My First Grown Up Dress

I wore a skirt to my own wedding. It was a beautiful day. I was surrounded by the people I love. I wouldn't change a thing. Except maybe I would wear a dress.

It occurred to me while making this dress for Project Sewn, that I am 29 years old and I haven't owned a dress at any point in my adult life. Is that normal?

I felt incredibly awkward when I first put it on. Especially in the red heels that I borrowed from my sister (by the way Marie, I borrowed your shoes). I almost thought about not entering this week. That was until I saw the pictures. 

I am not sure if it is the fact that I live in one of the most beautiful places in the entire world, or the fact that my husband is an amazing photographer, but I love these pictures. They make me feel like a princess in a fairy tale. 

All of my fears from last week completely vanished. I couldn't wait to post these pictures.

I used a jersey knit from Walmart. I know some of you are cringing, but I gotta respect the budget. 

The bodice started out as a ready to wear copy cat. I made the pattern using the pin and cardboard method. Then I changed everything at the last minute and raised the neckline changed the armholes, and removed the twist detail so that I could add the ruched waist band. 

I used elastic thread in the bobbin and sewed a straight vertical line every inch and a half.  Making the waistband was easy. Attaching it was not. The ends kept curling up. I had to resew the darn thing on twice. The skirt is pretty basic. just some gathering at the waistline.

I've been looking at everyone else's work for this week. There is some tough competition but I hope that you will consider voting for me starting Friday.

A Sweater Refashion and a Sewing Milestone

Maybe it is more of a mom milestone than a sewing milestone, but when I gave her this sweater she hugged me. Doesn't seem like a big deal to you, then you must not have a daughter stuck in the awkward years right before the teens. They don't hug, they just scowl mostly.

She loves this sweater so much that she wears it everywhere. She refuses to take it off, much like the winter boots that she insists on wearing in the spring.

So why is this a milestone? It means that I am learning enough about my daughter to make her clothes that she loves. I have said it before, and I will say it again.

You can learn so much about your kids just by studying the clothes they like. It's a window into their personality.

Now back to the sweater. I started with a my own favorite sweater that had become an unfortunate victim of my bad laundry habits. (I just dump the hamper into the washer without looking)  It shrunk to the point where the stretch marks on my belly where exposed for all the world to see, but I couldn't bare to part with it.

After reading this tutorial from Girl Inspired I decided that this sweater still had a few years of being loved left in it. For the most part I followed the instructions with just a few adjustments for my daughters style preferences  She doesn't do ruffles or flowers.

I didn't make any changes to the hood because it had always been a little small on me. I also left the mini sleeve pocket in tact because it's awesome.

The sweater originally had raglan sleeves and I was bored with making them after the Mixed Fabric Raglan Tee so I changed them up. In retrospect, I probably should have stayed with the original design. Other than that I love the cardigan. Ashley loves the cardigan (and me). So the whole project is a success. 

Now all that is left to do is get her to stay still long enough to get pictures!

Southwestern Pottery Inspired Dress

Update: Since I have received so many comments about this fabric I thought I would let you know that I purchased it from Fabric.com . They still have 74 yards left as of today and I am planning to purchase some more myself.

I finally did it! I made my self cut into one of my favorite pieces of fabric. Do you ever do that? Love a fabric so much that your afraid to use it. Luckily an event so big came along that I was able to face my fears and go ahead and cut. This week is the first week of the Project Run and Play sew along linky.

I searched through a bazillion (btw, bazillion is not actually a real number) photo's of famous paintings and loved so many of them, but I got zero (zero is a number in math but in philosophy it is the opposite of infinity and not a number) idea's for a wearable item.

So then I played with the idea of statues. A few things started to take shape in my mind, but I needed some color. Finally I looked at pottery, and there it was my inspiration. The pottery of the Southwest.

Here are a few of my favorite inspiration pieces. 

The fabric is a lightweight cotton sateen with just a tiny bit of stretch to it. I used my ugly vintage pattern as a starting point for the bodice and then lengthened it a few inches and made the neckline just a tiny bit lower. The skirt is self drafted. I left an inch of seam allowance on the top of the skirt and the bottom of the bodice.

To create the elastic casing I began by sewing the skirt and bodice with wrong sides together like you would with a french seam and then I flipped the fabric so that right sides were together and sewed about 3/4 of an inch away from the first seam. Before inserting the elastic I sewed the casing down so it laid flat against the inside of the dress.

My Bella was the lucky recipient of the dress. She can't wait for the snow to go away and the sun to come out so she can wear it some more. I really love the way this dress came out. I am thinking about making another one with pockets. They will make great summer dresses. So are you sewing along this season?

Mixed Fabric Raglan T-Shirt Tutorial

Q: What do you sew for a girl who considers herself a tomboy but still loves the color pink (in moderation) and loves the feel of soft fabrics on her skin? 

A: A mixed fabric Raglan Tee

Do you want to make one for yourself? No problem. Just follow the steps below.

