Teacher Gifts: Noodlehead Divided Baskets

 When I came across Noodlehead's Divided Basket, I knew they would make perfect teacher gifts.  

 


I used fabrics that I already had.  This one is a particular favorite, Sketchbook from Anna Maria Horner's Drawing Room line of home dec prints.  I bought a whole bunch of yardage a few years ago, most of it lives on as curtains in the girls' room.  I had bought extra intending to make pillows.


   

S has four teachers, so that's how many baskets I made.  Unlike last year, I didn't leave it till the last minute.  It took me a couple of days to complete all four.  The hardest, most tedious part was cutting all the layers of fabrics and interfacing, but once that was done, all the pieces came together pretty fast.

I added the large ric-rac to a couple of the handles, just for fun. 

Also embroidered names on the back.  I love how they turned out. 

 

 

After these pictures were taken, I added a bottle of wine and some cookies.  These baskets can hold a surprisingly huge amount of stuff.

 

 

And finally, here is S on her first day of preschool wearing her Oliver & S Bubble Dress.

 

 

 

Last day of preschool, and the dress is now a tunic. 



School Photo Dress

 
I have a stack of Oliver & S dresses to make.  This one is the School Photo Dress in a Denyse Schmidt floral.  I love the little details in this pattern: the kangaroo pockets, the sixties style collar, the full lining.  I opted to make view A with the view B sleeves and added the pompom trim to break up the print. 

This was my first time installing an invisible zipper.   With Liesl's guidance, it was easy peasy, and I love the clean look of it. 

This is such a sophisticated, yet sweet dress.  There's another one for B in the works.

a sparkly ruffly dress

What?  Two posts in one week?  I am on a roll guys.  In all honestly, these last few projects have been so quick and easy that it only seems like I am accomplishing so much. 

The pattern is of course Oliver & S Hopscotch in the dress view.  I made a size 5 for S but I think that next time I will have to go up a size since the fit is a little snug.  The girl is just growing too fast. 

 

Both the fabrics came from JoAnn's--the sequinned top was a remnant, and I had barely enough really.  I did a self-liner for the chest pieces though, as the material was on the thin side.

She was being extra goofy this morning as you can see. 

sewing in the new year

I made something for the littlest one in the house.  The hopscotch top pattern by Oliver + S in a nice four-way knit that I bought on-line a while ago from the Fabric Fairies.    This is a size 3T lengthened by a couple of inches.  Do you recognize that skirt?  I made that for s not that long ago it seems.   




The dress above is the Pristine Swing Dress by Blank Slate Patterns.  I've been a huge admirer of MellySews, and as soon as she released her Blank Slate for girls, I grabbed the entire collection at a huge discount.  This dress was cut in a size 5.  The placket calls for a woven fabric, but I used a knit instead, and the neckline came out huge because of the stretch.  I pinched a couple of inches in the back and omitted the button closure.  And voila, there is now a little inverted pleat in the back that makes the dress even swingier.  Problem fixed.

 

My two little girlies wearing all hand-made.  Happy new year!

Explorer Vest and Another Art Smock

The pattern is the Explorer Vest from Liesl  of Oliver & S in the book "Little Things to Sew."  I made it as a birthday present for a friend in S's playgroup.  The plaid is DS Quilts from JoAnn's.  I chose to place it on the pocket bellows and the flaps.  The main fabric is a dreamy Lisette chambray also bought at JoAnn's.

Here's the back view.  Easy peasy project, and even with the bellows and the lining, it took me less than 3 hours to sew.

Here's my goofy girl modeling yet another birthday present for a friend, this time it's the Art Smock also from "Little Things to Sew."  Can you tell I love that book?  Not sure what the fabrics are, but they all came from my stash, which I am trying very hard to shrink a bit. 

Christmas is fast approaching.  I have a few things I'm thinking about making.  Ah, so much to do and so little time.  If only I didn't have to sleep....

A Butterfly and a Bee

These butterfly wings were made using Martha Stewart"s tutorial found here.  Since it seemed like the original pattern was too big for my 4 year old, I shrunk it by a couple of inches, which also meant that I had to redraw the inside design to fit the smaller wings.  Once the pattern pieces were all cut out though, it was a pretty quick sew.  I used wool felt and one inch foam.

 

 



And here's our cute little bee. The Oliver & S Bubble Dress pattern was pretty much perfect for this costume.  I cut up the skirt portion into black and yellow stripes but was too lazy to add seam allowances, so the dress ended up a little short on her.  Both the tights and wings were bought at JoAnn's on super clearance.  The antenna headbands I made myself out of pipe cleaners and yellow pompoms.

 

Happy Halloween to all the other little insects out there!

 

 

Fall KCWC: Days 2 & 3: Butterfly Tweed Sunday Brunch Jacket

I've made this jacket before, back in the spring.  S soon grew out of it; the sleeves are now almost elbow length.  So this time around, I made a size 5.  It's now available as a digital pattern on the oliver & s website. 

It's a little big on her, but I expect she will grow into it soon.  One end of the selvage on this wool tweed has embroidery and butterflies, I used that end for the bottom of the jacket.  I think it softens this rather grown-up gray. 

The whole outfit together reminds me a bit of a Maoist uniform.

Fall KCWC 2012!!!! Day 1: Sunday Brunch Skirt

 

The first day of KCWC went pretty well.  This skirt was constructed in a little bit under two hours and was a breeze to make.  The pattern is the Oliver & S Sunday Brunch.  I made this skirt in size 4, and although it fits pretty well now, I can tell that she will outgrow it soon.

