Another Cinderella Dress

This Cinderella dress is for an 18" American Girl doll that was a hand-me down from S's cousin. I am cleaning her up to give to S as a Christmas present. She will be outfitted in this dress, and packaged with the child-sized version.

I stuck a ruler in the picture above to give you an idea of the scale of this dress. As with all things in miniature, it is even cuter in real life. The pattern is another from Simplicity (5705) and has 5 other disney princess gowns in the same package. I am getting my money's worth from those 5 patterns for $1 each sales at JoAnn's.

In other news, I've been playing around with my new Evolution Babylock Serger. Along with the serger, we bought a really cool sewing cabinet and it was finally delivered yesterday. The serger also came with 16 foot attachments, everything from hemmers to double bias tape binders. I am essentially set up to sew anything and everything.

So finally last night I unpacked the serger and succeeded in threading and serging the doll cinderella gown. Today I will work on cover stitching and maybe playing around with the piping attachment.

Cinderella Dress

I just finished this cinderella dress. It took me all of a day from start to finish, and that is with lots of interruptions; a few minutes here and there, and a solid couple of hours during rest/ naptime. The pattern is Simplicity 2563 in a size Toddler 2. I tried the bodice on S earlier in the day and it is slightly big for her and should fit (I am hoping) for the next year or so. The fabrics I used are all from JoAnn's: a crepe-back satin for the skirt and bodice lining, a stretch panne velvet for the bodice, and a sheer glittery material for the pouf and sleeves. It's hard to tell in the picture but the panne velvet has little dots of silver all throughout and so does the pouf material.


The only change from the pattern was that I put in a velcro fastening in the back instead of a zipper. The velcro made finishing the dress 10 times easier than having to sew on a zipper.


So I am off to hide the dress from S. It will be a part of her Christmas present. Let's hope she doesn't ask about it tomorrow morning.

My New Serger

photo from http://www.babylock.com/sergers/evolution/

I am so excited about my new babylock serger! We sort of went overboard and bought a serger that also does coverstitches, which means that the machine not only serges, it also sews a nice seam at the same time. You don't even have to bother with threading the thing, just stick the end of the thread into a hole, push a button, and the machine threads itself. You can read more about this amazing machine here.

Thanks to my husband for my wonderful early christmas gift. Now I am truly committed to making this purchase pay for itself. The girls will be wearing hand made clothes from now on, up to and including their wedding dresses.

Another Day, Another Toddler Backpack

i finished another made by rae toddler backpack. this one is for a little girl who is turning two.

s liked it so much that she wanted it for herself. i had to promise her that i would make her a princess backpack. better get on that.

the polka dots are michael miller and the stripes are amy butler lotus. both fabrics are quilting cotton that came from my stash. i used the same process as the previous backpack; lining the quilting cotton with heavyweight interfacing and bottomweight twill.

i am officially obsessed with making these backpacks. they are just so fun and satisfying. tomorrow i am making the trip into the city to look for fabric for my two nephews and another of s's little friends. all three are boys so it will be a challenge to find something cute and boyish. did i mention that these will be christmas gifts?

speaking of christmas gifts, i have a couple of projects that i want to make for s. one is a cinderella dress-up dress. and of course the princess backpack and a doll from this book: http://www.amazon.com/dp/1584798580?tag=weewonderfuls-20&camp=213381&creative=390973&linkCode=as4&creativeASIN=1584798580&adid=0B06F4GD13TPZDB433Q5&

that's it for now! going upstairs to cut the cinderella dress.

Made by Rae's Toddler Backpack

can you believe how adorable this little backpack is? well, i can't. it was made from this pattern.

this was made for one of s's little friends who is very into cars and trucks. the fabric is a quilted cotton from joann's. i used heavy-weight interfacing and lined it with a bottom weight twill. this combination i thought gave the backpack a sturdy structure that was perfect.

the pattern itself was easy to follow and fairly simple. and the result is so cute! it is the perfect size for toddlers. i've already pulled fabric to make another backpack, this time for a little girl who is turning 2. i am thinking polka-dots and stripes!

oliver and s school days coat

i'm finally done with the oliver and s coat! it took me awhile just because i kept making silly and careless mistakes. first off, i somehow missed cutting the placket and didn't realize this until i was almost finished with the coat. the other mistake that i made was that i cut the cords a half inch too short, and of course when i tried to button the jacket, the placket ended up looking puckered.

anyhow, here are the details. i used a double faced designer wool melton and a fun amy butler quilted weight from the midwest modern line. The wool was beautiful to work with and ironed really well, although the bulk was a bit problematic at times. the pattern did say to use a walking foot for thicker fabrics, but because i didn't have one on hand, i just used an ordinary one. it worked fine but i am definitely saving up for a walking foot.

all in all i am pretty happy with the result. the coat is just a bit too big so hopefully it will last s this winter and next. i gave it to s today and she loves it! she kept saying thank you and even gave me a kiss. so all the time and effort was worth it just for that.

Next up is a made by rae toddler backpack for one of s's little friends who is having a birthday this coming weekend. i guess i'll have to get busy...