You will need:

• Rib Knit Fabric - You can use any type of knit for the main fabric, but you need rib knit for the collar. The fabric I used is currently out of stock but here is something similar.  Cotton Baby Rib Knit Pale Blue I used about a half a yard with some left over.
• Sleeve fabric - I used a satin fabric with just a tiny bit of stretch for comfort. Again, out of stock but here it is in a darker color. Tahari Stretch Satin Dark Pink You only need about a quarter yard of this
• Thread to match your main fabric
• Paper for Tracing
• Hem Gauge
• A T shirt or tank top that fits well
• Straight edge with a square corner (a sheet of paper will work)

Step 1: Trace your T- shirt or tank top. We will be drawing a new sleeve later so don't worry about that. I chose to use the back collar for a tighter neckline. If you want a lower neckline you can fold the back neckline under and trace the neckline from the front of the tee. Remember we will be adding 3/4 of an inch with the neck binding.

Step 2: Add a 1 inch seam allowance to the bottom for the hem and a quarter inch to the side seam and collar. You don't need to add anything to the shoulder  but I did for a slightly looser sleeve because the fabric did not have much stretch. The easiest way to add the seam allowance is with a hem gauge. 

Step 3: Make the Sleeve. If objects in your house mysteriously disappear and you can't find your ruler grab a piece of paper. Draw a straight line from the point of the armpit to 1 inch from the edge of the collar. Then use the corner of the paper to help draw the rest of the sleeve. 

Step 4: Cut out your pattern. Don't forget to add the seam allowance. Align a piece of paper behind your pattern piece with a quarter inch hanging over the edge. Then, tape in place and trim.

Step 5:  Cut two of your main fabric and two of your sleeve fabric. Then, cut one long strip of your rib knit 1 and a half inches wide and as long as you can make it. We will trim it later.

Step 6:  Pin your sleeve edges to one piece of main fabric and baste. (I know that your eyes just glossed right over the basting part, but if you are using a slippery fabric please don't skip it.)

Step 7: Attach the the back of the shirt to one of the sleeves but not both so it will open up like this. Sew up your seams using your favorite knit sewing method. Press your seams to the main fabric. Remember to set your iron to the setting for the most delicate of the two fabrics. Then flip your shirt and press again. You can also top stitch 1/8 inch from the seam on the main fabric.

Step 8: Now grab that long strip of fabric you cut earlier and fold it in half lengthwise. Press. Line the raw edges up to the raw edges of the neckline on the right side. Now this is the tricky part. In order for the neck binding to maintain the correct shape you have to stretch the binding just a little bit while sewing without stretching the neckline on the shirt. Just take your time and adjust as you go. Trim off the extra.

Step 9: Pin, Baste and Sew your last sleeve edge to the main fabric. Sew all the way to the top including the neck binding with right sides together. 

Step 10: Hem the sleeve edges (I used a narrow hem) and the bottom of the shirt.

Step 10: Sew up your side seams. ( No picture, but its just two straight seems) and try on your shirt!

Making Doll Clothes From Children's Clothes Patterns And Turorials

Sewing doll clothes has been a hobby of mine ever since my daughter got her first American Girl Doll for Christmas. I just couldn't justify paying for the clothes on the website. They are overpriced for the quality and fabrics that they use. (Tip: If you don't sew check etsy for some reasonably priced handmade doll clothes that are better quality than the official American Girl doll clothes.) But once you start making your own it really is addicting. The doll develops her own personality and you can tailor her wardrobe to fit it.

There are plenty of patterns available on the market for doll clothing. One source is Liberty Jane. While they offer a huge selection, sometimes they don't have exactly what I am envisioning. Besides when you want to make a matching outfit for a girl and doll it is much easier to start with a bigger pattern and downsize it than it is to start with a doll pattern and adjust it to your child's size.

For those reasons I have been working on making doll clothes from children's patterns and tutorials. I just finished up this fairy costume for a photo contest. It was made using a tutorial for a toddler romper and fairy skirt.

I started by using this tutorial from the Little Pink Monster blog. I made the following changes to fit our doll.

• I used a 9 inch by 16 inch rectangle of knit fabric with a 40% stretch. Because I used fabric instead of a t-shirt I had to hem the bottom myself just before sewing up the back seam.
• I sewed 7 lines 1/2 inch apart with elastic thread to create the smocking. 
• I didn't notice any additional shrinking after the first time I sprayed it and went over it with an iron. If your trying to save time, once may be enough.
• For the straps I sewed a 1 inch wide tube of fabric and turned it, then I hand sewed them in place while the outfit was on the doll to be sure they were placed properly. I matched the stitching to the smocking lines in the back and covered the stitching with flowers from my stash in the front.
• For the skirt I cut a 16 by 7 inch rectangle and then created an elastic casing and inserted an 11 1/4 inch strip of elastic. I did not permanently attach it, so that it could be used with other doll clothes.
• I cut the petals very carefully while the doll was wearing the skirt.

I'll tell you a little more about this photo contest (and beg for votes) a little later. I also plan on showing you how to adjust a pdf printed pattern to fit an 18 inch American Girl Doll. So what do you think of our finished work?