I love the pockets and the slight a-line.  And what about the little kick pleat in the back? 

 

 

   The fabric is a wool tweed that I've had in my stash for years now.  Next up on my list is a matching jacket.

 

oh hello

hey i'm back. we've had a fun and busy summer.  i'm sad to see these lazy crazy days at an end.  but then there is the lure of routines, a slower pace, and, dare i hope, time to sit at my sewing machine.

today is the first day of another year of preschool.  s has a new dress, made from the oliver & s bubble dress.  it's now available as a digital pattern.

that's a size 4 she's wearing.  a little short maybe?  the pattern only goes to size 5, but i think that if you lengthen the skirt and/or the bodice, you might be able to eke out another year or two.

 

 

 i added ready-made piping between the skirt and the bodice.  i like that the piping is subtle but defines the waistline.

 

b had to get in on the action too.   a matching dress in size 2, but with pink piping instead of white.  the fabric is by dear stella that i found at cool cottons.

 

so another dress, and a new school year.  it's only a little sad this year.  

Gifts for Teachers

Why do I torture myself by waiting till the last minute?  I started these totes the day before I was supposed to deliver them.  Seriously, I was up till the wee hours of the morning finishing them up.

They are part of a gift set that me and a couple of other moms put together for s's teachers as an end-of-the-year gift.  The totes were filled with summer essentials including flip-flops, sunscreen, and a bottle of wine.  The other two moms also made handmade items:  personalized cups and journals and bookmarks made from vintage books.  I wish I had taken pictures of the gifts once they were put together. They were truly amazing.

   As a former teacher, I am happy to show my gratitude to those who have dedicated their lives to nurturing other people's children.  I know from first-hand experience how hard they work.

Okay, I'll get off my soapbox and let you in on the deets.  The pattern is The Jane Market Bag designed by the super-talented Alicia Paulsen of Posy Gets Cosy.  By the way, I am also happy to support our local (Portland, OR)  artists and businesses.  It's an easy and quick tote, no pattern pieces, just dimensions that you measure out yourself.  I changed a few things though.  First, I only had pockets on one side because I cut out two pocket pieces and sewed them together thinking that they were lined, then I was in too much of a hurry to pick the seam apart and decided that the bag only really needed the one pocket anyway.  I also added a double-stitched seam about two thirds of the way down from the top of the pocket; I just felt that the pocket was too deep without the seam.  Another modification that I made was to sew the handles between the lining and the top layer for a cleaner look.  The handles were ready-made nylon straps, a nice short-cut which I am sure saved me an hour of so of work.  

The lining was made from laminated cotton that I had laying around and the outside fabrics were duck cloth for the solids and outdoor canvas for the prints.  The laminated cotton was kind of a chore to deal with.  I had to pull the fabric through the feed because it kept getting stuck.  I believe that a teflon foot would have helped.  Or maybe tape under the foot?  And a word of warning on sewing with outdoor canvas.  Make sure that your iron is not too hot or you will burn a hole through the fabric.  I found this out the hard way.

The pattern's instruction in regards to the pleats on the sides of the bags was to put together the whole bag first, then sew a seam down the side, catching the lining in the seam.  Because I was using heavier fabrics than the calico that the pattern recommended, I felt that this was not feasible.  So before joining the lining and the main bag, I sewed the pleats on the outside only; the lining was left unatached except for the top. 

On a final and somewhat related note, I will leave you with pictures of S on her first and last day of preschool, wearing her Oliver and S playdate dress.

First day of school (above).  Last day of school (right).

Look how much she's grown!

KCWC: Days 3, 4 & 5: O & S Badminton Skort

It's already Day 6 of Esie Marley's KCWC.  Where did the time go? I took an unintentional mid-week break on Day 4.  No good excuse really; just got caught up watching some new HBO shows.  Have you heard of Girls?  Hilarious.

I did, however manage to cut out and sew the new Oliver & S pattern Badminton Skort.

I love the pretty scallop hem and the narrow, but still roomy silhouette.   Plus it's got built-in shorts!  So I started sewing this on Day 3 and only had the waist, shorts, and skirt to put together.  It took me another couple of hours to complete the skort last night.  That last step of putting the 3 pieces together?  Well, let's just say I got really friendly with my seam ripper.

Here's the whole outfit together.  O&S 2+2 Blouse and Badminton Skort.   

B wanted to get into the shot too.  Love those 2 little girls.

KCWC Day 2: Oliver & S 2+2 Blouse

 i really buckled down last night and finished this top.  the construction of the placket is just genius. 
 
i love this fabric so much.   from afar the fabric looks like plain polka-dots.

 but when you get closer you can see little birds and kitty faces peeking out.

Sunday Brunch

 I'm kicking myself for not making this jacket sooner.  It was so quick and easy.  I guess I thought that since S had always been small for her age, I had plenty of time.  But alas she had a huge growth spurt these last few months, and now it seems that time has run out.  

  The pattern that I have only goes up to size 3.  The sleeves are a bit short, hitting just above the wrist.  The length fits ok though.  

S didn't want to stand still for a photoshoot so this is the best I could get from her. 

Happy spring everyone!

PS.  To Ms. Liesl and co.;  please please please make the large sized Sunday Brunch pattern available before my girl gets too big.