Sewing, Think Pink Sunday, and Threading Your Way