New Duds for the 4th

So we’re heading home to visit our families TOMORROW NIGHT! We’re so excited we can hardly stand it.  Especially the three-year-old… holy smokes, it’s a lot of emotion for a little girl to deal with.
So instead of packing and cleaning, like I ought to be doing… I’ve been sewing!

Do you blame me?? I couldn’t resist!

I’ve been saving this blue polka dot fabric I scored at Jo-Anns (for 2.50 a yard!) and planning out peasant tops in my head for weeks now, and finally got down to making one.  I made the pattern myself (sorry, no tutorial- short on time, ha!) after reading through this tutorial and looking at this pattern.

My sister-in-law sent me the red chevron fabric months ago, and I think I finally found the perfect reason to cut into it. I used this pattern from MADE for the diaper cover.  It looked HUGE, so I went a couple sizes smaller (mostly cuz I’m stingy with fabric…).  It fit ok… but was a little too short, so I had to add extra fabric for the elastic casing around the waist.

I’m so in love with this little girl and her patriotic little chevron bum!

And I couldn’t leave out her sister.  I also made up this pattern- but you can find a tutorial for something similar here. Oh how I love ruffles! And the instructions for her bow came from Pinterest.
Again, in LOVE.

Chevron, ruffles, and polka dots make me almost as happy as the two little girls wearing them!

Linking up here:
Chic on a Shoestring
Tatertots & Jello
House of Hepworths
Be Different, Act Normal
Itsy Bitsy Paper

Merry Christmas to Me!

I went to Joanns the other day to buy some fabric to make a Christmas dress for my favorite little girl.  Their "holiday collection" was %40 off.  I couldn't resist buying some fabric to make a little something for myself. I bought a yard and a half of both green and gray taffeta, originally 5.99 a yard. Oh how I love taffeta...

I bought this pattern a couple months ago when it was on sale for $2 and I've been looking for some fabric to use with it.  The pattern ran surprisingly small.  I've learned the hard way that it's important to measure myself and follow the corresponding pattern size... and I'm glad I did so this time (EVEN IF it said I needed THE BIGGEST size, and even though I was very tempted to use my "better judgement" and do a smaller size). It fits perfectly, but I'm now thinking I'd better make sure I check the measurements before I even buy a pattern. I definitely would have been bummed if I bought a pattern that wasn't big enough.

I really love how it turned out.  It's a bit iridescent, so the picture makes it look purple.... I think/hope it doesn't really look quite so purple most of the time! 

It has pockets, which I love, but I think the best part would be no hem! The band at the bottom is double thickness, so you sew two bands together, iron right-side-out and sew the whole thing to the rest of the skirt.

LOVE IT.

And including the fabric, pattern, and notions, it cost less than $12.

LOVE IT MORE.

Now I'm off to make a little girl dress. And maybe one for her dolly as well.



Snow White Costume

Here is the final product. Unfortunately I never got a really good picture (too much dancing around and singing "ha ha ha" going on). I covered her fair little head with a black hat and added a headband.

I used a pattern that I've already made two other dresses with, so it all went pretty fast. I just had to modify the bodice and sleeves and make the skirt a little longer.

I spent about $8 and a couple hours making her Snow White dress. While one purchased at Walmart or on the internet would cost between $19 and $45. I think it was well worth the time I put into it!

Not to mention my skills as a seamstress are improving all the time.... Just look at the progress I've made with zippers!

Snow White

The Little Girl has recently discovered movies and she LOVES "No Wite." So naturally she needs a Snow White costume for Halloween.... I bit the bullet and bought fabric to make her a dress.

I've already run into some issues, but thats just how projects seem to work for me. I started putting it together last night and I'm really excited to see how it turns out. Wish me luck!

Women's Shirtdress to Little Girl Shirt AND Dress

I bought this shirt/dress on my way out of Walmart a few months ago. It was on clearance for $3. It was cheap, and I was done shopping, so I didn't bother to try it on. When I got home, I discovered that it was too small. This week I finally found the time and courage to refashion it for The Little Girl.

I cut about a foot off the bottom, took in the sides and the top, shortened the straps, and added a ruffle to make this cute little dress.

It's great for picking flowers,

playing in the yard,

and posing for pictures!

I used the fabric left over from the bottom of the dress to make this little top.

I had planned on posting step by step instructions, but I made a few mistakes, and had to do some very fussy cutting, and strategic pleating and gathering in order to get it to work out. It isn't what I picturing in my mind, and I know it shouldn't have been as difficult as I made it, but nevertheless, I like the way it turned out.


How cute are those little sleeves?

I also made her skirt from an old pair of my pants, and I love the way it turned out. I WILL put together a tutorial for it sometime in the future....

I'm entering this project into a crafting contest over at Sew Dang Cute. Go check it out!

Fancy Baby Socks Tutorial

I recently bought Little Miss an Easter dress (I resisted the urge to make yet another dress out of the same pattern as all her others...) and I couldn't help but buy some little white shoes to match. She's going to need something to match her fancy dress for my brother-in-law's wedding anyway... So that makes it a thrifty purchase, not an impulse buy... Right?

Bad news is they're a little too big to wear with bare feet or tights. She needs a pair of socks on her little fit to make sure her shoes stay on. Now i know that you can just buy fancy socks with little ruffles on them, but I was feeling too cheap and lazy to go to every store in town to hunt down a pair. SO... here's how I fashioned a pair on my own:

You'll need: One pair of socks, some tulle (ribbon would work too), a needle and thread, and a sewing machine.

Start by cutting two strips of tulle. Mine were 2 inches wide by about 20 inches long. You can change these measurements to change the way the socks look. If your strip is wider, the ruffles will be longer. The longer your strip is, the more fluffy your ruffle will be.

**The strip should be AT LEAST twice as long as the circumference of the ankle of the sock. My socks were about 5 inches around, and my strips were 4 times as long.

Next, fold strip in half, and baste along the raw edges.

It will look something like this.

Next, pull string to gather until ruffle is the same length as the circumference of the sock. Pin ruffle to sock, all the way around (use more pins than you see in the picture).

Run through the machine on a stretch stitch. This is the stitch I used.

** It's important to use a stretch stitch... if you don't the sock won't fit around her little ankles.

Originally i wasn't sure what I was going to do about the raw edge after I sewed the tulle to the sock. Fortunately, the stitch secured the tulle really well and covered most of the edges. I just trimmed the bits that were still sticking up above the stitch.

All Finished!

**I had planned to try and figure out something to cover the edge of the tulle/stitching. But I think that the stitch I used looked okay all by itself. Just try to pick the cutest stretch stitch on you're machine and you'll be good to go. If you're feeling really ambitious you could also sew on some beads or sequins or other trim.

How cute are these fancy feet!